By Zephyria She spoke with a mix of coldness and kindness, then had everyone who came with her get into the parked car.
The car drove away. The four large potted plants and the boxes containing their belongings were all loaded onto a truck that arrived a few minutes later.
That afternoon, the flower shop was constantly busy. Rumors spread like wildfire that if you bought a flowering plant, you’d get a succulent as a free gift, and if you bought a tree, you’d get a free monstera.
More succulents were given away for free than sold. As a result, there were none left for sale. To customers who were disappointed that they couldn’t get one right away, Seo Jeong-won gave them cacti or promised to give them succulents if they came by sometime next week.
Thanks to the hectic day, Seo Gyu-won and Kwon Tae-hee were momentarily forgotten.
* * *
Like other businesses, the flower shop, in particular, saw customers disappear as if by magic after 5 p.m.
After the last customer left the flower shop, Seo Jeong-won stood there blankly for a moment. Because he was busy, the thoughts that had been swirling around in his head had disappeared.
He also forgot the nausea from the suppressants and the aching abdominal pain.
“…I wish I could be busy every day.”
Seo Jeong-won looked at the soil that had been messily scattered on the floor from repotting plants all day. It felt like he had been possessed by something and then woken up. Is this what it’s like to work like crazy?
Even though he had achieved a month’s worth of sales in a single day, he couldn’t smile. He squatted down, picked up the large pebbles, and swept the floor.
He put everything that was scattered messily back in its place, one by one. Then he realized his cell phone was buzzing in his pocket and quickly reached for it.
The name that had been difficult to reach despite his repeated attempts to contact him filled the screen. Seo Jeong-won swallowed his trembling breath and pressed the call button.
“…He, hello?”
—Seo Jeong-won.
“How, how are you?”
—Yes, how are you, Seo Jeong-won?
Seo Jeong-won nodded at the reply that came with a chuckle.
“I’m… fine.”
—I heard you called several times, were you busy? What’s going on?
Seo Jeong-won couldn’t answer right away to the direct question. He stood there with the phone glued to his ear, his dry lips moving as if frozen.
—Seo Jeong-won.
“…It’s nothing, I was just calling to ask if you’re busy this week too. If you’re busy, I was going to ask for your permission to visit Hyung.”
—That’s a shame. I thought Seo Jeong-won wanted to see me.
“……”
—I wanted to see you, but I guess Seo Jeong-won didn’t.
The answer that it wasn’t true didn’t come out right away to the quietly ringing voice.
He couldn’t make a sound as if someone was grabbing his neck. After several attempts, he finally opened his mouth.
“That’s, that’s not it. It’s not that…”
—The answer was too late to say it wasn’t.
He covered his eyes with a trembling hand, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t know why he couldn’t say the one word he wanted to say, whether it was a lie or not.
“…Are you, are you leaving work? I’m about to clean up the flower shop and go in.”
The conversation didn’t continue after the answer that avoided the topic. When Kwon Tae-hee was silent, it felt like the call had been disconnected.
Seo Jeong-won checked the screen several times to make sure the call hadn’t ended.
—Is that all you wanted to say?
The most important thing was left to say… He was confused because he didn’t know he would be telling him this way what he wanted to tell him in person.
“…I.”
It was then. Seo Jeong-won reflexively turned his head at the sound of the door opening. The mouth he had opened to say that it was over slowly closed.
“It’s so hard to hear Seo Jeong-won say he missed me.”
Kwon Tae-hee, who was waving his cell phone in the air, approached Seo Jeong-won, who was standing there with a blank look on his face.
He looked at his surprised face and, as if it were natural, grabbed his cheeks and pulled them up to kiss him. Seo Jeong-won’s face was flushed with embarrassment at the kiss that only made a light sound before breaking away.
“Ho, how did you get here… how?”
“That’s what I’m saying. How did I get here? Huh? Seo Jeong-won keeps acting so expensive.”
Kwon Tae-hee kissed his warm cheek once more and hugged Seo Jeong-won as he was. His slender body seemed like it would break if he put even a little bit of strength into it.
He buried his face in his soft shoulder and took a deep breath. When he smelled the soft scent of skin mixed with the smell of soil, the headache that had been bothering him all day disappeared.
Kwon Tae-hee, who now released Pheromone as if it were a natural procedure when he met Seo Jeong-won, left his scent. The body that had been stiffened as if surprised by the sudden visit slowly relaxed.
“Were you busy?”
