"If I win you a prize, you have to wear it for the rest of the day." Ki-hoon leaned closer and whispered into my ear. "Even when we get back to the mansion."

This guy... Was he trying to start a war?

"In your dreams, Hyung," I joked, though my heart wasn’t fully in it. "I’m the one who’s gonna win a prize so don’t even think of it."

We walked towards the stall but Seo-Jun was no longer there.

I did see the man in grey suit. That dominant energy radiating around him made me believe he was an Alpha.

He was rather handsome as well.

"Jo-Pil," Ki-hoon suddenly called, covering my eyes. "Stop staring at another man while I’m here."

"Ah... Ah," I almost panicked, thinking he had thought the wrong idea, but the fact that I regarded the man in a grey suit as handsome made it seem like his worries were justified.

I held his hand that was over my eyes and apologized.

"Sorry, Hyung. I won’t stare anymore. It was an accident."

"You..." I slid his hand down, looking at him apologetically. "I wasn’t staring because I meant any of that, you hear? But I’m in the wrong for staring so forgive me this once. Please."

I hoped he would just drop it.

If I said any more than this, it would just look like I was making up excuses to excuse my behavior just now.

Ki-hoon raised his head and looked over there, but he didn’t see the man in a grey suit anymore.

He sighed, dropped his hand, and changed the topic right away.

"Jo-Pil, you’re up first," Ki-hoon said, handing the stall owner some bills.

I took a breath, trying to steady my hands. My legs were still a little weak from what had happened in the restroom, and my focus was split.

"You aren’t mad at me, are you?" I asked, pursing my lips as I worried but he shook his head.

Though, the expression on his face told me otherwise.

To make up for it, I grabbed his arm and then stretched my body upward, tiptoing to give him a quick and fast kiss on his lips before anyone saw.

The owner of the stall saw, alright, but no one else did so it was fine.

"Please don’t be mad," I said, and then turned to shoot the balloons.

I picked up the dart gun and aimed at a bright red balloon in the center.

I already did mandatory service in the other world so I know how to handle a gun just fine. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Pop!

I made my first shot look so effortless, but I ended up getting the wrong balloon. The yellow one next to it.

They won’t know I was aiming for the red one, will they?

"Nice shot," Ki-hoon murmured, his voice low and vibrating.

I glanced at him, seeing the glee on his face. I couldn’t see his eyes through his sunglasses but it looked like my trick to lift his mood worked.

He was no longer mad.

He stepped closer, his chest brushing against my back.

"Don’t overthink it." He said, cutting me off from my thoughts. "Just look at the target, nothing else."

He reached around me, his hand covering mine on the next dart. His skin was hot, and the smell of his pheromones—now calmed but still potent—wrapped around me.

It’s not like I didn’t have the right form but he still wanted to assist me.

It seems like he knew I was aiming for the red but got the yellow instead.

"Don’t worry about anything, Jo-Pil," he whispered into my ear, his breath hitching slightly. "I’m not mad. So, just pay attention to me, okay? I’m the only one you need to look at today."

I felt my face heat up again. He was doing it on purpose—reminding me of the reflection in the mirror, of the way he’d looked at me while we were...

Pop! Pop!

He guided my hand to hit two more in rapid succession. The stall owner cheered, reaching for a medium-sized plushie—a little lion with a crown.

"Here you go, lover boys!" the man laughed, tossing the lion to me.

I caught it, but as I turned to thank Ki-hoon, I saw a reflection in the glass of the prize cabinet behind him. A tall figure was standing on the bridge overlooking the pond, looking directly at us.

It was the man in the grey suit. He was holding a phone to his ear, his gaze fixed squarely on Ki-hoon’s back. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Ki-hoon.

My grip tightened on the lion. Was Ki-hoon the reason they were here? Or was it me?

"Hyung," I said, my voice dropping. "Let’s go somewhere less crowded. Like the bird sanctuary? It’s quieter there."

This made me feel uneasy. But while I wanted to know what was going on, I didn’t want to ruin our mood.

Instead of all of that, I picked up my phone and messaged Seo-Jun.

—Hey, where are you? Whatcha doing?

It took a while but as if he had been waiting for me to reach out, he sent a quick response.

—Working. Then, he sent a tired emoji along with it.

Hm, was he just acting oblivious?

—In the office?

I asked and raised my head to look in the direction we were walking.

—Oh my, is my sweet Jo-Pil missing me already? Wanna visit my red room again?

I felt an irk form on my forehead. Couldn’t he just take this seriously?

—But it’s unfortunate that I’m not in the office. I’m out in a zoo. There’s a problem with the robots we installed a few weeks back. It’s quite the headache and there are a lot of people. I wish I could just go home and lie next to you. Save me.

It was at that point that I realized he wasn’t here for me, but it was because of business.

Ah, it was indeed a coincidence.

Thank God I didn’t just approach him to sound him out. That would’ve been disastrous.

"Jo-Pil," Ki-hoon called and I raised my head, keeping my phone in my coat pocket.

"Coming," I answered and hurried after him.

Knowing Seo-Jun wasn’t here for me and that the grey-suited man wasn’t following us took a load off my chest and allowed me to enjoy the rest of the moment without worry.