Flower Fiancé Chapter 7

After exchanging greetings with an awkward smile, Ji Yeonwoo looked at the business card he held in both hands. ‘Seonwoo Industrial Co., Ltd. Managing Director Choi Moohyuk.’ It was written so on the card, which had an aesthetic of blank space that highlighted a distinctive taste.

“By any chance, what benefits does this shop offer to VIPs?”

Hearing the off-topic question, Ji Yeonwoo, who had been examining the business card, lifted his head with a snap.

“Is something like a meal or a drink also possible?”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been blinking his eyelids, laughed as if amused.

“Our shop doesn’t have a VIP tier.”

Did that mean rejection, in other words? Strength entered Choi Moohyuk’s eyes as he reached without delay into the inner pocket of his cashmere coat.

“The conditions are strict. Then does that mean I need to generate a lot of sales?”

His luxury long wallet was half-exposed outside the coat. He seemed ready to buy every flower in the shop on the spot.

“Wait, just a moment.”

Seeing that, Ji Yeonwoo was appalled and grabbed Choi Moohyuk’s arm, which was halfway into the inner pocket of his coat. Choi Moohyuk stiffened in that position, his gaze lowering. Right before his eyes was Ji Yeonwoo, flustered like a rabbit thrown before a beast.

“Why is the conversation flowing in that direction? I don’t recall talking about sales.”

“Didn’t you just say there is no VIP tier?”

After listening to Choi Moohyuk’s words, Ji Yeonwoo stared blankly for a moment, then hesitantly continued.

“No, what I meant was, this isn’t that kind of nice place.”

Choi Moohyuk looked at Ji Yeonwoo as if asking what he meant.

“In a small flower shop like this, every single customer is precious. Part of the reason we can’t assign separate tiers is because of that.”

Ji Yeonwoo let go of Choi Moohyuk’s forearm and took a step back.

“If my flowers were to your liking, please stop by often. That alone is enough.”

Ji Yeonwoo spoke with a smiling face, but there was a suitable wariness contained within it. Just hearing the words, it was simply the relationship of a customer and an owner, and he didn’t particularly feel any goodwill was present.

‘He didn’t seem like an oblivious person—is he pretending not to notice?’

Choi Moohyuk looked at Ji Yeonwoo as if amused and deeply swept the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue.

Until now, whatever he wanted had come into his hands naturally without much effort. They say there’s no tree that won’t fall after ten strikes, but so far, there had never been a case where he had to strike ten times. Thanks to the superior trait of a dominant Alpha, anyone would come over with just one or two attempts.

Perhaps feeling that Choi Moohyuk’s silent gaze was strange, Ji Yeonwoo looked back at him with puzzled eyes.

There was still that long smudge of dirt on his cheek.

Choi Moohyuk rubbed his lower lip, which felt somehow prickly, thickly with his index finger.

He quite liked that defenselessness and carelessness of Ji Yeonwoo.

∞ ∞ ∞

The dimly lit house was quiet, with a suitable darkness settled in.

After finishing his shower, Ji Yeonwoo came out to the living room, toweling his wet hair with a towel. With a splashing sound, he opened the refrigerator door, took out a can of beer, and headed for the sofa. With a pssht, the can opened and he immediately brought it straight to his lips.

Ji Yeonwoo’s gaze shifted to the sofa table. White fingers picked up the business card lying on the table.

Seonwoo Industrial Co., Ltd. Managing Director Choi Moohyuk

Seoul, Seocho-gu, XXX-ro XX-gil XX, XX Building

Tel: 0xx-xxxx-xxxx

“Managing Director Choi Moohyuk…”

A low voice murmured the name.

∞ ∞ ∞

He was a person with a very intense first impression. A black cashmere coat suited him frighteningly well, and his face was also that of a considerably handsome man. Overall, he had strong features with distinct, well-defined facial characteristics. His appearance, reminiscent of a Westerner, had not left his mind the entire time.

“He didn’t seem like someone close to flowers.”

He retraced the reason he had come back. There were several guesses, but the most likely one was that he, like Ji Yeonwoo, might be a trait individual. And likely an Alpha with a superior trait, at that.

