Pig Government Official

-51-

Jihoon, who was eating the olive from his martini, choked and coughed so loudly that everyone in the bar turned to look at him. Jeonggwan seemed a bit embarrassed by Jihoon’s behavior and leaned back slightly, holding his glass of pink cocktail. Jihoon shot Jeonggwan a glare that seemed to say, “I’m doing this because of you, are you kidding me?”

“Ahem, so you said you’d meet up when you go back to Korea?” Jihoon asked.

“Yeah,” Jeonggwan replied.

“But… Weren’t you two over?”

Jeonggwan made a somewhat ridiculous expression as if to say, “These things always happen between adults, my dear.” He twirled his cocktail glass with one hand, as if imitating something he’d seen before. Jihoon’s brow furrowed again, finding this gesture quite annoying.

“Won Junjae isn’t someone you can easily end things with,” Jeonggwan said.

“…What are you guys really doing?”

As Jihoon shook his head, Jeonggwan, whose eyes were full of amusement, straightened up from his relaxed position and put on a rather serious face.

“I like Won Junjae,” Jeonggwan said.

“Right. You like his looks, you said.”

“Yeah. I like him a lot.”

“Well, you’ve seen plenty of guys like that…”

“That’s why I have to have him.”

Jihoon’s questioning eyes turned to Jeonggwan, as if to say, “Wasn’t that what you’ve been trying to do all along?” However, Jeonggwan’s expression seemed somewhat resolute this time, as if everything until now had been a joke.

After finishing his phone call with Junjae at the hotel earlier, Jeonggwan had spent a long time lost in thought, gazing at the Hong Kong sea where light shattered, reflected off the glittering buildings. Would Won Junjae have seen such a beautiful night view? Of course, he must have. Then, did he see it alone like me? Or perhaps with someone he was dating? As these thoughts crossed his mind, he felt a twinge of jealousy, but then he steeled himself, thinking, “From now on, I’ll make sure he only sees it with me.” With that, his jealousy turned into determination.

While Won Junjae’s appearance perfectly matched Jeonggwan’s ideal type, his personality was not at all what Jeonggwan preferred. If Jeonggwan was now a bit of a coward because of Taegeon, Won Junjae was not just a coward, but a top-tier coward of the sunfish variety. Moreover, he was so introverted that even though he must have wanted to contact Jeonggwan when he knew he was in Hong Kong, he absolutely wouldn’t make the first move and instead just lurked on Instagram, stalking his posts. He was exactly the type Jeonggwan disliked.

But this wasn’t just Jeonggwan; it would be the same for everyone. An avoidant person who doesn’t express their feelings well and only runs away eventually makes the person pursuing them tire out and give up first, wondering, “What’s the deal with this person?” That’s why when Jeonggwan had argued with Won Junjae, he thought without a moment’s hesitation, “I should just end this.”

However, Won Junjae had a strange charm. Of course, his appearance accounted for 90% of it. The idea that such an unbelievably handsome person kept worrying about him, acting awkwardly, and hovering around him? That he would read his KakaoTalk messages immediately without playing hard to get? That he’d get caught constantly checking his SNS for updates because he was curious but didn’t have the courage to reach out first? This was truly an incredibly intriguing character.

That’s why Jeonggwan wanted to know what Won Junjae was like when dating. He was extremely curious to see how this shy, avoidant man would change and become proactive when in a relationship. So this time, he was determined to seriously, without joking, make that alpha his own.

That’s why when Jihoon suggested going down to the hotel bar for a cocktail, Jeonggwan quickly followed and announced his resolution. He had to let Jihoon, who would be the most confused stuck in the middle, know his ambitions in advance. That he would now aggressively pursue Won Junjae. That he would now go all out, so Jihoon should be aware.

And as the saying goes, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.” Since Jihoon, being Junjae’s cousin, knew Won Junjae best, Jeonggwan needed to investigate a few things about Won Junjae through Jihoon. Of course, Won Junjae wasn’t an enemy, but for Jeonggwan, this was still a kind of war.

“Is Won Junjae an only child by any chance?” Jeonggwan asked.

“…Why so suddenly?”

“I want to know everything about him.”

“…Wouldn’t you usually ask what he likes and stuff like that?”

“His somewhat timid personality makes me think he might have an older sibling.”

Jeonggwan pretended to push up non-existent glasses, trying to appear casual as he asked. Jihoon looked him up and down as if to say, “What’s with this act?” but inwardly, he was slightly surprised. Neither Won Junjae’s nor his uncle Won Youngjae’s online profiles mentioned Won Seongje. So while older people might know about Won Youngjae’s remarriage, younger people generally believed Won Junjae to be an only child. Of course, the fact that he had a half-brother was known to people in their circles.

