Despite being hazy from the alcohol, Seo Jeong-won’s mind was filled with a surprisingly clear question.
Kang Da-hyun awkwardly stood up and leaned his upper body forward.
The distance between them instantly closed.
Seo Jeong-won gave an awkward laugh and pushed his shoulder away.
“What are you even saying all of a sudden? We’re drinking, and now this? What would we even do? That’s gross…”
“You said you’re not seeing anyone. Me neither. We know each other well, so we could live well together. Our parents won’t know. If we say you’re an omega, they’ll believe it. We can fool them.”
“What the hell are you talking about…”
“Honestly, who even thinks of you as a beta? It’d be more believable to say you were an omega hiding it all this time.”
He couldn’t understand why the conversation was suddenly going in this direction.
Seo Jeong-won leaned away, unable to hide the grimace on his face, and turned his gaze aside, saying it was too close.
Was it a mistake to drink?
Or a mistake to open up like this?
“You’ve still got alpha pheromones lingering. Whose are they? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t get into trouble again? Then where the hell did they come from? That red mark on your neck—that’s from that, right?”
“Hey, Kang Da-hyun, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Da-hyun stood up completely, looming over him like he was about to pounce.
He touched the reddish traces left on Jeong-won’s long neck, then grabbed the chair and bent down suddenly.
“You’re drunk—ugh! Hey!”
Seo Jeong-won barely managed to turn his head and gasped for air.
He felt like the alcohol had sobered him up in an instant—but that was just a feeling.
His body still felt heavy.
Even his attempts to push Da-hyun away were sluggish.
Just as he was flailing and trying to tell Da-hyun to get off, he saw a neat, composed hand grab Da-hyun by the shoulder.
Da-hyun was suddenly yanked back, staggering from the force, and looked behind him in confusion.
“What the hell?”
“Executive Director…?”
“Execu-what?”
Da-hyun’s body, easily dragged away by overwhelming strength, stumbled before barely regaining balance.
His eyes followed Jeong-won’s earlier words and landed on Kwon Tae-hee.
“Who?”
“You’re drunk. Just go.”
Seo Jeong-won also stood up from his seat, staggering from the alcohol.
But he quickly straightened up and looked at Kwon Tae-hee with confused eyes.
“Who are you?”
“That guy from the southwest last time…”
The cold stare made his heart seize up.
Conscious of his slurring, Seo Jeong-won made a deliberate effort to speak clearly.
“He’s the friend I told you about—the one with the orchard. It’s been a while, and we finally had some time… But how did you… how did you come here?”
Kwon Tae-hee, who had been holding eye contact, turned his gaze to Kang Da-hyun.
A pathetic, clueless alpha.
That was the first impression.
A young guy who couldn’t hide his curiosity and let it spill all over his face.
Suddenly, it felt unpleasant to think about this immature alpha taking an interest in Seo Jeong-won.
“You should leave. Looks like Mr. Seo Jeong-won needs to go too.”
“Who the hell are you, huh? What, some kind of store manager or something? Where the hell do you work anyway?”
At that dumb remark, a flicker of disgust passed through Kwon Tae-hee’s eyes.
Seo Jeong-won quickly shook his head and rushed to support Da-hyun, pulling him away.
“Let’s go. Come on. You can walk, right? Are you drunk?”
“No—wait. Who is that guy? And what about our wedding?!”
“What wedding?! Stop spouting nonsense!”
Seo Jeong-won looked horrified, suddenly sobering up.
He dragged Kang Da-hyun outside the flower shop, then slapped his flushed cheeks.
“Hey, look at me. Are you drunk?”
“Who gets drunk from just this?”
“You can walk, right? You can get home?”
“Of course. Wait… are you dumping me right now?”
Kang Da-hyun, wiping down his face roughly, suddenly pulled Seo Jeong-won into a hug.
He buried his face into Jeong-won’s soft shoulder, which had no firmness, and took a deep breath.
“Damn it, why the hell can’t we get married?!”
“What the hell are you saying?! Let go of me!”
“I can make you happy!”
Did Kang Da-hyun always get this messy when drunk? Or was this just him being a total disaster?
Seo Jeong-won slapped him on the back and barely managed to push him off.
“You’re seriously insane!”
“And you! So those pheromones—they’re from that manager guy, huh? You think a pretty face is all it takes?! A real man’s got a body! A broad chest, damn it!”
Seo Jeong-won clamped a hand over Da-hyun’s mouth and shoved him away.
After begging him to leave quietly, he finally got him to go.
Da-hyun staggered away, loudly singing a breakup song.
Rubbing his flushed cheeks from the effort, Seo Jeong-won returned to the flower shop.
Kwon Tae-hee was still standing in the same spot, checking over the scattered items on the table and floor.
