Dirty Sweet Baby Chapter 57

“What is it, then?”

“No, I… Haha.”

“What?”

“Never mind. You look better when you’re not smiling, hyung. You’re fine just like this.”

“What are you talking about…”

Heeheon was simply bewildered. Just then, they arrived at the flower shop and the car came to a stop. With an unsettled feeling, Heeheon got out of the car. The brightly blooming flowers all around immediately caught his eye. Cha Moogyul pushed up his sleeve and checked his watch.

“We have time. Take your time looking around and pick something.”

“Okay.”

Heeheon took a light stroll around the flower shop. Pink rudbeckias with a vibrant image, tall and bright yellow sunflowers, small white dahlias, dramatic and elegant purple gladioli, and round blue hydrangeas that would suit any occasion. Every flower was admirable, bearing the freshness and beautiful vitality of fresh-cut blooms.

After looking at the flowers for a long while, Heeheon’s eyes subconsciously drifted to the side. With the colorful flower shop as a backdrop, Cha Moogyul was standing close beside Heeheon. Heeheon found his gaze stolen away without realizing it at the sight of him, perfectly dressed in a suit, harmonizing with the flowers.

‘Huh…’

Flowers and Cha Moogyul…

Standing in the center of countless flowers under the faintly setting sun, he looked like a masterpiece painted by a talented artist with all his soul. It even felt like there was a story behind it, as if the artist had shed tears and breathed his last after completing the painting by carving away his own life.

The scent of flowers wafted in on the cool breeze. His hair, which seemed to have been woven only from the purest shades of black, fluttered slowly as if in slow motion. It felt as if time was flowing differently only around him. Eventually, the flow stopped, and the moment was engraved in memory as an eternity.

“Not yet? Is there nothing you like, hyung?”

Heeheon, who had been quietly staring, lost in a daze, snapped his head to the opposite side.

“No, it’s just that they all look so nice…”

“Then should I order?”

“Uh… sure.”

He gave a small nod while still looking away. As if it were no big deal, Cha Moogyul pointed out a few suitable flowers to Secretary Jo and instructed him to order a flower basket.

“Make it neat, and with sincerity.”

“Yes, I understand, Director.”

While they were looking at the flowers and catching their breath, Secretary Jo brought the completed flower basket. Cha Moogyul picked up the basket and tucked it right into Heeheon’s arms. It was a creation that was large enough to be quite heavy and clearly showed that a lot of effort had gone into it. The types of flowers used were diverse, but the color scheme was unified with only white, making it look elegant and sophisticated. Ranunculus, peonies, hydrangeas, roses, stephanotis, and lilies. The basket was also white, making it look a bit like a bouquet.

“There. Let’s go.”

Cha Moogyul got into the car first. Heeheon, who followed him into the back seat, fastened his seatbelt, and the car started to move. Then, he realized something strange and slowly blinked his eyelids. His surprised lips slowly parted.

Lilies…

Why are lilies in here?

“Hey, your allergy!”

Heeheon tried to pull the lilies out of the basket. Cha Moogyul, not surprised at all, calmly grabbed Heeheon’s hand and pressed it down.

“It’s fine. Leave it.”

“No, it’s dangerous. Let’s go back. Let’s ask them to take it out.”

“I said just leave it. I don’t have an allergy.”

“What…?”

What was Cha Moogyul talking about? Heeheon flinched his fingertips, which were still held by him.

‘He doesn’t have an allergy?’

That meant he had lied back then.

The lily bouquet that Captain Sung had given him… What was Cha Moogyul lacking that he would tell such a trivial lie? No, actually, it wasn’t as if he had no idea what the reason was. He could no longer say he was completely ignorant of his intentions. Heeheon muttered in a daze, his face pale.

“…You, really, I think you’re going a bit too far.”

“I am.”

“Shouldn’t you get checked out at a hospital or something? Obsessive disorder… I think it’s a type of compulsion…”

“Ha, then shall we go together, holding hands? You should get that avoidance disorder of yours fixed too, hyung.”

“No, I…”

“What about you?”

“…Forget it.”

Heeheon tensed his forearm and pulled, trying to shake off his hand. Cha Moogyul, seemingly with no intention of letting go, kept holding it and pressed it against the back seat. When Heeheon kept squirming his hand trying to get it out, he even interlocked their fingers, clasping them tightly.

“It does seem like you avoid me a little less these days. Makes me feel like my teaching has been worthwhile… hm?”

“…Shut up.”

“Still, it’s nowhere near enough. When we go back, I’ll teach you more properly. So it’s carved into your body.”

