By Zephyria 
“…….”
A strange tension drifted between the two people sitting opposite each other on the bed. Seo Yi-kyung looked at Han Seung-jae while his chin was held fast. For some reason, he felt as though he had said something wrong.
He had simply answered the man’s question. But in doing so, hadn’t he inadvertently called Han Seung-jae by his name?
When no answer returned from Han Seung-jae, Seo Yi-kyung felt a sense of anxiety in a corner of his chest. In that moment, Seo Yi-kyung’s slender chin was tilted further upward. It wasn’t of his own volition. Reflexively, Seo Yi-kyung squeezed his eyes shut. Judging by Han Seung-jae’s personality, it wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen.
Han Seung-jae raised his other hand and rubbed Seo Yi-kyung’s lower lip with his thumb.
“Did you hear up to that part?”
Having surrendered his face entirely, Seo Yi-kyung slowly opened his eyelids and gave a barely perceptible nod. As he did, his lips twitched slightly.
Han Seung-jae caressed the lower lip with his fingertip. At that, blood seeped out again, staining the lip a deep red. As Han Seung-jae’s finger lingered on the lip with an almost obsessive persistence, Seo Yi-kyung, who had been holding his breath, cautiously opened his mouth.
“H-how did you know?”
Because Han Seung-jae was touching his lips, Seo Yi-kyung’s words came out fragmented and leaking. He had been certain that the man hadn’t seen him. Moreover, compared to Seo Yi-kyung, who had struggled to speak after repeated hesitation, the answer Han Seung-jae gave was almost blunt.
“If you wanted to listen in hiding, shouldn’t you have hidden this head of yours better?”
Out of embarrassment, heat spread all the way to Seo Yi-kyung’s neck.
Even though he knew the voice he heard belonged to Min Ra-hyeon, Seo Yi-kyung had poked his head out slightly to see with his own eyes. In truth, it was for a very brief moment. It wouldn’t have even been a second.
And upon seeing Han Seung-jae looking at Min Ra-hyeon, he had turned around and fled back to the second floor. One could guess what his state of mind had been simply by the blood that had seeped onto Seo Yi-kyung’s lower lip upon returning to the bedroom.
The desire to hear what the two were talking about and the desire not to hear it collided violently. He feared that his hope for survival might be completely wiped away.
Seo Yi-kyung wanted to live. That was all.
It was different now. Or perhaps, had his heart changed? Either way, it might not matter. Because there was only one thing Seo Yi-kyung desired.
“I met Seung-jae’s mother today.”
“I know.”
As he spoke, Han Seung-jae’s dry gaze remained fixed on Seo Yi-kyung’s lips. Seo Yi-kyung slowly removed Han Seung-jae’s hand from his chin.
Seo Yi-kyung wasn’t as visibly startled as he had been before. He had never assumed that Han Seung-jae wouldn’t know.
However, there were things that even he didn’t know.
“Do you know that, too?”
Han Seung-jae looked at Seo Yi-kyung with only his eyes. No particular agitation was evident in those cold pupils. Seo Yi-kyung’s blood-stained lips parted hesitantly.
“Seung-jae, you resemble your mother a lot.”
Seo Yi-kyung felt as if his heart would burst. Han Seung-jae’s eyebrows arched thinly. Nevertheless, Seo Yi-kyung did not stop talking about Yeon So-jeong, whom he had seen in the original novel.
The Yeon So-jeong he knew had kept only one person in her heart, regardless of what anyone said. Even Han Seung-jae was not in her heart. She had no room for anyone else because she spent all her time staring at Han Yechan’s back. Some might consider it the foolish and naive behavior of someone ignorant of the world, but Seo Yi-kyung thought differently.
She couldn’t give affection because she had never received any.
* * *
Early in the morning, Seo Yi-kyung left the bed, went into the bathroom, showered, and came out. A scab had formed on his lower lip, proving that what happened the previous day was not a dream.
As he lightly touched it with the tip of his tongue, he immediately tasted the metallic tang of blood. It was nauseating. Seo Yi-kyung wiped his lips with a towel. The bracelet on his wrist slid down.
Just tasting a bit of blood made his stomach churn. Seo Yi-kyung threw a cardigan over his pajamas and left the bedroom.
As Seo Yi-kyung appeared on the first floor, the helpers greeted him. Seo Yi-kyung responded with a light nod. The more he tried to force a smile, the more he couldn’t stop his cheeks from trembling slightly.
It was likely an extension of what happened yesterday. Seo Yi-kyung could not yet handle his emotions as easily as Han Seung-jae did. That, at least, did not go according to his will. Even if he knew it in his head, it seemed he couldn’t help it when his body reacted every time.
He went straight into the dressing room. The suit he had placed there at midnight had been neatly organized.
Seo Yi-kyung scanned the clothes.
‘What should I wear?’
There was no outfit that immediately caught his eye. Because there were too many options, it was even harder to decide. Furthermore, every piece of clothing he pulled out seemed too formal for a breakfast setting.
Was there something that didn’t look brand new like the clothes he usually wore, yet didn’t look like he hadn’t put in any effort?
Sigh…
It wasn’t as if he could go wearing clothes splattered with paint. He hadn’t set such difficult conditions, yet after racking his brain for a while, Seo Yi-kyung took off his pajamas and dressed. Just as he closed the door and was about to take a step, Min Ra-hyeon’s voice sounded from behind him.
“Yi-kyung.”
As Seo Yi-kyung slowly turned around, Min Ra-hyeon, who looked as if he had tossed and turned all night, asked while covering a yawn with his hand.
“Where are you going so early in the morning?”
Min Ra-hyeon forced his drooping eyes open and stared at the clothes Seo Yi-kyung was wearing. He was dressed in a clean dress shirt and suit trousers. However, because he wasn’t wearing a tie, it didn’t feel stiff. Perhaps it was because his skin was so pale; rather, he gave off a soft, approachable, and gentle impression.
“Young Master, were you here?”
Seo Yi-kyung’s head turned without hesitation. Butler Do, who had hurried down the stairs from the second floor, approached them.
“I kept knocking on the door, but since there was no answer, I went inside and found you weren’t there, so I spent quite a while searching for you.”
He had never dreamed that choosing clothes would take so much time. Butler Do glanced at Min Ra-hyeon, who was standing some distance away, as if conscious of him. Then, he continued in a quiet voice.
“Director Han is waiting for you now.”
“Let’s go, Yi-kyung.”
Min Ra-hyeon took a step forward. He brushed past Seo Yi-kyung and walked ahead. Seo Yi-kyung followed slowly behind him.
Upon entering the dining room, Butler Do pulled out a chair. Seo Yi-kyung approached and sat opposite Han Seung-jae. As he did, Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze landed on Min Ra-hyeon, who was sitting next to Han Seung-jae.
Min Ra-hyeon scanned the table and spoke to Butler Do.
“Why isn’t there any for me?”
“Since you said you wouldn’t be having breakfast…”
Butler Do trailed off but moved quickly, adding, “I will prepare it for you right away.”
As Butler Do disappeared from sight, Min Ra-hyeon rubbed his stomach as if to soothe his aching insides.
“My stomach hurts just from drinking a bit of that yesterday. Are you okay? Don’t you drink alcohol that’s way too strong?”
Min Ra-hyeon looked at Han Seung-jae, who was sitting beside him, while complaining. However, the man’s gaze was fixed straight ahead. Han Seung-jae’s low voice flowed out.
“Listen.”
Following Han Seung-jae’s gaze, Min Ra-hyeon slowly turned his frowning face forward and looked at Seo Yi-kyung, who was moving his hand across the table.
Min Ra-hyeon was overcome by an inexplicable sense of alienation. Wasn’t Han Seung-jae’s tone quite different from the previous day? Moreover, compared to the attire of the other two, Min Ra-hyeon was wearing shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. Because he had just woken up, his clothes were wrinkled and he looked generally disheveled. Because of that, his own appearance felt shabby.
“That’s something I haven’t seen before.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, the person trying to continue the conversation was actually Han Seung-jae.
“My mother gave it to me yesterday. She said that if I wore this… my stomach would feel more comfortable.”
From the start, it felt as if Min Ra-hyeon didn’t exist between the two of them. It was as if they were sitting with an invisible transparent wall between them. That is, until Butler Do approached and placed his food on the table.
“I am truly sorry for the delay.”
Han Seung-jae’s gaze seemed to drift toward him instinctively, but it turned back. It was because Seo Yi-kyung spoke as if to pull his attention.
“I think it might be working…”
Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze lingered briefly on Min Ra-hyeon, who was sitting next to Han Seung-jae, before returning.
Yeon So-jeong’s words were not wrong. Seo Yi-kyung wanted to believe it was because of this bracelet, but as expected, as soon as he smelled Han Seung-jae’s pheromones yesterday, his uncomfortable stomach had quickly calmed down. He even felt a hunger that was almost unbearable.
When he returned to this house, he didn’t feel the same unfamiliar sensation as before. Rather, as he entered the bedroom, he even felt a sense of relief, as if he had returned to the place where he belonged.
Seo Yi-kyung stared intently at Han Seung-jae and unfastened the bracelet from his wrist.
“But as for this…”
The sound of metal hitting the table followed his finger. Clink. Seo Yi-kyung’s lower lip parted slightly.
“I think I don’t need it anymore.”