“You barely eat properly. Have it in the morning. Not something cold like cereal.”
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t put much medicine in. The peel is soft and tender, so you don’t need to remove it.”
“Yeah, I’ll enjoy it. Now go, quickly.”
As Kang Da-hyun lightly patted Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder, saying he’d done well, his hand grazed Seo Jeong-won’s cheek and then suddenly dipped down.
Something soft touched Seo Jeong-won’s cheek, then fell away.
A faint, ticklish smooch sound echoed. Kang Da-hyun smiled, and Seo Jeong-won widened his eyes in surprise, covering his cheek with his hand.
Right on cue, the back seat of a parked sedan opened.
A long leg stretched out, followed by an elegant man who didn’t seem to fit into this place at all.
“Wow. I thought that car belonged to a customer, but it’s him again. He’s the store manager or something, right?”
“C-c-crazy bastard…”
“That’s definitely not a convenience store. Convenience store managers don’t walk around in suits like that, do they? I mean, just look at that…”
The man, now sober, looked even more refined than when seen through a drunken haze.
The contrast with Seo Jeong-won—wearing work pants, a stretched-out shirt, a straw hat, and rubber boots—was stark.
For some reason, he even felt a slight sense of shame.
Kang Da-hyun gripped Seo Jeong-won’s wrist a little tighter.
“Who… who is that guy? Why does he keep coming here since that day? Is he a loan shark too? Does he owe you money? How much? I’ll take care of—”
“It’s not like that. It’s not, so… just go. You should go rest.”
Seo Jeong-won shook off the wrist Da-hyun was holding while rubbing his cheek roughly.
Even after being told to let go, Da-hyun stubbornly held on, but in the end, he came face-to-face with Kwon Tae-hee.
A gentle smile appeared on Tae-hee’s handsome face.
“We met that time, didn’t we?”
“Ah, y-yeah, well…”
“That time” clearly referred to the day he made a drunken fool of himself.
Kang Da-hyun scoffed inwardly, annoyed that Tae-hee had to bring it up, and gave a casual nod.
“Jeong-won looks like he just got back from somewhere.”
“I run an apple orchard. Not that it matters, but it’s about ten thousand pyeong. During harvest season, Jeong-won comes to pick apples, gets paid by the day. Happens every year. You probably can’t even imagine how big ten thousand pyeong is.”
Da-hyun stretched his arms out wide, exaggerating the size, chuckling as he spoke.
“Anyway, it’s harvest season. I pay more than labor agencies, so Jeong-won likes it. Gets upset if I don’t call. And I’m the owner of the field, so I make sure he’s taken care of. I may look like a mess, but I make good money. Kind of a local big shot, you know?”
The smile disappeared from Kwon Tae-hee’s face.
Even if he went to help, saying he went as a paid worker made the situation incomprehensible.
His gaze, once fixed on Kang Da-hyun, slowly turned to Seo Jeong-won.
“Oh, the harvest season.”
“But I was drunk then, so I didn’t catch it properly. What store was it again—”
“There’s pheromone on you.”
Kwon Tae-hee reached out and grabbed Seo Jeong-won’s wrist, pulling him closer.
The loosened grip from Da-hyun let go of Seo Jeong-won.
“Ah… it just happened, somehow.”
Da-hyun frowned, irritated at the interrogating tone.
He found it rude, like Tae-hee was scolding someone beneath him, and responded sharply.
Tae-hee kept a cold expression and leaned his face closer to the back of Seo Jeong-won’s neck, inhaling his light scent.
“I used to be really close to Jeong-won. Is there a problem with that?”
“Maybe.”
“…What?”
Kwon Tae-hee smiled as he looked at Da-hyun and turned away. Seo Jeong-won, still held by the wrist, followed along.
“Director…”
“You really have poor memory, Seo Jeong-won. Or you just didn’t listen to me.”
He was pulled roughly into the car just as the door opened.
Before Da-hyun could protest, watching his friend getting shoved in, Tae-hee also climbed into the sedan.
It sped off, leaving Da-hyun yelling behind it.
“I told you to stay at the flower shop.”
“…Yes?”
“I said no other jobs. Did you forget?”
Kwon Tae-hee glanced once at Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder and cheek with a displeased look.
To any onlooker, it would be clear he was used to physical affection.
At least, that’s how it appeared to him.
“Other… other jobs?”
“You shouldn’t forget, Seo Jeong-won. When I said I liked that you were innocent, I didn’t mean I liked you because you were dumb. What do I do if you act this stupid?”
“That’s not it, Director. That place, I just…!”
“Do you lack comprehension skills?”
Seo Jeong-won shut his mouth under the cold glare.
