By Zephyria Seo Jeong-won looked at Kang Da-hyun through the rearview mirror. Hurry up and go, he thought, that soft-hearted fool can’t easily turn away and is crying. What if your parents see you like that? Seo Jeong-won gently rubbed Seo Gyu-won’s portrait with his palm and smiled bitterly.
It took about an hour to get to the crematorium. During the drive, after arriving, and while his Hyung’s body was being cremated, he didn’t have a separate conversation with Kwon Tae-hee.
After waiting for about two hours, Seo Gyu-won became a handful of ashes and was placed in a bluish urn. Seo Jeong-won, holding his Hyung who had returned as a light weight, sighed precariously as if he would collapse.
Seo Gyu-won was to be enshrined in the charnel house. It seemed like there were other options, but his parents, aunt, and uncle were also enshrined in the charnel house, so he didn’t hesitate further. In fact, he didn’t have the spare capacity to look into other things.
“Thank you for taking care of everything until the end. I… I’m sorry for saying bad things to Executive Director. For saying that Hyung wouldn’t want you to come to say his last goodbye. It probably… wasn’t true. So, please don’t hold it against me. I’m sorry.”
Kwon Tae-hee replied that it was okay, but the words he uttered felt unsettling. It was ambiguous whether “taking care of everything until the end” meant he was grateful that he took responsibility for his Hyung’s funeral in his stead, or that he wouldn’t have to see him anymore now that his Hyung was dead.
He wanted to hold him and ask precisely, but Seo Jeong-won looked so weak right now, as if he would collapse if he was touched. His complexion was pale to the point of being ghastly, and there was no sign of energy to have a conversation. He thought that he should keep him by his side and take good care of him for a few days, or until he got better, after enshrining the remains in the charnel house. Since he wasn’t single anyway, he decided to bring him in completely this time.
“Let’s go for now.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Seo Jeong-won habitually added words of gratitude to the end of his sentences. Kwon Tae-hee supported his body, which was drooping and standing still as if exhausted, and sat him in the passenger seat. Kwon Tae-hee, who got into the driver’s seat, entered the destination into the navigation system and soon departed.
The car maintained a constant speed. The crematorium and the charnel house were not far. Kwon Tae-hee was concentrating on driving when he suddenly felt a strange silence and felt a sense of incongruity. He turned his head slightly quickly to check on Seo Jeong-won, who was holding his breath and just shedding teardrops like raindrops onto the urn.
When Kwon Tae-hee reached out and stroked his cheek, Seo Jeong-won finally turned his head, barely making a sobbing sound. He had been feeling him reject his touch ever since Seo Gyu-won died.
“Jeong-won-ssi.”
“……”
“We have things left to talk about.”
“……I don’t think I do, Executive Director.”
It was the firmest tone among the conversations he had had with Seo Jeong-won so far. Kwon Tae-hee tried not to show his bewildered expression outwardly. He was in mourning, and it was difficult for him to make proper judgments.
“Then just listen, Jeong-won-ssi.”
“……”
“Let’s have dinner together. You haven’t eaten properly for days.”
Kwon Tae-hee tried to make his words not sound too cold. When he barely made eye contact with Seo Jeong-won, he even gave him a perfunctory smile. In fact, he wanted to threaten him by saying, Is mourning Seo Gyu-won something you have to do even if it harms your health? but he held back.
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After finishing the enshrinement in the charnel house, Seo Jeong-won was dragged along by Kwon Tae-hee. When he came to his senses, he was inside a quiet Korean restaurant. It was a room where outside noise could not be heard, and various dishes were neatly arranged on the table.
“Eat.”
“……I will eat well. Please eat a lot too, Executive Director.”
As always, Seo Jeong-won did not pick up his spoon until Kwon Tae-hee started eating first. Kwon Tae-hee, who was staring silently at Seo Jeong-won sitting in a pitiful state, picked up a side dish in front of him and put it in his mouth, and only then did he barely pick up his spoon.
However, he had little appetite, and he barely put any food in his mouth. He only scooped up a little rice and put it in his mouth throughout the meal.
“Have you finished eating?”
“Ah, yes. I’m not hungry. I think it’s because I’m a little… tired.”
Seo Jeong-won felt awkward and uncomfortable sitting face to face with Kwon Tae-hee even after finishing his Hyung’s funeral. He was just fiddling with the water glass in front of him, looking around cautiously. He sat quietly, wondering when he could go home.
“I found a buyer for the flower shop. The contract negotiations will be finalized within a few days.”
“……Pardon?”
“Focus on resting and recovering for the time being. You’re a mess right now, to the point where I’m worried.”
