* * *
At the grocery store, walking between the shelves, Siwon leaned toward Junhee.
“Hyung, why is that guy following us?”
“…”
Five steps behind them, Ki Taeryu was trailing Junhee and Siwon, pushing a cart.
Junhee thought about correcting Siwon but decided against it. Ki Taeryu wasn’t following ‘them.’ He was following him.
“Doesn’t that guy have anything better to do? Isn’t he supposed to be throwing parties or relaxing on weekends, being a chaebol and all?”
Already irritated by Ki Taeryu’s presence, Siwon’s chatter made Junhee’s head throb.
“Jin Siwon, zip it.”
“Got it.”
At Junhee’s sharp tone, Siwon mimed zipping his lips shut.
They soon reached their destination: the snack aisle. Carefully, they started picking out snacks.
“Isn’t this the one Bodam likes?”
“Hyung, Bodam doesn’t like that anymore.”
“What? He used to ask for this all the time.”
“Kids are fickle, you know. Their preferences change overnight.”
Junhee looked a little shaken. He had always believed Bodam’s chubby cheeks were the result of this chocolate snack.
“Hyung, you just want that for yourself, don’t you? Give it here, I’ll buy it.”
“No need. Do you even have money?”
“I got paid from my part-time job, you know?”
While Junhee and Siwon bickered like newlyweds, someone was watching them with a look of disdain.
As they debated over the snack pack, Ki Taeryu casually dropped a square box into the cart.
Junhee’s eyes followed Ki Taeryu’s hand to the cart, where a neatly squared tin can now lay.
Siwon narrowed his eyes at the imported snack and pulled it out without hesitation.
“Excuse me, our kids don’t like stuff like this.”
Siwon wasn’t wrong.
The children had never tasted such expensive imported snacks, nor were they likely to.
Ignoring Siwon, Ki Taeryu continued loading the cart with high-end imported snacks, filling it to the brim.
At a glance, Junhee could tell it was worth hundreds of dollars.
Unable to watch any longer, Junhee stepped forward.
“Director, what are you doing?”
“Snacks.”
“And?”
“Kids need to eat well to grow up healthy.”
“Just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s good.”
“It’s better than cheap stuff. They don’t say ‘you get what you pay for’ for nothing.”
Junhee gripped the red cart handle tighter.
Did Ki Taeryu think he didn’t want to buy good snacks for the kids?
No matter how much Junhee explained, he doubted Ki Taeryu would understand or care.
He kept his mouth shut. Ki Taeryu handed something to him.
Junhee’s eyes filled with quiet contempt.
“I don’t need it.”
Junhee glared at the black card before dragging the cart toward the checkout counter.
Siwon quickly followed, not missing the chance to shoot Ki Taeryu a final glare.
Junhee loaded the imported snacks onto the conveyor belt.
The cashier seemed a little surprised but quickly began scanning them.
Beep. Beep.
Siwon watched as the total climbed, his mouth agape.
Finally, he tugged on Junhee’s sleeve.
“Hyung, are you sure about this? How about I cover half…?”
“Jin Siwon. Go make a box.”
“…Okay.”
Feeling overwhelmed by Junhee’s intensity, Siwon trudged over to the paper boxes.
Once he was gone, Junhee sighed deeply.
“That’ll be 435,000 won. Will you be paying by card?”
It was the first time he had ever made such a large purchase at a mart, and never in his wildest dreams did he think it would be entirely for snacks.
“Yes, I’ll pay by card. Three… no, make that six months in installments, please.”
He couldn’t bring himself to pay it all at once—thanks to that last thread of sanity he was holding onto.
Junhee wasn’t paying for snacks; he was paying to avoid what could have been a humiliating situation. He was buying the right not to be pitied.
“Hyung, here’s the box…”
Silently packing the snacks into the box, Junhee made a vow to himself.
After his contract with Ki Taeryu was over, he would never get involved with him again.
Siwon, who had been nervously watching Junhee while carrying the box, cautiously asked, “Hyung, are you mad?”
“No.”
“What’s wrong with that crazy guy? Look, he’s still following our taxi right now.”
As soon as they left the mart, Junhee had refused to get into Ki Taeryu’s car and took a taxi instead.
Now Ki Taeryu was blatantly stalking them, and to top it off, he had Yeo Daeyoon driving for him again.
