Chapter 69: So, do you want it or not?

Chapter 69 - So, do you want it or not? The first scenic spot was a rose garden for lovers. I liked to believe that this world was not much different from my real world but I was wrong. The structure of things was far more 'clearer' and 'romanticized' if that makes sense. I don't know how to explain it clearly but it was as if they were fake. They were too prettily fake to be real, but then again, they were more real than anything else. This was a dark romance novel, after all. So, the world was made to suit the theme of romance. As for the dark part, we had the male leads to fill up that concept. But since they were no longer being 'dark' with their affairs, shall we remove the 'dark' from the tag? "It's beautiful," I muttered as I stared at the roses. "It is," Jin-Yeok agreed with me and then plucked one of the roses. "But I don't think this flower goes well with you," he placed the rose in front of my face, looked at it, and looked past it to gaze at my eyes. He paused for a moment as if seeing something strangely beautiful for the first time and then he looked down. It was so strangely beautiful that it shouldn't be. "I retract my words," he said and I tilted my head, confused. What had he seen, I wondered. But I couldn't get the answer as he stretched the rose towards me and said, "Allow me the honor to hand you your very first flower," he said but I shook my head and said, "I'm sorry master, but you won't be the first to hand me a flower." I said. "How come? Who did it before me?" "I don't know," I said and turned around. "I can't recall properly because I have a lot of holes in my memory but I do remember receiving a bouquet of yellow roses mixed with red. I don't know who gave them to me or why they did but I remember being very happy that I began to cry." I paused. It wasn't my memory but I recalled it just as it came to mind. I knew it was Ki-hoon because I couldn't possibly think of anyone else who would bring Jo-Pil to tears with a bouquet of flowers before that accident. "Anyway," I turned around, facing him again, and said. "Someone already beat you to it, master." Jin-Yeok stared at me for a while and I felt a certain friction between us. How do I explain it? It was like a spark, with him staring at me in 'my moment' and me, completely oblivious of what light he was seeing me in. Then, he tore his gaze away, sighed, and raised his head, smiling. "So, do you want it or not? I'll toss it away if you don't," he said, his tone sounding different from how he sounded a few minutes ago. I pouted and snatched it from him. He was probably mad that someone beat him to it for some reason but he doesn't have to take it out on the poor rose. "Let's walk around a bit, shall we?" He asked, and grabbed my hand, smiling carefreely. "I don't want to lose you in the crowd so I'll just hold your hand." "Crowd?" I looked around. There were only a few of us here. "But there's no crowd," He pulled me along regardless. What was up with him though? I looked at our hands and then at the flower in my hand. Was he just being shy? Realizing this, I laughed softly. To think the Mafia boss had this side of him. Was that how he got his lover? It was certainly not with his cunning mind but his stiff shyness. Whatever it was, it made him seem cute. We walked around a bit and I finally got to see other 'normal' people, and of course, they kept stealing glances at Jin-Yeok. He was probably popular but they couldn't even come close because of the respect that fear they had. Even if the four Alphas were so attractive that eyes followed them everywhere they went, they were still the most powerful people in the country, so others had to be cautious when approaching. If they liked their lives, they wouldn't bother approaching. It was better to watch and admire them from afar than her close and be deemed disrespectful or a threat. Plus, the guards were forming a barricade around us each step we took. They kept their space but they were still there. "Shall we head to the next place?" Jin-Yeok asked and I turned my attention to him. He was offering me his hand again. I somehow managed to take my hand out of his and now, he wanted to hold it again. What was he plotting? "Alright," I said, regardless, and smiled, placing my hand in his. He squeezed gently and then smiled. Why was he liking this so much? I was the one who was out to her fresh air so why was he the one enjoying it more? It made me feel he had a hidden motive for taking me out after all. Was he trying to make me spill my secrets again? I'd better be on guard. But as we went to the next two places, that thought melted away like the Popsicle I held in my hand as I stared right into Jin-Yeok's grinning eyes. We had gone to a park that had water sprinklers raining down on the people who walked the paths, and there was a beautiful water fountain in the middle. There was a dolphin that looked like it was made of ice, but it must've just been a translucent material. It was pretty, regardless. The water sprinklers were meant to wet us, but each time we walked past them, the guards that were in tow would get in front of it with an umbrella and block it. It looked like a movie to me, their movements. It made me giggle and Jin-Yeok looked down at me, smiling as he enjoyed watching me giggle. The next place was a butterfly garden. Okay, first, it was the rose garden, the water garden, and now it was the butterfly garden. Could there be any other places more romantic than this?