Chapter 72
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“Hello.”
As the door opened, the security guards stationed at the entrance blinked in surprise at the man entering.
“Mr. Seo Igeon, isn’t today your day off?”
Since all the security guards had to know and remember each other’s days off, not only those present but also the other guards watching through CCTV would be bewildered by Igeon’s appearance. Of course, the most confused were those responsible for checking visitors to Han Taekyung’s villa. They verified Igeon’s identity but still couldn’t believe it, checking several times and confirming with Han Taekyung before finally opening the door.
“Executive Director Han called me in.”
“Oh my, on your precious day off. You’d better head in quickly.”
“Excuse me, is there something wrong? I was wondering if anything had happened since Executive Director Han suddenly called me.”
“Um… as far as we know, he’s just been at home and nothing unusual has happened.”
“That’s a relief. I’ll go in then.”
It was reassuring to hear there was nothing wrong, but he couldn’t completely trust their words. Since danger could appear from anywhere, even small things needed to be questioned and examined. As soon as the elevator arrived, Igeon quickly entered the house and searched for Han Taekyung. But he was nowhere to be seen.
“Han Tae- no, Executive Director Han. I’m here.”
Strange. It shouldn’t be this quiet. Did even the housekeeper not come today? Uneasy thoughts began to creep up. Although there hadn’t been any significant dangers since he became Han Taekyung’s security guard, that wasn’t a signal to let his guard down. The cockroaches were still out there.
Where could he be? Igeon was looking around the living room, thinking he should check Han Taekyung’s room, when suddenly he felt something dripping onto his head. He looked up. A red liquid was falling on his head and soaking his clothes.
Red? Blood?! Startled for a moment, he wiped the liquid with his hand. A strong, sharp scent of alcohol hit his nose, making him realize it wasn’t blood, and he sighed in relief. Then he looked up to find the source of the liquid. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he saw Han Taekyung leaning over the mezzanine railing, holding an overturned wine glass.
“Han… Taekyung.”
Igeon quickly ran up to him.
“What’s this? Why didn’t you answer when you were here? I was worried.”
He was genuinely concerned. Fortunately, Taekyung appeared perfectly fine, with no signs of injury or harm.
“Go wash up.”
“Huh?”
Igeon blinked and looked at his condition, then at the wine glass in Han Taekyung’s hand. Could he have spilled it on purpose? No, there’s no reason he would do that.
“Ah, this is wine, right? Why are you pouring it on someone else’s head?”
“Mr. Seo Igeon.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
“I told you to go wash up.”
At the firm command, Igeon said he understood. Han Taekyung opened the bathroom door behind Igeon, as if he had prepared it. Igeon quickly went inside and removed his clothes, examining his jacket and shirt. The jacket and shirt, stained more red than he had expected, looked beyond salvation.
“They might still clean it though.”
They paid so much for it, so they must be able to clean it. Igeon thought he’d take it in tomorrow, carefully folded the clothes, and put them down. He showered, dried himself with a prepared towel, put on a bathrobe, and came out.
“Ah, I just realized I don’t have any clothes to wear…”
Should I get these cleaned right away? Igeon sighed deeply, considering his options. By the way, why did this suddenly happen? Why did Han Taekyung spill wine… no, it must have been an accident. But even if it was an accident, shouldn’t he at least apologize? Is ordering me to wash up that twisted guy’s way of apologizing? Igeon looked around the bathroom, which was the size of a bedroom, and came out.
“Ah.”
As soon as he opened the door, Han Taekyung was there, and next to him stood the housekeeper. She immediately collected the wine-soaked clothes that Igeon had brought out.
“Throw them away.”
“Yes, understood.”
“What? What are you saying? Those are the only clothes I have!”
Igeon raised his voice in panic. Regardless, the housekeeper took the clothes and went down the mezzanine stairs, leaving Igeon staring blankly after her. Goodness, surely he wouldn’t have to go home dressed like this.
“Mr. Seo Igeon, follow me.”
“Ah… yes.”
Following Han Taekyung’s gesture, they went deeper into the mezzanine to another living room. It seemed to be a truly private space—if the downstairs living room was for entertaining guests, this one appeared to be for relaxation. The modern, chic atmosphere resembled the current Han Taekyung. On a black glass table sat numerous paper bags.
“I had new clothes prepared.”
“What?”
“Since I accidentally spilled wine and ruined your clothes, naturally I should compensate you.”
