By Zephyria “It’s not like I have to give Seo Gyu-won a Pheromone shower directly. My Pheromone isn’t a panacea, and it’s not like Seo Gyu-won will wake up just by receiving it.”
“……”
“I think it would be enough to give Seo Jeong-won a Pheromone shower in the hospital room for an hour or two, one day during the week.”
“Just give it to Hyung directly…!”
He revealed his undisguised disgust. Seo Jeong-won felt repulsed by the act, gasping for air as he looked to Kwon Tae-hee for his favor. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and lowered his eyes, which had been looking up at Kwon Tae-hee.
“Seo Jeong-won.”
“……”
“I think I’m being considerate enough. I’m going along with something that has no possibility. Shouldn’t you be grateful? At the low, deep voice, Seo Jeong-won bit the inside of his cheek tightly. In a position where he desperately needed his help, he couldn’t afford to upset him any further.
There was no point in making Kwon Tae-hee, who had barely changed his mind, feel bad. If he turned around and said he wouldn’t do it, he didn’t know when he would make time again.
“Should I not help?”
“…I’m sorry. If you could do that for me… thank you for helping me.”
“Sounds like a lie.”
“I’m serious. Really… really.”
Seo Jeong-won grabbed the hem of Kwon Tae-hee’s clothes, muttering thanks repeatedly, afraid that Kwon Tae-hee would leave right away.
His heart felt strange. It was difficult to properly assess the situation. The boundary between right and wrong disappeared.
To say that it was right to do it for Hyung, what he was doing with Kwon Tae-hee now was immoral.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t say that you and I were doing something wrong. There was no way to turn back time, and he wasn’t confident that he wouldn’t choose Kwon Tae-hee if he were to return to the same situation. To him, Kwon Tae-hee was the worst and the lesser of two evils, and the best.
“You seem to be regretting it.”
“……”
“You shouldn’t.”
“No. I don’t regret it.”
The listless voice and the heat of his flushed cheeks slowly subsided. Kwon Tae-hee took a deep breath of the humid air and hugged Seo Jeong-won.
“Behave yourself.”
“……”
“I need to keep feeling like I want to help.”
* * *
After asking Kwon Tae-hee for help and hearing that he would help, Seo Gyu-won was moved to a different hospital room.
The room was larger than the one Hyung had been staying in, and the space where the patient lay and the bedroom that the guardian could use were separated.
The caregiver said that the working environment was getting better day by day because she had met a good guardian. She couldn’t hide her excitement. His chest throbbed at the expression ‘good guardian’.
Was what he was feeling now really a pang of conscience? The messages that arrived in succession contained similar content and similar photos. His face, lying still with a respirator on, was the same as any other day, but she asked if his complexion was not good.
Seo Jeong-won stared intently at Seo Gyu-won’s face, which he had tried so hard to avoid. Even after zooming in and examining it closely, he couldn’t really see much difference between yesterday, or the day before, and today.
His skin seemed to have a rosy complexion. It seemed to look good because others said it looked good.
Seo Jeong-won sighed deeply and put his phone away after slowly scrolling through the many photos taken from various angles.
“Haa…”
Even though the situation was getting better every day compared to before, he felt hopeless. This relationship with Kwon Tae-hee was an act of deceiving Hyung under the guise of prolonging his life.
He couldn’t stop, even though he was clearly aware that he was doing something he shouldn’t.
He was too awkwardly conscientious to comfort himself by saying that it didn’t matter because no one would know. The biggest problem was that he knew that even this was hypocrisy.
Awkward self-reproach gnawed at him. Anyone who heard his story would curse him as a madman. No matter how bad the situation was, they would point fingers and say that they would not have made such a choice.
“….Hoo.”
Seo Jeong-won, who had collapsed in endless despair, covered his face and muttered a hypnotic phrase that no one would know.
It was then. At the same time as the sound of the door opening, he heard a heavy sound of shoes. Without even having time to collect his emotions, he got up and turned around, muttering as if it were a habit, “Welcome.”
The man who suddenly appeared wearing a black suit was by no means someone Seo Jeong-won had good memories of.
“Looking at your smooth face, it seems like you’ve been doing well?”
It hadn’t been long since the man, who had been politely calling him ‘Teacher, Teacher’, had changed his face and cursed him as a bastard, but his greeting was too casual.
“Ah… hello.”
