If You Want Me - Episode 99
<Episode 99>
I didn’t mean to, but it felt like I had given a silent affirmation. It seemed like the current Do-gyeom would really change his style just for me. I didn’t sincerely wish for that.
Seo-won hurriedly shook his head, indicating that was not his intention.
“No! It’s okay.”
“Why? I thought you would like it.”
Do-gyeom tilted his head. It was a reaction asking why I refused when it was obvious that I liked it.
Did I show that I liked it that much…? Seo-won felt his neck getting hot and carefully denied it.
“It’s not that I want to meet the past you, but the current you….”
“….”
“You don’t need to dress like that. If there’s an opportunity later, show me then.”
“…Okay, next time.”
Do-gyeom seemed to agree with Seo-won’s words and leaned his body against Seo-won with a smile. He seemed strangely happy.
After that, Seo-won flipped through the album and looked at it together until the end. Although it was a bit disappointing that it returned to plain and official photos after he came back from studying abroad, just being able to get a glimpse of his study abroad years through photos was an invaluable time for Seo-won.
I had only come expecting dinner prepared by Do-gyeom. I thought I made the right choice coming.
* * *
“Go in carefully.”
After looking at the album, Seo-won and Do-gyeom lay on the bed, talked about trivial things, and wrapped up.
Honestly, Seo-won was conscious of what an adult alpha and omega lying on a bed side by side would do, but surprisingly, Do-gyeom did not attempt any sexual contact. Some parts of their bodies were constantly touching, but only to the extent of him leaning against my shoulder, holding hands and playfully teasing each other, or feeling the baby’s movement. That was about it.
Every time I had sex with him, I was exhausted but also did well, and I liked the feeling of being loved, so I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t do anything. However, it wasn’t just disappointing. It seemed like it was the first time we focused entirely on each other without fighting over emotions, so on the contrary, I felt good.
I seemed to be gaining more and more certainty about Do-gyeom. I gradually felt his heart wanting me itself, not just my pheromones.
And… maybe I’ll be able to give a definite answer to the marriage he so desperately wanted in the near future.
Although it feels early since we haven’t been dating for long, it’s not about the duration of the relationship… Because we’ve been together for a long time, I felt like it would be okay to get married if I was sure that he didn’t want me just because of imprinting.
Seo-won hid the thoughts that Do-gyeom would be happy to know and unfastened his seat belt in the passenger seat.
“Thank you for dropping me off.”
“Yeah, sleep well.”
With Do-gyeom’s good night greeting, Seo-won got out of the car.
As he stood still to watch his car leave, Do-gyeom rolled down the window and gestured for him to go in quickly. He seemed to wait still until I went inside the house.
Leaving the lingering feelings behind, I opened the gate and entered the yard, and my phone in my pocket rang as if it had been waiting. It didn’t seem like a minute had passed since I turned around, but it seemed Do-gyeom called right away.
“It hasn’t been long since we parted….”
Although it felt like we were being too extreme as a couple, it made me think even more extremely, “It’s dangerous to call while driving.”
I smiled and picked up the phone, but the moment I saw the screen, my expression froze coldly.
That’s because the caller’s name that shattered the lingering feeling was on the screen.
[Madam]
“….”
From the moment Do-gyeom invited me to his house saying he would treat me to a meal he prepared himself, I had thought that she might contact me. Because even when we were partners, she contacted me every time I visited his house.
It was a little scary because of that, but I followed him because I was happy that he had such thoughts for me and curious about what dishes he would make.
I was prepared, but when the imagined moment actually unfolded, my hands were sweating. Seo-won stopped walking in the yard, prepared himself, and pressed the answer button.
“Hello….”
– Seo-won? It’s me.
As soon as he heard Madam’s voice, Seo-won swallowed. Just by hearing her voice, her irritable and sensitive emotions were all revealed.
Seo-won exhaled a trembling breath and tried to make a nonchalant voice.
“Hello, Madam.”
– You know why I called, right?
“….”
If I said I knew, it felt like admitting that my meeting with Do-gyeom was wrong. It felt like saying I dared to touch her noble son who was out of my league.
As Seo-won hesitated to answer, she opened her mouth again as if the silence was suffocating.
– I don’t think you’re that stupid. Are you pretending you don’t know?
“…No.”
I tried not to acknowledge it because it wasn’t an unreasonable relationship, but I was overwhelmed by her tiger-like energy.
