You’re coming on OO Airlines, right?
Lee Seohee
Yes
I’ll come pick you up at your arrival time
A brief silence passed before a reply came from him.
Lee Seohee
You don’t need to come all the way from Seoul to Incheon at that late hour
Don’t worry about it
There’s also someone coming from London to Incheon
Lee Seohee
That’s because I want to go
It’s the same for me
I’m going because I want to
Hyowoo was more stubborn than he looked. Once he made up his mind, he rarely backed down.
You don’t need to feel sorry or burdened
Let me keep my promise
He sent the message first before a reply even came from him. Whatever he said, his mind was already made up.
Lee Seohee
You’re really planning to come out?
It took a long time for the short sentence to arrive. He could feel his hesitation completely.
If you want to maintain UK time, stop sending messages and go to sleep
Let’s talk when we meet
After ending the conversation with an answer that he wouldn’t reply anymore, he immediately opened a search browser. The restaurant and cafe schedule he’d planned the day before was now useless. He needed to make new plans.
‘What can you do at the airport at that hour?’
The anguish from just moments before was no longer visible in Hyowoo as he diligently searched Incheon Airport on his mobile phone.
***
When Hyowoo arrived at the airport, the clock had just passed 11.
As soon as he entered the airport, he headed straight to the arrivals gate and checked the arrival time on the electronic board. He’d checked the arrival information several times even on the subway, but due to his worrying personality, his mind couldn’t settle.
The scheduled arrival time of OO Airlines from London that Lee Seohee was on was 11:20. It was the same as what he’d seen a moment ago.
Hyowoo, who had finally caught his breath, sat quietly on a bench. Perhaps due to the relief that he wasn’t late, his stomach suddenly churned. It was a side effect of the suppressant he’d additionally taken before leaving home. While drinking green tea he’d bought from the convenience store in front of his house, he lightly patted his chest with his palm.
‘Come to think of it, today is my first overnight stay away from home in my life…’
Given the time, it would be difficult to go back home today. Needing an excuse, Hyowoo had no choice but to ask Gyeonwoo for help.
“You’re meeting Lee Seohee at the airport?”
Normally he would have made a huge fuss asking if he was crazy, but Gyeonwoo just told him to be careful late at night and didn’t add anything else.
Rather, he volunteered to be an accomplice. On behalf of Hyowoo who was bad at lying, he even conveyed a plausible story to the house: ‘Hyung and I have something important to discuss, so I’ll be sleeping at my officetel together with him.’ His parents believed their youngest son without any suspicion.
‘But anyway, when we meet… what should I do?’
He’d need to handle a meal first. The only places open at this hour were takeout restaurants or fast food places.
‘It’s sorry to treat him to fast food after a long-distance flight, but there’s no choice…’
Actually, he wanted to prepare a present more than a meal. But since he rarely said what he liked, he ended up asking Taeseo.
“What does Player Lee Seohee like?”
“What he likes most right now is Ji Hyowoo.”
“Don’t tease me, tell me properly.”
“Then meat. He’s always going on about meat.”
If it was meat, Korean beef? It was expensive but a great present, but meat was an item that couldn’t be brought into the UK.
“Other than meat?”
“He likes peaches and watermelon too.”
Fresh fruit was also prohibited from entry, so this was also eliminated.
When he asked if there was anything other than food, Taeseo soon answered ‘animals.’
“Despite his size, he really loves fluffy things. He’s especially weak for dogs and cats.”
Just then, Saewoo who was loafing by the living room window came into view, but he soon shook his head vigorously.
‘No matter how desperate I am, to even think about bringing Saewoo to the airport… Are you in your right mind, Ji Hyowoo?’
In the end, he couldn’t get any great ideas from his friend either and came out empty-handed.
‘The present is already a lost cause, so I should at least buy the meal. First we’ll eat something simple now, then eat properly at a Korean restaurant that opens at 6 AM.’
