Seoha’s POV

It must be a dream.

The room is happy and smells of like meal we just had.

"You eat so much" my grandma says with pride and I smile, swallowing the last spoon of broth in my spoon.

Everything tastes delicious, it can tell that the old woman put in so much effort into it, it feels like being spoiled again just like she used to.

It’s almost as if the six years gap never happened between us...

"Thank you for the meal" I say brightly after eating "I’ll do the dishes" I add, preparing to get up.

"Nonsense, stone will do it" Grandma says and I can’t help but make a face.

I can’t imagine the mighty Kang Taesan washing dishes, I don’t think I have ever seen his house helps washing dishes by hand either...maybe once?

"No, I’ll-" but before I can get the words out, Taesan has gotten up.

The man picks up all the plates, stacking them one by one in his wide palm before he goes straight to the kitchen.

I follow him with my eyes in surprise, why does he look so...casual about it?

His jacket has been taken off and his sleeves folded, if I didn’t know better, I would think this is his natural habitat.

And once he’s out of earshot, I lean into my grandma.

"Grandma, what are you doing? That man is a millionaire, he shouldn’t be bossed around" I whisper-yell and she pushes my face away.

"Look at you, aigoo, those big brown eyes are your grandfather’s" she says and I sigh.

"Grandma..." I whine at her and she chuckles, passing me a cup of water, "drink up, you’ll need to dehydrate a lot" she says and I take the water.

As I swallow the water, I hear the soft clanging of kitchen utensils from the kitchen as Taesan washes, and I relax my body.

My omega has been silently purring inside my chest, contented to have the alpha around us and to have my grandma here too, all that is missing is Sooin.

I smile as I think of the pup, and missing him, I strain my ears to listen to his movements.

The alpha must feel out of place here.

While grandma and I talked about everything during the meal, he stayed completely silent.

The man ate his meal without saying anything, he just stayed...quiet...like he’s lost in thought.

’Alpha is happy’ my omega says and I sigh loudly. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Happy.

"What are you thinking about, my love?" Grandma asks and I pout.

"Do you think he’s uncomfortable here?" I ask.

"Who? Your boyfriend?" she asks and I blink.

"Eh? Boyfriend?" I ask and my grandma waves her hand in front of my face.

"I told you he’s my boss, grandma" I add as I cover my face with my palms and she just keeps looking at me with a knowing look on her face.

"Of course, I’m sure my neighbor’s daughter also has her boss scent marking her, and I had my boss scent marking me, just like I also scent mark my employees" she says and I groan.

"Please...stop" I whine playfully, "why? Is it more than scent marking? Will I be a great grandparent soon?" she asks and I place my hand over her mouth to make her stop talking.

My grandma has to be the most unfiltered person in the world...I hope Taesan didn’t hear that.

"I’ll go check on him" I say with a blush on my cheeks, getting up and heading for the kitchen to find the alpha.

The alpha is concentrated on the dish he’s washing, the thick cord of his arm muscles bulge with every movement, and I move closer to him to catch a whiff of his scent.

He smells stable, calm and comfortable...like everything I am starting to love.

"Hi" I whisper and he looks at me with a small smile, "hi, are you okay?" he asks me and I nod.

He picks up the last dish and starts to wash, the tiger tattoo at the back of his hand contrast the action he’s carrying out.

"Thank you for bringing me here" I whisper and his smile drops slightly, "hmm...I’m glad you like it" he murmurs his reply and redirect his gaze to the plate.

"You can say goodbye to your grandma, we will leave very soon" he says and I can’t help but hug him from behind, pressing my body into his back.

His body tenses for a moment but he doesn’t complain, he stays still for me, and tears well up in my eyes.

"I can’t thank you enough, you made my day the most beautiful, thank you" I say.

He still doesn’t speak but I hear the way his heart skips a beat, so I pull away from him and return to my grandma.

She opens her arms for me to come in and hug her.

"I’ll miss you, I’ll miss you so much grandma" I say, holding back my tears and she chuckles.

"You won’t miss me, I know you’ll see me soon" she says and rubs her nose to mine.

"Your boyfriend will bring you to me" she says gently and I let out a small wet laugh.

"He’s not my boyfriend" I whisper and wipe the stray tears off my face.

"Hm-hmm, so you say" she says and I pout at her, "say hello to Minjae for me, I miss that silly boy" she says and I giggle.

"I’m sure he misses you too" I respond and by the time Taesan returns, I am physically ready to leave with him.

I put on my shoes and walk behind him with heavy feet.

"Get in" the alpha says as he opens the door for me and I slide into the car, sitting and waiting for him to drive us away before I break down in tears.

But before he gets in, he goes to grandma and they talk for a few seconds.

Surprised at the interaction, and out of curiosity, I strain my ears to listen in, but I don’t hear anything.

"Ready?" he asks when he returns to me and I nod, still staring longingly at grandma.

"See you soon, my baby" she calls loudly and waves at me with a happy smile while my bottom lip trembles.

I don’t want to go...

"You’ll come back soon" Taesan says and I lean back into the seat.

I get lost in thought for some seconds as the alpha drives us away, my fingers mindlessly play with the bead of crystals grandma gave me while we ate.

I tug on it gently, rolling them between my thumb and forefinger...I’ll see grandma soon.

The alpha keeps driving us, he stays composed but I see him wiping his palm on his pants regularly.

His actions make me nervous and I whimper, looking at him with concern, but he doesn’t look at me.

The man seems to be lost in the thoughts he’s having, he keeps his eyes on the road and constantly wipes his palm on his pants.

I want to ask him what’s wrong, but I don’t, I just keep watching him.

"Here" he finally says after twenty minutes of driving and I blink...a habit I have recently developed.

We can’t possibly get to our destination in twenty minutes, are we lost now?

"Taesan..." I call his name as he unbuckles his seatbelt with surety, like he knows what he’s doing, but I’m worried now.

The mountain-like man gets out of the car, and I look outside the window for the first time, and when I do...my jaw drops.

We’re at the mountain side...the place I used to spend my days next to grandma and my mom.

"Taesan..." I call his name again and he comes to my side of the car.

"Come on" he says and he opens the door and helps me out.

I take his hand and let him lead me to the river side, following his steps carefully, trusting the heat of his palm and the darkness in his eyes.

The mafia Lord...the man that calls me thief.

"Is everything okay?" I whisper in concern and he runs his free hand through his hair, brushing back the thick strands of dark hair.

"Shin Seoha...I- fuck" he curses and his cheeks seem to grow red, this time, I know I’m not hallucinating.

"I don’t know about this love thing...but I want to try with you" he says and my eyes widen.

"You have shown me how...fucking perfect you are and...shit, I don’t know how to use words" he says, sucking in a hard breath.

My eyes start to water as I put my hand over my mouth.

"I don’t know what I’m saying, but...be mine and I’ll be yours" he says like it’s an order and I just stare.

The sound of the water flowing behind me and the way the cool evening breeze blows my hair makes me feel like this is a dream.

This is a dream...it has to be a dream.

"Please" he adds and I see the way his eyes shine with the sunset behind me.