Flower Fiancé Chapter 93

“Are you saying you were arguing over that reason?”

When he asked back in disbelief, Ji Yeonwoo slowly nodded. The housekeeper shook her head with a look of bewilderment, as if to say she didn’t understand either.

Choi Moohyuk, looking back and forth between the two, let out a soft chuckle, deflated. He was relieved it was nothing serious, but perhaps because he had been so on edge, the moment he heard the reason for the argument, a wave of anticlimax washed over him.

Choi Moohyuk walked over to the water purifier and took a sip of water. Gulping down the cool water, he felt his thoughts clear somewhat. After downing a full glass, Choi Moohyuk turned to the housekeeper.

“That much is fine. Mr. Yeonwoo cooks well too, so just leave it to him.”

Without another word, he took Ji Yeonwoo’s side, and the housekeeper shot a glance at Ji Yeonwoo. Ji Yeonwoo was staring intently at Choi Moohyuk. Gratitude was evident in that gaze. Choi Moohyuk turned his eyes back to the housekeeper and continued.

“You may clock out now, ma’am.”

The housekeeper’s eyes widened in surprise as she checked the time. It was barely past 6 o’clock.

“Already? There’s still an hour left….”

“We’ll take care of dinner ourselves, so don’t worry about it.”

“Oh….”

Receiving the early dismissal notice, the housekeeper couldn’t hide her mixed expression of delight and awkwardness.

“And you don’t need to come in until the weekend.”

“Excuse me? Until the weekend?”

“Take a trip or something while you’re at it. I’ll make sure to give you ample vacation pay.”

At the following words, the housekeeper’s eyes went round.

The soybean paste stew, finished by Ji Yeonwoo’s hand, took its place among the side dishes. Sitting across the table and eating, Choi Moohyuk’s spoon went to the stew particularly often. Ji Yeonwoo, chewing rice and side dishes, smiled at the sight. Then, suddenly remembering something, he slowly stopped moving his bulging cheeks.

“Um, Mr. Moohyuk.”

At the low call, Choi Moohyuk, who had just put pieces of potato and zucchini from the stew into his mouth, looked up.

“About the housekeeper—why did you tell her not to come in until the weekend?”

Ji Yeonwoo picked out grains of rice with his chopsticks and continued.

“It’s only Monday now, so if you mean until the weekend, that’s leaving the whole week open.”

“So?”

“I’m just curious what you’re thinking. If it’s because you were upset about earlier….”

As he listened to Ji Yeonwoo’s words, Choi Moohyuk’s facial muscles stiffened as he chewed slowly. Did he really think he was upset because Ji Yeonwoo had argued with the housekeeper? As the thought crossed his mind, Choi Moohyuk hastily cut Ji Yeonwoo off.

“Sorry for interrupting. You’ve got it wrong.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, that’s not the reason.”

He couldn’t let it slide—it seemed like Ji Yeonwoo was under a major misunderstanding. Given his personality, he would definitely feel bad for having caused the housekeeper trouble.

“Um… it’s not that….”

After moving his lips a few times and swallowing the food audibly, Choi Moohyuk took a sip of water from the glass beside him.

“A business trip was scheduled starting tomorrow.”

As soon as he heard that, Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes wavered greatly. His pale, delicate face quickly flushed with bewilderment.

“A business… trip? Wait, tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Ji Yeonwoo, unable to hide his flustered expression, opened and closed his lips hesitantly, and finally managed to speak after a long pause.

“Oh, so… that’s what you meant.”

It wasn’t just his imagination—his voice seemed full of disappointment.

“Since I’ll be away, I can’t very well leave only the housekeeper coming and going.”

“….”

“It’s not that I don’t trust her, but I’m just preparing for any contingency.”

Ji Yeonwoo nodded his head in understanding.

“Okay. I understand.”

“The business trip was a schedule I received suddenly this morning. I’m sorry to spring it on you, but it seems hard to reverse.”

“Is it a very important trip?”

“Yes.”

Ji Yeonwoo let out a short sigh and bit his lower lip as if crushing it.

“How long will it take?”

