Finding it even funnier because no matter how you looked at it, Shin-Yeon’s expression clearly said he hated the snowstorm, Kyo-Shin touched the corner of his mouth, curved in a faint smile.
“Hm…….”
Knock knock—
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The aide who entered the office quietly greeted him, stepped closer, and held out some documents as he began speaking.
“We’ve located your fiancée, Mr. Kim Shin-Hee. He is reportedly living with the superior alpha Seong Hyo-Shin in Hallim-eup, Jeju.”
As Kyo-Shin checked the address where Kim Shin-Hee was currently staying along with records from an omega obstetrics clinic, he said,
“Five weeks pregnant……. Then Seong Hyo-Shin isn’t the father.”
Seong Hyo-Shin was a superior alpha Kyo-Shin had personally planted near Kim Shin-Hee, a player he had hired in order to steer the engagement along.
More importantly, Seong Hyo-Shin had an alpha contraceptive capsule inserted in his body, so even if he knotted someone, pregnancy was impossible.
As Kyo-Shin’s gaze turned cold while he looked over the OB-GYN report, the aide cautiously spoke.
“I’ve already sent the photos and materials to your email as attachments, Executive Director. Shall we withdraw the investment from Suhan? Or should we bring Mr. Kim Shin-Hee back to Seoul?”
Kyo-Shin shifted his gaze to the photo of Shin-Yeon floundering in the snowstorm before answering.
“Let’s watch a little longer. If Kim Shin-Hee contacts us saying he’ll come back of his own accord, make terminating the pregnancy the condition. First, find out where Kim Shin-Hee was fooling around five weeks ago.”
“From three months ago up until recently, Mr. Kim Shin-Hee most frequently visited Club Daphne, which newly opened in Cheongdam, and Club Tail in Gangnam.”
Those two clubs were run by Ho Seok-Hyeon, heir to the Gamwon faction, and they were places where trait-holders could fool around as messily as they liked without any aftermath.
“Didn’t you say a month ago that Ho Seok-Hyeon was digging into Kim Shin-Hee’s background? As I recall, Kim Shin-Hee took out a loan from Minyang Cash right before he ran.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Shall we investigate why he was looking into him?”
Maybe Seong Hyo-Shin, the alpha plant, had bewitched Kim Shin-Hee that well, because Kim Shin-Hee had borrowed a large sum from Minyang Cash, the loan company run by Ho Seok-Hyeon, and fled.
But then why had Ho Seok-Hyeon been investigating Kim Shin-Hee a month ago rather than recently?
Could it be that Ho Seok-Hyeon had a one-night stand with Kim Shin-Hee?
Or had he made a mistake after getting caught up in a cycle?
To the sharp instincts of a super-dominant alpha, it felt as though Ho Seok-Hyeon was deeply connected to Kim Shin-Hee somehow.
“Investigate it. And look into Ho Seok-Hyeon’s recent ruts too.”
After giving the order, Kyo-Shin opened his email once the aide had withdrawn and checked the photos taken in Jeju.
Leaning back in his chair, he watched Kim Shin-Hee kissing Seong Hyo-Shin with cold eyes, then turned his gaze to the side monitor.
Ding!
[Kim Shin-Yeon: Executive Director Seo, do you know how to do CPR?]
“Hm……. What is it this time?”
Just as Kyo-Shin was about to look up a beginner’s CPR guide and send him the link, another message notification came in.
[Kim Shin-Yeon: I think I’m having a heart attack because of you right now…….]
“…….”
After reading the message, Kyo-Shin went still and stared at the screen for a long moment before suddenly letting out a disbelieving laugh.
Amused by the sheer absurdity of it, Kyo-Shin touched the corner of his mouth, now relaxed, and sent a reply.
[Seo Kyo-Shin: How is someone having a heart attack sending messages^^? Do you have 9 hearts? (Link: An easy CPR guide even beginners can follow)]
[Kim Shin-Yeon: Executive Director Seo, are you a T?]
Even from the messages alone, he could practically feel Shin-Yeon trembling.
The clumsy flirting that had started yesterday was more entertaining than he had expected.
“How cute.”
Without replying to Shin-Yeon’s message, Kyo-Shin went back to work.
***
“Wow, how can anyone be like that? Is he really a T? Is he emotionally stunted because he’s a T?”
Lying on his bed gripping his phone in both hands after staying up all night wide awake, Shin-Yeon bit down on his lip.
He had thought about sending another message at dawn, but it felt like that would be crossing the line, so he held back until morning.
The moment it hit eight o’clock, Shin-Yeon picked up his phone and sent Kyo-Shin a message.
[Kim Shin-Yeon: Good morning, Executive Director Seo. I didn’t get a wink of sleep because I was doing CPR on myself, but thanks to you I learned CPR very well.]
He knew it was cheeky to send something like that to an adult, but he simply couldn’t just let it slide.
“No matter how much I’m the one who has to win him over……. Ha. Don’t tell me he’s such an adult that he just didn’t realize I was flirting?”
After sending the message, Shin-Yeon tossed his phone aside carelessly and buried his face in the pillow.
“Jeez…….”
Originally, once he got accepted to university and paid the tuition, he had planned to go on a trip with his friends.
But trip or no trip, he was too upset to care, and he was ignoring even his friends’ messages now.
Shin-Yeon punched the pillow.
“No, seriously—you have to actually meet me so I can at least let out some pheromones or flirt with you……. He won’t even meet me!”
I’m obviously less attractive than my brother, so of course I wouldn’t catch Seo Kyo-Shin’s eye, but still……
“Even if I somehow do get married, I’ll probably get divorced right away. But it’s still better than doing nothing…….”
