“Huh? Uh? What?”
Manager Kim’s eyes widened as he paced outside the car.
“You waited a long time, didn’t you?”
Seojin, who had been trailing closely behind Yoon Haegang, gave an awkward smile and waved.
“No, well, that part’s fine, but…….”
Manager Kim answered reflexively, yet he could not take his eyes off Yoon Haegang, who had appeared so suddenly. No, more precisely, he was conscious of the person in his arms.
“Boss, that person is……?”
With his face lowered, Manager Kim could not tell who it was. But the fact that it was none other than Yoon Haegang bringing him along was enough to catch his attention.
“Open the door.”
At the icy order, Manager Kim immediately cowered and hurried to open the front passenger door. At the same time, instead of asking Yoon Haegang, he shot Seojin a look that clearly asked who that person was.
“I’ll explain later.”
Seojin smiled awkwardly and quickly climbed into the back seat, making Manager Kim give an embarrassed little laugh and roll his eyes.
He had thought all he needed to do was deliver some documents.
Just how had things ended up like this?
Unfortunately, though, it seemed there was no one willing to satisfy his curiosity right away.
“Manager Kim.”
Yoon Haegang called his name and jerked his chin toward the driver’s seat.
Manager Kim immediately understood the command to get moving and opened the driver’s door.
Seojin had already seated Euni in her car seat and was making his way around to the back seat again.
Then he spotted Yoon Haegang standing there with his arms crossed.
‘Is he not coming with us?’
That certainly seemed to be the atmosphere.
“We’ll be going, Boss. Have a good weekend.”
Seojin said goodbye just in case, and Yoon Haegang’s eyebrow twitched.
There was no answer, but Seojin took that as confirmation that he was not going with them and climbed into the back seat.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of someone tapping on the window, Seojin pressed the button.
“Hmm…….”
Yoon Haegang slowly swept his gaze over the inside of the car.
Then his eyes met Euni’s as she swung her legs in her car seat.
“Goodbyeee…….”
The child waved her tiny hand back and forth in farewell, and his eyebrow lifted again.
“Yeah. Noh Seojin’s daughter. Bye.”
Then he took out his wallet, pulled out several bills, and held them out.
“Here. Pocket money.”
When his long arm stretched across in front of him, Seojin nearly jumped and hurried to stop him.
“Wait, wait! Boss! Stop!”
The wad of cash in Yoon Haegang’s hand looked like at least ten fifty-thousand-won bills.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to give her anything like that.”
Who in the world gave that much money to a five-year-old child?
“You’re supposed to give kids pocket money when you meet them.”
Who exactly told you that?
Apparently noticing the look in Seojin’s eyes, Yoon Haegang spun the hand holding the money in a lazy circle.
“Someone who’s basically like a father to me said it, so I’m not just making it up.”
“Someone like a father to you? The orcha…….”
Seojin barely managed to stop himself before asking if he meant the man with the orchard.
That much had appeared in the book, but he realized it was not something he should be the one to bring up first.
“Yeah. There is someone. An old man who’s dead set on leaving me his orchard. Ever since he found out what I do for a living, he’s been nagging my ears off about when I’m finally coming down there.”
Yoon Haegang clicked his tongue as though he found the whole thing irritating.
“He’s perfectly healthy himself, but you should hear how much he complains anyway.”
“Ahh…….”
“Anyway. Here, Euni. Take it.”
Before Seojin could say anything more, Yoon Haegang stubbornly shoved the stack of bills into the gap beside Euni’s car seat.
Then, as if his task were complete, he drew back without a trace of hesitation.
Only Euni remained staring at him with her mouth hanging open.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Well, I guess I’ll sleep in for a while, have breakfast with Euni…….”
As Seojin answered, a question slowly crept into his mind.
Why in the world was he asking this?
“But why are you asking?”
“Just because?”
What kind of answer was that?
Apparently noticing Seojin’s expression, Yoon Haegang gave him a mischievous smile.
“Get home safely, Noh Seojin. You too, Euni.”
“Yeees! Byeee!”
Before Seojin could even answer, Euni enthusiastically waved her hand.
The power of pocket money really was incredible.
The car pulled away, leaving Yoon Haegang behind.
Feeling as if he had finally escaped from a raging storm, Seojin sank deep into the seat.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star! How I wonder what you are! In the eastern sky too! In the western sky too!”
