TPG 12

Lee Si-woo stood up abruptly without realizing it. He was too hasty. How could Han Soo-hyeok present that as an alternative without knowing what would happen later? It was practically a declaration of giving up marriage.

“Hyung.”

Lee Si-woo grabbed Han Soo-hyeok’s arm to stop him, but instead, Han Soo-hyeok wrapped Si-woo’s hand in his. When he gently threaded through Si-woo’s fingers and held them, Si-woo’s mind went blank, and he forgot what he was going to say.

“That’s how sincere I am.”

At Han Soo-hyeok’s words, which were like putting a final stamp on it, Lee Jeong-gyun burst into laughter.

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

Lee Jeong-gyun seemed satisfied. Yes, even Si-woo thought it was quite convincing.

“We should go now.”

When Si-woo pulled Han Soo-hyeok’s hand, he obediently stood up.

“You drove here, right? I’ll see you out.”

Lee Si-woo desperately held onto his confused mind and signaled Han Soo-hyeok with his eyes to leave quickly. But while Han Soo-hyeok did get up from his seat, his next actions weren’t hurried. Rather, he moved sluggishly, making Si-woo feel frustrated.

“Hyung? I said let’s go.”

“Yeah, we should go.”

Han Soo-hyeok acted like he would, but Lee Jeong-gyun, who had been watching, intervened.

“Instead of that, why don’t you show him your room? Since he’s here, he can have dinner too, so he can look around while we prepare.”

“It’s fine.”

Lee Si-woo didn’t want to show him his room. But Lee Jeong-gyun’s mouth stubbornly closed and his eyes sharpened. At the expression he showed when Si-woo didn’t follow his words, Si-woo froze completely. Even though he knew rationally that his father wouldn’t say anything bad to him in this situation, his conditioned body was shrinking.

That’s when it happened.

“Is it upstairs?”

As Han Soo-hyeok pointed in front of him, everything changed. The air that had been heavily pressing down on Si-woo’s body disappeared and his suffocated heart returned to normal.

“Shall we go up?”

At Han Soo-hyeok’s gentle voice, Si-woo nodded with a pounding heart.

“Your room is clean.”

That was Han Soo-hyeok’s impression after looking around the room. Since the perfectly organized space never felt cozy to Si-woo, he let his words pass by.

“There’s something more important than looking at my room.”

Lee Si-woo pulled at his hand that Han Soo-hyeok was holding. Instead of his hand slipping free, Han Soo-hyeok’s body turned halfway to look at him. Why had he been holding his hand all this time?

“You said you wouldn’t marry if I didn’t. What were you thinking when you said that?”

“I don’t particularly have thoughts of marriage.”

You do get married later though.

“No one knows the future. You might end up sharing an umbrella on a rainy day and falling in love.”

Lee Si-woo couldn’t speak honestly and went around in circles.

“Then why did you propose engagement to me?”

“Well…”

“You know I don’t want marriage.”

The situation was reversed with just a few words.

‘I was planning to read the situation and disappear when the time came.’

He couldn’t say what came to mind. Only he knew that Han Soo-hyeok would marry someone else in the future. Eun Hee-yoon. When Han Soo-hyeok fell in love with that person, he might regret this moment. It was something Han Soo-hyeok could do because he didn’t know the future where he would come to love Eun Hee-yoon, but Si-woo was different. If Han Soo-hyeok regretted it later, Si-woo felt like he would feel guilty.

“You want to get out of this house, right?”

Han Soo-hyeok asked subtly as if he had been inside Si-woo’s mind.

“That’s right. I needed time.”

This wasn’t the first time they’d had such a conversation and Han Soo-hyeok had noticed to some extent, so Si-woo didn’t hide it.

“Then there’s even less to worry about. In a way, it’s very simple. If you don’t marry, I won’t either.”

Si-woo was momentarily speechless at the conclusion Han Soo-hyeok had drawn, then let out a breath.

“If I get married, will Hyung get married too, then?”

At his words said with an incredulous laugh, Han Soo-hyeok suddenly hardened his expression. Was that not it?

“What’s wrong?”

“Thinking about you, who clung to me asking to date and get engaged, marrying another Alpha makes me feel bad.”

When Han Soo-hyeok suddenly seemed sulky and a cold wind blew, Si-woo was even more bewildered.

“When did I ask to date? You’re the one who said that.”

“Right. You only seduced me.”

“When did I seduce you? Is it okay to corner someone like that?”

This wasn’t why Si-woo brought him to the room for, just to have this kind of banter, but it felt unfair to let it go.

“You held onto me so I couldn’t leave.”

