At the harsh evaluation following the end of the brutal story, Chaehun burst into laughter. He’d heard many times that he looked kind, but it was the first time hearing he looked like an easy mark.
“Don’t hold back too much either. Rather, it’s better to show you have a bad temper.”
“What about your reputation?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. The purpose is just to show off that you’re my lover.”
Seunggeon’s advice was sincere. At the word “lover,” Chaehun only flinched inwardly. The word “lover” coming from Seunggeon’s mouth seemed to sound different from its original meaning.
“You might meet my great-aunt, or rather, the ringleader who orchestrated last night’s incident. Don’t fall for her provocations.”
At Seunggeon’s warning, Chaehun’s eyes widened, then he soon smiled. Meeting the great-uncle who was said to be greedy—that also seemed like it would become a scene of carnage.
“It’s a battlefield.”
Chaehun’s impression was singular. It really seemed like he was being dragged to an actual battlefield.
*
*
What decorated the main hall of the art museum were white roses. And from the fingertips of the chamber orchestra, a soft quartet resonated. Under the soft lighting, people dressed magnificently were spending their respective pleasant times critiquing paintings.
Of course, there were also people who weren’t enjoying themselves, and one of them was Chaehun. Chaehun, who didn’t know anyone, had no thought of wandering around and stood next to Seunggeon.
Seunggeon was popular, and people endlessly flocked to him to make their presence known.
“It’s been a while.”
“Have you been well?”
“I knew I’d meet you here.”
After stale and clichéd greetings were exchanged, meaningless small talk followed. The topics changed from weather, attire, and art appreciation to stocks, business, contracts, and so on. And Chaehun became a human folding screen, quietly listening to their conversations without any sense of presence.
In fact, quite a few people showed interest in Chaehun. When Seunggeon introduced him as his lover, they started investigating his background with exclamations. They asked his name, asked about his father and hometown. Chaehun kept his mouth shut about anything other than his name, as Seunggeon had advised.
The reactions split here. About half lost interest. If his family background was something he couldn’t speak confidently about, there was no business with him. However, the other half were curious about how he had met and started dating Seunggeon without any background at all.
There were also people who completely ignored him. As if Chaehun didn’t even exist next to Seunggeon, they didn’t even make eye contact, let alone speak to him.
Still others blatantly hit on Seunggeon without any regard for Chaehun. Middle-aged men and women of considerable age were busy introducing their accompanying nephews or daughters to Seunggeon.
At a point not even an hour had passed, Chaehun had become completely sick of it.
Chaehun originally had an easygoing personality. If it didn’t directly clash with him, he didn’t notice malice well. Instead, once he started paying attention, he couldn’t ignore it.
The gazes evaluating people from head to toe were blatant. It was ambiguous to call it malice, but it was definitely unpleasant interest. He realized with his body why Seunggeon had told him not to smile. If he smiled in this atmosphere, his face would spasm and then some.
Chaehun faithfully followed Seunggeon’s advice and endured that time as an expressionless, rude folding screen. However, a moment came when it was difficult to just keep his mouth shut.
The other party was a man who was Seunggeon’s maternal great-uncle. The man, the son of the great-maternal grandfather who had forced Seunggeon to go on blind dates and sent an omega to his apartment, picked a fight that wasn’t quite a fight with Seunggeon with a sly face.
“You should have accepted moderately. Your mother has her reputation too. I heard Juhyeon was completely terrified. He’s the son cherished by Chairman Kim of Gukwon Pharmaceuticals, so you shouldn’t treat him so roughly. What if they protest?”
“It was them who entered someone else’s house with muddy feet. If it were America, they would have been shot for illegal trespass, but I quietly sent them back.”
The man blamed Seunggeon with brazen audacity. But when Seunggeon clearly distinguished right from wrong, the man grimaced.
“Oh my. It was all for mutual benefit, isn’t that too much?”
“It should be for mutual benefit, but I don’t know why they did that. I’ll let the illegal trespass slide this time. There’s someone else who should apologize, so tell them not to bother contacting me.”
