By Zephyria 
“To anyone watching, it might seem like I’m the one preventing the meeting.”
Han Seung-jae took a leisurely sip of his tea and set the cup down. Seo Young-hwan parted his parched lips.
“I’m begging you. For the sake of the affection we’ve shared over the years, please help me see Yi-kyung.”
From what Seo Young-hwan had observed, Han Seung-jae was not a man who could be persuaded by words, no matter how one tried. Therefore, Seo Young-hwan’s option was not Han Seung-jae, but Seo Yi-kyung. If it were Seo Yi-kyung—who was gentle, soft-hearted, affectionate, and thoughtful—he would not ignore his family in their time of hardship.
Han Seung-jae appeared to be lost in thought for a moment, then turned his head. Facing those cold eyes, Seo Young-hwan, unable to bear the silence, added more.
“It will only take a moment. Even two hours. Yes, just let me see him for exactly two hours.”
Rather than Han Seung-jae, who wouldn’t budge no matter how hard he tried, things would be much easier if he could just meet the fragile and weak-willed Seo Yi-kyung. He only had to make Seo Yi-kyung persuade Han Seung-jae.
As Han Seung-jae’s silence stretched on, Seo Young-hwan continued, as if driving a nail home.
“My wife is very ill. So please, just ask Yi-kyung for me. This is my personal request.”
“Was her frail health inherited from her mother?”
Han Seung-jae’s words were closer to a monologue.
“Let me ask one thing.”
He then stared intently at Seo Young-hwan. Seo Young-hwan pricked up his ears. For some reason, it felt like they were finally communicating.
“But what did you say about me?”
Tension clouded Secretary Park’s face. Seo Young-hwan’s wandering eyes suggested he hadn’t immediately understood the question, but he attempted to smooth over the situation with the sophistication born of his experience.
“Did Yi-kyung say something to you?”
Han Seung-jae shifted his upper body, which had been leaning back on the sofa. That movement alone exerted considerable pressure on Seo Young-hwan, making it difficult for him to breathe normally.
“You have absolutely no grasp of the situation.”
The wrinkles around Seo Young-hwan’s mouth deepened. He spoke with a forced smile.
“What do you mean by—”
Han Seung-jae’s scathing voice rang out.
“I asked what the hell you babbled about me.”
* * *
Staggering, Seo Yi-kyung barely managed to get into the elevator, steadying his wobbling legs. He gripped the handrail as he pressed the button for the second floor. His sweat-drenched face was reflected in the door. After Jin Seon-yu left, he had gone down to the basement to exercise.
Entering the second-floor bedroom, Seo Yi-kyung headed straight for the bathroom. He filled the tub with hot water and stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes.
As he immersed himself in the hot water, the pain seemed to fade. He stared at the bruise on his arm before cupping water in both hands and splashing it over his face. Even his mind felt languid.
Suddenly, he remembered that he had entered this room with Han Seung-jae. That memory alone vividly brought back the sensation of cheeks and a neck being licked. Seo Yi-kyung touched his neck and stroked his cheek. Perhaps because of the high temperature of the water, his cheeks flushed a deep red rapidly.
He didn’t know how to interpret the words Han Seung-jae had said this morning. Perhaps he already knew that Yi-kyung had entered the study and seen the envelope.
‘Or does he really not know?’
If he did know, he wasn’t the type of person to let it pass as if nothing had happened. He began to doubt if this was truly the Han Seung-jae he had seen in the original novel.
He was a man devoid of emotion. Apathetic, heartless, and a businessman as cold as frost.
Then why was he saying such things?
Splash. Seo Yi-kyung stepped out of the now-cooled bathtub. He entered the shower booth, gave himself a light rinse, and stepped out.
It was just as he had changed into fresh clothes and buttoned them up to the neck. A knock sounded. When Seo Yi-kyung, with a towel draped over his head, answered, the door opened.
“Young Master.”
Seo Yi-kyung turned around to look at Butler Do.
“Is something the matter?”
Butler Do had been knocking on this door for thirty minutes. Unaware of this, Seo Yi-kyung stared at him inquisitively.
“Director Han is waiting for you downstairs.”
“Seung-jae?”
Han Seung-jae usually finished work at midnight or in the early hours of the morning.
“Yes. He asked me to bring you down.”
Butler Do nodded and turned around. Seo Yi-kyung started to follow him but stopped. He took the towel off his head, hung it on a chair, and left the bedroom.
Descending to the first floor, he saw Han Seung-jae sitting in the center of the living room. Dressed in a seamless suit, he looked as though he had just returned from work.
The suit enveloping his broad shoulders wrapped smoothly down to his long legs. Wasn’t he the kind of man who would go straight to the study to change clothes the moment he arrived? Yet, he looked as if he had been waiting for Seo Yi-kyung.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Han Seung-jae’s gaze shifted sideways. Seo Yi-kyung, whose disheveled hair was still damp, approached. His cheeks, which had been washed just moments ago, were flushed red. And the scent wafting from him was seductive, amplified by his body heat.
