Chapter 123
“Oppa, why are you sorry? You should say ‘thank you, Ha-yul.'”
“Um, I’m grateful, but Director Do-heon…”
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
Contrary to Cheong-yeon’s concerns, Do-heon accepted Ha-yul’s gift without any fuss.
“Mister, do you not like it?”
“No. I like it very much.”
Though his stiff voice showed he didn’t like it one bit, the unbiased Ha-yul seemed quite satisfied with even that emotionless answer.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
When Cheong-yeon couldn’t take his eyes off him, Do-heon fixed the slightly slipped headband and asked with puzzlement. Thanks to that, the cat ears perked up sharply.
*Why am I looking at you? Because you look absolutely ridiculous…*
“Just because.”
Cheong-yeon couldn’t speak honestly and instead gave a vague answer. The man looked ten times stranger than when he had asked if flowers in his ears suited him at the flower garden last time.
It was a sight Cheong-yeon never thought he’d see even in dreams, and he didn’t know where to look.
“Ha-yul, are you in there?”
Just then, a voice searching for Ha-yul came from outside the door. Cheong-yeon reflexively grabbed the doorknob and said to Do-heon.
“Director, I’ll take the child back and return. Please wait a moment.”
When he heard the bodyguards outside trying to block someone again, Cheong-yeon immediately opened the door and went out.
“Mommy! Ha-yul is heeeere!”
“Oh my, actor-nim. My child must have gone to your room while I stepped out to buy snacks… I’m sorry.”
A woman pacing in the corridor spotted Cheong-yeon and Ha-yul coming out of the waiting room and sighed with relief.
“It’s fine. She might have been bored playing alone. Right, Ha-yul?”
“Uh-huh. Playing alone was boooring.”
“You couldn’t even wait five minutes. Come here, let the actor go home now.”
Ha-yul slipped out of Cheong-yeon’s arms and obediently snuggled into her mother’s embrace. Then she waved her hand at Cheong-yeon, cheerfully saying “bye-bye.”
“Goodbye, Ha-yul. Let’s see each other again next time.”
After hurriedly saying goodbye at the door, Cheong-yeon returned to the waiting room.
In the meantime, Do-heon was sitting on the sofa taking a phone call, probably from the company.
“I heard those documents are still in the consultation stage before being delivered to the U.S. Department of Commerce. I’ll hear the foundry briefing at the executive meeting.”
“…”
*Is it necessary to be this serious while wearing cat ears? There’s a mirror right in front of him, so he can’t possibly not know how he looks.*
After confirming Cheong-yeon had returned, Do-heon quickly ended the call. Then he took off the headband, placed it on the table, and moved toward the door. Somehow it was disappointing—Cheong-yeon had been enjoying the view.
Cheong-yeon also took off what he had been wearing and neatly placed it on top of the cat ears Do-heon had left behind. He made a mental note to ask a staff member to return them to Ha-yul later.
“We’re leaving for the hotel, so come out when you’re ready.”
Do-heon had already handed Cheong-yeon’s personal bag, which he always carried, to the bodyguard standing outside.
*That’s light enough to carry myself.* Do-heon had never allowed Cheong-yeon to carry even a single piece of luggage by himself since before.
Too tired to point this out and already used to it, Cheong-yeon simply followed Do-heon outside.
From the opposite direction, the sound of staff members walking around still echoed, but the corridor where Do-heon and Cheong-yeon were walking was quiet with no people.
Looking at Do-heon’s back, Cheong-yeon recalled what Kim Ji-han had said.
“You know, rich guys throw the biggest tantrums when they can’t have something.”
“People’s interest always fades quickly. He’s acting like this now because he’s provoked by you playing hard to get, but that won’t last long either.”
For an analysis from Kim Ji-han, who lived with several screws loose, it was surprisingly reasonable.
Honestly, even Cheong-yeon thought it made no sense that Moon Do-heon would maintain this level of interest and obsession forever. If that had been the case, he would have acted like this from the beginning of their marriage.
Perhaps he was obsessing due to a psychological need for compensation after being rejected first. Like an unconscious response.
After all, Do-heon was a Dominant Alpha and the second most powerful figure in the prestigious JT family after Chairman Moon. Maybe Do-heon’s pride couldn’t accept the reality of being rejected by a Recessive Omega like Cheong-yeon who had nothing.
Of course, Cheong-yeon wasn’t trying to deny all the consideration Do-heon had shown. But Cheong-yeon thought it was more like behavior stemming from habit. After all, the same applied to Cheong-yeon himself.
He still felt uncomfortable in Do-heon’s presence and easily lost his composure in matters related to him. Sometimes he even presumptively worried about him. Out of habit.
This was probably inevitable after living in close quarters for three years. Ultimately, these feelings wouldn’t last.
Once they both fully accepted that they were strangers after the divorce, the remnants of muddled emotions and this ridiculous relationship would be resolved quickly.
From his position, all he could do was wait until then.
*
As soon as they entered the hotel room, Cheong-yeon started undressing without delay. He wanted to quickly get physical and be done with it before falling into deeper reflection.
“Why are you taking off your clothes?”
