If You Want Me - Episode 32
<Episode 32>
Seo-won unknowingly hesitated and took a step back. Although he wasn’t sensitive to the smell of cigarettes, he had come to dislike it after becoming pregnant.
It was only a slight step back, but Do-gyeom seemed quite displeased and closed the distance even more, twisting Seo-won’s wrist. Due to the strong grip, Seo-won let out a soft groan and furrowed his brow.
“Ugh…!”
“I didn’t know you had a talent for making people misunderstand your words. When you confidently said you were going on a date and wanted it to go well, I thought you were going to meet someone you liked. It’s true that you don’t have anyone you like, right?”
Do-gyeom asked coldly, his eyes wide open. He looked like someone desperate to get an affirmative answer no matter what.
Seo-won’s wrist ached from the firm grip, and he barely managed to shake off Do-gyeom’s hand with his own as he opened his mouth.
“…I do have someone.”
“Do you still think that lie will work? Ah, don’t tell me you’re thinking of saying you like that girl who looked about ten years old? That’s too unconscionable.”
“…”
It seemed he was referring to Seulgi. Recalling that the first place he went after leaving the house was the arcade, it was clear that Do-gyeom had been following him from the beginning.
Seo-won knew it wouldn’t be easy to deceive Do-gyeom. From the moment he impulsively left without a plan, he was prepared to be caught for today’s schedule.
However, when Seo-won left the house, Do-gyeom didn’t follow him. He thought Do-gyeom was shocked by his cold words and didn’t follow.
But he had been watching everything from the beginning… It felt like being deceived. More than getting caught not going on a date today, it was embarrassing and shameful to think that Do-gyeom had seen him playing with the kids at the arcade, singing pathetically at the karaoke, and devouring the trout sashimi like he was possessed.
Seo-won couldn’t bring himself to meet Do-gyeom’s eyes. As he lowered his gaze, Do-gyeom let out an incredulous sigh and growled like a beast.
“I told you. I can’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes. This kind of pointless act won’t work.”
“…You wouldn’t believe me even if I showed you.”
“I’ll believe it if it’s not another trick.”
“…”
It was a lukewarm response, as if Do-gyeom would find another excuse even if Seo-won showed him.
Seo-won let out a frustrated sigh at his behavior. He knew Do-gyeom wanted him to be his partner again, but did he really have to go this far?
“…I don’t understand what you want to do with me, Young Master.”
“I told you to come back several times.”
“It doesn’t have to be me.”
“It has to be you.”
Do-gyeom cut him off firmly.
He had said the same thing before. That it had to be Seo-won. Those words stirred his heart then and now, but Seo-won closed his eyes tightly and steeled himself.
“I know you chased away other omegas because you didn’t like them. But… you did that simply because they were annoying and irritating, right? To me, coming down here every week seems more annoying and troublesome.”
“…That’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“…”
When Seo-won asked, Do-gyeom avoided his gaze like someone who had been asked a difficult question. It was a reaction quite different from a moment ago when he was aggressively approaching as if he would refute anything.
Seo-won gave him a look as if to say, “Go ahead and answer,” but Do-gyeom subtly changed the subject.
“Anyway… get in the car. I’ll take you back.”
“…”
Do-gyeom’s unwillingness to discuss the topic further made Seo-won even colder. In the end, his words were right. There was no reason why it had to be him.
Seo-won turned his gaze away and took a deep breath before calmly speaking.
“It’s fine. I’ll walk.”
“Have you decided not to listen to me at all?”
“You don’t listen to a single thing I say either. I have no reason to listen to you.”
Conversation requires both parties to listen, not just one person saying what they want to say. Seo-won thought coolly and walked past Do-gyeom. Then, Do-gyeom let out an incredulous laugh and grabbed Seo-won’s wrist again.
“Yoon Seo-won. Did I really do something wrong? Is it because of the heat cycle? You said to let it go then, so what’s the problem now? You have to say something for me to understand or not.”
Do-gyeom spoke as if that was the only reason Seo-won would quit being his partner, no matter how much he thought about it.
It wasn’t wrong. After that incident, a child was conceived. But that wasn’t the only reason. Seo-won realized that it was time to let go of the lingering attachments he had been piling up.
“It has nothing to do with that.”
“You know your words don’t make any sense right now, right?”
“…”
“In the US, you cried and asked to continue being partners, but the next time we met, you suddenly said you had someone you liked and couldn’t continue being partners anymore. In between, you were only sick. Am I misunderstanding even now?”
