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“So cute…”
Looking at the photo of Won Junjae with his face flushed from the spiciness, Jeonggwan felt that people are all the same after all, and Junjae, who had momentarily seemed distant due to his wealth, felt close again. Right. What’s important is the desire to be together, not the price. He would be happy even if Junjae gave him a 600,000 won couple ring, and Junjae would probably feel the same. Jeonggwan shook off the thought that the rings he had prepared were shabby, even if only for a moment.
[What time does hyung finish work on Saturday?]
He thought Junjae would like it if he met him on Saturday and put the ring on his finger himself. It wasn’t about engagement or any such embarrassing promise as Jihoon had mentioned, just couple rings to show they were taken even when far apart.
[I’ll be a bit late this Saturday due to the foundation’s charity party – Spicy food weakling but cute]
Ah, that charity party. These rich people seemed to have so many gatherings; Junjae seemed to attend an event or party at least once a month. Although Junjae usually stayed for less than 30 minutes, the party time was always late in the evening, which was awkward. Of all times, it had to be this Saturday, really not helpful…
[Where is it being held???]
No. It could be helpful. Since parties were usually held in luxury hotels, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to attend with Junjae and then go to a lounge or room to give him the ring while looking at the night view. No, it might even create a more romantic atmosphere.
[Season Hotel. Want to come together?]
Perfect. Jihoon had said the food there was delicious too, so it wouldn’t be bad to give it to him while having dinner at the restaurant.
[Yes!]
* * *
Since Junjae was coming directly to the event venue after a business trip to Busan, Jeonggwan had to enter the banquet hall separately. He had said he would just wait in the room since it would be awkward to go in alone without knowing anyone. However, Jihoon and Juhwan insisted that he couldn’t do that and should come along without being scared, so Jeonggwan arrived at the hotel wearing the suit Jihoon had bought him before.
“Aren’t you cold? That’s for the transitional season.”
“This is the only suit I have.”
“You’re a building owner now, didn’t you get a new one made?”
“If you spend money recklessly like that, you’ll ruin your life.”
“Hey, you should still get one made. You look like a kid who lost some weight and stole his brother’s clothes.”
Since Jihoon never wore the same clothes twice to parties, he was wearing a suit Jeonggwan had never seen before. Maybe because he was thin, the navy velvet suit looked good on him. However, Jeonggwan didn’t mention out loud that his friend’s shoulders were too raised, to avoid developing his trapezius muscles unnecessarily.
“Wow! Hyung… You look so cool!”
But our hyung was different. Jeonggwan stuck close to Juhwan’s side, freely expressing his admiration as the number one fan. Juhwan was wearing a black velvet suit of the same design as Jihoon’s, as if they had it made at the same place, but perhaps because he was tall and had a good physique, he looked just like a prince from a neighboring country.
“Look at that reaction. The discrimination is real…”
“Magpie Jihoon. You copied hyung’s clothes, but the class is clearly different.”
“Bullshit. He’s the one who copied me, you know?”
“What are you talking about? You must have copied him. Our hyung was thinking of that design from when he was in the womb.”
Jihoon was extremely annoyed by Jeonggwan’s excessive praise, saying “Do that to Junjae hyung!” while Juhwan thoroughly enjoyed the affection from his subscriber, bending his back backwards.
“Today seems to be quite a big event. A lot of adults have come.”
“I heard big aunt is here too.”
“Junjae hyung’s mom…?”
“Yeah.”
Whoa. At the unexpected news of his boyfriend’s mother, Jeonggwan readjusted his hastily worn suit. Ah, if he had known this, he should have had a new suit made as Jihoon suggested. Jeonggwan let out a groan.
“Hey, hey, Jeonggwan. The desserts are insane.”
However, faced with an array of desserts so luxurious and fancy that his eyes nearly popped out, Jeonggwan soon forgot such worries and approached the laid-out food as if entranced.
“What’s this mousse color? Mango?”
“Looks like pumpkin.”
“You can tell just by looking?”
Due to their occupational habit, Jeonggwan and Jihoon always exchanged opinions about the design or taste when they saw desserts, so as usual, they picked up the most eye-catching yellow tart and made guesses about what it was made of before tasting it. Juhwan stood by, listening quietly as if finding it interesting.
“Oh my, isn’t that Jihoon.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a neat beige suit approached and spoke to Jihoon as if he knew him, and Jeonggwan’s gaze, who was next to him, naturally shifted towards them.
