Just as the food they ordered arrived, the conversation naturally broke off and silence settled between them. In a place filled with food portions too generous for two people, Hyedam’s gaze fell on the black tea.
Come to think of it, this was their first meal together since they’d reunited. As if confirming he wasn’t just an ordinary marketing team leader, Leo always had lunch appointments with someone, and since there hadn’t been any overtime yet, he left work right on time.
The time they spent alone together wasn’t very long. Even during breakfast, he was busy preparing to go to work. Even when they sat facing each other briefly to eat breakfast, he would look at his tablet as is, while Hyedam briefed him on the day’s schedule.
Since Robert would appear in less than ten minutes like that, even at the company bustling with people, there was no small talk mixed in except for absolutely necessary conversations related to schedules or work.
It was the first time he looked at appetizing food but felt no desire to eat.
“Robert is going to England for a bit, so you’ll need to accompany me to tomorrow’s gathering—would that be very inconvenient?”
His light tone and nuance from a moment ago had felt like personal flirting. That’s why he’d hesitated and expressed his refusal by shaking his head slightly. But if it was work, if it was an extension of work, he had no choice.
As Leo picked up his fork and knife, Hyedam picked up his teacup. He took a sip of the warm, strong black tea and tried to slowly savor the taste. It was because his emotions, which had been calm, began to fluctuate unstably as the time alone together grew longer.
Frustration, stuffiness, heart-pounding, resentment, gladness, excitement.
He could fully understand the negative emotions, but he couldn’t accept his heart pounding at the sight of him eating with proper posture. Hyedam’s gaze landed on his hands, which made the normal-sized fork and knife look small.
Soon, Hyedam saw the watch revealed under his slightly rolled-up shirt sleeves and lowered his head.
“What time is the gathering?”
“7:30 PM.”
“If you tell me the location and purpose of the gathering, I’ll prepare accordingly.”
“Hyedam-ssi.”
Hyedam, who had been looking at the beautifully plated food without touching any of the prepared utensils, raised his head at Leo’s call.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“Yes.”
Since he asked directly, Hyedam also answered directly.
“Why?”
“There probably aren’t many people who feel comfortable around their workplace superior.”
“It seems like that’s not all there is to it, though.”
At first, he gazed at his green eyes, but soon Hyedam lowered his eyes and slightly flinched his fingertips at the unusually loud sound of utensils clashing.
People instinctively have no choice but to look where sound comes from. And it’s also unavoidable for one’s gaze to keep going to what they like. Following that instinct faithfully, Hyedam found himself caught in those green eyes once again.
“Relax, show me some openings.”
He who had been keeping his back straight until just moments ago was now leaning back comfortably in his chair.
“It’s not like we’re only working for a day or two—are you going to stay on guard like that every time, drawing lines and maintaining a defensive attitude?”
As if reading his mind, each pointed remark made Hyedam’s jaw tighten.
“If my behavior is uncomfor—”
“Wrong.”
“Pardon?”
“I said your answer is wrong. You’re listening to everything I’m saying negatively right now and saying you’ll fix it. If I said I don’t like you, would you change your personality and appearance too?”
“If you dislike me, then a transfer to another team—”
If scents had personalities, the current coffee scent seemed to be growling lowly. Every word met with a growling “no.” Even the words about quitting work if he disliked him couldn’t be finished completely before the scent that seemed ready to pounce and devour him.
“Have I done something wrong?”
At his low voice, frowning and narrowing his eyes, Hyedam quickly shook his head.
“No.”
You’ve done plenty wrong. Really a lot, tremendously a lot, so much it overflows. But he hasn’t done anything wrong.
“…Eat comfortably. And from tomorrow, you don’t need to come to my house in the morning, so come to the office by 9.”
Along with a deep sigh, the gaze looking at him disappeared. No. Not just the gaze—Leo completely disappeared from that space. Right before leaving through the door, he briefly held up his cell phone and that was all.
Left alone in the spacious room, Hyedam released all the tension from his body and slumped back against the chair. The black tea he’d taken a sip of, the sausage Leo had been cutting. Though the table was full, he looked at the food with barely any traces of being touched and closed his eyes.
“Why am I throwing a fit? I’m the one who’s pissed off.”
