At the expressionless man’s words, Shin-Yeon couldn’t offer a single rebuttal and just stood there looking miserable.
'I must look really pathetic.'
“That’s why you end up cowering in front of trash like that. I’m not going to do anything bad, so come with me.”
The man grabbed Shin-Yeon’s hesitant arm and pulled him into a taxi that had just stopped nearby.
“Seonjae Traditional House Stay.”
As the taxi started moving, Shin-Yeon, looking half resigned, stole a glance at the man before speaking.
“A stay… you mean like a place to sleep?”
“It’s a traditional family hanok that’s been renovated and runs as a lodging. My grandmother owns it. It’s well-known, so we get a lot of guests.”
“Ah…”
The man nodded lightly as Shin-Yeon did, then his gaze shifted to the bite marks left along the back of Shin-Yeon’s neck.
There were traces everywhere—marks left from attempts to imprint him that had been stopped midway, again and again.
Watching Shin-Yeon asleep on his shoulder on the bus, swaying with the movement, what he’d felt hadn’t been disgust, but admiration.
The pale, almost translucent skin that still looked young, the eyes shaped like a cat’s—striking.
Long lashes, a sharp nose, slightly parted red lips—an unusual kind of beauty that felt both provocative and gentle at the same time.
From the way he spoke, he was clearly from Seoul. And judging by the fact that he’d gotten involved with an alpha and ended up wandering around here just a day later, he must have run away.
'Then… doesn’t that mean I can pick him up?'
“I’m Hwang Sun-Ha. You?”
“Kim Shin-Yeon. I turned twenty this year.”
The way he looked so down somehow made him seem… hungry. Sun-Ha pulled out a chocolate from his bag and held it out to him.
“I’m twenty-two. Call me.”
Picked up just like that, Shin-Yeon stared at the chocolate in his palm, then peeled it open and ate it.
The taxi heading toward Naejangsan turned off onto a rural road, drove for quite a while, and finally stopped in front of a fairly large traditional house.
The scenery of the old hanok, with the feel of a cultural heritage site, made Shin-Yeon let out a breath of awe.
“Wow…”
But from the entrance onward, modern interior design blended naturally with the hanok, giving it a refined, stylish atmosphere.
Watching Shin-Yeon’s reaction, Sun-Ha picked up both suitcases and the paper bag, then walked over.
“Let’s go.”
Grabbing Shin-Yeon’s wrist, he led him inside and headed straight to the management building near the entrance.
Ding!
“Welcome—… Oh? Sun-Ha, you’re back? Boss, Sun-Ha’s here!”
A staff member in his mid-twenties who handled check-ins greeted them warmly, then called out toward the back.
A lively woman in a casual hanbok looked at Shin-Yeon following behind Sun-Ha and widened her eyes.
“Oh my! You brought a guest. Who is this? A friend? Or—… your boyfriend?! Oh my goodness!”
“I picked him up on the bus. Noona, do we have any rooms left? His pheromones are unstable right now.”
Jia, who had been watching Shin-Yeon—practically dragged along like paper by a large dominant alpha—laughed and smacked Sun-Ha’s hand.
“Sun-Ha, who goes around dragging people like that? He’s clearly much smaller than you, delicate, and adorable. Don’t you feel like treating him more carefully?”
She gently pulled Shin-Yeon away from him and handed over a key to a single-room accommodation near the management building.
“The management building and staff housing are right next door, so if you need help or anything feels difficult, just come over. Same for meals.”
“Th-thank you. Then… I’ll pay for about a week in advance first.”
Before he knew it, Shin-Yeon had ended up checking into a hanok stay. He hurriedly pulled out his card—
But a hand slipped in from behind. Sun-Ha took the card and pressed it back into Shin-Yeon’s hand.
“When you’re feeling better, help out as staff. We’re short on hands.”
“W-what?! No, I— I mean—!”
As Shin-Yeon stood there, mouth opening and closing while looking between Sun-Ha and Jia, an elegant elderly woman stepped out from the office inside.
“Sun-Ha, you’re here? Oh my, who’s this pretty one~? My goodness, where did my rough grandson pick up such a lovely baby~? Should I start expecting a great-grandchild now?”
The elderly woman walked right up to Shin-Yeon, examining him with delighted curiosity.
“H-he’s not my boyfriend! We just met on the bus today! He helped me out, and that’s how I ended up here…!”
Glancing nervously at Sun-Ha, who said nothing, Shin-Yeon hurriedly explained, nearly on the verge of tears.
