Flower Fiancé Chapter 36

“…”

“Would it really be alright to let me into your house again?”

The deeply subdued voice tickled his ear. The hand that had been rubbing his earlobe slid down and slipped inside the knit. The hand that touched the boundary between the nape and shoulder kneaded lightly. His body, sensing danger, flinched and moved on its own.

“There’s no way you wouldn’t know why I called Mr. Ji Yeonwoo outside.”

Ji Yeonwoo squeezed his eyes shut.

Even though he was an omega, Ji Yeonwoo was also a man, and he knew very well that a man’s body is easily swayed by pleasure. In that sense, being alone with Choi Moohyuk anywhere late at night was something that came with danger. Even knowing that, the reason he couldn’t easily let Choi Moohyuk go was because of what had happened right before coming out.

The cracked phone, the call from an unknown number, Lee Hyunjoon’s message thick with threats.

Even though it wasn’t a rainy night, it was certain that if he slept alone today, he would be tormented by nightmares all night.

“I know. Why you told me to come out to the parking lot. I know, but… “

Choi Moohyuk, who had opened his mouth to speak, stopped and lowered his gaze.

The fingers clutching the hem of Choi Moohyuk’s clothes were trembling—badeul badeul—packed with strength.

Seeing that, Choi Moohyuk furrowed his brow.

“Still… can’t you not go?”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been biting his lip, forced out the words he had been holding back.

“I want to be with the Managing Director.”

“I told you I know. Was that an empty statement?”

One of Choi Moohyuk’s eyebrows rose.

“It wasn’t empty.”

“Then can you handle it?”

“Since I said it, handling it is my responsibility too.”

“I’m sure I told you clearly that day. That next time, I won’t go easy on you.”

“I remember that too.”

“And knowing that… “

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been hesitating, lifted his head as if resolved.

“But even though you said that, you wouldn’t hurt me.”

His thick eyebrows twitched and contorted.

“Am I wrong?”

Choi Moohyuk, who had been about to say something, closed his mouth abruptly. Then, for a moment, his gaze, which had been looking at Ji Yeonwoo, turned towards the air. Between the hand that swept over his mouth, a faint sigh escaped.

Choi Moohyuk remained lost in thought. He could guess what had plunged Choi Moohyuk into worry. Perhaps it was because of the memory of that day when he had nearly had sex with Choi Moohyuk for the first time.

He still couldn’t forget the expression Choi Moohyuk had worn that day. He had looked very flustered yet held him protectively to the end.

If it were something that could be easily overcome depending on emotional ups and downs, it wouldn’t be called trauma. Actually, he had grabbed Choi Moohyuk out of desperation, but Ji Yeonwoo was also taking a gamble of sorts. Because he himself didn’t know how he would react when faced with the same situation.

Even knowing that full well, the reason he had held onto Choi Moohyuk was because he was that desperate.

“Am I making things difficult for the Managing Director?”

Ji Yeonwoo put strength into pulling the hem of Choi Moohyuk’s clothes, which he was still holding.

“Nothing is difficult. It’s just… “

Choi Moohyuk’s gaze, which had detached from Ji Yeonwoo’s face, lingered on the hand clutching his clothes. Strength entered his previously calm eyes in an instant.

“Never mind. Let’s talk about the rest upstairs.”

“Ah…!”

As if having made up his mind about something, Choi Moohyuk twisted his grip around Ji Yeonwoo’s wrist. Striding briskly towards the officetel entrance just like that, his steps were so long and fast that following him was almost too much for Ji Yeonwoo. But even while following as if nearly running, Ji Yeonwoo did not complain.

Everything else was fine.

Only his wrist held captive by Choi Moohyuk was aching.

The two sat facing each other across the dining table, with only the dim light in the kitchen turned on.

Even though the heating was on, it felt as if a chill was drifting through the house. It was because of Choi Moohyuk, who had been merely watching with few words since earlier.

His gaze was intense and sharp. As he always felt, whenever Choi Moohyuk looked at him with those eyes, a part of his heart sank with a thud.

