Chapter Text
“What are you doing here?" Han Yoojin was shooting daggers at the blonde who casually took a sip of the tea he made.
It’s already been a few months since the cat-ccident. Soon after Song Taewon left, Sung Hyunjae had ordered to be transferred to a private hospital he owned.
At first, Han Yoojin worried that he would need to face exorbitant compensation. To his surprise, though, the man didn’t ask for any financial compensation but only required Han Yoojin to cook for him, and sometimes come by helping him with cleaning his house. Basically, a Cinderella and her evil stepsister, Han Yoojin swear internally.
After a few months of Cinderella experience, Han Yoojin finally back to the laboratory, only to find out that dazzling menace sitting in his professor’s office, smiling at him.
Han Yoojin had known the true colour of the man, annoying, annoying, and annoying! He clearly liked the food Han Yoojin had made, but was still picky about the ingredients he chose. He was so demanding that he even asked Han Yoojin to cut toast crusts for him! If only he were not the patient, he would have cooked them up as a salty cuisine.
"After a month of living with Han Yoojin, I've figured out a big mistake in my life!" Han Yoojin's professor looked at him in shock.
"By saying living with me for a month, it means I was babysitting him, serving him food and keeping his house clean." Han Yoojin explained to his professor, gritting his teeth. After all the time he suffered, he was now fully convinced that Officer Song really had nothing to do with him. How could he be so good at spouting misleading propaganda?
“I’ve been captivated by the allure of nature. Seseong has been focused on business success too much in the past, that have leaved me with a void inside.” Sung Hyunjae continued, as if he didn’t hear what Han Yoojin said to the professor, adopting a melancholic expression with his deceptively charming face. “Therefore, I have made a new decision! Seseong Group should join in activities to protect the Borneo Bay Cats! Our next movie has been decided to feature a wild cat’s adventure! We hope Haeyeon University can collaborate with us and lend us dear Yoojin…’s cat.” A radiant smile bloomed on Sung Hyunjae’s face.
“Hell no, don’t you dare… Waaah!" Han Yoojin’s words were cut off by his mentor.
“Of course! Such a pleasure to know a big company like Seseong is interested in animal preservation,” his mentor replied with a business smile, “Would you be interested in our institution's other animal protection programs? Our funding pool is a little bit…dried up.”
“Our corporate social responsibility department would be very pleased to find a new partner to contribute to society.” And so it was all settled.
The news that Seseong Group will invest in a cat-themed movie in collaboration with an animal preservation institution shook the industry. Some speculated that it was an attempt by the conglomerate to expand its business presence in other ancillary fields. Rumours circulated that Seseong Group planned to open its own theme park, and, no doubt, having some animal elements in its collection would be a huge advantage when they need to create mascot merchandise.
Han Yoojin felt both proud and melancholy to see peace shine through, like seeing a child he took care of grow up and leave him. He did want everyone to know how adorable and brilliant Peace was, but seeing Peace surrounded by people without any shyness and being able to make others happy evoked a sense of emptiness in him, as if he were having the empty-nest syndrome.
A hand appeared out of thin air before his eyes, offering Han Yoojin a cup of hot chocolate.
“What are you doing here?” Han Yoojin felt that he had already asked this question too many times. “Does the head of Seseong Group really have so much free time?" He looked displeased but reached out and took the hot chocolate without hesitation.
“To keep my dear empty-nest dad in check? I took his kid, so it is only fair for me to take care of him, and he knows he likes my offer.”
Han Yoojin turned red with steam diffused from his head. Before he could throw the hot chocolate back at the golden menace, Sung Hyunjae handed him a book.
“What is this? Umm… Parenting, How to Do it Right for Yourself and Your Child?! Wh… I am not having a baby!”
Han Yoojin tried very hard not to slam the book on Seseong’s CEO. He couldn’t do this; there were too many people watching. He couldn’t let himself get caught up in the entertainment headlines. Yoohyun would be very worried about him if this happened.
“Speaking of which, what exactly did Yoojin do to Song Taewon? He saw you like a little squirrel being chased by a cat.” Sung Hyunjae ignored his piercing gaze and calmly sat down beside him.
“Well…umm…not much, just a little accident.”
“My dear Yoojin, I am now worried that you are going to attract more characters by having accidents.” Sung Hyunjae sighed.