Ji Yeonwoo, having asked, quickly shut his mouth as if realizing something. His straight shoulders drooped sullenly.

“Oh, right. You said until the weekend.”

For a moment, he stuck out his lip slightly, not hiding his disappointment.

“Where are you going? If it’s a week, are you going overseas?”

He asked the question at the end with a face that could no longer maintain its composure. And no wonder—business trips were a schedule he went on dozens of times a year, but this was the first time he would be apart from Ji Yeonwoo for this long. When they lived separately, he hadn’t felt it as much, but now that they were living together, the emptiness would surely feel much larger.

“It’s not overseas—I’ll be going domestically.”

Ji Yeonwoo only nodded without adding any more words. His white, rice-cake-like cheeks seemed to stick out even more than usual today, and Choi Moohyuk found it endearing. A gentle smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“Speaking of which….”

Ji Yeonwoo, having put a few grains of rice into his mouth with his chopsticks, looked up. Then, seeing the smile spreading across Choi Moohyuk’s face, Ji Yeonwoo’s expression turned puzzled.

There was a reason he had been so on edge even before coming home. Just before arriving, he had received a phone call from Park Jincheol.

‘It seems the Chairman plans to summon Mr. Ji Yeonwoo to the main house while you’re away.’

Only a few hours had passed since he had given the order to look into it, but Park Jincheol had mobilized all his sources to gather the information. In the end, everything Park Jincheol had uncovered aligned with Choi Moohyuk’s predictions.

Leaning back slowly from his chair, Choi Moohyuk inclined his body toward Ji Yeonwoo.

“By the way, have you ever been to Jeju Island?”

At the unexpected question, Ji Yeonwoo blinked both eyes.

A smile spread across Choi Moohyuk’s face as he looked at Ji Yeonwoo.

“Pack your things after dinner. The hotel will have most things, so just a change of clothes should be enough.”

“Huh…?”

“I’m thinking of taking you along on the business trip, Mr. Yeonwoo.”

Now that he had figured out his father’s intentions, Choi Moohyuk wasn’t about to sit back and take it lying down.

As soon as he finished dinner, Ji Yeonwoo packed his things.

While quickly packing a few outfits and underwear into the suitcase, questions kept popping into his head. He couldn’t make sense of the suddenly scheduled business trip or the situation of having to accompany him, but he silently followed his lead. After all, he had nothing to do at home anyway, and thinking of it as a chance to get some fresh air, it seemed like it could be a good change of pace.

The two moved busily from early morning, departing from Gimpo Airport and arriving at Jeju International Airport in just one hour. A car was already waiting in front of the airport. Park Jincheol, who had arrived early and prepared everything, took the wheel.

Sitting side by side with Choi Moohyuk in the back seat, Ji Yeonwoo finally caught his breath. Coming to his senses, he realized it was already past 11 in the morning.

He had been so preoccupied since yesterday evening, but now that he had actually arrived in Jeju, it finally felt real. The flight was only an hour, yet he wondered if it could be so different even within the same country. The scenery unfolding outside the moving car made it feel like he was in a foreign country. Perhaps it was because of the exotic-looking trees.

Ji Yeonwoo, passing the time looking out the window and at his phone, suddenly became curious about what Choi Moohyuk was doing.

Right next to him, as always, Choi Moohyuk sat in his neat suit, his long legs crossed, with a tablet propped at an angle on top, reviewing documents.

As if the talk of a tight schedule wasn’t a lie, Choi Moohyuk had turned on the tablet as soon as he got in the car and started working, reviewing documents. This was the first time he had seen him working in person, and he thought his profile, so focused, looked even sexier than usual.

With the pencil in his hand, he scribbled a few notes in the margin and, having finished, looked up.

“Is it stuffy?”

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been gazing at the working Choi Moohyuk as if spellbound, flinched when their eyes met. His expression, which had been stiff from concentration, relaxed.

“Or is something wrong? Your face looks a little flushed.”

Setting down the tablet, Choi Moohyuk reached out and placed his hand on Ji Yeonwoo’s forehead. As the warm palm touched his forehead, Ji Yeonwoo, his chin tilted upward, stared blankly at Choi Moohyuk.