Flower Fiancé Chapter 16

Biting his lip as if crushing it, Ji Yeonwoo continued speaking.

“Even if you say a flawed Omega isn’t your type, I would understand. I don’t get hurt easily anymore over most things, so it’s okay for you to be honest.”

Having finished speaking, Ji Yeonwoo anxiously waited for an answer like someone awaiting a terminal sentence. But even as time passed, Choi Moohyuk’s answer didn’t come.

Ji Yeonwoo furtively raised his eyes. And the moment he felt their gazes meet in the air, Choi Moohyuk tilted his head slightly.

“What if I still want to keep seeing Mr. Ji Yeonwoo?”

“…Pardon?”

A reflexively startled voice burst out.

“You’re saying you still want to see me even knowing my secret? Why?”

Ji Yeonwoo looked at Choi Moohyuk with wavering eyes, sending up countless question marks in his head.

Choi Moohyuk, who had taken a sip of water, wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and spoke.

“I’m not sure why you think I would respond negatively. I thought I’ve shown enough signs of interest so far.”

“That’s….”

“I like Mr. Ji Yeonwoo’s unique aura. I’m not sure if you know, but when Mr. Ji Yeonwoo is quietly gazing at something, you have a tremendous atmosphere. Like right now.”

“I’ve, I’ve never heard anything like that before.”

It was true. He had never heard such a thing, but then again, he’d never really had the chance for someone to see him lost in thought. Ji Yeonwoo fidgeted with his hands beneath the table. He felt strangely ticklish.

His mood rode a roller coaster to the point where he wondered if it was okay to feel this way. When the fact that he was a scentless Omega had been discovered, anxiety had clearly swept over him, but after hearing Choi Moohyuk say he wanted to keep seeing him despite that, a wave of excitement washed away the anxiety. It was almost enough to make him wonder if he had always been such a simple person.

“Hmm, I hope you won’t overthink it. After all, there’s a saying that heartbreak is healed by love.”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been staring only at the food that had gone completely cold, barely touched, lifted his head. Choi Moohyuk too hadn’t even eaten half and had set down his utensils without picking them up again.

“I don’t expect anything grandiose from Mr. Ji Yeonwoo. Meeting up to eat, having a drink, calling when I’m curious, seeing your face when I miss you, holding hands, kissing. It’s those ordinary things that I want to do.”

“…People usually call that dating.”

As he spoke, trying hard to hide his trembling voice, a low laugh sounded from across him.

“Then I’ll do the dating, and Mr. Ji Yeonwoo can just play along. How does that sound?”

With his handsome face, Choi Moohyuk opened his eyes a little wider, as if seeking agreement.

Ji Yeonwoo could do nothing but stare blankly at the handsome man’s face.

∞ ∞ ∞

A person’s first impression determines a great many things in a short amount of time.

The time it takes to judge what kind of personality someone has, how well they match with you—is a mere five seconds.

It had been a long time since he’d met someone who captured Choi Moohyuk’s gaze within that short five-second span.

He still couldn’t forget the day he first saw Ji Yeonwoo at Flower Fiancé. The sight of him approaching with a greeting, wearing a navy dress shirt and slacks with a brown apron over them, was, shockingly enough, close to his type. So much so that even during the blind date, Ji Yeonwoo’s face kept coming to mind.

Looking at Ji Yeonwoo’s first impression, he thought he was a person with a really pretty smile. And he had expected that, like that sunshine-like smile, his personality would also be bright. Even for a small flower shop, the way he approached a first-time customer without any distance, so amiably, was pleasant to see. People with such personalities often grew up in comfortable environments without lacking anything, and he thought Ji Yeonwoo would be the same.

But he realized that those thoughts were preconceptions not long after getting to know Ji Yeonwoo.

Behind the smiling face, there was a shadow. The way he fell into thought as if carefully selecting his words was, uncharacteristically for his age, even forlorn.

The Ji Yeonwoo when he talked about the meaning of French marigolds, and the Ji Yeonwoo who said he had vowed never to date someone who hurts him again. Coincidentally, they both wore the exact same expression.