Breeze blowing through them, silence was spreading, though it wasn’t awkward. After more than a month of knowing each other, they were secretly enjoying each other’s presence. Without speaking, even the acknowledgement of the existence of an interesting person beside them, it was enough to alleviate their loneliness.
"The possibility of disappearing in heathlands is low, but never zero." Sung Hyunjae said while watching Peace nimbly moved among actors and actresses.
“Don’t waste public resources, have you now grown up?” Han Yoojin immediately understood what Sung Hyunjae wanted to do, even though he did not explicitly state his words.
“You have his personal number, do you?”
“So does you, why not call him yourself?”
“He may… forget to unblock me?”
“Ha, he's right, you deserved it.”
“Ah, my dear Yoojin is so cold to me.” Sung Hyunjae wiped out his non-existent tears. “So, shall we go on an adventure together?”
“You really have too much free time. Is Seseong going bankrupt?” Han Yoojin didn’t say no to the proposal.
"Officer Song, we're lost (;´Д)`”
Song Taewon stared at the kaomoji that popped up on his text inbox, hesitating for a full five minutes before clicking to see the full text. He blamed Sung Hyunjae for desecrating Han Yoojin.
The message he received was about how Han Yoojin and Sung Hyunjae accidentally entered the wilderness while chasing Peace, who flew from the filming site, and they couldn’t find the way back and could only stay in the middle of nowhere.
Yeah, a scam, totally. As a police officer, he could tell. Definitely a scam.
Firstly, Peace was well-behaved after he found out that chasing other animals would cause huge trouble to his dad, even though Han Yoojin did not blame Peace for anything. That little kitty was smart.
To ensure the animal’s working conditions, and to ensure their safety, although Song Taewon refused to admit it, he secretly visited the site a few days ago. Peace had smelled his scent, even glancing at him, but immediately lost interest and looked back at his dad. He seemed guilty that his dad worked as a Cinderella and needed to take care of that blond jerk for months. When Peace didn’t need to be involved in filming, he stayed with Han Yoojin as his dad’s emotional support doll.
Secondly, Sung Hyunjae was the CEO of the Seseong Group. Song Taewon didn’t believe that Sung Hyunjae would go out without bodyguards, and he also believed that his bodyguards wouldn’t be that incompetent to let their boss disappear in front of them.
Thirdly, they were both familiar with the heathland where they “got lost”.
Fourth…
"Officer Song, what should we do as it gets dark? 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。” He received another text from Han Yoojin.
Fourth…
Song Taewon tried to make reasonable decisions. But he thought of the night when Han Yoojin shivered in the cold wind in the wilderness, mustered the courage to approach him. He looked at him wholly. Song Taewon could see the whole starry sky in his eyes.
Song Taewon couldn’t help to thought of Sung Hyunjae’s smirk. When he casually passed through his jurisdiction, bringing him coffee while his face was covered with disdain for his taste of coffee. He knew that the only reason this finicky man stepped into a chain coffee shop was because of him, as he would reject any offer which was pricy.
Honestly, neither of them seemed to have any survival skills to go through a dark, cold night.
“I am leaving earlier today.” Song Taewon told his colleagues. Regardless of whether it was a scam or not, it was his duty to protect civilians, ensuring they were safe and sound. Song Taewon insisted his actions were driven by his responsibility, completely ignoring the fact that he could have reported the case to the police system, which would have made things much more efficient.
On his way to the heathland, Song Taewon called Han Yoojin to reassure them not to panic. He gave Han Yoojin instructions on how to make fire, at least making sure they wouldn’t suffer from hypothermia, and repeatedly promised that he would be with them soon.
As for the person who shouted in the background, crying to let him out from the backlist? He didn’t hear anything; it’s probably howling winds. Hmm.
When he arrived at the entrance of the heathland, he saw a faint light on the horizon. As the field entered the wintertime, leaves had all fallen and faded, allowing him to see far into the distance. Song Taewon sighted with reliefs while finding that the two were able to secure a fire source. He quickened his pace on the way.
"Crunch crunch", He stepped through the fallen leaves. The two in front of the fire turned simultaneously to look at him. Their movements were so synchronised that wary Song Taewon for a moment.
