DS Ch10

“Joo Taehyun.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t go to church on Sundays, do you?”

Seo Baekhan, still holding the catalog of the exhibition he had been looking at, strode towards Joo Taehyun.

“I’m asking if you go to church.”

“Uh, uhm… I don’t really have a religion… Um, if you’re looking for someone who goes to church, I could do some Bible study…”

“Don’t jump ahead.”

Unlike before, he had a clear intention. As he narrowed the distance with Joo Taehyun from an angle where he wanted to look down on him, he noticed something new.

A faint mole, similar in size to one on the waning moon, under Joo Taehyun’s right eyebrow.

That his eyelashes were quite long and straight.

That his skin, so pale it looked almost blue, was flawless, and other such trivial things.

“You might already know, but a special exhibition was held thanks to my mother’s side pushing for it. At the National Museum.”

As he handed over the long, rolled-up catalog, Joo Taehyun accepted it without asking why. The fact that he seemed more gloomy and dark than docile, despite being so compliant, was a talent in itself.

“Even though they pushed for it, my family didn’t really do much. It was Second Prince’s personal collection anyway, and we were only in charge of minor things like creating foreign language audio commentaries and translation booklets… Still, the reaction behind the scenes was significant.”

The Crown Prince’s side, which had been trying to win over Seo Baekhan’s other family members to show Second Prince, arguing that Seo Baekhan’s personal and family tendencies should be viewed separately from Second Prince’s people, ended up embarrassingly empty-handed.

It wasn’t like the exhibition was grand in scale either. It would have been better if it had been a theme related to the history of Yeonhwa Palace or an exhibition of ancient art collected by Second Prince, but this special exhibition was merely a propaganda tool to promote Second Prince and Second Prince’s spouse.

Excerpts from love letters exchanged between the couple, photos taken together, a diary that Second Prince had been diligently writing since he first held a brush…

It was a collection of such trivial items, and the amount of donation from his mother’s side wasn’t that significant, so the Crown Prince’s side reportedly took it even more humiliatingly.

“Ah, yes.”

Even though the explanation was long, Joo Taehyun listened to Seo Baekhan attentively. However, he still couldn’t guess why he had suddenly been stopped and told such irrelevant things, so he just blinked his big eyes blankly.

“Since you don’t go to church, next Sunday would be good. Around two in the afternoon. Is that okay for your schedule?”

“…Yes?”

“The special exhibition is until that day.”

“Ah… Uh, um, that…”

“Then let’s meet again that day. In front of the exhibition hall.”

Joo Taehyun blinked slowly. Even in the midst of that, it was fascinating how quickly his eyes darted around as he tried to guess Seo Baekhan’s intentions.

“Um, but, hyung. Why… Why are you asking to meet on Sunday? Can I ask?”

“You said you wanted to marry me, didn’t you?”

“Yes? That’s… true, but…”

“So, let’s properly re-evaluate the conditions one more time that day.”

Joo Taehyun’s dry lips slowly parted. It was as slow as his blinking. He looked like a gloomy classical painting, but he was so slow in his actions.

“That’s true, but, an exhibition… That’s-”

The next words were not a proper sounded out but closer to a breath.

“Isn’t that usually a date… course?”

Seo Baekhan didn’t have the ability to infer the meaning of words just from lip movements. He vaguely heard “date,” so he probably muttered “date”.

Well, it wasn’t like he had no idea what part of his proposal Joo Taehyun was questioning, feeling embarrassed about, and starting to expect, so he could sufficiently guess the words he had swallowed.

“Why? Is it a place you can’t go?”

“No? Ah, no, it’s not that.”

“Or do you dislike the idea?”

“No!”

At Joo Taehyun’s immediate answer, Seo Baekhan barely managed to suppress the laughter that almost burst out.

“Or did DH Group support the Crown Prince?”

“No, they weren’t particularly on good terms with them even before I manifested. After I manifested, there was no exchange at all.”

“I’m glad it’s as I knew. The outward appearance and the inside story can be different… Anyway, it seems like there’s no harm in you showing up at this exhibition. Right?”

First of all, Joo Taehyun is a regular member of Hatch.

Not just any member, but a veteran member who has been with them since the beginning.

And he’s an alpha, like Seo Baekhan and the Second Prince.

Joo Taehyun and Seo Baekhan used to be frequently involved before Joo Taehyun left for the United States, so even if the two of them showed their faces at the special exhibition together, it wouldn’t be a big deal in itself. Nothing has been decided yet, and it’s just a matter of gauging the situation, so if rumors start spreading, it will only become troublesome.

“Yes, um. I understand that there’s no harm in me viewing the exhibition… but I don’t really understand why hyung is asking me to meet, or rather, why you’re specifically asking to see the exhibition together.”

“Why? Does there have to be a clear reason?”

“Ah, it’s not that… I’m just, just curious.”

A slight light flickered in Joo Taehyun’s dazed eyes. He seemed curious about the intentions of the hyung who had been acting scary until just now, but also dazed with happiness.

“If you open this and have any questions, you’ll have to answer them, won’t you?”

“Ah…”

“You must have more to say to me too. Or not?”

Joo Taehyun blinked a little faster. It was like a slow afterimage when the shooting button was pressed in a dark place. Seo Baekhan’s retina captured the way his eyes changed with each passing frame.

“I think it would be good to continue the conversation in a place where there’s nothing to lose just by us being together.”

If he was expecting something, he was sorry, but it was really just a casual suggestion that he thought wouldn’t be bad. He wasn’t so desperate as to use a child’s crush to put on a pathetic show. Marriage with Joo Taehyun was still not attractive, but he felt less repulsion and disgust than before. He was willing to listen to Joo Taehyun’s nonsense a few more times.

“Um. I’m really sorry, but are you only available next week?”

But Joo Taehyun’s reaction was somehow lukewarm, unlike before.

Seo Baekhan unknowingly twitched one eyebrow. He didn’t expect Joo Taehyun to react lukewarmly to the suggestion of meeting again.

“If you’re busy, it can’t be helped.”

If he was planning on playing hard to get, he had no intention of accepting any of that. Even if he ended up being just an acquaintance in the future, let alone a spouse. He shouldn’t be lenient with arrogant behavior just because he’s young. The younger they are, the better they should be taught manners.

“No, hyung, it’s not that… Just a moment,” Joo Taehyun urgently shouted.

It was the most dramatic change in expression on Joo Taehyun’s face that he had seen today, or ever, so Seo Baekhan, who had half-turned away, silently stopped walking.

“It’ll be over really soon, just a moment.”

Joo Taehyun hurriedly took out his phone and started typing something diligently. He hunched his large frame and brought the phone close to his face, seemingly trying not to let him see what he was doing.

However, unfortunately, Seo Baekhan was taller than Joo Taehyun, the distance between them was close enough to easily eavesdrop on his personal business, and Joo Taehyun’s phone didn’t have a privacy screen protector.

[Secretaryyy, I’m going to postpone my departur

ㅛ]

He didn’t look like it, but he was quite clumsy, with messages full of typos popping up on the cracked screen.