JADE 25

This wasn’t some story about the sun and the north wind trying to get a traveler to take off his clothes; Kwon Joowan’s steadfastness in the face of stronger jokes was simply baffling. Jin Sejun asked in a slightly stronger tone.

“Not your ‘dick-troduction’?”

“You’re quite interested, aren’t you?”

“So, Mr. Kwon Joowan, you’re only strong in the dick department?”

“I’d like to say ‘dick too’.”

Isn’t this guy a complete psycho? Jin Sejun grumbled inwardly while maintaining a confident smile.

“Yes, please be sure to say that in front of the director, Mr.”

“Yes, and I suppose you’re weak in the dick department, Mr. Jun?”

“Yes, in some respects, you could say I’m weak.”

“Yes, because you’re all talk, an out-of-shape weakling.”

“Excuse me? I didn’t mean I can’t last long, I meant it’s a part that gets turned on easily. Feel free to touch it and see.”

“What? Hah…”

I won, you bastard. Jin Sejun savored Kwon Joowan’s irritated “Hah” and snickered.

As he was preparing to leave work, relishing his precious victory, Kwon Joowan asked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You’re running tomorrow morning too, right?”

The moment he heard that, the accumulated fatigue became newly apparent, and on top of that, his mental exhaustion had reached its peak at the thought of meeting and running with Kwon Joowan even on a Sunday. Jin Sejun answered shamelessly.

“I have a social life other than you, Mr. Jon. I have plans tonight, and I’m sick of seeing you on a Sunday.”

“Ah… I see. Then let’s see each other on Monday.”

“My, you’re so diligent.”

“Are your current sneakers okay for running?”

“Yes, yes.”

Even asking about my sneakers, what a jogging fanatic.

Kwon Joowan hailed a taxi for him again. He had taken it off indoors, but thanks to the anorak he had brought for the chilly mornings and evenings, he didn’t have to show off his doll-like t-shirt to the whole world.

After returning home safely, he was so exhausted that it brought back memories of staggering home after his middle school sports day.

He had no appetite, so Jin Sejun chugged a protein drink, washed up, and fooled around in bed. But then his phone, which never rang unless it was for spam or Jin Youngjun, vibrated.

After staring at the name on the screen for a moment, Jin Sejun, worried the call would drop, quickly answered.

—Are you really not working out tomorrow? You shouldn’t break the flow right when you’ve started.

“…Mr. Jon, I told you I have plans right now.”

Since music was blasting at full volume throughout the house, it was unlikely he would be found out.

—Oh, I’m sorry. See you on Monday.

“Okay. …Ah, but!”

Jin Sejun, who was about to hang up coolly, suddenly had a question and quickly held onto Kwon Joowan.

—Yes, yees.

“Won’t you be busier over there when the semester, no, the school year starts? Can you keep running?”

—The kids will be busy, but it’s about the same for me. I’ve always jogged as long as the weather is good. You’re the one who has the intention of not skipping, right, Mr. Sejun?

“Ah… I can, of course. What’s so difficult about that.”

—I see.

He heard a clearing of the throat, ahem. Soon, Kwon Joowan answered in a higher tone than usual, though it was still a very low voice.

—Speaking of which, there aren’t many days in a year in our country when you can run outside. We have to see the cherry trees bloom along the river in the spring. There’s a cherry blossom path that runs from the park all along the road, and it’s so picturesque. We’ll have to run at night then, too.

Why is this guy talking so much? Is he drunk? Jin Sejun was not used to Kwon Joowan getting excited and rambling on his own.

Not that he disliked it.

The cherry blossoms would bloom before May, so they would be able to see them together. Jin Sejun found himself raising his voice in response.

“Oh, so those were all cherry trees.”

—Yes. Right now the park and the riverside look really empty, but I think the more beautiful they are in spring and summer, the more desolate winter feels.

“You’re very sensitive.”

—I know how to appreciate the atmosphere.

Kwon Joowan’s voice, which had gradually returned to its usual tone, sounded different coming through the speaker pressed right against his ear. After a moment of silence, Kwon Joowan spoke quickly, as if he had just remembered something.

—Ah, um. You said you were out for your plans. Were you alone for a moment? I’ve taken up too much of your time. Have a good time, and I’ll see you on Monday morning.

Even though Jin Sejun was the one who had lied, Kwon Joowan’s polite and considerate attitude was a little disappointing….

“Yeah, you have a good Saturday too, Mr. Jon.”

—Yes, you too, Mr. Sejun.

“…You said you’re running tomorrow too. You’ll be going to bed early to wake up early, right?”

—That’s right. I was about to lie down and called because I thought of you.

“Oh, you did.”

—Haha, I was about to hang up, but I keep talking so much.

Isn’t it nice, a relationship where you think of someone and call them before bed? Besides, Jin Sejun was also lying in bed. He got so excited by this trivial commonality that he almost forgot his lie and confessed the truth.

How great would it be if they were close enough to joke about what underwear they were wearing in this situation?

“Then I’m really hanging up now. Bye.”

—Get home safe later. Don’t drink too much like last time.

“…How long are you going to keep bringing that up?”

—Until you can text properly, Mr. Sejun.

“Hah, sleep well.”

—Sleep well….

The drawn-out call finally ended. Jin Sejun stared at the long-yet-short call time displayed on the screen, then slammed his head into the mattress.

“His voice is annoyingly good too.”

It was always low and resonant, but maybe because he was about to sleep or because it was over the phone, it had a strange lingering quality.

To think a guy like that had a fiancée!

