Kwon Tae-hee walked into Seo Jeong-won’s room and placed his phone on the desk.
The small space could be taken in at a glance, and he examined every corner carefully.
He looked for any signs someone else might have been there—or any lingering traces left by that young man from the orchard who used to boast about it being ten thousand pyeong.
He didn’t even realize how unusual his own actions were. Kwon Tae-hee went as far as checking and smelling everything Jeong-won had covered himself with or used.
He was so focused that he didn’t notice the sound of water stopping or Jeong-won returning to the room.
“…Director?”
Kwon Tae-hee, who had been holding a blanket close to his face, lowered it and casually extended a hand toward Seo Jeong-won.
Jeong-won stepped closer reflexively and paused just within reach.
Tae-hee’s neatly shaped brows furrowed slightly.
“You put your clothes back on.”
“…?”
“You were going to take them off anyway.”
Loosening Jeong-won’s tie, Kwon Tae-hee pulled him in.
He cupped the back of Jeong-won’s neck and tilted his chin up, placing a kiss on his lips.
Jeong-won’s body tensed in surprise, and he pushed against Tae-hee’s chest.
“What are you doing…”
“What’s wrong? All of a sudden?”
“I’m someone who’s allowed to do this with you. Did you forget? Or are you thinking about that guy from earlier?”
“…Kang Dahyun?”
Jeong-won flinched.
Tae-hee rubbed his own lips, visibly displeased by Jeong-won’s reaction—one that seemed to want distance.
“So you both clearly have feelings, but you pretend otherwise? You’re not like this when it’s just the two of you. Are you hiding it because I’m around? I already told you—you should deal with the people you’re seeing.”
“I… I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Why are you saying this now…”
“Were you planning to meet in secret? Thought you wouldn’t get caught?”
Tae-hee grabbed the back of Jeong-won’s head with force and made him look up.
Despite the harsh grip and the veins showing on his arms, his expression stayed eerily calm.
His beautiful features tilted slightly as he spoke again.
“You shouldn’t do that, Jeong-won. Something serious could happen. Not to you—to your brother.”
“…It’s not like that—”
“Take it off. That’s why I came.”
***
Kwon Tae-hee pulled Jeong-won close with a deliberate assertiveness.
Unlike before—when he had been more gentle—he ignored how tense and unwilling Jeong-won’s body felt.
There was no intimacy, no tenderness—only control.
He directed everything, ignoring how Jeong-won tried to protest or resist.
Jeong-won’s pained expression deepened as he tried to push back.
Tae-hee, unmoved, simply covered Jeong-won’s mouth with his hand.
“You’re not even listening when I told you not to pull away.”
Tears streamed down from Jeong-won’s tightly shut eyes, and his chest heaved as he struggled to breathe.
His body trembled visibly.
At that moment, the phone on the desk vibrated.
Both their heads turned at once.
Tae-hee frowned.
He reached out and checked the caller ID, then let out a cold smirk.
Without hesitation, he pressed the green button.
Jeong-won’s tear-filled eyes widened in horror.
Tae-hee, meeting his gaze directly, switched the call to speaker mode.
Kang Dahyun’s voice rang out clearly.
—“Seo Jeong-won? Hello? Jeong-won?”
Tae-hee could feel Jeong-won’s eyes on him as he resumed moving.
The sounds were loud and difficult to ignore.
—“Hello?”
“…Yeah. He-hello.”
—“Are you okay? You left like you were being dragged away. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. Who was that guy, anyway? Hello?”
“I’m listening… I can hear you.”
The tension built further.
Jeong-won shook his head slowly, trying not to break down.
—“Where are you? I just wanted to check if you were upset about earlier.”
“…Ah… I… Can I call you back later? I’m sorry.”
He struggled to keep his voice composed, hiding the tremor in his throat.
When he reached for the phone, Tae-hee teasingly lifted it out of reach.
—“What are you doing?”
“Washing… My hands are wet. I’ll call you back soon.”
—“You could’ve just told me. Okay, so… you’re not mad, right? I hope you’re taking us seriously. Honestly, I don’t think it’d be weird if we started dating. Let’s talk more later?”
“…Yeah. I’ll hang up now.”
As soon as the call ended, Jeong-won exhaled shakily.
His heart was pounding so loudly, it felt like it might burst from his chest.
He was terrified that Dahyun had heard something—or would find out what was happening.
And he was even more afraid of the person who created this situation.
“Should I have just told your friend what we were doing?”
“I… I’m sorry. I won’t… I’m sorry.”
“You think he’ll still want to date you if he finds out you’re sleeping with your brother’s ex-fiancé?”
“No—please, I’m sorry. I’m sorry… I really am…”
Jeong-won started apologizing, over and over, even though he didn’t know exactly what for.
It was only now—when Tae-hee finally heard the words he had been waiting for—that his expression began to soften slightly.
It was pitiful.
The way this body suffered because the heart had taken too long to catch up.
After a brief pause, Tae-hee moved again.
Each breath Jeong-won took was shallow.
Even when he cried and begged him to stop, Tae-hee ignored it, pushing until he got what he wanted.
“…Hah.”
Jeong-won’s face was soaked with tears and saliva, trembling slightly.
He couldn’t meet Tae-hee’s eyes and turned his head away.
Barely able to hold himself together, his hand moved to his lower abdomen, as if to protect himself.
“…Hic…”
“Huuuh…”
As Kwon Tae-hee reached out after hearing the sound of sorrowful crying, Seo Jeong-won’s slender shoulders flinched in surprise.
His eyes, which had barely opened after being tightly shut, held more shock and fear than sorrow or resentment.
“Look at me.”
“What happened today must never happen again. It means you’re only to do what I tell you—but I wonder if you understood that properly this time, Seo Jeong-won.”
As Seo Jeong-won nodded hastily, strands of hair clumped with sweat swayed along.
A faintly sweet scent—like that of a child who had just eaten candy—lingered softly in the air.
“I… I understand. I won’t… I won’t do it again.”
Was it over now?
Overcoming his fear and barely managing to meet Kwon Tae-hee’s gaze, Seo Jeong-won slowly closed his eyes as Kwon Tae-hee lowered his head.
The presence that had been filling him so tightly began to move again.
***
After that day, Seo Jeong-won kept entirely to himself, going only between his home and the flower shop.
When Kang Da-hyeon contacted him, he avoided the meetings with every excuse he could come up with.
Naturally, he didn’t go to the orchard. After being rejected time and again, even Kang Da-hyeon stopped asking him for help.
A monotonous routine followed.
Seo Jeong-won devoted himself entirely to tending the flower shop.
Alarmed by Kwon Tae-hee’s remark that he wasn’t spending his own money, he brought in a large amount of foliage plants, succulents, and cacti from the nursery using the card Kwon Tae-hee had given him.
Little by little, customers began visiting the flower shop.
Word had spread widely that if you bought one plant, you’d get a free succulent.
Every Friday, he rode in a vehicle waiting in front of the flower shop from the morning to go to Kwon Tae-hee’s house.
The house was always empty when he arrived.
Seo Jeong-won either sat in the living room waiting for Kwon Tae-hee to return, or moved according to the instructions of the man who had introduced himself as Tae-hee’s secretary.
It wasn’t anything grand—just things like eating a meal first or taking a walk in the garden.
Once the secretary left, Kwon Tae-hee would return not long afterward.
From then on, the same pattern repeated without change: from Friday until early Monday morning, they had sex, took pheromone showers, had more sex, and then more pheromone showers.
Sometimes, he was allowed to go out into the garden to water the flowers and trees.
Occasionally, he would welcome Kwon Tae-hee home from work.
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