Flowers Are Bait

“You are making a mistake! I was trying to help you!”

Kwon Chae-woo turned away from Hwang Jo-yoon. He struggled with all his might, struggling where he was bound to the tree.

“I’m trying to help you before you get trapped by a gold digger, damn it! Do you know what kind of b*tch So Lee-yeon is?”

Kwon Chae-woo walked to Lee-yeon and leaned down to her. He hugged her quietly. His hands wrapped around her and pulled her close. She didn’t push him away.

“She is from a completely broken family! And that’s because the same family members fell in love with each other and committed adultery —”

“I know.”

“You know?” asked Hwang Jo-yoon in disbelief.

“I’m her husband, of course I know everything about her. She told me.” Kwon Chae-woo dismissed Hwang Jo-yoon. He pulled Lee-yeon to him and hugged her. Lee-yeon could finally breathe a little properly. Hwang Jo-yoon tried to spread his venom again. But they ignored him as they walked in the garden away from him.

“Kwon Chae-woo?”

“Hm?”

“The tree,” said Lee-yeon. “If leave him tied around it, the branches might break. It might harm the tree.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead. His heart ached for her. She was in pain but still she worried about her trees.

“The staff will find him soon enough and let him go,” said kwon Chae-woo. “But now is not the time for you to worry about trees, Lee-yeon.”

“What?”

“I told you that I’m ruthless, didn’t I?” he said. “If you run away, then don’t get caught.” He went deeper into the garden with Lee-yeon. His headache disappeared like it had never been there in the first place.

“You!” Hwang Jo-yoon trebled as he saw the man appear in front of him. The same man he had met in the bar.

“I told you to live quietly.” The man was in a server’s costume as though he had just been serving guests in the party.

“Fuck Director Kwon,” shouted Hwang Jo-yoon. “You are all thugs! Every time you open your mouth, you threaten people. Do you think the stench of bullies can be covered so easily?”

“Who is So Lee-yeon’s husband?” asked Hwang Jo-yoon. “Is he a thug too? Does he kill people as well?”

Jang Beom-hee suddenly raised his head from his phone. He had been putting up a front like a veteran soldier but he had momentarily lost his composure.

“Young master is different from us.”

He pressed send on the phone. It read: Get the bucket ready.

After a while, only a tie remained on the tree, swaying in the wind. The man was no longer seen.

* * *

“I am sorry,” said Kwon Chae-woo. “I did explain very clearly to that bastard to not bother you again. But I didn’t expect him to appear in front of you again.”

The Venus Garden, the pride of Hwaido Grand Hotel, was mysterious and beautiful. Kwon Chae-woo led Lee-yeon towards the thicket of trees. Lee-yeon followed quietly. They sat down under the largest tree they could find.

“Did you… did you hear what Hwang Jo-yoon said about my family?”

“What do you mean?”

“My… family story.” She couldn’t look at him. However, kwon Chae-woo didn’t care about that. He wanted to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“We are a married couple,” he said. “Of course, I would have known, wouldn’t I? It’s just I forgot it with the rest of my past.”

So, you don’t know about it…. It all felt absurd and strange to her. Just a while ago he was acting cranky because he didn’t know anything about her. Here he was now claiming he might know about everything just to comfort her.

“I… I didn’t tell you. Even before marriage,” she said. “I deceived you.”

A heavy silence fell between them. Lee-yeon dreaded what came next. She had confessed now. Even if it wasn’t the whole truth. She had deceived him. She was even deceiving him right now.

The Kwon Chae-woo burst into laughter.

Lee-yeon was confused. She didn’t know what she had expected. Anger, maybe. But his laughter didn’t match the situation at all. She looked at him. Kwon Chae-woo leaned back on the tree with his hands behind his head. He looked so relaxed.

“Then why are you telling me now?” he asked.

“What?”

“Are you implying that I am now more reliable and trustworthy than I was before?” He looked at her. “Is this a confession?”

How did it get interpreted that way? He squinted his eyes in the sun and smiled at her. His eyes only looked at her, unwaveringly.

“Lee-yeon, if you do this suddenly, then I might get turned on. Just saying.”

“No… I… it’s not like that,” said Lee-yeon hurriedly. “I just meant that I led you on. You were led on by a woman with a complicated family history. Think of the situation a little!”

“I maybe an idiot so I don’t know about that,” he dabbed at his dry lips. “But if it is you, I think I like being led on.”