Ch 27

<Chapter 27>

 

1 Month and 15 Days Before That Day (1)

 

Eunho, carrying a paper bag containing a sandwich and a picnic lunchbox packed by the housekeeper, walked into the gazebo nestled in a corner of the garden. He gazed at the scenery unfolding below and exclaimed in admiration.

 

“I think I understand a little why my parents were so fond of this place.”

 

The view, with the verdant river winding between the old pine trees, was truly breathtaking. Just a few days here would be enough to cure any internal ailment. With each breath of the pine-scented breeze flowing down from the mountain, the stuffy air left his lungs, replaced by refreshing air that filled his chest.

 

Simply having a pleasant conversation with Yoonjae in such a scenic spot brought peace to his mind. Eunho, once again admiring the well-maintained villa, though not overly luxurious, subtly nudged Yoonjae.

 

“Executive Director, you inherited your wealth as planned, didn’t you?”

 

Yoonjae, though not completely free of the accumulated fatigue, looked much better than he had in the morning. A faint smile spread across his face as he quietly observed Eunho, waiting to hear what he would say.

 

“You could have appointed a professional manager and stepped back to enjoy a leisurely life. May I ask why you chose to be at the forefront?”

 

Eunho repeatedly tried to dissuade the elderly couple preparing the meal, but he couldn’t refuse the sincerity of the elders who had prepared a lavish spread. Eunho was halfway through stirring rice into his gomtang when he stopped, his spoon suspended in mid-air, at Yoonjae’s next words.

 

“Appoint a professional manager and step back to enjoy life… It may seem easy on the surface, but the moment you step back, you’ll be torn to shreds or killed. I had no choice but to come to the forefront. My uncle also summoned me.”

 

Yoonjae had witnessed such a precedent firsthand.

 

After losing his parents early, a university classmate had handed over his company to a relative instead of inheriting it himself, only to see it completely ruined. Of course, there were various complex reasons. Depression due to the absence of parents and sudden changes in environment, financial difficulties caused by the relative who turned his back after inheriting the company. In the end, the classmate who had attempted suicide was still undergoing drug and psychological treatment, but it seemed difficult for him to return to normal life. Watching that classmate, Yoonjae chose to step to the forefront of management. It was a method he had no choice but to choose in order to survive.

 

Yoonjae couldn’t tolerate the company, which had been fine for two generations, collapsing in the third, so he desperately clung to his work. Being young and only knowing theory, it was impossible for Yoonjae to catch up with those who had been in the field for a long time, so he had no choice but to sleep less and learn by running around himself.

 

He started with the title of team leader, but with only two new team members, it was almost like starting from the bottom. It was Chairman Choi’s way of whipping him, telling him to prove his worth. But Yoonjae impressively produced results, grew the team, took control of the organization, and eventually rose to the position of general manager, earning the title of Executive Director.

 

Yoonjae, mulling over Eunho’s words, smiled faintly.

 

“Stepping back to enjoy a leisurely life… are you talking about being a loafer?”

 

“The word is a bit negative… but… almost… similar.”

 

“Well… would a life without purpose really be enjoyable?”

 

“You can create a purpose. Ask a loafer. They have their own purposes.”

 

Yoonjae, who was about to lift his spoon, made an absurd expression at Eunho’s sharp, soda-like remark. Eunho didn’t mean anything by it. He was just joking, feeling sorry for Yoonjae, who lived such a tight life.

 

“If my parents were still alive, well, I might not have joined the company yet, or maybe I would have just joined.”

 

It was an unexpected answer. He acted like this was his calling, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Eunho’s round eyes softened, and his eye corners lengthened.

 

“Did you… perhaps… have something else you wanted to do?”

 

Yoonjae, who had finished eating first, opened the picnic lunchbox he had brought and handed Eunho a beautifully sliced piece of apple. Now, that dream from back then had faded far from his memory and didn’t immediately come to mind. Yoonjae, focusing on meaningless things and lost in thought, brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead as he lowered his head.

 

“I wanted to travel. Go around, experience things, meet a lot of people… and if I found a good item, I wanted to run it myself as a startup… but it ended up like this. Well, it’s not bad, though.”

