DHG Ch 67

Secretary Hwang took out the item that had come from the depths of Kim Jinhwan’s safe last October.

“I’m reporting this as it seems to be related to Mr. Kwon Heewoo.”

Jang Seungyung’s gaze, which had been fixed absentmindedly outside, finally returned. Raising an eyebrow, he picked up the old model cell phone placed on the desk. Secretary Hwang’s report continued, and Jang Seungyung looked down at the small, black, well-worn device with a blank expression.

✮⋆˙

At the same time, Heewoo was also staring intently at a cell phone. It was the one Jang Seungyung had gifted him, which now felt completely his own.

His worried gaze was fixed on the list of one-sided outgoing calls. Daol had contacted him out of the blue a few days ago.

[I was in a hit-and-run]

[That crazy bastard hit me and ran]

A hit-and-run. And the ‘crazy bastard’ was probably Daol’s ex-boyfriend.

-The customer is unavailable, please leave a message at the beep….

He had called Daol right away that day, but he didn’t pick up. After leaving several missed calls, he cautiously sent a text, but there was no reply.

He even called Mingeon, but he was on a business trip in China. In the end, Heewoo called the number for Won Madam that he had memorized.

-An accident? What are you talking about? I just saw Sunsoo going up with some takeout food a little while ago. All his limbs are fine.

She said she hadn’t heard anything from Daol, and that he had been coming to work regularly.

Did that mean Daol had lied?

Unable to calm down despite Won Madam’s assertion, Heewoo was only able to feel relieved after cross-checking Daol’s well-being through Mingeon, who was on his business trip in China.

Thinking about it, Daol had only said he was in a hit-and-run, not that he was injured. It was actually a huge relief. Although the situation of not being able to contact him after such a shocking text was a bit concerning, Heewoo just sent another message.

[Hyung, please call me when you see this message.]

As he scrolled through his messages, which remained unanswered for several days, his thoughts gradually shifted in a different direction.

The evening had already grown dark. Sitting in the dark room, bathed in a blue light, he fiddled with the unresponsive phone. It was in that moment that Daol’s self-deprecating words about his own sub-gender suddenly occupied his mind.

‘I’m a male omega. A being who people might want to experience once to satisfy their sexual curiosity or have a unique experience, but someone who is excluded and can’t be considered a life partner or a marriage prospect.’

Then, another voice resurfaced. The things Daol had said after noticing Heewoo’s feelings for Jang Seungyung.

‘Honestly… even without that damn ledger transaction, this ending was so obvious for me.’

‘You’ll most likely end up like me!’

What would Daol say if he saw him now?

“……”

As if suddenly waking from a dream and plunging into cold water, Heewoo regained a vivid sense of reality.

After a moment of being frozen, as if caught off guard, he let out a hollow laugh. It was a laugh of self-mockery. Regaining a sense of reality meant that he had, for a moment, lost it.

Did he really dream of an eternity with Jang Seungyung?

How long had it been since his confession that he would dream of such an absurd luxury?

Daol had said the ending for Heewoo, dating the CEO, was obvious… but after careful consideration, Heewoo had concluded that such an obvious ending was what he deserved.

Most couples break up anyway. It seemed natural that Heewoo would be part of that majority.

There was no doubt that Jang Seungyung truly cared for and liked him right now. So, it was enough to just be able to covet his time like this, even if it was for a short while.

For the person he liked to return the same genuine feelings was an unbelievably dreamlike thing. Sometimes, it felt so much like a dream.

If there was one thing he wished for, it was just for this moment to last as long as possible.

…Still, he was grateful to Daol. If not for his message, he might have harbored some ridiculous hope. He might have been swept away without self-reflection and settled for an inappropriate greed. Just like when he had rashly confessed his feelings back in response to Jang Seungyung’s confession.

Heewoo recalled the regret he felt in the CEO’s office not long ago.

‘I like you, too.’

The moment he impulsively laid bare his own feelings, drenched by Jang Seungyung’s incredibly passionate confession. And the moment he was submerged in a deep, inexplicable regret.

Looking back now, it seemed it was because he had unconsciously recognized the same realization he was having now.

It was a relationship that couldn’t last long, and he must have felt an instinctive anxiety towards himself for recklessly accepting Jang Seungyung’s confession while consciously forgetting all of reality.

“Haah.”