“…The way you talk is really insolent, you jerk…”

Heeheon tried to pull his hand away a couple more times, but he didn’t budge. Cha Moogyul held onto Heeheon’s hand the entire way to the main residence. The car’s air conditioning was on, making it comfortable, and the sun had completely set so it wasn’t hot, but it felt like his hand would start sweating for no reason.

It was hard to keep his body still. Heeheon curled the hand that wasn’t being held and clutched tightly at the poor flower basket. With just his hand being held, his body, which had been deeply intimate with him in the past, reacted on its own. It felt like a fever was rising, his lips felt dry, and his heart gradually began to beat faster from the taut tension.

And at some point, he even forgot about trying to pull his hand away from him. The sunset completely faded and the sun sank below the ridge. The evening darkness enveloped and concealed the two of them. As his vision blurred, the faint scent of flowers rising from the bouquet-like, pure white flower basket felt even stronger. It was a sweet fragrance he had never smelled before.

After passing through the main gate, the sedan glided through the garden. In the garden, lit by stone lanterns, an evergreen old pine tree elegantly spread its branches. Behind the garden stood a modest two-story detached house.

For the home of the great Musan Group’s owner, Chairman Cha Kwon Il, it wasn’t a very luxurious sight. It was a house where modern and traditional architectural elements were appropriately mixed, with stone, natural wood, and eaves with curves reminiscent of a hanok standing out. Of course, the security was thorough.

“Well then, Director Cha. First Lieutenant Baek. We will see you again tomorrow.”

Secretary Jo, along with the bodyguards and chauffeur, left for the day after a polite farewell. As the human wall that had surrounded them disappeared, it finally began to feel a little more real that he had arrived at the main residence.

This was a house where Heeheon had once lived. For three years, at that.

Though five years had passed since he left, coming back seemed to bring back memories of that time, fresh and new. The tranquil garden scenery, the exquisitely framed lattice-patterned front door, the long hallway and the ceramics, famous paintings, and sculptures decorating it here and there. The vertical chandelier hanging long from the living room ceiling and the wide, straight staircase leading to the second floor…

‘And Mother, too.’

Perhaps because he had arrived at the main residence, thoughts of his mother grew stronger and stronger. Before coming, his mind had been filled with thoughts of being too ashamed to face her and guilt, making him anxious, but now that he had actually arrived at the house, a sense of longing filled him up more than his various worries. Heeheon purely and sincerely missed his mother so much. That was all.

‘I wonder if she’s been well. Is she healthy?’

He wanted to meet his mother face to face, share a reunion, and be the son he couldn’t be for the past five years. He also wanted to tell her the news of his special promotion himself.

‘I want to see her soon…’

Heeheon carefully readjusted the flower basket, holding it preciously in his arms. The bridge of his nose tingled for no reason.

Leading Heeheon, who was lost in remorse, Cha Moogyul pressed the doorbell at the front door.

Ding-dong.

Not even a few seconds after the doorbell rang, the door clicked open immediately. As if she had been waiting for this very moment, Heeheon’s mother came running out with a bright face.

“Heeheon!”

It was clear at a glance that she had taken care to dress up for her son who was coming home after a long time. The reddish-brown dress and her hair put up in a twist suited his mother’s graceful appearance well. Cha Moogyul lightly took Heeheon’s arm to lead him inside first. Heeheon, who had been standing still like a statue, took a couple of steps forward and stood face to face with his birth mother, Ms. Lee Eunhong.

“I… I’m here.”

He had thought so much about what he would say when he saw his mother. But all that came out were these shy words. His mother opened her arms and hugged Heeheon tightly.

“My son! My baby, welcome home. Huh? Welcome home!”

Hearing her choked, emotional voice, Heeheon’s heart ached as well. He slowly hugged his mother back and was held in her missed embrace. It felt like there was nothing else in the world he could wish for. His guilty feelings remained, of course, but more than that sense of guilt, he was glad to see his mother, he was happy, and he was grateful for this moment given to him.

“Yes, I’m here. Mother. I…”

“Yes, Heeheon. I know. Mom knows everything. It must have been hard coming here. It was really tough, wasn’t it?”

“No, I’m sorry. I was wrong, Mother.”

“Don’t say that. It’s okay. Mom is okay with everything… Let’s go inside quickly. You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

His mother patted Heeheon’s back repeatedly. For a while, Heeheon couldn’t properly form his words, and then belatedly handed her the flower basket. His mother smiled brightly and expressed her delight, asking why he had brought such a thing. Just then, a deep voice was heard from behind his mother.