 

Yoonjae, who lightly spoke as if he was satisfied with his current life even though he was regretful, leaned his back against the gazebo pillar and gazed at the Bukhan River far below.

 

“Executive Director, you have such a good sense that you would have succeeded in whatever you did. Just like now.”

 

Eunho, munching on the apple he had received and smiling contentedly, stretched out his legs, which had become numb from sitting cross-legged, and leaned his back against the pillar like Yoonjae.

 

“Oh… behind you, a squirrel, a squirrel.”

 

Behind the pillar Yoonjae was leaning against, a squirrel cautiously scurried onto the patterned mat. Surprised by the squirrel’s close approach, something rarely seen in the city, Yoonjae and Eunho stopped moving and whispered, their eyes darting around.

 

“It must have come for the fruit.”

 

“Give it a few grapes.”

 

Eunho minimized his movements as much as possible to avoid scaring the squirrel away and slowly took out four grapes from the lunchbox, gently placing them on the patterned mat. The squirrel, startled by the human movement, disappeared under the gazebo, then reappeared, cautiously approaching and snatching a grape into its mouth before quickly fleeing out of the patterned mat.

 

“It must be used to people. Usually, they hide at the mere sight of you, but this one doesn’t run away.”

 

“The elders must be feeding the birds and squirrels around here, so it’s used to it.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Eunho slightly lifted his upper body and crawled on his knees to look under the gazebo, where the squirrel was peeling the grape skin and eating only the flesh inside. The squirrel, meeting Eunho’s affectionate gaze as if hearts were about to pour out, stopped its chewing and froze. Eunho slowly moved his body back, hiding from the squirrel’s eyes. He didn’t want to disturb the squirrel’s meal.

 

Yoonjae, watching Eunho peering under the gazebo with his hands neatly placed on the floor like a child secretly peeking over someone else’s fence, covered his mouth with his hand and laughed silently. In his eyes, Eunho, who was lowering his body as much as possible and crouching down to watch, afraid that the squirrel might run away, looked several times cuter than the squirrel diligently peeling and eating the grapes.

 

***

 

Hyunjun, who had received a score far exceeding the passing line in the mock exam he took right before the actual exam and was full of expectations that his three years of effort would be rewarded, walked to a bench in a nearby neighborhood park after the exam and threw the large bag he was carrying down with a frustrated gesture.

 

“Agh! Shit.”

 

The long sigh he let out, as if the ground was collapsing, was so heavy and arduous. The exam level was much more difficult than in previous years. There were more than one or two questions where the answer was confusing, so unless he was lucky enough to get them all right, it was difficult to expect a good score. Hyunjun accessed the online lecture site on his phone and checked the problem restoration services that were being uploaded one after another, attempting to self-grade.

 

“Haa… I’m screwed.”

 

The score was much lower than he had expected. He frequented the public service exam community to check the atmosphere, but there weren’t as many posts complaining that the exam was difficult as he had thought.

 

Hyunjun, biting his fingernails due to the surging anxiety, rummaged through his pockets and took out a cigarette. The last one. He had received the maximum amount of his credit card loan, which was his last resort, but after paying for his phone bill and this month’s credit card bill, the only cash he had in hand was 280,000 won.

 

“If it weren’t for the landlord. Aish, seriously.”

 

The landlord had blocked the front door to prevent him from opening it, and Hyunjun, feeling terrified with the exam right around the corner, had slipped and twisted his leg while escaping through the gas pipe that night. Hyunjun, who had left the house, asked Jihun to let him stay for two nights, but he was immediately rejected, saying that he needed to maintain his condition, and he had no choice but to solve his lodging at a nearby sauna. Even while running away with only the necessary luggage, he had vowed to come back proudly if he passed, but now even that had become a pipe dream.

 

It was all because of the landlord. He had been maintaining good exam scores, but the reason he had faltered at the last minute was because his sleeping arrangements had changed and he had developed anxiety.

 

Hyunjun, cursing the landlord for a long time, touched the black screen of his phone and found Jihun in his recent call list.

 

Did he do well on the exam? The nasty thought that he secretly hoped he had failed too was because of his ex-lover. As soon as he passed, he had cut off contact and even quietly moved out of the boarding house. Hyunjun was afraid that the same thing would happen again this time.

