Chapter 182
Hyeon-woo’s face was flushed with satisfaction.
“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
As Jerome looked around the room, he spotted a gift box on the bed. As he ran towards it, Okhee proudly said, “It’s a welcome gift.”
It was an item she had confidently chosen at the young master’s request to prepare a gift for the child. She knew from her cousins that children this age were crazy about dinosaurs. She had imported a high-quality dinosaur figurine made by a master craftsman through an overseas order.
Jerome excitedly untied the large ribbon and unwrapped the package. Okhee’s face, which had been expecting an overjoyed reaction, quickly turned to bewilderment.
Jerome’s face, which had been happy until he opened the box, turned to disappointment when he saw the identity of the dinosaur.
“Don’t… don’t you like it?”
“I’m sorry,” Hyeon-woo apologized to Okhee, embarrassed. “The kid really likes dinosaurs, but he doesn’t like carnivorous ones very much.”
“Oh…”
The dinosaur Okhee had prepared was a Tyrannosaurus. Of all things, it was the king of carnivorous dinosaurs.
As an awkward atmosphere filled the room, someone knocked on the door. When Hyeon-woo answered, “Come in,” the person who appeared through the open door was none other than Tae-geon. Okhee tactfully excused herself.
Tae-geon approached and sat on the edge of Jerome’s bed, asking, “How is it? Is it okay?”
Although it was more than just okay – he completely loved it – Hyeon-woo reluctantly replied, “Yeah,” with an awkward expression.
“What are you going to do about that house?”
“As you said, I’m planning to leave it as is for now.”
Tae-geon nodded, seemingly satisfied, and Hyeon-woo added, “And on Friday, I’m thinking of going back home. Just like I’ve been doing until now.”
“Why?” Tae-geon asked, furrowing his brow.
Hyeon-woo answered firmly, “No matter how nice this place is, it’s my workplace. I want to rest without thinking about work when I’m off.”
“Rest here like that.”
“I told you, this is my workplace. It can’t be as comfortable as home. And it’s the same for you. Here, you’re my employer. We’re not that close.”
And there was actually one more reason.
This place wasn’t “our home.” He didn’t want to take away the “our home” that he had barely reclaimed from “dad’s house” from Jerome.
“I’m going to spend the weekend alone with Jerome at our house.”
“…”
‘Our house.’
‘Alone.’
Tae-geon smiled bitterly.
There was a solid fence surrounding Hyeon-woo and Jerome that he couldn’t penetrate. There was no place for him inside it.
For some reason, this obvious fact felt terribly disappointing to Tae-geon.
“Jerome can eat in the dining room, right? Then I’ll-”
“No,” Tae-geon cut off Hyeon-woo’s words abruptly, his voice firm.
“Do it in my room.”
“Huh?”
“The three of us, eating together at the table in my room.”
Hyeon-woo looked at Tae-geon, who was sulking like a child, with an incredulous expression.
*
The three of them ended up sitting around the long table in Tae-geon’s room for dinner.
Was it because of the bleak space, unlike Jerome’s cozy and warm room? Or was it because of Tae-geon and Jerome, who were still engaged in a strange battle of nerves? Despite the lavish feast set on the grand table, a chilly wind seemed to blow around those seated.
“Hah.”
Hyeon-woo rubbed his face with one hand, feeling suddenly fatigued.
He should have known. If it was going to be this uncomfortable, why did he insist on eating together?
Hyeon-woo glared at Tae-geon and urged Jerome, “Jerome, let’s eat quickly.”
He brought over some braised tofu, broke it into bite-sized pieces, and placed it on top of Jerome’s rice. Only then did Jerome pick up his spoon and start eating the rice with the tofu. Tae-geon watched this with a displeased expression. Then, as if finally understanding, he nodded and said:
“I see. I thought it was strange how you seemed quite adept at serving meals despite being clumsy in other ways. The same goes for when you read books.”
“So what? Do you have a problem with that?”
“…”
“You benefited from it too, didn’t you? That should be enough.”
In response to Hyeon-woo’s curt reply, Tae-geon, who hadn’t even broken even, quietly closed his mouth. Seeing Tae-geon discontentedly poking at his side dishes, Hyeon-woo sighed.
“Are you going to keep showing your dislike like this?”
“…”
Jerome, who had been closely observing Tae-geon’s sullen chopstick movements, cautiously asked while glancing around:
“Uncle, do you not like that too?”
