Yeonwoo slowly closed his eyes as warmth spread across his palm.
Even while thinking Munbeom wouldn’t contact him anymore, he kept waiting. Though he realized his thoughts and actions completely contradicted each other, he couldn’t help it. It seemed he was comforting himself, saying it couldn’t be helped since his feelings weren’t yet resolved.
Around lunchtime, when his phone suddenly vibrated, he went to find it. When he picked up the phone from the blanket, he hadn’t thought for a moment that the caller would be Ho Munbeom.
So when he confirmed the number on the screen, he was surprised and pressed the call button with his thumb. At that moment, the phone slipped from his hand and fell onto the blanket. Flustered, Yeonwoo immediately picked up the phone, but the call had already ended.
He felt devastated. Why had he made such a mistake? Having hung up right after answering, he couldn’t imagine what the other person might think. After waiting so eagerly for that person’s call, what was this foolishness? His face contorted with self-reproach at his own stupidity.
Just as Yeonwoo’s face looked like he might cry at any moment, the number appeared on his screen again.
He thought that because of his mistake, this time the call would truly never come again. Unconsciously wiping his face with his palm, Yeonwoo took a deep breath and sat up. He held the phone with both hands and pressed the call button.
His mind was full of the thought not to make a mistake this time. Being so tense, Yeonwoo couldn’t even comprehend what he was saying. He just smiled a little and answered that he was fine when asked if something was wrong after hearing his voice.
Even if something truly bad had happened, he was fine in front of Munbeom. At least in front of this person, he wanted to be a Yeonwoo who was unaffected. Then came the question of whether he was free today, and he heard the voice asking to meet.
Yeonwoo nodded and answered while briefly considering what his appearance might be like. From the beginning, rejection wasn’t an option.
In Yeonwoo’s mind, the countdown had already begun. If not this time, there would be no next time. Even if, by some miracle, there was a next and a time after that, nothing beyond could be guaranteed. For Yeonwoo, Ho Munbeom was someone to meet whenever possible.
Perhaps today could be the last time…
“…”
Raising his head, Yeonwoo exhaled a long breath.
It seemed like he’d been sighing countless times while alone. Having been tense the entire journey, even Secretary Kang, who had come to pick him up, commented that he looked unwell when getting out of the car. Although he replied that he was fine and thanked him for his concern, his condition was definitely not good.
Yeonwoo brought his wrist to his nose and smelled it.
When his condition was poor, a simple check could be done by detecting the flow of pheromones. So he pressed his nose deeply against it and inhaled strongly, but it was better than he expected. Fortunately, his father’s training in controlling pheromones was a great help in times like these.
Lowering his hand again and pulling down his long sleeve, Yeonwoo sat and looked outside.
…When would he arrive?
Sitting tensely for so long seemed to make him even more tired.
So Yeonwoo stood up and lifted one leg at a time, then put it down. Then he felt like walking a little. After looking outside again, Yeonwoo gathered courage and moved one foot forward. As he walked slowly and stepped outside, he noticed the charming interior decor.
After looking at the place, which had been carefully decorated with attention to every detail, his gaze shifted to the potted plants gathered right next to the counter. Looking at plants of various sizes, Yeonwoo was drawn toward them.
How could one grow them so well?
When he was young, a small pot plant he bought without knowing much didn’t last two weeks before withering away. Even with watering, the soil dried up, and when he finally removed the plant, its roots were all rotten and mushy. It seemed that since then, he hadn’t tried to raise anything, whether plants or anything else.
They say growing plants well is also a talent. Someone who could decorate a café so beautifully must surely be a person with many talents.
Ding.
At the small bell sound that rang in his ears, Yeonwoo’s heart beat loudly.
If he had known he would come so quickly, he should have waited quietly in his seat. As Yeonwoo hesitated whether to return to his seat even now, he paused as he was about to turn around. This was because the person who opened the café door and entered wasn’t Munbeom, but a middle-aged woman.
