Chapter 111: The Unsettling Encounter

Epilogue 3

Jung Hee-soo’s daily life was monotonous.

He woke early in the morning, headed to the auction to personally select flowers, and then brought them to his shop.

Opening the doors, he let the rich floral scent waft out of the shop. Once the flowers were neatly arranged in their water-filled baskets, his preparations were largely complete.

Until customers arrived, he would sit and meticulously craft the bouquets that had been pre-ordered.

He was arranging flowers, adding them here and there just as he’d envisioned, when the bell attached to the door jingled.

Jung Hee-soo paused his work and warmly greeted the customer.

“Welcome!”

A man, dressed in a monochrome suit that sharply contrasted with the vibrant flowers, stepped purposefully into the shop.

“Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Well…”

The man, who had been surveying his surroundings with an air of indifference, lowered his gaze and met Jung Hee-soo’s eyes.

Though Jung Hee-soo was small, being an Omega, the man was exceptionally tall. He had to crane his neck to meet his gaze.

‘What is it? He looks familiar.’

Jung Hee-soo, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu from the man, dropped the practiced customer service smile he had been wearing.

If they had met before, it was a face not easily forgotten. Jung Hee-soo slowly sifted through his memories, recalling a day he had long since forgotten.

Yes, it was the day he went to see a movie with a friend. He had coincidentally helped a pregnant Omega, and that’s when he’d seen this Alpha!

‘He’s that Omega’s mate.’

The man who had been so rude to him that day, despite his good deed, had now coincidentally found his way to Jung Hee-soo’s shop.

If this was fate, it was certainly a peculiar one, but it didn’t make Jung Hee-soo feel particularly good.

‘Well, he probably didn’t come here on purpose.’

He decided to erase the past from his mind and put his customer service smile back on.

Just as he was about to continue his usual pleasantries, the man, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Do you have a moment?”

“Me? You mean me?”

“Yes, I’d like to have a word with Jung Hee-soo.”

Jung Hee-soo was surprised once by the man’s unexpected request, and then again, twice, by the fact that he knew his name, which Jung Hee-soo had never told him.

Jung Hee-soo subtly stepped back, clutching the shears he used for trimming stems, and regarded the man with extreme caution.

If necessary, he planned to subdue the man with the shears and bolt out of the shop.

Since the main road was right there, he could scream for help from anyone. The police station was also only a five-minute walk away.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself, have I?”

The man smiled faintly at the sharp question and pulled something from his inner pocket. It was an elegant business card, adorned with gold foil.

“This is who I am.”

Jung Hee-soo’s eyes widened dramatically as he saw the man’s name embossed on the business card.

Daejin Group was a leading conglomerate, so prominent that virtually no one, both domestically and internationally, was unaware of it.

An executive from such a company held a high position. Why on earth had he come to see Jung Hee-soo? No matter how much he racked his brain, no answer emerged.

“I have a few questions for you, Jung Hee-soo.”

“M-me?”

“Yes, it won’t take long.”

Upon hearing this, Jung Hee-soo nodded, indicating his understanding, and the man smiled faintly.

‘He’s ridiculously handsome, just as I thought before. Of course, his first impression wasn’t great, so I felt no attraction whatsoever.’

‘Besides, he was already mated.’

“Do you know someone named Seon Woo-jung?”

“Pardon? Who…”

“What about someone named Yoo Joon-hee?”

Jung Hee-soo tilted his head, unfamiliar names coming one after another. The man, narrowing his eyes as if trying to gauge his sincerity, stared directly into Jung Hee-soo’s eyes.

“You really don’t know them?”

The abrupt, half-spoken question grated on him, but answering was his priority, so he nodded.

“Well, if that’s the case, then it’s a relief.”

The man, his suspicion seemingly assuaged, offered a faint smile. Judging by his visibly relaxed expression, it appeared he had wanted Jung Hee-soo to deny knowing them all along.

“Who are those people, then?”

The man’s questions were finished, and now it was Jung Hee-soo’s turn. He wanted to know who Seon Woo-jung and Yoo Joon-hee were, and why this man was asking him, someone with no connection to them whatsoever.

“Hmm, they’re people Jung Hee-soo should hope to never know.”

“What do you mean…”

The man, having given such an ambiguous answer, took a large step closer. His towering height created an intimidating presence, and Jung Hee-soo’s mouth automatically clamped shut.

His expressionless face was chilling, and his dark eyes, looking down at Jung Hee-soo, were piercing. Jung Hee-soo found the man quite frightening.