“Yeah, I’m doing well. Is business doing well? Don’t need any more money?”
“……”
“You little punk, you’re scared.”
He hummed and looked around the Garden of Tedium. Then he said he had come to buy something to put in his office. He added that he wanted a recommendation for something that many people take as a gift.
“Didn’t you expand your office and move? I heard it’s gotten incredibly big.”
“……”
“Don’t be nervous. I’m saying I’ll buy it with money. You’re secretly resentful? I came to sell you a pot or something for our customer’s sake. Huh?”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head at the pompous voice.
“Forget that I was a bit violent back then, and recommend something expensive. I’m giving you a start, so I can’t buy something cheap. I’m going to buy something amazing.”
He was boasting as if he was showing off, saying expensive, expensive. He didn’t know why this man had suddenly come all the way here, but Seo Jeong-won hesitated and moved, hearing that he had come to buy a pot, not to destroy the Garden of Tedium.
“This is what people often give as a gift for a business opening. It’s called a money tree… it’s expensive.”
When he held out a pot with glossy green leaves, the man hesitated a little and took a long breath.
“Does it bloom? It looks clumsy, but this sells well? Money tree? I’ve never heard of it before?”
“It does bloom, but it won’t be the kind of shape you’re thinking of.”
“You, you son of a bitch. Are you trying to sell me anything because I don’t know?”
His tone became rough. The man contorted his face and asked aggressively.
“It’s called a money tree, haven’t you heard of it?”
It was a cautious and polite tone, but it sounded like he was ignoring him. The man was furious, but when he saw Seo Jeong-won, who was huddled up as if he would shrink, he cleared his throat and dusted off his jacket.
“Th, uh? Money tree? Th-that’s, this?”
“Yes, this is it. People send it a lot to wish for business prosperity. It’s not like I’m trying to sell you anything because I don’t know…”
“Do you take cards?”
“Yes. It’s 70,000 won.”
Hearing the price, the man told Seo Jeong-won that it wasn’t expensive. He boasted that he could have charged more, but Seo Jeong-won swiped the 70,000 won and returned it.
“Do you deliver?”
“No, you have to take it. If you wait a little bit, I’ll wrap it up for you quickly.”
Seo Jeong-won slightly bowed his head to the man who was standing there with a bothered expression and quickly moved the money tree.
He crumpled newspaper into the gaps in the pot and wrapped it so that the gravel would not spill out. It wasn’t too big, so he lifted it up and brought it back to him.
“I’ll carry it to your car.”
The man couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He followed Seo Jeong-won with a sullen expression.
He thought it wouldn’t look good to buy a pot that was often given as a gift for a business opening and go into the office himself.
But since he had already paid, it seemed ridiculous to leave it or say he would take it next time.
“I’ll put it in the passenger seat.”
“Huh?”
“I wrapped it carefully, but if you lay it down, the soil might spill.”
Seo Jeong-won gestured for him to open the door quickly. The man scratched the back of his head and approached casually. He couldn’t shake off the stuffy feeling as he looked at the pot in the car.
“Th, uh. Thanks, yeah. You really don’t deliver?”
“No, I don’t have a car. Thank you. Drive safely.”
Seo Jeong-won, who had even finished his polite greetings, took a step back. He thought it would be burdensome to wait until the car left, so he said goodbye once more and turned around.
As he dusted off his dirty apron and entered The Garden of Tedium, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
“Ah.”
He heard the sound of car wheels rolling and answered the call.
“Hello?”
—It’s me.
“Hello.”
It wasn’t like they hadn’t talked on the phone before, but it was awkward every time he answered. Seo Jeong-won listened to Kwon Tae-hee’s voice coming through the receiver and predicted his mood today.
—I heard you moved the hospital room, I was wondering if I could make some time.
“Ah, today?”
—Yes, today.
“If I leave now, it’ll take about two hours. I’ll be there soon.”
Kwon Tae-hee laughed at his words that he would go right away. He ended the call, saying to wait in The Garden of Tedium.
Seo Jeong-won stared blankly at his phone before opening the door. He went inside as if running and headed to the sink.
He felt frustrated in his head, which was not thinking about anything as if he had stopped thinking. He turned on the water and washed his face so hard that his cheeks were numb.
So… that’s what he’s going to do. He said he wouldn’t give a Pheromone shower directly. Then, that’s…