Saehyeon looked down at Taesol sitting beside him with fresh eyes. Wearing a short-sleeved shirt with blue stripes on a white background, a ribbon tied at the collar, and dark navy shorts, he looked like a little sailor concept doll.
‘How pretty.’
It was something Saehyeon thought every time he saw Taesol. But perhaps children express it even more honestly—they clung to Taesol while singing about how pretty, how pretty he was.
Saehyeon, who had been watching that scene contentedly, soon blinked in confusion.
It was because Taesol, who he thought would play well with them, became flustered and started looking around. Anyone could see he was looking for Saehyeon. As soon as he found the person he was looking for, his eyebrows curved downward above his round eyes. His pink lips parted at the same time.
‘Appaaaa….’
It was a really cute but at the same time pitiful expression. It was also eyes full of trust, as if he knew Saehyeon would save him.
Saehyeon, who unknowingly plucked the child out of the small crowd like pulling a radish, held the child in his arms. He wouldn’t be able to hold him for long, but he could hold him for a moment. At least until the child escaped the crisis. The moment when chubby arms wrapped around his neck came vividly to mind.
“…?”
Just now something, the feeling was strange. Saehyeon pointlessly rubbed his chest where he’d felt an odd sensation. Then his gaze landed on the ice cream he’d been eating until just now. On top of the ice cream neatly contained in the cup, even a horseshoe-shaped churro sprinkled with sugar was stuck in.
It was his first successful purchase after coming outside. It tasted good, but it was quite expensive given the special circumstances of summer, beachside, and a food truck.
Though it was going to be bought with Gil Taeseo’s card, so it was actually a good thing.
‘I must have eaten something cold too suddenly in the hot weather.’
Having barely found a convincing reason, Saehyeon leaned to the side. It was to caution the child who was nom-nomming and scooping up ice cream.
“Eat slowly.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Holding the half-remaining cup in his hand, Saehyeon slowly sprawled out. From yesterday until today, he really felt like he’d fallen into another world. As he digested those breathless situations, his heart, which had been a mess, had become surprisingly light.
An unfamiliar place, a clear sky, the sea and the child. And… Gil Taeseo. Perhaps while going through such things, the heavy emotions and worries had been clearly filtered out. He suddenly had this thought too. Could it be that Gil Taeseo had caused this knowing it would turn out like this?
‘No way. It’s obvious he dragged me along for a business trip.’
Because he had to leave quickly but I was being annoying, because he didn’t want to see me looking pathetic. Whatever the reason, it could easily be attached.
But every time he came up with such plausible reasons, other things followed. For example, large, pure white feet that must have had sand grains clinging all over them.
He was getting curious. About whether he could give clear answers to all these ambiguous things once he recovered all his memories.
As if reading those thoughts, the next wave rushed toward the shore where Saehyeon was sitting. Sweetly and stickily.
“Kyaah…!”
The cup slipping from his hands that had loosened due to excessive contemplation was an instant. Colorful ice cream dripped down all over his clothes.
“Ah, shit…”
‘This is definitely expensive clothing.’
The clothes he’d worn yesterday had gone missing after being soaked in seawater, and what he was wearing now was new clothes Gil Taeseo had prepared. Considering his track record of throwing expensive clothes at him like they were three-for-ten-thousand-won market clothes, this definitely wouldn’t be cheap either.
Feeling dismayed, Saehyeon jumped up from his seat. He felt like he should go to the bathroom and scrub it before it stained more.
“Um, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Together…”
Then Yoon Changwook awkwardly moved to follow him. The child was the same.
It wasn’t anything else, just going to the bathroom to wash clothes. There was no need to go with a huge man and a child trailing after him. Looking around quickly, even the bathroom sign was nearby.
“It’s fine. I’m just going to the bathroom to wash my clothes for a moment.”
After repeatedly asking them to stay, even adding the word “please,” the child and Yoon Changwook awkwardly sat back down. Who knew going to the bathroom alone would be this difficult. This was all because of an Alpha whose obsession had reached its peak. Saehyeon shook his head.
Even in the beachside bathroom he’d barely managed to enter, the problem wasn’t easily solved. Saehyeon’s clothes as he came out shaking the water off his hands were actually in worse shape. A sweet smell rose from the front of his garment where pigment had spread together with water.
Saehyeon, who let out a deep sigh, turned around to go back.
“…Hyung?”
Still, since he’d tried to wipe it off, he thought he could save some face. Honestly, he was the only one concerned about it—Gil Taeseo definitely wouldn’t care.
“Hyung, right?”
“Ah…!”
