Pig Government Official

-13-

Jeonggwan entered the cafe under construction while eating a madeleine he had made at school. His mouth fell open in awe from the entrance, revealing its contents, prompting Jihoon to quickly close it for him. He knew Won Electronics headquarters was big, having seen it whenever he passed Teheran-ro, but he didn’t realize it was this massive.

A cafe of this scale was on the left side of the headquarters’ first-floor lobby, and on the opposite side was an even larger Won Electronics store? He couldn’t help but be amazed. He thought his friend was just a rich kid goofing around, but… his class was even higher than expected? Jeonggwan’s heart fluttered a bit, of course, because of his wealthy friend.

Moreover, while Jihoon seemed to attend school casually as if he was just there to play, he was different when it came to business aspects. He really seemed like a boss. He paid attention to every little detail, and Jeonggwan was especially impressed when he saw Jihoon personally roasting and tasting coffee beans with the head barista at different times.

“The kitchen is finished. You can go in and take a look.”

“Jeonggwan, go check it out.”

Wow! The kitchen! That space that excites all patissiers was completed. Okay! Jeonggwan excitedly walked in, swinging the bag containing his madeleines.

The cafe was going to be predominantly black with wood accents. However, the lighting was brighter than expected, and with good natural light coming through the full-length glass windows, they decided flowers and plants would fit well, so the interior was slightly modified. One wall would be densely filled with fresh flowers every week, and instead of placing the coffee preparation area against one wall, they decided to arrange it in a long oval shape in the center of the cafe.

The coffee partners would prepare coffee there, and the pastry section was designed with semi-transparent glass up to chest height at the back of the cafe, giving an impression of thorough hygiene. Unlike the coffee section with six partners including hall management, the pastry section had three partners in total, all from Jihoon’s network.

SUKI GO, or Go Suk-hee, whom Jihoon considered the top in the industry for tarts during his study abroad, was the tart partner. Hwang Jun, a graduate of the famous Tokyo Confectionery School who used to follow Jihoon around saying he liked him but cooled off due to Jihoon’s difficult personality, was in charge of macarons, madeleines, and custom whole cakes. And Jeonggwan, who was Jihoon’s school buddy and self-proclaimed best friend, though less prestigious than the other two, was put in charge of the shortcake section.

In the kitchen divided into three sections, Jeonggwan got the most comfortable corner spot opposite the headquarters lobby, where he would attract the least attention. Even so, he was still visible through the glass walls, but at least he could avoid being the center of attention like those in the middle.

Contrary to the stereotype of a cold, all-metal interior, the kitchen with appropriate wooden accents looked very modern and soft. Jeonggwan imagined himself making desserts here as soon as possible. Honestly, he thought he’d be working at a neighborhood bakery after graduation, but he never imagined such a great place.

Excited, Jeonggwan opened the large glass window of the kitchen and gave Jihoon two thumbs up.

“…Oh?”

However, seeing the man behind Jihoon, Jeonggwan’s hands slowly lowered to just thumbs up. It was Won Junjae, the man who had told Jihoon to come to this company’s first floor, the most handsome man Jeonggwan had ever seen. This was already the nth time they had encountered each other… Every time Jeonggwan saw him, he found himself staring in awe.

He seemed to have come to check if the interior construction was going well, but as soon as he entered, he appeared to have noticed Jeonggwan pressed against the glass. Unlike Jeonggwan’s expectation that he would immediately look away as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have,

“…Oh. Hyung.”

He ignored Jihoon greeting him and fixed his gaze only on Jeonggwan standing behind the glass. His gaze was quite fierce. To an outsider, it might have seemed like he was thinking, “Why are you here?” And that wasn’t entirely wrong.

Won Junjae was currently thinking, “Because of someone like you, I…”

“……”

The exchange of gazes lasted for quite a while. It was rather persistent. Jeonggwan felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips from that gaze, but he didn’t back down and stared back at Won Junjae. Thinking something like, “The more you look at a handsome person, the better it is for your mind and body-“

Whether he knew Jeonggwan was feasting his eyes on him or not, Won Junjae soon turned his back abruptly, his face deeply frowning, as if about to leave the cafe.

“Oh…!”

Jeonggwan felt a sudden sense of regret at Junjae’s action. So, without realizing it, he rushed out of the kitchen. Ignoring Jihoon and the interior designer who looked at him with surprised eyes, he ran straight to Won Junjae, who was about to exit through the lobby door.

“Um… Excuse me.”

“……”

“Hello… We met recently, didn’t we…”

Junjae was greatly taken aback by Jeonggwan suddenly approaching him. He had unconsciously entered the cafe after sensing the pig’s pheromones while passing by, and was about to leave hurriedly after coming to his senses.

“Um… Please try this.”

However, the pig, having seen him a few times, didn’t know his place and held out a piece of bread to him. Junjae’s eyebrows furrowed deeply at once. He even stepped back a little, as if disgusted by the possibility of the bread touching him.

“No thanks.”

“I made it… with gourmet butter…”

“I’m not interested. Please put it away.”

