By Zephyria 
Seo Yi-kyung, dressed neatly in a suit, adjusted his tie. Because he was wearing a watch he wasn’t used to, he felt a weight on his wrist. The ring on his white finger boasted a variety of colors. He walked through the living room, following Butler Do.
Right on time, the driver entered and bowed to Seo Yi-kyung. Then, following Butler Do’s instructions, he filled both hands with the boxes and shopping bags placed in front of him.
“What is all that?”
Suspicion clouded Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes as he asked. Butler Do, who had finished preparing to leave, answered.
“These are all items to be taken to the main house. Secretary Park narrowed down the list and informed me yesterday.”
Butler Do had separately packed the items Secretary Park had mentioned the previous day, as well as other things Seo Yi-kyung would need for the main house.
Having heard that Seo Yi-kyung’s mother, Lee Se-hee, was in poor health, most of the items Butler Do packed were health foods, such as wild ginseng, deer antler, and precious medicinal herbs to nourish an Omega’s body.
Seo Yi-kyung frowned as he looked over the boxes wrapped in gold cloth at the entrance. Secretary Park was not someone who acted arbitrarily. Therefore, did Han Seung-jae arrange for all these things to be taken to the main house?
‘There was no need to go this far…’
They weren’t the kind of people who would be grateful even if he brought them. Because they desired something else entirely.
“Young Master, please wait a moment.”
Unable to watch the driver go back and forth alone a couple of times, Butler Do rolled up his sleeves and stepped in to help. At this rate, it seemed they wouldn’t arrive at the main house on time. Furthermore, Secretary Park had mentioned that Han Seung-jae would be coming to pick up Seo Yi-kyung in the evening. Thus, to ensure there were no disruptions to the schedule, Butler Do busily carried the boxes in both hands as if taking every precaution.
Seo Yi-kyung stepped out into the garden. A cool breeze brushed through his hair. Dark clouds gathered in the sky as if it were about to rain.
“Preparations are complete. Please get in the car.”
Is it going to rain? Butler Do called out to Seo Yi-kyung, who was looking up as if checking the inclement weather.
Inside the fast-moving car, Seo Yi-kyung gazed at the scenery outside the window and gently rubbed his cheek, where a faint trace of an injury remained. Doing so didn’t make the mark disappear, but his gaze lingered there.
To his left, boxes that couldn’t fit in the trunk were stacked in layers. Shopping bags were similarly placed at his feet.
This was his first visit to the main house since getting married.
Butler Do, who was sitting in the passenger seat instead of the seat next to him because of the gifts, checked the time.
Having reached the destination barely on time due to traffic, Butler Do got out of the car and opened the rear door. Seo Yi-kyung stepped out with a calm expression.
Seo Yi-kyung looked at the country house situated in front of him. Expensive trees and a well-maintained garden were visible from the outside. It looked as if it had been decorated specifically to be shown off.
If one looked only at the family background, ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ had also grown up without lacking anything on the surface, but it was incomparable to Han Seung-jae’s family. Seo Young-hwan and Seo Dong-hu. Lee Se-hee was never satisfied with what she had.
“Are you worried because you heard your mother is ill? It probably isn’t anything serious.”
Butler Do seemed to be trying to ease Seo Yi-kyung’s anxiety in his own way, but Seo Yi-kyung simply looked at him once in silence and stepped forward.
He wasn’t worried.
He simply had to return before Han Seung-jae arrived.
* * *
“Yi-kyung is here?”
Seo Dong-hu, who was inside the house, sprang up from the sofa and roughly pushed past the maid who had entered to announce Seo Yi-kyung’s arrival. Seo Dong-hu let out a sharp, heavy breath.
“Where is he?”
“He is in the drawing room.”
He had made numerous efforts to meet Seo Yi-kyung in the meantime, but he couldn’t. Seo Yi-kyung had easily ignored Seo Dong-hu’s calls and messages. Since this was behavior unimaginable before the marriage, it was perhaps natural that Seo Dong-hu was grinding his teeth in indignation.
