By Zephyria The answer didn’t come right away to the question. Seo Jeong-won’s lips moved slightly before he offered his thanks again.
His straight, pretty hand fluttered as if to shake off the moisture. He thinly spread ointment on the disinfected area and even applied a bandage.
Only then did the man, who seemed more precious than anyone, raise his bent knee.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes, and…”
Since yesterday, while taking care of the flower garden, he had discovered many plants that hadn’t lost their life. Among them was an Alocasia that had just begun to unfurl its leaves.
The moment he saw it, he wanted to give it to Kwon Tae-hee as a gift. Although there were conditions attached, he had received help, after all.
“Could I take this too?”
Alocasia was a plant that visitors to the flower garden often bought as a gift. But it seemed too shabby to give it to him as a gift, so he simply asked if he could take it.
“Do as you please.”
“I’ll take good care of it.”
“Alright.”
Kwon Tae-hee heard Seo Jeong-won’s reply, which sounded as if he was telling him not to worry, with suspicion. Just a quick glance around the flower garden would reveal how terrible his plant-growing skills were.
Most of them were withered or had only bare branches left. There must be plants that bloom flowers, but there were none to be seen here.
“Here, well, it’s not that I’m bad at… not good at growing them. No, that’s right. That’s right…”
Seo Jeong-won trailed off, trying to make excuses. He lowered his head, seeing Kwon Tae-hee shrug his shoulders without showing any particular reaction.
Even his white neck turned red. Seo Jeong-won held the shopping bag containing the potted plant and rubbed his hot cheeks with the back of his hand.
“…This place was run by my aunt and uncle. I mainly did things like repotting, cleaning, and watering, and just watched the plants… grow, but I’ve never actually grown them myself.”
He hadn’t even been asked, but words spilled out like excuses. Kwon Tae-hee nodded, looking uninterested.
He turned around first. His long, straight hand slightly pulled down the neatly tied tie below his neck. Having even unbuttoned his shirt, he exuded a more relaxed atmosphere than before.
As soon as he left the flower garden, Kwon Tae-hee took off his jacket, dismissed the man waiting in front of the car, and opened the door himself.
“Get in.”
The area where Seo Jeong-won lived was a small city on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, not far from Seoul, but not exactly close either.
Kwon Tae-hee hesitated, but seeing Seo Jeong-won’s reddened face as he finally got into the car, he thought that he couldn’t come all the way here every time.
Before walking around the rear of the vehicle, he took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and exchanged a few words with Chief Jung, who lit it for him. Occasionally, his cool gaze turned towards the flower garden.
Should I just get rid of it? It seems like they’re looking for a buyer anyway. And it doesn’t seem like he’s running it with any affection. There’s no need to keep Seo Jeong-won in this remote place.
“General manager Kwon?”
“Look for a buyer for the flower garden.”
“Understood.”
Kwon Tae-hee crushed the cigarette butt into the portable ashtray that Chief Jung held out. White smoke cut through the air, stretching out long.
“It’s hot.”
The sticky air and the muggy breeze mixed with the acrid smell of soil might be unpleasant, but he didn’t feel that way at all.
* * *
Kwon Tae-hee occasionally glanced at Seo Jeong-won, who was clinging to the car window. The insignificant sight of his small hand resting on the door trim and his already large eyes blinking quietly caught his attention.
It was none other than him who broke the silence.
“You probably don’t come out this way often.”
Kwon Tae-hee put down his tablet and asked. Seo Jeong-won trembled as if startled by the sudden voice.
His earlobes gradually began to turn red. Heat spread to his neck as well. He had never seen the skin of an Omega he had met before turn so red like Seo Jeong-won’s, so it was fascinating.
His face would turn red when he was embarrassed or ashamed, but Seo Jeong-won became flushed like a well-ripened peach.
Would that color remain if you squeezed and released his wax-like white skin?
“Ah… probably not. I’ve lived in Seonam almost all my life.”
“What about your friends?”
“Some of my friends went to Seoul, but not many. I don’t have many close friends… not really. There’s a friend I’ve been close to since I was little, and he inherited an orchard, so he’s in Seonam.”
