JADE 26

“Anyway, I get it, so go eat a lot of tacos.”

—You ignorant fool, it’s tapas. Tacos are Mexican.

“Ah, I know. I was just testing you in case you embarrassed yourself in front of my sister-in-law.”

The one who wanted to talk longer hung up quickly, while the one he had no idea why was calling was extremely chatty.

But if it hadn’t been for Jin Youngjun, there weren’t many people who would contact him, so he ought to be grateful.

Holding the phone to his ear, Jin Sejun grumbled as he made his way to Jin Youngjun’s house.

“Open the door. I need to go buy some food for Yiseo and me while you two are on your trip, and anything else we might need.”

“Ah, come with us. We haven’t finished buying our things yet either.”

“Good grief, you guys are really something, saying you’re leaving tomorrow.”

Acting as the family chauffeur was a familiar task. Jin Youngjun drove like crap (not in a thuggish or rough way, but simply having no feel for it), and Chae Yoonmi was on business trips so often that she spent a lot of time behind the wheel, so she wouldn’t refuse if she could bum a ride.

But now that they were all saying they were going out, the thought of chauffeuring the whole family suddenly felt like a hassle.

“If you have a lot to buy, wouldn’t it be better to take this house’s car?”

“Oh, let’s do that.”

Jin Sejun couldn’t even get his own way and was handed the keys to the SUV.

They were on their way back after buying everything they needed and visiting all the places they could. Jin Yiseo had been running around in excitement, but on the way home, she was completely exhausted and dozed off heavily. It was understandable, as she had also gone through a round of cheerleading practice in the morning.

“Hey, but why aren’t you taking Yiseo with you?”

“She says she doesn’t want to go.”

“I guess she’s at an age where she doesn’t know the joys of travel yet.”

“No, if I knew everyone was going to bail like this, I wouldn’t have signed her up for cheerleading. She’s acting like she’s going to become a cheerleader when she grows up, you know?”

“Ah, she’s not going because of practice for a competition? Then you should have just postponed your trip a bit.”

“How can we postpone it when we don’t know what other competition will come up after this one. We’ll just go again.”

“Aha… Still, it’s a blessing to have something she finds fun. Just let her do what she likes. Cheerleading, in addition to physical development, is also good for emotional…”

“Hey! Are you trying to frustrate me? What kind of cheerleading academy, instead of energizing people, takes away my daughter and my brother at the same time?”

“Uh-huh, have a good trip.”

“You have to drive to the airport tomorrow, what are you saying your goodbyes for here?”

“Agh… I’m not doing the pickup when you get back, so book a van.”

“I want to eat tanghulu.”

The moment they entered their neighborhood, Jin Yiseo, who had just woken up, started to whine. Since they had just been talking about her missing the trip, the couple’s hearts softened, and they permitted the snack they usually opposed, saying it would rot her teeth.

It was the moment Jin Sejun pulled the car over to the side of the road and opened the back door.

“Huh? Teacher John.”

“Oh! What are you doing out at this hour?”

Kwon Joowan, who had been jogging from a distance, slowed down upon seeing Jin Sejun. His body was in such good shape that even his training clothes looked stylish.

“You’re one to talk. I was thinking of trying this. Have you tried it, Teacher John?”

Seeing the colorful sign with pictures of fruit, Kwon Joowan grinned.

“You haven’t tried it, I see. I’ve had it when the kids gave it to me, and I’ve also tried it while buying it for them.”

He must eat it well when the kids give it to him, even though he dislikes sweet things. From behind, he could feel Jin Yiseo, still not fully awake, leaning against his waist.

The difference in their builds was so great that Kwon Joowan hadn’t noticed Jin Yiseo’s presence at all. Then again, the car parked next to them wasn’t Jin Sejun’s, so he probably wouldn’t have thought he’d gotten out of it.

“I’m a bit wary of that kind of sugar water because I’m afraid my teeth will fall out while eating it. Things that are too sweet aren’t my taste, and it’s all sticky, you know.”

As soon as Jin Sejun said that, Kwon Joowan’s smile turned peculiar. It was a look he often saw when they were alone, with a couple of spoonfuls of playfulness and something mysterious mixed in….