What had the poor assistant done to deserve spending the weekend dealing with this mess?
Junhee let Ki Taeryu take him home, even made him coffee when he asked for it.
A decent person would know when to back off after having a few requests accommodated, but Ki Taeryu clearly lacked that basic decency.
“Just ignore him. He’ll get bored eventually and leave.”
“Wait, so he’s doing this for fun? Harassing people like this? No matter how rich he is, that’s way over the line. Can’t you ask for someone else to handle him? I can’t stand it anymore.”
Siwon huffed in frustration, barely able to contain his anger.
Junhee felt the same, but the contract he’d signed weighed heavily on his mind.
What had he been thinking when he signed that, imagining it would be as simple as finding Ki Taeryu a match?
If he had known Ki Taeryu would be this persistent and deranged…
‘Not that I had much of a choice back then.’
Thinking about it only made him more frustrated.
As he rolled down the window a bit and turned his head, Siwon mumbled something under his breath.
“Hyung, seriously… nothing happened between you and that lunatic yesterday, right?”
“Shut up, Jin Siwon.”
“Right? I knew it. That wouldn’t make any sense. But as soon as you disappeared that day, he bolted out of the hall and vanished. We couldn’t find him anywhere, and then a bunch of gangster-looking guys started passing by… I was so worried something happened to you.”
“…”
As soon as Siwon finished speaking, voices from multiple people started echoing in Junhee’s head.
“Do you want me to tell you what Ki Taeryu hates the most?”
“You know, the one who went missing—Ki Taeryuseong.”
“Just talk, Junhee. Stop licking like a dog.”
Junhee grabbed his throbbing head with both hands and hunched his shoulders.
His teeth clenched tightly, making a grinding sound.
“Hyung? Hyung, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Damn it… What the hell is this…”
After stepping out of the taxi, Junhee stood in front of the trunk as Siwon hurriedly followed behind.
“Hyung, are you really okay? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“Don’t make a scene in front of the kids. Just help me carry this.”
Junhee quickly replied with his eyes downcast.
He handed one box to Siwon and took the other himself.
As the taxi left, the faded letters on the gate became visible: ‘Hanbit Orphanage’.
It wasn’t part of today’s plans, but when Siwon mentioned he was going to visit his siblings at the orphanage, Junhee agreed to join him.
The sudden realization of how long it had been since his last visit stung like a fresh wound.
From the small yard inside the gate, a group of kids playing soccer was the first to notice them and came running.
“Hey, it’s Siwon hyung!”
“Junhee hyung’s here too!”
“You kids been behaving for Mom? Where is she?”
“Mom’s in the counseling room! Hyung, can you give me an airplane ride?”
“Airplane? Tell me where you want to go. I can’t send you overseas, but I can take you to Jeju Island.”
Siwon, ever playful with the kids, hoisted them up with ease, causing the children to shriek with joy.
Siwon always rolled around and played rough with the kids, which was why their cheers were always so loud around him.
Meanwhile, Junhee lowered his head, glanced at the large box Siwon had left behind, and looked up.
“Need help?”
Ki Taeryu stood there, hands in his pockets, looking down at Junhee with a crooked smile.
“Visitors aren’t allowed here.”
“You’re unusually stiff today, Assistant Yoo Junhee.”
“The exit’s that way.”
Ignoring Ki Taeryu’s taunts, Junhee struggled to lift both boxes when he felt a tug on his pants.
“Junhee hyung?”
A small child with chubby cheeks looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Hyung! It really is Junhee hyung!”
“Bodam, why are you out here in the cold? You should be playing inside.”
As Bodam reached out his arms, Junhee quickly set the boxes down and scooped him up.
“Hyung, were you really that busy? Mom kept saying you were too busy to come, but I kept waiting for you…”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy with work. I’m sorry.”
Junhee hugged Bodam tightly, feeling the warmth from their pressed cheeks calming his frantically beating heart.
“Shall we go inside? Hyung brought lots of snacks…”
When he turned to grab the snack boxes, Ki Taeryu had already stacked them and was holding both.
Junhee had half a mind to tell him to leave, but with Bodam leaning against his shoulder, he couldn’t raise his voice.
Letting out a small sigh, Junhee headed inside the orphanage.
* * *
Thank you for the update