Pig Government Official

-31-

When Jihoon arrived at work, he saw the screenshot Jeonggwan showed him in the kitchen and laughed so hard he could barely breathe, asking what’s with the cheese tteokbokki. The cafe manager, passing by the open glass window for morning ventilation, also flinched upon hearing this. So chi-tteok wasn’t cheese tteokbokki.

After Jeonggwan showed him the KakaoTalk conversation with Junjae, Jihoon kept exclaiming “whoa” as if dazed by the budding romance between his cousin and best friend. But when Jeonggwan said he was going to eat chicken tteokbokki with Jung Taegeon, Jihoon gaped at him with an expression that said, “You devil…!” Won Junjae had even explicitly told him not to go eat it.

“You’re truly Satan.”

“What are you talking about?”

“But can’t you secretly record it on video? To show my mom.”

Birds of a feather flock together. Jihoon was also Satan’s friend. They imagined how Won Junjae would react when he found out about the chicken tteokbokki outing. Will Kim Jeonggwan be barbecued this time? You should ask to be grilled as a garnish next to him. As they were giggling, 

“You two are so energetic from the morning-.”

“Oh, noona came… What? Why do you look like that?”

“Hah… I’m dying after working out this morning.”

Suki, who had changed into her uniform and entered the kitchen, appeared looking extremely tired.

“Working out? The one who should be doing it isn’t, and why are you doing it, noona? Is your health bad?”

“Yeah, I’m losing stamina as I get older.”

Jeonggwan, who was suddenly attacked for being the one who should be working out, glared quickly at Jihoon, but Jihoon pushed Jeonggwan’s face away with one hand and approached Suki. Still, as the owner, he seemed worried that an employee said they couldn’t keep up physically.

“Why don’t you work out after work? Why before coming to work?”

“After work is for drinking. What are you talking about?”

Suki looked at him as if he was talking nonsense, and Jihoon was a bit dumbfounded, but having baked together, he knew how physically demanding this job was and felt worried. Knowing that if he bought her red ginseng extract, she’d use it to make bread for him to eat, he tried to provide welfare in a different way.

“Where did you sign up for the gym and for how many months? How much?”

“3 months for 600,000 won. At More Gym just in front. The price is evil, but I just did it because there’s a sauna there too.”

“I’ll transfer it to your account. It’s welfare.”

“Wow. Really? I’m not refusing?”

You weren’t planning to refuse anyway. As Jihoon snorted, Suki shrugged her shoulders saying, “Yes! Saved some money.” Jeonggwan didn’t miss this chance and clung to Jihoon, saying, “If you give me 600,000 won support too, I’ll go to the gym!” Of course, Jeonggwan was planning to spend all that 600,000 won on eating and playing. Jihoon, who could clearly see through Jeonggwan’s intentions, coldly brushed him off.

“You’re going to the gym too? Then I’ll go sign you up myself.”

“…Are you really going to do this?”

“Don’t I know you? Since we’re on the topic, you go to the one nearby too. Starting tomorrow.”

“What do you mean starting tomorrow! I’m not going!”

What? You don’t have a say in this anymore? Jihoon smiled wickedly and insisted that he must go no matter what. Of course, knowing Jeonggwan’s personality, he knew very well that he would halfheartedly go for about 3 days for Jihoon’s sake, and after that, he would just pretend to go once in a while when Jihoon said something. But Jihoon was a bit anxious now. While it was clear that Won Junjae was showing interest in Jeonggwan now, he didn’t know when this interest might fade. He thought that to extend that time even a little, he should at least trim down the cream bun protruding from Jeonggwan’s side.

“Ah, I don’t want to…”

As expected, Jeonggwan was grumbling that he didn’t want to with a disgruntled face. Not a chance. When Jihoon looked at Jeonggwan with that firm and resolute face he had when he said, “Let’s make the uniforms brown,” Jeonggwan exhaled through his nose with a “hmph.”

“So did you tell Jung Taegeon you’re going to eat chicken tteokbokki?”

At times like this, it was important to quickly change the subject.

“Yeah. Through DM.”

“What did he say?”

“He replied like an enthusiastic guy.”

Jeonggwan sent a DM reply to Jung Taegeon saying let’s go eat chi-tteok on Sunday. In less than a minute, Taegeon read the message and replied that it was good, and after that, he kept sending messages trying to continue the conversation, but Jeonggwan left them on read.

[Sunday? Sounds good.]

[Have you been well?]

[I went to a cafe with friends.]

[It turned out to be the cafe where you work.]

Anyway, this meeting was also to show off with that handsome face of his. To advertise that he’s been living well without him. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to say out loud that he was in a budding relationship with Won Junjae, but Taegeon, who used to be obsessed with Jeonggwan, would immediately notice that Jeonggwan was seeing someone.

