MIM 71

“I heard from my dad that he grew up confined. Apparently, he rarely went outside the house,” 

Seol-ye muttered while taking out her tablet. When she mentioned she would be working on a project with Ma Jae-seung, a famous figure at school, her parents provided her with a concise summary of various incidents they thought she should know about. She had listened quietly, thinking she should know to avoid saying anything wrong, but the circumstances were more pitiful than she had expected. The gathered friends nodded in agreement.

“Poor kid. And with his father passing away so tragically… his heart must be in pieces.”

“We should live each day grateful for what we have. And give when we can. Speaking of which, I’m thinking of doing volunteer work abroad this vacation.”

While waiting for Jae-seung, who hadn’t arrived yet, they chatted about their vacation plans, stocks, and recent interests. Unlike the others who had been there for 30 minutes, Jae-seung arrived exactly on time.

“Hello. Going clockwise I’m Woo-jae, Seol-ye, and Young-woon. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Thanks for inviting me.”

Ma Jae-seung shook Woo-jae’s extended hand, greeting them with a clean-cut face. There was no trace of his confined upbringing in his bright and handsome appearance. Though they knew of him from passing by at school, his physique was exceptional even for an Alpha. His extremely rare silver hair and mysterious eye color added to his mystique. His aura was even more apparent up close than from afar. Even his arrogant attitude of skipping self-introduction suited his appearance.

“This is refreshments.”

Shin-woo, who had been standing behind waiting for the handshake to end, suddenly held out a shopping bag. He was smiling while carrying shopping bags in both hands and a large bag on his shoulder. Though Shin-woo was the only employed person there, carrying all the bags, he showed no signs of being self-conscious and remained confident. Woo-jae offered a customary greeting, saying he shouldn’t have bothered buying all this, and took the refreshments, offering Shin-woo a handshake as well. He smelled a familiar scent from the man who smiled and shook his hand.

It was spray fragrance. As soon as he realized this, Woo-jae frowned. It was a spray that Omegas use to mask an Alpha’s scent after intimacy, so well-known that no Alpha wouldn’t recognize it. Since it was like announcing to everyone that they’d had sex, many people avoided using it these days. But why would Shin-woo, a Beta, use it?

“Shall we go in?”

Jae-seung suddenly intervened, lightly pulling Shin-woo away. Woo-jae, who had been flustered by the spray and unintentionally held his hand for too long, quickly withdrew his hand. Jae-seung walked in first as if he owned the place, leaving the embarrassed Woo-jae behind.

In the gathering, Jae-seung quietly observed those who had passed Shin-woo’s “decent person” standard. Though it was a team project, if they divided the roles well, it wouldn’t be much different from an individual assignment and could be finished quickly. Perhaps due to recent events, he felt more eager to finish the assignment than to make friends.

Once everyone was seated, the conversation flowed smoothly. After about two hours of discussion, they chose a company for their presentation topic and divided the roles. Since he had consistently read books even while bedridden, Jae-seung volunteered to write the report. The group was somewhat taken aback when Shin-woo offered to do the research.

“I don’t mean to offend, but you must be busy, so don’t feel obligated.”

“Research is my specialty.”

Though Shin-woo responded nonchalantly, Jae-seung felt uncomfortable inside. ‘You must be busy, so don’t feel obligated’ – though polite in tone, it essentially meant ‘what business do you have preparing presentations when you’re just Ma Jae-seung’s caretaker?’ Even though it could have been consideration for Shin-woo, who had no interest in a degree from the medical school, it didn’t seem that way to Jae-seung. He became increasingly sensitive as it became more apparent that Shin-woo was being treated differently in this space, something he hadn’t noticed before.

While everyone else wrapped up the conversation with smiles, Jae-seung didn’t smile. After finishing the project discussion, the students chatted casually.

“I’m thinking of studying law during this vacation. I don’t want to become a lawyer, but I realized you need to know the law inside out to do business.”

“You’re studying during vacation? I can’t do that. I’m going to New York to see Broadway shows as soon as vacation starts.”

“Lucky you. My plans are already set. I absolutely have to do an internship. Jae-seung, what are you doing this vacation?”

