Ch 37

<Chapter 37>

 

One week before that day (2)

 

Kang Taeoh also agreed with Yoonjae’s words. In the past, Kang Taeoh had been part of Choi Seryeong and CEO Han’s group, almost attacking Yoonjae. If he hadn’t regressed, he might be fighting fiercely with Yoonjae right now.

 

“I don’t know the reason, but coming to Yoo Eunho-ssi’s funeral, and helping Yoo Eunho-ssi escape from Vice President Choi Seryeong’s side at the last private auction… From my perspective, it seems like Managing Director Kang wants to help Eunho-ssi, so I’m trying to make a deal.”

 

“Don’t you trust me too easily?”

 

“Actually, I can’t trust you completely. You probably haven’t seen a businessman trust their business partner completely. I’m not trusting Managing Director Kang, but I’m trying to trust the reason why Lee Junseo-ssi chose Managing Director Kang.”

 

Kang Taeoh, speechless at Yoonjae’s sharp words, emptied his cocktail in one gulp and laughed hollowly.

 

“Tell me.”

 

“If you hate me, fight after you get something bigger in your hands.”

 

“Get something bigger…”

 

Kang Taeoh’s eyes flashed as he stroked his chin at Yoonjae’s last answer. Yoonjae pointed to one place in a slow tone, even though he expected Kang Taeoh to already guess.

 

“Yuseong Group.”

 

“…….”

 

“Since Managing Director Kang has Seoin Construction, the hotels, resorts, and casinos of Yuseong Group would be helpful. I will help you secure them.”

 

“I believe the casino hasn’t received government approval yet.”

 

“I found someone who can make it happen. But I don’t want to give it to Vice President Choi Seryeong.”

 

Kang Taeoh mulled over Yoonjae’s words and slowly nodded. If the casino is attached, Yuseong Group’s hotels and resorts will have merit. It’s quite a tempting condition, and seeing Yoonjae’s past actions, he knows that he is not a liar, making it even more tempting.

 

“Increase the 5% stake in Yuseong Venture Capital that you have… If possible, it would be good to secure even Choi Youngjae’s hyung-nim’s shares.”

 

Yoonjae made a pretty dangerous proposal. Telling him to secure as many shares of his company as possible. Increasing his stake in Yuseong Venture Capital is a good condition for Kang Taeoh, but it will be a threatening factor for Yoonjae. Nevertheless, he didn’t care.

 

“What if I strangle Executive Director Yoonjae with that?”

 

“I’ll worry about that when the time comes. That’s how you can easily solve Yuseong Group.”

 

Looking at his relaxed smile, it seemed that Yoonjae had already drawn a big picture before coming here. He had expected it since people around him always highly praised Choi Yoonjae, but after talking to him directly, he fully understood why they praised him so favorably.

 

“It’s not something you can decide right away, so take your time to think about it. However, I hope you take the story that came out of this place today to the grave.”

 

He needed a strong force at the 3rd quarter general shareholders meeting anyway, and if he did well, he could secure Kang Taeoh as his ally and create a definite game changer to strike Yuseong.

 

Kang Taeoh grabbed Yoonjae, who was about to get up from his seat after finishing the remaining cocktail.

 

“One week.”

 

“…….”

 

“In a week, nothing will happen to Yoo Eunho-ssi.”

 

His expression, which said he could be trusted, was convincing. He didn’t ask any more questions at the words that he would tell him little by little, but Kang Taeoh’s words made his thoughts complicated again.

 

“It’s related to Yoo Eunho-ssi’s death.”

 

“It is related, but trust me because I’m trying to help. If it goes according to my words at that time, let’s meet again. I’ll think about it in the meantime too.”

 

It’s enough to get the answer after confirming that nothing happens to Eunho, after what happened before the regression. Right now, preventing Eunho’s death was the priority. Yoonjae was already planning to turn the 3 days including the day before and after the day in question into telecommuting and be with Eunho.

 

Yoonjae, who got up from his seat, shook hands and politely spoke to Kang Taeoh.

 

“I missed the opportunity to say it earlier, but I have two pieces of Lee Junseo-ssi’s work.”

 

“…Ah.”

 

“I think I found the owner, so I’ll return them soon.”

 

Yoonjae gave a faint smile and bowed politely. Now that he knew why he was so fixated on the art auction, he wanted to help as much as he could.

 

As much as his longing for Junseo.

 

Yoonjae also missed Eunho so much.

 

As soon as Yoonjae got into the car, he called Eunho. Even in that brief moment before Eunho’s voice could be heard, the hand on the steering wheel couldn’t stay still.

