#046
You’re the one who should be fine! How could I be fine! My teeth clenched involuntarily. I tried my best to stay calm and opened my mouth. Even though I tried to speak gently, I couldn’t hide my voice that cut off sharply like staccato.
“That’s, Woo Dohwan-ssi, because it’s your house, right.”
“Exactly. It’s just me here, so what does it matter?”
“That’s, what?”
“It’s just me alone in my house, so what does it matter what you wear? I wouldn’t care even if you came wearing nothing.”
“…Really…”
It was something I never expected him to say. Why are you telling me such an important fact only now! My anger that had been heating up suddenly cooled down right before reaching its boiling point. As I just blinked my eyes while leaning back against the seat, Woo Dohwan, who had finished parking neatly, turned off the engine and leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, bursting into laughter.
Watching him scrunch his nose bridge as he laughed out of habit, my fist clenched. Ah, I’d have no regrets if I could just punch him once. Woo Dohwan put his hand in front of his lips curved in an arc and laughed quietly, then cleared his throat to adjust his voice and placed his hand on the door trim.
“Get out. Don’t worry, the real head of our house lives in a different house.”
“……”
“The food here is delicious.”
Woo Dohwan shrugged naturally and opened the driver’s door, getting out first. Following behind, I opened the passenger door and got out, and the first thing I saw was expensive cars lined up in a row.
“Let’s go.”
“You didn’t forget that I’m going to the flower market today, right?”
“Yeah. So stop worrying. I’m just going to feed you.”
Unable to complain any further, I followed Woo Dohwan out of the parking garage. Following the spiral curved stairs up half a floor, a garden with excellent landscaping appeared.
“Wow. Forest district.”
“What?”
“This is Seoul, right?”
Isn’t it too lush to be called Seoul? Ignoring my nonsense, Woo Dohwan continued walking and grabbed my wrist to pull me along as I was busy looking around the garden. Even while being dragged along, my eyes moved busily.
“There’s someone who maintains this, right?”
“What?”
“The trees. The pine trees and that. The emerald green. Those die easier than you’d think.”
“Of course. There’s no way they could have grown well on their own.”
His indifferent voice penetrated my ears. It seems like a landscaper is permanently stationed here. The emerald green surrounding the garden like a fortress also had consistent tree height. The person tending to the trees must be skilled. You could tell from looking at the well-pruned pine trees. I sincerely wanted to meet whoever was carefully nurturing them in place of the homeowner who had no interest whatsoever.
It’s not like I’ll run the flower shop forever, and after looking at the situation, I wanted to open a small farm in the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. If it’s a farm, I could bring in trees and such… wouldn’t it be good in various ways to have someone I could get advice from?
I climbed the marble stairs with my mind completely absorbed in the landscaping. Opening the door that was too grand to be called an entrance and changing into slippers, I immediately crossed the living room. Is this really a house where someone lives alone? Woo Dohwan looked like he would live in a very modern place, but he was living in an extremely classic place.
“Do you really live here alone?”
Is this the dining room? On the long table that could easily seat 10 people with room to spare, freshly cooked, steaming hot food was neatly arranged. It had an atmosphere where you should light candles and cut steak, but in the earthenware pot placed at the setting, savory seafood soybean paste stew was bubbling away.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it for other reasons. My mouth filled with saliva. Woo Dohwan, who noticed this, lightly grabbed my shoulders and personally seated me in the chair, whispering.
“It’ll be delicious.”
“Wow…”
An exclamation escaped without me realizing it. I took off my ball cap and shook out my flattened hair. When I took off my outer clothing and placed it on the seat next to me, Woo Dohwan burst into laughter.
“You did well to come, right?”
“I really haven’t had food like this in a long time. It’s a bit like high-end Korean course meal to be called home cooking, but it looks really delicious.”
“Try it. If it’s good after you eat, come again.”
“Is that really okay?”
I was sincere, but is he sincere too? I tried to gauge Woo Dohwan’s intentions as he smiled with sparkling eyes, then nodded. I pushed the spoon into the soybean paste stew topped with appetizingly cooked abalone. I couldn’t resist the tempting savory smell any longer.
Holding my full stomach, I leaned back against the sofa that sank deeply in its sitting position. How much does this cost to have such cushioning? Is it because he’s from a wealthy family? The dining table from earlier, and the sofa, appliances, and furniture all looked very expensive. The grand piano placed on one side of the living room too. At the quietly ringing voice, my eyes that had been busy looking around turned toward Woo Dohwan.
“What fruit do you like?”
“Plums.”
“Anything else?”
“Peaches?”