“My, how stiff. This guy is always like this. With this kind of personality, dating such a wonderful beauty. Does he treat you well? Hm?”
Suddenly the man asked, turning toward Chaehun. Chaehun, who had been quietly listening to only their conversation, looked back and forth between the man and Seunggeon before nodding.
“He treats me well.”
“Oh. Really? That’s why you’re dating. By the way, you’re not getting married, right? You’re a beta. When you get tired of him, pass him over. I’ll treat him well too.”
This time the man smirked while looking at Seunggeon. Chaehun, beyond flabbergasted, held back the curses about to come out. There was definitely a base intention in telling Seunggeon to pass him over when he got tired, right in front of him. It seemed like he was venting his frustration by dragging in Chaehun, who was beside him, since he’d been put down by Seunggeon. It was a shabby display of character.
“Great-uncle.”
“What? These types of guys change partners easily, don’t they. Right?”
“He doesn’t change easily. And great-uncle isn’t his type, so it won’t work.”
Seunggeon gave an answer no one had expected. Chaehun, who had been trying not to grimace, looked at Seunggeon without realizing it. At Seunggeon’s appearance, which was only calm, Chaehun realized what he should do.
“What’s wrong with my type? Is it because I don’t have as much money as Seunggeon? Is that it?”
The quarrel of the man, who hadn’t even properly exchanged names, was merely childish. Chaehun decided to show his bad temper as Seunggeon had advised.
“More than money, your face is the problem.”
“What? My face?”
The man asked back as if dumbfounded. Chaehun looked the man up and down once, just as he had done.
“I’m dating Seunggeon for his face, and you’re definitely not my type.”
Chaehun spoke as seriously and dryly as possible. In fact, the man could be told he was reasonably handsome. But he wasn’t comparable to Seunggeon, who could surpass even handsome actors.
“You two are a match made in heaven. I guess this is why Uncle brought you. Alright, I got it. I’ll relay your words well.”
The man left the spot, being sarcastic to the end. Chaehun, drained from the short conversation, shook his head from side to side. He’d said it was a battlefield like a joke, but it felt like he’d really fought a battle.
“It really is a battlefield.”
“Is my face really your type?”
Chaehun, who had been letting out a short impression with a sigh, looked at Seunggeon, who was asking an unexpected question. He had quite a serious expression.
It was Seunggeon who had first mentioned “type.” Chaehun, who had struggled to quickly come up with something that could be called a type, briefly considered teasing Seunggeon.
“Why? Are you curious?”
“Yeah.”
Chaehun ended up laughing because of Seunggeon, who only threw straight pitches without any push and pull.
“Sophisticated handsome men are my type. Because of the guy I liked in high school, my standards went all the way up to the top of my head.”
“……?!”
“Why are you surprised? You said you were curious?”
Seunggeon, with a truly rarely surprised face, moved his lips as if to say something, then stopped. Chaehun held back the urge to burst into laughter. Seeing the guy at a loss for words made him feel refreshed for no reason.
A straight pitch was answered with a straight pitch. That Seunggeon’s face was his type, that he liked sophisticated handsome men, and that his standards had become high because of his first love—all of it was true. And even now, the handsome guy effect was excellent. Seunggeon’s face looked terrifyingly handsome today in particular.
“You have high-class taste.”
Chaehun realized half a beat late that it was Seunggeon’s own joke. Making such a joke with a stoic face was cute rather than funny.
This is bad. If he looks cute, it’s really serious.
Guarding against the sincerity that kept popping up, Chaehun responded as if it were nothing.
“Yeah. High-class.”
Despite the shabby quarrel of the man with bad character, the atmosphere wasn’t bad. And in the meantime, another person approached Seunggeon and the meaningless conversation repeated.
The party wasn’t over yet.
*
*
Only after a round of greetings with people ended did he have time to rest for a moment. Chaehun found a corner of the party room prepared outdoors.
The art museum situated on spacious land in the outskirts of Seoul had a square modern building in the front, but the back was made entirely into a corridor in a ㄷ shape, with a fountain placed in the center of the central garden. In preparation for outdoor events, the floor was laid with neat stones rather than grass.