“That’s being clingy, not seduction. And I asked for employment, not marriage…”

Si-woo knew in his head that he should stop this banter, but the words kept coming out strangely. Maybe because it felt like everything would become his fault if he stayed quiet… Until he heard the knock saying dinner was ready, he really fought with all his might.

“It wasn’t me who asked you to tie my tie, you did it for me. The secretary is the one who’s supposed to stay by my side, not you. Why are you making me out to be obsessed with you?”

The matter about his father completely disappeared, swept away by his emotion.

***

Late at night, Han Soo-hyeok went to find Lee Jeong-gyun. Even though Lee Jeong-gyun sensed his presence, he didn’t turn around. Still with his back turned, he carefully wiped leaves with a handkerchief.

“Chairman.”

At Han Soo-hyeok’s calm voice, Lee Jeong-gyun’s hand hesitated but continued what he was doing.

“I would like to spend time with Lee Si-woo.”

At the words delivered in Han Soo-hyeok’s neat and polite tone, Lee Jeong-gyun answered.

“I understand you’ve been together until now. You put him in as your secretary without consulting me, and now you want to spend time with him?”

The reason for the displeasure that made him not look back at Han Soo-hyeok, unlike when he was with Lee Si-woo, was revealed.

“I already explained the reason for keeping him by my side.”

“If you’re going to talk about love marriages or such, stop.”

“I’m sincere. So Chairman, please trust me.”

Lee Jeong-gyun’s lips twisted at Han Soo-hyeok’s quiet voice. Taking that reaction as an answer, Han Soo-hyeok bowed his head in greeting.

“Thank you, Chairman. I will make sure we have a good time.”

When he disappeared, Lee Jeong-gyun, left alone, turned back toward the orchids. The hand that stroked the leaves was gentle, but his eyes were sharp.

“He dares to tell me not to interfere with my son.”

Lee Si-woo had said similar things, but he had dismissed them as absurd. But Han Soo-hyeok was different. He had already reached a conclusion and approached with a polite statement before leaving.

While he disliked giving up his son to such an arrogant fellow, he seemed to have enough boldness to take hold of SH Group. Though he said nothing outwardly, if he brought him in as a son-in-law, he planned to pull him into the vision he had in mind using SH’s resources.

“It won’t be too late to watch and then move.”

***

Han Jeong-hyeon paced in front of the showcase of a small macaron shop. The colorful macarons on display sparkled like jewels. He pointed to several macarons for the staff.

“Are you packaging all of them?”

At the staff member’s question, Han Jeong-hyeon picked up one pink macaron.

“Package the rest.”

Saying that, Han Jeong-hyeon turned and looked at the macaron. The filling was thick between the soft shells. It was raspberry cream and smelled good too. Just as he was about to take a bite, his phone in his pocket rang. Han Jeong-hyeon looked at the macaron regretfully and took out his phone.

“Yes, General Manager Yoo.”

― I’m sorry.

Han Jeong-hyeon’s eyebrows twitched.

“What are you sorry for? Did something suddenly come up that prevents you from coming to headquarters?”

Unlike Han Jeong-hyeon’s playful tone as he looked around, a strong reproach toward Han Soo-hyeok’s secretary director was evident.

― The CEO found out everything.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Han Jeong-hyeon wore a subtle smile.

“General Manager.”

Han Jeong-hyeon’s soft voice echoed. He threw the macaron he had taken out to eat into the trash and only held the packaged box. The staff member glanced at the trash can. The thoroughly crushed macaron had lost its initial ethereal appearance.

― My transfer to headquarters…

“Why are you asking? It’s fallen through. If you want to hide somewhere, stay quiet and read the room.”

He hung up after those words. There was no reason to consider someone who couldn’t properly do the one thing they were asked to do.

“Taking care of my little brother is this difficult.”

The brother he was talking about wasn’t Han Soo-hyeok, but the new man he had met who had asked him to get a brand into the store. He had confidently said it wouldn’t be difficult, but this was such an embarrassment. Han Jeong-hyeon clicked his tongue and entered headquarters.

“Hello, Executive Director.”

“Hello.”

Han Jeong-hyeon, who had received the greeting directed at him with a good-natured face, spotted a familiar face in the first-floor cafeteria.

The dark brown hair had slightly disheveled bangs that naturally fell over the forehead. The face with soft curves left a gentle impression, and especially the full lips conveyed a soft lingering feeling even in an expression of few words. It wasn’t a strong impression, but it was a face he had quite liked and remembered.

“What’s my little brother’s secretary doing here?”

If he was curious, he could just go find out.

Having finished his thought, Han Jeong-hyeon walked toward Lee Si-woo. When Si-woo looked up at the sound of someone approaching, he held out the box containing macarons.

“What kind of snacks do you like?”