*Bam!*
"Hah~"
Closing the door, Alex leaned back into the heavy-looking seat with a contented exhale, and Mark felt that it was not just because of the more human temperature inside the vehicle. Nevertheless, giving his passenger a flat look, he remarked in the tone of someone just too tired to even bother feeling frustrated anymore:
"You could have found somewhere better to wait for me."
Alex raised his eyebrows, then looked down at the traces of dampness on his top. Smiling, he explained as he fastened his seatbelt:
"The air is fresh and the sun is invigorating. Anyway, it was comfortable under the shade of the tree."
Turning the wheel and pressing on the accelerator, Mark rolled his eyes:
"Yeah, comfortable and not boring at all, am I right?"
Alex's smile became tinged with unhidden satisfaction:
"You bet."
Wanting something, acknowledging it, and going after it, and not just for companionship. How could a woman like that, so much more interesting than the soft and cute ones, possibly be boring?
Glancing at Alex's wide smile, Mark placidly commented:
"Indeed, nature without a beauty is nothing to you."
Alex raised an eyebrow, and gave his driver a peculiar look:
"Can't I just enjoy the little bit of nature left amidst the steel and concrete jungle? You are being too sour, don't you think?"
Mark rolled his eyes again, even more fiercely this time, and replied with a grumble:
"Can't I? Do you realise how much work you made me leave behind to play the driver for you? And, why are you going to my place exactly?"
A look of realization dawned on Alex:
"Oh… so it was because of me!"
Mark's mouth twitched. He couldn't help it. Even though he knew that Alex was just pretending, even though he knew that the latter could not be so oblivious and lacking in self-awareness, he still couldn't help but feel stuffy in the chest. Had he not been so young and healthy, had he not been so steady in temperament…
He took a deep breath, then exhaled, his face straight, and tight, to suppress any further reaction. So in the end he did not explode, and his heart that had been thoughtened up by the trial Alex had taken care to put it through over the years finally did not stop untimely.
Yeah, had he not been so young and healthy, had he not been so steady in temperament, he might have had a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.
Mark took another deep breath, then asked calmly, though in an involuntarily floaty voice:
"Did Ga-yeong call you?"
Smiling in amusement at Mark's display, Alex looked away from him and leaned back with a chuckle:
"She did not call me."
Mark glanced at him, and he continued:
"I used her as an excuse to run away from mom, so rather than letting a lie remain a lie, I decided to turn it into reality."
Mark believed him. He believed that Alex had needed to run away from his mother, and he could even imagine a reason or two why. However, he still shot him a sidelong glance:
"I don't believe that is the only reason why you pulled me to be your driver."
Alex turned to Mark with half a smile:
"Maybe I wanted to let you truly enjoy your lunch break? It is not healthy to eat while working or to spend even the break time with your work, don't you agree?"
"You said maybe."
The flat answer had Alex innocently blinking:
"Huh? Did I? How about I get you a new job instead? A cozy one."
Mark glanced at Alex from the corner of his eye, then let out a soft chuckle before focusing on the road as he replied:
"I just hope it is not a new pit you are digging for me."
"Heh, of course not."
With that dry, insincere laugh, Alex took out his phone with a smile, and focused on exercising his eyes and his fingers to pass the time. The trip took a while, but not too long. The car left the road. It slowed down on the path in front of a modern apartment building, which made Alex raise his head from his phone at last:
"Stop, let me out here. I won't be accompanying you to park the car."
Mark glanced at him, but didn't refuse. Alex got down. With a casual wave and an aggravating smile, he walked inside without looking back.
A few floors later, the elevator pinged in the building.
*Ding*
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Coming~"
Heavy footsteps that tried to hurry came from beyond the door before it was unlocked. Seeing the cause of the situation, the heavily pregnant brown-haired mistress of the house rested her hand on her stomach through her loose robe, and exhaled with a helpless smile and an amused tilt of the head to the side:
"I knew only you would make a pregnant woman like me hurry to get the door."
Alex gave Ga-yeong a once-over with a light smile:
"But I heard that you are not that fragile, so you can't blame me."
"Right."
Ga-yeong nodded, seemingly sincerely believing those words, then asked with a faint smile:
"Then it certainly has nothing to do with trying to suddenly drop by for a surprise inspection, does it?"
Alex blinked, asking back with a sincere expression:
"What is there to inspect? Your husband has convinced me that no one has been more sensible and obedient than you lately. Since I trust him, I have no reason to disbelieve his words."
But she herself did not believe it.
Looking at Alex's 'innocent' expression, Ga-yeong stifled a laugh and nodded with a sincere smile of her own:
"I believe you too. Just like you believed Mark, I also believe you."
"I'm glad."
Taking her words literally, Alex nodded, then pointed at the door with his chin and asked with a half-smile:
"Won't you invite me in?"
Ga-yeong raised an eyebrow then considerately pushed the door wide open:
"Of course, inspector. Please come in, sir."
A deferential tone but an insincere face full of amusement.
Laughing at the joke, Alex walked past the soon-to-be mother. Looking at his back, a kind smile graced her gentle face before she looked back to check the corridor then closed the door.
Going back inside, she covered her smile upon seeing Alex 'inspecting' the apartment for traces and evidence of her wrongdoings, then walked past him to go to the kitchen while lightly instructing:
"After you are done, take a seat. I will cook something for you. You haven't had lunch yet, have you?"