“Then, since you have three older brothers, are you three times as timid?” Jihoon retorted.

“No. The youngest is always an exception,” Jeonggwan replied.

“Ah, I see.” Jihoon nodded slightly in agreement. Jeonggwan stared at Jihoon intently, waiting for an answer to his question. So? Does Won Junjae have siblings?

“…He does, but…”

“He does, right? I’m right, aren’t I? An older brother, right? He has an older brother?”

“Uh… that’s correct.”

“But why isn’t there any mention of siblings in his profile?”

Jihoon hesitated. Should he just tell him? In fact, it was something everyone who already knew would be aware of, but Won Junjae disliked, or rather, despised Won Seongje. If he told Jeonggwan about Won Seongje here and Jeonggwan accidentally mentioned it to Won Junjae, Jihoon would be the one to get in trouble. So he was reluctant to speak.

Unaware of Jihoon’s inner conflict, Jeonggwan’s face filled with excitement as Jihoon remained silent. So this means there’s a sibling that even Park Jihoon can’t talk about freely, right? Wow. Then it must be that! That’s it! Jeonggwan exclaimed with a face that suggested he had figured it out.

“Is Won Bin possibly Won Junjae’s brother?!”

“…You’re really something else.”

“I’m right, aren’t I? Am I right?”

What do you mean right? You’re way off. Jihoon picked up a piece of fried corn from the complimentary snacks and threw it at Jeonggwan. Visibly disappointed, Jeonggwan immediately became dejected. For a moment, he had really believed that the famous movie actor was Won Junjae’s brother, and had even imagined getting his autograph and taking pictures together.

Jihoon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this. Normally, when someone as famous as Won Junjae has a sibling but their profile doesn’t mention them, people would naturally think of half-siblings or illegitimate children. But Jeonggwan was, should we say, pure? Jihoon suddenly felt worried about his friend, finding him both amusing and concerning.

“But you… After you really start dating Won Junjae…”

“Yeah?”

“What if Won Junjae later… asks you to marry him?”

“I’d have to refuse, right?”

“…Hmm. Then what if Won Junjae says he won’t get married and wants to break up?”

“Then we’d have to break up, right?”

Jihoon looked down at Jeonggwan quite seriously as he answered without a moment’s hesitation. Jihoon’s mood seemed to have become somewhat heavier.

“…You really have to do that.”

“Why are you suddenly being so serious?”

“Stay as Kim Jeonggwan forever.”

“Why are you suddenly saying such cringeworthy things? Ugh.”

“Ah, forget it.”

Jihoon glanced briefly at Jeonggwan, who was pretending to throw up, thinking that even he felt embarrassed saying such things. But Jihoon couldn’t think of any other way to express it. Saying “Never change” or “Stay pure like this” didn’t make sense. There are no absolutes, and people change. Of course, he could remain the same as now, and Jeonggwan could lose his innocence even without marrying Won Junjae.

Jihoon could see it. Purity? It wasn’t about that. Jeonggwan was just Kim Jeonggwan. Kim Jeonggwan, who only learned what he wanted to know and didn’t even look at things he wasn’t interested in, stubborn to a fault if you could call it that. He liked being friends with this Kim Jeonggwan who didn’t lose his stubbornness and confidence. That’s why he was worried. Worried that he might truly fall in love with Won Junjae. Dating was one thing, adults could do that, but marriage was different. If he married Won Junjae, Kim Jeonggwan would surely wither away. He would change from Kim Jeonggwan to the ‘omega’ of the Won family.

Because of Won Junjae? No. Because of his father, Won Youngjae. If he treated his own son like an object, it was obvious how he would treat Kim Jeonggwan. That’s why he hoped Jeonggwan would never marry Won Junjae. Because he felt Jeonggwan would be consumed by that family and lose himself.

“Anyway. Date whoever you want. Just don’t get married.”

“Weren’t you telling me to catch an alpha and get married before?”

“Anyone but Won Junjae. A rich, handsome, and kind alpha is fine.”

“Then should I seduce a guy here in Hong Kong? Look over there. He’s handsome, isn’t he?”

Jihoon turned his head, following Jeonggwan’s gaze which was fixed in one direction, his eyes sparkling. In the corner of the bar, surrounded by people, was a man who anyone could tell was an alpha, the epitome of a Hong Kong heartthrob. Jihoon burst out laughing. He shook his head at Jeonggwan, who had a mischievous look on his face. Yes, this is the real Kim Jeonggwan.

“You know? My bucket list number 13.”

“What? Seducing alphas from different countries?”

“No. Seducing handsome alphas from different countries. How about that guy for Hong Kong?”

“But can you communicate? You can’t even speak English.”

“Oh, right.” Jeonggwan smiled sheepishly and took a sip of his cocktail.