Beside him, Euni, who now seemed completely awake, happily sang a children’s song.
Even that somehow made Seojin feel relieved, and his eyelids slowly drifted shut.
“……jin.”
“Ah!”
Seojin’s eyes snapped open when someone lightly shook him.
Still groggy with sleep, he stared blankly up at Manager Kim standing outside the car.
“We, uh, we’re here. What should we do now?”
At those words, Seojin blinked and looked around.
Then he spotted the familiar multiplex house and gradually remembered what was going on.
“Ah. Ahh. Just a second.”
Seojin squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, confirmed that Euni was asleep, and climbed out of the car.
When he checked the front passenger seat, Shin Seyoung still had his eyes closed, apparently unconscious.
“I’ll support him, so Seojin, could you open the front gate? I think you’ll probably have an easier time with that than I would…….”
Seojin spent a moment wondering what he meant, then understood when Manager Kim gestured toward the gate with his eyes.
“Okay. I’ll call the landlord.”
Shin Seyoung was still wearing his uniform.
That probably meant he had left all his belongings behind as well, and it was possible he did not have the gate key with him.
Seojin hurried toward the building and was about to press the intercom when a young voice came from inside first.
“Wow, mister. Hello!”
The person who came running over with the patter of small feet was the little client from before.
“Uh, hi. Are your mom or dad home?”
“Nooo! They’ll be late!”
At the child’s completely matter-of-fact answer, Seojin unconsciously checked the time on his phone.
It was already past ten.
‘Neither parent is home yet, and the kid is here alone?’
Seojin quickly smoothed out the frown forming on his face and looked at the little client, who was speaking brightly as if there were nothing strange about the situation at all.
“I see. Could you open the gate for us first? We brought the older brother who lives upstairs.”
“Seyoung hyung? Okay!”
Without a hint of suspicion, the little client flung the gate open.
Seojin decided he would properly check on the situation after they got Shin Seyoung laid down and turned around.
Manager Kim had Shin Seyoung on his back and was waiting.
When their eyes met, he strode over.
“Where does Seyoung hyung live?”
Once Manager Kim approached, Seojin asked the little client.
The boy immediately started bounding cheerfully up the stairs.
He was so quick that he reached the rooftop in no time and waved both arms wildly.
Seojin followed him upstairs.
In the meantime, the little client was already searching beneath a lifeless flowerpot for a key and opening the door.
“Thanks for helping us.”
The little client beamed at those words.
Seojin patted the adorable child on the shoulder and stepped inside.
The interior was neat.
There were only a few household items, but everything was meticulously organized.
It was the kind of place that clearly reflected Shin Seyoung’s personality.
Seojin spread out the bedding that had been neatly folded.
The little client, who had been watching, immediately read the situation and placed a pillow down.
Realizing the boy had probably helped like this many times before, Seojin stroked his head and stood.
When he stepped outside, Manager Kim was waiting.
Seojin took Shin Seyoung from his back, carried him into the rooftop room, and carefully laid him down on the bedding.
“But what’s wrong with Seyoung hyung?”
“Ah… well, he’s just a little sick.”
There was no reason to explain an omega’s heat cycle to a little child who was most likely a beta.
“Mmm…. Is hyung going to stay inside for a few days again?”
“He’s done this before?”
“Yeees…….”
Seojin stroked the little client’s head as he nodded.
If the boy just thought Shin Seyoung was sick, that was probably fine.
“Yeah. He’ll get better if he rests for a few days. Should we go out quietly?”
“Okay! Mom said not to tell anyone when hyung gets sick!”
“……Really?”
“Yeah! Especially Dad!”
“……She did?”
Sometimes children revealed truths adults never expected.
And thanks to those words, Seojin suddenly remembered a plot development he had forgotten.
The decisive reason Shin Seyoung eventually became unable to keep living in this house and ended up living together with Choi Moonhyeok was because the landlord’s husband had developed inappropriate feelings for him.
“That’s good to know. Thanks.”
“Hehe… Okay!”
Seojin gently stroked the innocent child’s cheek once more, then pulled the business card out of his pocket and placed it beside the sleeping Shin Seyoung’s head.
This way, he would think Choi Moonhyeok had been the one who helped him.
Having successfully finished what he needed to do, Seojin left the rooftop room with a light heart.