PIA 8

“I won’t do that kind of prank again. And why did bro-… I mean, what are you going to do with it? It’s covered in urine.”

He almost called him brother in-law. Ji-an chewed his stupid tongue and glared at Jeong Hee-seo.

Jeong Hee-seo effortlessly put the pregnancy test back into his pocket without batting an eye. Ji-an’s temperature rose even more at his mocking behavior. There was truly no one stranger than him.

“You don’t need an apology, and you won’t return my stuff. Then why did you tell me to come while I was on the street? You weren’t following me, were you? How can you bump into someone on the vast streets of Seoul?”

Jeong Hee-seo just smiled quietly as Ji-an continued to criticize him. At the same time, he looked over Ji-an’s shoulder. Ji-an unconsciously followed his gaze and gasped.

Fuck… JM Department Store. This idiot…

Jeong Hee-seo smiled and explained to Ji-an, whose eyes were tightly closed.

“It’s not like I’m following you… I stopped by for a moment because I had something to check, and I heard Manager Cha was busy handling VIPs, so I wanted to see who it was. If it wasn’t someone I knew, I would have just left. They said you left the staff behind and escaped to the first floor, so I waited near the main entrance..”

What do you mean by “not following”? You are indeed following me. Ji-an narrowed his eyes.

“Anyway, what’s the matter? Go on.”

“Well…”

Jeong Hee-seo didn’t answer for a moment and just looked at Ji-an. The original intention was to inquire about the conversation regarding the pregnancy test kit that Ji-an had referred to as a ‘joke’… Somehow, it became blurred because they were looking at each other like this.

While waiting for an answer, Ji-an took out his phone and turned on the screen. It was to check the time. Jeong Hee-seo, silently glancing at his empty wrist as Ji-an checked the time, eventually opened his mouth.

“I don’t have anyone to eat with now.”

“Huh… What have you been doing without even eating until this time?”

Caught up in the hospital appointment time, Ji-an gave a clumsy response. He was surprised by Jeong Hee-seo’s invitation to have a meal together.

“Sorry, I’m a little busy right now…”

“Let’s have a quick meal and leave.”

Jeong Hee-seo cut off Ji-an’s refusal.

“…”

“…”

Their gazes entangled in the air, and a moment of silence lingered. Ji-an decided it would be quicker to resolve the situation here rather than confront each other, so he spoke up.

“Fine. I’ll choose the menu, then.”

Looking at Jeong Hee-seo nodding his head, Ji-an didn’t hesitate. He quickly opened the car door and got out. Without waiting for him to follow, Ji-an bowed his head and urged Jeong Hee-seo, who was looking at him without getting out of the car.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get out. The menu I’ve chosen is right here.”

∞

“How long are you going to choose?”

Ji-an looked at his phone anxiously.

More than three minutes had passed since Jeong Hee-seo stared at the menu as if reading a sales report. He looked like he had no idea which burger to choose from among the burgers with different names depending on the type of meat and cheese inside, and it was obvious that he was reading to figure it out somehow.

Jeong Hee-seo, squeezing his large body into a plastic chair, looked visibly uncomfortable due to his rigid lips and furrowed forehead. Ji-an said while tapping Jeong Hee-seo’s long legs that had crossed over to his side,

“It’s not too late even now. Go and eat something you like.”

“…I can’t do that after coming this far.”

To say “this far,” it was a terrace-style burger restaurant on the first floor of the department store. It wasn’t far at all, just around 10 meters from Jeong Hee-seo’s car on the road in front of the main entrance..

“Okay. Just wait here.  I bought this for you today. I can sense that you might not have a preference for the menu, so I’ll choose for you. Are there any foods you don’t eat or any allergies?”

When Ji-an snatched the menu and spoke, Jeong Hee-seo raised his eyebrows and nodded without saying anything.

“Yeah, none.”

Despite his appearance, it was a fairly ordinary response. Ji-an shrugged his shoulders and headed to the kiosk to place the order.

Two of the most popular sets in the store. For his drink, Ji-an chose a milkshake instead of cola. The order was completed in no time.

Holding the number vibrating pager, Ji-an debated whether to return to his seat and wait or linger around the counter. It felt awkward. He couldn’t fathom why Jeong Hee-seo wanted to have a meal with him.

Jeong Hee-seo leaned back in his wobbly plastic chair and continued to watch Ji-an. Ji-an was holding the vibrating pager and leaning against the counter with his head down while looking at his phone, so his face was not visible.

He appeared to be a typical college student. About twenty-five, maybe attending graduate school or preparing for job interviews. Curiosity arose beyond the formal phrases that Ji-an had received from his secretary about Seo Ji-an’s detailed information.