“W-wait a minute. I… I don’t really understand what you’re saying. Why is Executive Director…”
Kwon Tae-hee couldn’t understand Seo Jeong-won’s reaction as if he had heard unexpected news. Didn’t it seem to anyone that he no longer had the will to run the flower shop, or even affection or interest in it?
I thought you meant to organize it since you were doing nothing. Even if you don’t organize it, it’s difficult to commute from Seoul to Seonam every day.”
“Executive Director.”
“You don’t have family in Seonam, and if you really want to keep the flower shop, I’ll find you a place not far from your house. So do as I say.”
“No, no. Executive Director, I… I…”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head urgently. His face was pale as he repeated that it wasn’t true. His lips trembled as if he was about to faint, and then he closed them tightly. He seemed to be organizing his thoughts.
“……I have received a lot of help from Executive Director. I really appreciate it. But now I can’t anymore—”
“I had a blood test done when Jeong-won-ssi collapsed. At that time, it was confirmed that you were definitely pregnant, although the exact number of weeks needs to be confirmed by an obstetrician.”
Seo Jeong-won blinked at the low, soft words. He experienced his mind going black as if a fuse had blown. He was confused as to whether he had heard correctly, or whether he had mistaken similar words because he was out of his mind.
“I… I, what…”
“I’m saying that our child is growing in Jeong-won-ssi’s belly.”
“……”
“It’s really something to celebrate. It’s also something I was expecting.”
His beautiful face softened gently. Seo Jeong-won felt like this moment was like a dream. A bad dream. A disgusting and dirty one that leaves a feeling of unpleasantness after waking up.
“Jeong-won-ssi didn’t know either, right? You wouldn’t have hidden it on purpose.”
“……Executive Director.”
“Still, how fortunate that we can get the results we both wanted.”
It was a way of saying that he would gladly overlook the lie. Seo Jeong-won opened his mouth urgently.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said back then. You said that Hyung’s choice was why he… ended up like that.”
“I did.”
“But I think that Executive Director definitely had a big, very big influence on Hyung making that choice.”
“Is that so?”
The answer, uttered in a low voice, was full of displeasure. Kwon Tae-hee tilted his head slightly and gave him a questioning look, as if wondering why he thought that.
“Even though I knew that, the reason I… maintained a relationship with Executive Director was, as you know, because I didn’t have money. That’s why I did it. But I don’t need money anymore, Executive Director.”
“That’s right. Seo Gyu-won died. But, so what?”
Kwon Tae-hee thought that he wished his Omega, who was sitting in front of him, would just get to the point concisely. He was getting annoyed because he kept beating around the bush, and it was too ambiguous whether it simply meant that he didn’t need money anymore, that he wouldn’t take his money anymore, or that he wanted to end the relationship.
“……I think it’s right to stop here with Executive Director. Doing more than this is really a sin against Hyung. I can’t do that.”
“Jeong-won-ssi, Seo Gyu-won is dead. It’s a little funny to hear those words after he died.”
“……Why do you say things like that, why do you always say things like that?”
His trembling voice and wounded eyes were filled with tears. In fact, Kwon Tae-hee didn’t properly understand the sadness that Seo Jeong-won was feeling. Even if the reason he cherished his Hyung was because he was the only one who protected him when he was young, the bond between the two was not enough to cry and suffer for days as if he was going to die.
“What I mean is that it’s not normal for me to be sitting face to face with Executive Director like this. That kind of… that kind of ridiculous contract, too.”
“You were happy to receive it when you received it. Didn’t you try to please me?”
“Back then—”
“It seems like you’re trying to protect your petty pride or conscience, or whatever. What good is that now?”
Kwon Tae-hee watched with considerable interest as the small thing gathered all the remaining energy and trembled. He seemed like a simpleton with no ferocity, but he also knew how to quiver and snap back when touched. He discovered a very new side of him.
“The contract is invalid. As Executive Director said… because Hyung died.”
“Hah……”
He sighed deeply as if he was frustrated. He moved his lips as if wondering how to explain it, and then continued.
“As long as Jeong-won-ssi is pregnant with my child, we can’t pretend that our relationship never happened just because Seo Gyu-won died.”
“……I clearly said that I want to end it. I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”
Seo Jeong-won moved as if he was about to get up from his seat right away. He even succeeded to some extent in getting out of the table, but he couldn’t get out of the room. It was because he was caught by Kwon Tae-hee, who had been smiling gently all along.
“Even if you leave, you have to give me the child in your belly. You can’t leave before that, Jeong-won-ssi. That’s what our contract is.”
His pleasant voice rang out in a low tone. The gentle tone, as always, was full of coldness that was sharply different from the soft external atmosphere.
“……Do I just have to give you the baby?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll give it to you, so don’t worry. I… I don’t have any intention of raising Executive Director’s child either.”