-80-
Haah… Jihoon sighed and gestured for Juhwan to sit down. Kyung Juhwan had a persistent streak, pursuing his own way until he got what he wanted unless it was a situation beyond his control. It was better to just comply with his demands to some extent and get rid of him quickly rather than arguing back and forth in the store.
“Manager, two lattes please. One with four shots.”
“Seems like you’re under a lot of stress.”
“I want to scream after kicking out all the customers.”
“Oh my, what a coincidence. Me too.”
Jihoon awkwardly smiled at the manager’s response, who was smiling mechanically as usual, and muttered while rolling his eyes. He’s hinting at me again today. Regardless, the manager asked for six espresso shots from the staff and started steaming milk. Looking at Jihoon, who seemed completely drained, he asked: “By the way, who is that person? Your friend?”
“Jeonggwan’s friend.”
“Seems like he knows the boss too?”
“Someone I desperately wish I didn’t know.”
Ah… The manager glanced at Juhwan, then smiled slightly and handed Jihoon a tray with two cups topped with excellent latte art. The blue cup has four shots.
“Thank you-.”
Jihoon took the tray and headed towards where Juhwan was sitting. The manager’s lips curled up into a genuine smile as he watched Jihoon’s retreating back.
“It seems like that side desperately wants to be entangled…”
Jihoon put the tray down in front of Juhwan, sighed once, and gulped down the latte. I should drink this quickly and leave. Maybe because they hired a top-class barista as manager, the latte was neither too hot nor too cold, just perfectly smooth as it went down his throat.
“Are you still a beta?”
However, at Juhwan’s sudden provocation, Jihoon glared at him coldly as he put down his cup.
“…Don’t pick a fight.”
“It’s just something I’ve noticed about you recently.”
“I couldn’t care less about anything you have to say.”
“When we were young, I think I got angry because you said you were a beta.”
“That’s absolute nonsense.”
Here we go again with this lunatic. Jihoon looked at Juhwan with exactly that expression. He had no idea what Juhwan was trying to say, but it was obvious he was going to say something irritating, so Jihoon downed the rest of his latte in one go. Leaving quickly was the best strategy.
“I mean we should see each other often.”
“Cough-!”
“Ah, how disgusting.”
At Juhwan’s words, which felt like a curse, Jihoon choked and started coughing. What do you mean see each other often? You and me? Are you crazy? Jihoon had a lot he wanted to say, but only coughs came out. And Juhwan, who was watching Jihoon with a disgusted expression, soon crossed his arms and turned his gaze towards the kitchen window where bread was being made.
* * *
Heejin, dressed in a stylish sky-blue suit, entered the office inside the gallery. Although no one was there, an envelope on the desk suggested someone had been there. After pondering for a moment what it could be, Heejin sat down with an “Ah-” and opened the envelope.
“…”
There wasn’t much content in the documents. It was just information about how her son met someone, his relationships with people around him, his birth year, and so on. Heejin flipped through a few pages indifferently and was about to press the button to call the manager for coffee.
“…Won Hospital?”
This time, unlike her previous nonchalance, Heejin hurriedly reopened the envelope. Since she had seen it last, the content she was looking for was right on top.
[Born on April 9th at Hanbyeol Obstetrics. Note/ Although born at Hanbyeol Obstetrics, after being diagnosed as a dominant omega, the puzzled family and medical staff transferred him the next day to Won Hospital, which has specialized pediatric omega facilities.]
“…The day after April 9th?”
Heejin took a deep breath. April 10th. It was a day she had never forgotten in her life. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears. Heejin, who had been staring blankly at the document, quickly pulled out her phone.
“It’s me. Can you look into one more thing for me?”
Despite her calm voice, Heejin’s hands were trembling slightly. Something she had only felt vaguely unsure about for decades might actually turn out to be true.
‘…My becoming dominant.’
‘…It’s Junjae.’
‘…Is this a good thing?’
It was so long ago she couldn’t remember when exactly, but she recalled the small back of a child who was very depressed after hearing from her father that even after becoming dominant, he couldn’t do better than this, that his recessive nature was unavoidable. It was the first and last time she saw the child’s eyes filled with resentment, and Heejin could never forget that look.
Why did you make me dominant?
