“Ugh…”
Without even opening his eyes, Haram stretched inside the blankets and slowly sat up. His whole body felt fresh, as if he’d just stepped out of a cold shower. He blinked slowly against the sunlight streaming into the small room, and as his mind cleared, fragments of memory began to drift back—making him shudder.
“Tae-yi…”
At the end of those memories—the soft, gentle hands caressing his body—was the image of himself desperately clinging to Tae-yi, begging him to stay. Haram grabbed a fistful of his silver hair and started to regret everything. After doing everything he could to avoid Kang Tae-yi, he had ended up giving in to desire and slept with him. What a pathetic excuse for pride his body was.
So humiliating. He’d run away saying he hated him, only to turn around and beg to be held while in heat. How pathetic must he have looked in Tae-yi’s eyes?
Swallowing that humiliation, Haram hurriedly got dressed and stepped out of the room. The moment he entered the living room, his nose twitched at the scent wafting from the table, and he instinctively licked his lips.
He stared blankly at the lunchbox and white pill container placed in the middle of the room before slowly approaching them. Ignoring the more-than-nine varieties of side dishes, he picked up the pill container first. Upon recognizing the familiar design, he let out a long sigh.
It was a Heat Cycle suppressant. Which meant—yes—it really had been a heat. No more denying it. He really was an Omega. Another heavy sigh escaped him as he collapsed in front of the table and began removing the lids from the side dishes one by one.
There was no doubt Tae-yi had left this for him, but he was so ravenous, he felt like he could gnaw on weeds. This wasn’t the time for pride. Honestly, he didn’t have any pride left to hold on to. The house had been left empty for a long time, so there wouldn’t be any food, and with a full meal laid out right in front of him, he didn’t have the energy to cook either.
“Can’t let good food go to waste.”
Finishing his self-justification, Haram gulped down the saliva pooling in his mouth and picked up his chopsticks. He piled some seasoned vegetables onto the white rice, stuffed his mouth, and slowly chewed as he thought about Tae-yi, who was nowhere in sight. The house and yard were silent—no signs of anyone. Still, Tae-yi wouldn’t have just left without a word. Since things had come to this, he figured they might as well talk. After all, they’d spent the night together. There was no pretending it hadn’t happened now.
Besides, with his body feeling so refreshed and his mind clearer than it had been in days, he figured he could approach this rationally. He’d already listened to that guy with the glasses, so he might as well hear Tae-yi out too. Chewing carefully on the braised baby potatoes, Haram made up his mind not to cry while they talked. Over and over again, he promised himself.
Even if he got mad at him, he wasn’t going to cry like a child. He would lay everything out, point by point, get an apology, and then…
“…And then what?”
What would happen after they talked? Would Tae-yi go back to Seoul, and he’d stay here, and that would be the end of it? How would Tae-yi react? No—more importantly, what did he want from Tae-yi? He resented the lies and the deception—but…
Haram set down his chopsticks and let out a long sigh. Suddenly, he lost all appetite. Leaving the bowl still more than half-full, he stood and quietly made his way to the bathroom.
***
“I feel like we’re defiling a perfectly good car.”
“Haha… Not at all.”
With a stiff smile, Chief Yoon turned his head to hide the twitch in his lips as he opened the trunk. He loaded up the sacks full of perilla seeds into the trunk and back seat, casting a sideways glare at Tae-yi, who was sitting under the pavilion.
He’d expected his boss to be out here helping them beat the seeds from the stalks, but instead, the man was chatting away with the Land-rich Grandmother, not having lifted a single stalk. It had left Chief Yoon to do all the work with the long wooden stick, beating the seeds and thinking about Kang Tae-yi the entire time.
“Things wrapped up so fast with young folks around. Haram sure has good friends.”
The elderly woman, her hair entirely white, approached with a pleased look on her face, watching Chief Yoon carry the sacks and the other man clean up. Being suddenly promoted to ‘Haram’s friend’ left Chief Yoon flustered, and he awkwardly stepped away. He was about to walk over to Tae-yi at the pavilion, but seeing him completely surrounded by the village elders and unable to move an inch, he quietly climbed into the car.
“How’s Haram’s cold doing?”
“Are you senile or what? I told you he’s fine like three times!”
“So, young man, where did you go to college? I bet Haram would do well in college, too.”
“The kid won’t even go to the open-air market ‘cause of the crowds, and you think college is gonna happen?!”