As Seo Yi-kyung sat on the sofa, Secretary Park, who had been conversing with Han Seung-jae, bowed.
“I shall take my leave now.”
“Good work.”
Following that, Secretary Park dismissed everyone else from the area. Only Han Seung-jae and Seo Yi-kyung remained on the wide living room sofa.
Han Seung-jae picked up the teapot. He filled a teacup and placed it in front of Seo Yi-kyung. It had become so natural now. As he thought this, Han Seung-jae looked at him.
“Did you exercise?”
Seo Yi-kyung, who was about to take the teacup, looked up.
“Yes. You said I could go in.”
“I did. Drink.”
Seo Yi-kyung picked up the cup from the saucer. The tea had cooled. How long had he been here waiting for him? Even Butler Do, whom he could have asked, had already disappeared into the kitchen.
After drinking the cooled tea, Seo Yi-kyung pulled the cup away from his lips. Han Seung-jae, who had been staring intently at him, spoke.
“I heard your mother is ill. Do you want to go see her?”
Seo Yi-kyung placed the teacup back on the saucer.
“Is she very sick?”
Seo Yi-kyung immediately thought of Han Seung-jae’s mother, Yeon So-jeong. The image of her standing alone and lonely at the family banquet was vivid in his mind. However, he realized that Han Seung-jae’s tone was excessively plain.
“Um, by any chance, the person who is sick… is she my mother?”
Seo Yi-kyung raised a finger to point at his own chest. Han Seung-jae spoke as if he were asking something obvious.
“Then who else would it be?”
“Ah…”
Seo Yi-kyung trailed off. In his mind, phrases about Lee Se-hee, the mother of the ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ from the original novel, surfaced. She wasn’t that frail of a person. The one who usually visited this house to demand money was Seo Dong-hu, and the one seeking help was Seo Young-hwan, but Lee Se-hee enjoyed the profits they brought in.
Lee Se-hee was interested in youth and vitality. She even kept maids of exceptional beauty by her side. There was no way such a person would be ill. She was someone who only took things that were good for the body.
“…”
However, looking at Han Seung-jae, who was meeting his eyes, Seo Yi-kyung answered slowly.
“I… I’ll try to go tomorrow.”
Seo Yi-kyung raised his hand to touch his cheek. There was still a faint scar on his cheek, but it should be fine. Besides, if he said he wouldn’t go, he would arouse Han Seung-jae’s suspicion.
Wasn’t the man already testing him repeatedly? This might be another one of those tests. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Seo Yi-kyung’s face. Seo Yi-kyung’s moist eyes were reddish and glossy. Would his cheeks taste sweet if licked? Or would he have to bite them to taste it? Either way, it fueled the impulse to push him over onto the sofa, spread his thighs, and ram his cock inside.
“Two hours.”
Instead of questioning Han Seung-jae’s words, Seo Yi-kyung looked at him and waited for what would follow. Han Seung-jae leaned back against the sofa. His eyes watched Seo Yi-kyung with an almost obsessive intensity.
“See her for only two hours and come out. I’ll come pick you up.”
* * *
The next day.
Seo Yi-kyung stood on the terrace looking out at the garden, then pulled back the curtains and stepped inside. It would be better to let him know.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he fiddled with his phone and called Jin Seon-yu. The short ringing tone cut off abruptly.
“Seon-yu, I don’t think I can paint today. Something came up. Sorry.”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t spare the time, but he didn’t think he’d be able to sit and paint with a relaxed mind.
Jin Seon-yu’s bright voice leaked through the phone.
[Then I guess I’ll go on a shopping spree today to relieve stress. I’ll buy something for you too. Look forward to it!]
After finishing the back-and-forth call with Jin Seon-yu, Seo Yi-kyung gripped his phone.
The previous day, after saying those words, Han Seung-jae had stood up, changed his clothes, and joined him for dinner. After that, he had gone into the study.
Seo Yi-kyung covered his forehead as if to soothe his cluttered mind. His head ached, but he had no fever. Perhaps it would have been better to use illness as an excuse and not go. Either way, it would likely be a conversation about money or matters regarding the business Seo Young-hwan had started. Regardless, it wasn’t something he welcomed.
However, if he honestly said he wouldn’t go, that he didn’t care about his mother, and that she probably wasn’t even sick, Han Seung-jae would certainly be suspicious.
“Sigh…”
Seo Yi-kyung let out a long sigh. He stood up and headed for the first floor.
Just then, Butler Do, who was moving through the living room, approached. He went into the dressing room and prepared the suit for Seo Yi-kyung to wear.
“Would you like to wear this suit?”
Seo Yi-kyung stood there with a calm face. It didn’t matter what he wore. Once he confirmed she wasn’t sick, he would leave immediately. Then, he could just make an excuse to Han Seung-jae that he had left early because he was tired.