CHAPTER 62

For a moment, Leeseo’s hand slipped around his waist and grabbed his shirt. Then Taegyeom lowered his gaze and looked at her. He squints one eye and asks.

“Are you scared?”

“No. I’m not scared of just this much wind. It’s not strong enough to blow me away.”

“Don’t pretend to be tough.”

He chuckled then lowered his face. Their lips drew close and had a brief kiss before parting. Leeseo buried her flushed cheek deeply into his chest and walked in step with Taegyeom.

The annex was locked in stillness with not a single light emanating as if it had never been that way. If she had been alone, she would have stayed indoors in this weather and never come out.

Her collar flapped wildly in the frighteningly strong wind, but she didn’t feel strangely afraid. Perhaps it was due to Taegyeom’s strong arms tightly wrapped around her waist and his large frame that kept the wind at bay.

A presence that would tightly hold and support her even if she were caught in any rough storm. There’s no telling where tomorrow will take them, but for now, she just wants to lean into his presence.

Taegyeom, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped his steps. In sync, Leeseo, who had stopped with him, raised her head and looked up at him curiously. Taegyeom turned his head, looking behind them where they had just passed. His eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

Leeseo followed his gaze and jerked her head back. The container-like house, with its lights off, stood under the typhoon, covered with leaves that had been blown against the aging wall. As she gazed at the scene with a strange expression, she felt a force tug on her waist.

“Let’s go.”

Tugged along by Taegyeom, Leeseo walked back toward the annex. Until they entered through the gate, he simply pulled her closer without saying a word.

Only after the silhouettes of the two figures, now tightly intertwined, disappeared beyond the annex wall did Jingyeom, who had been leaning against the wall, slump against it with a rustling sound. His heart pounded as if it would burst, and his ears felt stuffy. It wasn’t just because of the loud wind whipping through his hair.`

What did I just witness?

“Haha…”

Dry laughter escaped him. But it wasn’t an amused laugh, of course; it was a laugh that came from a place of disbelief, a place of shock, a place where the back of his head tingled.

Cold sweat soaked his tightly clenched fist. Jingyeom grimaced and shook off the damp thing he had been holding in his hand as if discarding it. A crumpled, sweaty letter lay on the muddy ground.

A wave of self-pity washed over him as he realized that he’d been hiding behind the wall like a rat, clutching the wretched letter while Kwon Taegyeom clutched Hyun Leeseo at his side. He lifted his leg, ready to crush the letter on the ground, but he couldn’t bring himself to drop his foot.

Jingyeom reached out and picked up the letter. At least the emotions he felt when writing this letter were sincere. It was a pure-hearted letter expressing his feelings for Hyun Leeseo.

Tomorrow was the day he would leave the mansion and move out on his own and start living independently. The new place he was moving to was only a fifteen-minute drive away, so he wouldn’t be gone forever. But at least, he wouldn’t be living within the same walls as Hyun Leeseo anymore.

Jingyeom hoped that from this day forward, his relationship with Leeseo would be different. He wanted to impress her as a man, not the immature kid who used to speak thoughtlessly and act recklessly.

Because he was tired of the constant belittling whenever he opened his mouth about his life. He thought that although it might be a bit old-fashioned and tacky, he chose to write a letter. Since she didn’t give him her phone number, he couldn’t send texts or messages to her.

If he really wanted to know her number, he could force it out of her, but it would probably backfire, so after much deliberation, he wrote a sincere letter. He included his new address where he would be living alone.

He thought it would be nice to have a date there. If his new house was too uncomfortable, they could just meet outside.

Holding the letter with an excited heart, when he visited Hyun Leeseo during the day, no one was there, leading to futile steps. The few hours he spent waiting for her to return from where she had been felt excruciatingly slow. As night approached and news of a typhoon approaching spread, his impatience grew, but he also felt a desire to reassure her, thinking she might be scared to be alone.

But all he got to see was such a scene.

Between Kwon Taegyeom and Hyun Leeseo, there was a closeness that couldn’t come from just hanging out for a day or two. From the childish gesture of wrapping shoulders like marking territory, to the way they looked at each other as if they wanted to eat each other and the way they kissed spontaneously.

His teeth gnashed and his jaw clenched with jealousy. He wanted to rush in and separate the two, to wildly scream and leap, but Jingyeom held back with all the patience he could muster. He won’t get what he wants that way.

I’m going to destroy it.

Jingyeom’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the newly lit annex. In there, he imagined all sorts of carnivals happening. Squelch. The sound of grinding teeth mingled with the harshness of the wind.

If I can’t have you, then no one can.

