There was no immediate answer to the question.
Seo Jeong-won moved his lips slightly, then again expressed his thanks.
His straight and pretty hand fluttered gently as if blowing away moisture.
He applied ointment thinly over the dried disinfectant and even put on a bandage.
Only then did the woman who looked more precious than anyone else straighten his bent knee.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes, and… Since yesterday, while taking care of the garden, I discovered many plants that hadn’t lost their life. Among them was an Alocasia that had just begun to unfurl its leaves.
The moment I saw it, I thought I wanted to give it as a gift to Kwon Tae-hee.
Though there’s a condition attached, I did receive help after all.
“Can I take this too?”
Alocasia was a plant that customers who visited the garden often bought as gifts.
But it seemed too shabby to give as a gift to him, so I simply asked if I could take it.
“Do as you like.”
“I will take good care of it.”
“All right.”
Seo Jeong-won’s answer, as if to tell him not to worry, was met with Kwon Tae-hee’s suspicious ears.
A quick glance around the garden revealed how poorly Seo cared for his plants.
Most were dried up or left as bare twigs.
Surely there should have been flowering plants, but none were visible there.
“Well, it’s not that I’m bad at growing plants. No, that’s right… right.”
Seo Jeong-won started to excuse himself but trailed off.
Seeing Kwon Tae-hee, who only shrugged without much reaction, he lowered his head deeply.
His neck, which had been pale white, turned red.
Seo Jeong-won rubbed his hot cheek with the back of his hand while holding the shopping bag with the pot.
“This place was run by my aunt and uncle. I mostly did repotting, cleaning, and watering, and just watched the plants… grow. I never really grew them myself.”
Words poured out like an excuse, even though no one had asked.
Kwon Tae-hee nodded as if uninterested.
He turned his body first. His long, straight hand neatly pulled down the tie knotted under his neck.
Unlike before, loosening the shirt buttons, he exuded a more relaxed vibe.
As soon as they left the garden, Kwon Tae-hee took off his jacket, approached the man waiting by 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, looking at Seo Jeong-won’s reddened face as he finally got in the car, thought he couldn’t keep coming like this every time.
Before going around to the back of the car, Kwon Tae-hee took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and exchanged a few words with Manager Jung, who lit the cigarette for him.
Occasionally, his cold gaze drifted toward the garden.
“Should we tidy up? They seem to be looking for a successor anyway. It doesn’t seem like they run it with much affection. I feel there’s no need to keep Seo Jeong-won all the way out here.”
“Executive director?”
“Shall we look for someone to take over the garden?”
“I’ll check.”
Kwon Tae-hee crushed the cigarette butt into the portable ashtray Jung handed him.
White smoke stretched long through the air.
“It’s hot.”
Despite the sticky air, humid wind, and pungent smell of earth mixed in, it wasn’t unpleasant at all.
***
Kwon Tae-hee occasionally looked at Seo Jeong-won, who was hanging on the car window.
His small hand rested on the door trim, and blinking his already big eyes softly, a trivial sight caught his attention.
Breaking the silence was none other than him.
“You don’t often come this far, right?”
Kwon Tae-hee put down his tablet and asked.
Startled by the sudden voice, Seo Jung-won trembled slightly.
His earlobes began to redden gradually.
Heat spread to his neck.
Kwon Tae-hee was amazed because he had never seen an Omega’s skin blush so deeply.
Usually, when embarrassed or shy, faces turn red, but Seo Jeong-won blushed like a ripe peach.
Would white wax-like skin still show color like that if you squeezed and released it with your hand?
“Ah… I guess so. I’ve lived mostly in the southwest.”
“Your friends?”
“Some moved to Seoul, but not many. They’re not close. I do have a friend I’ve known since childhood who inherited an orchard and is still in the southwest.”
His calm voice was very pleasant to hear.
Despite his youthful face, his tone was quite husky.
“Would you like to talk about your parents?”
At Kwon Tae-hee’s question, Seo Jeong-won’s expression stiffened.
He pondered how to explain before opening his mouth.
“My parents… died in a traffic accident just before I started elementary school. My brother was in sixth grade. My parents ran a business, you know? They drove a small truck and sold food early at construction sites.”
“Is that even possible?”
“In the past, yes. It was illegal street vending, but it was common back then. Now, people usually eat at nearby restaurants.”
Seo Jeong-won added this explanation awkwardly, and Kwon Tae-hee nodded as if encouraging him to continue.
“I went with them a few times. When Dad put up a blue tent, I set up plastic tables and chairs… Then the workers from the site came one by one, asking if the food was ready, and sat down.”
“Since it was breakfast sales, they went out very early. So, that day… the day of the accident, they also left very early. The truck… looked like a truck, but smaller than normal. Small, so…”
Seo Jeong-won repeated ‘small’ several times before stopping, biting his lip.
His eyelashes trembled like waves.
“Ah.”
“A dump truck from the construction site didn’t see them,” he said.
“Because it was too small.”
Seo Jeong-won smiled quietly with reddened eyes.
“That’s how they passed. My brother and I were too young for the funeral… Aunt said we didn’t need it. So, they just stayed in the mortuary for three days, and my aunt took care of the cremation arrangements. My uncle made an agreement with the construction site manager… But since I was so young, I don’t remember the details.”
Having told the story bravely, Seo Jeong-won lightly shook his shoulders.
“Should we talk about Aunt and Uncle too?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“All right.”
“Did anything happen in your life?”
While checking Seo Jeong-won’s financial status, Kwon Tae-hee naturally learned about his aunt and uncle’s misdeeds.
They had exploited the siblings’ upbringing as leverage for insurance money and compensation after the parents’ death.
[He] was extorted.
“I think I just… lived like everyone else.”
He said he was abused.
But since the village where the brothers lived was so small, even if they reported domestic violence, everyone including the head of the local police station knew each other, so they just gave a mild warning and let it go.
The abuse continued, but no one helped.
The brothers stopped reporting it from the following year when they started living with their aunt and uncle.
“Just an ordinary life.”
Seo Jeong-won held back his words, unaware that Kwon Tae-hee already knew.
“I see.”
Listening to the low voice, Kwon Tae-hee thought of Seo Gyu-won.
Why would someone try so hard to save a brother who abandoned him as soon as he became an adult?
Sure, he might be in desperate need of money, but still, it didn’t seem like they had such a strong bond that he’d go through with such a ridiculous contract on his behalf.
Could it be because of some unforgettable memory?
Or maybe it was the money that the brother had consistently sent until he became an adult.
He never acted like a real brother, but could that money, just because it came from “his brother,” really be a reason to keep Seo Gyu-won alive?
“Was life still ordinary after your brother left?”
“Yes, it was ordinary. Around that time, my aunt started a flower shop, so after school, I was always at the flower shop. I was mostly in charge of watering. Installing a sprinkler system was expensive, so… someone had to do it by hand. When plants drink water, their leaves and stems, like this, like this—”
Seo Jeong-won dropped his hands down, then opened them up like sprouts growing.
Seeing that, Kwon Tae-hee smiled without realizing it.
His well-shaped lips curved softly.
“It was really fascinating and endearing, so I found myself watching them often.”
“I thought you were just assigned to the task and didn’t really enjoy it, but maybe not.”
“Maybe. I’m not sure… When I water them, rainbows show up sometimes? They’re really pretty. If you come by sometime, Vice President, would you like me to show you?”
At his cautious question, Kwon Tae-hee smiled.
“Sure, show me.”
When Kwon Tae-hee picked up his tablet again, Seo Jeong-won straightened up his posture as well.