His soft, gentle voice was very pleasant to listen to. Unlike his youthful face, his tone was quite husky.
“Would you like to talk about your parents too?”
At Kwon Tae-hee’s question, Seo Jeong-won’s expression hardened. He hesitated for a moment, wondering how to explain, and then opened his mouth.
“My parents… passed away in a car accident right before I entered elementary school. Hyung was in sixth grade. My parents ran a business. They pulled a small truck and sold food at construction sites or places like that early in the morning.”
“There was such a thing.”
“…In the past. It was an illegal street stall, but I guess that was common back then. Now, they say they take care of it at restaurants near the site.”
At the awkward addition, Kwon Tae-hee nodded as if telling him to continue.
“I followed them a few times too. When my dad put up a blue tent, I would unfold the plastic tables and set up the chairs… then the construction workers would come one by one. They would sit down, asking if the food was ready.”
“…”
“Since it was a breakfast business, they left really early in the morning. So, that day too… the day of the accident, they prepared and left really early. The car… it was shaped like a truck, but it was smaller than a regular truck. It was small, so…”
Seo Jeong-won kept repeating the word “small” before stopping and biting his lip. His eyelashes fluttered like waves.
“…A dump truck coming out of the construction site said they didn’t see it.”
“Ah.”
“Because it was too small.”
Seo Jeong-won smiled quietly with tears in his eyes.
“That’s how they passed away. Hyung and I were too young for the funeral… my aunt said we didn’t have to do things like that. So we just kept them in the mortuary for three days, and my aunt found a crematorium. My uncle came to an agreement with the construction site manager… I heard about it, but I was too young, so I don’t really remember the details.”
Seo Jeong-won, having finished the story in his own way, lightly shook his shoulders.
“Should I talk about my aunt and uncle too…?”
“No. It’s okay.”
“…Yes.”
“Have you had any major events in your life?”
While checking Seo Jeong-won’s financial status, Kwon Tae-hee naturally learned about the misdeeds of his aunt and uncle. They had embezzled his parents’ death insurance money and compensation under the pretext of raising the brothers.
“I just… lived like other people, I guess.”
He was said to have been abused. However, since the village where the brothers lived was small, even the police chief knew everyone, so they only gave a warning and moved on.
The abuse continued, but no one helped. The brothers stopped reporting it the year after they started living with their aunt and uncle.
“Normally.”
Seo Jeong-won, unaware that Kwon Tae-hee already knew, kept his words to a minimum.
“I see.”
Kwon Tae-hee thought of Seo Gyu-won as he listened to the low voice. Why does he want to save his Hyung so badly, the Hyung who abandoned him as soon as he became an adult?
He’s in a desperate situation for money, but it doesn’t seem like they have such a great bond that he would agree to fulfill this ridiculous contract instead. Do they have unforgettable memories or something?
Maybe it’s because of the money he consistently sent until he became an adult.
He doesn’t act like a Hyung, but would the money he sent as a Hyung be a reason to keep Seo Gyu-won alive?
“Was it normal even after your Hyung left?”
“…Yes, it was normal. My aunt started the flower garden around that time, so I was always at the flower garden after school. I was mainly in charge of watering. It cost too much to install sprinklers, so… someone had to water them directly. When plants drink water, their leaves become like this, like this. They droop down.”
Seo Jeong-won lowered his hands and then spread them out as if sprouts were growing.
Kwon Tae-hee didn’t even realize that he was smiling as he watched that. His well-shaped lips curved softly.
“That’s really amazing and admirable, so I was watching it often.”
“I thought you didn’t particularly like it since you said you were just assigned to it, but I guess that’s not the case.”
“I guess. I don’t really know. That… a rainbow appears every time I water them, you know? It’s really pretty. Later, if you come, General manager Kwon, should I show you…?”
At the cautious question, Kwon Tae-hee smiled.
“Yes, show me.”
When Kwon Tae-hee picked up his tablet again, Seo Jeong-won straightened his posture as well.