Chapter 165
*
“Thank you for the meal.”
Hyeon-woo, who was cleaning up the kitchen counter, approached Jerome, who had finished eating. Half of the rice balls made with cheese and ham remained. These were Jerome’s favorites.
“Jerome, why did you eat so little?”
“……”
“Was it not tasty?”
“No, it was delicious.”
Hyeon-woo watched with a complex expression as Jerome got up and slipped into his room. Jerome, who used to constantly ask to play, had recently been spending more time alone in his room.
Is this normal for a five-year-old?
Now that he could read quite well, Jerome no longer crawled into bed every night asking for picture books to be read to him. Though this meant less trouble, Hyeon-woo couldn’t understand why he felt so disappointed.
“Jerome, is something going on these days?”
Hyeon-woo entered Jerome’s room with a plate of warm milk and red strawberries.
“Did something happen at kindergarten?”
Jerome, who was sitting on the floor playing with blocks, shook his head. Hyeon-woo sat across from him and held out a strawberry on a fork.
“Or are you angry at daddy for something?”
Unable to resist the sweet smell, Jerome quickly ate the strawberry, shaking his head again.
“Then why don’t you play with daddy these days? You don’t even let daddy join in with the block play.”
“……”
“Daddy feels hurt, Jerome.”
“……”
“Are you really not going to tell me why you’re acting like this?”
Jerome flinched at Hyeon-woo’s words about feeling hurt, but that was all. No matter how much he coaxed and persuaded, Jerome showed no intention of opening up. Hyeon-woo made a sulky face and left the room with the now empty plate and cup. He deliberately walked slowly, hoping Jerome would follow, but Jerome didn’t come out.
Late at night, after putting Jerome to bed, Hyeon-woo sat alone on the sofa, looking at his phone with a worried expression.
[‘The Terrible Fours.’
It’s a period of developing self-awareness.
It’s an age when they have various experiences, clashing with the world as they grow into an individual personality.]
Hyeon-woo stared at the text, lost in thought.
Thanks to Jerome being exceptionally docile for a boy his age, who are usually constantly causing trouble, Hyeon-woo had never had any problems with child-rearing. He couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Jerome’s recent unfamiliar behavior, when he had never shown any problematic behavior even during the so-called “terrible fours” period.
He couldn’t let another precious weekend with Jerome pass meaninglessly like today. After agonizing alone, Hyeon-woo reluctantly made a phone call.
“Hello?”
A gentle voice of a middle-aged woman came through the receiver.
“Hello, auntie. It’s Hyeon-woo.”
“Oh, Hyeon-woo. What’s the matter?”
“It’s about Jerome. I wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Hyeon-woo carefully shared his concerns with Aunt Kyung-ae. However, the aunt knew nothing about Jerome’s recent changes. Realizing that Jerome was only being cold to him while still being affectionate and lovable to the aunt made Hyeon-woo even more frustrated.
Putting aside his frustration, Hyeon-woo changed the topic to Jerome’s field trip scheduled for this Friday. The trip to harvest hydroponically grown strawberries in a greenhouse, which had been announced by the kindergarten weeks ago, happened to coincide with Tae-geon’s surgery day. Hyeon-woo had asked for the aunt’s understanding in advance, just in case.
“I might be a bit late from work that day due to some circumstances. When Jerome returns from the field trip, he’ll probably whine about being tired, so please put him to bed early.”
“But he might wake up in the middle of the night and ask to play. Will that be okay?”
“Yes. He probably won’t do that anymore.”
Hyeon-woo’s voice trailed off bitterly. After ending the call with the aunt, he carefully entered Jerome’s room.
“Jerome, are you asleep?”
Jerome blinked at Hyeon-woo, who approached with a gentle voice.
“You know about the field trip from kindergarten on Friday, right?”
“Yes.”
“You need to dress warmly. I’ll leave your warmest clothes with Aunt Yejun in advance. Wear them without fussing, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good, sleep well. I love you.”
Hyeon-woo kissed Jerome’s cheek. As he was about to turn away:
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
Jerome, who had suddenly called out to Hyeon-woo, asked:
“Do you like strawberries?”
At this unexpected question, Hyeon-woo felt a sudden tightness in his nose.
“…Yes, daddy loves strawberries. I love them very much.”
“Okay. I got it!”
Jerome’s answer was full of determination, as if he had made up his mind about something. Even though Hyeon-woo could clearly see what was in Jerome’s heart, he pretended not to notice, tucked Jerome in up to his chin, and left the room.