He thought she might be the café owner, whom he hadn’t met before. But sensing the atmosphere the woman exuded, Yeonwoo realized that wasn’t the case, and as he carefully examined her face, their eyes met. The eye contact was brief. After looking at Yeonwoo’s face and then his attire, the corners of the woman’s mouth rose slightly. Narrowing one eye and shaking her head from side to side, she let out a hollow laugh and soon looked around the café interior, muttering, “What is this place?”
“Meeting in secret in a place like this, really, the nerve…”
The woman, who trailed off, brushed back her gently curled bob hair and looked at Yeonwoo again. Her expressionless face was filled with incredulity and faint contempt. It was both unfamiliar and familiar. Because Seo Miyoung, whom he had first met, had looked at him in a similar way.
So Yeonwoo thought he knew who she was. Turning toward the woman, Yeonwoo kept his hands clasped together and bowed his head first to greet her.
“Hello…”
Just as he was about to introduce himself as Lee Yeonwoo, the bell dinged again. And behind the woman standing at the door appeared Munbeom, who was a head and a half taller than her. As the familiar figure he had been waiting for appeared, Yeonwoo exhaled the breath he had been holding in. Perhaps he looked at him with great excitement without even realizing it.
Munbeom glanced at Yeonwoo once, then immediately looked down at the middle-aged woman, Heo Yeongran.
Seeing Munbeom appear earlier than expected, Heo Yeongran seemed surprised, but soon hardened her expression and headed inside.
“It’s been a long time, but the place isn’t to my liking. I don’t like it, but it can’t be helped. Don’t just stand there, come in…”
Heo Yeongran’s words couldn’t continue. This was because Munbeom immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He dragged his mother, Heo Yeongran, outside the door. Due to the difference in physical strength and Munbeom’s uncompromising force, Heo Yeongran couldn’t resist. Having never been dragged away like this before, Heo Yeongran stiffened her expression and raised her voice.
“Are you crazy?! Where do you think you’re showing off your strength?! Have you forgotten that I’m the one who gave birth to you, or what! Let go! I said let go!!”
Whether Heo Yeongran was angry or not, Munbeom didn’t even blink.
In the small parking space outside the café, two cars were parked. One was driven by Munbeom himself, and the other was the car Heo Yeongran had arrived in. The middle-aged man who had driven Heo Yeongran here was at a loss seeing her being dragged out with her arm held by Munbeom. Though he wanted to stop him, the atmosphere was so hostile that he couldn’t intervene carelessly.
“Gasp!!”
Heo Yeongran, who was almost thrown into the open back seat, couldn’t regain her composure. Lying face down on the seat, she brushed back the hair that had fallen across her face and let out a hollow laugh. Perhaps shocked by what had happened to her, her eyes, which had been groping the air, quickly turned vicious.
She sat upright and tried to go outside again, but before she could, Munbeom forcefully closed the door. At the loud bang that echoed through the open space, both Heo Yeongran and the middle-aged man who had come out of the car turned pale with fright. Munbeom, with his hand on the closed car door, raised his head. Meeting his gaze, the middle-aged man unconsciously shook his head.
“I, I, the Madam asked me to, uh, I had no choice…!”
He hiccupped while speaking. Surprised, the man covered his mouth with his hand and quickly got into the driver’s seat, as if avoiding Munbeom’s gaze. Meanwhile, Heo Yeongran kept trying to get out somehow, but with Munbeom pressing down on the door with one hand, it was impossible.
Still not giving up, Heo Yeongran quickly lowered the window and glared at him.
“You!!”
“You will go straight to the airport now. Take the earliest flight from there. Don’t worry about any luggage you couldn’t bring. I’ll make sure to gather and send you everything, even the smallest trace of you.”
“…”
Heo Yeongran’s lips trembled at his sunken gaze felt even in the darkness and his pheromones exuding intense displeasure. She had anticipated that meeting Munbeom wouldn’t be easy, and even if they did meet, they wouldn’t have a pleasant conversation, but this was too much. Who had birthed him? Thinking that he couldn’t possibly treat her this way, Heo Yeongran gritted her teeth.
“Do you think I’ll do as you want? Even if I arrive at the airport, do you think I’ll quietly board the plane! I’ll let everyone know that you’re trying to force me out! I’ll make the whole world know what an unfilial and wicked person you are!!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
