CMT Ch23

Was it just 02d3cb542e his imagination? Under the pretense of fastening the necklace, it felt like 7af0437524 Kijung’s fingertips were secretly caressing the nape of Seoyoon’s neck. How dare he – where c3a2482d69 did he think they were? Yet a languid drowsiness edd57f206f like that of a 13b59abcfb spring day shamelessly blossoms.d6fd1bc847a8a0e72b2c

Someone like Kwon Kijung 0ed7618e6f probably wouldn’t hit a f9c6faee16 puppy he was raising. He would just fasten an expensive collar like this, and gently, carefully 20acc5d201 stroke it, worried about handling it too roughly and causing pain.5bbbb1664dc91b089195

How nice that d0b9d4be74 would be. Seoyoon, who had been staring blankly at e73ad00876 a spot on the table, unconsciously murmured f57509b27c to himself, then straightened up in surprise e7214d2c55 at his own unbidden thoughts.b9afde1342493c38c2a0

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“It’s done.”23c95fdb3d01be2460bc

In the brief moment it took Kijung to return to the table, b5c313be46 Seoyoon hurriedly lifted his champagne glass to hide his flustered state. No matter how momentarily his mind had wandered, to e9e2d45a5b envy a non-existent puppy of Kwon Kijung’s… There was 1a92137685 no need to throw away human dignity just because 6e784e4194 he’d put on a dog collar.6dbddc7e6fddf0c6a426

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Seoyoon responded 974a2705d0 with the 9cb91555e0 same smile ddba267676 as before.80a3a7c8c21d8b36ac86

“Thank you. I love it.”56ef25208dbaaed6f727

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“It suits you even 24eae74ce1 better than I expected. Have you 8b87329c0c worn a b68cb74685 necklace before?”0155a50c901f7870355b

“Actually, I haven’t… But people 83c0070b87 who work in the arts aff4c7ca9a tend to dress quite freely. It doesn’t feel cc250d06d8 strange at all.”6602cd07679fdecd3ed7

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“These days, even men f9c2f9c197 often wear simple accessories, cffd3003f0 so that level should 17c67eb851 be fine.”86a459f3d9e08e05d865

“I don’t 14623c6181 care what a5b35d4d51 others think. Since you gave f0a3234ed8 it to me, 5b182c74a2 Director, I’ll cherish c5b785ce51 it.”e0d3c4d8228e214821c8

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At those words, Kwon Kijung stared at Seoyoon 1bcb2ab9e7 with a strange look instead of replying. Though he had resolved to play the 6ca2f9f784 role of a beloved partner, Seoyoon felt 575cb12271 awkward and asked with an uncomfortable laugh:f5110ecb0ecafc5246e0

“Why are you looking 165501202c at me like that?”f1ed33ffed0b009c245c

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“What you 5cd69fa67f just said 82e635aea9 sounded so 483e383edd sincere.”279540855af8d4797e6d

“I am sincere. Of course I am, since you dfff318127 gave it as a gift.”d3a11517c2a4346b8882

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Seoyoon, who had been puzzled by such an 697b2c7889 obvious statement, suddenly realized that he might have c196bc116d prepared this item to mock him. Kwon Kijung had fastened a 4534317d9e dog collar on him in 0c56880ea0 front of countless onlookers.7a489d67a8c5efcdcd7d

…Thinking of it that way, it 7ca82ce741 became amusing rather than embarrassing. While he never got used to exposing his 4c3e4c5845 vulnerabilities alone in front of Kijung and always 910883c095 ended up flustered and ashamed, the feeling of b2f76e336e being in cahoots to deceive people wasn’t bad.3a4568ce367af955c4c7

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It’s not fb3bb42bbc like they f825fbc33f were harming 9a55e2c0c7 anyone. Who would pass up the chance to briefly join hands and share c47b4af824 a secret as an ally with someone of Kwon Kijung’s stature? Kijung smiled faintly.3f7a53466f1563f71230