That alone would be enough for a petty revenge. Honestly, Taegeon hadn’t committed a mortal sin, but Jeonggwan just wanted revenge. After breaking up with Taegeon, Jeonggwan had been mentally winning on his own for quite a while. There must have been a reason he didn’t tell his family. There must have been a reason he didn’t show it to his friends. But no matter how much he thought about it for a long time, no reason seemed justifiable. At least not to Jeonggwan. So he was taking this petty revenge to make him feel annoyed too.

What if he gets excited meeting again? He probably will. It’s first love, with a perfect face and body, and a dominant alpha. If we compare it to the vast sea, Jung Taegeon is the largest blue whale in the ocean. But it’s no longer fun to go and touch and play with a whale just because it’s pretty.

“A cruise ship is the best.”

Jeonggwan has a 6-star royal cruise ship to sail the sea.

* * *

The 6-star royal cruise ship seemed to be in a good mood from the morning, visible to anyone. To ordinary people, it might look the same as always – the usual expressionless face – but his closest aides immediately noticed that his mood was on an upward curve.

From before work hours, Won Junjae’s mother Song Heejin had rushed in to his private residence and hurriedly prepared a meal, insisting he eat before leaving, and the fact that he was eating without complaint was a sign of his good mood. Usually, he would have said, “Please avoid my work hours.”

“These days… my son’s face seems to have improved a bit.”

“…Is that so.”

Junjae nonchalantly scooped rice into his mouth with chopsticks, but his mother’s words immediately made him think of Jeonggwan’s face. Certainly, Jeonggwan’s pheromones seemed to suit him well. Even others could see that his complexion looked better. Soon, he might even gain some weight. Since he’d likely be dragged around by Jeonggwan to eat various things.

[Okay. I won’t go eat cheese tteokbokki.]

The ‘ㅇ’ ending that others use usually sounded and looked unpleasant to him. But when Kim Jeonggwan did it, it suited him well. Maybe because he’s a pig.

“…Oh my, Junjae?”

“…Yes?”

“Did something good happen?”

He was startled to realize that he had been smiling without knowing it, feeling his lips curled up even as he hurriedly tried to put on a serious face at his mother’s words. Ahem. Junjae cleared his throat briefly, then pretended nothing happened and scooped more rice into his mouth.

“No. Nothing at all.”

“…”

Heejin’s eyes wavered slightly as she looked at Junjae. Her son, who always lived hiding his emotions, unable to be honest with his true feelings. What could make him smile just by thinking about it? Based on her 32 years of observation, it didn’t seem to be about an object or a contract.

“Are you seeing anyone these days?”

“…”

Junjae’s chopsticks noticeably stopped.

I see. Heejin glanced at Junjae, who had stopped eating, and smiled slightly. So someone you like has appeared.

“If not, remember that Minister Kim’s daughter I mentioned before…”

“…I’ll be going now.”

Junjae hastily stood up. Pretending not to notice his mother’s surprised gaze following him, he belatedly put down the chopsticks he was still holding, grabbed his jacket from the chair, and hurriedly headed towards the entrance.

“…Oh my.”

Click. Heejin heard the sound of the front door closing and only then uttered a word. Soon after, a big smile spread across her face. It had been a very long time since she’d seen her son so flustered. She had always seen faces of disinterest, lack of curiosity, and indifference… Heejin’s emotions kept surging even as she tried to appear calm.

* * *

As soon as Junjae got into the car heading to the company, he started receiving schedule reports from Secretary Oh, but unlike his usual self who would multitask while listening to the schedule, today he was looking out the window and tapping his fingers on his thigh rhythmically. Like someone in a hurry. Secretary Oh watched Junjae’s mood and reported the important schedules first.

“Today, there’s a meeting with the directors starting at 10 o’clock.”

“…10 AM?”

“…Pardon?”

Secretary Oh was almost dumbfounded by Junjae’s absurd question asking if it was 10 AM, but seeing his boss looking even more confused, he just nodded slightly. He couldn’t dare say out loud, “Should we hold a meeting with Won Electronics directors at 10 PM then?” Lately, Won Junjae’s behavior had gone beyond strange and was starting to cause fear.

“When does the meeting end?”

“It ends at 12, and there’s a lunch schedule with the directors afterward.”

“…”

Moreover, this person who used to manage time meticulously, not wasting even 30 seconds idly, was now using an hour like it was a minute.

“Then I’ll go to the cafe now.”

“Pardon? In 20 minutes, you need to be in the conference room…”

“I know.”

Just like now.