Pheromone Off Chapter 32

“Move to the bedroom next to the first floor, by today.”

“…But it doesn’t matter if I use the second floor…”

“I told you, that’s a guest room. Even if we are in a relationship where we are going to get married, people will understand us still using separate rooms, but no one will understand you using a corner room on the second floor like some freeloading hanger-on.”

“…”

“It’ll be a headache if we get caught for no reason. Move. At least if you use the room next door, it’ll be easy to make an excuse even if we get caught.”

Funnily enough, not a single thing he said was wrong. Having no excuse to make, Hajin nodded submissively. It wasn’t like they were sharing the same room anyway, so there was nothing difficult about it. It was simply a habit. Was it because of his past living at the Yoojung house? He liked the corner of the upper floor where there was no interference whatsoever.

“I’ll do that.”

Hajin replied softly. Then, he stood still, looking at him.

“…”

“…”

A subtle silence pierced the air. When he blinked his eyes, slightly puzzled by how the other man wasn’t leaving the spot even though his business was finished, he felt the man’s gaze slowly scanning him from head to toe. From top to bottom, bottom to top. What it finally met was his own gaze. In that moment their eyes happened to lock, the corner of his lips tugged up slightly.

“You look pretty, today.”

Having finished his evaluation, he spoke up as if satisfied. The moment Hajin paused briefly at his unexpected remark, his heavy voice followed once more.

“But you do need to buy some clothes.”

“…”

“Use the card. As a reward for listening well, use a lot.”

As if the neatly dressed image of Hajin suited him quite well, a satisfied smile lingered around the corners of his mouth. Even though he knew it was a simple compliment with no dark intentions, Hajin froze and couldn’t say anything. Even after the man left first and the sound of the front door closing was heard from far away, he remained frozen just like that.

‘You look pretty.’

It seemed he was a simpler person than he thought. Those words. With that one meaningless phrase, everything inside his body churned.

Hajin rubbed his slightly reddened face vigorously and continued his preparations to go out. The man seemed to be unaware of it, even while knowing everything. The fact that he liked him. Seeing how he could say things like that so casually without even blinking an eye, that is.

࣪˖ ִֶָ🍇་༘

“Hmeem.”

It had already been thirty minutes. Hajin stood stiffly, hiding his troubled face. Across from him, Madam Shim was contemplating while holding a wedding suit up against Hajin. At first, he had been flustered when male models with a similar physique to his came out wearing wedding suits and walked in front of them as if walking a runway, but Madam Shim, apparently unable to decide with just that, was having those models take off their jackets and holding them up against Hajin.

“Surprisingly, the colors all suit you well.”

Hajin blinked his eyes with a temporarily blank face. He had thought the reason she was contemplating for so long was because they didn’t suit him, but to think it was unexpectedly the opposite.

“Why is a boy’s skin so white?”

Madam Shim tossed out the words and threw the suit she was holding to the manager.

The place they visited to look at the outfits was a boutique in Cheongdam-dong. It was a building existing among luxury shops. It was a place famous for high-ranking individuals seeking custom tuxedos and suits, and it was a place where making a reservation was difficult without special connections. The reason he knew it was a high-and-mighty place famous for not accepting just any celebrity was because of Seong Yeonwoo. For Seong Yeonwoo, all concert outfits or suits for going to special places were custom-made only here.

“You should choose. Since everything seems not bad anyway, the Chairman will be satisfied no matter what you choose.”

She seemed to have chosen diligently out of fear that Chairman Kwon might not like it. Hajin scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“…Could you choose for me, Mother?”

When he made the request carefully, unable to show his awkwardness, Madam Shim looked at him with an reluctant gaze.

“It’s because this is my first time in a place like this. Since your eye for this is much higher, Mother…”

Hajin smiled clumsily, smiling with his eyes just as he had practiced. Since it was a real situation, acting wasn’t easy.

Perhaps because of what happened during dinner yesterday evening, Madam Shim hadn’t looked very pleased since they departed. He wondered if the words of Kwon Sahui, who said she was the coolest among the wives of her generation, were wrong. She still seemed thoroughly displeased about him doing acting work, but even so, she didn’t neglect the task Chairman Kwon had entrusted to her. Furthermore, whether Hajin’s words about her having a high eye for things pleased her quite a bit, her seemingly displeased gaze subsided slightly.

“That’s true. How could a young child like you compare.”

Madam Shim nodded and scanned the suits the models were wearing again. Seeing her accept the compliment so submissively suddenly brought Kwon Sabin to mind. The way that fellow thoroughly accepted compliments about himself seemed to resemble his own mother.