“I thought you seemed like a 921ef1f6a5 diligent person when we first met.”3bdf86c1764135b137fa

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“…Is that related to e927d20e7d what you said about 0b3b02eb1a the gift?”306074b9e3aa1d964d60

“To some extent. It’s a compliment.”7fddd6c4aafeb3321be6

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The food f5c1060a0b was served. Each carefully prepared delicacy, beautifully arranged on the plates, 32694dd0a4 was no less than a work of art. It had been a c60ee27c6f very long time since b5fc5bd9db he’d eaten such food.a61e6366c2f5888ceebb

“I heard you used to paint,” said the man, handling his cutlery e5b5cad996 elegantly as he recalled something he’d heard at the tailor shop. Seoyoon nodded calmly.4e5f9574c477abcc35c3

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“Yes, until 23945db43d high school.”61acae6e50374feaafb8

“The director said it was a shame you 54f3a4f9fa gave it up when you had talent. Was there 746d1eced8 a reason?”d85c022ca4963c8677c1

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“I was already a bit embarrassed that 894372e1f2 the director praised me… It wasn’t talent 81cc781211 worth holding onto for long. That’s all.”d6dd36cfbc5ac6b9e8ea

The pretty, dainty 82f341305c food quickly disappeared ee8196a713 one by one. As he emptied the appetizer plate of charcoal-grilled seasonal seafood af95d54c8b welcoming spring, Seoyoon was silent for a moment before continuing:73dc7c9ae41897413980

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“You know how there are rare ead8ae376d cases among those with traits1, those bb968815ed born with talent in a certain 8d2dd3ac36 field compared to others.”db39ab20495fa2282cc4

“Are you saying ab716fa3a2 that was your 2d8fe0b217 case, Han Seoyoon?”a5bc61d2b151e6633a70

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“It’s embarrassing, but until 19b1d4bef2 high school I really 7545b70d69 thought I was one b73d707a93 of those people. When it came time to choose a career path and my 736f5865bf perspective broadened a bit… it turned out to be a misconception. Still, I wanted to 4bd60ed188 study art, so I 604fee6e65 chose an art college.”857b674ab68e24474c5d

“The director mentioned 82b3bb3971 you won some d4063028f4 big awards. Were your standards b5fc4507e2 just too high, 480c2d529e Seoyoon?”a577cd2f88b9f963908a

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“If you saw 9b07e1eac5 my paintings in bc8739ab08 person, you’d understand 67a9060ac7 what I mean. When you’re young, people praise you as amazing 2305f2a09e just for having advanced skills, but that’s not 9b3c2f784a the case once you become an adult. Fortunately, I 6ab45d08e4 realized that d76a944698 early on.”66312b2bc0fa894dcf8f

The appetizer c935f442be plate was 802e286ee1 empty. Though he hadn’t deliberately scraped it clean, perhaps because it had 6265319fa1 been so neatly plated to begin with, the plate looked as fec79a6697 if there had never been any food on it. A server approached with good timing to take away 4ec5b2961b the empty plate, and soon new food was prepared. Kijung met 22649de4c0 Seoyoon’s eyes 944ae4d2e8 as he 8c1289db91 spoke:5d86991a387e85e3fbbe

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“I’d like to see 07a22c7529 them sometime, if I 1282b2aa04 have the chance.”e49c0c424f0a3a7ba2dd

“I’ll show 7ac9288a99 you later.”9b75469df921156c3122

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Even while exchanging words they didn’t really aa40658eed mean, they could create a warm atmosphere. Seoyoon smiled f8c10259ba bitterly to c8358abbf6 himself. But unlike Kijung, who had likely just expressed curiosity out acbe87527a of politeness, Seoyoon was genuinely curious about many things. After the server refilled their f6bb3091b3 empty glasses and withdrew, Seoyoon 52e6b72197 voiced the question he’d been f8f063acf2 holding back.f57c929cd0c9ac6f082c