***

Seated at the Irish dining table with one cheek resting on her hand, Leeseo observed the man’s back with a curious fascination. It was a scene that felt like a dream, one that never seemed to become familiar no matter how many times she saw it. 

Kwon Taegyeom cooking – who would have thought?

Kwon Taegyeom, now dressed in casual home attire, skillfully handled ingredients he retrieved from the refrigerator and pantry, moving adeptly between the cutting board and the stove. Leeseo, who had been wandering around idly, unfortunately found herself obstructing his path.

Eventually, Taegyeom lifted her body into the air and set her down at a distance, then shooed her out of the kitchen with a nonchalant remark that she was a nuisance and should just go sit down. Consequently, Leeseo, resigning herself to the situation, retreated to the dining table and quietly observed Kwon Taegyeom cooking.

It was an odd tranquility. While a typhoon was raging outside, engulfing the entire world, the sight of a man with a refined silhouette skillfully moving about created a serene and lazy atmosphere that seemed disconnected from the external chaos.

Soon afterward, her olfactory senses were assaulted by an aromatic smell wafting from the kitchen. Leeseo, who had been seated and watching quietly, felt her sense of smell stimulated. In such a short time, Taegyeom had managed to create a believable fragrance. Naturally, her stomach growled with hunger.

When Taegyeom finished cooking, Leeseo, prompted by the appetizing scent, stumbled to her feet as he transferred the food into bowls. He turned around with two bowls and laughed at her awkward half-standing. Gazing at her somewhat unsteady posture, he chuckled and said,

“Why are you standing so uncomfortably?”

“Just sitting around doing nothing feels awkward.”

“I’m trying to do you a favor by feeding you, so you’d do something good for me.”

With narrowed eyes, Leeseo retorted.

“Mr. Kwon Taegyeom, you really can’t help but make vulgar remarks.”

“I only have vulgar thoughts when it comes to you. What can I say?”

He playfully winked and put the warm dish in front of her. It was a beautifully presented spaghetti exuding an appetizing gloss. The dish was a simple Aglio e Olio with a garlic-infused aroma, created without any particularly special ingredients.

It was a dish that Leeseo often chose when dining out with friends at a pasta restaurant. The hunger she had been feeling since earlier intensified.

“I’ll enjoy this.”

Picking up the fork he had provided, Leeseo twirled the spaghetti and took a bite. The savory scent of garlic spread through her mouth, and the al dente texture of the pasta was delightful. The combination of the rich olive oil fragrance and the spiciness of the red pepper flakes was stunning.

Leeseo, whose eyes widened without her realizing, spoke after swallowing the spaghetti in her mouth.

“It tastes like something you’d get outside. How do you make something like this so quickly?”

Taegyeom covered his mouth with the back of his hand and stifled a laugh at the cuteness of Leeseo’s innocent exclamation, forgetting that she was glaring at him with wide eyes.

“It’s easy. Anyone, even a ten-year-old, can make it if they know the recipe.”

At his words, Leeseo looked down at the spaghetti in front of her for a moment, then said an “Oh,” and stretched out the end of her sentence with a laugh. Whether he was embarrassed by the food compliment or his humility was excessive, Taegyeom covered his mouth with the back of his hand and stifled his laughter.

Who would have thought that Kwon Taegyeom would be embarrassed? I thought he was thick-skinned.

“How can a ten-year-old kid make something like this?”

“I’ve been making it since I was ten.”

Leeseo’s smile that hung on the corner of her lips faltered for a moment. Taegyeom didn’t seem to notice her change in expression as he poured white wine into the glasses on the table. He casually continued speaking.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I moved to the United States when I was ten. My mom came with me, but as soon as we got there, she got really sick. I was sent to a dormitory, so I didn’t see her much, but whenever I went home, I wanted to make her happy, so I looked at a cookbook I borrowed from the library and made my first spaghetti. Here, have some.”

Taegyeom extended the glass of wine he poured to Leeseo. There was no regret in his eyes, no sadness that hinted at a painful past.

He spoke as if it were someone else’s story, and Leeseo couldn’t help but feel a pang in her chest as she listened.

“Ever since we were still in Korea, my mom liked this dish and it was often on the table. Luckily, the ingredients were simple, and it fit well with my pocket situation. Of course, being a kid who had never cooked before, the first spaghetti I made was terrible. I still vividly remember that awful taste. Even then, my mom’s face didn’t wrinkle, even after eating it.”

He had been the eldest son of the GK Group chairman even twenty years ago, so why did Taegyeom have to consider his financial situation? 

The doubt crossed Leeseo’s mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask.