By Zephyria 
The second-floor study.
“It’s not here.”
Seo Yi-kyung peered into the open drawer, groping through the inside with his palm. In his memories, Han Seung-jae had clearly opened this decorative drawer near the desk and placed a gun and a gray pouch containing bullets inside.
Seo Yi-kyung had watched that scene blankly while standing in front of the desk.
Yi-kyung’s hand wandered anxiously inside the drawer. His fingertips brushed against organized documents. No matter how much he searched, what he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.
Eventually, with lingering reluctance, he slowly closed the drawer. As he turned around, Yi-kyung’s expression sank sharply. Wasn’t that item originally Min Ra-hyeon’s anyway? Han Seung-jae had simply taken charge of it and stored it here.
Once Min Ra-hyeon left, the gun vanished too. Since it belonged to Min Ra-hyeon in the first place, there was no issue if he had taken it with him.
Did Min Ra-hyeon really leave…?
Letting his shoulders, which had been tense with nerves, slump, Seo Yi-kyung left the study and walked toward the bedroom. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Han Seung-jae’s words. He wasn’t the type of person to make things up. Moreover, Seo Yi-kyung was the one who wanted to believe those words the most.
After spending some time on the bed, Seo Yi-kyung went out to the terrace. He perched on a chair as if soaking up the sunlight. After looking down at the garden for a while, Yi-kyung looked around with a gaze that was slightly less anxious than before. This was because he could hear Butler Do’s voice from a distance. It seemed someone had entered the house.
“The sofa will go on the first floor. The table goes this way too. Ah, you can move that one upstairs.”
Butler Do continued speaking as if repeatedly emphasizing his instructions while moving busily.
“You must move absolutely quietly inside the house.”
Seo Yi-kyung slowly stood up. His gloomy mood seemed to have improved slightly while sitting on the terrace. And he was a bit thirsty. He felt like going down to the first floor to have some tea.
Crossing the bedroom, Seo Yi-kyung opened the door. At that moment, Butler Do, who was watching the men stepping out of the elevator, was startled.
“Are you awake?”
Butler Do rushed toward Seo Yi-kyung in a single bound.
“I told them to be careful not to make any noise.”
Butler Do spoke with a flustered face. He seemed to have assumed that Seo Yi-kyung had been sleeping ever since returning from lunch with Han Seung-jae.
“I’m a bit thirsty.”
“I will go down and bring some for you immediately. Please stay in your room.”
Butler Do hurried back the way he came. Despite this, Seo Yi-kyung stood there as if nailed to the spot. He continuously stared at the people coming and going through the open door.
Dressed in uniforms, they were repeatedly entering and exiting the room carrying items. The sizes of the boxes varied, from things that required two people to carry. They seemed to be putting their heart and soul into ensuring no sound leaked out while moving the items, even laying down carpets.
Butler Do, who had come up the stairs, discovered Seo Yi-kyung still standing there and approached him.
“Why are you here? You should be in your room.”
Although he had warned the workers several times to be quiet while they moved between the first and second floors, it couldn’t be said that there was absolutely no noise. Yet, Seo Yi-kyung kept his eyes fixed on the room where people were entering and exiting.
“Please go inside.”
Following Butler Do, Seo Yi-kyung slowly turned around. He entered the bedroom first and asked Butler Do, who was setting a teacup on the table and lifting the teapot.
“What are those people doing?”
“Didn’t Secretary Park mention last time that a nursery would be made on the second floor?”
Seo Yi-kyung blinked at the unexpected words. Without seeing his expression, Butler Do carefully placed the teacup in front of Seo Yi-kyung and added,
“I am sorry that I should have handled this myself. Secretary Park painstakingly selected a few things. They all arrived at once today, so we were organizing everything now. I intended to tell you once the interior was settled…”
Knock, knock. There was a sound of knocking at the door. Before Butler Do could finish his sentence, he stepped away hurriedly.
“I will go see. The tea is hot, so please drink slowly.”
Even in the midst of his busyness, Butler Do fulfilled his duties and opened the door to leave. An assistant was standing in front of the door.
