Pig Government Official

-63-

“But why is the executive so busy these days?”

“Ah… There are many business trips.”

“No need to explain. Secretary Oh probably scheduled consecutive business trips to get things done when he’s in a good mood.”

“…Ahem.”

Secretary Oh, whose thoughts were seen through by Jihoon, turned his head and cleared his throat, but immediately felt a burning gaze on the side of his face. Sure enough, wasn’t Jeonggwan glaring at him with a look that said, “So you were the troublemaker?”

Usually in such situations, Secretary Oh would have been sweating profusely and disappeared with a “Then, I’ll take my leave…” But for some reason, Secretary Oh firmly accepted that gaze and lingered around Jeonggwan and Jihoon, seeming like he had something he wanted to say.

“Do you have something to say?”

As expected of the perceptive Jeonggwan, he immediately noticed Secretary Oh’s fidgeting and asked.

“Well… I…”

Secretary Oh stretched out his words uncharacteristically slowly. Jihoon thought, “Why is he acting like that?” and didn’t think much of it, but for some reason, Jeonggwan immediately had an ominous feeling. Seeing Secretary Oh hesitating to speak and being overly conscious of his reaction, it meant something was happening with Junjae today. Something important enough that it could potentially distance Jeonggwan and Junjae if it went wrong. There was only one such thing. Something Jeonggwan had been subtly concerned about for the past few days,

“Is the executive going on a blind date today?”

“Huh? What?”

“…”

It was as he thought. Jeonggwan felt a momentary tightness in the back of his neck, but if Secretary Oh, who was like Junjae’s hands and feet, was bringing it up first, it meant Junjae wasn’t secretly going on a blind date, but rather wanted to inform him beforehand. If it were someone else, one might think they were trying to provoke jealousy on purpose, but not Junjae. The Junjae that Jeonggwan knew wasn’t capable of such things. Then why did he want to inform him?

“Where is he meeting?”

“At the Season Hotel, 2nd floor restaurant, at 6 PM.”

“You’re telling me this to emphasize that it’s not his own will?”

“…You could say that.”

Hmm. Jeonggwan, holding a bread knife, exhaled through his nose and nodded as if he understood. Secretary Oh, thinking that one wrong move could result in a chunk of his hair being sliced off, bowed his head in greeting and quickly retreated.

“Hey, isn’t this crazy? Is he just playing around?”

Jihoon was fuming, imagining how much of a jerk he thought Junjae was. Jeonggwan calmly explained that if he was really just playing around, he wouldn’t have informed about the blind date and would have just pushed to date and sleep together right away. Jihoon nodded, saying “Ah, I see,” immediately agreeing. But he still didn’t understand. Then why?

“Then why is he going on a blind date? And why tell you…”

“Hm? Why did you stop talking?”

“…It’s Uncle.”

“Uncle?”

Jihoon’s expression cooled. His body stiffened as if he had called someone who shouldn’t be named. If Jihoon was talking about his uncle, it would be Junjae’s father, but why? Jeonggwan stared at Jihoon with a curious face.

“Right. He can’t refuse what Uncle tells him to do.”

“Why? Is he scary?”

“I haven’t even spoken to him once since I was very young.”

“Is he that scary?”

“It’s not just about being scary, he’s the kind of uncle who sees even me, his nephew, as uncivilized. He’s incredibly strict and has his own plans for everything. If anything goes against his plans, he flies into a rage. And it’s not just yelling, he makes the air incredibly heavy. There’s even a joke that he once broke a glass with his angry pheromones.”

“…”

Jeonggwan’s expression, which had been listening seriously, gradually hardened. It would be scary to have such a person as a father. But that wasn’t the reason.

‘…I just didn’t like sweet things since I was young.’

‘…Won’t I get scolded?’

A contradictory part of Won Junjae that had felt odd to Jeonggwan was suddenly resolved. Junjae said he disliked sweet things, but he ate well the cake Jeonggwan had brought down to the cafe, and he had even stolen and eaten Jeonggwan’s chocolate as a joke. He also ate well the crème brûlée that came as dessert at the French restaurant they went to last time, and the macaron that Jeonggwan had offered with a fork.

And after eating all of that, he didn’t frown or make faces. Usually, someone who dislikes sweets, like Jeonggwan’s mother, would immediately scrunch up her face saying “Oh, it’s too sweet” after just one bite, but Won Junjae didn’t do that. Rather, it felt like he ate surprisingly well? So, Won Junjae seemed less like someone who genuinely disliked sweets, and more like someone who was trapped in the thought that he shouldn’t eat sweets.

‘Perhaps your mother didn’t let you eat sweets…?’

‘What does that have to do with…!’