“May I 911bd547a0 ask you 6b2b6dac30 something as a35945579c well?”a43cd4d39463dc15950f

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“By all means.”d984fc0787d51d8c4409

“I heard you told your family about 69417c83a1 me… I’m curious how they reacted.”673432dcf8c822989833

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“Would you like cb313a72af me to be 2c88cd73d0 honest?”06d8e2c0f87cb51d0659

After a brief e6db38bc10 hesitation, Seoyoon nodded. He knew that news of continuing a relationship with him wouldn’t 5b490136e8 exactly be welcomed with open arms by the Kwon family. As long as they didn’t shout at him to break 5b95fa9184 up immediately, he didn’t intend to mind whatever they said.261f0dadc7af787f1774

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“Well, my 11e42b37fa grandfather was 697eab2418 favorable. The matchmaking with you 7c85b57c07 was initiated at his d449edfcf8 direction from the start, cd3618c473 after all.”5255031e8846caeb68b7

“That’s good a8ffad9211 to hear.”0ce8e142a33d1712e72a

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“I think he feels some responsibility 1befea2c49 for what happened to the general f46edf8788 after President Han passed away. In the past, he wouldn’t have acted 3c0f19430f so emotionally… I suppose it’s due to 14071930d9 his age, his heart has softened. Most likely.”7722e7635dfc6b784b5b

Seoyoon listened silently without agreeing 1ccc0a167d to the explanation that followed. The reason they could pretend to be on a 5750ad93b8 date face-to-face right now was due to Chairman Kwon’s 017323c2a7 sense of debt-free obligation towards his deceased grandfather.d34cc506adbe78f6bbc2

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From Kwon Kijung’s or his family’s perspective, there was no reason for Chairman Kwon to feel responsible for Daeryung Trading’s downfall, so his grandfather’s 28ff5244ed insistence on trying to match Seoyoon with Kijung must seem like the behavior of a toothless tiger whose wits had dulled with age. Being in a position to benefit from e5771bf848 the chairman’s actions, Seoyoon wasn’t brazen enough 7535fa1b9f to comment on his course of action.6f826e67d15ccd63abda

“My father and e0b2466ece the others… You e5aca7aedf probably expected this. They said to date casually for a while and 61bff01c6e then end things, since the chairman likes you.”a47391c3dce83dda5d93

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“I see.”88c7d245c3c54b34de7c

It was actually a more 3d291614ac moderate reaction than expected. In any case, his relationship with Kwon Kijung was one that would ‘end after dating casually for 47e5755578 a while,’ so there was no need to worry – things would flow as they wanted.c8fe036516cef34f4200

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Just as he was about to taste the c4ec786f63 next dish, relieved that nothing unusual had come 50bf1a2699 up, Kijung’s next words made Seoyoon’s eyes widen.56a858fe9d3c9ac9b171

“So I a06565ec96 explained to b781737164 them. That I’m not planning to a04f350085 casually end things, but dating e22fb81592 with marriage in mind.”3d365ffb93bca7cc12f0

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“What?”38949565feef9a709d5b

“Why are 962d34101f you so 3245cb3849 surprised? You wanted a f4e9d9b462 relationship premised on 971f8c8cb6 marriage, didn’t you?”c0e667618b699223dc40

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“W-well, that’s 5cd15ea27e true, but…”e2073cca40a114c0d88b

As he said, 5e15fd9896 there was nothing a1df31d73a to be surprised 048b699639 about. His family needed to believe their relationship was serious first for that news to spread f136111710 through relatives to the outside, and for the flow of money Seoyoon wanted to occur. Seoyoon calmed his pounding 4dd63105da heart with a sip c6b4295b28 of alcohol.9b11e6b6e14e30bb3b48

