Flower Fiancé Chapter 67

Moreover, even the floor was white marble with a glossy finish, so the glass fragments that had fallen to the floor were barely visible, like a protective color. The bloodstains soaking into the white floor in red were like a flaw on jade.

Choi Moohyuk, who had been looking at this sight, turned around abruptly. And when he returned to the kitchen, a cordless vacuum cleaner was in Choi Moohyuk’s hand.

“Hold my hand and just bear it for a little.”

“What about the broken cup?”

Supporting Ji Yeonwoo by holding his staggering hand, Choi Moohyuk’s movements were skillful as he sucked up and cleared the area with the vacuum. Even while moving the vacuum back and forth, his gaze kept glancing at Ji Yeonwoo’s injured foot.

“Is the cup what’s important right now?”

“But you said that one was crystal.”

“Don’t worry about that. We can just buy another. Ah, the blood keeps coming.”

Seeing that the bleeding wasn’t stopping easily, he furrowed his brow. Having finished cleaning, Choi Moohyuk stood the cordless vacuum he was holding against the dining table and approached.

“Mr. Moohyuk, wear slippers too.”

“Who’s worrying about whom right now.”

Having finished speaking, Choi Moohyuk simply scooped Ji Yeonwoo up and headed to the living room. After gently seating him on the sofa, he took out the first-aid kit, knelt on one knee in front of Ji Yeonwoo’s foot, and placed the injured leg on top of it.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Just a little.”

“Ah, there’s a fragment embedded here.”

As he wiped away the blood around the wound on the pale sole, the fragment embedded in the wound became visible. Reaching out one arm to pick out the tweezers, Choi Moohyuk looked at Ji Yeonwoo, who was full of worry.

“Even if it hurts, bear it just a little. This has to be pulled out so it doesn’t get worse.”

Having finished speaking, Choi Moohyuk held the foot steady with one hand and pulled out the fragment using the tweezers.

Fortunately, aside from a slight stinging sensation, he didn’t feel much pain.

Having placed the glass fragment and tweezers on the table, Choi Moohyuk began to skillfully stop the bleeding and disinfect the wound. He said he was involved in the underworld, and he’s good at this too. Ji Yeonwoo, who had been thinking this while watching Choi Moohyuk, turned his gaze and looked at the fragment that had been embedded in his foot.

Why on earth had he dropped the glass?

He retraced his memory. He had definitely slept well, but strangely, he had been a bit dazed since the morning. He himself didn’t know if the reason was that the dizziness and low-grade fever, which had been somewhat quiet, had started again.

“It’s done. It’s not severe, but it’ll probably be uncomfortable whenever you walk. How about taking the day off?”

Ji Yeonwoo smiled lightly and shook his head.

“If I close the shop over an injury like this, all our regular customers will disappear.”

“You won’t even be able to walk properly, and you’re saying you’ll work like this?”

“That’s just how running your own business is.”

When Ji Yeonwoo persuaded in a calm tone, Choi Moohyuk couldn’t refute him any further.

“If Mr. Ji Yeonwoo says you’ll do it, there’s no helping it, but I’m worried. Ah, you said you had a hospital visit today too, right?”

“Yes. I have to go get the results of the test I took last time. I didn’t have time, so I made the appointment for the afternoon.”

“Was it 6 o’clock?”

“Yes. It’ll probably be almost the last time slot.”

Choi Moohyuk, who had pushed up his sleeve to check the time, made a troubled expression.

“You said you had a prior engagement today, right?”

Choi Moohyuk stroked Ji Yeonwoo’s foot, now wrapped in a circle of bandage.

“It’s not an important appointment, but this time, I have to keep my place. If I don’t, I might lose something precious.”

To be honest, he couldn’t tell what that meant, but he didn’t interrogate him about why he had to go or what the appointment was.

Just because of a mere hospital visit, he couldn’t make him lose something he considered precious.

“I’ll send someone to match your hospital appointment time, so take that car.”

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

He didn’t add any other words. It was because he fully understood the regret of not being able to accompany him.

And receiving Choi Moohyuk’s kindness in this roundabout way again felt good.

Being taken care of by someone was proof that he was loved that much.

Choi Moohyuk, who had risen from his spot, cupped Ji Yeonwoo’s cheeks with both hands.

“As soon as it’s over, I’ll head straight to Mr. Ji Yeonwoo’s house. I’ll arrive by 10 o’clock at the latest.”

