Pig Government Official

-36-

Jeonggwan stepped back from Junjae. Although he had seized the opportunity to embrace him, seeing Junjae’s reddened neck made something thump in Jeonggwan’s heart. He had only intended to tease Won Junjae a bit and satisfy his own ulterior motives, but seeing such a reaction made him feel even more embarrassed. Jeonggwan slowly backed away, glancing up at Junjae.

“Uh… ahem. Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“…”

Junjae kept staring at Jeonggwan intently, and only when Jeonggwan spoke did he firmly close his slightly parted lips. However, his hand was still holding Jeonggwan’s arm. Junjae’s Adam’s apple moved significantly.

Jeonggwan felt another thump in his heart as he secretly observed this. Damn. That’s so sexy. How can swallowing be that sexy? Feeling like his face might turn even redder if he kept sneaking glances, Jeonggwan was about to shake off Junjae and run away when-

“Hyung…! Jeong-Jeonggwan seems to be out of his mind because he’s having a hard time right now…!”

Jihoon rushed over and separated the two. Seeing the clueless Kim Jeonggwan trying to seduce Won Junjae by hugging him, Jihoon momentarily saw his deceased great-grandmother’s face flash before his eyes. It means he almost fainted. This guy has gone crazy…! Worried that Won Junjae might immediately knock Jeonggwan down, pheromones or not, Jihoon pulled Jeonggwan away from Junjae and hid him behind himself. Then he raised both hands towards Junjae, as if to say “stay put,” and went “Whoa-whoa-.”

“This, this guy…!”

“…”

“They’re saying they’ll sue Jeonggwan…!”

“…”

“…I think he’s lost his mind… Hyung…!”

When Jeonggwan’s arm slipped out of his grasp, Junjae blankly looked down at his now empty hand.

“…Ah.”

As he raised his head, he only saw Jihoon’s terrified face. Jeonggwan’s hair fluttered behind Jihoon, and Junjae’s jaw instantly tensed, his face hardening.

Right. This bastard hid Kim Jeonggwan from me back then too. Remembering how Jihoon hid Jeonggwan behind himself at the last party, Junjae felt a surge of irritation, but-

“What lawsuit.”

The words that just came out of Jihoon’s mouth irritated Junjae even more.

* * *

Jeonggwan thanked Hwang Jun and Suki for finishing the cake for him, promising to treat them to samgyeopsal later. Hwang Jun and Suki said it was fine, comforting Jeonggwan, saying he must have been very surprised. Feeling apologetic and grateful, Jeonggwan insisted on doing the dishes himself, sending the two away despite their protests. He entered the kitchen and put on rubber gloves. In the end, Jihoon ended up explaining the situation to Junjae. While doing the dishes, Jeonggwan kept glancing back at the two sitting in the cafe.

Jihoon was talking animatedly, using his whole body, while Junjae listened quietly with his eyes lowered. Would Won Junjae get angry like his brothers? Or would he be troubled? Even Jihoon, who usually handled everything himself, was now quietly submissive, which made Jeonggwan think that the guy he knocked down must not be from an ordinary family. That meant Won Junjae might also find it difficult to resolve this issue.

Of course, it would end if he wrote a thirty-page reflection letter, and he was prepared to do so. But honestly, if he could avoid writing it, he wanted to. As Jihoon said, the other guy had started the argument and rushed at him first, and he had fallen and fractured his tailbone on his own, so Jeonggwan felt unfairly treated if anything. That’s why when Jihoon tried to appeal to Won Junjae, he quickly joined in.

Not only on Alda-kko but also on the Omega Techniques SNS, there was a saying: “1 whine, 1 gain.” One act of aegyo could lead to one wish being granted. Remembering this, Jeonggwan seized the opportunity to nuzzle his head, but he didn’t expect such a good reaction.

Park Jihoon thought Won Junjae would dislike it and pulled him away, but Won Junjae had clearly been staring only at him with a reddened neck until the moment they were separated. So Jeonggwan became hopeful. Would Won Junjae step in to help with this situation?

“Hyung… Couldn’t you just make one phone call…?”

Jihoon looked up at Junjae, trying to read his mood. Honestly, he thought Won Junjae would make a phone call with an annoyed face, but he couldn’t guess what he was thinking at all, and sweat was dripping from Jihoon’s hands. If there were any exclamations or curses, even if he said it was pathetic, Jihoon could try to beg or react differently, but this guy was just quietly looking down at the table with lowered eyes. He’s not sleeping, is he?

“Hyung…?”

“…”

Ah-. It’s all ruined. If only Kim Jeonggwan hadn’t hugged him earlier, he might have made the call…! Judging by his reaction, it seemed hopeless. At this rate, he couldn’t even attempt his secret plan of making Kim Jeonggwan fall for him and then dumping him for revenge. It seemed like he was already falling, let alone making him fall.