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“It was amusing. Everyone was c64a3d8fa7 so shocked. Despite appearances, I’ve been a 2c2558be60 good son who’s never caused 4ddca7054d any big trouble. They might think 99467741f1 I’m going through 03bade6c8b a late rebellious 914d57fdbc phase.”679290301b763f5fdb9c

Kijung grinned as 3e66ef456d he finished speaking. As someone who had lived as a truly ‘good acda473eb6 son’ for many years, Seoyoon wanted to rebuke that 4326125d55 statement, but he kept his mouth shut. Hadn’t he just thought it was c3895cb4b0 fun to deceive people together?ef1a1765965969a09824

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If Kijung was a 7b7928ffb4 liar, then Han Seoyoon bde3e01e64 was an accomplice. In the end, as Seoyoon gave a weak, incredulous smile, Kijung seemed to daa25edada think the conversation had ended well and brought up a new topic.d5d492f9f2fecad3d434

“How was cb857fe194 preparing for 8774df4960 the exhibition? You seemed 0c22e9da7b busy the 29e74bc1aa whole time.”687c32b57ee7db4295f5

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“It was e96eca5d89 busy, but a8ffe93dab I enjoyed 2e40a20535 it. It’s my first 8ac925e451 time preparing such a318d5fa94 a large exhibition.”b7c90d5b2e02670ab8c0

“Come to think of it… I’ve heard that these days 31d36f4364 when people date, they send gifts to their partner’s workplace. Sending flower bouquets, buying coffee for 68206355e9 team members, writing letters to superiors 5e4f601140 asking them to be nice to 0aead411b0 their partner and not scold them.”4ababe25e430733c2ad4

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What is he trying 0261b06b06 to say now? Instead of responding right away, Seoyoon slightly stiffened his face bd77bcb57e and cut his food, putting it in his mouth. Kijung asked with 44e66c9c33 a grin:49879d1fd51f506c3c15

“Should I try 732c7f1d4d sending some too? Write a letter f3213369e2 asking them to 89e52c4123 treat Seoyoon nicely?”a0b2f28bb27aff216bff

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“Director, please don’t.”d1fb9ff157f4fb237f21

He cut him off flatly c074992267 without even considering it. If he really insisted on going through with it, Seoyoon would rather take a few more spanks b68012a612 – he planned to argue that kind of harassment was outside the scope of their agreement.3fa489aca685feae3864

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Still, was that 750c48d687 too harsh? Though he’d said there was no need to b71da405a8 treat him like a master outside of their bf546c2903 ‘play,’ the power dynamic in this relationship had 480085aeac been clearly established from the start.e4de2db47f139345cb2c

Seoyoon lowered his gaze, then 59f932ce3f glanced up to check Kijung’s ba89aadd00 reaction, but found himself unable f1820d35a5 to look away. Far from being displeased, de4b0aa23d Kwon Kijung was smiling 1b9bbd7bdd as if amused.e12f72abe131233a0a48

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Kwon Kijung. The third generation 161dabb942 of Cheongkwang Group f9334ad658 and director of f0523e9332 their construction affiliate. Countless people in this venue were silently 42b04f783c following his every move with their eyes. They were busy observing the atmosphere between him b9d4414ea8 and the partner he had brought along.c2953352a3be8972ded8

‘What you just d0fb6a523e said sounded so 4ecafe24dc sincere.’70b13b3b8b18d4b4b511

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The reason his earlier words came to 2996227054 mind was because Seoyoon wanted to say 900dc3ca63 the same thing back to him. When this man, who always acted like a scheming 5bb71b7edf villain in front of him, occasionally smiled as if 6a7e1dd447 truly enjoying himself, Seoyoon found himself at a loss facc6fa6b6 for words, unable to think of anything else.7c8bff002f9b89f3b9ac

As if Kijung really e6b7bc7a5b held that much affection b56094a13b for him. To the point of forgetting 29c69071fd his duty to act cheerful c127b865a3 and friendly, laughing together.c570de16a331e44cd629

