Kofi thanks to: Alilyana
Muwon turned his gaze outside the car window. Cheongyeon flinched, but Muwon paid no heed and checked the direction they had come from. Shops full of colorful flowers and displays of flower stalls were visible.
Why did he lie about watching such a trivial thing as a flower shop? Now that he thought about it, when he first saw Cheongyeon, he was holding a bunch of flowers. It made sense, considering he sold flower teas at the apothecary. It was funny that Cheongyeon’s face caught his attention first, more so than the flowers.
“Do you like flowers?”
“…Yes.”
Cheongyeon answered readily, though he was worried that Muwon might press him about liking flowers because he was of the Hwa clan. But saying no might have aroused more suspicion, so he answered truthfully.
“As much as me?”
Tae Muwon tilted his head and looked at Cheongyeon. The jacket he wore today was adorned with bright scarlet aster patterns in full bloom, similar to the tattoos of Peira.
Compared to Muwon, who always dressed in florally extravagant clothes, Cheongyeon felt his love for flowers seemed quite trivial.
“…I think you like them more than I do.”
Muwon straightened up without responding, only wearing an incredulous smile. Seeing that he did not seem to have any more suspicions, Cheongyeon inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he had been caught looking at the flower shop, there was no trouble roused from it. He still kept an eye on Muwon’s disposition, though.
Viewing him like this, he was breathtakingly handsome. But Cheongyeon felt breathless for a different reason, for he knew how ruthless a pirate he was.
The pirate captains who Cheongyeon had seen bore large scars across their faces and wore ragged clothes, their exposed bellies protruding. The only exception was Nachata, who, despite having a large scar on his forehead, was well-dressed.
However, Tae Muwon, despite being labeled a manwhore, always dressed flamboyantly. His appearance was too refined to be believed as a pirate captain. Muwon remained an enigma, just as unpredictable as his whims.
“I’m not a flower shop, though.”
Gold eyes met Cheongyeon. This time, Cheongyeon had indeed been looking at him, but he couldn’t speak his true thoughts. He grabbed at anything that came into view to make conversation.
“There are so many piercings, I wondered if it’s nice…”
“Do you want to get it pierced too?”
“It sounds painful.”
“I haven’t got any new ones in a few years. I used to get them whenever one of the planets died.”
Cheongyeon’s eyes widened, not expecting such an answer since he had assumed it was just for style. Muwon casually cracked his neck and continued casually.
Originally, there were 12 planets, or executives, in Peira, but now only five remained: Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Muwon’s ears sported seven piercings. Perhaps he chose items from the belongings of the deceased planets that could be turned into piercings. Though he didn’t elaborate, it seemed likely given the variety of piercings.
Jtfbcusfbc jmxcbkifvufv Zekbc jr j gfiljyif wjc ab tlr qfbqif. Po tf mbeiv yfmbwf jc jiis… Jtfbcusfbc mtjralrfv tlwrfio obg remt jyregv atbeutar.
“Rb bcf ktb’r mgbrrfv wf, vfolfv Uflgj, bg regnlnfv tjr tjv j ubbv fcv.”
Kjq ajq, Kjf Zekbc aegcfv bnfg atf mlujgfaaf qjmx tf abbx bea ogbw lcrlvf tlr pjmxfa jcv ajqqfv la bc tlr qjiw.
“Especially those who’ve deceived me have met the worst ends, right?”
Tae Muwon laughed ambiguously, sending chills down Cheongyeon’s spine and cold sweat along his back. He quietly looked away, and the car continued on in silence.
***
Hwang Ran’s shop was located in Nok’s bustling area, massive enough to be considered a large store.
[Hwang Ran Store]
The first floor, named after him, sold a variety of spices, teas, and alcohol. The second floor offered expensive ceramics, while the third floor served as a VIP reception room. The store was easily a hundred times larger than Cheongyeon’s apothecary.
Cheongyeon found himself in the third-floor VIP room alongside Tae Muwon. Although he was intrigued by the exotic spices from different continents for a moment, his mind was then preoccupied with finding the flower shop.
From the first to the fourth flower shop, everything seemed normal, but the fifth had been completely burned down. The name of the shop was “Cheonghwa,” but the sign was too charred to read properly.
The only source for Boksu flowers was now gone… Cheongyeon wanted to leave immediately, driven by anxiety and curiosity. But being held by Tae Muwon made it difficult.
“Could I go see something else?”
Upon reaching the velvet-covered door of the VIP room, Cheongyeon gathered his courage.
“Nok is so scary, why would you want to wander alone?”
Even if all the thugs from Nok gathered, they wouldn’t be as frightening as Tae Muwon.
“I heard the public security is good here.”
“Did you?”
In the end, escaping seemed impossible. Plus, his bag was still hanging on one of Muwon’s shoulders. As Hwang Ran’s subordinate opened the door, Muwon, holding Cheongyeon by the nape, entered with him.
Suddenly, something large swooped down. Cheongyeon let out a low yelp as a dark brown hawk flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind. Then, the hawk circled Muwon and Cheongyeon in a low flight without moving its wings
Caw, caw! The hawk then perched on Muwon’s shoulder, the side with the piercings. Cheongyeon, still grabbed by the nape, watched the hawk. He had seen seagulls and pigeons in Cheonghwa Town but never a hawk this close.
