Flower Fiancé Chapter 55

Choi Moohyuk turned his body in the direction of the sound. The source of the sound was the bathroom. He recalled what he had told Ji Yeonwoo about the bath salts before leaving the house.

Standing in front of the bathroom, Choi Moohyuk knocked—knock, knock. At that, the sound of water running inside stopped, accompanied by the noise of dispersing water.

“Managing Director?”

Ji Yeonwoo’s voice came faintly from inside.

“Is that you, Managing Director?”

“Are you taking a bath?”

“Yes. I’m using the bath salts you mentioned. The scent is really lovely.”

The moment he heard that voice, he felt his blood begin to boil, along with an inexplicable sense of relief.

Was it because he had learned about Ji Yeonwoo’s past—unknown to him until now—from what Jung Doowon had relayed? Or was it because of Ji Yeonwoo’s innocence, obediently following what he had said before leaving?

He knew that a dominant Omega’s heat cycle was said to be as agonizing as a dominant Alpha’s rut. What must it have felt like each time he was forced through such a heat cycle against his will?

The final dated entry he had seen in Ji Yeonwoo’s diary came to mind. The paper that had been crumpled in places lingered strangely in his memory. Thinking of Ji Yeonwoo, who must have cried so much while writing that diary filled with sorrow and rage, he felt his blood boil.

Choi Moohyuk, who had been standing with one hand in his suit pants pocket, suppressed the surging anger and opened his mouth.

“May I come in?”

He wanted to see Ji Yeonwoo. They were in the same house, and he would see him anyway once he finished washing up, but he couldn’t wait until then.

“R-, right now?”

Startled by the sudden request, Ji Yeonwoo’s flustered voice came from behind the door.

“Uh, just a moment….”

And then, after the sound of rustling movement, permission was granted.

“Yes. Come in.”

Choi Moohyuk slowly pressed the bathroom door handle down. Along with thick steam, a sweet fragrance surged into his lungs.

Beyond the semi-transparent curtain drawn across the bathtub, a seated silhouette was visible. As he pulled back the moisture-dampened bathroom curtain with one hand, Ji Yeonwoo, sitting in the water inside the wide bathtub, came into view.

“It hasn’t even been the two hours you mentioned yet, but you came back quickly?”

Ji Yeonwoo turned his body at an angle toward Choi Moohyuk and spoke. Standing before the bathtub, Choi Moohyuk silently swept his eyes over him.

All the bubbles that should have been dispersed throughout the bathtub after dissolving the bath salts were gathered right in front of Ji Yeonwoo. Was this why he had asked him to wait a moment? Imagining Ji Yeonwoo, embarrassed to show his bare body and hastily gathering the bubbles, he felt a tightness at the back of his neck.

Choi Moohyuk found a dry spot near Ji Yeonwoo’s head and perched on the edge. At the much closer distance, Ji Yeonwoo’s face flushed red, and he curled up even smaller within the gradually dispersing bubbles.

“Did you eat anything?”

“No. I didn’t eat. I wanted to eat together.”

“Well done. Did you look around the house a bit?”

Ji Yeonwoo shook his head lightly.

“I saw the second floor, and the living room and the study, but I haven’t seen the other places yet. It’s so big, and I couldn’t quite tell where everything was.”

Water that had beaded on his moderately long hair trickled down along his pale nape and shoulders. Choi Moohyuk, who had been sweeping his eyes over that sight, leaned one arm on the bathtub and slowly drew closer.

“It’s late today, so let’s sleep and look around tomorrow.”

He pressed his lips to the smooth nape and shoulder and whispered low. Ji Yeonwoo flinched and hunched his shoulders.

“If you’re comfortable, you can stay as long as you like.”

Choi Moohyuk persistently bit and sucked at the increasingly red nape. Ji Yeonwoo, whose breathing had gradually grown rougher, slowly turned around.

“Which are you referring to? The bathtub? Or this house?”

Their eyes met, and Choi Moohyuk gently lifted one corner of his lips.

“Both.”

At the answer, Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes wavered greatly. His expression suggested he hadn’t expected that answer. It was only a moment, but a melancholy was perceptible in Ji Yeonwoo’s expression. He didn’t miss that expression that flickered past in that fleeting instant, but outwardly, he showed no sign of it.

“What will you do if I say I’m going to settle in here and stay for good?”

Ji Yeonwoo answered in a small voice, his face turning somewhat sullen for some reason.

“Then wouldn’t that be even better for me?”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been directing his gaze diagonally downward, glanced up with raised eyes.