“Keep the business card safe.”

Tap, tap. The man gently tapped the business card he had given Jung Hee-soo with his fingertip, and his expression softened.

“If you happen to recall who Seon Woo-jung or Yoo Joon-hee are, contact me at my number.”

“Though I hope it won’t come to that.” The man added in a low voice, and then unilaterally ended the conversation.

The man turned away without hesitation. Before leaving the shop, he picked up a five-thousand-won potted plant nearby.

Declaring he would buy it, he handed Jung Hee-soo five fifty-thousand-won bills.

“Wait, your change—”

Jung Hee-soo belatedly tried to exchange the money to match the plant’s price and followed the man, but he had already driven away in his car.

‘What was that man’s deal?’

What kind of person suddenly appears, asks about the whereabouts of people Jung Hee-soo doesn’t even know, and then leaves as soon as his business is done?

Ever since their first chance encounter, Jung Hee-soo had felt the man was incredibly rude.

‘Does being an executive at a large corporation make him entitled to everything?’

Unable to suppress the sudden surge of annoyance, Jung Hee-soo moved to tear the business card the man had given him, but then stopped.

‘He had to return this.’

He couldn’t just accept the exorbitant amount of money, far exceeding the plant’s price. He would have to ask for a bank account number via message and return the money somehow.

‘I really don’t want to get involved with him.’

He desperately hoped his connection with the man would end there.

****

That day, Jung Hee-soo had a dream.

He had often had blurry dreams before, but today, everything was strangely vivid.

The setting was his flower shop. Seeing the flowers haphazardly arranged on the table, it seemed he was in the middle of preparing pre-ordered bouquets.

‘Even in my dream, I’m working.’

Having nothing else to do, he sat down and continued trimming stems when the bell jingled. He thought a customer had arrived and went to greet them, but then he saw a familiar face.

It was the rude man who had visited him earlier that day.

‘Why is he here…’

He had wished never to see him again, so he wondered why the man had even appeared in his dream.

Jung Hee-soo completely dropped his customer service smile from the start and spoke to the man, who was approaching him with a casual, leaning posture.

“I don’t sell flowers to you—”

The man, who had approached within arm’s reach, cupped Jung Hee-soo’s cheek without permission. Too shocked to even think of pushing him away, Jung Hee-soo froze as the man closed his eyes and leaned in as if to kiss him.

“W-wait a minute!”

Jung Hee-soo finally snapped out of it and pushed the man away with all his might. The man stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock.

‘What kind of crazy dream is this?’

Unconsensual physical contact was clearly sexual harassment. Of course, this was a dream, and in reality, he hadn’t even touched the man’s fingertip, but it still made him feel incredibly disgusted.

“Hee-soo.”

The man, having barely recovered from the shock, called his name. Jung Hee-soo, who had backed away completely, narrowed his eyes, wondering when they had become close enough for him to drop the honorific.

He had so many things he wanted to argue about, but knowing it was a dream, he held back. ‘Yes, what’s the point of getting angry in a dream? It’s not like it’s actually happening.’

‘They say dreams are a reflection of the subconscious.’

Of course, even if the man was annoyingly handsome, he was an Alpha who was already mated. And Jung Hee-soo was not the kind of trash to harbor feelings for a mated Alpha.

‘This is truly unsettling.’

This was all because he hadn’t been able to return the man’s money today. But how could he return it when the man ignored all his messages and calls?

That must have been what bothered him all day, causing the man to appear in his dream. It had to be.

“Hee-soo.”

“Oh, seriously! Call me by my full name!”

Unable to hold back, Jung Hee-soo yelled. The man stubbornly refused, saying he didn’t want to. He kept repeating, “Hee-soo, Hee-soo,” and Jung Hee-soo just wanted to shut his mouth.

“Lovers can’t even call each other by their names?”

Jung Hee-soo was quite shocked by the man’s unexpected words. If his ears weren’t deceiving him, the man had just referred to their relationship as ‘lovers’.

‘Wow, this is truly a trashy dream.’

An Alpha who was already mated and Jung Hee-soo as lovers—this was truly a dream he could never tell anyone else about.

Jung Hee-soo sighed deeply and decided to correct the man’s words. Even if it was a dream, he didn’t want to be left with this unsettling feeling.

“You and I are—*Gasp!*”

The man, who had approached while Jung Hee-soo was off guard, abruptly lunged forward. Before he could react, their lips met, and at the same moment, Jung Hee-soo woke up.

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