“Michael. Why do you keep taking your clothes on and off?”
Luca chirped beside him like a little bird. Ire gave him an awkward smile, ruffled his hair, and put on the last short-sleeved t-shirt he had chosen. When he came outside, everyone was busy preparing food.
Matteo, who was putting food on a plate, smiled pleasantly at Ire.
“I like your hair. It’s like you’ve gone back to being a newborn.”
Is that a compliment? Ire frowned, and Anna, who was next to him, chimed in, saying he looked really great. She said girls would be lining up for him if he went out. Seo Young-jun had said something similar, but ridiculously, he either stayed home on holidays or went out to do useless things with Kim Ha-yoon, so he didn’t have time to meet anyone else.
He was helping to prepare the food when it got noisy outside. He went out and saw a car parked in front of the gate. Kim Ha-yoon got out of the sleek white car, and the children had already run up to him to look at it. As he hurried out, someone shouted.
“Hyung! That hyung-ajussi from last time is here!”
Ire barely managed to hold back a laugh at the word ‘hyung-ajussi’. After sending the children back, Kim Ha-yoon approached.
“Did I give you too little money? Why did I only become a hyung?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a bouquet of flowers popped up in front of his face. “Here, a gift.” The white flowers had a subtle, pleasant scent. When Ire asked why he was giving him flowers, Kim Ha-yoon said that it was customary to bring alcohol and flowers when invited here. Ire thanked him and headed home with him, where Anna was waiting at the door.
“You’ve arrived?”
Soon, Matteo also appeared, and the atmosphere was not as bad as he had expected.
“Thank you for inviting me. You look well.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”
“As I said before,”
Kim Ha-yoon put his hand on Ire’s shoulder and squeezed it.
“You’ve given us a great talent, so that’s enough.”
There was a slightly tense atmosphere, but Matteo managed to smooth things over and invited them inside first. He gathered the children, and they sat down at the table one by one. Just as Matteo was about to start the prayer, an alarm went off on Kim Ha-yoon’s watch.
-Earthquake detected. Earthquake detected. A magnitude 3.1 tremor will begin in 10 seconds. Prepare yourselves.
Everyone was flustered, and then they felt a slight tremor under their feet. When the shaking stopped, the children exclaimed, “Wow!” They were making a fuss, asking how he could know in advance and wanting to see the watch.
Matteo calmed the children down and continued the prayer before they began to eat. Contrary to his worries, the meal went smoothly. He had been worried that Kim Ha-yoon would say something unnecessary or that Matteo would still be wary of him, but the two of them had been talking about this and that, and they got along relatively well.
“So you’ve raised him since he was a baby?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What about his mother? What was she like?”
“She died right after giving birth, so I don’t know much about her either.”
“Oh, dear.” Kim Ha-yoon looked at Ire with a pitiful expression. Ire wished he would stop talking about him. He was trying to think of a different topic when young Luca suddenly said something out of the blue.
“But when are Teacher Anna and Matteo getting married?”
“Ugh,” John, who was next to him, quickly covered Luca’s mouth. Before he could ask what he meant, another kid chimed in.
“Angelo said so! He said Teacher Anna might become our mom!”
Anna’s eyes widened at the kid’s tattling, and Kim Ha-yoon laughed out loud. Matteo was just as flustered by the sudden situation. Even when they explained that it wasn’t like that, the children didn’t seem to believe them. Or maybe they were just desperately hoping that it would happen.
“Okay, everyone, stop it. It’s not polite to our guest.”
Kim Ha-yoon grinned at Matteo’s words.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m having fun. They actually look good together.”
Then he looked at Ire. “What about you? How do you feel about Anna becoming your new mom?” Ire kicked his leg under the table to tell him to stop, and a mischievous smile spread across his face.
“Well, you wouldn’t like it. You’re such a daddy’s boy.”
“Of course, not his real dad, though.” Ire was thinking about stepping on Kim Ha-yoon’s foot this time because he had rudely added that last part.
“He’s more than a real son to me. Michael and all the children here, all of them.”
There was no unpleasant feeling or other intention in Matteo’s words. Ire looked at Kim Ha-yoon with a smug expression. “See? That’s how different your personality is from Matteo’s. Can’t you please be nice?”
Regardless, Kim Ha-yoon smiled pleasantly and raised his champagne glass.
“I respect you. I can’t even imagine doing that.”
He seemed to mean it. Soon, the topic changed, and the meal ended on a friendly note. After the meal, Ire immediately grabbed Kim Ha-yoon’s coat, wanting to send him away before he said anything weird.
