Pig Government Official

-52-

Junjae wondered if he had seen something wrong. Ever since Jeonggwan caught him looking at his SNS, he had been freely browsing Jeonggwan’s posts. But the Instagram story Jeonggwan posted two hours after their phone call ended was so unbelievable that, even seeing it with his own eyes, he had already replayed it over twenty times.

[Chapter One of How to Flirt with an Alpha! Raise your cocktail glass and wink at your target!]

[Kim Jeonggwan’s voice is so loud. That Hong Kong alpha is looking at you.]

[He-y! I’m solo! Are you solo?!]

[Ah, it’s embarrassing but I’m doing it anyway. Oh, oh. Hey. That guy is coming.]

Kim Jeonggwan’s fair face was flushed red from however many cocktails he had drunk, and his pronunciation was slurred. Park Jihoon’s voice was full of laughter even as he said it was embarrassing. Since it was filmed in selfie mode, only Jeonggwan’s face was visible, so it was unclear if the Hong Kong alpha had really approached Jeonggwan.

Junjae’s throat felt parched. As soon as he saw that story, he felt his heart skip a beat again. Feeling his heart drop to the floor, he kept replaying the story. He felt more anxious because there was nothing after this. Did that alpha really approach Kim Jeonggwan? If they were both single, did they exchange any words? Junjae, who had been lying in bed trying to sleep, was now sitting on a stool in the living room, clutching his phone with both hands, two hours after seeing that video.

Kim Jeonggwan seemed to make people stupid. He suddenly went to Hong Kong without saying anything even though his hand was injured, then called out of the blue to say he wanted to meet when he returned. And now he was posting such videos even though he knew Junjae was watching. Junjae ran his hand through his hair, feeling a deep sigh escape from within.

As soon as he saw the video, Junjae immediately opened his chat with Jeonggwan. Despite his urgent hands, he spent a long time pondering what to say before finally squeezing out a message asking Jeonggwan to contact him again when he returned to Korea. Usually, Kim Jeonggwan would read and reply quickly, but now there was no response for a long time. Maybe he was too drunk, or sleeping, or perhaps doing something else… Junjae, feeling anxious from that point, went back and forth between the living room and kitchen, drinking three glasses of water. He felt a bit of self-loathing for doing this in the middle of the night, but he couldn’t ignore it and go to sleep. What if Kim Jeonggwan really was with that Hong Kong man…

Zing-. Click.

[Huh…? Hyung? Why are you… calling…?]

“…Where are you now?”

[What? I’m… I’m in Hong Kong, right…?]

“…I’m asking where Kim Jeonggwan is.”

[Jeonggwan is also… in Hong Kong, right…?]

“Answer me properly.”

Are you playing word games with me now? Junjae closed his eyes tightly, suppressing the rising anger. He had thought about calling Jeonggwan several times but couldn’t bring himself to press the call button. While Kim Jeonggwan could call him so easily, he found it strangely difficult to do the same. So he ended up calling Jihoon instead, and he thought it was a good decision. His tone became harsh as his remaining patience ran out with Jihoon’s consistently stupid answers.

“I’m asking what Kim Jeonggwan is doing right now.”

[…Jeonggwan? He’s probably sleeping now? Or maybe eating something…]

“Alone?”

[Huh? Yes. I can’t share a bed with anyone, so…]

“…Did that bastard leave?”

[…Huh? What bastard…?]

Jihoon’s confused voice and his flustered answers that couldn’t grasp the context of the questions gave Junjae the impression that nothing had happened to Jeonggwan. Junjae rubbed his deeply furrowed brow and let out a short sigh.

“Nevermind. Hang up.”

[What? Oh… okay.]

“…Don’t tell Kim Jeonggwan about this.”

[…Yes, sir.]

After hanging up, Junjae leaned back and lay down on the sofa. What was he doing in the middle of the night like this? Junjae blinked his tired eyes and let out another sigh, not knowing how many times he had already sighed.

“…Hah.”

Kim Jeonggwan was truly unpredictable. He was the most inscrutable person Junjae had ever encountered. One moment he’s so forward it’s startling, then he suddenly pulls away as if he doesn’t know you, only to casually approach again soon after. Junjae couldn’t figure out what type of person Kim Jeonggwan was. Whenever countless omegas told him they couldn’t understand him, he had dismissively thought, “What’s the point of understanding them anyway?” But now he wondered if this was exactly how they felt. It was frustrating.

