#50
“Isn’t this completely like a thief?”
Rickdi threw out a comment and furrowed his brow at Taemin.
“How can you think of having a teenager as a wife?”
“He’s twenty.”
“What? With that face?”
He looked at Idam’s face again as if to confirm. Idam shrank back, hiding behind Taemin’s back. He was uncomfortable with the attention and unsure how to behave.
“Then is he an alpha?”
Rickdi asked once more, as if in disbelief.
“That’s a secret.”
“What? Why keep the gender a secret? And he doesn’t look like an alpha… But you wouldn’t be involved with an omega either. What’s going on?”
“Honey, let’s go to our seats first.”
Taemin ignored Rickdi’s questions and led Idam to the sofa.
He confidently walked past people and took an empty seat in the innermost part. Soon after, a server wearing a navy vest approached and placed new glasses and cutlery in front of Idam and Taemin.
Currently, everyone’s attention was focused on Idam. Due to this attention, Idam’s complexion paled, and his hands were trembling. Including Taemin and Idam, there were eleven people participating in this gathering. There were five couples, and Rickdi was seated alone.
“By the way, Rickdi, why are you alone? Didn’t you say you were bringing your fiancée?”
At Taemin’s question, Rickdi let out a deep sigh full of sorrow.
“It’s ruined.”
“What’s ruined?”
“I recently found out that my fiancée was cheating. We decided to break off the engagement.”
Rickdi put a cigarette from the table into his mouth, lit it with a Zippo lighter, and took a long drag. Ghost-like white smoke seeped out.
“Cough, cough.”
Idam, who was nearby, tried to cough but swallowed it. Although he was usually vulnerable to cigarette smoke, he tried to endure it to avoid appearing overly sensitive in this setting.
But then, Taemin glared sharply at Rickdi.
“Put that away.”
“What?”
“The cigarette, I mean.”
“Can’t I smoke a bit on a day like this? Why are you acting like this?”
Rickdi added, wondering why Taemin was being so sensitive.
“Besides, Ji Taemin, you’re a chain smoker too.”
The CEO is a chain smoker? Idam’s eyes widened in surprise. It was the first time he had heard this. Of course, he had seen photos of him smoking, and when he borrowed the 350 million last time, Taemin had a cigarette in his mouth. But he hadn’t seen him smoke since then. So hearing he was a chain smoker was surprising.
“I quit.”
At Taemin’s words, Rickdi and others started murmuring. They looked as if they had encountered something impossible.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t lie.”
“It’s true.”
At Taemin’s firm answer, Idam’s eyes widened even more. According to Youngchun, quitting smoking was extremely difficult. Moreover, if he had been a chain smoker, it would have been even more challenging. Why did he quit?
“Give me a glass.”
Taemin held out a whiskey glass with ice to Idam. Idam suddenly realized his mistake. He hadn’t drunk alcohol as a teenager, and even after turning twenty, he hadn’t properly attended any drinking gatherings, so he was unfamiliar with these situations. He had only seen people pouring drinks for each other in dramas or movies, so he awkwardly tried to imitate that. He reached out to grab a liquor bottle but hesitated because there were too many types.
“What would you like me to pour for you?”
“Whatever my honey likes.”
It was bewildering to be given such a choice when he was clueless about alcohol. However, unable to say he couldn’t handle such a trivial task, he chose what seemed to be the most modest-looking bottle of liquor and poured it.
Taemin’s lips twitched as he watched Idam’s white hands and expression. The slightly protruding duck-like lips from concentration were quite cute. Idam successfully finished pouring the drink. He had worried it might overflow, but fortunately, it didn’t.
“You should drink too, honey.”
This time, Taemin held out a glass. Idam was in a difficult position. He had a history of causing trouble when drunk, so he didn’t want to drink if possible, but given the nature of the gathering, he felt he should at least pretend. Idam picked up the glass. As he did so, the unbalanced glass jumped from his hand like a frog and fell to the floor.
“Ah…”
Fortunately, there was a carpet on the floor, so it didn’t break.
“I’m sorry. I’ll ask for a replacement.”
“Alright.”
Taemin replied nonchalantly. Idam quickly picked up the glass and was about to call a server for a replacement. As if on standby, a masked server approached and replaced it with a new glass. At the same time, Idam’s heart nearly stopped. The eyes visible through the mask were too familiar.
“Hayun…?”
“Shh.”
Hayun quickly gestured with his index finger to be quiet. Idam, as if entranced, closed his mouth. While he felt glad to see him, he was confused as to why Hayun was here. Moreover, his heart sank, not knowing what Taemin, who extremely disliked Idam meeting Hayun, would do if he saw this scene.