He had tried to coax him with kind words and tried to soothe him, but that was only possible when Seo Yi-kyung agreed to meet him. Unable to endure it any longer, he had sent people to Seo Yi-kyung, but they only returned after facing embarrassment. Recently, it had even reached the point where Seo Yi-kyung didn’t leave the house at all.
To lure such a Seo Yi-kyung outside, Seo Dong-hu, Seo Young-hwan, and Lee Se-hee put their heads together. However, the clever move came from Seo Dong-hu’s wife.
—What if you say Mother is sick?
—Me?
Lee Se-hee, dressed in full, bright adornments, widened her eyes.
—You two always had a good relationship.
—That would be great! Yi-kyung was always good to his mother.
Seo Dong-hu slapped his knee in agreement.
Following her words, Seo Young-hwan sought out Han Seung-jae, and after much hardship, succeeded in summoning Seo Yi-kyung here.
Thump, thump, the sound of Seo Dong-hu’s footsteps echoed loudly.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
He barked at the maid and headed toward the drawing room.
“Seo Yi-kyung!”
At Seo Dong-hu’s thunderous shout, the maid who was setting down a teacup jumped back in surprise. As she turned away, the figure of Seo Yi-kyung sitting on the sofa was fully revealed.
Seo Yi-kyung, wearing a dark-colored suit as if to highlight his pale face, turned his head. From his slender eyebrows to his delicate nostrils and red lips, his beauty was apparent at a glance.
Seo Dong-hu’s gaze appraised the cost of the suit Seo Yi-kyung was wearing, the price of the luxury tie, the sapphire pin, and the wristwatch.
The smell of money was even stronger than last time.
The family was on the verge of collapse, yet Seo Yi-kyung alone was enjoying these luxuries. If it weren’t for the father’s recovery, Seo Yi-kyung wouldn’t have been able to marry Han Seung-jae. Considering who had allowed him to have all this, the mindset of abandoning his own blood-related Hyung to live well alone was irritating.
“What is all this?”
Stepping forward, he glared at Seo Yi-kyung and tore open the cloth wrapped around the boxes as if ripping them apart.
“Director Han sent them,” Butler Do murmured politely. Seo Dong-hu looked at the wild ginseng and suddenly yelled.
“Is he giving the poison and then the medicine? Who says they need this kind of thing right now?”
“I heard Mother was sick,” Seo Yi-kyung asked calmly.
The tone, which sounded as if he were speaking to a stranger, made Seo Dong-hu’s anger flare up to the top of his head. He slammed the box he was holding onto the floor. Butler Do hurriedly lowered his body to gather the wild ginseng scattered messily across the carpet. Seo Yi-kyung, watching this intently, let out a low groan.
Seo Dong-hu’s senseless behavior was neither shocking nor surprising. He simply felt it was a waste of the effort—the busy Secretary Park taking time to curate the gift list, Butler Do spending the night preparing them, and the driver going back and forth several times.
However, these items no longer belonged to Seo Yi-kyung. Since he had left them here, it was up to the recipients whether they threw them away, shared them, or sold them.
“Butler Do, let’s go back.”
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been sitting nonchalantly on the sofa, slowly straightened his knees. He felt there was nothing more to hear. Had he not expected this? His heart grew even colder at a sight that didn’t differ in the slightest from his expectations.
Butler Do, who was crouching on the floor carefully putting the wild ginseng back into the disarrayed box so the roots wouldn’t be damaged, looked up.
“Go where?”
Seo Yi-kyung turned his gaze to look at Seo Dong-hu.
“Mother isn’t actually sick, is she?”
Seo Dong-hu hesitated. The title was clear, but the word ‘Mother’ coming from Seo Yi-kyung’s mouth felt different. Was it because of the attitude of drawing a line as if dealing with a stranger?
Furthermore, he showed no sign of fear even when Seo Dong-hu raised his voice. In the past, he would have shrunk his body and listened to whatever Seo Dong-hu said. If asked for a painting, he gave it; if told to hand over his cherished art tools, he did.