Do-gyeom was accurately pointing out Seo-won’s contradictions.
Honestly, Seo-won hadn’t expected that. Because he never dreamed that Do-gyeom would be so interested in the person Seo-won said he liked, and that he would hold onto him like this.
This time, Seo-won couldn’t deny it. Do-gyeom steadied his agitated breath and calmly spoke.
“As we agreed, pack your bags right away and come up to Seoul. I’ve cleared out an apartment for you. If that’s too difficult, you can stay at my place for a while…”
“No. It’s not time yet.”
“What?”
When Seo-won cut him off, Do-gyeom twitched one eyebrow as if annoyed.
“The deal isn’t over yet. Today… the appointment was canceled, and since you’d be at home if I went back, I was just killing time outside.”
“What nonsense… Hah. No, why are you avoiding me in the first place?”
“Would it be comfortable being in the same space as your former boss after quitting?”
“You… Stop calling me your former boss.”
Do-gyeom specifically pointed out that he disliked being called a “former boss” more than the deal not being over yet.
Come to think of it, earlier he had a face like he had been hit hard by the words “former boss” and “former employee five years younger”. It wasn’t meant to be pleasant to hear, but Seo-won didn’t know he would be so conscious of those words.
Was it too rude? Seo-won reflexively gauged Do-gyeom’s reaction and then confessed as if complaining.
“Anyway… this isn’t it. Honestly, you’ve been too hard on me too, Young Master.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You come to my house every week without asking for permission, constantly monitoring me, confronting me, and reprimanding me… Would that be comfortable?”
Seo-won asked Do-gyeom to reflect on his recent behavior, as if he were accusing him. Even if he wasn’t a former boss, there was no way it would be comfortable for someone to barge into his house and monitor his every move like this.
Do-gyeom also seemed to feel guilty, as he subtly avoided Seo-won’s gaze and remained silent. There were no passersby or people walking on the embankment around them, so only the chirping of grasshoppers broke the silence.
Perhaps because the heated atmosphere had subsided, the cool air was felt on the skin again. As Seo-won reflexively wrapped his arms around himself when the wind brushed against his body, Do-gyeom released him and approached the car, personally opening the passenger door.
“I understand, so get in the car for now. It’s cold.”
“Then the deal…”
“Consider it unfinished.”
“…”
When Do-gyeom suddenly changed his attitude, Seo-won looked at him suspiciously.
Although Seo-won had persuaded him, it seemed like he was giving in too… easily.
He didn’t know if Do-gyeom was scheming something like when he made the deal last time. When Seo-won, filled with distrust, didn’t get in the car, Do-gyeom let out a sigh.
“What’s the problem again? Did I do something wrong again?”
He used the word “again” as he asked, as if he knew he had done something wrong. He didn’t apologize, but he seemed to acknowledge that he had been acting recklessly.
Knowing that he was someone who had never bowed down to anyone in terms of family background, status, or physique… The mere fact that he admitted he had done something wrong quickly calmed Seo-won’s heart.
And it was clear from his face and tone that he wasn’t scheming anything, but simply wanted to stop arguing.
“…No, it’s not that.”
Seo-won shook his head and obediently got into the passenger seat.
He didn’t want to fight with Do-gyeom either. The Young Master was still a special person to him, not just anyone else. It wasn’t comfortable to reject him like this and speak harshly.
As Seo-won got in the car, Do-gyeom sighed, closed the door for him, and got into the driver’s seat. Even though it was a short distance, he made sure to fasten Seo-won’s seat belt tightly before finally gripping the steering wheel.
As they drove along the roughly paved road, Seo-won looked out the window.
Today had gone well… but what should he do in the future? Judging from Do-gyeom’s behavior today, it seemed he really wouldn’t believe Seo-won unless he showed him someone.
Should he really grab someone and have them pretend to be his lover…? But in this village, Seo-won was the only one in his twenties. It was too obvious a lie to grab anyone and tell them to stop caring because he had a one-sided crush on that person.
He could recklessly argue that age difference doesn’t matter in love, but most of the people in this village were natives, and if investigated, there would be many who had never even set foot in Seoul. Do-gyeom had the ability to investigate that far, so Seo-won couldn’t just grab anyone and do that.
“Haa…”
Seo-won let out a barely audible sigh.
He liked that Do-gyeom was obsessed with him, but he had to shake it off with his own hands… He was tired of having to act harshly and come up with ways to do it.