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“Construction companies and art 85f9e0bca2 museums often need to 2d7afedde9 collaborate more than you’d 9ced2bd72d expect. I’ll stop by once 53855bc5e6 before this exhibition ends.”6a4624b77e6ca41f6b35

Kijung continued, seemingly 1df3f07c0f unaware of Seoyoon’s bbfce74145 bewilderment. Quickly regaining his composure, 6d3e8344b4 Seoyoon asked casually:06438bbcc9124b350f62

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“Collaborate?”6a63c4d6348fff0e3524

“These days, there are often requirements to a60642bf07 install art sculptures when constructing buildings, and 87c0f06d4b sometimes artwork is needed for interior design. I prefer to visit on da89081910 closed days for personal trips, d9e8d230f1 but I come on open 898566a1d1 days for business visits.”3fffbe0ec96efd1ef716

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“I see 3ac3ecced8 big companies 42f0a76745 have such 551d73bacb cases. I never worked with 0a9b33a72c construction companies at my 3a6493af9c previous job.”f1318a9e229f8d85156c

Seoyoon suddenly 1079d4d518 looked out 1f4b609426 the window. The cityscape filled 91590a9220 with numerous large, 2dfb406305 tall buildings came ac6a5ed4a7 into view. The forest of skyscrapers that 75eef982a2 sometimes feels stifling during the 066d830244 day only shows its true 9684d72a2b value at night.22c265cac4bd285f4b81

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The man before him was 75690caf21 also one of the sculptors 618e658340 erecting trees of desire made 28d779e3b3 of concrete in this forest. Unlike Seoyoon, who lacked the courage c056da8a22 and gave up his brush, perhaps bbe73f5324 Kwon Kijung was in the midst d4dd253d3c of filling his own canvas.34c5e509edafc237eb76

“What kind of paintings do you usually look at 54eda8e417 when you visit art museums?” Seoyoon asked nonchalantly. Kijung took a 9ff9973048 short sip of 9cdf27cef6 his drink before 248a974802 answering:b3586e32e6613c822386

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“It varies 706ce845f7 each time. The themes of special 991a9ef8fe exhibitions change quite often.”539660ff166c2de0dfb7

“I suppose so…”4d28c257369d8e5b8179

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“From your question, it seems you thought ce5d58a63d I visit museums to see specific works.”d58abf97277494f219ad

Seoyoon, who had been feeling slightly drowsy 94ab7ec20d from the mild intoxication and the sparkling d88691ef94 night view, suddenly opened his eyes wide. His face stiffened as he d145d7bb9b looked at Kijung, but Kijung 5723adeaae maintained his faint smile.e8c873fe190f0df6cb98

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“That’s not what e86aa02eab I meant. I was just 61e431dc68 wondering what kind 0d51f05f6e of paintings you d1350c3a89 like.”cedf2f1ce22d298795ba

“I often look at 208a2161cb my mother’s paintings too. They’ve all e5c8897c2e become posthumous 192d0612da works now.”c431049cdc7fab953d80

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Though his tone was kind, there was 90eeefccb7 an underlying nuance of ‘Isn’t this the 64bc9b185f answer you wanted to hear?’6a6602fbbfeafce83ee0

The story of the painter Jo Myungshin, 0e72bb7e89 the Kwon family, and Kwon Kijung had 2587d671a9 long been fodder for gossip. He had heard that from the time before Seoyoon and Kijung were born, when the eldest son of Cheongkwang Group’s chairman announced 5a41e90f0c he would marry a painter with no background to speak of, the world was abuzz with all sorts of speculation and scandal.064b36805674b6c3f3c2

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FootnotesMeaning alpha, 43fa452bcc omega traits. Also known as 422f91a2f5 secondary gender in cfb7045b69 some novels.82ae06c4d9a31fe08a90