Chapter 34: Unexpected Encounters and Frozen Blooms

It was, of course, unavoidable. The clothes Jung Hanseol was currently wearing belonged to Ryu Yishin, not his own. His clothes from yesterday had been utterly unwearable, streaked as they were with Ryu Yishin’s blood. Hanseol had been compelled to borrow from him. Every item—the white undershirt, the trousers cinched tightly with a belt and rolled up multiple times, even the underwear clinging to his skin—was Ryu Yishin’s. This realization struck him repeatedly, each time bringing a wave of discomfort and embarrassment. He had tried desperately to ignore it, but ultimately, all his attempts had failed.

“Tell me when you go to hear the results,” Ryu Yishin stated. “We’ll go together.”

Hanseol, who had been practically power-walking to keep up with Ryu Yishin’s increasingly rapid strides, was forced to halt abruptly when Yishin suddenly stopped and addressed him. To think he intended to accompany him for the results…

Knowing they would likely be told there was nothing unusual, Hanseol had no desire to return to the hospital with him. Perhaps it was because he could already picture Ryu Yishin’s fury at the inexplicable side effects.

“I… I can go by myself, you know…”

“I need to hear exactly what your condition is, don’t I?” Ryu Yishin retorted.

“Ah… yes…”

Ryu Yishin’s resolute tone left Jung Hanseol no room for defiance. Though utterly disinclined, Hanseol managed a reluctant reply, carefully concealing his true feelings, before subtly glancing up at him. Ryu Yishin ran his fingers, splayed like a rake, through his hair to roughly comb it back. Then, he turned his entire body to face Hanseol.

“W-why are you doing that…?”

Ryu Yishin, lowering his gaze slightly, lightly surveyed Hanseol from head to toe. Then, without warning, he placed his right hand directly on top of Hanseol’s head.

‘What is this? Was he dissatisfied with my answer? Could he possibly be trying to hit me?’ Hanseol’s thoughts raced. ‘He tends to speak harshly, but he’s never once laid a hand on me…’

Unable to fathom Ryu Yishin’s intentions, Hanseol preemptively panicked, squeezing his eyes shut.

“You’re shorter than I thought,” Ryu Yishin remarked.

“…”

“And seeing how baggy these clothes are on you, your build seems small as well.”

“…”

“Are you the type who doesn’t gain weight, despite how much you eat?”

Despite Hanseol’s thoroughly defensive crouch, Ryu Yishin had merely been attempting to gauge his height, bringing his horizontally flattened hand up to his own face. ‘How much do I even eat for him to say something like that…?’ Hanseol inwardly grumbled. He wanted to correct him, to explain that he didn’t eat excessively, but rather it was the team leader who barely ate at all. Yet, as always, the words wouldn’t readily leave his lips.

“Why didn’t you grow taller?”

Stunned by the abrupt question, Hanseol could only gape like a goldfish, unable to utter a single sound. He briefly considered retorting that he was, in fact, slightly above average height. However, the swift realization that his interlocutor was a towering figure, far exceeding the average, made him simply offer an awkward laugh instead.

“I guess my parents must have been short, then…” Hanseol mumbled.

They said height was eighty percent genetic. Having been abandoned at an orphanage immediately after birth, he knew nothing of his parents’ faces, names, or even if they were still alive. He could only surmise that, given his own stature, they likely weren’t particularly tall. As he grumbled a reply, his voice laced with a sense of unfairness and complaint, Ryu Yishin offered a faint smile and began to walk once more.

****

Crossing the connecting bridge, the two arrived at the main building of the Security Agency and immediately boarded the elevator, ascending to the fifth floor. Although their morning commute had been significantly delayed, Hanseol knew that being with Ryu Yishin would likely prevent any trouble.

He followed Ryu Yishin into the office, silently hoping that his late arrival wouldn’t also mean a late departure.

“…You’ve arrived, Team Leader,” Kang Seungmin greeted.

The office, quiet as usual, seemed to contain only Kang Seungmin, the deputy team leader. He appeared momentarily surprised to see Hanseol enter behind Ryu Yishin, but quickly composed his expression with practiced ease and bowed his head.

Hanseol offered Kang Seungmin a slight, silent greeting with his eyes before following Ryu Yishin into the team leader’s private office.

Only after seeing Ryu Yishin seated at his desk, tablet in hand, did Hanseol finally let out a breath of relief. He set down the bag slung over his shoulders and carefully took a seat on the sofa. As he opened the bag, where he had haphazardly crammed his clothes from yesterday, and reached for the book at the very bottom, Hanseol suddenly froze. The realization that he had failed to write his work log yesterday struck him. Instantly, his complexion turned ashen.

‘What should I do? Should I confess now? It’s better to take the scolding sooner rather than later, isn’t it? If I tell him I’ll quickly upload the work log, perhaps I’ll get off with a lighter reprimand?’ Hanseol rapidly sorted through his scattered thoughts, making a decision in his mind. He clasped his anxiously fidgeting hands together, as if to soothe them, and observed Ryu Yishin. The team leader was leaning back leisurely in his chair, his gaze fixed on the tablet in his hands.

Just then, a knock at the door reached Ryu Yishin’s ears, preempting Hanseol’s brave, unspoken words.

“Come in,” Ryu Yishin commanded.

As Hanseol’s shoulders slumped in disappointment over the ill-timed interruption, Kang Seungmin opened the door and entered, offering Ryu Yishin a slight, silent bow. It seemed he had something to report. Hanseol kept darting glances at Kang Seungmin, fervently wishing whatever it was wouldn’t provoke Ryu Yishin’s anger. However, something clutched in Kang Seungmin’s arms—something strikingly out of character for him—caught Hanseol’s attention.

