Suhwan woke up again in the late afternoon. When he opened his eyes, no one was at home. Naturally, Seunghyun would be at school at this time.
Suhwan, who had been lingering in bed even after waking up, finally got up. If he didn’t get up soon, he felt like he would become one with the bed until Seunghyun returned.
He didn’t know why he had become so lazy lately. Maybe it was because he wasn’t going to school. It seemed like he was increasingly following only his instincts.
“Whew.”
His waist, which had been weak even in the morning, now moved fairly well. Still, he patted his aching waist as he got out of bed. Then he picked up his phone that he had left on the nightstand.
“Oh?”
When he checked his messages, expecting contact from Seunghyun, there was a reply from an unexpected person.
What should I do?
After wandering around the room helplessly, Suhwan took a small deep breath. Then he stared intensely at the phone screen.
Sister Hwalyeon
It’s fine, contact me anytime
“…”
Jin Hwalyeon.
She was Jin Suhwan’s cousin and the executive director of Hwamyeong’s affiliate company. He had messaged her after receiving advice from Heeyoung. After much deliberation, he had left a message saying he wanted to contact her, but the busy woman hadn’t replied until now.
When he was troubled because of the Eta post, Suhwan had been thinking about Heeyoung. He suspected that she might be someone who had been possessed like himself.
He really couldn’t understand why Heeyoung was helping him. She might genuinely want to help, but perhaps she had other thoughts as well.
Although he still couldn’t determine her intentions, Heeyoung’s advice was worth listening to. That feeling became more certain after meeting Chairman Jin. Since there would be another opportunity to ask her later, Suhwan decided to first approach Hwalyeon as Heeyoung had advised.
After hesitating for a long time, the extremely nervous Suhwan pressed the call button. Soon, the dial tone began to sound.
However, even though the ringing continued for a while, Hwalyeon didn’t answer the call. Being an executive director of an affiliate company, she would naturally be busy. When Suhwan was about to end the call as it seemed it would be disconnected soon:
“…!”
The phone screen changed. Seeing the call time counting, it meant the other person had answered the call. However, no sound came from the other end. Suhwan looked at the screen showing only the call time with suspicious eyes and asked in a small voice.
“…Sister Hwalyeon?”
—…
After another long silence, a low voice flowed from the other end.
—…Is this Suhwan?
“…!”
Although he had heard she was his cousin sister, her voice was extremely husky for a woman. Maybe because she was an alpha. Since it was a bit different from what he had imagined, Suhwan became even more nervous.
“Yes, it’s me. Sister.”
—I see.
“Have you… been well?”
—…
After barely managing to speak through his nervousness, Hwalyeon fell silent again after her brief response.
It seemed that she also found this situation incredibly awkward. It was understandable. After Jin Suhwan went abroad to study, their relationship had soured, so they would have been distant all this time.
—Is something wrong?
“Well…”
—Ah, just a moment.
Soon, along with Hwalyeon’s voice, the voices of other people flowed through the receiver. It seemed she had answered the phone while working. I should have sent another message before calling. As Suhwan was blaming himself, Hwalyeon’s voice was heard again.
—I’m sorry, Suhwan. I’m busy with something right now.
“It’s okay. I called you out of the blue.”
—…
After another subtle silence, Hwalyeon continued.
—I think I’ll have time tomorrow, how about having dinner together?
“What?”
Suhwan, surprised, pondered Hwalyeon’s words.
So, she’s suggesting we meet tomorrow?
Hwalyeon asked in a low voice to the confused Suhwan.
—Does that not work for you?
“No, no. That’s fine.”
—I’ll send you the location by message.
“Okay.”
After making the appointment unexpectedly, he hung up. Tomorrow, he would have to meet another member of Jin Suhwan’s family, not Chairman Jin. Suhwan only realized this fact after he had already agreed.
Ring, ring…
“Ah!”
Suhwan, who had been in a daze, came to his senses at the sound of the ringing phone. Looking down at the screen, he saw a familiar name.
[Seunghyun]
“Ah, Seunghyun.”
—…
Without much thought, Suhwan answered the call immediately. But again, no sound came from the other end.