“Captain. You should go now. I have to put the kids to bed.”
“Is that your way of telling me to get lost?”
“I thought you looked tired.”
Ire forced a smile, and Kim Ha-yoon leaned in and met his eyes.
“What should I do? I had some alcohol, so it’s hard for me to drive. You should take me home.”
“It was just a glass of champagne.”
“Don’t say such a terrible thing. You don’t know anything about the laws in District A.”
“What…?”
Then Anna, who had been silent, spoke up.
“Here, if you’re caught driving under the influence, you’ll be flogged.”
Ire didn’t understand the word ‘flogged’. Anna continued to explain in a soft voice. Flogging is when you make a person who has committed a crime lie down and beat them with a stick. His mouth dropped open at the unexpected punishment. He had never imagined that such a punishment would exist in District A, which was more developed than anywhere else.
“If you keep getting hit, your skin will be tattered. It’s terrible.”
Ire resisted the urge to scoff, “You kill people just fine, but you’re afraid of getting your butt whipped?”
“Then what happens if you commit a big crime? What’s the punishment?”
“You’re kicked out of the district. You have to live in Area C for the length of your sentence. But you’ve seen it, it’s almost impossible for someone from District A to survive there. They either die or get addicted to drugs.”
While living in District B, he had occasionally seen transport vehicles going to Area C. But it was literally occasional. Seo Young-jun had told him that the crime rate here was extremely low. That was because the punishment was severe. He didn’t understand when he heard it, but now that he knew they whipped your butt for even minor things, it made sense.
“Okay… I’ll drive you home.”
As he was getting ready to leave, Matteo came to his side and looked worried.
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”
He probably still saw him as a child. Ire reassured him that he would be right back and went to get his coat, but when he came out, Matteo and Kim Ha-yoon were exchanging greetings at the entrance.
“Come again next time.”
“Anytime. Just invite me.”
“Please take care of Ire.”
“He’s doing so well on his own, so you don’t have to worry.”
With that, they went outside, and as he started the engine, Kim Ha-yoon got into the passenger seat. Ire watched Matteo and Anna, who had come to see them off at the gate, and then drove off. Kim Ha-yoon loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt as if he was tired, then rolled down the window and put his arm on it.
As the car drove, the wind tousled his bangs. Ire suddenly thought that the disheveled look suited him better than the neat one. Before he knew it, they had arrived at his house, and as he was about to enter the parking lot, the gate wouldn’t open. Kim Ha-yoon contacted someone because the driver’s identification was required, and after a while, the gate opened.
“It’s just in case. Kidnapping, that kind of thing.”
Kidnapping… Who would kidnap this guy unless they wanted to die…?
But Seo Young-jun had said that the rebel forces would target Kim Ha-yoon’s life first. If he, the only heir, died, the entire District A would be greatly shaken. Ire couldn’t imagine Kim Ha-yoon being captured, tortured, or killed. Unless it was the other way around.
After parking the car, he looked around. He was about to ask where he should go when Kim Ha-yoon walked toward the elevator without answering.
“Captain? Where should I go?”
Kim Ha-yoon put his arm around Ire’s neck. When Ire tried to get away, he pulled him closer and dragged him into the elevator as if he was kidnapping him. He pressed the top floor, and before he could escape, they were quickly moving to the upper floor.
“Wait, I have to go home.”
“Play with me.”
“No! I want to go!”
When the elevator doors opened, an employee at the entrance greeted them politely, and Ire pretended to be calm because he didn’t want to look like he was struggling. But as soon as they were out of the employee’s sight, he quickly broke free from Kim Ha-yoon’s arm.
“Are you really going to do this?”
His arm was grabbed, and before he could escape, the door opened and Kim Ha-yoon went inside first. Ire protested, asking him to let him go home, but unlike before, the air inside the house was heavy. Kim Ha-yoon sighed in annoyance and let go of his arm. Just as Ire was about to run away, Kim Ha-yoon strode forward.
“What brings you here?”
When he looked closely, he saw an old man with white hair standing in front of the living room window. Ire immediately realized that he was Kim Ha-yoon’s father. In the cold atmosphere, he thought it would be best to get out of there first. He glanced around and took a step backward, but someone grabbed his shoulder from behind. When he turned around, he saw a man who looked to be at least 2 meters tall looking down at him with a stern expression.
“You have to be careful.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Kim Ha-yoon’s father’s gaze flew over and landed on him.