Episode 49: The Flower in the Greenhouse Stepping Out

“Finally, it’s quiet.”

Perhaps because everyone’s attention was drawn to the first-floor photo exhibition, the interior from the second floor up was perfectly still.

This was why the middle-aged man’s steps were exceptionally light today as he enjoyed the silence with a satisfied expression.

Until just a few hours ago, the sound of protests with loudspeakers had been blaring in front of the County Office.

Moreover, today’s one-man protester had looked as rugged as a bandit, radiating a menacing aura that suggested he might throw ostrich eggs instead of chicken eggs if things went south.

Fortunately, as afternoon arrived, the protester had switched to someone else, allowing the noisy building to regain its usual tranquility.

The Governor, stopping mid-walk, tilted his head slightly toward the window.

His eyes fell upon a figure standing in front of the County Office with an unwavering posture.

Among the various people who had guarded the front of the office over the past few days, the young man standing there now was by far the quietest.

Staring at the man with the white headband, the Governor murmured in a dissatisfied tone.

“Good grief, just how long is he planning to stay out there… I really ought to just fill in that d*mn levee for good this time.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Governor’s expression soured as he looked down at the face outside.

Having spent many years in public office, he knew that sometimes a heavy silence that forced one to prick up their ears was harder to handle than the loud clamor of a marketplace.

Just as he was clicking his tongue again at the man standing silently despite the hot sun.

“Baeksan County, Huiwang-myeon—”

An untimely voice echoed through the quiet hallway.

“There’s a place there that needs embankment work.”

“…?”

Taken aback by the sudden interruption, the Governor blinked.

Embankment work?

Soon, the Governor’s head turned toward the source of the sound.

Since he had a guilty conscience, he couldn’t simply pretend he hadn’t heard.

Moreover, wasn’t the very reason for the current protest the embankment project?

Pushing back the sudden surge of discomfort, he reflexively turned his head to the side and flinched, seeing a tall man who had approached and stood beside him without making a sound.

The air, shifted subtly by the stranger’s appearance, began to slowly envelop the hallway.

Unlike the Governor, who was flustered by the overwhelming presence radiating from the man’s solid frame, the stranger continued his phone call in a composed voice.

“Not Sanghee-ri.”

[…Excuse me?]

Whether the man beside him was flustered or not, Min Seonghye spat out the rest of his words in a flat tone.

“It seems the levee collapsed due to this flood, causing severe damage to the nearby farmers. That’s why the embankment work is necessary.”

The person on the other end went silent for a moment, seemingly having assessed the situation, before getting straight to the point in a business-like voice.

[Are you speaking of the levee?]

“Yes. I heard innocent farmers are suffering because of an incompetent Governor.”

The calmly murmuring voice stopped as Seonghye turned his head to the side.

His eyes met those of the middle-aged man standing still.

The man, meeting pupils as dark as black glass beads, feigned wiping his forehead and avoided the gaze.

“…He’s avoiding me.”

It was just as Seonghye was pulling the corners of his mouth into a cold smirk.

When the silence stretched, the voice searching for him came through the phone.

[Young Master?]

“Wait a moment, I’m just thinking about something.”

The hand holding the phone made a sliding sound as if Seonghye’s grip was overpowering it.

Yet, Seonghye didn’t even blink.

Instead, his gaze remained unfocused on the culprit of this whole mess as he finished what he had to say.

“Consider it a way of giving back to the local community and take care of it quickly. Make up a suitable reason and get it done fast.”

The sun is scorching.

It had been nearly a week since Daeseo, the hottest time of the year, but the world still seemed to be roasting in a boiling heat.

In the middle of the violent heat, Yunhwan’s face, exposed to the sun without a speck of shade, grew increasingly red.

The headband around his head had long since lost its original color, soaked through with sweat.

However, separate from his body, which felt like it was being cooked on a skewer, his mind was frantic, repeatedly swinging between hot and cold extremes.

“…….”

His right cheek, which Seonghye’s gaze had touched throughout the entire drive here, was still burning.

Yunhwan, unknowingly touching his cheek, let out a low sigh.

He was personally realizing that his relationship with Seonghye had been deteriorating into a different direction lately.

While Seonghye’s treatment to break the imprinting was progressing smoothly, the weight of Seonghye’s feelings toward him was becoming increasingly heavy.

If the Min Seonghye who had imprinted at the same time he lost his memory had only shown obsession in the early days of their cohabitation, the man now knew how to skillfully handle the tools of restraint and metaphor.

