TPG 8

Park Jeong-geun hurriedly entered the kitchen and looked around. They were all familiar faces. So the face he was looking for wasn’t visible.

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

“The newcomer who was working here, no, the man I hadn’t seen before.”

“Ah.”

The first-year restaurant employee looked around.

“That’s right. He was here just a moment ago.”

“Here? What was he doing here…”

At Park Jeong-geun’s question, the first-year staff put down the potato he had been peeling.

“He was doing this and that.”

Finding the first-year’s stammering answer frustrating, Park Jeong-geun looked for himself.

“He’s probably someone who’s never done kitchen work before, so if he touched various things…”

There were no dirty dishes piled up. The clean plates were neatly arranged without a single drop of water.

“Was the kitchen this… clean?”

It was originally clean. Of course, cleanliness was the top priority in a place where cooking was done. However, Park Jeong-geun said this because the feeling was subtly different from before.

A kitchen in full operation was clean, but there was some disorder. There would be plates set down and traces of ingredients that had been taken out, but there was none of that.

“It’s too clean.”

It was as if a fairy had come and tidied up once before leaving.

“But where did he really go? He was supposed to help with this…”

The first-year staff muttered with a regretful face.

* * *

As Lee Si-woo came back to his seat, rubbing his still damp hands, Han Soo-hyeok looked up.

“Something came up in the middle… I’m sorry.”

“Things can come up, so you can be late.”

Han Soo-hyeok pointed to the seat across from him as if he didn’t mind.

“More importantly, isn’t there something you need to sort out?”

“What do you mean?”

Si-woo couldn’t grasp what he was referring to.

“A car was following us earlier. It seems like it’ll continue to do so. What do you want to do?”

“I won’t make it obvious to the company.”

“That you’re the son of a rich family?”

There was a hint of amusement in Han Soo-hyeok’s question.

“You were quite good at it.”

“If that’s a compliment, I’ll take it, but if you’re teasing me, I won’t.”

Lee Si-woo knew he was talking about how he had spent the day in the secretary’s office.

“To be honest, it was unexpected. I thought you wouldn’t fit in well.”

When Han Soo-hyeok acknowledged that it was closer to praise, Si-woo couldn’t help but smile.

“I didn’t know I’d be like that either, but I turned out to be quite good at that sort of thing.”

Lee Si-woo remembered when he had run away from his father and entered a remote rural village. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t daunted. He didn’t know where to sleep right away, or what to do tomorrow.

‘Who’s blocking the road like this?’

Turning around at the gruff voice, Lee Si-woo saw an old man with sparse, grizzled white hair standing there. The deeply etched wrinkles and the tightly furrowed eyes made him look as if he couldn’t tolerate even the smallest things, and he was looking down at Lee Si-woo with fierce eyes, his hands on his hips, wearing an old, yellowish jumper. It was his first meeting with the village chief, who would later become his friend after he settled there.

Living with the village chief, Lee Si-woo met many people and felt a comfort different from the people his father had introduced him to.

“So you want to remain unnoticed in the future?”

“Yes.”

Han Soo-hyeok seemed lost in thought for a moment, absentmindedly tapping the table with his finger. His fingertips created a steady rhythm.

“I’ll keep picking you up from now on.”

“No.”

Si-woo refused immediately. Going together today was enough.

“Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“It’s not very comfortable to have the CEO pick me up every day.”

Perhaps Si-woo’s refusal was unexpected, as Han Soo-hyeok’s expression crumpled plausibly.

“Not CEO, hyung.”

“It’s a bit… much when the CEO, not Hyung, comes.”

When Si-woo didn’t back down easily, Han Soo-hyeok sighed.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“Maybe moving out of that house comes first.”

The constant back-and-forth conversation stopped at Han Soo-hyeok’s mutter.

He mentioned getting out of the house.

“How can you say that?”

I spoke without hiding my surprise. I had talked about my father, but to conclude that I should move out of the house… It was even closer to an impulsive decision I had only made at the wedding.

Lee Si-woo said, unable to hide his surprise. He had talked about his father, but to conclude that he should leave the house. Moreover, it was a decision close to an impulse that he had only made at the wedding.

Han Soo-hyeok said nonchalantly.

“Ah…”

So that’s why he said to move out of the house.

“If being too close to the company isn’t good either, you could look for something at an appropriate distance.”

“You’re right, CEO.”

“Pick one, hyung or CEO.”

“Yes, Soo-hyeok-ssi.”

“…”

Maybe it was because they had been together all day, but Lee Si-woo joked out of comfort. He didn’t answer about leaving the house. He was already planning to create an opportunity to do so anyway.