The thoughts that had been continuing uselessly were cut off by another’s intervention. His dry body was suddenly pulled back by a grabbing hand. Saehyeon frowned as his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
One person was caught in his vision that was forcibly turned. Considerably tall with a moderately solid build, jet-black hair and eyes. A man with an impression that seemed like cold air would flow out if he kept his mouth tightly shut. To put it nicely, a handsome man who looked cold and rational; to put it badly, someone who really seemed like he’d bring bad luck.
He had been hearing “hyung, hyung” from behind for a while. But he never thought it was referring to him. That made sense—Saehyeon didn’t really know anyone who would call him hyung. At most, maybe a convenience store part-timer he’d met as a coworker.
“Who are you?”
As expected, the man he faced was a complete stranger to Saehyeon. For a moment, the thought that the 28-year-old Lee Saehyeon might know him crossed his mind, but so what. If he’d been a truly important person, there’s no way he wouldn’t know even in this state. Either contact would have been made or he’d know his home address—some point of contact would have been created. If it wasn’t to that degree, there was no need or time to care. That was the conclusion Saehyeon had reached.
‘It could be a scam or a cult.’
Maybe it was because he wore worn-out clothes and walked around tottering like a sick person. After turning 28, Saehyeon had quite often become a target of suspicious people. So naturally, these thoughts came to him. In such cases, if he scrunched up his face and spat out a few words, they’d soon back off saying something about hell or whatever.
But this opponent was on a different trajectory from other existing cult members. Far from loosening, the grip tightened even more, making Saehyeon let out a small groan.
“…I asked who you are.”
“Ugh, just who the hell are…!”
He tried his best to pull his hand away, but it didn’t budge. He’d thought he’d become fairly healthy, but it seemed he still had a long way to go.
Just as he was thinking he’d have to kick his shin or yell to call Yoon Changwook. A pure white hand that suddenly intervened roughly gripped the man’s forearm. Veins bulged up on the large hand that squeezed strongly like a claw.
“He asked who you are. Fuck, are your ear holes blocked?”
His dry shoulders flinched at the warmth touching his back. When he raised his head, he saw a smooth jawline. Gil Taeseo, who had tilted his head as if displeased, was standing right there.
It was truly a ghost-like appearance.
The hand that wouldn’t come off no matter how much force was applied fell away in an instant by Gil Taeseo. Saehyeon shook his arm that had regained freedom several times in the air. On his arm that remained pale no matter how much sunlight he got outside, red handprints were already rising. Perhaps seeing that, Gil Taeseo clicked his tongue quietly.
Even with this series of events, the opponent didn’t easily back down. Leaving the arm with worse marks than Saehyeon’s unattended, the man slightly scrunched his face. A faint contempt and dissatisfaction were evident in his gaze.
“…It’s you again?”
‘Again?’
He’d thought something seemed off with how persistently he’d been acting since earlier. It seemed he knew not only Saehyeon but Gil Taeseo as well. Or he was pretending to. As Saehyeon was about to examine the opponent across from him more closely, Gil Taeseo grabbed Saehyeon’s shoulder half-embracingly.
“Now even any dog or cow acts like they know us.”
The fingers resting on his prominent shoulder joint even tapped lightly. Saehyeon’s gaze naturally moved to the large hand. When the man who saw that gesture frowned, somehow that arm seemed to bind even more firmly.
“Let’s just go our way. While words as a means still work.”
With those words, Gil Taeseo took a large step forward. Being led by that arm as he walked, Saehyeon tilted his head. It was because of a feeling of something clinging persistently. Though he was definitely someone he didn’t know, somehow he felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.
It was Gil Taeseo again who cut off the thoughts that had been continuing as if they would connect or not.
“I thought you’d throw another fit, but you did well. Keep doing it like this from now on.”
He suddenly appeared and extracted him, and now he was suddenly praising him. Not knowing what was going on, Saehyeon could only roll his eyes and give this answer.
“…What are you saying.”
Gil Taeseo’s calm gaze swept over Saehyeon’s mumbling face. Lee Saehyeon’s face was surprisingly unconcerned. It made his gritted teeth after confirming the face of the person who had grabbed Lee Saehyeon feel pointless.
‘Quite some time has passed, after all.’
Hadn’t several years passed since that incident? No matter how shocking an event was, it was bound to fade with time. Of course, he hadn’t expected him to not only not be shaken but even pretend not to know.
Gil Taeseo, who recalled the face that had been miserably distorted, let out a small snort. Then he opened his mouth again as if deliberately refreshing the atmosphere.
“Anyway, you said you’d empty my wallet, and this is it?”
“What? Hey, if a cup of ice cream is 5,000 won, that’s already price destruction. You know? You just got robbed by some ice cream truck.”
As expected, Saehyeon immediately got riled up and responded. The identity of the man who was so easily pushed to the back of his mind came back to him only a bit more time after that.