“You know it’s winter right now, right?”
At his serious-faced question, I burst out laughing. At the playful conversation, Woo Dohwan also smiled, curving his eyes like crescents. Steaming teacups were placed on the marble table, and plates containing small tastes of everything from tropical fruits to seasonal fruits were placed in front of Woo Dohwan and me respectively.
“Thank you.”
As if responding to my quiet greeting, the man who brought the dessert bowed his head and then turned to disappear into the dining room. Seeing him dressed in a suit even inside the house, he must be someone who works here. I picked up pineapple with the fork on the plate and put it in my mouth. I want to meet the landscaper. With my stomach full, I thought again of the person who had fantastically maintained the garden. I should ask when the timing is right. I put the well-cut fruit pieces in my mouth and chewed while checking the clock on the wall.
“I need to go to the flower market.”
“I know. I’ll take you once you finish eating all that.”
“Yes.”
I moved my mouth diligently. It was a perfect breakfast with home-cooked food I hadn’t had in a long time, delicious fruit, and tea that left a bitter aftertaste. Even while the fruit on my plate disappeared without leaving anything, Woo Dohwan only watched me intently and didn’t particularly touch the fruit.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“Mm. I don’t really like fruit.”
“Then I’ll—”
“You can eat mine too.”
“No, I wasn’t saying I’d eat it, I was trying to say I’d go.”
I felt like my stomach would burst just from finishing my portion. Woo Dohwan, who seemed flustered with reddened cheeks, cleared his throat awkwardly. He must be embarrassed for assuming too much. The hand holding the teacup reached toward the table. Woo Dohwan set the cup down silently on the petal-shaped saucer.
“Home? Or the flower market?”
“Home.”
“Take my car. If you stop by home, you’ll be too late.”
“What if I get in an accident with it?”
At my voice that was quite reluctant to refuse, Woo Dohwan shrugged.
“As long as you don’t get hurt, I don’t care.”
“……”
Even though we’re not that close, his casual words gave me goosebumps. I rubbed the bumps that rose on my skin through my clothes and didn’t hide my shocked expression, but as if such things didn’t matter, Woo Dohwan just smiled brightly. Where on earth does he learn to say such cheesy things? It’s unlikely, but I was genuinely curious. Ah, so cheesy. By the way, there were indeed many cars in the garage.
“What car would you lend me?”
“Hmm, the Bentley.”
“…I’ll just take my car. Please take me home.”
Crazy, it’s a car I’d be too scared to even press the accelerator properly. Seo Ranho’s car wasn’t cheap either, but the car Woo Dohwan mentioned was about 4 times more expensive than what I drive around. How could I load flowers in that car?
“Can’t I drive for you?”
This was clearly a question with that purpose from the beginning. Woo Dohwan asked seductively with a gentle smile. I’ll just sit quietly and only drive, he added quietly.
“I’ll just go alone—”
“You’re sleepy from eating a lot. What if you get drowsy with the heater on and it’s warm? What if you get in an accident?”
Hmm. I let out a long breath through my nose. It was true that I was sleepy from being full, as he said.
“I’ll definitely be quiet. Like you’re riding in a taxi.”
“You were planning this from the beginning, weren’t you?”
“I can’t say no to that.”
At his words spoken while rubbing his smooth lips, I couldn’t help but laugh. Ah, so cheesy.
***
As Woo Dohwan intended, I ended up riding in his car. And at the flower market today, I really only bought flowers to use this week. Since I need to go to the market once more before the weekend, there was no need to bring in a lot. Looking at the calendar yesterday, there wasn’t a single bouquet reservation for next month, so it seems the wedding season is over.
Since flowers used for bouquets are particularly pretty, I felt a bit regretful, but December had Christmas. It was just yesterday that I thought about closing on holidays because I was too busy selling flowers without rest, but thinking about making bouquets that would be gorgeous beyond just bright, I felt purely excited. That day, even if I stack up bouquets made with pretty flowers in boxes and sell them, it won’t be enough, so I decided to bury my regretful feelings far away.
Before loading the flowers, Woo Dohwan took off his outer clothing and put it over my shoulders.
“Stay in the car.”
“I could move them myself.”
Woo Dohwan lightly ignored my response and carried the flowers. The weather was chilly, and if he takes it off for me like this, is he okay? It seems like he’d be cold. His face was already pale, and his sharply protruding nose tip was red.
Despite being pale from the cold, I carefully examined his face that was only pure and pretty. Seeing that even living as an unemployed person with that face doesn’t make him look shabby but rather fitting, I guess you really need to be good-looking to be seen favorably.
“He really is pretty…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