Since it had come to this, he decided to push forward with a strategy of pity to at least get one phone call. Won Junjae might do it out of pity if he acted pathetic enough.

“That bastard…! I mean, Kyung Juhwan rushed at Jeonggwan first…”

“…”

“He started the fight by calling Jeonggwan a pig…”

“…”

“…Making Jeonggwan write a reflection letter because he’s weak… it’s unfair… and…”

Shit. This isn’t working either. What’s so hard about making one phone call? Honestly, Jihoon was already powerless, being practically disowned by the Won family, but Won Junjae wasn’t. Although they hadn’t officially announced it, everyone knew he was the future CEO of Won Electronics. He was the only dominant alpha in the Won Group now.

If someone like Won Junjae personally made a phone call, would they refuse such a trivial matter? That would be disrespecting Won Junjae, and by extension, it could mean turning their back on Won Electronics. The Seomho Group mainly dealt with trade, and Won Electronics was a central partner for them. Because Won Electronics was crucial to them, Won Junjae’s words would be absolute. So what’s one phone call? Even one text message would end this trivial matter as a mere incident.

But it’s not going to happen, right? Jihoon sighed. It’s over. We’ll just have to help Jeonggwan write the 30-page reflection letter. Since writing with a pen and messing up would mean rewriting, I should take Jeonggwan to a large stationery store today to buy erasable pens. There were no specifications about whether it should be A4 or not, so could we write on A5…? But when will we finish 30 pages… Jeonggwan 20 pages, me 10 pages… No, Jeonggwan said he’s written reflection letters before, so Jeonggwan 29 pages, me 1 page… The focus in Jihoon’s eyes gradually disappeared.

“…Is Kim Jeonggwan.”

“Huh?”

“Not hurt?”

Huh…? The focus quickly returned to Jihoon’s eyes. Junjae had already turned his head and was staring intently at Jeonggwan’s back as he was doing dishes in the kitchen. Jihoon wondered what that meant and what that gaze was about. Blinking his eyes, he followed Junjae’s gaze to Jeonggwan’s back. His small but sturdy back was moving diligently. Occasionally, his plump white cheek would peek out as he glanced this way.

“Jeonggwan… isn’t hurt. Look at his weight class…”

Jihoon strongly agreed with the fact that Kyung Juhwan had rushed at Jeonggwan but fell back on his own when Jeonggwan countered. Jihoon had tried to pounce on Jeonggwan to tear at him several times, but Jeonggwan was so sturdy that Jihoon had bounced off more than once. Hurt, my ass. Fortunately, Kim Jeonggwan wasn’t someone who would break easily, mentally or physically.

“…That’s good.”

Good… what? Jihoon slowly turned his head towards Junjae. His eyes, as big as they could get, conveyed only one meaning. Did I hear that wrong…? Even though he knew Jihoon was looking at him with surprise, Junjae’s eyes remained fixed on Jeonggwan.

“Tell him not to write that thing.”

And with that, he stood up.

* * *

Secretary Oh was having a terrible time. Won Junjae wasn’t saying a word. He usually didn’t talk much, but on days when he wasn’t feeling well or after meeting the president, he especially kept his mouth shut, and now was one of those times. On such days, he wouldn’t respond even if asked anything all day, so Secretary Oh had to use his mind-reading skills to handle things. It was like that now.

“Director, should I call Aekyung?”

“…”

At this point, Secretary Oh began to think that Junjae’s bad condition might not be due to anger at Aekyung’s attitude, but for some other reason. From what he had overheard Jihoon saying nearby, making a call to Aekyung and putting in a word would be no big deal for their side. Especially if it was about their youngest. But what was there to contemplate so much?

Secretary Oh thought that if Junjae remained silent, he should just call Aekyung on his own and wrap things up by saying something like, “Our director has been fond of Park Jihoon lately- His friend is in this situation- He’s concerned about it-.” Since he had said not to write the reflection letter.

“Then about Kim Jeonggwan-ssi’s matter, I’ll handle…”

Flinch.

What was that? Secretary Oh’s eyes moved to Junjae’s shoulder, who was sitting still. …Did I see wrong? With a puzzled look, Secretary Oh spoke again.

“About Kim Jeonggwan-ssi’s matter…”

“…”

Flinch.

It wasn’t a mistake. Junjae’s shoulder twitched slightly again. Secretary Oh’s face contorted, forgetting that he was in front of Junjae.

‘…That…!’

In Secretary Oh’s mind, the scene of Jeonggwan leaning his forehead against Junjae’s chest and Jihoon’s death cry replayed. Plus, Won Junjae looking down at Jeonggwan with his neck turning red.

…No way. He’s not thinking about Kim Jeonggwan right now, is he?