“Mr. Ji Yeonwoo doesn’t know anything.”

“…Know what?”

“If you knew what I think about when I look at Mr. Ji Yeonwoo, you’d probably want to run away immediately.”

“And what if I said I don’t mind?”

“I mind.”

Ji Yeonwoo dropped the corners of his eyes downward as if puzzled.

“I feel like I’m committing a sin.”

Only after hearing Choi Moohyuk’s next words did a smile spread across Ji Yeonwoo’s face. But that smile didn’t look purely happy; for some reason, it only felt bitter.

Did something happen while I was gone?

Could it be that the bastard Lee Hyunjoon called him again?

It was a moment when all kinds of unpleasant thoughts flashed through his mind.

“Would the Managing Director like to come in, too?”

Hearing the small voice echo through the bathroom, sharp tension flooded into Choi Moohyuk’s eyes. Choi Moohyuk, who had been scrutinizing Ji Yeonwoo with wavering eyes, dropped his gaze downward. Ji Yeonwoo’s wet hand was clutching the cuff of Choi Moohyuk’s shirt sleeve.

Ha, a hot breath escaped through his lips.

“Do you know what? Mr. Ji Yeonwoo always catches me off guard with words I never expect.”

“And so… do you dislike it?”

Ji Yeonwoo bit down gently on his lower lip but didn’t retreat. Something did happen after all. The suspicion was there, but there was no proof. With nothing specific to pin it on, Choi Moohyuk pulled at the knot of the necktie constricting his throat. Melting his expression loose like the lengthening tie, he slowly drew near.

“It is a sudden proposal, but.”

And he cupped Ji Yeonwoo’s cheek with one hand as he gazed at him so earnestly.

“I have no reason to refuse.”

The tips of their noses brushed past, their faces shifted, and their lips met.

The wet lips collided with a slick, sticky sound. Choi Moohyuk’s tongue parted the tightly closed lips and slid inside.

Choi Moohyuk, rolling his tongue, raised its tip and swept across the soft palate. U-ung, a moan slipped out between the pressed lips, and Ji Yeonwoo flinched.

Ji Yeonwoo couldn’t breathe under the persistent kiss. Only when his breath had risen to the very top of his throat and he could endure no longer did Ji Yeonwoo squeeze Choi Moohyuk’s shoulder firmly, then tap, tap at it. Recognizing the signal, Choi Moohyuk slowly pulled away only then.

“Haa, ha, hhh….”

Choi Moohyuk, who had waited for him to replenish the insufficient oxygen, approached again. His rough hands carefully cupped the two flushed cheeks. A trembling breath flowed from between his lips, which were quietly pressed forehead to forehead. As Choi Moohyuk’s distinctive personal scent was detected in his breath, his heart began to pound—thump-thump.

“Let’s save the rest for after we’ve washed up.”

Was it because of his whispering voice? Or was it because of the hot steam of the bathroom?

Feeling his body grow languid and heavy, Ji Yeonwoo nodded.

“I should shower first as well. There’s a lot of dust on my clothes.”

Choi Moohyuk pressed his lips to Ji Yeonwoo’s cheek and ear as he whispered. Ji Yeonwoo’s gaze dropped downward. The first thing that caught his eye was the shirt pulled taut and flat across his chest and shoulders. Only then did Ji Yeonwoo realize that, unlike himself, who had undressed completely and was sitting in the bathtub, Choi Moohyuk was still fully clothed.

“Just wait a little.”

Having lightly touched and pulled away from the blankly parted lips, Choi Moohyuk turned around and drew the bathroom curtain shut. Swoosh—beyond the semi-transparent curtain that was closed with that sound, the silhouette of him removing his clothes layer by layer was visible.

The sound of unbuttoning, the sound of unfastening the suit belt, the sound of draping the removed clothes layer by layer, and the sound of pouring water striking his body.

Though it was blurry enough that even a proper outline was barely visible, the sounds alone were more than enough to be stimulating.

“The Managing Director’s silhouette is sexy, too.”

Gazing at the silhouette moving beyond the semi-transparent bathtub curtain, Ji Yeonwoo murmured to himself, then leaned his arms on the bathtub and rested his face on them.

A fluttering heart and a gloomy mood coexisted.

Half of the reason he’d coaxed him into washing together was an impulse driven by jealousy. It was all because of the Polaroid photo he’d seen in the study.

It was something he’d said out of pointless jealousy, but now that he’d actually done it, regret washed over him. Watching Choi Moohyuk, who seemed more aroused than usual, he felt as if he’d committed a mistake he wouldn’t be able to handle.