Chae Yoonmi had said something like that. When you’re picking out vegetables at the supermarket, the one someone else picks up always looks better. Maybe that’s why a guy who’s been taken seems more delicious.

How good would it feel to have that voice whisper “sleep well” directly into his ear….

What would it feel like to wake up in the morning and find your favorite person in the same blanket? Jin Sejun had slept in a separate room from his parents since he was young, so he had no memory of sleeping with someone. It wasn’t that he lacked parental love while growing up.

The bed he was lying on now and the bedding were luxurious and felt good to the touch. But in the winter, it was chilly even with the heat on, so his body shivered every time he burrowed into it.

He had enough material, but his thoughts drifted in a strangely gloomy direction, preventing him from getting fired up by perverted fantasies and putting a hand down his pants.

Besides, the day had been too tiring, and above all, Kwon Joowan had told him to sleep well. Jin Sejun diligently tried to sleep.

“Huuagh…”

I’m glad I said I wasn’t working out today. After just that little bit of running, his body was screaming all over after one night, so Jin Sejun lingered in bed for a long time.

But… absurdly, the time he checked after a long yawn was six in the morning.

‘When I was working at the hospital, I always slept in. This is weird.’

Perhaps because there was someone who nagged him about not eating breakfast, he didn’t even think about holding out until he was naturally hungry. Maybe his stomach had just woken up because he was getting up early and being active.

After ordering and eating breakfast from a salad specialty shop, he had intended to turn on the TV. But the voice that had muttered, “You shouldn’t break the flow when you’ve just started working out,” kept coming to mind.

Then again, it seemed like he needed to do some training to make Monday morning’s jog less torturous. Annoyed by Kwon Joowan constantly acting smug as if exercise were his domain (which was true), he went down to the fitness center for the first time in a while.

Even though his whole body was sore, he did a balanced strength training workout for each body part, followed by about ten kilometers of interval running on the treadmill, and was completely wiped out.

But he felt proud.

After showing off by flexing his abs and looking at his back muscles in the shower, he got out to a call from Jin Youngjun.

“Yeah, what’s up.”

—Are you really not coming back to work?

“Hey, I told you I’d be back after I see Yiseo go to her competition. Why do you keep nagging me?”

—There’s a client who only wants you, only you. They said he was loitering around even on days without an appointment, asking when Director Sejun would be in. Do you not even check your work phone?

I’m so popular, so why! Why am I single? The thought came to him reflexively, and a hint of complaint crept into his reply.

“Why would I keep my work phone on during my leave?”

—Are you sure you didn’t make a move on a patient?

“What? No, I didn’t. Are you crazy? Me, meeting someone at the hospital?”

Ha! Jin Sejun snorted. If he were a normal Alpha, he would have just felt wronged, but because of his situation, a mix of injustice and sorrow washed over him. On top of that, he remembered Kwon Joowan telling the young coach who was interested in Jin Sejun not to look for an Alpha at the academy.

“By the way, is that person an Alpha or an Omega?”

—I don’t know. Most of our clients are Alphas, but the fact that they’re specifically looking for you, maybe they’re an Omega?

“Really? If they’re an Omega, I might consider meeting them once.”

—Cut it out.

Meet them my ass, I’ve been rejected by Betas too, so I’ll just live as a bachelor my whole life and enter a monastery. Only then will I finally understand the hearts of bald men.

“…It’s not like you die from losing your hair. Tell them to talk to me when I come back.”

—Is hair loss a joke? Be serious, man. Just because it’s not you. Judging by the way you talk, you need to rest more and reflect before you come back.

“Oh…”

He had always thought his brother was a bit pathetic in some ways, but seeing his professional side was a new experience. For the first time, a genuine sense of respect for his second older brother was about to well up inside him.

—They’re my source of income. The patients are my bosses.

“Ah, yes… I’m hanging up.”

—Wait!

Just when he thought the business was over, Jin Youngjun dropped a bombshell.

—Yoonmi and I are flying out tomorrow, so check in on Yiseo from time to time.

“Whaat? Where to? For how many nights?”

—You’re not at the hospital, and I’ve fallen into a rut. I got a little vacation time.

“Don’t give me that ‘rut’ crap. I don’t care about the reason for your vacation, where and for how many nights?”

—Spain, for 10 nights.

“What kind of timing is this to go on a trip? And you’re telling me the day before?”

—It’s because you don’t come to the hospital or our house that the news is late.

Is the phone just for decoration? He was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even reply. Jin Youngjun said what he had to say nonchalantly.

—You’re just hanging around your house and Yiseo’s academy anyway, so it’s not that different from usual, is it?

“It is. How can I leave a kid alone? What do you mean check in from time to time? Is she a houseplant?”

—Yiseo sleeps well on her own. She’s all grown up.

“Hey! What do you mean an elementary schooler is all grown up?”

—Then stay comfortably in our master bedroom. We just got a new bed.

“Ugh, no way. Why would I use a married couple’s bed? It feels like I’m conscious of my mom and dad doing it, it’s gross.”

Jin Sejun flinched even as he said it. He had been talking so freely with Kwon Joowan lately that he couldn’t even filter himself around other people.

—…Are you a middle schooler going through puberty? Why do you talk like that’s the only thing on your mind? This kid was called a genius when he was young, we raised him wrong.

Phew. Jin Sejun was inwardly relieved that his second older brother had let his slip of the tongue slide. Although Jin Youngjun had said to just check in on her once a day, it seemed like he had just thrown that out there, knowing that Jin Sejun would naturally go to his house to take care of his niece.

‘It’s true I have nothing to do, but this is pissing me off.’