 

He had started preparing for the civil service exam late, had become a black sheep at home, and when he tried to return to society, it was not easy to find a good company or even get a job at a small and medium-sized enterprise due to the career break issue. The titles of social misfit and dropout pressed down on him. Hyunjun tried to overcome his anxiety by grabbing and tearing at his disheveled bangs.

 

“…Did you do well on the exam?”

 

When the call connected to Jihun, he asked cautiously in a barely audible voice. Seeing that the breathing responding from beyond the speaker was very subdued, he even felt relieved.

 

-I’m self-grading, but the atmosphere is touch-and-go.

 

“…I completely screwed up.”

 

He had confidently told his acquaintances that retaking the exam was essential and that he would originally succeed on the third try, but now he was in a position where he was too ashamed to even ask them to buy him a drink. He had to solve his immediate lodging and food problems, not to mention the negative bank account and credit card loan interest that would be withdrawn next month. If he went down to his parents’ house in this state, he would have to help with their farming and return to the life of a rural youth, but he didn’t want to do that. He hated working all day in the scorching sun.

 

Hyunjun took a breath and then pleaded with Jihun in a cautious, coquettish tone.

 

“Jihun, could you… maybe… let me stay for a few days?”

 

-…….

 

“Hello?”

 

When there was no answer, he checked his phone screen and saw that the call had already been disconnected. You fucking XX. He poured out the anger that was boiling inside him, and people passing by glanced at him. Hyunjun didn’t have the luxury of being conscious of others. He was in a state where even basic lodging and food were uncertain, so he was in the dark.

 

“Seriously, nothing is working out.”

 

As the situation turned unfavorable, he regretted breaking up with Eunho so much. Eunho’s officetel is really nice…. He had deliberately avoided going to Eunho’s house because he had been two-timing, but now he was dying because he regretted everything. Should he apologize and go in now? But he had already said too many things and shown too many scenes that he shouldn’t have. His head was a mess like a tangled skein of yarn. Why did it get so twisted? He tried to activate his defense mechanism by making various excuses, but his chest, which felt like he had indigestion, didn’t easily clear.

 

“Where do I have to go now?”

 

He took out a civil service exam book from his bag, which was as heavy as a lump of luggage, and flipped through the pages with his fingertips. He had bought a new one every year due to legal revisions and had read it over and over until it was tattered, but he felt so wronged and resentful at the thought that it was useless.

 

He was about to throw all the civil service exam books into a nearby trash can, but he put them back in his bag again, not knowing what would happen. First, he needed alcohol. It was the timing to seriously consider how he should live in the future while drinking.

 

***

 

Eunho felt his throat dry and uncomfortable, as if it were cracking, and groped his neck with his hand before opening his eyes. It felt rough and stuffy, as if he had swallowed sand. Eunho, getting up from his seat, felt the warmth of the arm touching his and lowered his head.

 

Yoonjae’s face, lying face down and fast asleep, looked more peaceful than ever. Eunho quietly got up from his seat and walked to the kitchen.

 

After emptying half a bottle of water, he returned to his seat, where the moonlight was beautifully scattered over Yoonjae’s bare back. He felt inexplicably proud to see him sleeping soundly without moving, unaware that the person next to him had woken up.

 

Yoonjae rarely slept deeply because he was usually a light sleeper, but when he lay down with Eunho, he fell asleep like a person who had fainted. It was said that the more compatible an alpha and omega were, the better energy they gave each other, and it seemed that sleep was the same. It was something he had never felt when he was with Hyunjun. Eunho gladly volunteered to be Yoonjae’s sleeping pill, washing away his fatigue.

 

Eunho, watching him sleep soundly for a long time, gently patted Yoonjae’s back. He slowly stroked it up and down with his warm palm, filled with gratitude. He felt a strange tingling in his heart at the sight of him trying to take care of him in any way he could, even though he was so tired that he was about to fall over.

 

As he stroked his back, there was a slight movement on his sleeping face. The corners of his lips slightly lifted, but he was still in a state of sleep, as if he was dreaming rather than being conscious.

