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Whether he hadn’t heard her tell him not to come, or whether he had chosen to ignore it, his radiant smile clearly indicated the latter.
Raon pressed firmly between her furrowed brows and spat out her question.
“So why are you here? I guess my words mean nothing to you now. Or do you just have no remorse? You seem to follow my request about not contacting me well enough.”
Her sarcastic tone slipped out effortlessly.
“What do you want from me, coming over and over again? You came during the festival too, right? And a few days ago as well.”
After taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Raon finished her sentence. Do-kyung’s eyes widened in surprise before softening into a composed expression.
“I’ve never seen you talk this fast before.”
“…Listen, Han Do-kyung.”
“Yes, Raon?”
“…”
His already elegant gaze curved even deeper with amusement. His voice, whispering her name, was soaked in an inexplicable joy.
Instinctively, Raon brushed her fingertips against her earlobe, which prickled as if reacting to his tone. Unconsciously, she released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“I don’t like you.”
Do-kyung’s smiling face froze instantly.
The ease that had barely existed before vanished entirely. Watching him, Raon continued in a calm, cold tone.
“It’s painfully obvious what you’re hoping for by seeking me out like this.”
Do-kyung’s gaze, locked onto Raon, trembled faintly at the edges of his eyes.
She knew he liked her, yet she declared her dislike with such dry indifference.
The irritation reflected in her emotionless black pupils made Do-kyung feel as though the ground beneath him was crumbling away.
Even as she spoke, Raon’s words kept flowing.
“Let it go.”
“…”
“I can’t handle the feelings an extreme Alpha like you might offer, nor do I want to. Besides, regardless of your status as an Alpha, you’re not exactly someone I’d want to be close to.”
Who would willingly get close to a gangster?
Raon muttered these last words deliberately, as if ensuring he heard them. Finally, she exhaled sharply, as if brushing off the weight of her declaration.
“So stop coming to find me.”
“…”
“It’s bothersome.”
Had she been too mild in her words?
Raon stared at her phone screen with a dissatisfied expression.
--- Wednesday, May 25, 202x ---
Han Do-kyung
It’s hot.
5:18 AM
Han Do-kyung
Look at this.
(Attached photo)
A seed I planted a few days ago sprouted.
3:42 PM
--- Thursday, May 26, 202x ---
Han Do-kyung
The wind is insane. Is there a late cold snap coming in summer?
5:21 AM
Han Do-kyung
I hope the saplings’ roots don’t get pulled out.
(Attached photo)
1:54 PM
--- Friday, May 27, 202x ---
Han Do-kyung
It’s so hot. So hot.
8:11 AM
Han Do-kyung
(Attached photo)
12:02 PM
Han Do-kyung
Are you free tomorrow?
8:22 PM
Raon scrolled down through the messages after reading the latest one from Do-kyung. The chat window was filled entirely with his blue speech bubbles.
“I should’ve been harsher,” she muttered.
Since that day, texts disguised as casual check-ins arrived daily—two or three times a day. Not content with merely being a weather reporter, he bombarded her starting early in the morning.
And every day, without fail, he sent a photo of a young tree.
The saplings in Do-kyung’s photos seemed to have grown slightly since he first sent them weeks ago.
This had been going on for a week now.
It seemed that after telling her he wouldn’t show up in person, he had switched to texting instead.
“Ha…”
Taking a rare break from school and staying home, Raon glared at the most recent message before flipping her phone over.
Unlike the previous messages that masqueraded as greetings, this one contained a question—but as always, she didn’t reply.
‘Besides, I have plans tomorrow.’
Remembering her dinner appointment with Hye-sung, Raon tapped on the flipped-over phone.
There was no need to reply. Regardless of what it was, she wasn’t free tomorrow anyway.
“…”
Raon forced herself to pull her gaze away from her phone.
Saturday.
Raon visited Around , where Hye-sung worked, for the first time in a while.
The store was unchanged from her last visit. Dim lighting bathed the interior, faint reddish lights illuminated the space softly, loud music reverberated, and the chatter of people filled the air.
Surveying the lively atmosphere, Raon found an empty seat and settled in.
Hye-sung, busy with serving duties, looked preoccupied.
Just as he was carrying food out from the kitchen, he spotted Raon and widened his eyes in surprise before quickly apologizing with a sheepish expression. But he soon returned to his bustling tasks, leaving Raon resting her chin on her hand.
At that moment, a cacophony of cheers pierced through the music, assaulting her eardrums.
“Ah.”