Heewoo let out a relieved breath. Knowing his own feelings was bittersweet, but also clear. Once he understood the true nature of any problem, it usually felt manageable. As long as it wasn’t related to Kim Jinhwan.

It was a relief that he had regained his sense of reality before it was too late, and could apply the brakes appropriately.

He etched this newfound sense of reality into his mind. Vowing never to forget it, he pressed his fingertips firmly and sent one more text to Daol to check on him. Just as he was putting down his phone.

Beep-.

The sound of the front door opening made his shoulders flinch. Heewoo realized he had been too lost in his thoughts. So much so that he hadn’t even heard the sound of the car entering the garage.

It was already close to 7 PM. He hurried to the entrance, where a tall man was stepping in under the sensor light that had turned on.

“What were you doing so intently without even turning on the lights?”

A gentle, smiling face, a voice filled with affectionate warmth. Even the smell of the cold wind, tinged with a hint of his pheromones, was refreshingly welcome.

I hope you’ll like me for a long time. So I can stay by your side. Even though it’s impossible…. Heewoo hid his desperate heart, like someone facing ice cream that would soon melt in the sun, and replied.

“I was just looking outside. Did you have a good day?”

The man, who had given a knowing smile at the ordinary greeting, handed over something he had been carrying under his arm.

“A gift.”

“……?”

A small flowerpot settled into Heewoo’s hands. It was a Western orchid that had bloomed with luscious purple flowers.

“Secretary Hwang told me to take it. A new one came in today, and since it bloomed, he said I should show it to you. I don’t know why that guy is so interested in someone else’s lover.”

The man who had thrown out the joke, “You’d better not ignore Secretary Hwang’s personal calls, okay?” pulled Heewoo, who was holding the flowerpot, closer. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and showered his forehead and cheeks with small kisses.

“Isn’t it stuffy just staying at home? Shall we go for a drive?”

“No.”

Heewoo shook his head. He was refraining from minor outings unless absolutely necessary. It was because Jang Seungyung would always call his subordinates whenever he left the house. He didn’t want to bother so many people.

“I want to focus on studying for a while.”

“Hmm, still.”

“No. Really, just until I take the GED. And I’m really not stuffy at all. Most importantly, I get to see your face every day like this.”

The next moment, Heewoo felt as if he had returned to the night he was confessed to. Jang Seungyung reached out his arms and suddenly lifted him up. Just like when they had run around the CEO’s office, holding each other tight.

“Alright, if you say so. How did the studying go?”

Heewoo, as if mesmerized by the eyes full of mischief, nodded and said, “Yes.”

“Did you eat well?”

“Yes. The housekeeper made me galbi-jjim. Braised beef short ribs.”

Heewoo replied with a bright face. It seemed that originally only a person who did housework once every three days was employed at this house, but recently, someone who prepared meals had started coming. The new lady’s cooking was truly the best.

“I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s eat together.”

“Oh my, I’d better wash up as fast as the wind then.”

Jang Seungyung played along since Heewoo seemed so excited. As he headed to the bathroom, Heewoo just hugged the orchid pot tightly, as if to calm his wildly pounding heart. After calming down for a while, he carefully placed the pot on the console table near the terrace.

It was so nice when the man came home. Without any forced effort, his complex and scattered mind would clear up in an instant. Making it so that he could think of nothing but his love for him with his entire being.

Heewoo tidied up the other flowerpots a little, besides the orchid. Of course, while he was wiping the leaves with a damp linen cloth and cleaning the faint dust collected on the saucers, all his attention was on the bathroom.

‘Why are there so many plants?’

Was it a week ago? It was a night when they were about to sleep after having sex and holding each other naked. When he asked about the plants, Jang Seungyung, who had been fiddling with the necklace around Heewoo’s neck, answered.

‘My office was about to turn into a botanical garden. At first, I gave the plants away to people around me, just like other gifts. But even though they didn’t say it to my face, it was becoming obvious that everyone was getting sick of them. And I couldn’t just throw away perfectly good plants.’

He explained that he had considered ordering his secretaries to sell the plants, but he started bringing them home instead, and that was how it all began.

Heewoo gazed at the plants that had, one by one, occupied a spot in the man’s house, not thrown away or sold. After some time had passed like that.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Jang Seungyung, who had finished his shower and was now in comfortable clothes, came over to his side.