 

From some point on, he looked for Eunho like a patient with separation anxiety. There was a thirst that couldn’t be quenched no matter how much he saw him. As soon as the call tone stopped, a loud machine noise whirred. It was a familiar sound, Eunho, who was vacuuming, turned off the power and seemed to catch his breath, adjusting his voice. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken for a long time.

 

-Did the meeting end?

 

“Yeah, Eunho-ya.”

 

His heart fluttered with so many things he wanted to say. Just hearing his voice made his body heat up as if he was in heat. It was even more so after the imprinting, but he was deliberately pretending not to be, restraining himself to match Eunho’s condition.

 

“I miss you. Can I come over now?”

 

-I’m cleaning… I’ll go to Executive Director’s house now. Let’s meet there.

 

“Okay.”

 

Apart from his body heating up, his heart looked for Eunho even more. Floral pheromones usually gave off a strong scent, but Eunho was different. Whenever his pheromones faintly hovered around him and fluttered, he was anxious to grab them and drink them. He was usually weak, but during his heat cycle, he was so intense and seductive that he could captivate people.

 

As he approached his house, he saw Eunho’s back as he opened the entrance door and entered the building. Eunho, who was trying to cover his face with the back of his hand to protect his eyes from the intense headlight, confirmed that the owner of the car was Yoonjae and gave a harmless smile.

 

“Oh!”

 

Yoonjae, who parked the car roughly near the entrance and opened the door, hugged Eunho without hesitation. The scent from his wet hair, which he had just washed, harmoniously mixed with the subtle floral scent. He was going crazy missing this body scent.

 

Yoonjae, who had burrowed into Eunho, didn’t know how to leave his neck. Eunho chuckled at Yoonjae’s teasing and shrugged his shoulders. His hot breath scattered behind his back.

 

“Hehe, it tickles.”

 

“I want to see you all the time these days.”

 

Eunho kept being pushed back as if he was holding a big wolf in his arms. He faltered, lost his balance on the edge of the stairs, and Yoonjae quickly grabbed Eunho’s back tightly and smiled shyly with apology. Sometimes he thought he was out of his mind, he was so helplessly captivated by Eunho.

 

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m like this these days.”

 

Eunho looked at Yoonjae, whose ears were turning red, and brought his face forward. Yoonjae pushed his face in as if the lips that lightly touched and fell apart were not enough. Eunho’s facial muscles twitched at his skillful technique of opening his lips and finding his tongue.

 

After many twists and turns, Eunho, who came into the house, checked the food on the table and raised his head. It seemed that the housekeeper had neatly set the table and left work.

 

“What about dinner?”

 

“Not yet.”

 

“You must be hungry. Sit down quickly.”

 

It was long past dinner time, so he thought he had eaten already. Eunho stopped Yoonjae, who was about to go in to wash up, and took off only the jacket he was wearing and sat him on the chair.

 

“If you haven’t eaten, do you want to eat together?”

 

“What time is it now?”

 

Looking at the wall clock at Eunho’s scolding, it was already pointing to 10 o’clock.

 

Eunho warmed up the cold soup and put the rice in the microwave with the lid on and put it back on the table. When Yoonjae got up to drink water, Eunho grabbed his shoulder and pressed him down, telling him to just sit down, and took out a water bottle from the refrigerator and filled the cup.

 

“Sit in front of me. I’m bored.”

 

“Then where would I be?”

 

“……Are you sleeping over?”

 

“I will. It’s getting cold. Eat quickly.”

 

Eunho was filled with eyes full of love. Yoonjae, who became docile after hearing the answer he wanted, picked up a spoon and took a spoonful of soup first. Eunho slowly looked at Yoonjae, who had started eating a late dinner. He had lost a lot of weight. These days, Yoonjae’s range of activities was so overwhelming that he felt dizzy just looking at his schedule. Besides, he had the general shareholders meeting that he was preparing with Chief Yoon, so he must be exhausted.

 

“You’ve lost a lot of weight since I first saw you.”

 

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

 

“Instead of ending with thank you for worrying about me, take good care of yourself.”

 

He still had a full body, but it looked precarious as if he would reach his physical limit if he continued like this. Yoonjae silently smiled as he looked at him with a worried face, resting his chin on both hands.

 

“I’m taking good care of myself, so don’t worry too much.”

 

“…….”

 

“And I think that word doesn’t only apply to me. You know?”

 

Eunho, who knew that the words were directed at him, scratched the back of his head. The wet hair had already dried and the fluffy hair fluttered. Eunho checked that Yoonjae’s rice bowl was half empty and got up from his seat and walked towards the refrigerator.

 

“What kind of dessert would you like?”

 

“If we eat together, I’ll eat, if not, I won’t.”