“But you, even though Sayoung passed it over and the Chairman permitted it, I still dislike you being an actor or whatever.”

As if she still didn’t like that point, Madam Shim gestured toward the manager and continued speaking casually. With that single gesture, several models who had been waiting outside stepped inside.

“Sayoung is a child who will do great things in the future. He is the child who will inherit our HK Group from now on. Well, whether it will be Sahui or Sayoung I do not know, but anyway, this group itself will belong to those two children. You are becoming the spouse of such a Sayoung. Should such a person be roaming around outside? As I said, it’s not like you have steadily built up recognition or made a name for yourself since you were young like Sabin. Even so, what on earth is an aspiring actor? Even if you moved to a good agency, I absolutely detest someone from our family starting from the bottom and groveling in front of others. Manager Ju, is there no design with mesh sleeves? Overall, it’s too monotonous.”

Even while continuing her long speech, Madam Shim did not lose her gaze on looking at the outfits and conveyed her dissatisfaction toward the manager who was following behind her and Hajin. At her demand, the manager grabbed a newly entered model and explained the outfit he was wearing one by one. While listening to those explanations, Madam Shim added words to Hajin again.

“It’s not that I don’t know what kind of child you were in Seongsan. To be honest, you coming to our house instead of Yeonwoo isn’t all that welcome either. Don’t take it too textually to heart. I’m saying it honestly since you probably know it anyway.”

It was true. Hajin listened to her words quietly and intently.

“But in the midst of this, I am not pleased at all that you are insisting on choosing that kind of work which stirs up so much talk. You should go to college instead.”

At her words, which suddenly matched exactly what Kwon Sayoung had said, it hit him anew that she was indeed their mother.

“Since the Chairman permitted it, I don’t want to go as far as placing obstacles, but if you think there is no path in sight, quit immediately. Even if it’s not that work, you have plenty to do. You could even look after the gallery work following me. Do you know how to look at paintings a bit?”

At Madam Shim’s question, Hajin slowly shook his head with his hands neatly folded. At that, a small sigh was heard.

“Goodness. What to do with you, really.”

Madam Shim shook her head and walked ahead of Hajin. Then, as if she didn’t want to continue speaking any further, she pressed her temples firmly with a face that said it was a headache.

Hajin carefully followed behind her receding figure with a dispirited appearance. It was then.

“Mother!”

At the familiar voice, not to mention Madam Shim, even Hajin’s head snapped up. Someone had entered the private interior space. And that main character was someone both of them knew very well.

“Oh, Yeonwoo-ya.”

It was Seong Yeonwoo, dressed in a comfortable shirt. Whether he had gone through some heartache or what, his face was a bit more haggard than last time. Perhaps because of that, his sorrowful feeling stood out even more, emitting a profound atmosphere.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to look at outfits for a bit because of a broadcast job. The director said you were here, Mother, so I came to greet you.”

Seong Yeonwoo naturally linked arms with Madam Shim and smiled brightly. That was it. That bright smile he had tried to make. The smiling face he had practiced in front of the mirror earlier. It was exactly that face.

“I thought you were resting lately.”

“I am resting, but just one or two places that call for me. What brings you here, Mother…”

The moment he asked affectionately, his eyes met with his, who was standing behind her. A chilly aura flowed across that bright face for a moment, but soon he smiled brightly again.

“Hajin was here too.”

Whether he knew he was here or not, he struck up a conversation while pretending to be glad.

“…Yeah.”

Hajin felt a sensation like a spasm near his mouth for some reason.

“…I had to get the children’s outfits fitted a bit.”

Whether Madam Shim sensed the atmosphere growing a bit awkward for a moment, she continued speaking while taking a slight glance at Seong Yeonwoo’s expression. Because Madam Shim was in a position of feeling sorry toward Seong Yeonwoo, she couldn’t hide her uncomfortable air.

“Yeonwoo-ya, I have no words to face you.”

Thinking that Seong Yeonwoo must have guessed the reason they came here to some extent, Madam Shim spoke up with a pitiful face.

“…I heard the news that the two of you sorted things out though…”

Madam Shim grabbed Seong Yeonwoo’s hand and spoke carefully. Seong Yeonwoo forced a smile with a face that anyone would feel sorry for, and held her hand back.

“Yes…. I understand Sayoung’s position well too.”

“…Gosh, I feel too embarrassed to even look at your face, really…”

“No, it’s not like that. Why should you, Mother? Things were sorted out well with Sayoung, and we decided to remain good friends in the future. We have to keep seeing each other between our families anyway…”

“You truly have a big heart. Generous.”

Madam Shim looked at Seong Yeonwoo pitifully and stroked his hand affectionately.