“Ah, it was an acci- no, but this is too much, I don’t need all of this.”
Even at a glance, it wasn’t just one set of clothes. There were about 20 visible paper bags. Moreover, seeing several shoe brand bags, it seemed he had bought a full set from head to toe. Wait, when did he do this? During the time I was showering?
“Just… a T-shirt and pants to wear home would be enough. That would be sufficient.”
“Seo Igeon.”
“Yes! I mean, huh?”
“Let me do this much. I feel bad about it.”
Suddenly. The old Han Taekyung appeared before him. The guy who was always affectionate, who smiled at him and approached him first. It was so good to see him. So good that for a moment he wanted to reach out and hug him. But he couldn’t, because even though he was speaking with the old appearance and manner, his eyes were still a deeper red than the wine. Still, he didn’t want to think that his words were lies.
“…Okay. I’ll just take one.”
“No, take them all. I had everything made to your size.”
“How do you know my size?”
“I heard it when we bought clothes that time.”
“These can’t be returned, right? It’s too much.”
“Hmm… it would be quite troublesome for me if you returned these.”
“Ah…”
There might be a matter of saving face or something. What should I do?
“…Seo Igeon.”
There were no words beyond that, but Igeon clearly heard what followed. ‘Take them.’ As if to say, don’t argue anymore. That snapped him back to reality. That man is not the Han Taekyung he knew. He’s just pretending.
“I should obey my superior’s orders. I understand. Thank you.”
Satisfied with that answer, he nodded and opened one of the bags. Inside were comfortable shirts and pants.
“Put these on.”
As if the pretense had ended, his cold voice and rigid tone returned.
“Yes.”
Igeon quickly took the clothes. Han Taekyung gestured to show where he should change, so Igeon went into the dressing room and changed. Looking closely, what he had handed over even included new underwear. Is this really necessary? Haa… Igeon suddenly felt overwhelmed and briefly banged his head against the wall. At that moment, there was a knock, and Igeon quickly adjusted his clothes and opened the door.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Why does he keep telling me to follow? Igeon followed behind Han Taekyung like a dog following its owner. And the place he led him to was the dining room downstairs. On the same dining table where Han Taekyung had made spaghetti for Igeon before, delicious food was now lavishly set out.
“Uh…”
“Earlier, Jaewoo complained that I called you while you were eating, so it seemed you didn’t finish your meal properly. I had this prepared.”
“Ah, it’s fine. I had already eaten quite a lot by then.”
“Still, eat. Since it’s been prepared.”
“Has Executive Director Han eaten?”
“No.”
So. This is it, right? He’s asking me to eat with him.
“Then how about having a meal together? It seems too much for me to eat alone.”
“……”
“If it’s inconvenient, that’s fine.”
“Haah… all right.”
Han Taekyung clicked his tongue and sat down, and the housekeeper, as if she had been waiting, prepared his utensils. The meal that followed was filled with silence and was somewhat uncomfortable, but the food was so delicious that Igeon ate until he felt like his stomach would burst, to the point where he felt sorry toward Jaewoo.
“By the way, why did you call me today?”
It seemed very late to ask, but while cleansing his palate with cinnamon punch, Igeon suddenly remembered why he was here.
“Did something happen?”
“Since Mr. Seo Igeon is receiving too much attention and seems too noticeable, I wanted to warn you, so I called.”
“What?”
“Don’t you know that the internet has been buzzing about you all day today?”
“Ah… my phone battery died. I didn’t know.”
“Fan service is fine, but it would be good for you to be aware of your current position. Although I’m the main target, they will surely target you as well. Right now, they can’t easily get to me because of you.”
“Then shouldn’t I be making more noise and drawing more attention?”
“That would be fine when you’re with me, but it’s different when you’re not. If you’re not with me right now, they would definitely try to take care of one of us.”
“Ah…”
“I’ll be fine since I’m here, but as for you, Mr. Seo Igeon… what if Jaewoo becomes endangered while you’re out like that? Or what if that omega who hugged you today is misunderstood to have that kind of relationship with you and becomes endangered?”
“…I hadn’t thought that far. I’ll be careful.”
As Seo Igeon bit his lip with a serious expression, Han Taekyung reached out and brushed those lips once. Looking at the surprised Seo Igeon, Han Taekyung rose from his seat and, as he passed by, patted Igeon’s shoulder.
“The omega’s pheromones can also be a way for them to determine targets, so be careful.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