When Junjae finally replied sharply, Jeonggwan’s arm holding out the madeleine finally lowered. Junjae felt irritated at Jeonggwan’s face, which seemed a bit deflated and embarrassed.

So when I say no once…!

“It’s not very sweet, you know.”

“…What?”

“I heard you don’t like sweet things since childhood.”

Contrary to what he thought was dejection, Jeonggwan lifted his head suddenly as if recalling something, muttering, “This really isn’t very sweet! It’s savory and delicious…!”

Junjae was now beyond exasperated. It was ridiculous enough that he approached and tried to act friendly, but now acting as if he knew him well was truly a spectacle.

“But shouldn’t kids like sweet things?”

“……”

“Did your mother perhaps forbid you from eating sweets…?”

Junjae suddenly felt a surge of heat inside. It seemed Park Jihoon had said something about his childhood… Who did he think he was to casually talk about him? What did it matter whether he liked sweets as a child or not?

Not knowing anything… What does he think he knows? Junjae clenched his fist tightly.

“What does that have to do with…”

“That’s when you should rebel and eat anyway, until your parents give up…”

“……”

“Lying down and… Ah, maybe I’m saying too much…”

However, at Jeonggwan’s innocent words, as if it was nothing, Junjae’s eyes wavered slightly. The tension that had stiffened his body gradually eased.

Junjae’s gaze, which had been glaring at the madeleine in Jeonggwan’s hand, had deepened, with a hint of confusion.

“Anyway, this really isn’t very sweet. Please try it later if you can.”

“……”

Junjae looked up at Jeonggwan, who was shyly offering the madeleine again, with an unreadable expression for a while, before turning around and leaving the cafe.

Jeonggwan clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“…That’s a shame.”

“Shame my ass. He really seems to dislike you.”

Jihoon, his face pale, shook his head and spoke. Won Junjae suddenly appearing and glaring at Jeonggwan before leaving? This wasn’t a good sign. He seemed quite displeased with Jeonggwan’s presence. Jihoon had told Jeonggwan that if Won Junjae ever came to the cafe, which was highly unlikely, he should hide. Since only the upper body was visible through the glass, he should just sit down.

However, Jeonggwan was confident he would never do that.

“……”

Jihoon thought Jeonggwan was just a simple guy who only knew about bread, but in reality, Jeonggwan wasn’t that naive. It might shock Jihoon if he knew, but Jeonggwan had a cunning side when it came to getting what he wanted.

‘Hey, you pig.’

‘Do you like me?’

‘Are you crazy?’

Back in middle school, there was a dominant alpha named Woosung who used to tease Jeonggwan daily, calling him a pig. He was exactly Jeonggwan’s type. Like Won Junjae, he was extremely tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome. Moreover, his father was a successful lawyer at the time. He was a well-off, dominant alpha, and Jeonggwan liked him. Even though he teased him daily, calling him a pig, Jeonggwan couldn’t dislike him because he was so handsome. So he thought he wanted to have him,

Jeonggwan eventually seduced him. Others might say he was lying, but it was true. Did Jeonggwan perhaps go on a crazy diet and seduce him with his looks? No, absolutely not. Jeonggwan slowly lured him into his trap with a meticulous plan.

Although they went to the same high school, they were in different classes. Jeonggwan made sure he wasn’t forgotten by deliberately appearing in front of him often, lingering and smiling frequently. No matter how much he was teased and called a pig, Jeonggwan never ignored it, always reacting with annoyance. And he consistently asked, “Do you like me?” As if to brainwash him into thinking, “You’re doing this because you like me.”

‘Pig.’

‘Have you ever seen such a cute pig?’

‘…Unbelievable.’

‘You’ll end up saying you like me later.’

‘…What are you talking about.’

After about two years of effort like this…

In their second year of high school, he called Jeonggwan to the music room after school, saying he had something to say. With a face flushed red, he said he had something to tell Jeonggwan. Seeing this, Jeonggwan secretly smiled viciously. Just as planned.

‘Jeonggwan.’

‘I told you not to say you like me.’

‘…I like you.’

Jeonggwan’s first kiss happened there.

Unknown to friends or family, Jeonggwan dated him for seven months. Like typical students, they enjoyed dates eating tteokbokki or playing games at PC bangs, and exchanged many sweet messages.

Then, during the winter break before their third year of high school, he was forced to study abroad by his famous lawyer father, and the two high school boys broke up.

Momentarily lost in memories, Jeonggwan sighed. Honestly, there’s no such thing as a beautiful breakup, but he prided himself on ending his first and last relationship quite successfully.

So he had a glimmer of hope. He was instinctively drawn to Won Junjae, who was even more unpleasant in speech and more handsome than the guy he dated back then, reigning at the very top of alphas. Seeing him just now made him even more attracted.

He felt his body heat up even under that gaze of apparent displeasure. For the first time since that guy in high school, he felt the desire to possess an alpha. So he dared to hope. What if he could seduce him by pretending to be crazy? A small spark of imagination was kindled in a corner of Jeonggwan’s heart. Of course, the guy he dated was a student, and it was at an innocent, immature point when his self wasn’t fully formed, so Jeonggwan might have had a chance then,

But who knows? Maybe such an opportunity would come again this time?