The lowered voice and heavy atmosphere made him forget what excuse he was even going to give.
Unable to withstand the pathetic gaze aimed at him, he bowed his head deeply.
Then he finally remembered the words from Tae-hee’s office.
“Don’t do anything else, just stay at the flower shop.” That firm voice saying he couldn’t do anything else.
Why had he forgotten?
Seo Jeong-won even felt a faint sense of self-disgust at himself for forgetting something so important.
Staring at his hands on his lap, he desperately tried to come up with an explanation for why he had done what he was told not to.
The place they arrived at, laced with tension and anxiety, was a villa.
Seo Jeong-won looked at Tae-hee in confusion.
Their eyes met as if Tae-hee had been staring at him the entire time.
“Get out.”
“Th-thank you.”
“I’m not dropping you off. We’re going in together.”
Seo Jeong-won nodded at the indifferent tone.
The driver exited the front seat and opened the door for Tae-hee.
Seo Jeong-won also quickly reached out to get out.
As Tae-hee rounded the back of the car, he saw Seo Jeong-won already stepping out alone and let out a dumbfounded laugh.
Despite this being only his third visit, Seo Jeong-won followed Tae-hee up the stairs as if he were familiar with the place.
Tae-hee clearly seemed angry, and Seo Jeong-won was frustrated that he didn’t know how to soothe him.
Truthfully, he was scared.
Even though Tae-hee was smiling, it was obvious he was angry.
If he could, he wanted to turn around and run down the stairs.
He instinctively realized that Tae-hee, right now, was dangerous to him.
At the front door, Tae-hee stopped and held out his hand toward Seo Jeong-won, who was still climbing the stairs.
Thinking he was supposed to take it, Seo Jeong-won carefully reached out—only to have it swatted away.
“The key.”
“Th-the key?”
“I’ll change it to a digital lock tomorrow.”
“Suddenly? Why? I appreciate the thought, but I’m really not uncomfortable. Director…”
Seo Jeong-won looked up at him innocently, saying he was fine if it was for his convenience.
Tae-hee inserted the key into the narrow gap with a faint sigh.
It had only been a week since he’d skipped his visit, and yet that fool seemed to have forgotten everything he said.
“Did I say you could refuse?”
“I told you, even if what I give you is garbage, you have to accept it, Seo Jeong-won.”
A domineering pheromone enveloped Seo Jeong-won as if it were about to pounce on him.
A shower of pheromones from someone he didn’t even know surged toward him.
Click.
The lock turned.
Kwon Tae-hee opened the door and motioned with his chin for Seo Jeong-won to go in first.
Even though it was his own home, Seo Jeong-won stepped back in fear.
When he had gone down a couple of steps from the landing, a rough hand shot out and grabbed him.
“Where do you think you’re going, leaving your guest behind? This is your house.”
Seo Jeong-won was pushed inside without even taking off his shoes properly.
His eyes shook as he stared at the sneakers that had been tossed aside.
“Seo Jeong-won, are you mocking me?”
“Huh? No, not at all.”
“That’s strange. I said I’d take care of it, so why are you the one saying it’s fine?”
Kwon Tae-hee slowly looked Seo Jeong-won up and down as he stood frozen in the middle of the living room.
His gaze lingered for a long time on the faint blush on Seo Jeong-won’s cheeks.
He let out an irritated sigh.
What a mess.
Of course, it wasn’t lacking in stirring up desire, but even so, he couldn’t hide how dirty it felt.
“Go wash. You smell.”
Kwon Tae-hee wrinkled his nose at the scent of another alpha’s pheromones coming from Seo Jeong-won.
At the firm order, Seo Jeong-won, red all over, hesitated before finally moving.
Watching Kwon Tae-hee’s mood carefully, he cautiously stepped away, grabbed a change of clothes, and quickly went into the bathroom.
After the door closed and a short pause, the sound of running water was heard.
Kwon Tae-hee glanced around the messy house that didn’t even have a proper place to sit.
It didn’t look much different from last week or today.
Naturally, he moved his feet.
He walked into the room where clothes and various things were scattered and picked up the phone Seo Jeong-won had left on top of the dresser.
“Damn it, this vulgar crap…”
A string of curses spilled through his pretty lips. Kwon Tae-hee casually touched the screen and drew the simple lock pattern he had seen Seo Jeong-won use.
As soon as the screen changed, he checked the messages.
The most recent conversation was with a caregiver.
The one before that was with him.
The call log showed a lot of calls from Kang Da-hyun.
He started to suspect that Seo Jeong-won had deliberately only made calls to avoid leaving records.
It made the innocence he’d once assumed feel absurd—Seo Jeong-won now struck him as remarkably clever.
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