If you look closely, Do-gyeom also had an unapproachable aura resembling hers. But if Do-gyeom was a tiger, she felt like the leader of the tigers.
The atmosphere was like that, and I rarely had to face her, and her gaze and attitude disliking me were blatant, so it was much more difficult to deal with her.
I was preparing myself, thinking she would tell me to be careful with my actions and not to frequently visit Do-gyeom’s house this time too, but different words came from her than I expected.
– Are you free tomorrow? I’d like to see you for a bit.
“You want to see… me?”
– I know you’re not doing anything special right now. Let’s meet for a bit at lunchtime.
What is she trying to say by asking to meet in person…?
I really wanted to refuse, saying can’t we just do it over the phone, or make excuses that I don’t have time. But seeing what she said, it seemed like she knew my every move.
If I refused to see her without reason, it would be like directly confronting her, and even if I made other excuses, I couldn’t completely avoid meeting her, only buying time.
“I understand….”
Seo-won answered weakly. It was just a few hours ago that he had asked at Do-gyeom’s house if his parents would allow our marriage. He had told me that my feelings were the most important… But in reality, even before mentioning the word ‘marriage’, it was blatantly being blocked.
– Then I’ll set a time and place and send it to you, so see you then. And don’t tell Do-gyeom.
“….”
At her words, Seo-won could only nod his head.
With the feeling of his mind going blank, Seo-won stood in the yard for a long time even after hanging up the phone. The passing wind was quite chilly.
* * *
I don’t even remember how I slept last night.
Due to pregnancy, I spent half the day sleeping, feeling sluggish all day, but last night, I couldn’t fall asleep.
As soon as I closed my eyes, Madam’s coldly sinking voice and her face that I had seen before flickered in the darkness. Since I rarely had to actually face her, it vividly came to mind even though it had been several years since I last saw her.
I was suffering from a headache from lack of sleep, and a message arrived in the morning. It said to meet at a cafe around 2 o’clock. If it had been a meal together, I would have definitely felt sick, but fortunately, we were meeting at a cafe.
Arriving earlier than the promised time, I ordered a warm tea and waited, and the cafe door opened with a jingle.
As I raised my gaze that was looking down at the steaming tea, a woman who didn’t match the cozy atmosphere at all entered. It was Madam, wearing a black dress that reached her knees and thick dark red lipstick.
Perhaps because I was overly conscious of Madam, it seemed like the atmosphere inside the cafe was turned upside down just by her entering. I was trying to calm my mind with warm tea, but it was all for nothing.
As Seo-won stood up from his seat, she spotted Seo-won and moved her steps this way. When the distance got closer, Seo-won bowed his waist and politely greeted her.
“Hello, Madam.”
“Sit down.”
She gestured with her chin as if even exchanging greetings was unpleasant. I think greetings can be exchanged even with strangers. It seemed like in her eyes, I was like a vicious criminal.
It wasn’t this bad when I received a message from her before… Could it be that she found out that Do-gyeom and I had started dating while having someone watch me?
Since we started dating at my house and had a date at his house, I didn’t think she saw anything. But recalling the conversation I had with Secretary Bae yesterday, he said he thought Do-gyeom and I had been dating for a long time. Maybe she was also angry thinking that Do-gyeom and I had been meeting for a long time. Or maybe she found out about Tteokbokki’s existence.
Either way, it seemed she had figured out my relationship with Do-gyeom to some extent. As I sat down nervously about what Madam would say, she sat across from me, crossed her legs, and leaned back in her chair.
“When your aunt brought you as a child, I think I treated you well enough.”
“….”
I thought she would talk about not seeing each other or start with Do-gyeom, but the beginning of the conversation was about the past. It was about when I stayed in the small servants’ quarters at the mansion.
Rather than easing the tension by bringing up an unexpected story, my shoulders became even heavier. As Seo-won put strength in his waist, she took a short breath and continued.
“You were too young and pitiful. So I let you stay at the mansion too.”
“…I’m still grateful for what happened then.”
Seo-won answered, bowing his head. At that time, Madam was my mother’s employer and a benefactor who created a space for our family to stay.
I was sincerely grateful for that until now. As I expressed my gratitude sincerely, not just out of courtesy, she twitched one corner of her lips.
As if she heard a ridiculous story, she tilted her head and glared at Seo-won with her eyes wide open.
“Where did you learn the manners to stab someone in the back after being grateful?”
Her voice was as sharp as if her words had a blade attached.