Seo Yi-kyung watched the door Butler Do had exited, then turned his head to look into the teacup where white steam was curling up. His slender eyebrows, steeped in thought, and his delicate features were reflected within.
‘A nursery.’
Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze slowly drifted further down. He looked closely at his stomach, hidden by his shirt.
Having a child was an event that didn’t happen in the original story. Similarly, the fact that Min Ra-hyeon was not in this house right now was also the same. The original story had changed. Was that something that could change?
Come to think of it, Jin Seon-yu was originally supposed to marry while carrying Ham Gyu-ho’s child. However, as he stepped in, the contents of the original story were changing one by one. Many things had changed like that while Seo Yi-kyung wasn’t even conscious of it.
Seo Yi-kyung stood up at the sound of knocking on the door. Leaving the cooled tea behind, he opened the door.
Butler Do wore a joyful smile.
“The organizing is finished. Would you like to go see for yourself?”
Seo Yi-kyung let go of the doorknob. Butler Do walked briskly with a face even brighter than before. Then, he pointed inside the open door.
“Please, look.”
Long rays of sunlight were filling the room deep inside. Seo Yi-kyung looked at the baby crib in the center. He stepped inside as if possessed by something.
The windows were tilted open to ventilate the room. Because of this, the white cloth covering the wooden baby crib fluttered in the breeze. The mobile hanging in the center was swaying and spinning. On the table next to it, there were two chairs.
Seo Yi-kyung shifted his gaze to the paintings hanging on the wall. Unlike those in the painting studio, these were artworks with prominent primary colors.
With gloved hands, Butler Do wiped and tidied up parts that looked insufficient, counting the empty cabinets and shelves.
“I think it would be good to place the gifts we received here.”
In the painting studio, the things received from Jin Seon-yu were still piled up. Besides him, various people had sent congratulatory gifts. Until now, Seo Yi-kyung had tried not to accept them, believing that none of it belonged to him. He had never once considered any of the items in this house to be his.
However, without Seo Yi-kyung knowing, his traces were full throughout the house. It was as if the house was telling him that this was where he belonged.
The place where Min Ra-hyeon had left was already preparing to welcome a new person. He was also someone Seo Yi-kyung waited for and wanted to meet very much.
* * *
Late at night, Seo Yi-kyung tossed and turned in bed. Unlike his tired body, sleep would not come.
‘He must be late today.’
Seo Yi-kyung rolled over to the other side and listened for the sound of the door opening. How long had he been doing that? No sound was heard.
Since he had met Han Seung-jae for lunch during the day, it would be hard to see him in the evening. Wasn’t Han Seung-jae a busy man to begin with? His visit to the hospital was something even Seo Yi-kyung hadn’t expected.
However, whenever Seo Yi-kyung saw Han Seung-jae, words he wanted to say lingered in his mouth. Should he say he saw the baby crib? Or should he ask if he had eaten dinner?
Seo Yi-kyung’s small head spun incessantly as he thought about what conversations would be good to have with Han Seung-jae. Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to follow Han Seung-jae, who might go straight to the study, while carrying tea.
While having such thoughts, he soon fell fast asleep.
It was around that time that the door opened slightly. In the darkness, a long silhouette seemed to adjust the fit of his pajamas before stopping by the bedside.
Han Seung-jae reached out in the dim light. Although Seo Yi-kyung’s face wasn’t clearly visible, he effortlessly brought the back of his hand to Yi-kyung’s forehead. Was the slight fever felt because his own hand was cold? It seemed he had always possessed this level of heat.
The back of his hand, which seemed about to pull away, brushed against Seo Yi-kyung’s cheek as if sliding down. Seeing that the body temperature wasn’t much different from the forehead, it didn’t seem to be a fever from being sick. Then, his fingertips moved further down and touched Seo Yi-kyung’s slightly parted lips.
The soft lips felt smooth to the touch and were parted just the right amount. They were easy to suck while pressing the lips together, and just right for pushing a tongue inside.