You’re the one who showed up suddenly while having lost your memory. You’re the one who shook everything up and left without any regrets. You say it’s coincidence, but you’re the one who appeared before me again. And after all that, you’re the one who can’t remember anything.
Why are you doing this to me?
Are we going to hold hands and play pat-a-cake just because you’re my workplace superior? Are we going to lock eyes and press our bellies together? No, we’re not. What do you mean you’re not an alpha. Just looking at your parents, it’s obvious you have unique traits. That’s why you say with your own mouth that you’re an alpha but not an alpha while spreading pheromones everywhere.
After letting all the strength drain from his body while looking at the ceiling for a moment, Hyedam straightened himself up and picked up his fork and spoon. No appetite, not even hungry. But if he didn’t eat this prepared food and felt hungry in the afternoon, that would feel even more miserable.
He shoved the spoon deep into the soft omelet, scooped up a mouthful of the contents and put it in his mouth, while simultaneously stabbing the salad with his fork.
To hell with formality, form, and table manners. As Hyedam ate a bite of everything within reach, he put down his spoon and fork almost throwing them at the sound of his phone alarm.
12:50 PM.
It was an alarm indicating ten minutes left of lunch break.
As if he hadn’t eaten ravenously, Hyedam wiped his mouth with a napkin, drank the remaining black tea, stood up, and meticulously straightened his clothes. And when he opened the closed door and went out, the first thing he encountered was Leo leaning against the wall next to the door, on a call with someone.
The moment he appeared, Leo ended the call, and on the way back to the company, there was no conversation between them. He couldn’t even feel the coffee scent that always hovered around him fawningly. Without entering the marketing team meeting he always participated in, Hyedam spent the entire afternoon gathering supplementary materials he’d been told to collect. And before leaving work, he placed the organized report on his desk.
Until he bowed his head in greeting and left, there was no conversation between them.
* * *
“What about Komom?”
Leo stepped on the garden stones and slowly descended to sit comfortably in an empty chair.
“I put her to sleep. Whenever she comes to Korea, she has so many things she wants to do that she doesn’t think about sleeping.”
“Why don’t you just move here completely?”
“…Just watch your fishing rod properly.”
“Hunting is fun, fishing isn’t.”
On a dark night, Leo glanced indifferently at the fishing rod cast into the river with only subtle lighting, crossed his long legs, and looked not at the fishing rod but at the flowing river. In a place where the wind blew fiercely, full of December’s cold air, the two men stared only at the flowing river and fishing rod without moving.
“Komom. She’s pretty picky, so how did you woo her?”
At Leo’s words breaking the silence, a small laugh burst from Evan’s mouth. He’d suddenly shown up late at night without even calling, acting all serious by himself, but the words he finally brought out were related to romance, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Time and sincerity.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
After pondering for a long time and finally speaking up, all he got back was laughter and not even a proper answer, so Leo didn’t hide his sullen feelings.
“Plum.”
“Are you awake?”
Following the presence, at the hands embracing him from behind, Leo raised his hand and clasped his.
“I woke up for a moment and Evan wasn’t there. When did you get here? Looking at how cold you are, it seems like you’ve been outside for a while.”
At Komom’s affectionate actions of patting his chest a few times and kissing his head, a smile formed on Leo’s lips, which had been stiff until now.
“Koko, you’re facing the wrong direction.”
“What’s wrong about it? I’m taking care of my own son. What are you two doing with fishing rods out in a place where you won’t even catch fish in this weather? What if you both catch colds?”
Siwoo’s voice and tone, which had been as sweet as cotton candy to him, wasn’t so pleasant when directed at Evan.
“That’s what I’m saying. I came because I have worries, but Daddy won’t answer me properly, so I was about to leave.”
“What? How I wooed her?”
“Yes, did you hear?”
“I told you. Plum.”
When he came earlier and was called “Plum,” he thought his fetal name was being called. His fetal name was Plum, and even now Komom occasionally called him Plum.
“Plum?”
“Every time we met, he’d give me just one plum, and wouldn’t even tell me where he bought them.”
“And you fell for that?”
“Would it be simply because of plums? Anyway, our son’s problem is that someone full of delicious bread scent won’t stay by his side.”
Leo’s expression hardened as he watched Siwoo, who after briefly hugging and patting him from behind, sat on Evan’s thigh even though there were many empty chairs.
“Bread scent?”
“…”
A heavy silence descended among the three.