Jae-seung raised his eyes, feeling the attention on him. He shook his head saying he wasn’t sure, then turned to look at Shin-woo. As if knowing no one would ask about his vacation plans, Shin-woo had been taking out snack boxes from the shopping bag Woo-jae had set aside and placing them on the table while the conversation continued. Woo-jae simply watched Shin-woo, neither thinking to help nor call for his employee.

Though Shin-woo had merely placed the opened box on the table and was the first to take a piece of the refreshment, Jae-seung was already thoroughly irritated. Noticing Jae-seung’s hardened expression, Woo-jae changed the subject to the snacks.

“Wow, they look pretty and delicious. Where did you buy them?”

“Songil Department Store.”

“Ah, that place is nice. Come to think of it, isn’t your clothes from there too, Jae-seung? It’s Buffen, right? That must be the only store nearby that carries it.”

Jae-seung looked down at his clothes and furrowed his brow. Though he had bought some clothes himself, many weren’t his purchases, so he didn’t know all the brands. Buffen. As he muttered the somewhat familiar brand name, he let out a small “ah.”

The logo embedded on the tie box he received on his birthday. Now he realized it was the same brand. The employee who filled his closet must have given him the tie as well. Jae-seung asked Woo-jae, who seemed knowledgeable about brands.

“I received a tie from there as a gift once, but I still don’t know who gave it. Since it was left in my room, I think it was one of the employees.”

“Probably not. That would be too expensive for an employee’s salary. Even one tie would cost almost a month’s salary? If you shop there often, want me to introduce you to my seller?”

When Jae-seung, who had been quiet all along, finally spoke, Woo-jae brightened up and looked for a phone number. Then he handed the seller’s number to Shin-woo, who was munching on snacks.

“They’re very kind. They’re good at talking on the phone, but they treat you even better if you visit in person. They treat me like a VIP even though I’m not anyone special.”

“…”

“And this department store is pleasant because they manage well to keep strange people out.”

Shin-woo quietly smiled and saved the number. He put the half-eaten refreshment back in its wrapper, seemingly not to his taste. While Jae-seung was observing Shin-woo intently, Young-woon, whose parents were in real estate, abruptly changed the subject.

“I’ve been thinking lately, it would be good to develop the Mangwol district.”

“Haha, are you serious?”

Seol-ye made an uncomfortable expression while glancing at Shin-woo. It was a thoughtless comment from Young-woon, trying to say something nice while someone from Mangwol district was right there. Though everyone knew he didn’t mean it, they couldn’t stop Young-woon from chattering.

“There’s too much unused land. It’s all empty and the government can’t manage it. Wouldn’t it be good to build money-making facilities nearby? If we build a big hotel and develop it, even if it takes time, the atmosphere would change at least.”

“If you’re interested in that area, it would be more realistic to acquire and develop the old Yuyang Hotel in Suyang instead.”

When everyone was waiting for Young-woon to quiet down, it was Shin-woo who silenced him. He leaned forward to face Young-woon and said:

“Yuyang currently has massive tax arrears, so you could make a good deal if you’re determined. And in Suyang, you could negotiate tax breaks with Janggang City for developing a declining area. Starting with Mangwol district would be too risky. Even the government has given up on that place.”

“…”

“As you said, a good hotel would develop the surrounding area, so you could develop that area first and move to Mangwol district later. If you’re really interested, that is.”

Young-woon cleared his throat and blushed. He mumbled something vague and reached for the wagashi he hadn’t shown interest in before. Shin-woo smirked and lightly dusted off his hands in the air. Jae-seung’s gaze followed as he slowly leaned back on the sofa.

Noticing the pursuing gaze, Shin-woo slightly twisted his chin to the side. As soon as their eyes met, Jae-seung spoke.

“Since when have you been interested in real estate?”

“Haha, I don’t have that kind of money.”

Though Shin-woo laughed good-naturedly, Jae-seung wouldn’t let it go easily.

“Do you want to develop Mangwol district? Because of your friends who live there?”

“I don’t have friends.”

Through the air that had grown heavy at some point, Shin-woo answered smoothly once again. Jae-seung scrutinized his face, remembering the strange duo who had visited his mansion twice.