Chapter 36: MOOD BOOSTER
"PAPA, are you okay?"
Wonyoung stopped ’daydreaming’ when he heard Yun Yuhyun’s worried voice.
When he snapped out of whatever trance he had suddenly gotten into, he was surprised when he saw his son about to touch his forehead.
He knew that Yun Yuhyun meant no harm.
But fear suddenly crept throughout Wonyoung’s system.
The next thing he knew, he had already slapped Yun Yuhyun’s hand.
It wasn’t a hard slap— it didn’t even make a sound. Actually, it was more like he just pushed his son’s hand away from him.
Even so, it didn’t change the fact that he rejected the child’s touch.
Oh.
"I’m sorry, Papa," Yun Yuhyun said. The child looked a bit upset and hurt, the latter being more evident. "I was just trying to wipe your sweat."
Wonyoung wanted to say that Yun Yuhyun didn’t have to apologize, that he was the one who made a mistake.
But his son had already run out of the room.
Haaah.
Damn it.
Wonyoung slapped his forehead, annoyed with himself for missing the chance to apologize to Yun Yuhyun.
He was coming up with an excuse for his horrible action when he got distracted.
After all, he realized that his forehead was really sweaty.
Was it because of the ’vision’ that I just saw?
Wonyoung suddenly felt scared.
If that vision was one of my forgotten memories, then does it mean I tried to hurt Yun Yuhyun in the past?
***
"I DIDN’T personally wait in the line, but Yun Yuhyun and I still waited in the car for an hour while Han Myung was buying the ssiat hotteok that you wanted for breakfast, Hoobae-nim. But you’re barely eating it."
Right?
Wonyoung was nibbling the ssiat hotteok, just taking small bites.
He lost his appetite because of the horrible thing that he did to Yun Yuhyun earlier.
"Do you want me to order room service?" Yun Dujun asked. "If you have something else you want to eat, just tell me."
"This is enough for me, Sunbae-nim," Wonyoung said, and then he looked at Yun Yuhyun and An Baekya. "We need to talk to the kids anyway."
Yun Yuhyun was having an English breakfast: pork sausages, smoked bacon, baked beans, fried eggs, black pudding, fried bread, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It would have been a complete English breakfast had the kid chosen tea over hot chocolate.
On the other hand, An Baekya was having a Korean breakfast: fried rice with sliced tender steak on top, and some side dishes like radish kimchi, rolled eggs, and gimbap.
Wonyoung was satisfied with his ssiat hotteok, so he only ordered coffee.
And so did Yun Dujun.
But Sunbae-nim has already finished his ssiat hotteok.
"Should I do the explaining?" Yun Dujun offered while looking at Wonyoung’s face. "You look out of it, Hoobae-nim."
"No, I can do it, Sunbae-nim..."
Wonyoung trailed off when he accidentally made eye contact with Yun Yuhyun.
And then his son suddenly avoided his gaze, focusing on his almost empty plate.
Oh.
If Wonyoung was still the same person he was when he first woke up in that world, he wouldn’t have cared.
But, now, he felt guilty because he knew he had hurt Yun Yuhyun’s feelings earlier.
"Appa, are you okay?" An Baekya asked worriedly. "Are you still sleepy?"
Pfft.
It was funny how An Baekya was acting like a child.
Well, he does have the appearance of a kid now. But it must be tough for a grown man to be acting like that.
Hence, he couldn’t help but smile.
"I’m not sleepy. Thank you for asking, Baekya," Wonyoung said. He cheered up, thanks to An Baekya. Hence, he finally got back on track. "Yuhyun-ah."
He was actually nervous about calling Yun Yuhyun affectionately.
But, fortunately, his son raised his head without protest.
You can do this, Bae Wonyoung.
"Yuhyun-ah, your daddy and I have just become An Baekya’s foster parents," Wonyoung explained as carefully as possible. "But don’t worry. Nothing will change. I’ll raise An Baekya on my own, so you can carry on with your life as usual. You can ignore us if you want to."
"Hoobae-nim, can you please keep quiet for a moment?"
Aigoo.
Yun Dujun looked calm, and his voice sounded gentle, but Wonyoung could tell that the Alpha was a little annoyed.
Did I say something wrong?
"Open your mouth, Hoobae-nim."
Wonyoung opened his mouth not because Yun Dujun asked him to, but because he wanted to ask why.
But Yun Dujun used that chance to put a ssiat hotteok in his mouth.
Tsk.
"Yuhyun-ah, An Baekya is now our foster child, so that makes him your foster sibling," Yun Dujun said, talking to his son calmly as if he just didn’t stuff Wonyoung’s face with a ssiat hotteok a moment ago. "But this arrangement is only temporary. Once we find a suitable guardian for An Baekya, then we will help him move to his forever home. Until then, we will take care of him. So, it will be nice if the two of you get along well. After all, Bae Wonyoung and An Baekya will be living with us once we return to Seoul."
Aigoo.
I haven’t fully agreed on becoming Sunbae-nim’s manager, though.
But Wonyoung should probably stop resisting by now.
I’m tired of rebelling against Sunbae-nim, so let’s just go with the flow.
Although the moment Yun Dujun’s mother threatened his safety, he’d disappear with An Baekya.
"Daddy, do I have to treat An Baekya like my brother?"
"No, not really. But you have to give him the basic respect he deserves," Yun Dujun answered Yun Yuhyun’s question calmly. "We won’t force you to be friends with each other, but your Appa and I will be happy if you get along well enough to be buddies."
"Okay, Daddy," Yun Yuhyun said obediently. "I’ll try."
"Me, too, Abeoji," An Baekya said, acting meekly again. "I’ll do my best to be friends with Yun Yuhyun."
Aigoo.
Wonyoung couldn’t help but worry when Yun Yuhyun and An Baekya exchanged glances.
The two kids wore different expressions.
Yun Yuhyun was obviously giving An Baekya a side-eye, while An Baekya was giving Yun Yuhyun a fake smile.
Yeah, the love line between these two is gone.
***
"HOOBAE-NIM, I’m giving you permission to hug me."
Wonyoung gave Yun Dujun a weird look.
Did this sunbae-nim pull me into the bedroom just to say that nonsense?
No wonder the Alpha even locked the room as if he didn’t want the kids to disturb them.
"I thought we were going to talk about something important," Wonyoung said, knitting his eyebrows. "Sunbae-nim, I’m sorry, but I’m busy today. An Baekya and I need to visit his school and his theatre group—"
"You look awful," Yun Dujun said, cutting off Wonyoung. "You need my pheromones to recover."
As if on cue, Yun Dujun’s pheromones suddenly got stronger.
Ah, this refreshing scent...
Before Wonyoung knew it, he found himself walking towards Yun Dujun as if he were hypnotized.
And then his knees suddenly collapsed.
Fortunately, Yun Dujun caught him before he fell to the floor.
"This is cheating, Sunbae-nim," Wonyoung complained lightly while wrapping his arms around Yun Dujun’s waist, and then he buried his face against the Alpha’s chest. "You just can’t seduce me with your pheromones..."
"I’m not seducing you— I just want you to feel better," Yun Dujun said while gently rubbing Wonyoung’s back. "Did something happen, Hoobae-nim? You look pretty down."
Hmm.
Should I tell Sunbae-nim that I accidentally hurt our son’s feelings earlier?
***
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