Don’t expect anything. Just somehow stop him from withdrawing the investment.
Shin-Yeon recalled a fight his father and Kim Shin-Hee had once had.
‘A business marriage is exactly that—a business arrangement. It’s not something you’re supposed to expect love from. As long as the goal is achieved, that’s enough.’
‘I hate Seo Kyo-Shin and I hate business marriages! I want to fall madly in love with some sexy alpha and marry him!’
Was love really something so important you’d throw away your family and your company for it?
To Shin-Yeon, the concept of love still felt like little more than chasing clouds.
Even when he looked at Seo Kyo-Shin or other alphas, he still didn’t feel any romantic attraction.
So marriage itself felt less like romance and more like homework that needed to be gotten over with as fast as possible.
Bzzzz—!
[Seo Kyo-Shin: If I have a heart attack, baby, come do CPR on me. I’d like to see how good you are at it^^]
“He’s making fun of me, right? He’s mocking me, right?”
Trembling as he held his phone, Shin-Yeon closed his eyes without replying and pulled the blanket over himself.
I’m not answering. Let him stare at that message window and stew for a while!
Having made up his mind firmly, he tried to go to sleep, but once again his phone started vibrating.
“Don’t fall for it. Don’t cave just because it’s vibrating. Kim Shin-Yeon, you are not the kind of person who gets fluttery over a phone vibration.”
Protect your pride no matter what.
Bzz-bzzz— bzzz—
“……But if I become homeless, I won’t have any pride left to protect, so no.”
In the end, defeated by the vibrating phone, Shin-Yeon hurriedly checked the messages.
[Seo Kyo-Shin: I think I can make time tomorrow. Shall we meet?]
[Seo Kyo-Shin: You’re not checking your messages. Are you sulking^^?]
[Seo Kyo-Shin: Is baby an F?]
After reading them, Shin-Yeon stared at the screen with a trembling expression, then threw the phone onto the blanket and yelled,
“Aaagh!”
Backed into a corner by those messages that seemed to be subtly teasing him, Shin-Yeon flailed around on the bed before glaring up at the ceiling.
“Marriage is marriage, but I can’t lose like this.”
He picked up the phone from the blanket and, still trembling, typed out a reply.
[Kim Shin-Yeon: Where shall I see you tomorrow?]
[Seo Kyo-Shin: I’ll come pick you up.]
Reading that, Shin-Yeon typed out a killer flirting line he had learned on the internet.
[Kim Shin-Yeon: I’m planning to start feeling excited from today at the thought of seeing you, Executive Director, so I’d like to meet you at the appointment place tomorrow.]
“Let’s see if you still don’t fall for it after this.”
Having saved lines from master flirts on online forums, Shin-Yeon stared for a long while at the screen, which showed no reply.
Kyo-Shin had definitely read the message, but he wasn’t replying.
“Looks like he finally got flustered, huh? Bet that landed a hit.”
Feeling refreshed and proud, Shin-Yeon gazed up at the ceiling, and as sleep gradually washed over him, he drifted off just like that.
Bzzzz—
[Seo Kyo-Shin: Work was busy, so my reply was late. If you start getting excited today, you’ll be tired tomorrow, so try your best to hold back. Come here at 12 tomorrow. The address is……]
Seo Kyo-Shin’s defenses were far too high and far too sturdy, but the baby kitten fast asleep in dreamland knew nothing about that.
***
To make time for Shin-Yeon, Kyo-Shin had to rearrange his schedule over several days.
After working at the office in the morning, he left in time for their appointment and drove himself to the restaurant he had reserved in advance.
It was a very popular place, with a light, bright atmosphere chosen with Shin-Yeon’s age in mind.
After handing off his car for valet parking at the restaurant entrance, Kyo-Shin went inside first and headed for the room he had reserved.
“Hm?”
He had booked a private room, but because of the restaurant’s concept, part of the room was made of glass, so it was visible from outside.
Normally, he would never have chosen to dine somewhere this exposed to the public, but since the appointment time was already close, Kyo-Shin took off his coat, handed it to an employee, and sat down.
Because he had come straight from the office, he ended up still wearing his suit without having meant anything by it, and he found himself curious about Shin-Yeon’s reaction.
Would he like it? Or would he be indifferent?
Any reaction would probably be interesting, but what intrigued him most was something else entirely.
Kim Shin-Yeon wanted to clean up the mess caused by Kim Shin-Hee running away.
But exactly how was he planning to do that?
Kyo-Shin narrowed his eyes and looked out the window at the flurries drifting down—and that was when he saw it.
Outside, a small figure in a white coat came hurrying toward the restaurant, clutching a bouquet of yellow freesias in his arms.
“Hm…….”
Arms folded, lightly tapping his arm with one finger, Kyo-Shin found himself wondering whether he should have prepared something too.
Knock knock! Slide—!
At the sound of the knock, he turned his head—and the door flew open as a small, pale figure dashed inside.
“Hah! Hah! I’m sorry I’m late!”
He must have run as hard as he could—his carefully styled hair was all mussed up, and his fair face was flushed bright red.
Even the first time Kyo-Shin had seen him, he had thought, How can someone be that pretty? And even now, the still-beautiful baby, panting for breath, hurried straight over to him and then suddenly plopped down onto the floor.
“……?”
Thinking the baby’s legs must have given out from running so hard, Kyo-Shin was just about to help him up—
when Shin-Yeon, after catching his breath, thrust the large bouquet of freesias in his arms straight toward him with a solemn expression and shouted,
“Seo Kyo-Shin, please marry me!”