‘No, no.’

Jin Sejun’s intuition was screaming, and he met Kwon Joowan’s eyes and shook his head. But Kwon Joowan, like a damn disobedient puppy, went right ahead and did it.

“If you’re like that with everything sweet and sticky, what will you do when you can’t even have a delicious kiss?”

What’s so delicious? You eat plenty of it. No, I mean, I want to try it too, but anyway.

So you’re saying you’ve kissed enough to distinguish between delicious and not.

Jin Sejun suppressed the murky anger that was slowly rising and forced a vague smile.

“Ah… I see. The Vice Director may be like that, but I, for one, haven’t really had such deep thoughts…. Haha.”

“Why are you suddenly calling me…”

As Jin Sejun subtly stepped aside, Kwon Joowan’s face turned pale when he finally saw Jin Yiseo. Seeing that was so refreshing it felt like the gloomy mood from a moment ago had been completely washed away.

“Ah, Yiseo…! Hello?”

“Teacher John, hi.”

Fortunately, it seemed Jin Yiseo hadn’t heard their conversation, as her mind had been on the snack ever since she woke up. After sending his niece into the store first, Jin Sejun passed by Kwon Joowan, tilted his chin up, and whispered.

“You crazy bastard, my hyung and my sister-in-law are in the car behind me….”

“…I’m sorry. I’ll buy this….”

Kwon Joowan’s face turned beet red as if it were on fire. Seeing a blush of color on his cheeks, which usually looked like a mannequin’s except when he was mustering up his social skills, was a nice sight.

“You think that’ll be enough? It’s a good thing she didn’t hear you, but you made a big mistake. What? A kiss? Thank you so much for not talking about sex!”

“Shh, please…!”

“One skewer isn’t going to be enough to make up for this.”

“It’s fine, I earn enough for that.”

“Pfft.”

Of course, he’d earn that much. He knew how much the personal car that bastard drove around cost. Not that they were trying to get along now, but honestly, he was still praying it was a lease or a rental.

Also, he didn’t want to ruin the mood by making a pun with the slang for skewers and penises.

Anyway, it was a relief that Kwon Joowan was the one in the embarrassing situation. If not, he would have been intensely pondering what on earth a ‘delicious kiss’ was every time he looked at that guy’s lips.

‘It’s been a long time since I kissed anyone.’

Honestly, he had only ever gone as far as lips touching, so he had no idea how to use his tongue. Of course, he was well-versed in theory, and in the dirty dreams he sometimes had, he would melt the Omega in his arms with masterful movements.

However, it had been quite some time since he developed a subtle fear of fumbling in a real situation and ending up on some anonymous message board. With a title like: My alpha boyfriend, who’s over thirty and acts all cool, all-knowing, and all-that, kisses worse than a middle schooler….

It’s not like he hadn’t dated Omegas, so why couldn’t he ever get into a relationship?

No, let’s say that was because of a jinx, including the time he put on a show of focusing on his studies, but why did he think he could only kiss someone if they were dating?

Why did you grow up to be such a prude!

I should have tried straying from the path. It was too late now to have a late-blooming rebellion.

In this way, a Confucian self and a promiscuous desire coexisted within Jin Sejun, so the one going the most insane was himself.

Speaking of rebellion, it occurred to him that Kwon Joowan, who had mentioned posting a masturbation video, might also be a person who lacked confidence somewhere. But who in this day and age was a virgin before marriage? It would be difficult for someone who even had a fiancé to be a virgin like Jin Sejun.

Also, a Beta who had no physical relationship with a trait-user would have no reason to be so hostile toward an Alpha. Was it true that he only posted videos of himself jacking off? Wasn’t he having one-night stands with a different person every day?

Ah, I’m getting pissed off.

“Uncle, I want this one. The biggest one with everything on it.”

“Hey, Teacher John said he’s buying, but you’re going to bankrupt Teacher John’s family.”

“Oh, really? Then I should pick ten more!”

“This person is going to go bankrupt, I’m telling you. Just get the first one.”