"You guys...are you alright?" Although he wanted to scold them for wandering around and getting lost, Song Taewon ended up only asking softly.
"Song Taewon is here to rescue the princess trapped in the wasteland?" The smile on the cunning fox shone even more dazzling under the campfire.
"Gotcha! Hehe, you have to stay and have dinner with us!" Here, a mischievous black cat leapt up and grabbed the powerful arm, pinched his arm a few times, while leading him to the fire.
The scene in front of the fire was fully exposed to Song Taewon. There was a barbecue grill, with meat and vegetables laid out. If it weren’t Han Yoojin’s text message, he wouldn’t think they had gotten lost.
No, they were here for a picnic, for sure. He knew it was a scam.
Song Taewon sighed. “Making a false police report is illegal.”
“I just invited my favourite human to spend a night in the land, as a Friday fun event.” Sung Hyunjae shrugged nonchalantly, casually flipping the pork belly on the grill and taking out lettuce to make a deluxe meat and vegetable wrap.
“Is inviting friends over for dinner illegal? I just thought it would be fun to add some dramatic effects.” Han Yoojin’s hands were still wrapped around his arm. He gave him a tearful, sad expression, a few tears glistening in his black eyes like starlight in the night.
Song Taewon suspected that Han Yoojin had figured out a way to scrawl into his heart to weaken his guard.
Han Yoojin, who always knew how to take advantage of the blunt police officer, dragged him closer to the fire and forced him to sit down. At the opportune moment, Sung Hyunjae stuffed a freshly made lettuce wrap into his hand, no room for him to refuse.
Song Taewon let out another sigh for tonight, still picked up the wrap and started eating.
This is for risk management. He told himself. He needed to be here so that these two would not place any more burden on the public service system.
Winter had quietly receded, and the once desolate heathland once again sprouted tender green leaves and grass. Fawns toddled along beside their parents, exploring the new world.
“I can’t believe Song Taewon can be so mean to me! He did not allow me to prepare any food for a barbecue! You already tasted my cooking! Did my cooking disappoint you?” Sung Hyunjae grumbled with a mournful expression while setting up their picnic.
“It’s not like that… I didn’t know this place does not allow barbecue. Mr Sung Hyunjae, please follow the park rules." Song Taewon didn’t wear his usual uniform but dressed in a simple grey T-shirt. He looked more relaxed in his casual dress. He quietly slipped the champagne bottle Sung Hyunjae just pulled out back into the picnic basket. “Drinking is also prohibited in the park. Please cooperate with the rules."
Unexpectedly, Sung Hyunjae smoothly let Song Taewon put the bottle back without intervention, but only to hold his hand and gently kiss it. “I will follow, but you also need to take out honorifics when talking to me.”
“…not in a public occasion.” It was his final resistance.
“Hey, don’t mess with Taewon when I’m gone!” Han Yoojin jumped in and forcefully separated Sung Hyunjae from continually harassing the poor police officer. He went to the forest a while ago. Han Yoojin didn’t bring Peace with him this time. It was not recommended to bring a pet while newborn fawns were still exploring the world.
“This is for you.” Han Yoojin tucked a plant of fresh bluebells behind Song Taewon’s ear, nodding with satisfaction at his own decoration while Song Taewon didn’t even have the time to refuse the gift with an excuse of potential conflict of interests.
“My Yoojin, you have such good taste! And me?" The lonely Sung Hyunjae snuggled closer to Han Yoojin, blinking with his long eyelashes, urging to be decorated as well.
“Rich people like you should buy flowers themselves, don’t steal wildflowers from us ordinary people." Han Yoojin hissed but still handed him another bunch of bluebells.
Picking wildflowers in the park was also prohibited in public parks, regardless of your social status, Song Taewon thought, but he didn’t feel the need to discipline them this time. He gently removed the flower from behind his ear. Flowers can fade readily and seem to be a waste as a gift. Maybe he could put the flowers in one of his heavy documents to make pressed flowers? Song Taewon’s thoughts wandered around in the beautiful spring scenery, completely unaware that Han Yoojin and Sung Hyunjae’s presences were permeating his life, that he couldn’t bear to let their touches fade away in the spring.
In the distance, deer excitedly bumped into each other, occasionally leaping lightly past the men.
This time, no one was hit by a deer.