Chapter 12
Kim Myungjun raised an eyebrow at Eunsol’s words. It was a welcome remark. He wondered if Eunsol had somehow guessed his thoughts, as the request seemed quite timely.
Of course, he couldn’t reveal all the information about Hyun-oh. He needed Hyun-oh’s permission for that.
However, as Eunsol had said, he knew almost nothing. Even Hyun-oh’s biological mother was, from Kim Myungjun’s perspective, no different from a threat to Hyun-oh’s position.
In a wealthy family, the first thing to discard to protect one’s interests was familial affection. Even if it was the person who gave birth to you, you had to have the resolve to coldly cast them aside.
In that sense, Kang Ye-ryeong was someone who had raised Hyun-oh so formally that she wouldn’t feel much guilt when he cast her aside.
When Hyun-oh needed an adult’s care, the times she personally took care of her son were few enough to count on one hand. That was throughout his infancy.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Hyun-oh was raised by Kim Myungjun’s mother. Kim Myungjun’s mother was Hyun-oh’s nanny. That’s why Kim Myungjun was able to receive a high-level education alongside Hyun-oh from a young age.
That was also why he could now assist Hyun-oh from the closest position.
Even though Eunsol was young and his circumstances were pitiful, it was something to avoid feeling excessive sympathy for him.
Strangely, from the moment he first saw Eunsol, his heart seemed to soften, so Kim Myungjun deliberately hardened his heart. He just needed to assist Eunsol to the extent that he wouldn’t be a hindrance to Hyun-oh’s path.
Fortunately, Eunsol seemed to genuinely like Hyun-oh. That meant he would be easier to handle.
“I understand. I will organize the information and provide it to you soon.”
“Thank you.”
Eunsol bowed his head slightly towards Kim Myungjun. Kim Myungjun also bowed politely towards Eunsol. It was a moment when an invisible bond was formed between the two, with Hyun-oh as their common ground.
***
Hyun-oh took off his shoes and stopped in his tracks, feeling something was off. The business trip to China had taken longer than expected. As he entered his home after a long time, he felt a different atmosphere than usual.
What had changed?
After standing still for a while and pondering, Hyun-oh realized it was the smell of food coming from inside.
There were very few times he had meals prepared at home. He usually didn’t have breakfast, and lunch and dinner were simple meals eaten during work.
Hyun-oh resumed his steps, which had paused. As the end of the long corridor approached, the sound of sizzling joined the smell of food.
“Why does it taste like this……”
A voice murmuring in vain.
Hyun-oh leaned against the boundary of the kitchen with his arms crossed. His tired eyes followed the small figure busily moving in front of him.
“Clearly followed the recipe, but it’s strange……”
It was Eunsol wearing a white apron. He watched Eunsol, who was holding cooking utensils in both hands and moving busily around the large kitchen.
“Maybe add more garlic…… Huh?”
Eunsol stared at the pot boiling and bubbling over for a while. He had already added garlic twice with a large spoon. But no matter how he thought about it, it seemed like the lack of garlic was making the taste bland.
Just as he was about to turn around to take out the minced garlic he had put in the fridge a while ago.
There was a large figure standing like a picture in the space where he had been alone. Eunsol was startled and took a step back.
Behind Eunsol, something unidentified was still boiling vigorously. Hyun-oh, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed, quickly approached Eunsol with his long legs.
“Uh, uh……”
Eunsol made a foolish sound. A large hand touched the back of his ribbon-tied hair.
“What are you doing now?”
His shoulders twitched at the low voice coming from above his head. His round eyes, wider than usual, trembled like a lost child.
“That is……”
Eunsol glanced at the time that appeared on the clock. It was an hour earlier than the time Kim Myungjun had told him Hyun-oh would return.
He wanted to serve a homemade dinner to someone who had been on a long business trip. While Hyun-oh was away, Eunsol read and reread the information Kim Myungjun had given him.
After carefully considering the relationships of the people around him several times, what Eunsol paid close attention to was, of course, information about Hyun-oh.
He didn’t enjoy gourmet food, but when he heard that he preferred Korean food, he started learning to cook.
The period he had been learning was less than a week. It was natural that the number of dishes Eunsol could make was not many.
Instead, Eunsol busily moved around the kitchen from 3 p.m. to make at least one dish properly.
“I wanted to prepare a meal……”
Eunsol bowed his head deeply as if he had committed a great sin. He saw the drops of stew from the ladle he was holding fall to the floor.
He remembered the taste of the stew he had just tasted. It was a skill he was ashamed to show to someone. It was even more so if that someone was Hyun-oh.
“Since I had dinner outside and came in, don’t do more work and go in and rest.”
Hyun-oh held back the breath that was about to burst out, filling his vision with the round back of Eunsol’s head. Throughout the business trip, the time he closed his eyes in a day did not exceed three hours.