As luck would have it, the side dish Tae-geon was taking his frustration out on was spinach. It seemed to Jerome that Tae-geon was being picky about the side dish. Tae-geon half-heartedly replied to Jerome, whose eyes were sparkling with a sense of kinship:
“It’s not me who doesn’t like vegetables, it’s your dad who-”
“I what?” Hyeon-woo suddenly cut off Tae-geon’s words, placing some of the braised tofu he had brought earlier on top of Tae-geon’s rice. His smiling face seemed somewhat menacing, as if warning that he wouldn’t let it slide if Tae-geon said one more word.
In response, the corners of Tae-geon’s mouth curled up mischievously.
“Your dad eats it better.”
Then he used his chopsticks to place some spinach on top of Hyeon-woo’s rice.
“Right? That’s your favorite, isn’t it? What was it called, yum-yum?”
“…!!”
Hyeon-woo’s face turned red as he glared at Tae-geon, who was clearly teasing him. Tae-geon shrugged once, looking amused.
Jerome, unaware of the tension between the two, stared blankly at the spinach placed on Hyeon-woo’s rice. Having only ever seen his dad putting side dishes on his own rice, Jerome felt strange about someone else putting a side dish on his dad’s rice.
Feeling Jerome’s eyes burning into him intensely, Hyeon-woo inwardly broke into a cold sweat. There was only one food that Jerome, who usually ate everything without complaint, couldn’t eat, and it was this spinach side dish.
Unable to disappoint Jerome, Hyeon-woo held his breath, scrunched up his nose, and quickly put the spinach in his mouth. He swallowed it after chewing only a few times. Not only was the taste unpleasant, but the texture was also completely unappealing.
“Wow!”
Jerome clapped his hands. Hyeon-woo, who had rinsed his mouth with a glass of water, glared at Tae-geon, cursing him with his eyes. Tae-geon chuckled, his head lowered and shoulders shaking.
“You eat well. Eat a lot, Hyeon-woo. There’s more here.”
“…”
More spinach was placed on Hyeon-woo’s rice bowl.
That evening, Hyeon-woo finished a whole plate of spinach by himself. It was the first time in his life he had eaten so much spinach. He felt somewhat queasy. Tae-geon’s face, as he watched Hyeon-woo, bore a smile he couldn’t quite hide. When their eyes met, Tae-geon smiled teasingly, his eyes crinkling.
…You think this is funny? You must be having a blast.
I’ll get you back for this, just wait and see.
Hyeon-woo clenched his fist tightly.
“Scott! Scott!”
Hyeon-woo entered the kitchen pulling a trolley full of empty dishes, urgently calling for Scott.
“Yes?”
While answering Hyeon-woo, Scott’s eyes were fixed on Jerome, who had entered with Hyeon-woo. Scott held out a cookie stick from the tray to Jerome. Half of the bear-faced cookie was coated in chocolate, making it look adorably like it was wearing a black beanie.
“Thank you.”
Jerome bowed slightly as he received the cookie stick from Scott.
“Jerome, would you mind sitting over there for a moment? Dad will join you after clearing this up.”
When Hyeon-woo pointed to a table in the dining area, Jerome nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down, starting to slowly lick the cookie in his hand. In the meantime, Hyeon-woo quickly got to the point.
“It’s like a millefeuille, with layers of strawberries and custard cream inside, and a caramelized sugar layer on top, like crème brûlée. Do you know where that pie is from? It’s incredibly, incredibly sweet…!”
Scott was surprised as he listened to Hyeon-woo’s description.
It was Ian who occasionally came to him, saying how delicious the dessert he had eaten that day was, and each time, Scott was amazed at how sophisticated Ian’s dessert tastes were. The way he described what he liked about it was also remarkably clear and professional.
Already feeling a strange sense of incongruity, Scott couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer when asked about the brand of the strawberry millefeuille coated with a sugar layer, and countered with a question:
“Yes, I know it well. But how does Ian know about that dessert? It’s only made for VIP protocol at J Hotel.”
“…What?”
Hyeon-woo was surprised by this unexpected information.
During the time he lived with Tae-geon, whenever Tae-geon went out in his car saying he had business at home, he always returned with an exquisite dessert in hand. The strawberry millefeuille was one of the things he had eaten then.
Tae-geon’s outings, which perfectly coincided with his heat cycle. Only now did he understand what those outings meant, but at the time, he didn’t.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