*
Hyeon-woo arrived at the mansion in Driver Yoon’s car. He immediately changed into his uniform and entered Tae-geon’s room with his breakfast. After Scott finished explaining the dishes and left the room, Hyeon-woo sat down as usual in the L-shaped seat at Tae-geon’s table and began eating.
Hyeon-woo fiddled with his rice for a while, holding his chopsticks. All weekend, his mind had been so full of worries about Jerome that he hadn’t had the chance to think about Tae-geon’s matters, but now, facing Tae-geon again, he found it somehow difficult to look him directly in the face. An unfamiliar and uncomfortable atmosphere hung between Tae-geon and himself.
Sensing that Hyeon-woo wasn’t eating properly, Tae-geon suddenly asked:
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“…No.”
Hyeon-woo’s voice was dry as he replied briefly, as if trying to hide his complicated inner thoughts. Nonetheless, Tae-geon asked again in a rather affectionate tone:
“Did you have a good weekend? What did you do?”
Hyeon-woo felt suffocated by Tae-geon’s gaze, which was fixed on him with ears perked up, waiting for his response. His eyes, deeply colored with an indecipherable emotion, were looking at Hyeon-woo tenderly.
Hyeon-woo quickly averted his eyes from Tae-geon’s gaze and clenched his fist tightly.
He thought he understood why he had been uncomfortable throughout his time with Tae-geon. It was hard to bear that persistent, blatant gaze that had been on him since he entered the room.
He felt like he might fall into a misunderstanding again if he wasn’t careful. It seemed like he might repeat the same mistakes as before.
Tae-geon’s request to be the first thing he sees after the surgery, his gaze towards Hyeon-woo, everything about him including his expressions and gestures, were trying to assign meaning and grow larger within Hyeon-woo on their own.
Hadn’t they already confirmed that there were no feelings between them?
Tae-geon had called Hyeon-woo’s decision, pushed by guilt, charity, and afterwards, as conditions were exchanged back and forth, it had become a relationship of quid pro quo, no longer charity or anything else. Knowing this clearly, yet still being at a loss in the face of Tae-geon’s gaze made Hyeon-woo feel somewhat out of his mind.
Whatever was wavering in Tae-geon’s eyes had nothing to do with him. There was no reason to care about it, nor any need to be caught up in strange feelings because of it.
Having sorted out his thoughts like this, Hyeon-woo replied coldly, as if shaking off his complicated emotions:
“I rested.”
It was an insincere and cold voice, as if shaking off something bothersome. He couldn’t believe this icy voice was his own.
“…I see.”
Tae-geon smiled awkwardly and finally withdrew his gaze. Tae-geon’s subsequent clumsy chopstick movements somehow seemed hurried and unskilled, making Hyeon-woo feel unnecessarily uneasy.
The cold voice he had directed at Tae-geon kept bothering him. He had resolved not to care, yet he found himself caught up in these feelings again so quickly. Knowing that this unresolved discomfort would trouble him even in bed, Hyeon-woo hesitantly opened his mouth:
“…I rested well at home, but you… y-you…”
Hyeon-woo stumbled over his words, unexpectedly running into a roadblock. He couldn’t bring himself to say “young master.”
It was a form of address that had been fine before his identity was revealed, but now trying to call Tae-geon that suddenly felt embarrassing.
He could feel Tae-geon’s eyes filling with interest as he looked at him. Trailing off, Hyeon-woo seemed to feel a sense of defiance against that gaze and forced out his voice:
“Y-you?!”
At this sudden, unfounded form of address, Hyeon-woo looked lost, not knowing what to do with what he had just blurted out. Tae-geon finally smiled faintly.
“‘You,’ is it?”
Tae-geon’s voice, tinged with laughter, gently continued to Hyeon-woo’s ears, who wanted to hide anywhere:
“Shouldn’t you say ‘young master’? Didn’t we agree to go back to how things were before?”
“……”
“Why? Suddenly feeling shy? You’ve been calling me that just fine until now.”
“That was then, and this is now.”
Hyeon-woo’s voice was curt as he answered while clearing the table as the meal was almost finished.
It was Hyeon-woo who had suggested maintaining an employer-employee relationship for the time being.
Although the incident had been concluded as a misunderstanding after Hyeon-woo was cleared of the theft charges and returned to work, he felt that the butler’s gaze towards him had become even more intense than before. He must have been curious about why the young master had reversed his decision.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