“…Oh my.”
The middle-aged man covered his mouth as if surprised as soon as he saw Jeonggwan, and then looked him up and down with an expression that seemed to be checking if the person he was seeing was real.
“Mr. Seo, have you been well?”
And as if reading something in the man’s expression, Jihoon immediately stepped in front of Jeonggwan to separate him from the man, shielding Jeonggwan with his body. The man was President Seo Geumhyeok, a member of Heejin’s group who harbored an inferiority complex towards Junjae. Usually, he was so full of malice that it was better not to deal with him if possible, so Jihoon hoped that Geumhyeok would lose interest in Jeonggwan and just pass by.
“That’s right, isn’t it? This is the one Junjae is seeing these days.”
However, Geumhyeok, seemingly uninterested in anything else, lightly pushed Jihoon aside and approached Jeonggwan directly. And because Geumhyeok’s voice was not quiet, soon there were murmurs of “Is that him?” from here and there, and people started to focus on Jeonggwan. Surprised by this, Jeonggwan’s group could only stand there blankly, rolling their eyes without saying a word.
At that moment, a man who seemed to be Geumhyeok’s son, standing behind him, came forward with a sneer on his face. It was Geumhyeok’s second son, who had recently been divorced. He too was at the peak of his inferiority complex towards Junjae, so it was natural for him to rush to attack Jeonggwan, who was a perfect target for belittling by their standards, without hesitation.
“Wow-. Just as rumored.”
“…”
“Was Won Director under a lot of stress? He’s really going all out with his deviation?”
“…”
“Father, but look at how he’s dressed. It doesn’t even fit properly. This doesn’t even seem to be at the level of playing around, does it? He’s not paying any attention at all.”
And the attack hit home. Faced with those glances and words that seemed to look down on him while wearing fancy clothes, Jeonggwan was at a loss for how to react and turned his gaze away in confusion, but…
“…”
At the end of that gaze were only people who were all glamorous except for Jeonggwan. People wearing sparkling accessories and clothes, looking at him as if to say ‘Why are you here?’ with contemptuous gazes. No matter where he turned his head, there were only such gazes. Eventually, Jeonggwan’s head lowered towards the floor.
“…Ah.”
And in his view towards the floor, he saw the tart he was holding, still untasted, which clearly had the pumpkin paste he had mentioned on top. But how luxurious even the plate and the tart shell were… It felt like even this was something he shouldn’t be looking at.
“…”
Just a few minutes ago, he had been eager to taste this beautiful dessert, but now his appetite had suddenly disappeared. He just felt an overwhelming desire to run away from here right now.
“Mr. Seo, what are you…!”
“No, Mr. Seo. Your words are going too far.”
Seeing Jeonggwan looking so discouraged, which was completely unlike his usual character, Jihoon and Juhwan finally stepped in on Jeonggwan’s behalf. They wished they had let Jeonggwan wait in the room for Junjae as he had initially suggested. Feeling terribly sorry that Jeonggwan had to hear such words because of them, they showed more hostility than usual towards the Seo father and son.
“…Huh. Birds of a feather flock together, I see.”
“Indeed. I can understand Park Jihoon, but has the Kyung family reached the level to come here? I don’t think they were quite there yet.”
However, even they were thoroughly insulted. They were young and easy targets, already prone to subtle attacks when alone in places like this without allies. But now that they were surrounding the main subject of rumors, Jeonggwan, it wasn’t subtle anymore but outright aggression.
But something must have triggered Jihoon, because he, who usually just chattered like a cunning minister from a step behind, suddenly burst out in anger and stepped forward.
“Level? Who decided that level anyway?”
“Gwan Jihoon… Stop it.”
“No, let me. Are you at that level then? You come here even after getting divorced? Aren’t you ashamed?”
“What? You bastard! Why are you bringing that up now!”
Geumhyeok’s second son exploded first at Jihoon’s facts, his eyes wild as he strode over and grabbed Jihoon’s collar. Surprised by this, Juhwan and the surrounding people hurriedly tried to intervene and separate them, causing the fight to escalate. What started as a small verbal argument had now turned into a physical altercation.
“Oh my, what’s going on there!”
“Goodness…! Someone stop them!”
Because of this, the banquet instantly turned into chaos.
“…”
Feeling that it was all because of him, Jeonggwan could only tightly close his eyes and lower his head.