Why is everyone doing this? Is it a trend to stay silent after answering the phone? As he tilted his head in confusion, a deeply sunken voice rang in Suhwan’s ear.
—Who were you talking to?
“Huh?”
—I’m asking who you were talking to.
“…?”
How does Seunghyun know I was talking to Hwalyeon? Wondering if he might be nearby, Suhwan unconsciously looked around, but soon realized the nuance was a bit different.
If he knew about the call with Hwalyeon, he wouldn’t have asked who he was talking to. It seemed like Seunghyun had called while Suhwan was talking to Hwalyeon, and the calls had crossed paths.
“Ah, that, well…”
Suhwan hesitated before answering. Would Seunghyun know who Hwalyeon was? It would take quite some time to explain, and he couldn’t take up that much of Seunghyun’s time, who probably still had lectures to attend. Suhwan answered, thinking lightly:
“I’ll tell you when you come back.”
—…What did you say?
“Don’t you have class soon? You should head in.”
—Hyung.
“Ah, bring some Häagen-Dazs when you come back. Let’s eat it after dinner.”
Häagen-Dazs was the ice cream that Suhwan was currently obsessed with. Hearing Suhwan’s words, Seunghyun let out a deep sigh. Then, in a somewhat depressed voice, he asked:
—What flavor?
“Hmm…”
What flavor should I eat today? Suhwan thought intensely for a brief moment. It was too difficult to choose between the new flavors, dark chocolate and cookie cream.
After a difficult deliberation, Suhwan finally spoke.
“Dark chocolate!”
—Alright. Size…
“The big one!”
—Okay.
Seunghyun, who had replied as if he already knew, quickly hung up as his lecture was about to start. Suhwan, whose mood had immediately brightened at the thought of ice cream, hummed as he left the bedroom.
***
“I’m home.”
“…!”
Suhwan, who had been dozing off on the sofa after a simple late lunch, came to his senses and got up. Then he ran to the entrance to greet Seunghyun.
“Seunghyun, you’re back?”
“Yes.”
“The ice cream?”
“…Here.”
Seunghyun, who had been looking at Suhwan with displeasure for only asking about the ice cream when he returned, held out the ice cream he had bought.
“Wow.”
Despite that, seeing Suhwan’s happy face, Seunghyun felt his uncomfortable feelings melt away. He thought to himself that this must be a serious case as he inwardly clicked his tongue and said:
“You shouldn’t eat it now. Eat it after dinner.”
“Mmm, okay.”
Suhwan, who had been staring at the ice cream as if enchanted, finally nodded. Then he put the ice cream in the freezer. Seunghyun, who had followed him to the kitchen, embraced Suhwan from behind.
“Now tell me.”
“Hmm?”
“Who were you talking to this afternoon?”
“Oh, that?”
Recalling the afternoon events, Suhwan turned his head. Seeing Seunghyun’s face with a somewhat unfriendly gaze, he tilted his head in confusion before answering.
“My cousin sister.”
“Cousin… sister?”
“Yes, do you know Director Jin Hwalyeon?”
“Of course.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
How could he not know someone who was famous enough for ordinary people to recognize? However, he didn’t know that Suhwan had enough of a relationship with her to contact her. As Seunghyun showed interest, Suhwan continued excitedly:
“I contacted her today, but she was busy, so we couldn’t talk much. But we’re going to meet for dinner tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“We’re going to have a meal together.”
“In the evening?”
“Yes.”
Suhwan nodded and took out plates from the cupboard to prepare dinner. While receiving those plates and placing them on the table, Seunghyun asked:
“Why so suddenly? You weren’t close before, were you?”
“That’s true.”
Suhwan scratched his head at Seunghyun’s question. He felt a bit embarrassed to explain since the reason ultimately had to do with Seunghyun.
“Since grandfather keeps opposing our relationship, I thought maybe sister could help…”
“…”
Seunghyun, who had been placing plates on the table, paused and looked at Suhwan. After gazing at Suhwan’s shy face, he approached and embraced him.
“I hope it goes well.”
“Yeah.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
