Alex laughed, then turned to the front before he replied:
"I used your wife as an excuse to run away from my mother, so I thought I might as well turn the promise I made up into a reality."
Mark glanced at his passenger, a thoughtful look in his dark eyes:
"There is only one thing that can make you run from the chairman."
Alex raised his eyebrows, interested:
"Oh? Taking over Arland Group? Well, everyone knows that I'm just a loafer. Why should I be made to do something reserved for competent people?"
But Mark calmly shook his head:
"You are not fooling anyone, Alex. I bet the chairman spoke of–"
"Alright, enough. I will rest a bit. Tell me when we arrive."
After interrupting Mark's words with a wave of his hand, Alex didn't close his eyes. His rest was to take out his phone, and lower his head to put all his focus on it.
Mark glanced at him, then shook his head, but said nothing more. He focused on the road, navigating through the traffic which was heavy during lunch break hours.
It took about a quarter of an hour, but the SUV finally stopped before a tall apartment building. Alex raised his head, then without turning to meet Mark's gaze, opened the door and went down.
"I will be going up first."
Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he left, leaving Mark to shake his head helplessly.
Even though letting Alex go inside first had been the reason why he stopped in front of the building, the younger man's aggravating behavior still made his heart birth a nameless fire.
He exhaled, before moving to park the car.
_ _ _
_ _ _
*Ding*
The sound of the elevator opening rang, before, a moment later, another sound followed.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"I'm coming. Who is it?"
Sounds of movements rang in the apartment, before stopping for a while. Then the door was opened, allowing Ga-yeong in her loose pregnant woman's robe and with a casual bun on her head to look at Alex with a gentle smile on her kind face:
"I knew only you could make a pregnant woman like me run to open the door. What are you doing here?"
Even as she was speaking, Ga-yeong left the door open, and turned back to go inside. Alex followed behind her with a smile, one which started losing its warmth, then its shape as he watched her turn around the corner, then arrive there.
In two to three large steps, he caught up with her, and holding her by her arms, forced her to turn around and leave the kitchen.
Ga-yeong was taken aback, before understanding dawned on her, and she turned speechless. Helplessly letting herself be manipulated, she was slowly led into the living room, then made to sit down on the sofa.
Ga-yeong laughed, looking at Alex standing before her with his hands on his hips as he stared down at her:
"Come on, Alex, don't treat me like something fragile. I can still work in the kitchen. And if I don't cook, what will you eat? Don't you want to have lunch, or do you expect me to let you leave with an empty stomach later?"
As she spoke, the pregnant woman made to stand up, only for her shoulders to be pressed down, and force her to remain where she was.
"You–"
Alex started, but he brought his finger pointed at her down helplessly, causing the woman to laugh at him. He also smiled, then shook his head, before he sat down beside her.
He took her hand in his, and gently spoke with a helpless smile:
"Can you not make people worry about you? Look at that big stomach. What you are cooking is almost ready, but you refuse to behave yourself."
Ga-yeong laughed, and chided, as she slapped Alex on the arm:
"How can you speak like that? What do you mean by what I'm cooking?"
"Hahaha, alright, I won't speak like that anymore. But where is the housekeeper?"
As he asked, Alex looked around, but apart from the pregnant mistress of the house, there was no one else in the apartment.
Ga-yeong shook her head at Alex with a small smile:
"Stop looking. She has finished doing the chores, so I allowed her to leave, so that I can cook for myself."
Alex turned back and gave the woman with the hair a lighter shade of brown than him a look. It was a calm look which, in fact, unnerved her even more than a glare, causing her smile to strain to hold on.
"Ga-yeong, if one housekeeper is not enough, I can get you a few dozens."
Ga-yeong cringed, but Alex was not done yet:
"Or, I can send you home, to my mom's place. I'm sure she would not mind two more living beings accompanying her and adding some fresh breath to her life. And your mother-in-law would certainly also be happy to be able to take care of you and her coming grandson. So, what do you think?"
By then, Ga-yeong's face was already contorted, etched with lines of bitterness that might be able to break some records.
"Do I really have to choose between those two options?"
"Yes, since that seems the only way to make sure you will stop being a source of trouble."
Ga-yeong's bitterness grew. Her mind worked to find a way out of her predicament while in parallel, thinking about the choice which was not the worst. At that moment, the sound of the door opening came, sounding divine like never before.
She turned to glance toward the entrance of the apartment as she asked Alex:
"Did you come back with Mark?"
Alex rolled his eyes, and relaxed:
"Yes, I came back with your husband. He will take over the kitchen while you think about the choice you have to make."
Ga-yeong exchanged a smile with her husband, and completed a wordless conversation with their eyes before turning to look at Alex with curiosity:
"And in the meantime, what will you do?"