 

He had originally planned to spend the night at the villa, but he changed his mind when he saw the elder walking to the vegetable garden with his injured leg, saying that he would prepare the meal.

 

In the end, the two of them finished their half-day villa date on Saturday and spent the weekend at Yoonjae’s house, eating delivery food or cooking themselves.

 

Their cooking skills were terrible. Yoonjae, who could only make ramen, fried eggs, and grilled dishes, and Eunho, who couldn’t taste the seasoning even after living alone for nine years, were a complete disaster. He had no interest in food and ate roughly to survive even if the seasoning was bland or salty, but after meeting Yoonjae, who had only eaten the sincere food made by the skilled housekeeper, he felt embarrassed by his own cooking skills. Eunho regretted the past when he had no will to improve his cooking.

 

The two of them made up their minds and made omelet rice while watching a video. It took a full hour and a half just to make it, and there was a pile of food waste and dishes to wash, as if they had prepared a 10-course meal. It was the epitome of inefficiency. He would have cried if it hadn’t tasted good, but fortunately, it tasted quite plausible because he followed the recipe of a famous chef. However, the two of them continued to order delivery or eat out, citing efficiency as a problem.

 

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, the two of them lay down on the living room floor. They were so exhausted from cooking, which was more difficult than work, that they rolled around on the floor, but the moment they made eye contact, they burst into laughter. The two of them felt good and ticklish in their stomachs just by looking at each other.

 

He had opened his mailbox without thinking because he was bored of rolling around all day, and that was the root of the problem. Eunho, forgetting Yoonjae’s words that he would rest on the weekend, checked the audit report sent by the bond management division and hurriedly called Yoonjae.

 

He had been hugging Eunho’s waist from behind and touching his neck, but when he checked the contents of the monitor, his expression hardened, and he ended up contacting the head of the bond management division for nearly 30 minutes. The short-term bond yield was lower than expected, and there was a problem with the proportion of some bonds that were in poor condition, so it was a personal interview to adjust the proportion in the future.

 

Eunho realized the power of a dominant alpha whenever he saw Yoonjae, who had a thorough understanding of the overall flow of investment. The reason why dominant alphas were at the top of the pyramid was because they showed a huge difference from ordinary people in their extraordinary thinking and problem-solving abilities.

 

Most dominant alphas were born with extremely low probability, as their IQ/EQ was significantly higher than that of ordinary people. Even if a dominant omega and a dominant alpha met, the probability of having a child with the same dominant traits as them was only 60%. Occasionally, there were cases where dominant omegas or dominant alphas were born between ordinary omegas and alphas, but the probability was very low at 0.01%. In most cases, these cases were adopted by wealthy families, and there were some cases where they lived ordinary lives and then went down the wrong path and showed outstanding performance in intellectual crimes.

 

The situation was settled only after Eunho complained to Yoonjae, who was checking the reports from the company for more than an hour even after hanging up the phone. He wondered why he had opened the email, seeing Yoonjae working so aggressively even though he had said he would rest. After that, it was a repetition of kissing, sucking, and rolling around.

 

If Yoonjae’s words were law at the company, Eunho’s were on the bed. Yoonjae, who had washed, changed, and dried Eunho, who had collapsed first, fell asleep as soon as he put his head on the bedside.

 

Half of Yoonjae’s face was completely buried in the pillow, and his nose and mouth looked stuffy. He wanted to lay him down comfortably in a straight position, but it was virtually impossible to turn Yoonjae over by force because of the difference in size. As a temporary measure, Eunho stopped moving as he watched Yoonjae’s eyelids slowly open, pressing down on the pillow cotton that was sticking out near his nose and lips to secure space.

 

His hazy eyes were blurred with sleep. He turned over and reached out his arm when he saw Eunho, who should have been lying down, sitting on the bed. His body followed the signal to come closer like a magnet.

 

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

 

He mumbled so quietly that it was barely audible, then pressed his lips to Eunho’s forehead before closing his eyes again. He had woken him up, but he had managed to turn him over and lie him down comfortably as he wanted, so was that a success? His chest, which had been pressed against the blanket, was warm, and it felt like he was melting away whenever his skin touched Yoonjae’s. Eunho listened to Yoonjae’s faint breathing and quietly closed his eyes.