For someone who drank so much so quickly, he seemed surprisingly sober.
Or maybe just mentally focused.
He hadn’t done anything wrong—but his heart pounded like he had committed a major crime.
So this was what it meant to feel a chill down your spine.
He was pretty sure he’d remember this feeling forever.
“Um, Executive Director.”
“He’s an alpha, that guy.”
“Sorry? Ah, right…”
He gave a vague nod.
He had always thought that stuff had nothing to do with him, so he never paid much attention.
He didn’t understand why Kwon Tae-hee was pointing it out again.
Instead, he focused on Tae-hee’s expression.
His delicate brows were deeply furrowed.
He looked seriously annoyed.
“By the way… how did you end up here?”
“You say that like I wasn’t supposed to come.”
“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… if you’d let me know beforehand…”
At least he wouldn’t have been drinking. His cheeks were hot.
Even though his mind felt clear, his body was still sluggish.
As he wobbled slightly closer, Kwon Tae-hee scrunched up his nose.
“You reek of alcohol.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“You’re a beta, and that guy’s an alpha. How did the topic of marriage even come up? Most alphas don’t even consider betas as marriage partners.”
“Oh, it wasn’t like that. He wasn’t serious. Da-hyun was just drunk.
I told him… I found my brother.
So he got emotional, I guess. It’s just feelings.
I mean… he just felt bad for me.”
Seo Jeong-won explained that Kang Da-hyun, the friend who just caused a drunken scene, was the only one who knew all his circumstances.
He also apologized for the disgraceful display.
“You’d consider marrying a friend just because he pities you?”
Kwon Tae-hee kept repeating that one word—pity.
Jeong-won, unaware of the sharp undertone, relaxed slightly at the calm voice.
He kept fidgeting, rubbing at his face.
Sometimes he rubbed the corners of his eyes, sometimes he just stared at Tae-hee with red-rimmed eyes.
“No… marriage… that’s not really something we decide like that. And it’s not like we… like each oth—”
And also, marriage… I mean, I’m not even in a position to be dating right now, and it’s hard for me to meet someone with that kind of feeling.
Dahyun is honestly someone I’ve known as a friend for such a long time, and…
As Seo Jeong-won rambled on with excuses, Kwon Tae-hee’s expression softened just a little.
“Right. Seo Jeong-won, you don’t have the time or room to date anyone right now. You don’t even have money.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s right… I just don’t have the space for that.”
“You shouldn’t be seeing that friend.”
Seo Jeong-won nodded in response.
The words slipping from his slightly flushed lips came out sloppily.
Saying he would do that, he began to move again.
It was unclear whether he meant to clean the table or was simply trying to lean into Kwon Tae-hee for support.
His actions were ambiguous.
Staggering, Seo Jeong-won finally stood in front of Kwon Tae-hee and hesitated before lifting his head.
“I sent a message— hic —earlier.”
“I was busy.”
“Ah…?”
Kwon Tae-hee reached out and cupped his warm-looking cheek.
His pale, clear skin had flushed like someone had brushed red watercolor over it.
His drawn-out “You were busy, huh…” somehow sounded tinged with disappointment.
“So are you… going home…?”
“Where?”
“Where? Ah, Seoul. Your home in Seoul. Ah, but I… uh…”
Despite the stern look on his face, the hand reaching out to Seo Jeong-won was gentle, and Jeong-won nestled his cheek into it without hesitation, as if he were sure his neediness would be accepted.
Kwon Tae-hee rubbed the hot cheek and laughed in disbelief, lightly pulling the swaying man into his arms.
His slender body collapsed in his embrace.
With that much alcohol, it would’ve been strange not to be drunk.
“Seo Jeong-won, pull yourself together.”
“Ah, I usually sober up pretty fast. Sorry…”
He tried to speak clearly, putting effort into his sluggish tongue, but the words spilled out like scribbles.
Kwon Tae-hee frowned at the hard-to-understand mumbling and held the melting Seo Jeong-won up in his arms.
Seo Jeong-won pressed his nose into the fresh, fragrant-smelling chest and sniffed.
It was a scent he’d never smelled before—clean and comforting.
Just a while ago, when he sent Kang Dahyun home, his head was perfectly clear.
He didn’t know why he was getting this tipsy again just by being in front of Kwon Tae-hee.
“You really can’t handle your liquor, Seo Jeong-won.”
“I can, though…”
“I’ll take you home.”
“Thank… you…”
“…very much.”
With those words, his eyes closed.
If I hadn’t come here, that bastard who called himself a friend would’ve ended up in this situation instead.
I shouldn’t be throwing myself at people like this.
Kwon Tae-hee felt a faint displeasure rise at how defenseless and unguarded Seo Jeong-won had become, as if a soft wall had crumbled.