It was a bouquet of flowers, vibrant in color and perfectly suited for spring.

“The Director stopped by this morning…” Kang Seungmin began, “and asked me to deliver this.”

“Put it there,” Ryu Yishin instructed.

Kang Seungmin swiftly approached Ryu Yishin and delivered his message in a plain, even tone. Hanseol remained seated, listening intently to their conversation while stealing glances at Ryu Yishin’s expression. ‘The Director… that’s the Team Leader’s father, isn’t it?’ he mused. The intriguing mention spurred him to greater focus, and he unconsciously held his breath. Following Ryu Yishin’s command, Kang Seungmin carefully placed the bouquet he had been holding onto the desk. The rustling of the plastic wrapping seemed to echo unusually loudly in the otherwise silent office.

“I apologize, Team Leader,” Kang Seungmin said, his voice laced with regret. “It’s entirely my oversight. I should have confirmed it properly at the time…”

Kang Seungmin took a step back, then suddenly bent at the waist, uttering words that Hanseol couldn’t quite decipher. The air in the room instantly grew chillingly still, and Hanseol could only stare in dismay at Kang Seungmin’s deeply bowed back. He had no idea what Kang Seungmin had done wrong, but it was clear he was now seeking Ryu Yishin’s forgiveness. This could only mean Kang Seungmin had done something to provoke Ryu Yishin’s anger, and a reprimand was surely imminent.

‘This is bad.’

Hanseol bit down hard on his lips, the bitter taste in his mouth mingling with the creeping sense of failure that enveloped his entire body. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Ryu Yishin any longer, fearing that if their eyes met, the team leader’s wrath might inadvertently spill over onto him.

“That’s enough,” Ryu Yishin said dismissively. “You can go.”

“Ah… Yes. My apologies,” Kang Seungmin stammered.

Hanseol was the only one fidgeting nervously in the suffocating silence. Ryu Yishin, as if bothered, abruptly cut Kang Seungmin off and immediately issued a command for him to leave. Kang Seungmin, looking uncharacteristically flustered, fumbled for a moment before bowing once more and practically scurrying out of the room. Ryu Yishin, eyeing the bouquet Kang Seungmin had left with a bored expression, suddenly snatched it up as if making a decision.

“…”

Rising without a moment’s hesitation, Ryu Yishin tore away the bouquet’s wrapping and casually arranged the flowers into a tall glass vase sitting on his desk. So absorbed was Hanseol by this peculiar sight that he momentarily forgot he even had something to say to him.

‘Flowers,’ Hanseol thought, ‘of all things.’ And not just any flowers, but bright pink roses, proudly vibrant in color, paired with the Team Leader. The combination struck him as even more incongruous than chocolate frappuccinos and cream puffs. He suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

“What are you staring at so blankly?” Ryu Yishin asked.

“Huh? Oh… uh… because the flowers are pretty…” Hanseol stammered.

“Do you like flowers?”

“Uh… yes, I do…”

Ryu Yishin crumpled the discarded wrapping into the trash and moved the vase back to its original spot. Wasn’t he the type of person who wouldn’t seem out of place if he were to immediately hurl the bouquet and rage about what kind of useless thing this was? It seemed that recently, Hanseol had frequently witnessed events that forced him to make exceptions to the carefully established understanding he had of Ryu Yishin. It was another moment when he acutely realized that Ryu Yishin was, indeed, an unpredictable man.

“Why do you like them?”

Hanseol, whose vacant gaze had been fixed on the blooming roses, finally turned his eyes to Ryu Yishin upon hearing his question. Ryu Yishin, now seated again, urged Hanseol with an intense look, as if expecting a swift answer. Hanseol found the entire conversation so unfamiliar that he carefully rubbed the back of his neck, offering an awkward smile.

“Oh… they’re pretty, you know. Seeing something beautiful makes me feel good… Though it’s a bit disappointing that they wilt over time…”

‘Unless someone has allergies, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who dislikes flowers,’ Hanseol thought, recalling the news reports about cherry blossom crowds that recurred every spring. He didn’t know enough about flowers to declare an immediate liking for them, nor did he have a hobby of cultivating them. Yet, he genuinely felt a sense of joy when he saw and appreciated their beautiful colors and pleasant scents.

Ryu Yishin stared silently at Hanseol for a long moment, tapping his fingers on the desk, before suddenly levitating the vase into the air. Hanseol figured that moving such a light vase would be trivial for someone who could effortlessly lift his own body, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the miraculous sight, watching the floating vase in a daze.

“…”

The transparent glass vase, having flown through the air, safely landed on the table in front of Hanseol’s sofa. Hanseol’s eyes widened slightly, and he immediately leaned closer to the table, examining the fully bloomed pink roses in detail. Some roses had more white mixed in, while others displayed a more vivid hue. He wanted to reach out and touch them, but a subtle apprehension of Ryu Yishin’s gaze made him pull back.

Ryu Yishin, who had not taken his eyes off Hanseol, suddenly stood up and strode over to sit directly opposite Hanseol. ‘Why did he suddenly come over, it’s so much pressure…’ Hanseol forced his trembling lips into a smile and met his gaze. The unmoving Ryu Yishin lowered his eyes slightly, and with a refreshing crackling sound, one of the most beautifully bloomed roses became encased in a thin, transparent layer of ice.