After barely finishing up the problem he’d agonized over all day, this time he became curious about the first train time.
When he checked the airport railroad time, the first train operation time was 5:25 AM. In other words, it meant he had to be at the airport together with him for at least 5-6 hours.
‘Where will we spend that long time…’
The mere fact that Lee Seohee, who should be in London, was in Korea was gossip-worthy enough. Moreover, if the fact that he was together with someone became known, it was only a matter of time before it became an article.
‘There are capsule hotels too, but…’
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him. Though they weren’t close, he wasn’t the type to forcibly assault someone. Even if he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to cause a scandal that would tarnish his family’s honor.
The problem was himself, who felt uncomfortable being alone with an Alpha in an enclosed space.
There were also people’s eyes. Last December, the internet had been turned upside down over just one photo of him tying a scarf. In such a situation, if a photo of the two of them entering a hotel together was taken? It would certainly cause a ripple effect beyond just being number one in real-time search rankings.
‘A hotel is absolutely not okay… But that person might be tired… Should I just let him go in alone to sleep and wait outside?’
While new thoughts and worries intertwined and chased each other’s tails, before he knew it, the time for Lee Seohee’s arrival approached. On the electronic board, the information for the plane he was on changed from ‘landing’ to ‘arrived,’ and about 20 minutes later, people started coming out.
Watching people who came out of the gate go find the family, friends, and lovers who came to meet them, Hyowoo also got up from the bench.
Had about ten minutes passed like that? Among people coming out pulling large and small carriers and carts, a man appeared. A tall man with a sophisticated atmosphere. Even without seeing his face, he could tell at once it was Lee Seohee.
Coming out through the glass gate with quick steps, he caught his breath lightly and looked around. He was looking for Hyowoo.
It would be good to call out that he was here. But afraid attention would be drawn, he couldn’t bring himself to call his name. Instead, he tried to raise his hand to indicate his location, when their eyes met perfectly. His anxious expression immediately took on color.
“Sorry for being late.”
When he approached in a single bound and faced his brightly smiling face, his heart began to beat as it pleased.
“When did you get here? Did you wait long?”
To him expressing his happy feelings without hiding them, Hyowoo just shook his head slightly without words.
‘He really came. From England, just to see me…’
He secretly muttered to himself that he was really a strange person, but on the other hand, he was very happy about the fact that he’d come. He shrank his shoulders, afraid his reddened cheeks and heartbeat would be discovered.
‘I should answer. No, should I greet him first?’
While briefly worrying about what words to bring up, Hyowoo realized he didn’t have the leisure to care about greetings and such right now.
At first, everyone seemed to think ‘no way, it can’t be.’ There was no press or security guards visible, after all. But as people who recognized Lee Seohee appeared one by one, the surroundings soon began to stir.
“F-first, let’s move locations.”
Instead of his hand, he lightly grabbed and pulled the sleeve of his jacket. When he followed without saying anything, Hyowoo let out a sigh inwardly.
Like that, the two moved to the 3rd floor departures area. After confirming there was no one following them, Hyowoo gently let go of his sleeve.
“Um… Player Lee Seohee, do you not know how famous you are?”
“What do you mean?”
At his innocently tilting his head, a sigh leaked out without him realizing it.
“You should have… dressed more normally…”
His appearance, stylishly matching a beige summer jacket with a t-shirt, black slacks, and black Chelsea boots, was like a model who came out for a pictorial shoot.
He was already a tall person with above-average height who stood out anywhere. Since he was handsome and had good style, he looked great in anything, so why on earth did he dress up this much?
“Ah, do I stand out too much?”
He himself didn’t seem to have any intention of denying that he’d dressed up to the fullest.
“Yes, a bit… No, very much…”
“I took quite a lot of care choosing this to look good to Hyowoo-ssi, but it seems to have had the opposite effect.”
“…What would you do by looking good to me?”
“I know that wanting to look good to someone you’re interested in is a basic human instinct.”
