Pig Government Official

-47-

Jeonggwan, who had arrived at work, was for some reason there early, sitting in a corner of the cafe with a serious face, looking into a notebook. Jihoon, wondering what he was up to, secretly approached from behind to peek, but surprisingly, the notebook contained recipes for the list of new menu items Jeonggwan had suggested yesterday.

“Are you crazy?”

“…Oh. You’re here.”

Did you write all this down? Are you going to try making them today? Jihoon’s mouth gaped open as he picked up the notebook and examined it thoroughly. There was bread, ciabatta, and even croissants, which he had tried to make after seeing the Tata-be comic but failed miserably.

“Wow. Incredible. There’s even cinnamon pastry.”

“…Yeah.”

Jihoon’s pupils dilated. This was a bread that Jeonggwan had made a few times during school practice and Jihoon had loved it when he tasted it, but it was so difficult to make that they couldn’t possibly put it on the menu. But now Jeonggwan was bringing the recipe to try making it. Even if they didn’t sell it, the thought of being able to eat as much as Jeonggwan made brought a smile to his face.

“If you’re making it, make a lot. Okay? So we can freeze it and eat it when we feel like it.”

“…Alright.”

“Rea… Huh?”

Expecting an answer like “Make it yourself, you crazy bastard,” and preparing to retort with “Reflex,” Jihoon was momentarily stunned. Unexpectedly, Jeonggwan had given a positive answer. Surprised, Jihoon finally looked at Jeonggwan’s face properly.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Jeonggwan rarely got sick because he ate and was active so well. During the time Jihoon had constantly hung around Jeonggwan, he had only been sick when he had an upset stomach from eating too much or when he had indigestion from eating too quickly.

“What did you eat?”

“I didn’t eat anything, you idiot…”

So naturally, he thought, “This pig bastard must have eaten something too quickly and got sick again.” But… this time it didn’t seem to be the case. Whenever he got sick, the already pale guy would turn even paler, making it obvious something was wrong, but this time, rather than looking sick, he just seemed… a bit low on energy.

Kim Jeonggwan low on energy? Kim Jeonggwan? This bastard. Something must have happened at home. Jihoon seemed to be imagining all sorts of things, and his own face became even more serious.

“Hey. Your mom or dad… Are they sick?”

“…They’re too healthy.”

“Phew… That’s a relief. Then surely not your brothers…?”

“…I wish they were a bit sick. Especially their mouths.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like anyone in the family was sick. Then why did he look so low on energy? Kim Jeonggwan often got angry, but he rarely lacked energy. He was the type to get energized just by eating, and since he ate all day, his vitality ran at full speed like a new graphics card all day long. Then why on earth was he like this?

“Hey… Do I look like someone with such a stubborn personality?”

“Suddenly?”

“Look at me. Do I look like someone who would absolutely insist something’s not right if it’s not?”

“…No? You look like someone who would say even something absolutely wrong is completely right if given food.”

Oh, get lost. I wasn’t asking you. Jeonggwan suddenly snapped, pushing Jihoon’s shoulder as he stormed into the kitchen. What’s with him? He asked and then… Jihoon shrugged, dumbfounded.

Jeonggwan had been feeling uneasy all day because of the “Won Junjae’s blind date” he had accidentally read on Jeongyun’s phone yesterday. When Jeonggwan was angry or at a loss, he tended to bring out the highest quality in whatever he focused on – yesterday afternoon it was icing, and last night it was organizing recipes. While doing so, he tried to organize his thoughts, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand. How could he go on a blind date so quickly without even trying to hold onto me once? Isn’t this beyond being a rock fish? Is he perhaps protesting against me? After considering all sorts of thoughts, the conclusion he came to was that Won Junjae was now intimidated by him.

Park Jihoon might have been talking nonsense, but Jeonggwan was clearly the type to insist something wasn’t right if it wasn’t, so he concluded that Won Junjae was afraid of being rejected again and couldn’t approach easily. Otherwise, how could he go on a blind date so quickly? It wasn’t even a casual meeting? Well… it might be a bit odd for an executive director of the Won Group to go on a casual meeting either…

Anyway… just thinking about it kept draining his energy. Honestly, if they had properly dated or at least kissed once, he probably wouldn’t feel this drained. Is this what it feels like to want something you can’t have… A perfectly handsome alpha that might never come into his life again, and it’s ending like this without even getting to kiss?

“Jeonggwan, be careful when you use the oven later. The door seems to be broken and falls suddenly.”

“Okay…”

“What’s wrong? Why do you look so lifeless? Did you skip breakfast?”