The hawk’s bright yellow irises were similar to Muwon’s eyes. It screeched threateningly when their eyes met. Muwon took down the blindfold that was attached to the hawk’s head like a helmet. Then, after letting go of Cheongyeon, he sat the falcon on the long wooden pole by the window.
The hawk, now with its eyes covered, remained silent. It seemed slightly larger than a seagull, yet exuding the wildness of a raptor.
“Apothecary?”
Someone coming from the inside of the room stopped in surprise. It was Tae Cheonoh, with neatly slicked-back hair. However, he wasn’t alone; a man with sharp eyes was linking arms with him.
“Come come, let’s celebrate for our Muwon and Cheonoh, with a special drink I obtained from the 3rd Continent.”
Hwang Ran, belatedly entering the VIP room, proudly waved a bottle filled with amber liquid.
“Haven’t you gotten rid of him yet?”
Muwon gestured to the man next to Tae Cheonoh with his chin. As Tae Cheonoh approached, the man clinging to him moved together.
“Why would I get rid of my baby? But anyway, why is the apothecary here?”
Once again, Cheongyeon could only move his eyes, caught by the nape.
“Bangcheon brought him on board. Into my cabin, at that.”
Muwon put Cheongyeon’s backpack down on a long sofa across the room and pushed Cheongyeon to sit next to him. Observing, Hwang Ran hurriedly signaled his subordinates to prepare a table full of snacks. Muwon sat next to Cheongyeon, while Tae Cheonoh and the man took seats on the opposite sofa.
“Bangcheon?” Tae Cheonoh soon began to chuckle, aware of the rumors within Peira about Muwon’s interest in Cheongyeon. Not just interest, even jumping into the waterway to save Cheongyeon himself.
Tae Cheonoh’s thoughts weren’t far off from those of other Peira members. Even if he did suspect that he was a Hwa before giving him blood, continuing so afterwards was strange. If that was the case, shouldn’t he just order the planets to watch Cheongyeon or go to the apothecary himself? None of it seemed like Muwon’s typical behavior.
“Oppa, what are you thinking about?”
The man next to Tae Cheonoh, offering a strawberry on a fork, made Cheongyeon widen his eyes.
‘Oppa? I- is it a woman? But there’s an Adam’s apple, and he looks distinctly male…’
But then a strawberry suddenly approached Cheongyeon’s lips.
“Cheongyeon oppa, have a strawberry.”
Tae Muwon chuckled, offering the fork. Cheongyeon gulped, not out of craving for the unfamiliar fruit but unsure how to respond. He tried to take the fork from Muwon, but Muwon just tapped his lips with the strawberry.
When his mouth would still not open, he pressed the strawberry’s tip against his lower lip. Cheongyeon opened his mouth as the fairly hard flesh made his lips tingle, and the juicy fruit slipped in.
Muwon then let go of the fork, leaving it empty. Cheongyeon had no choice but to chew the strawberry, which then burst with sweet and tangy juice. He realized that the strawberry-flavored candy sold at the Cheonghwa Store was a fraudulent product. When he tried real strawberries, the taste was completely different.
“Take that guy out.”
Muwon spoke while poking another strawberry with his empty fork. Tae Cheonoh, who had been feeding the man next to him grapes, tapped him on the back. At the signal to leave, the man turned and glared at Cheongyeon.
“He’s going to stay?”
“Baby, just listen. Oppa will buy you a pair of shoes later, okay?”
“I’ve always wondered, why do I have to follow Muwon-nim’s words?”
Meanwhile, Cheongyeon was nervous about the man who openly defied Tae Muwon.
“Oppa is the boss. Muwon-nim is the second-in-command.”
He was completely lost in what followed. Anyway, was Tae Cheonoh’s original name ‘Oppa’? Of course that couldn’t have been the case. He thought it was just a nickname between them, but why was Tae Muwon calling him oppa…
“Argh!” Cheongyeon’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a scream from the other side. Almost immediately, an ashtray flew right next to the man’s face and smashed into the wall.
The hawk, startled by the sharp sound, loudly flapped its wings repeatedly. The wind took off its blindfold, and it flew nervously under the ceiling. Tae Cheonoh murmured that it could be worse and sent the man out quickly. The man must have been scared as well, for he didn’t say anything more.
Tae Cheonoh then wrapped his thick jacket around his arm and held it out towards the flying hawk.
“Easy there, Pegasus. Come here, Pegasus!”
Muwon laughed while tipping his drink.
“Fuck, Pegasus my ass.”
Cheongyeon found the name beautiful, feeling his taste unjustly criticized.
“Hey.”
Muwon’s tone returned to normal. Cheongyeon tensed up and looked at him.
“Yes.”
“I’ll grant you one wish. Don’t make a ridiculous one.”
Muwon picked up the raw carrot, while Tae Cheonoh, who had been anxiously calling for Pegasus, let out an exclamation at his generous offer.
“Damn, Muwon’s apology is without reserve! What a man!”
Suddenly, Cheongyeon felt a surge of anger. He had been suspected, bullied, but now he was acting nice towards him. He wanted no part in Muwon’s capricious whims.
“Then give me the Peira ship.”
Pr: Sasa
Cheongyeon is rightfully angry 😌
Me parece que Cheonyeon cayó en los encantos de Muwon…
Yeonie my baby!!!
I wish I could see the Tae brothers faces right now 😂😂😂
Get that bag!
😂😂😂 +1
Hahaha yes! Get that ship Cheongyeon!
Well played CY, well played.
Go get that candy, tiger!
Cheongyeon went right for the big fish