“This one’s mine. You have the cola.”

“‘You’?”

Ji-an pushed away the back of Jeong Hee-seo’s hand as he reached for the milkshake. It was just a mix-up since the cups looked the same, but Ji-an was unintentionally firm. Ji-an peeled off the burger wrapper awkwardly and handed it over.

“Eat it with the round bun at the bottom.”

Though awkwardly accepted, half of the burger disappeared into Jeong Hee-seo’s mouth. He ate well. Ji-an observed him as he chewed on the fries.

“Do you eat this kind of stuff often?”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too casual with me? In fact, we’ve only met once or twice.”

“We’ve done everything we needed to between us. Do we have to be formal?”

Keugh, the milkshake that Ji-an sipped so hard almost went into his nose.

“Actually, I erased that from my memory. I thought it was an accident and tried to pretend it never happened…”

Ji-an wondered how to say that he actually knew nothing about this.

“An accident, and you’re treating it as if it never happened?”

“Yes.”

“That’s quite convenient.”

“How can people carry every little thing with them? As you live, you encounter things like this or that…”

Ji-an chattered nervously while keeping an eye on Jeong Hee-seo’s reaction. Well, from an Alpha’s perspective, it’s not something that can be easily ignored. According to his tone, he even said something about knotting—damn it—so that would be strange if he was not concerned.

“Ji-an-ah.”

He flinched as he was startled by the call of his name. Ji-an, who had been talking about random things out of nervousness without realizing it, started shaking as if he had been ambushed unexpectedly.

The hamburger he held almost burst at the seams due to the sudden movement.

“If you’re just going to keep talking without eating, give it to me.”

Ah, he surprised me. Ji-an frowned. Why call a person’s name in that tone just for asking for a burger?

Upon closer inspection, Jeong Hee-seo’s table was clean. There was no trace of even a single fry left.

“No, I’m going to eat this.”

“You said you already had lunch earlier.”

“That’s different from this. It’s not too late. If it’s not enough, you should go eat a proper meal.”

Geez. Jeong Hee-seo snorted in disbelief.

When Jeong Hee-seo stated he would buy more, Ji-an stopped him and hurriedly stuffed his portion down his throat. He gave in on the fries, but as expected, Jeong Hee-seo ate it all with a nonchalant expression.

“Let’s get up now that we’re done eating.”

“So soon?”

“I told you. I’m busy.”

Jeong Hee-seo leaned against the backrest and smiled brightly. The gaze that looked at Ji-an, who had already stood up, was like saying that there was everything in this world.

“Fine. Give me your number then.”

Did he not know my number yet? Ji-an rolled his eyes. Above all, Ji-an hadn’t memorized his number used in this world yet.

“Write your number here.”

After pondering over the phone Ji-an handed over, Jeong Hee-seo casually entered his number before pressing the call button. Jeong Hee-seo’s phone vibrated a few times in his pocket.

“I like to be sure about things.”

“I’m sure about everything. There’s nothing uncertain.”

Ji-an took his cell phone back and saved the number.

Ji-an’s eye level immediately raised as Jeong Hee-seo stood up. Ji-an even felt a little humiliated by the height difference, which seemed somewhat intimidating. Covering Ji-an with his shadow, Jeong Hee-seo lowered his head and whispered in Ji-an’s ear.

“Next time, don’t spray cheap perfume or anything like that.”

Startled, Ji-an involuntarily put his hand into his pocket and clenched the perfume bottle.

∞

‘I’ll choose the menu for the third meeting.’

“Who knows if there will be the third or fourth time?”

Ji-an, who was waiting for his turn at the hospital, fiddled with his cell phone anxiously until his stream of consciousness led him to Jeong Hee-seo.

Jeong Hee-seo, whom he met as an in-law, Jeong Hee-seo, whom he encountered as soon as he arrived in this world, Jeong Hee-seo, who gave the cause for his visit to the hospital, and Jeong Hee-seo, whom he just met again.

In the drama, he thought of Jeong Hee-seo as the counterpart that followed due to ‘Seo Ji-an’ using the child in the womb as a pawn in the drama. He never expected Jeong Hee-seo to show interest in him first, so Ji-an was extremely taken aback.

While Ji-an was lost in his thoughts, Jeong Hee-seo on the other hand briskly walked ahead toward his parked car on the side of the road. It was only when the scent of Ji-an’s perfume and pheromones that made his lower body tingle completely faded that Jeong Hee-seo suddenly came to his senses.

Jeong Hee-seo, who was sitting in the back seat at the time, sent a message to Ji-an.

[And don’t save my number as ‘that person’. Confirm it.]