And do people think I’m just a pig… Why do they always connect everything to food?

“I’m not going to eat this muffin. Do you want it?”

“Oh! Is it pistachio? I’d love it!”

“Good. Eat your breakfast well. Our job requires us to eat well.”

“Can I have the chocolate one too? This is crazy!”

…Well, it’s not entirely wrong.

* * *

Today, he was making just a small amount of the usual sheet cakes and baking cinnamon pastries for testing. When Jeonggwan said he’d make the usual amount of cakes for sale and bake the bread after work, Jihoon said he could do whatever he wanted with the others, but he wanted to eat the pastries right now, so make fewer sheet cakes and bake the pastries immediately. Rich people really did business as they pleased.

So Jeonggwan, who usually started decorating at 10:30 when Junjae came, was standing blankly in front of the oven today. He was facing the oven with his back to the window to avoid seeing Junjae. Somehow, he felt that if he saw Junjae, his eyes would unknowingly shoot daggers of resentment.

So Jeonggwan was now just staring at the bread browning nicely in the oven while smelling the subtle scent of strawberry jam. But is he in a worse mood than usual today? Why does the strawberry jam smell so cool and moist? Just as Jeonggwan was sniffing and flaring his nostrils to smell Junjae’s pheromones more carefully,

Beep beep beep-. Beep beep beep-.

Suddenly, the alarm indicating that the bread was done baking went off, and the orange light inside the oven turned off. Jeonggwan approached the oven to see if the bread was baked well, but in the darkened oven glass, he could see the reflection of Junjae sitting behind him.

“……”

Although only three days had passed, it felt like he was seeing that face after a very long time. Still jaw-droppingly handsome as always, still in his three-piece suit as always. He was dressed as if he could go on a blind date right now and it wouldn’t be strange. Seeing Junjae made Jeonggwan’s heart feel strange again. Partly because he was so handsome, but also because even though Jeonggwan had his back turned, Junjae was stubbornly just looking down at his tablet instead of sneaking a glance.

Is he really not interested in me anymore? People have diverse personalities and are not easily understood. He couldn’t judge Won Junjae based on the brief time he had seen him. Although he might have seemed very interested in him until recently, as Park Jihoon said, he had been meeting omegas constantly, so ending things with one might not mean anything to Won Junjae. He might even be happy to easily get pheromones…

He hated this. He hated this feeling of lowering himself and having all sorts of thoughts whenever the person he liked didn’t go according to his wishes. This was why he had tried to only like Won Junjae’s exterior. If he came to like the inside too, he might think he himself was too lacking compared to that person. Perhaps it was fortunate that it ended so quickly like this.

“Sigh…”

Stop these useless thoughts and just take out the bread. Jeonggwan, who had let out a short sigh, opened the oven door.

[Clang. Bang-!]

“Ah…!!!”

Usually, the oven door would slowly lower itself and open even if you just opened it slightly and let go, but whether the rubber was broken or something else was wrong, when Jeonggwan habitually opened the door slightly and let go, it fell down with a bang, lacking strength.

Because of this, Jeonggwan’s hand, which wasn’t wearing any gloves or protection as he was just going to open the door slightly to check the bread, collided with the heavy metal door emitting intense heat.

“Hey, you, Kim Jeonggwan!”

Jeonggwan sat down on the floor, feeling a sudden searing pain in his right hand, and Suki, who was at the nearby counter, ran over with an expression that said, “I knew this would happen! You idiot!” Hwang Jun, who had been staring blankly at the scene for a moment, quickly ran over and turned on the faucet in Jeonggwan’s sink, and Jihoon, startled by Jeonggwan’s scream, opened the kitchen door and entered.

“What? What happened?”

“Jeonggwan, quickly put your hand here!”

Jeonggwan, who had momentarily seen stars flash before his eyes, made a whimpering sound as people surrounded him, and Suki, who was next to him, slapped his back somewhat harshly. Didn’t I tell you to be careful earlier?! You were distracted, weren’t you! Can’t you focus in the kitchen?! Suki’s scolding, filled with worry, echoed through the kitchen.

“Ah, sis… It hurts…”

Jeonggwan made a pained expression as if his back hurt more from Suki’s slap than his hand, and he stood up from his crouched position to put his hand under the water Hwang Jun had turned on in the sink, but,

“……”

Through the kitchen window, his eyes immediately met with Junjae’s, who had suddenly stood up and was looking this way with surprised eyes.

“……”

The corner of Jeonggwan’s mouth twitched.

As expected.