Even if Seo Dong-hu took everything and returned it broken, he could never have looked at him with such cold eyes. He wondered if this was truly the Seo Yi-kyung he knew.
Butler Do lifted the box and handed it to the nearby maid. As Seo Yi-kyung stepped forward to leave, it didn’t seem like anything he said would be persuasive. It even seemed that the eldest young master’s behavior had worsened than before. Since there was no one in this house to correct his wrongs, it was inevitable.
“You can’t leave. I’m not finished talking.”
Seo Dong-hu blocked the way. Seo Yi-kyung stared intently at his face.
“I don’t think there’s anything more to hear.”
Seo Yi-kyung stood his ground against Seo Dong-hu without backing down. Between the two confronting each other, Butler Do, who was closest, was on pins and needles. He couldn’t take his eyes off Seo Dong-hu’s clenched fist. Butler Do held his position firmly, as if he would take the blow instead if necessary.
Seo Dong-hu glared.
“Go to my room and bring the sword.”
Even then, the maid holding the ruined wild ginseng looked around tentatively and placed the box on the table. As she turned away, Butler Do stepped forward.
“Eldest Young Master!”
Thwack, Seo Dong-hu struck Butler Do with his fist. Butler Do was pushed back a couple of steps helplessly. He grabbed the back of the sofa to keep from falling.
“What’s this? Now that I look, I guess Director Han hit you too?”
Only then did Seo Dong-hu notice the faint mark on Seo Yi-kyung’s cheek and sneered.
Feeling that he wasn’t worth dealing with, Seo Yi-kyung tried to pass by Seo Dong-hu and leave. Then, Seo Dong-hu grabbed Seo Yi-kyung by the collar with one hand.
“Where do you think you’re running off to?”
“Let go.”
Seo Yi-kyung grabbed Seo Dong-hu’s wrist that was holding his collar. However, it was not enough to rip it away instantly.
“I’m not finished talking.”
Butler Do hurriedly closed the distance toward the two struggling. However, Seo Yi-kyung’s fist, soaring toward Seo Dong-hu’s face, was faster.
“…!”
Butler Do wore a look of bewilderment. This was because Seo Yi-kyung had punched Seo Dong-hu in the face. It was a sight he couldn’t believe even though he saw it with his own eyes.
Although it didn’t exert as great a force as Seo Dong-hu’s punch from a moment ago, it was enough to make Seo Dong-hu’s eyes change as he was hit glancingly on the cheekbone.
“Ha-.”
Looking down at Seo Yi-kyung as if it were absurd, Seo Dong-hu immediately grabbed Seo Yi-kyung’s collar with both hands and lifted him up. The suit wrinkled violently, and Seo Yi-kyung’s heels were lifted high.
Seo Yi-kyung frowned. He felt muscle pain from his toes. And because he had punched Seo Dong-hu a moment ago, the bones in his hand throbbed.
“Because you act so arrogant, Director Han must have done that to fix your habits.”
“Seung-jae didn’t hit me.”
Seo Yi-kyung lifted his leg and kicked Seo Dong-hu’s center.
This time, it seems he exerted proper force. Judging by the way Seo Dong-hu let go of the collar as if throwing him and screamed, “Aaaagh!”
Seo Yi-kyung smoothed out his suit, which had been pulled up. He declined to have his body pressed onto a table, be strangled, or be slapped by another person like last time. Before such things happened, he had no choice but to strike first.
“Where is Mother?”
At Seo Yi-kyung’s words, Seo Dong-hu was bent over, clutching his genitals with both hands. He didn’t seem to be in a state to speak. Seo Yi-kyung turned his head and looked at Butler Do, who was standing there dazed.
As if finally coming to his senses, Butler Do walked ahead.
Seo Yi-kyung followed him out of the drawing room. He could just confirm for himself that Lee Se-hee wasn’t sick and then leave.