To Ji Yeonwoo, Choi Moohyuk was an inexpressibly kind person, but occasionally, there was a sense of unfamiliarity in the speech and actions he displayed.

Like when he used expressions ordinary people wouldn’t normally use, saying he could gouge out eyes and cripple someone, or when he showed behavior that was more obsessive than necessary. If his memory served, those very eyes were the beginning of it.

Ji Yeonwoo waited for Choi Moohyuk to open his mouth first. That time felt long, as if awaiting a sentence.

“Do you know you’ve been a bit strange today, Mr. Ji Yeonwoo?”

“…Right? Just like earlier, I was a bit, not in my right mind.”

With his gaze fixed on Ji Yeonwoo sitting across from him, Choi Moohyuk moved his body slowly and leaned back against the chair.

“Exactly. You didn’t look very good, so today, whatever it was, I wasn’t planning to ask.”

“…”

“But now, seeing Mr. Ji Yeonwoo’s words and actions, I absolutely cannot let this pass.”

“…”

“What on earth happened?”

His gaze shifted to the phone placed on one side of the dining table.

“And how did Mr. Ji Yeonwoo’s phone end up in that state?”

The condition of the phone, sitting there with its screen cracked, was wretched.

“Did someone break into your house?”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Then what on earth is it? If it simply fell and broke, why can’t you explain it?”

With the questions following one after another, Ji Yeonwoo felt increasingly cornered. He couldn’t call him bad. It had been Ji Yeonwoo who held onto someone who was about to leave, and it was perfectly reasonable to find Ji Yeonwoo, who seemed unlike his usual self, strange.

Where should he begin explaining? He had resolved to tell it as it was, but he still hadn’t decided on where to draw the line in the conversation. His mind was unsettled. His heart was divided between the desire to confess honestly and the worry about what would come after.

To be wavering this much, perhaps it was…

Maybe it was because he was afraid that he might be abandoned after telling the truth.

“Do you still have secrets you can’t tell me?”

“…!”

It was then, while he was lost in thought. Choi Moohyuk’s voice pierced sharply into his ears. With a thud, his heart sank and his breath stopped.

He couldn’t hide his wavering eyes. Choi Moohyuk, his eyes having grown even sharper, looked straight at him and continued speaking.

“You’re an omega, but due to some kind of accident, you can’t even smell pheromones, you’ve lost your own unique scent, and on top of that, you have sexual trauma because of some alpha.”

Ji Yeonwoo looked at Choi Moohyuk with wavering eyes and gauged the atmosphere.

Between trembling lips, a low sigh escaped.

“If there’s another secret besides this that you haven’t been able to confess to me, tell me now. I’ll hear it.”

In a brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He had been resolved to tell him when the opportunity came soon, but he had a premonition that that day might be today.

Ji Yeonwoo lowered his gaze and exhaled a deep breath until his ribcage heaved.

If this was the opportunity, Ji Yeonwoo must not back down any further. Thinking he must no longer deceive the good connection that had come to him, he tightly clasped both hands together under the dining table. A tremor traveled through his clasped hands.

“The Managing Director is right. Actually, I… there’s one fact I still haven’t told you.”

Choi Moohyuk’s eyes, which had been quietly watching, narrowed. Just as their eyes were about to meet, Ji Yeonwoo hastily lowered his gaze.

“Looking back now, I regret every decision I made back then, but ultimately it was a decision I made, so I think it’s clearly my fault.”

“Continue.”

Even knowing that the ends of his voice were trembling, at Choi Moohyuk’s words telling him to continue, he forced his mouth open.

“The reason I didn’t tell you at first was because I didn’t want to reveal all my secrets to someone when I didn’t know how the relationship would develop. Since I have no pheromones, most people thought I was a beta—the Managing Director was the first to notice I was an omega even seeing me like this.”

“Now that I hear it, that’s true. You’ve been found out by me every time—nothing was told by Mr. Ji Yeonwoo’s own mouth.”