It was hard to gauge what kind of hurt he had suffered and how, to come to such a resolute decision. To attribute it to a simple breakup felt a bit too weak.

Then, could it be connected to the incident where he lost his pheromones?

There were many things that came to mind, but whichever was the truth, he had no intention of finding out right away. Even less so did he have any intention of asking Ji Yeonwoo directly and finding out.

He didn’t want to touch upon Ji Yeonwoo’s painful memories, which might be a trauma. He had already unintentionally seen an expression where that hurt was touched upon several times during the process of purchasing the French marigolds.

After paying and coming outside, he saw Ji Yeonwoo standing under the eaves of the Korean fine dining restaurant.

“Which way is Mr. Ji Yeonwoo’s home? It’s quite far from here, isn’t it?”

He asked, stopping next to Ji Yeonwoo. Ji Yeonwoo blinked, gauging the distance between here and his home.

“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

As he spoke, Choi Moohyuk looked up at the sky. The sky, which had been overcast since before they entered the restaurant, was filled with dark clouds as if about to pour down at any moment.

“I saw a rain forecast in the weather report. If you get caught in the rain in this weather, it would be terrible.”

To be honest, the weather report was an excuse. He hadn’t actually seen the forecast, but seeing the sky looking particularly overcast, he had roughly guessed and said it. It was to preemptively block off an answer from Ji Yeonwoo, who, given his personality, might say he could just go on his own.

“Then… thank you.”

Fortunately, Ji Yeonwoo didn’t refuse Choi Moohyuk’s kindness. Choi Moohyuk started the car with the remote and opened the door for him. Seeing the lights flicker with a beep, Ji Yeonwoo opened the passenger side door and got in.

The speed of the car, which had been driving smoothly along the quiet late-night road, gradually decreased. As the brake lights of the cars ahead came on, the entire field of vision began to be dyed red.

“Maybe there’s an accident. It’s not a time for traffic.”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been sitting quietly in the passenger seat, leaned away from the backrest for the first time and peered ahead. The cars packed tightly on the road showed no sign of moving. It was a distance he thought would take about thirty minutes at most, but at this rate, it seemed like they wouldn’t arrive even in an hour.

Choi Moohyuk, who had been tapping the steering wheel with his fingers, turned his head. Opening his phone, then checking the front windshield—Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes moved busily. That sight looked so anxious that he couldn’t help but ask.

“By any chance, do you live with your parents?”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been tapping on his phone with a tapping sound, lifted his head abruptly.

“I wondered if you might have a curfew.”

“I do live alone, but….”

Ji Yeonwoo stopped speaking, then cupped his phone in both hands, fidgeting with it as he spoke.

“I feel like I’m making you late for no reason.”

“If it’s something like that, don’t worry about it. My time is free too.”

“But you have to go to work tomorrow.”

As he said that, Ji Yeonwoo showed his phone to Choi Moohyuk.

“I looked it up, and there’s been a five-car pileup on this road. It looks like it’ll take some time to clear up.”

The article Ji Yeonwoo showed him contained information that a five-car pileup had occurred somewhere on this congested road and that they were clearing up the accident. Since it was a major accident in which one person had died and three were seriously injured, it stated that it would take time to clear up, and traffic was expected to be backed up for at least another thirty minutes.

After reading the article with a glance, Choi Moohyuk looked at Ji Yeonwoo. When their eyes met, Ji Yeonwoo, who had been leaning toward Choi Moohyuk, straightened his back and sat upright, lowering his phone onto his lap.

“Managing Director, just let me off in front of that station over there. I think that would be best.”

“I’m not okay with that.”

The reason he had lied about the rain forecast and tried to drive him home was to be able to see Ji Yeonwoo up close for just a little longer. If he had been planning to send Ji Yeonwoo off first just because of some traffic, he wouldn’t have made such a nearly forced excuse in the first place.

But Ji Yeonwoo’s intention seemed firm, so he couldn’t easily bring it up. What should I do, just as he was agonizing, droplets of water began to form one by one on the windshield.

Tap, pit-a-pat.

The raindrops that had been falling one or two at a time soon poured down with a refreshing sound of water. It was a sudden shower.