Around that point, the barrage of questions aimed at Tae-yi shifted into a conversation among the elders themselves. Tae-yi let out a quiet sigh of relief and slipped away from the group as naturally as possible. Seeing that, Chief Yoon quickly approached him and spoke.
“Director. I’ll go into town with them and come back later.”
He’d agreed to accompany the Land-rich Grandmother to the oil mill in town to have the perilla oil pressed. Compared to staying here and having his personal info beaten out of him like the perilla seeds, being a chauffeur was the far better deal.
As the black sedan took off like it was escaping something, the Land-rich Grandmother waved from the window while Tae-yi let out a hollow laugh. Then, hearing someone call for him from behind, he sighed heavily, clearly annoyed. He had sworn not to lie again, and yet here he was, preparing to spin another one to cover his identity.
Still, he couldn’t just blurt out the truth about the resort project to the village elders, who were still unaware. It was impossible to predict how things would unfold, so keeping his mouth shut was the best course of action. At least he had the Grandmother’s trust for now. It felt like getting over a huge mountain.
“Young man! Come over here!”
He took a deep breath to hold back another sigh and headed toward the voice calling out for him.
***
The moment the front gate opened, Haram was startled to find a large man standing there. Frozen in place, he blinked in confusion until the man gave a polite bow. Haram, equally awkward, bowed back. He had to be someone Tae-yi left behind.
“Do you know where Tae-yi is?”
Haram asked cautiously, and the man replied without hesitation.
“He’s helping out with some work.”
“…Helping?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Haram looked up at the man with wide eyes. Noticing his confusion, the man added,
“He’s probably at the village hall.”
Haram gave a quick bow to the surprisingly kind man and headed down the hill.
Why the hell would Tae-yi be helping out with village work? If he was at the hall, then he was probably helping the Land-rich Grandmother. Around this time of year, the villagers would spread the harvested perilla stalks out in front of the hall to dry under the sun, and once they were crispy, they’d all gather with sticks to beat the seeds out. Haram had helped out there every year too.
So… Tae-yi’s out there beating seeds right now?
Tae-yi, beating perilla seeds. The image was so absurd he couldn’t even picture it. Wearing a perplexed expression, Haram trudged toward the village hall. His head hung low, slippers dragging along the dirt, when suddenly a pair of bright white sneakers came into view.
He looked up—and there was Tae-yi, standing with that usual soft smile on his face, dressed casually like it was any other day.
“Ah…”
He had so much he wanted to say, but seeing that face again left him speechless. Haram bit his lower lip, fidgeting awkwardly, while Tae-yi stared back and was the first to speak.
“Did you eat?”
Haram only nodded, without a word.
“How’s your body?”
Another silent nod. Tae-yi, too, didn’t seem able to get the words out. The silence between them stretched out, broken only by the summer sun drawing sweat down their backs, until finally Haram spoke.
“…What were you doing just now?”
“Beating perilla seeds. For you.”
Haram looked up in a daze at Tae-yi’s playful voice.
“…Why would you do that?”
The wary look in Haram’s eyes and the distrust in his voice felt foreign. Tae-yi gave a bitter smile and answered with a sigh.
“I’ll explain everything. Let’s talk.”
“You lied to the Land-rich Grandmother too, didn’t you? You’re just trying to buy her land, right? Otherwise, there’s no reason you’d be helping her out. It’s all just part of the same scheme…”
Like you did with me. Haram swallowed the last part. Tears welled up, and he bit his lip hard, looking off into the distance to avoid Tae-yi’s gaze.
This time, Tae-yi didn’t hold back the sigh. There was no trust left—he knew that. It was his own doing, but where could he even begin? How was he supposed to explain everything and ask for forgiveness? His thoughts were a tangled mess, and he couldn’t find the words.
“…Da Haram.”
But before Tae-yi could speak, Haram moved. Walking past him without a word, he kept going, and Tae-yi instinctively followed—until he realized where Haram was headed and clenched his jaw.
The field with the carelessly planted peanuts. Haram’s breathing was ragged—so loud even Tae-yi could hear it from behind.
“…No.”
Haram muttered under his breath, shaking his head in denial. The field he’d nurtured with care now felt foreign, like it didn’t belong to him at all.
Squatting down, Haram began yanking up peanut plants. They came up too easily—no resistance. It was obvious they hadn’t taken root over months but had been planted artificially. Confused and overwhelmed, Haram stood and looked at Tae-yi.
“…Haram.”
Can a person really look that heartbroken? The expression on Da Haram’s face was like nothing Tae-yi had ever seen in his life.