On the one hand, he felt better that Han Soo-hyeok had mentioned something he was thinking about alone. It was encouraging just to have him worry about it together.

‘Why is my heart beating like this?’

Is it pounding because he feels good?

Lee Si-woo looked out the window and smiled secretly.

Han Soo-hyeok reflected in the window was looking at him.

‘Is he smiling?’

It seemed like the corners of his mouth had lifted…

* * *

The moment Han Soo-hyeok pushed open the heavy gate and entered, the cool night air rushed in. With each step on the stone stairs, the soft sound of dress shoes echoed.

Han Soo-hyeok walked slowly along the familiar garden path, gazing at the white marble tea table that glowed softly in the darkness. An ivory-colored teapot and teacups were placed on it, and steam rose faintly despite the cold night air.

Beyond the table sat a woman. She wore a flowing dress with delicate frills that gently rippled at the sleeve ends. The middle-aged woman, who seemed particularly delicate perhaps due to her pale skin, noticed Han Soo-hyeok while drinking tea and smiled warmly. Her subtle pearl earrings and light makeup enhanced her refined, gentle impression.

“Soo-hyeok.”

Her voice calling Han Soo-hyeok with a small gesture was warm and soft.

“Mother.”

Han Soo-hyeok briefly hugged her before sitting across from her.

“I was actually planning to visit you, but you came at just the right time.”

“I came because I thought you’d want to see me.”

“Oh my, then do you also know why I wanted to see you?”

“You’re curious about the matchmaking meeting, aren’t you?”

It was his mother who had arranged the matchmaking with Lee Si-woo.

“If you’ve read my mind, tell me quickly. How was it?”

His mother clasped her hands together and looked at him with expectant eyes. Han Soo-hyeok seemed lost in thought for a moment, then spoke with a playful yet somehow meaningful smile.

“He was a decent person.”

“Really?”

His mother rejoiced and clasped her hands together. Her frilled sleeve dipped into the teacup. Han Soo-hyeok casually pressed her sleeve with his handkerchief. His mother realized her mistake and smiled sheepishly.

“I’m still so clumsy even at my age.”

She fidgeted with her wet sleeve and looked at Han Soo-hyeok.

“But fortunately, my son didn’t take after me.”

A tiny crack appeared on Han Soo-hyeok’s smiling face, but it disappeared seamlessly. Instead, he gave his own assessment of Lee Si-woo.

“He was an interesting person.”

To describe someone from a matchmaking meeting as interesting, curiosity deepened on his mother’s face.

“What was interesting about him?”

“He seems ordinary but is unique, and when he should be special, he’s ordinary instead.”

He had simply thought of him as a well raised upper class Omega. Even though there was supposedly no exposed information since they had never crossed paths by chance, he had a somewhat predictable image in mind. He never expected someone who would turn a matchmaking meeting into an interview session.

“Why did you introduce that person to me, Mother?”

Had she only looked at family background?

“I…”

His mother pressed her wet sleeve with the handkerchief while choosing her words.

“I met him by chance once. That child, he was like fragile glass.”

Han Soo-hyeok’s brow furrowed.

Had he met the wrong person for the matchmaking?

“So I thought my son could take good care of him.”

He was still puzzled by the image of Lee Si-woo, but considering his mother’s personality, which couldn’t ignore anything small and fragile, he could understand to some extent.

“Your criteria for finding your son’s marriage partner is quite unique.”

“Is it? I thought you two would suit each other well. You’re good at taking care of people.”

As his mother tilted her head and her hair was about to fall into the teacup, Han Soo-hyeok moved the cup aside.

“Do you remember when you were little? A cat kept coming to our house, and one day a food bowl appeared. No one said who put it there, so I didn’t know, but imagine my surprise that it was my son who did it.”

Once started, she bloomed into stories of Han Soo-hyeok’s childhood.

* * *

“Father.”

When Lee Si-woo called out to Lee Jeong-gyun, who was just entering the front door, a crack appeared on his expressionless face. He looked at Lee Si-woo and revealed a look of surprise.

“It’s unexpected that you’re waiting for me.”

It was because Lee Si-woo had always tried to avoid running into his father…

‘I’ve changed.’

Lee Si-woo mustered the courage to face his father, whom he hadn’t seen in years.

“I’m seeing Soo-hyeok-ssi.”

No emotion showed from Lee Jeong-gyun. His expression suggested he already knew, revealing that he had received a separate report.

“For the time being, I’d like to leave Kim In-soo behind and go around by myself. At an appropriate time, I’ll formally introduce Soo-hyeok-ssi to you.”

It was something he had tried to figure out on his own since he couldn’t keep asking Han Soo-hyeok to pick him up every time.