Do-heon hesitated when he discovered Cheong-yeon unbuttoning his own shirt.
“Aren’t we here to have sex?”
“I was planning to discuss inheritance matters.”
“Oh.”
*That’s what it was? Why didn’t you say so earlier?*
Cheong-yeon awkwardly grabbed the open front of his shirt with the hand that had been unbuttoning it.
“But why did we come to a hotel room? I naturally thought that’s what we were going to do.”
And wasn’t sex the purpose of their Friday meetings anyway?
“A hotel room has the lowest possibility of conversation content being leaked outside. It doesn’t hurt to be careful about inheritance talk.”
“That makes sense.”
Cheong-yeon nodded in agreement. Do-heon fixed his gaze on Cheong-yeon’s chest, where fair skin was exposed through the unbuttoned shirt, and began speaking.
“I looked into third-party inheritance, and it turns out it’s quite possible.”
“Huh? Really? Even for non-family members?”
Cheong-yeon tilted his head in surprise as he sat on the large sofa in the hotel living room.
“If a will is prepared in advance, it’s possible even for someone who isn’t a direct descendant.”
“Then… what now?”
Cheong-yeon blinked his large eyes and looked up at Do-heon.
“When Grandmother passes away, you should accept it gladly.”
“You want me to actually accept it?”
Caught off guard by this unexpected conclusion, Cheong-yeon ran his hand through his hair with a bewildered expression.
“Is there a way to accept it falsely?”
“No… but we’re not family anymore.”
Although he had boasted that he would definitely claim the inheritance, that was merely something said to provoke his family members.
Cheong-yeon had never sincerely coveted that money.
“Grandmother said she would leave it to you, so it’s yours.”
“Still… Grandmother must have offered it thinking I’m still legally married to you. This would be deceiving her.”
“Grandmother is giving it to you because you’re Yoo Cheong-yeon, not because you’re Moon Do-heon’s legal spouse. She must know that much, don’t you think?”
“…”
His words were so righteous that Cheong-yeon had nothing to say in response.
But no matter what, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be beyond his station to simply accept it without hesitation.
“If you really don’t want it, go to Moon Hee-jin and tell her you’re declining the inheritance.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
*Why do I have to go to Moon Hee-jin to say that?* Cheong-yeon pouted and grumbled.
He found Do-heon irritating for so shamelessly saying such things when he knew they were Cheong-yeon’s triggers.
“Or you could tell Grandmother the truth later.”
“Would that be okay? If she gets shocked while her health hasn’t fully recovered…”
“We’d have to choose the timing carefully. This doesn’t seem like something we can decide right away.”
“…”
Telling the truth honestly did seem like the best method. But as Do-heon said, they needed to postpone the decision a bit.
Grandmother had said she would be returning to America soon, so when would there be another chance to talk…
“And about the department store advertisement.”
Before Cheong-yeon could properly organize his thoughts, Do-heon brought up a new topic.
“…”
However, when no further words followed for quite some time, Cheong-yeon raised his head curiously.
“What about the department store ad? It’s not possible?”
“No, rather than that. Yoo Cheong-yeon.”
“…Yes?”
When Do-heon suddenly lowered his voice and called his name, Cheong-yeon’s eyes widened.
“Could you please fix your clothes?”
“Ah.”
“Your bare skin is showing.”
Do-heon frowned as he pointed at the open front of Cheong-yeon’s shirt that he had unbuttoned when entering the room.
“There’s only you and me here, so who’s going to see…”
Cheong-yeon buttoned up his shirt with a sulky face.
“The problem is that it’s visible to my eyes.”
“…”
*It’s not like I took my pants off—getting this upset over a glimpse of chest isn’t easy to deal with.*
“Director… sometimes I think you have a truly unique personality.”
“I can’t deny that.”
Cheong-yeon, with his shirt buttoned all the way to his neck, stared intently at Do-heon. He wondered if Do-heon had been affected by the request to button up, but Do-heon continued speaking with his usual expressionless face.
“For the Hwamyeong Department Store advertisement, let’s proceed with it after your drama starts airing. That would be better for marketing both the actor and the products.”
“Really? Honestly, I’m fine with whenever, as long as you let me do it.”
Cheong-yeon eagerly accepted, brightening up. The corners of his mouth turned up as he imagined how Moon Hee-jin would be outraged at the news.
“Why are you smiling?”
As Cheong-yeon kept snickering, Do-heon, who was about to continue his explanation, raised his chin as if to ask what was going on.
“Just thinking how Moon Hee-jin and Park Jong-wook will absolutely hate this… it feels a bit satisfying…”
*Ah. Maybe I was too honest.* His current reaction definitely contradicted his earlier declaration that revenge wasn’t necessary.
*Will he think it’s strange?* Cheong-yeon glanced at Do-heon, and soon a faint smile similar to his own appeared on Do-heon’s lips.
*Ah, he’s smiling.*
Cheong-yeon swallowed a sigh of relief internally.
“Then we should keep the advertisement up all year round.”
And then words that were difficult to distinguish as a joke or sincerity flowed from Do-heon’s mouth.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