Tensely looking to the side, Taemin was talking with Rickdi and hadn’t noticed. Soon, Hayun moved away from the table to where the servers were. Idam was so confused he felt like he might be dreaming.
“You’ve got a new glass?”
Taemin noticed the new glass in front of Idam and poured liquor into it. Idam received it and drank with confused eyes. Whether due to the high-proof alcohol or because of Hayun, the world seemed to be spinning.
Soon, toasts were made, and Taemin introduced his friends to Idam. Most of Taemin’s friends were businessmen or professionals. They were all people who held significant positions in society. These were people Idam would never have encountered in his lifetime if he hadn’t become involved with Taemin.
The atmosphere of the gathering gradually warmed up.
Idam persevered, nursing the same glass of liquor. He was afraid of making a mistake while drunk, especially now that Hayun had appeared. As he did so, he noticed some strange behavior from others…
The couple sitting directly across from him had been a man with black hair and a woman in a red dress. But now, the woman in the red dress was clinging to another man, and the black-haired man was whispering intimately with another man before kissing him.
Huh? Were the two people who were sitting together initially not a couple? Idam was confused. Or was he seeing things because he was drunk? As Idam was rubbing his forehead in confusion, he saw another woman with elaborate makeup kissing a server. It seemed too vivid to be hallucinating due to alcohol. Idam was shocked, wondering what kind of scene this was. It felt like his Confucian values were about to collapse. Idam turned his head away as if trying to escape.
Then he saw Hayun alone at the entrance, whom he had encountered earlier. Once again, he was dying of curiosity as to why Hayun was here.
Idam fidgeted in his seat and glanced to the side. Taemin was talking with his friends, including Rickdi. As a result, the attention on him had decreased. Idam saw this as an opportunity and quickly stood up.
As he was stealthily approaching Hayun, something bumped into his shoulder.
“Huh?”
Idam’s eyes widened, wondering what it was. It was a large glass enclosure. The width seemed to be at least 180cm, and the height was slightly shorter than Idam. He almost panicked when he saw the contents. It was full of black spiders as big as his head. The bottom was covered with moist soil, and there were wooden hiding places and trees that seemed to have been transplanted from a garden.
“So this spider is here?”
Rickdi was standing next to Idam, though it wasn’t clear when he had arrived.
“What is this?”
Idam asked, sensing from his tone that Rickdi seemed to know about it.
“It’s one of my business items.”
Taemin suddenly interjected between Rickdi and Idam and answered.
“This spider?”
As far as Idam knew, Baekwol Corporation was involved in traditional Korean house-related business. There was nothing about spiders.
“Yes. It’s a hidden item. It’s classified as a large tropical spider, scientifically called Theraphosa blondi.”
“I see…”
The eight long, stretched-out legs reminded Idam of throwing stars, making it look threatening.
It had an appearance that would never feel friendly, even if one spent a lifetime with it. However, its form was intriguing, and as Idam looked at it intently, he realized that this shape was familiar. It resembled the spider tattoo on Taemin’s body. No, it was identical. So it seemed that the spider tattooed on his body was this spider.
“Isn’t this species originally not allowed to be kept in Korea?”
Taemin nodded at Rickdi’s question.
“Right. The environment isn’t suitable here. So it only exists in tropical regions.”
“Ah, tropical regions…”
Idam understood after hearing the explanation. The environment inside the glass enclosure felt like a miniature jungle.
“To be precise, it only lives on the island owned by you, Ji Taemin, right?”
At Rickdi’s words, Idam wondered what he meant.
“CEO, do you own an island too?”
“It’s not a big island. It’s where I usually go to relax. There’s a vacation home and other facilities there.”
It was a bit surprising to hear about relaxing on an island full of these spiders. Then, as if reading Idam’s thoughts, Taemin continued.
“It’s not like the island only has Theraphosa spiders. The spider breeding area is separate from the vacation home, so it doesn’t affect relaxation. And it’s a secluded place that’s not easy to leave once you enter, so it’s quiet.”
Is it like an uninhabited island? That’s how it sounded. Gradually, a strange madness swirled in Taemin’s eyes as he looked at Idam. It was almost like a whirlpool.
“The sea there is really beautiful.”
“Wow, I’m curious.”
“Do you want to see it?”
“Huh? Yes…”
Idam answered, thinking Taemin might show him a photo. But…
Taemin glanced at Rickdi, then moved away from him and put his lips to Idam’s ear.
“Then how about we set that place for our honeymoon?”
Huh? Honeymoon?
“What do you mean?”
What honeymoon for a couple in a fake marriage? Moreover, they hadn’t even had a wedding ceremony. Taemin didn’t answer and just smiled. His gaze seemed somewhat sinister.