 

Eunho, who was rummaging through the fruit section, took out two of the various fruits. This house always had a lot of food prepared, enough to remind one of a large family, even though the number and amount of people eating were fixed.

 

“Grapes and melon?”

 

Yoonjae, who saw Eunho taking out a cutting board and a knife, stopped holding the spoon and got up from his seat and came over.

 

“I can’t let you hold a knife, I’m worried. Move over.”

 

It was better than last time, but he felt uneasy for some reason when Eunho held the knife. Should he say that he didn’t have enough strength to hold the hard fruit? Yoonjae cut the melon in half, divided it into several pieces that could be held in one hand, neatly cut them, and placed them one by one on a plate.

 

“Just wash the grapes. I’ll do this.”

 

Eunho, who had been watching from the side, was slightly upset that he had taken away his work. I’m not an invalid, I can cut watermelon well. He grumbled so quietly that he couldn’t hear it, but he knew that he was worried, so the corners of his lips slowly went up.

 

“Do you like melon? You keep taking out melon.”

 

“It’s sweet and good.”

 

Eunho, who liked sweet things more than refreshing things, put the cleanly washed grapes on a plate, came to the table, and sat down. Eunho, who checked the empty bowl, poked a melon with a fork and held it in front of Yoonjae’s face, urging him to open his mouth. Yoonjae reluctantly accepted it at Eunho’s words that he wouldn’t give it to him at any other time. A smile spread across his face.

 

“Did I tell you that story?”

 

The soft and cool flesh entered his mouth, and it was as sweet as if his tongue was pickled. Yoonjae looked at Eunho, who was sitting across from him, with affectionate eyes as he chewed.

 

“Executive Director’s first impression was very scary and stiff. I couldn’t have imagined such a caring appearance as now.”

 

It was obvious that he was gathering his lips to hold back his laughter. He ended up hearing the sound of air escaping, but Eunho liked Yoonjae’s natural appearance, so he rested his chin on one hand and kept checking his ever-changing face.

 

“I must have been mistaken.”

 

“Other employees still say that.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“Why do you keep pretending you don’t know? I only do that to you. It’s limited to you. Have you seen me being kind to other people at work?”

 

Yoonjae took a grape and brought it near Eunho’s lips. Eunho, who took the grape, only smiled silently.

 

Yoonjae, who finished his meal, turned Eunho back to the living room again, who was trying to do the dishes. Eunho drooped his shoulders and walked to the living room sofa at Yoonjae’s stern warning not to do this because he didn’t bring him to use him.

 

Yoonjae, who put the dishes in the dishwasher and went in to wash up, quietly pondered what kind of conversation he should have with Kang Taeoh in a week, recalling his conversation with him. If Eunho is safe according to his words, he plans to join hands in earnest. The reason why he is so obsessed with Eunho these days was also because of the potential anxiety about the accident a week later.

 

Yoonjae, who came out after taking a shower, walked to the living room and saw Eunho lying on the long sofa and immediately silenced his footsteps. He thought he was dozing off, but he was lying down and watching a movie.

 

Eunho, who raised his upper body at the sound of people, looked at Yoonjae and lay down, using his thigh as a pillow. Is this okay? Eunho’s half-closed eyes asked for permission. Yoonjae gave his answer by neatly sweeping up Eunho’s hair.

 

An old movie was being broadcast on TV. He doubted whether he was watching it properly, so he checked the screen and Eunho alternately, and his half-closed eyes gradually lowered more and more. Just watching Eunho made his body languid enough to transfer his weariness.

 

His bulging forehead and long eyelashes set fire to Yoonjae’s heart. As he blankly watched Eunho, who was leisurely dozing off in a quiet space, he felt that the time that was flowing helplessly was a waste.

 

Yoonjae bent down and gently put his lips on Eunho’s forehead. Eunho, who seemed like he wouldn’t notice the gentle movements, slowly lifted his eyelids. Although he was in a hazy state of mind, he felt the touch of Yoonjae approaching just now, so Eunho blinked his eyelids a few times and slowly raised his upper body.

 

“If you just sleep…”

 

He was going to hug him and take him to the bedroom if he fell asleep soundly, but Eunho, who was looking at Yoonjae with blurry eyes, groped his cheeks and slowly bit his lips. Every time he bit as if pulling his lower lip, something tickled somewhere in his chest.

 

Yoonjae leaned his upper body against the backrest, intoxicated by Eunho’s spring breeze-like movements.

 

“I… love you.”

 

For a moment, he thought he had misheard, so he put strength into his eyes and looked at Eunho, and his swaying brown eyes became moist.

 

“…I love you.”