TGT 8

He didn’t answer his question right away. Seo Jeong-won’s lips parted slightly before he offered his thanks again.

His straight, beautiful hand waved gently as if to dry off moisture. He applied a thin layer of ointment where the disinfectant had dried and put on a bandage.

Only then did the seemingly precious man straighten his knees.

“Shall we go now?”

“Yes, and…”

While taking care of the garden since yesterday, he had discovered many plants that hadn’t lost their lives. Among them was an Alocasia that had just unfurled its leaves.

As soon as he saw it, he wanted to give it to Kwon Tae-hee as a gift. Though there were conditions, he had received his help after all.

“Can I take this too?”

Alocasia was a plant that garden visitors often bought as gifts. But thinking it looked too shabby to present as a gift to him, he simply asked if he could take it.

“Do as you please.”

“I’ll take good care of it.”

“Sure.”

Kwon Tae-hee seemed doubtful of Seo Jeong-won’s reassuring response. One look around the garden revealed how terribly he maintained plants.

Most were withered or reduced to bare branches. There should certainly be flowering plants, but none were visible here.

“This place, I mean, I don’t… don’t grow them poorly. No, I do. But…”

Seo Jeong-won tried to make excuses but his voice trailed off. He bowed his head deeply as Kwon Tae-hee merely shrugged without showing any particular reaction.

Even his previously white nape had turned red. Seo Jeong-won picked up the shopping bag containing the pot and rubbed his hot cheek with the back of his hand.

“…This place belonged to my aunt and uncle. I mostly did repotting, cleaning, and watering while watching the plants… grow. I’ve never actually raised them myself.”

The words spilled out like excuses though he hadn’t asked. Kwon Tae-hee nodded with an expression of disinterest.

He turned around first. His long, straight hand pulled down the neatly tied necktie below his neck. After unbuttoning his shirt, his demeanor became more relaxed than before.

As soon as they left the garden, Kwon Tae-hee took off his jacket, dismissed the man waiting in front of the vehicle, and opened the door himself.

“Get in.”

The small city on the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do where Seo Jeong-won lived wasn’t far from Seoul, but it wasn’t exactly close either.

Kwon Tae-hee, watching Seo Jeong-won’s flushed face as he hesitantly got into the car, thought that he couldn’t come like this every time.

Before going around to the back of the vehicle, he took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and exchanged a few words with Director Jung who lit it for him. Occasionally, his cool gaze turned toward the garden.

Should I sort this out? He seems to be looking for a buyer anyway. He doesn’t seem to be running it with much affection. He felt there was no need to keep Seo Jeong-won in this distant place.

“Executive Director Kwon?”

“Let’s look for a buyer for the garden.”

“I’ll look into it.”

Kwon Tae-hee crushed his cigarette into the portable ashtray Director Jung offered. White smoke cut through the air, stretching out long.

“It’s hot.”

The sticky air, the pungent smell of soil mixed with the humid wind could have been unpleasant, but he didn’t feel that way at all.

* * *

Kwon Tae-hee occasionally glanced at Seo Jeong-won who was clinging to the window. His simple appearance, small hands resting on the door trim, blinking his already large eye, captured his attention.

It was none other than he who broke the silence.

“You don’t come to this area often, do you?”

Kwon Tae-hee asked as he put down his tablet. Seo Jeong-won flinched at the sudden voice.

His earlobes gradually began to redden. Heat spread to his nape as well. He found it fascinating, having never seen an Omega’s skin flush so intensely before.

When embarrassed or ashamed, faces turned red, but Seo Jeong-won’s turned as pink as a perfectly ripe peach.

Would his wax-like white skin retain that color if he gripped it tightly in his hand and then released it?

“I… I suppose not. I’ve pretty much always lived in Seonam.”

“What about your friends?”

“Some friends went to Seoul, but not many. We’re not… that close. I have a childhood friend who inherited an orchard, so they’re still in Seonam.”