Come to think of it, even when they were doing the cafe interior construction, when Jeonggwan brought up his childhood, Junjae had reacted very sensitively.

Could it be that he was really abused at home during his childhood? Jeonggwan took a short breath. This could be an over-reaching assumption brought on by his excessive meddling. Won Junjae might really just not have liked sweet things since he was young, and he might be the type of person who doesn’t show it. His thoughts might have crossed the line significantly.

“…”

However, there were more than one or two things that bothered him. Jihoon had said that his cousin, even when the dog he had raised since childhood died, didn’t shed a single tear like a psychopath and just went into his room. But Won Junjae still remembered that dog’s name and felt attached to it. For a dog he felt so attached to, he didn’t even grieve on the spot? No. Maybe he couldn’t.

And although Won Junjae is said to be the only alpha in the Won Group, he’s excessively quiet and everything goes his way. If he was the only heir, one would think he’d be raised pampered, but for someone like that, Junjae is clumsy with his own emotions and not bold. Usually, even in ordinary families, if a child is the only son for three generations, they often grow up doing whatever they want and act recklessly thinking the world revolves around them, but Junjae is so introverted that he can’t even make a phone call first.

Was Won Junjae… really abused?

Is that why he can’t disobey his father’s words, and why he had Secretary Oh inform Jeonggwan so he wouldn’t misunderstand that he was going on the blind date of his own will?

“I don’t intend to marry Won Junjae.”

“…So you’re going to let him go on the blind date?”

“But Won Junjae is full of narrative. He feels just like a male protagonist.”

“…What are you saying?”

Jeonggwan’s hand holding the bread knife tensed. He doesn’t intend to marry Won Junjae. Well, if it happens, it happens, and if not, so be it, but at least he will never think about wanting to get married because he wants to. He didn’t have the confidence to fight and win against a chaebol president either.

But he intuitively knew. He knew that he needed to jump into the life of Won Junjae, a handsome, well-built, rich male protagonist with a sad past. He might not know about love for Junjae yet, but he knew he needed to jump in with a very large volume and weight. Since he’s already heavy, does that mean he just needs to jump in? Looking at the clock on the wall, Jeonggwan’s smiling face looked quite mischievous.

* * *

“This is the first time in my life I’ve experienced a ‘ddong-chim’ (a prank where someone pokes someone else’s buttocks).”

“…”

“I’m sure that pig and I have some bad karma.”

Kyung Juhwan, swirling his wine glass, somehow had an odd sitting posture. He had brought a donut-shaped cushion when he came in, and I wondered what it was for, but seeing him bring up the story about Jeonggwan, it seemed his tailbone was still hurting.

“What do you like about that pig? Appearance is obviously out of the question. His personality seemed nasty too.”

“…”

Junjae didn’t answer and was gazing out the window, but Kyung Juhwan continued speaking as if he had no intention of listening to Junjae’s answer anyway.

“Or… is your taste a bit…?”

“…”

“It makes sense. Sometimes looking at those pigs, it’s a bit manic…”

“Let’s stop there.”

Finally, Junjae turned his head and stared quietly at Kyung Juhwan as if uncomfortable with the conversation, to which Juhwan made an “Oops-” sound and showed one palm in a half-hearted apology. Junjae ignored it as if he hadn’t even seen it and opened his mouth.

“I have no intention of marrying you, Mr. Kyung Juhwan. I came to this meeting to clearly state my intentions.”

“That’s funny. Who said…”

“The person I’m interested in is not you, Mr. Kyung Juhwan.”

“…What does that mean.”

Leaving behind Juhwan who was staring with a face that didn’t understand, Junjae stood up from his seat. It hadn’t even been 10 minutes since they sat down.

“Where, where are you going?”

Juhwan asked, flustered and half-rising from his seat, and Junjae turned around and looked down at Juhwan quietly.

Of course, Junjae couldn’t disobey his father’s words. He couldn’t throw a childish tantrum and refuse to go to the blind date his father had set up again. That’s why he had Secretary Oh inform Jeonggwan, hoping he would understand that it wasn’t of his own will. He was too scared to say it directly. Jeonggwan might have been disappointed by this. But he didn’t want to lie. He didn’t need to mention that he was going on a blind date since he was going to come and refuse anyway, but he didn’t want to hide it from Jeonggwan.

And he had to come to this meeting. It was to inform. That he was no longer a child who did what his father told him to do and didn’t do what he was told not to do. Clearly, he still felt suffocated and frightened at the thought of his father, but now he had someone he feared more than his father. No, someone he dreaded. Someone he was afraid of not meeting, afraid of not being able to hold hands with.

“I’m going to see that pig.”