Leaning into his touch, Ji Yeonwoo tilted his head back and looked up at him.

“So, I just have to wait without falling asleep?”

“…You know well.”

Choi Moohyuk, who had murmured low while looking at Ji Yeonwoo as if he found him lovely, touched his lips and then pulled away.

“Even better if you wait without washing.”

Making a soft sound—smack—as he pulled away, Choi Moohyuk rubbed the tip of his nose and moved his pupils. Their gazes, meeting up close, intertwined.

“I don’t think I can wash by myself anyway. With my foot like this.”

Seeing Ji Yeonwoo making a pained sound, Choi Moohyuk laughed as if he found him hopeless. It was nice that these days he could see his smile, which was quite rare, quite a number of times.

The reason his mood was good wasn’t anything else. It was because he knew well whose presence that smile of his was an expression reserved for.

“Mr. Moohyuk will have to wash me.”

He chuckled. Choi Moohyuk, who had been looking at him while cupping his face with both hands, slowly approached. Feeling his handsome face drawing closer, he closed his trembling eyelids.

“So come quickly.”

He, who had pressed his full lips close enough to crush them and then pulled away, tilted his face until the tips of their noses brushed and kissed him.

∞ ∞ ∞

As the hospital appointment time approached, as Choi Moohyuk had said, a man who was his secretary came to pick Ji Yeonwoo up. He had thought someone with a menacing impression and a large build would come, but the person who actually appeared before Ji Yeonwoo was a man with a somewhat lean physique and a neat appearance. The semi-rimless glasses resting on his face seemed to soften his impression, which might otherwise have looked sharp.

“Pleased to meet you. I’ve come to escort you under Managing Director Choi Moohyuk’s orders.”

“Yes. Hello.”

Ji Yeonwoo awkwardly received his deeply respectful greeting. Seeing a series of minor actions like this, it really did seem true that Choi Moohyuk was involved in something gangster-like. And the person before his eyes really did seem like an actual underling.

He opened the rear passenger-side door, helped Ji Yeonwoo into the car, then quickly walked around the front of the car and sat in the driver’s seat.

An awkwardness hung inside the car. Ji Yeonwoo kept glancing at him reflected in the rearview mirror, and their eyes met. His expression, almost close to expressionless, reminded Ji Yeonwoo of the first time he had seen Choi Moohyuk. He said he was Mr. Choi Moohyuk’s secretary, and even their impressions are similar. Chuckling at the silly thought, Ji Yeonwoo saw him turn his head slightly over his shoulder and speak.

“Shall I go straight to 00 Hospital?”

“Yes. It’s the last time slot, so I think we’ll need to hurry.”

“Understood. I will take you right…”

His gaze, which had been confirming the destination, shifted toward the direction of a vibration. His phone, mounted in the car, was ringing. The caller was ‘Boss.’

“I’ll take this call first before we depart.”

Looking at Ji Yeonwoo sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror and seeking his understanding, he answered the phone.

“This is Park Jincheol.”

As he answered the call, his speech became even more formal and respectful than when he had been speaking with Ji Yeonwoo. From the moment he stated his name, his posture straightened with strength and discipline, and Ji Yeonwoo watched this with fascination.

“Yes. He just got into the car, and we were just about to depart for the hospital. Ah, please wait a moment.”

Park Jincheol, who had been on the call, glanced at Ji Yeonwoo through the rearview mirror, then turned his body.

“He says to take the call for a moment.”

When Park Jincheol held out his phone, Ji Yeonwoo, who had been looking at him quizzically, awkwardly took the call.

“Hello? Mr. Moohyuk?”

The word ‘Boss’ floating on the screen felt awkward, so he hesitated as he answered, and a small laugh was heard from the other end of the phone. It was Choi Moohyuk’s characteristic low, resonant laugh.

[ Yes. It’s me. ]

And the moment he heard Choi Moohyuk’s voice, the tension in his body, which had been tightly wound, eased.

In fact, he had been nervous the entire time from the moment the man appeared. Although Choi Moohyuk had said he would send someone, it was because he couldn’t be sure that the man was truly the person Choi Moohyuk had sent. It was also because his excessively neat appearance seemed completely unrelated to the profession of a gangster.

[ Since I couldn’t accompany you, I sent a subordinate I’m particularly fond of. You know how people commonly say ‘right-hand man’? You can think of him as someone in that position. ]