* * *

Jeonggwan felt like his head was about to split open. They say cocktails give you bad hangovers, and it was true. Being abroad must have put him in a good mood because he drank 7 cocktails by himself. And that was just the ones he counted, so he probably drank much more. Jeonggwan, clutching his head and stumbling like a zombie, came down and immediately ordered room service. He’d have to cure his hangover with wonton noodle soup…

The alcohol smell on his breath was strong, so he went to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush first. He felt like he might throw up if he ate bread today. Should he tell Jihoon not to go to the fair today? He probably wasn’t feeling well either. Jeonggwan was brushing his teeth vigorously as he picked up his phone that was sprawled on the bed.

“…Huh?”

Jeonggwan squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, thinking he might have seen something wrong, and checked his phone again. What’s this? Did Won Junjae really send a KakaoTalk message at 1 AM?

[Let me know when you return to Korea. – 1:17 AM]

What sudden change of heart made him message first? Jeonggwan stared at the screen for a long time with a puzzled expression. All the while, he didn’t stop brushing his teeth.

“Whas dis abou’?”

And what’s this now? There were thirty-three Instagram direct messages from Jung Taegeon.

[Jeonggwan.]

[Kim Jeonggwan.]

[Where are you now?]

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[Please reply. I’m going crazy.]

Crazy bastard. Why are you going crazy? Jeonggwan ignored Taegeon’s DMs with disbelief and was about to reply to Junjae’s message when he noticed a spinning circle on his Instagram profile. This meant a story had been uploaded to his Instagram… It was his story, so he must have uploaded it… Did I upload a story?

[Chapter One of How to Flirt with an Alpha!]

“Oh my god.”

Jeonggwan quickly closed his story. What did I just see? Jeonggwan tried to calm his flustered mind and pressed on the story again. An extremely drunk Jeonggwan was winking, trying to look fatal. Although he had always dreamed of being the second Al.da.kko, he hadn’t meant to leave such attention-seeking traces. He must have been really excited about being abroad. Jeonggwan couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

“Ah… So that’s why he messaged me.”

And then, seeing the indicator below the video, Jeonggwan burst out laughing for a different reason.

-People who viewed this story-

1_WonJunjae

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TAE_GEON_J

The reason for leaving a message after 1 AM probably wasn’t really to ask him to contact after returning to Korea. He must have seen this and couldn’t sleep, pondering before finally sending the message. Won Junjae was surprisingly transparent. Does it show this much? Ah, how cute. Jeonggwan was replying to Junjae when he started laughing so hard he forgot he was brushing his teeth, and had to rush to the bathroom as the foam was about to overflow.

* * *

Junjae’s whole body ached from sleeping on the sofa for a day. He had just lain down on the sofa for a moment after the call with Jihoon, feeling drained, but he hadn’t expected to fall asleep. Junjae entered his office, gently turning his head from side to side.

“Director, I’m coming in for a moment.”

Secretary Oh entered the office as soon as Junjae returned from the meeting. He had left in the middle of the meeting and was only now coming to report, which seemed to be quite an important matter. Such cases were usually tasks directed by his father. Feeling a sudden wave of fatigue, Junjae, who was massaging his shoulder with one hand, nodded towards Secretary Oh, leaning on his desk as if to say ‘go ahead’.

“The other side has contacted us asking if this Sunday would be suitable.”

“…For what?”

“…The arranged meeting, sir.”

“…Ah.”

Junjae’s face stiffened slightly. Come to think of it, he was supposed to go on an arranged date. And with the youngest from the Kyung family, who had briefly troubled Kim Jeonggwan. He had tried to select another omega to present to his father, but his father seemed to already have the Kyung family in mind. Currently, that family had a tight grip on the legal world, so he probably needed their power as he was about to ascend to the chairman position. Still, just in case, he had selected and submitted documents for another suitable omega along with the Kyung family, but the only response came for the Kyung family, so it was clear the other omega’s information hadn’t even been passed along.

But how did Kim Jeonggwan know about this? He had been very flustered when asked that question, even though the meeting hadn’t even happened yet. Where is the information leaking from? Does Kim Jeonghyun tell Kim Jeonggwan everything in detail…? Of course, whether he goes on this arranged date or not shouldn’t matter to Kim Jeonggwan, but…

“Is Sunday alright with you, sir?”

“…Yeah. Well…”

Zing-.

[Jeonggwan: I’ll teach you how an omega flirts~ Chapter 1. Buying them something delicious on the weekend~]

It seemed like it could be postponed for a while. The arranged meeting could happen anytime, but Kim Jeonggwan was unpredictable and did as he pleased… When he said he wanted to eat something delicious on the weekend, you had to buy it for him. Well, of course, you didn’t have to, but it was also a chance to fully indulge in his pheromones after a long time… Well… That’s how it was.

“…No. Sunday doesn’t work.”