“Today, the flower shop had… a lot of customers.”
“It’s a problem if business is too good. I like it when Seo Jeong-won is here alone.”
“It’s not often. It’s my first time too…”
It was difficult to say the words smoothly. Maybe it was because of the Pheromone, but his legs kept giving out. Seo Jeong-won moved his arms, which he had unknowingly dropped, and hugged Kwon Tae-hee’s waist.
Kwon Tae-hee’s hand, which had been gently stroking the body that was nestled in his arms, grabbed his small face once more. His large, dark eyes reflected his image without filtering. Was it because it had been a while since he had seen him? He had lost weight and become even prettier.
“It’s been a while.”
“……Yes.”
His hair was a little longer. His palm, which had been rubbing his soft cheek against his ear, covered the back of his head. Seo Jeong-won’s face was naturally pulled up. When he kissed him, Seo Jeong-won trembled as if surprised. He couldn’t push him away, but he avoided his gaze and muttered.
“I think… someone’s coming.”
“I don’t think anyone’s coming.”
“Still…”
Because he was talking without taking his lips off, the soft ends of their flesh touched and separated tantalizingly each time he moved.
Kwon Tae-hee thought he was really worrying about nothing and pushed his tongue into his open mouth.
“Ah… wait.”
The voice that was neither pushing away nor refusing further fueled his lust. Kwon Tae-hee laughed and delved deeper. His eyes widened as his tongue scraped against the roof of his mouth, and soon his long eyelashes fluttered. His cheeks quickly turned red. A warm heat spread to the back of his neck, which had been lukewarm.
When he sucked in the flesh that was chasing his tongue, which was clumsily stirring inside his mouth, he opened his eyes as if surprised.
Even though he had sucked in all the saliva that had accumulated inside, his thirst was not quenched. When he put his hand inside Seo Jeong-won’s clothes and rubbed his soft skin, he pushed him away more strongly this time.
“Stop it here…”
Seo Jeong-won turned his head, hid his face in his chest, and gasped for breath. His entire throat was burning as if he had swallowed something hot repeatedly. It was because Kwon Tae-hee was constantly giving him Pheromone. His legs were shaking.
“I thought you liked it, did I misunderstand?”
“……”
“Tell me you missed me.”
He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth with his fingertips and demanded quietly. Seo Jeong-won lowered his gaze from the one he was meeting and mumbled softly.
“…I missed you.”
“Good boy. Shall we hear why you called all this time?”
Only then did Kwon Tae-hee show his generosity. He took Seo Jeong-won and moved him to a chair, stopping in front of a fish tank where fish were swimming back and forth.
He playfully tapped the glass wall with his fingertips. The school of fish gathered, thinking they were being fed.
“It’s not that…”
“I guess the thing about asking if you could go to the hospital was a lie after all.”
“…That’s, that’s not it, I was going to ask that too. Really.”
“Keep going.”
His curved lips were smooth. He put his fingers between the neatly tied tie and loosened it. He also unbuttoned one of the buttons that had been carefully fastened to the bottom of his neck.
“When you came to the hospital that time.”
“Yes.”
“…The Pheromone you used in the hospital room.”
“Pheromone?”
Seo Jeong-won nodded at the question. Kwon Tae-hee reacted as if he was a little puzzled.
“How does Jeong-won know? Whether I released Pheromone or not.”
“……Yes?”
“You’re a Beta.”
Seo Jeong-won stopped talking as if embarrassed by Kwon Tae-hee’s remark. He moved his lips, then belatedly continued, saying that wasn’t it.
Realizing his mistake, he felt like all the blood in his body was draining to his toes. The hand holding Kwon Tae-hee trembled. His tongue, which had to make excuses, hardened and chewed on the soft flesh inside his mouth.
“I also heard about it from the person who was taking care of Hyung… There was no one else who had been in the hospital room, so I assumed that Executive Director used it. Is that not… the case?”
“Tell me more.”
Kwon Tae-hee’s head tilted slightly to the left as he listened carefully to the clumsy words. His soft, tan-brown eyes were fixed on his lips, not his eyes.
Seo Jeong-won rubbed the corners of his mouth without realizing it. He was not confident because he had something to hide. He would stop talking from time to time and bite his lips.
“Hyung reacted to the Pheromone. It was the first time it had ever happened. So the doctor in charge said he wanted to check one more time to be sure, and asked if you could… come.”
“Ah, so you want me to come back and release Pheromone?”