“I’ll sell the academy and buy them for you….”

“Hahaha! What, you say that like it’s yours.”

As Jin Sejun glanced at Kwon Joowan in a cheerful mood, he saw Kwon Joowan clam up again with that peculiar expression.

‘What’s with him?’

It couldn’t be that he just didn’t want to buy a fruit skewer. Jin Sejun gave his niece a needless nudge.

“Don’t you go crying that you don’t want to go to the dentist after all your teeth rot.”

“I was just kidding, you know? What are you having, Uncle? What about you, Teacher John?”

“Your uncle doesn’t really eat sticky things because I’m afraid my fillings will fall out.”

Ah, Kwon Joowan had spouted nonsense and made a slip of the tongue because of this line earlier. As he was trying to hold back his laughter, Kwon Joowan poked him in the side with his elbow. It meant he knew, so he should stop.

“If you haven’t tried one, pick one. The sugar coating here is thin, so it should be fine.”

“What’s the most delicious? Teacher John, you pick one for me.”

“Hmm… For your tastes, Mr. Sejun, how about the tangerine?”

“You talk like you know a thing or two. Tangerine it is, then.”

He thought Kwon Joowan would pass, but he ordered a tangerine for himself as well, and even ordered for his hyung and sister-in-law waiting in the car. Jin Yiseo let out a whoop of joy and dashed to the parked car, holding the bag.

As Kwon Joowan and Jin Sejun naturally took a seat on the bench in front of the store, Jin Youngjun and Chae Yoonmi, who had briefly gotten out of the car, shouted loudly.

“Oh my~. Mr. Kwon, you didn’t have to buy for us. We’ll enjoy it!”

“Not at all, it’ll get awkward if you join in, so don’t come out, just eat in there!”

It was Jin Sejun who answered. He smiled as he received glares from both sides.

Come to think of it, hadn’t Kwon Joowan almost gotten a hair transplant from Jin Youngjun last year? He couldn’t figure out which would be more awkward: getting a hair transplant from the father of a student you teach, or giving a hair transplant to the vice director of the academy your daughter attends.

Well, maybe it wouldn’t be awkward at all?

As he plucked a tangerine off the skewer while lost in idle thoughts, the sugar coating broke with a crunch, and a sweet, tangy, and cool juice flowed out. If it had been any other fruit, the balance of flavors probably wouldn’t have been this good, so Kwon Joowan’s recommendation was spot on.

“I don’t know about the kiss, but this is pretty good. Though I don’t think I’d buy it to eat by myself.”

“Ugh… I said I’m sorry.”

“By the way, didn’t you say you ran this morning too? Do you run in the evening as well?”

“I usually only go out once, but I felt a bit stiff today….”

“No, you do other workouts besides jogging. You came out even after all that?”

He’d be perfect for raising an energetic dog, taking it for a walk five times a day. Still, seeing him like this on a Sunday, it seemed he didn’t have a significant other. For some reason, he was happy about the fact that Kwon Joowan also spent his weekend in a rather uncool, diligent way.

Kwon Joowan, who had been smiling somewhat awkwardly, asked.

“Looks like you’re all on your way back from somewhere.”

“Ah, with my hyung’s family? They suddenly said they’re going on a trip. Yiseo said she’s not going, so I have to look after her for about ten days. I’m not even married yet, and I have three kids.”

“Three? Isn’t Yiseo an only child?”

“There’s a lot to take care of with this couple too.”

“Haha. It looks like you have a lot that needs taking care of too, Mr. Sejun.”

As he said that, Kwon Joowan’s hand brushed near Jin Sejun’s chin. It was an act reminiscent of last winter, at a cafe full of plants, when he had brushed something off Jin Sejun’s face.

As Jin Sejun, frozen like a stone, just stared at him silently, he added in a slightly flustered tone.

“You have a piece of sugar on you.”

“Licking that off would be a total seduction move.”

At the thoughtlessly thrown-out words, Kwon Joowan’s smile soured more and more. After a brief pause, Kwon Joowan naturally flicked the sugar powder into the trash can.

Was there a need to show his dislike so openly?