“Can I just pay for the room? Please let me pay. Please…!”
“Grandma, let him rest a few days since his pheromones are unstable. Then we’ll use him as part-time staff.”
“Oh my, that’s perfect! We were short on help anyway.”
“Let’s go.”
“N-no, wait…!”
Without even getting to properly greet the owner, Shin-Yeon was dragged away again by Sun-Ha, looking miserable, and soon arrived at a nearby single-room lodging.
From the outside, it looked like a small hanok, but inside it was modern and comfortable.
“There’s a private bathroom inside, and a bed in the bedroom. The amenities are local specialty products—packaging’s ugly, but the quality’s good. There’s water and drinks in the fridge. If you need snacks or meals, go to the management building.”
Sun-Ha set the suitcase down in the bedroom and handed him the paper bag with the medicine.
“Change into something comfortable. It gets really cold here at night, so don’t dress lightly. The walking paths around the stay are nice at night, but there are alphas among the guests, so be careful. If you’re uneasy, come find me.”
“Thank you… I’m sorry, and really grateful, for all the help when we just met.”
At Shin-Yeon’s thanks, Sun-Ha shrugged and spoke casually as he headed for the door.
“I picked you up to use you as staff, so no need to be grateful. Change and come to the management building. Eat.”
After he left, Shin-Yeon, now alone in the room, sank down onto the floor, drained.
“…What is even happening right now?”
He had definitely run away from home crying his eyes out—but now, when he came to his senses, he was inside a hanok lodging in the countryside. It was completely disorienting.
Still, the room was clean, stylish, and warm enough to ease his tired body.
The quiet atmosphere and the calm view of the hanok outside the window felt like it was gently comforting his miserable day.
Shin-Yeon curled up for a moment, then lay back on the floor, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling as he murmured,
“I miss Executive Director Seo… But I have to stop liking him. He’s supposed to end up with my brother…”
Even so, just thinking of Kyo-Shin made tears well up in his eyes.
“This unrequited love is killing me… sniff.”
With his first love being one-sided—and having essentially rejected himself—Shin-Yeon’s life at the hanok stay began before he even knew it.
***
At Seonjae Traditional House Stay, a hanok lodging famous on social media and online communities, a new staff member had joined.
With glossy black hair and pale skin, his gentle features made him a rare beauty, quickly gaining popularity among guests.
“Yeon, can you guide them to their room?”
“Yes! Hello, please follow me. I’ll take your suitcase.”
Wearing the staff uniform—a casual hanbok—Shin-Yeon, who used the alias “Kim Yeon” while working, guided a family with a young child to the Sansuyu building, a private lodging.
It had a wide front yard, was spaced far from other rooms, and received warm sunlight all day along the wooden veranda—even in winter.
“The amenities are handmade local specialty products, and we’ve prepared the extra towels and bottled water you requested. The snacks in the fridge are complimentary, so please enjoy them freely.”
After explaining how to use the room, he wished them a pleasant stay and stepped outside.
A cold wind carrying the scent of winter forest and countryside brushed past. Shin-Yeon absentmindedly touched his recently trimmed hair.
Following Sun-Ha’s grandmother, Owner Jeong Ok-In, he had gone into town.
To match the clean and refined image of the hanok, his hair had been neatly styled.
Noticing how timid and downcast he seemed, Jeong Ok-In had suggested dyeing his hair to lift his mood.
But having never dyed his hair before, Shin-Yeon couldn’t bring himself to agree right away and just mumbled vaguely.
On the way back, she gifted him a box of hair dye.
“Even just dyeing your hair can change your image and lift your mood. Try it when you feel like it.”
Despite being a grandmother, she had a sharper sense of trends than most young people and an elegant eye for style.
As she got older, she had come to prefer traditional things—but when it came to convenience, modern was best.
“When you get older, do you know how much of a hassle your body becomes? It’s not like before. Comfort and ease of use are everything.”
Thanks to that, Seonjae Stay was comfortable everywhere, and Shin-Yeon had been doing well.
After staying here for three days to rest, he started working as staff on the fourth.
Just like Sun-Ha had said, there were many guests, so he picked things up quickly, and now he could handle most tasks.
If anything, it was more accurate to say he’d learned by being thrown into it all at once.
“Yeon, did you guide the guests?”
As Shin-Yeon was heading back to the management building, he ran into another staff member coming down from the upper area, carrying laundry from a room that had just checked out.
A tall, broad-shouldered female alpha, Ahn Soo-Jin, approached him with a smile.