Though he showed light physical contact, such as holding hands or letting Yunhwan stroke his hair, he made no further demands.

Even when speaking, rather than unconditionally revealing his heart like before, he took the time to painstakingly choose words that would linger in the other person’s heart, cultivating the fragrance of language.

No matter how dull Yunhwan’s personality was, he couldn’t help but know what that change meant.

Whenever the man, who had once been faithful only to emotion and instinct, took a breath and showed reason in front of him, Yunhwan was occasionally seized by the thought that he had already fallen into Min Seonghye’s trap.

Today was one of those days.

When he was all alone with no one else around, sprouts of all sorts of thoughts would push their way into his mind as if they had made a promise.

Yunhwan’s head was already filled with Seonghye, leaving no room to step.

Crucially, yesterday afternoon.

Yunhwan had read many things in Seonghye’s eyes as the man watched him wake up from a nightmare.

‘So from now on, only look at good things and think happy thoughts. The future is what matters; the present isn’t very useful.’

‘The past has no power, Hyung.’

Moreover, what was it about those words that made him unable to pull away from Min Seonghye’s embrace at that moment?

Escaping the nightmare that would haunt him whenever he was about to forget was also only possible starting from yesterday, when he followed Seonghye’s voice and stepped out the door.

Standing under the sun that heated the crown of his head, Yunhwan unknowingly narrowed his burning eyes in irritation.

“…That was… just….”

Yunhwan muttered, biting and then releasing his lip.

It must have been because of the comfort.

The reason he could only hear Min Seonghye’s voice in the nightmare where he couldn’t hear anyone else’s was probably because the man had arbitrarily, without permission, planted kind words by his side—or so he thought.

Yunhwan, who had unknowingly painted over his thoughts with the color of self-justification, shook his head vigorously this time as if to brush away his idle fancies.

Then, his head, which had been bowed toward his feet, slowly rose again.

His eyes, looking toward the first-floor lobby where Seonghye would be sitting, were heavier than ever.

“Maybe… it would be better if the imprinting was just broken.”

It was just as Yunhwan was reflexively thinking that he hoped the waves of emotion Seonghye was feeling were all because of the imprinting.

A deep shade was created before his eyes, and a voice as soft yet firm as an oncoming autumn breeze pierced his ears.

“Forty minutes have passed.”

Seonghye, who had held a large umbrella over Yunhwan’s head, spoke with a cool smile.

“You’ve endured long enough, haven’t you?”

Yunhwan, buried in the shade, blinked slowly.

“…Where did you get the umbrella?”

“I snatched it from Seongpil-ssi.”

“…….”

While the flustered Yunhwan momentarily swallowed his words, Seonghye, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward.

The two were finally facing each other.

“A protest isn’t something you do with your bare body and no strategy; you have to hit and run while achieving maximum effect in a short time. Stubbornly enduring like you or the others isn’t always the best solution.”

Stopping mid-sentence, Seonghye pressed the umbrella into Yunhwan’s hand.

As Yunhwan held the umbrella instinctively and looked up at Seonghye with questioning eyes, a gentle hand touched the back of his head.

The headband tied tightly across his forehead began to slowly unravel.

“The person inside is clever, so he was probably just waiting for you to collapse while doing this.”

As Seonghye pulled the end of the loosened band, his freed forehead instantly felt cool.

A faint playfulness settled in Seonghye’s eyes as he looked at Yunhwan.

“I can’t leave you alone in such a harsh world anymore.”

“…….”

The softly curved eyes looked at the reflection of himself in those brown pupils with great satisfaction.

“I’m planning to stop being a flower in a greenhouse and stand by your side, Hyung.”

At that, Yunhwan shook his head reflexively.

It was an instinctive reaction that came out despite himself, but Seonghye was already a step closer to Yunhwan.

And that closeness included not just physical distance, but also Yunhwan’s past that he had heard through Seongpil.

That meant he had embraced everything about the other man.

With eyes that were more calm and settled than ever, Seonghye looked at Yunhwan.

“There’s a place I want to go with you.”

The aged truck rattled even as it drove along the asphalt road.

Yunhwan watched the air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror move frantically and slowly reduced his speed.

Then, his eyes met Seonghye’s, who happened to be looking this way, and he hurriedly looked away.

“…….”

The air between just the two of them felt awkward today.

Yunhwan, gripping the steering wheel, unknowingly tightened his hold.