The accumulated fatigue sharpened his sensitive nature even more. Even though Eunsol’s actions were out of goodwill, seeing the messy state of the kitchen that had been clean made him sigh first.
He had no appetite either. He couldn’t even tell what the food boiling in the pot was at a glance.
It seemed to be a kind of seafood soup with octopus, crab, and abalone in it. But it smelled so strange that he could tell it was tasteless without even tasting it.
“Stay away from the fire, it’s dangerous.”
In Hyun-oh’s eyes, Eunsol was no different from a child. Not only was there a big age difference, but Eunsol’s appearance itself seemed like powder would come off if he touched his cheeks.
It felt like he was raising a child he would never have. Hyun-oh took the cooking utensil from Eunsol’s hand and put it in the sink, then turned off the power of the induction cooker.
“Since someone will come to clean up tomorrow, it’s better to leave it as it is.”
Even while making just one dish, Eunsol had taken out all the kitchen utensils. The large island table, big enough for two adult men to lie down and roll around, was packed with various ingredients and tools.
There were a couple of creatures that hadn’t made it into the pot, flipping their bodies and wriggling their claws.
Seeing that sight made his temples throb with pain.
“…I’m sorry.”
Eunsol’s voice was soaked in moisture. Not only his voice but also his vision was blurred. Eunsol clenched his empty fists at the coldness he felt in Hyun-oh’s voice.
He saw him after a long time. He must not have wanted to see Eunsol, but Eunsol had spent every night missing him.
The bed he slept in alone felt particularly large. He barely closed his eyes, desperately inhaling the pheromones of Hyun-oh that subtly permeated the bedroom.
He didn’t know how excited he was when Kim Myungjun told him that Hyun-oh would finally return today.
The dream of welcoming him home happily and having a meal together with the steaming hot stew in between was shattered in an instant.
Even when he met Hyun-oh’s mother, he missed Hyun-oh. Just by having him by his side without doing anything, Eunsol felt protected.
Eunsol’s world was very small, so meeting strangers was a big stress. Especially, Kang Ye-ryeong was not just a stranger but the person who gave birth to Hyun-oh. Eunsol had to spend time with her in a more nervous state.
Even if Hyun-oh found Eunsol bothersome, to Eunsol, Hyun-oh was like the sky he had to look up to every day. Eunsol was an omega with low pheromone levels. Omegas had to live under the protection of an alpha. It was something he had heard repeatedly since childhood.
Before marriage, he lived under his father’s protection. Now that he was married to Hyun-oh, Hyun-oh’s attention was all the world Eunsol could have.
It was his fault that he ruined it. It felt like a heavy rock was placed on his head. He didn’t have the courage to face the contempt that might be in his eyes as he looked down at him.
The drops of stew from the ladle he was holding also left marks on the slippers he was wearing.
Tears fell drop by drop onto the clear stain that seemed like it wouldn’t come off even if washed.
“There’s no need to apologize, so lift your head.”
Hyun-oh took off the tie around his neck. For the first time, he regretted his decision to make Eunsol his partner.
Every time he spoke, Eunsol would tear up, which was frustrating. Looking back at what he had said, there was no intention to scold him.
But seeing him shedding big tears made his chest feel stuffy, as if he had indigestion.
“Sorry… ah, no…”
Eunsol reflexively tried to apologize at Hyun-oh’s voice, which seemed to have lowered a note, but then remembered what Hyun-oh had just said.
Apologizing immediately when the other person seemed to be in a bad mood was an old habit of Eunsol. Just as a callus forms from holding a pencil for a long time, it was a trace that life had carved into Eunsol.
Eunsol roughly rubbed his knuckles with the back of his hand. He didn’t want to cry, but the endless tears made his chest feel stuffy too.
“I’ll go in first, so calm your emotions.”
In the end, Hyun-oh left the place. His depressed eyes followed the back of Hyun-oh leaving the kitchen for a long time.
***
“…Still not in yet.”
Hyun-oh, who came out after taking a shower, let out a long breath. His hair, slightly damp, was tousled between his long, straight fingers.
The bed was clean. There was no trace of anyone lying down, and unlike the smooth surface of the bed, Hyun-oh’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
Hyun-oh, who had been standing still and looking only at the bed, stepped out of the bedroom.
“Mr. Lee Eunsol.”
Hyun-oh entered the place where he expected Eunsol to be and called Eunsol’s name. The kitchen was tidied up differently from before.
It wasn’t as clean as it originally was. He had tried hard to clean up, but there were traces of clumsiness here and there.
It wasn’t hard to guess whose traces they were.
Hyun-oh didn’t welcome strangers entering his space. The reason why even the servants didn’t stay in the house but only came and went at certain times was because of that.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