His articulate voice was very pleasant to hear. Unlike his youthful face, his tone was quite husky.

“Would you tell me about your parents too?”

At Kwon Tae-hee’s question, Seo Jeong-won’s expression hardened. After pondering briefly how to explain, he opened his mouth.

“My parents… died in a car accident right before I started elementary school. When my brother was in sixth grade. My parents ran a business, you know? They drove a small truck to construction sites and sold food early in the morning.”

“There’s such a thing?”

“…In the past. It was an illegal street vendor, but I guess that was common back then. Now I hear they just go to restaurants near the sites.”

Kwon Tae-hee nodded for him to continue after his awkward additional explanation.

“I went with them a few times. When Dad set up the blue tarp, I would unfold the plastic tables, set out the chairs… Then the construction workers would come one by one. They’d ask if the food was ready and take their seats.”

“…”

“Since they were selling breakfast, they left really early, you know? So that day… The day of the accident, they prepared and left super early. The vehicle… It was truck-shaped, but smaller than a regular truck. Because it was small…”

Seo Jeong-won kept repeating that it was small before stopping and biting his lip. His eyelashes trembled like rippling waves.

“…They said the dump truck coming out of the construction site didn’t see them.”

“Ah.”

“Because it was too small.”

Seo Jeong-won smiled quietly with reddened eyes.

“That’s how they passed away. For the funeral, my brother and I were too young… My aunt said we didn’t need to do all that. So we just kept them in the mortuary for three days while my aunt looked into cremation. My uncle reached a settlement with the construction site supervisor… I heard about it, but since I was so young, I don’t really remember the details.”

Seo Jeong-won, having finished his story rather bravely, lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Should I… talk about my aunt and uncle too?”

“No. That’s enough.”

“…I see.”

“Did anything unusual happen in your life?”

While verifying Seo Jeong-won’s financial status, Kwon Tae-hee had naturally learned about his aunt and uncle’s wrongdoings. They had extorted the parents’ death insurance money and compensation under the pretext of raising the siblings.

“I just… lived like everyone else, I think.”

He was reportedly abused. However, since the village where the siblings lived was small, even when domestic violence was reported, the police station chief knew everyone involved and would just give a mild warning before moving on.

The abuse continued, but no one helped. After the first year living with their aunt and uncle, the siblings stopped reporting it.

“Ordinarily.”

Seo Jeong-won, unaware that Kwon Tae-hee already knew, held back his words.

“I see.”

Listening to his subdued voice, Kwon Tae-hee thought of Seo Gyu-won. Why would he want so desperately to save his brother who abandoned him as soon as he became an adult?

Though he was in urgent need of money, it didn’t seem like they had such a strong bond that he would agree to fulfill this absurd contract on his behalf. Were there unforgettable memories?

Perhaps it was because of the money he had consistently sent until he became an adult.

He didn’t act like a brother, but could the money he sent, pretending to be one, be reason enough to keep Seo Gyu-won alive?

“Was life still ordinary after your brother left?”

“…Yes, it was ordinary. My aunt started the garden around that time, so I was always there after school. I was mainly in charge of watering. It was too expensive to install sprinklers, so… someone had to water them directly. Plants also drink water and their leaves become like this, like this. After drooping.”

Seo Jeong-won dropped both hands and then spread them out as if a sprout were growing.

Kwon Tae-hee didn’t even realize he was smiling at the sight. His well-shaped lips curved gently.

“That was really fascinating and endearing, so I often found myself staring at them.”

“I thought you didn’t particularly like it since you said you ended up taking care of them, but I guess that’s not the case.”

“I guess not. I’m not sure. When I water them, rainbows appear too. That’s really pretty. Later, if you come again… would you like me to show you?”

Kwon Tae-hee smiled at his cautious question.

“Sure, show me.”

As Kwon Tae-hee picked up his tablet again, Seo Jeong-won straightened his posture.