Raon instinctively covered her ears with her fingers. Through the noise, she saw a group of people clinking glasses together. Even under the dim lighting, their flushed faces showed they were thoroughly drunk.
Watching them, Raon muttered,
“…They’re wearing the same suits, but they feel so different.”
In the decadent, alluring, almost aristocratic ambiance of the hotel bar, the rhythmic music had been the loudest noise.
“Raon!”
Lost in comparing this place to the previous one, Raon smiled faintly as Hye-sung rushed over, calling her name.
“Are you done with the busy work?”
“Sorry. You came all this way, and now you’ll have to wait.”
Hye-sung awkwardly scratched his cheek as he glanced around the unusually crowded store.
“It’s fine. I know how things can get here. Don’t worry about me; just focus on your work.”
As Raon reassured him with a small smile—
“Uh…”
Hye-sung’s eyes widened like saucers as he spotted something over her shoulder.
And then—
“Alright.”
Simultaneously, Raon paused as a smooth voice whispered behind her.
A shadow loomed over her, and the warmth of a summer-like presence closed in, pressing against her back. The figure leaning casually on the bar counter exuded a commanding presence.
As Raon reflexively held her breath—
“Raon and I will hang out, so you go ahead, junior.”
A strangely resonant voice whispered directly into her ear.
Passing by the bewildered Hye-sung, Raon slowly turned her head to the right. Her gaze was immediately filled with the sight of a deeply dimpled smirk, lips curving smoothly upward.
Mesmerized, she lifted her eyes further to meet his playful gaze, which seemed to have been waiting patiently for hers.
“Hello, Raon.”
“…”
“I’m celebrating my birthday today. Surely, you’re not going to send me away now, are you?”
Raon swallowed a sigh threatening to escape as she absently traced the rim of the cocktail glass before her. If looks could burn holes through people, she would’ve drilled countless holes into him by now.
[...Your birthday?]
[Yes.]
Do-kyung, catching her faint murmur amidst the noise, grinned widely as if he had never been sulking and nodded.
Before Raon could hesitate, he swiftly claimed the seat next to her and placed an order.
“Did you send someone to follow me?”
“Hmm?”
“You knew I’d be here.”
Shrugging nonchalantly at Raon’s blunt tone, Do-kyung replied.
“I just happened to come because I remembered drinking Faust here.”
Saying something no one would believe, he ostentatiously swirled the crimson-hued drink in his glass.
“Though, it’s disappointing. Maybe it’s because the bartender’s changed.”
His casual demeanor as he critiqued the cocktail left Raon speechless.
At that moment, Do-kyung pushed the half-empty glass aside and propped his chin on his hand. Smiling brightly, he asked sweetly,
“Did you see the photos I sent?”
Instead of answering, Raon drained her glass.
“There are quite a few varieties I planted.”
“…”
“They look similar, so I sometimes mix up their names, but now I can see differences between the saplings.”
Do-kyung chuckled softly.
“Joon said it’ll be something to see when they all grow up. Though, I did plant them haphazardly.”
He rambled on.
“I admit, I planted them without much thought. When they grow bigger, I’ll have to replant them properly.”
His gaze, watching Raon’s profile as she steadfastly avoided eye contact, remained gentle.
The store had rotated through its busiest phase, and some tables were now empty. Yet Raon still sat beside him.
Though her discomfort was evident, she hadn’t left his side despite knowing it was his birthday.
His birthday wasn’t a lie—his pocket vibrated incessantly with calls from others celebrating it.
Do-kyung mentally dismissed whatever trivial parties awaited him elsewhere and murmured to himself,
‘Too kind-hearted for her own good.’
Raon, who flinched as though wounded when she lashed out at him with harsh words, wouldn’t understand.
She wouldn’t realize that someone as sinister as him was circling, waiting for an opportunity to worm his way into her fragile defenses.
Unbeknownst to Raon, Do-kyung took a deep breath. Her pheromones flooded his lungs, making his vision swim as if he were high on drugs.
Ever since spotting her, his cock had grown painfully hard, throbbing even more intensely now.
‘Beautiful.’
Her furrowed brows pulling her delicate features taut, the unease brimming in her languid eyes, the elegant curve of her nose, and her full red lips pressed against her teeth—all of it captivated him.
Do-kyung was spellbound by her beauty, not blinking once as he watched her.
When Raon finally turned to face him, unable to endure the tingling sensation of his proximity, Do-kyung’s smile deepened.
He cupped his hands together, mimicking the gesture he used when imagining her flustered face earlier, and murmured the words he hadn’t finished before.
“So, Raon. Come visit me later.”
I’ll make sure it’s worth seeing.
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