By Zephyria 
Step, step. As Butler Do approached to place a teacup on the table, Seo Yi-kyung slowly crossed his legs. He spoke calmly.
“The guest’s coffee cup is empty.”
Seo Yi-kyung put emphasis on the word ‘guest,’ drawing a clear line. That was the only reason Min Ra-hyeon was staying in this house. He was not someone who would stay forever, but someone who would eventually have to leave. Nothing more, nothing less.
Butler Do looked at the same spot.
“I will bring another one right away.”
“Please bring my tea to the painting studio.”
He wasn’t in the mood to sit across from the man and drink tea.
“Yes, Young Master.”
Butler Do placed the teacup he had been about to set on the table back onto the tray. Just as Seo Yi-kyung was about to move around the sofa while watching him walk away, Min Ra-hyeon, who had kept his head half-bowed until then, looked up.
“Yi-kyung, I think there’s some misunderstanding.”
Seo Yi-kyung stopped his step and looked down. Min Ra-hyeon leaned back against the sofa and murmured.
“Seung-jae and I have been friends since we were children. He didn’t tell you about this, did he? Our parents were very close.”
Min Ra-hyeon gave a long, detailed explanation in response to the word ‘guest.’ As he did so, he slowly stood up and faced Seo Yi-kyung.
“I don’t think I introduced myself properly, so I’ll do it again. Yesterday, I went too far with my jokes because I spent so long studying abroad.”
Min Ra-hyeon’s soft face, wearing a faint smile, was enough to win anyone’s favor.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would be coming in.”
“…….”
When Seo Yi-kyung didn’t say anything, Min Ra-hyeon subtly shifted the topic. He tried to coax him by dropping words that Seo Yi-kyung might like.
“Since you haven’t been married long, you probably don’t know much about Seung-jae, right? He’s been taciturn and quiet since he was a kid. If there’s anything you’re curious about, just ask me. Shall I tell you some stories about Seung-jae when he was little?”
That was how he had won the favor of the original ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ and broke down his guard in the original story. That was why the original ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ initially thought he wasn’t such a bad person. No, he wanted to believe that.
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been listening silently until now, replied in a calm tone.
“I’ll pass. I know him well enough.”
“…….”
The lips of Min Ra-hyeon, who had been talking as if he held the upper hand until a moment ago, twitched.
Of course, there was no way to know Han Seung-jae’s innermost thoughts. However, he knew exactly what kind of person he was, how he treated people in public, and how terrifying he could be. Even Min Ra-hyeon probably didn’t know that side of Han Seung-jae.
After standing in silence for a long while, Min Ra-hyeon muttered softly.
“……It seems you and Seung-jae get along better than I thought. Seeing as he tells you those kinds of things.”
As he spoke, Min Ra-hyeon’s gaze lingered on Seo Yi-kyung’s stomach. Since the doctor had visited, he probably had a rough idea of the situation. Feeling that it wasn’t worth responding, Seo Yi-kyung walked away. Butler Do approached as if crossing paths and filled Min Ra-hyeon’s empty cup with coffee.
* * *
Seo Yi-kyung entered the painting studio and picked up the teapot on the work table. He pressed the slightly cooled tea to his lips. Soon, a knock sounded and the door opened, as if to wake him from his thoughts.
When Seo Yi-kyung turned around, Butler Do entered and set down a plate of refreshments. Seo Yi-kyung brought up the question he had been wanting to ask.
“I saw Min Ra-hyeon enter the second-floor room this morning.”
“Ah, I went out to bring him some porridge, and… well…”
Even without this, Han Seung-jae did not like people entering his bedroom or study. He was a man who told people not to even bring in tea while he was working. Recalling this, Butler Do added with a troubled expression.
“He spoke so earnestly, saying he wanted to apologize for yesterday’s incident personally.”
Min Ra-hyeon knew exactly how to win favor while making requests that were hard to refuse, using people in that manner. As Seo Yi-kyung set down his teacup, Butler Do picked up the teapot. While filling the cup, he asked cautiously.
“Did something happen?”
Butler Do had also been concerned about the previous day’s events. No matter how much he called it a joke, it had surpassed the level of something that could be accepted as a joke. Even if it was an unloaded gun. How could someone point a gun at another person?
“It was nothing.”
“I am sorry, Young Master. I should have been more careful… I was too negligent.”