He thought it was a somewhat remarkable situation. He knew that the more superior the Alpha’s trait, the better their ability to find Omegas, but he had never dreamed it would be possible even without pheromones. It was because, judging by his reactions, his words and actions didn’t seem like someone who simply thought he was a Beta.

“What on earth is it. That person.”

A voice full of doubt echoed in the quiet living room. In fact, Ji Yeonwoo was often mistaken for a Beta in daily life because he practically had no pheromones. Since over 90% of society was composed of Betas, it was perhaps only natural that Ji Yeonwoo, who had no pheromones whatsoever, was mistaken for one.

But Ji Yeonwoo didn’t bother to correct that misunderstanding. It was because, after his divorce, he had finally grown accustomed to standing on his own and could live an ordinary life without being courted by Alpha pheromones and suppressants.

Since his trait as an Omega hadn’t changed, heat cycles came occasionally, but even then, it was only two or three times a year. Except for those times, he had no physical ailments and was living a reasonably healthy life.

Outwardly indistinguishable from a Beta, there was no reason to reveal in front of others that he was an Omega suffering from pheromone deficiency. For an Omega to lose their pheromones was as serious as a severe illness. To a trait individual, pheromones held the same meaning as hormones, so if they were deficient, most cases involved physical illness or an inability to lead a normal life. However, Ji Yeonwoo’s pheromone deficiency was an acquired, peculiar case where he had lost only his pheromones without any physical illness.

After briefly recalling the events of that time, Ji Yeonwoo slowly turned his head at the sound of a vibrating noise coming from somewhere. His gaze shifted to the phone vibrating on the sofa table. It was a call from his friend Seo Eungyeom.

“Yeah. Eungyeom.”

[What are you doing.]

Hearing the term of endearment that unfailingly came through the moment he answered, a smile spread across Ji Yeonwoo’s face.

Seo Eungyeom, with whom he had spent middle school all the way through high school, was Ji Yeonwoo’s one and only childhood friend. He was also the only friend who had stayed by his side, watching over and suffering together through the entire process of marriage and divorce repeated right after graduating high school.

“I finished washing up and I’m drinking a beer. You?”

[Lucky you. I’m working overtime. Just finished eating dinner and came back. I have to go back in.]

“Overtime again? You really need to take care of your health.”

[At this point, I don’t even know anymore. Right now, I’d almost rather just collapse.]

“Hey, don’t say things like that, even as a joke.”

[Who said I was serious? It’s just talk.]

Even just casually listening, Eungyeom’s voice had no strength at all. Was he that tired? He’d said he joined the planning department of a company after passing the exam on his third try, and it seemed he was very busy with work.

[Haah, I thought just getting hired was the end, why did no one tell me that’s when it really begins? I’m going to end my life just doing project after project.]

“Is the work that heavy?”

[These days, if I leave work at 10 PM, I consider that a good day.]

“What? 10 PM? Isn’t that too much?”

[What can I do. Office workers have no choice but to do as they’re told from above.]

“Then doesn’t that mean you don’t even have time to see Mister?”

[Even so, it’s already been over a week since I last saw him. He’s probably pretty damn mad by now.]

“Aren’t you being too calm for someone who knows he’s mad?”

[Well, there are ways. My heat is coming up soon.]

Hearing Seo Eungyeom’s voice brighten considerably as soon as Mister was mentioned, Ji Yeonwoo let out a pfft of a laugh.

“Still, you seem happy. Thank goodness at least you’re seeing someone well.”

[More to the point, why the beer for you? Did something happen?]

Knowing each other so well, Eungyeom pinpointed and brought up the strange detail. Struck directly on the mark, Ji Yeonwoo faltered and glanced sideways at the phone against his ear.

[What is it. Tell me.]

Sensing the silence that flowed, Eungyeom’s voice sank calmly. Thinking there was no avoiding it, Ji Yeonwoo set the phone down on the sofa table and switched to speakerphone. Then, holding the nearly empty beer can in one hand, he stretched his arms long over his curled-up knees and rested his head on them.

“It’s nothing. I just met someone at the shop…”

[You met someone? Who did you meet?]