Everyone who knew about her son presenting as dominant thought it was thanks to her. Because of this, her husband treated her even better, and her position in the Song family became more secure. At first, she was happy and proud too. How proud she was of herself for her recessive son becoming dominant because of her.
However, after seeing that resentful look in the child’s eyes, she always lived with a guilty conscience. But since she couldn’t undo it, she lived in silence, pretending not to know. But now, to think that it might not have been because of her. Moreover, that it might be the person her son is currently dating…
Her son was only now starting to show signs of life, but what if he resents and hates that person when he finds out this fact? Heejin’s mind became complicated.
* * *
[Hyung~ I’m going to have a beer with my friends after work today.]
Junjae’s eyes, which had been looking at the third quarter planning document, quickly moved to the phone placed next to the document. Usually, messages from Jeonggwan always made him smile before even replying, but the content he saw in the preview this time didn’t make Junjae smile.
Even though he had been with Jeonggwan for three days straight, he didn’t want to be apart. He had been happy all day thinking about pretending not to know and taking Jeonggwan to his house after work, but he didn’t expect friends to appear as obstacles. Even if they didn’t have sex today, he wanted to eat together, have snacks, and sleep holding each other…
Junjae, not knowing how to handle the rising disappointment, just blinked his eyes and stared at the chat screen with Jeonggwan. But he couldn’t tell him not to go, so he thought he should just wait until the gathering was over and then go pick up Jeonggwan.
[Okay. When you’re done, I’ll come pick you u|]
However, Junjae’s hand stopped as he was writing the sentence about picking him up. Suddenly, he felt anxious. What if Jeonggwan thinks he’s pressuring him? What if he thinks Junjae is too obsessive and loses interest?
[Okay. When you’re done, should I come pick you up?]
Junjae erased the last part of the sentence and rewrote it to ask for Jeonggwan’s opinion as much as possible. Even then, he hesitated to send it. Even last Saturday at his house, when Jeonggwan said he wasn’t going anywhere before going to the bathroom, Junjae had stared at the door Jeonggwan had gone through for a long time. Although Jeonggwan seemed to have said that to reassure him, Junjae couldn’t help it. Even today, he had secretly gone down to the first floor to see Jeonggwan three times. He only felt at ease when Jeonggwan was in his sight.
Secretary Oh had accidentally sent a picture titled [Squid Guardian] in the afternoon, but Junjae couldn’t accept it. To him, Jeonggwan was like a small, cute hamster, and he thought surely others would see him the same way. Squid was definitely not right.
“…”
In the end, after hesitating several times whether to send it or not, Junjae sent the message. Was he being too obsessive? This relationship, these actions, these emotions were all new to him, and he didn’t know how to control them. He didn’t know to what extent he was allowed, how much he could interfere.
Ding-.
[Pickup is… possible.]
Ah… Junjae buried his face on the desk. Jeonggwan was determined to tease him, always quoting things Junjae had said before they started dating. Once at the cafe, he had ordered all the desserts Jeonggwan wanted, and when it was time to pay, Jeonggwan had teased him by making all sorts of cool expressions and saying, “Payment… is it manageable?” exhausting Junjae.
Another time, after having dinner together and just about to send Jeonggwan home, Jeonggwan’s mother had asked for two boxes of grapefruit to make grapefruit tea, so wanting to spend more time together, Junjae had followed Jeonggwan to the fruit store in front of his house. But the two boxes of grapefruit seemed more expensive than Jeonggwan had thought, and he had muttered to himself, “I guess grapefruit is expensive whether it’s for dogs or pigs,” giggling alone. Junjae had been so flustered then that he almost dropped the grapefruit boxes he was holding for Jeonggwan.
“Hah…”
And this time, it seemed like he was quoting Junjae’s words “Dinner is possible.” Junjae shook his head and smiled as if Jeonggwan was hopeless. Although Jeonggwan was serious about teasing him, Junjae didn’t dislike it. In fact, he even liked it because Jeonggwan was remembering and teasing him with his own words.
“…I’m really in deep.”
Would Jeonggwan say it’s creepy if he knew that Junjae even liked this? Junjae’s smiling face hardened a bit. Since he was worried no matter what, he felt like he should directly ask Jeonggwan how much involvement was okay.