Butler Do was referring to Min Ra-hyeon’s behavior the day before. But how could Butler Do have possibly noticed someone intentionally hiding behind a door?
“…….”
With a gloomy expression, Butler Do observed Seo Yi-kyung’s complexion. Seo Yi-kyung was looking at the canvas while drinking his tea. A strange look flickered in Butler Do’s eyes as he watched. Despite what happened the day before, there was no significant change in Seo Yi-kyung’s expression.
Moreover, yesterday, Butler Do was the only one who had panicked and flusteredly broken a glass.
Seo Yi-kyung sipped his tea and touched the canvas in front of him. He looked down at his fingertips as if checking for paint.
Watching this from the side, Butler Do felt an inexplicable emotion. Had the Young Master’s face, whom he had served for a long time, ever been this composed and detached?
* * *
Myeongjun Financial Group. Director’s Office.
Knock, knock. After a low knock, the door opened. Secretary Park entered, putting his phone—with whom he had just finished a call—into his inner pocket. Secretary Park had just returned after receiving a call from the doctor who had treated Seo Yi-kyung at home.
He approached Han Seung-jae, who was sitting at the desk, and spoke.
“Director Han, I have received a report that the examination was completed a short while ago.”
“Is that so?”
“His temperature has returned to normal, and it is reported that he is not showing symptoms of morning sickness.”
“And yet he can only eat that much.”
When Secretary Park stopped reporting at Han Seung-jae’s words, Han Seung-jae looked up and met his eyes.
“Is that all?”
Secretary Park politely clasped his hands in front of him.
“And he said they discussed the prenatal name.”
“A prenatal name?”
“Yes. He said he wants to call the baby ‘Yeoreum’ (Summer).”
Depending on how one heard it, it was a peculiar name. However, Han Seung-jae signed the approval documents he had been reviewing without much thought.
In truth, Han Seung-jae had no intention of interfering with whatever Seo Yi-kyung called the child in his womb. If he wanted to name the baby, he was more than willing to let him. He thought it was fine for him to do as he pleased in that regard.
And above all, a prenatal name should be something comfortable for the person calling it.
Regardless, since Seo Yi-kyung wanted to call the baby that, he felt no unpleasantness. Closing the approval documents and setting them aside, Han Seung-jae asked Secretary Park.
“About Min Ra-hyeon.”
“He has contacted us several times.”
Secretary Park filtered everyone who needed to be relayed to Han Seung-jae and those who didn’t. The number of people he filtered out, from those seeking investment, was countless. People tried every means possible to meet Han Seung-jae. It was common for them to drag in school ties or regional connections to arrange a meeting. Min Ra-hyeon was one of them.
“I heard that Seum Global’s trade situation is poor and they are suffering from management difficulties. I assumed that was why he contacted us, so I did not relay the messages.”
Other contacts included CEO Seo Young-hwan and Han Seung-jae’s father. While commuting in the car, Secretary Park would inform Han Seung-jae that they had contacted him, but Han Seung-jae never gave a particular response. Thus, they were all halfway filtered out by Secretary Park.
“President Han also says he misses you dearly.”
“After all that talk about not wanting to see me.”
Han Seung-jae leaned back loosely in his chair. His gaze deepened.
When he had visited Han Yechan previously, the moment Han Yechan heard that Seo Yi-kyung was pregnant, he immediately tried to confirm if the baby was an ‘Alpha.’ It was clear as day how Han Yechan’s attitude would flip if an ‘Omega’ were born.
Even now, wasn’t he displeased with Seo Yi-kyung’s behavior? He didn’t visit, he didn’t contact them, yet even his father couldn’t do anything about Han Seung-jae’s attitude. He would likely try to endure it only until the moment Seo Yi-kyung gave birth. He didn’t even have to think deeply to know that. Such obvious intentions of a father.
Han Seung-jae had grown up watching his mother, who spent her life looking at the back of his authoritarian father. Because of that, he knew painfully well how insignificant an Omega was in his father’s eyes.
Han Seung-jae despised such a father. Therefore, he had absolutely no intention of repeating what his father had done.
“Tell him to wait longer.”
His father was a man who had never waited for anything in his entire life. He had never seen the back of another person, nor would he have thought to do so.
“Pardon?”
Secretary Park reflexively questioned him before hurriedly bowing.
“I understand.”
Han Seung-jae’s words were still close to meaning that he didn’t want to see his father’s face. And Secretary Park was able to grasp his intentions more keenly than anyone.