By Zephyria 
White bathroom tiles, a large sink, and a large mirror in front of it.
Tae-hwon clearly checked his reflection in the mirror.
A body full of trained muscles. A body covered in small scars, even without tattoos. A scar ran across his chest, and his arms, shoulders, abdomen, and legs were covered in torn and healed scars. His body reeked of the blood and iron that one would expect from a seasoned warrior.
What’s more, his face was the same. It looked much older than the face he remembered from when he was twenty.
‘I really am older.’
Thirty. The person in the mirror was now thirty years old.
Now that he had confirmed the truth with his own eyes, there was nothing more he could do. He couldn’t deny it, refute it, or doubt it. He just had to accept it and deal with it. Woo Tae-hwon had really lost ten years. And that past void had ruined the warmth and salvation he had barely found.
The stability that twenty-year-old Woo Tae-hwon had gained was shattered by thirty-year-old Woo Tae-hwon.
He couldn’t understand at all why he had made such an extreme and cruel choice.
‘What about young Master Rae-i?’
Chairman Kwon Jung-il was the chairman Tae-hwon had to serve with all his loyalty, his benefactor, and also Kwon Rae-i’s biological father. He had no idea why he would betray and kill such a Chairman Kwon with his own hands. He didn’t know if he could understand it even if he found out.
This was because, no matter how thirty-year-old Woo Tae-hwon had changed, the heart of twenty-year-old Woo Tae-hwon was like this.
‘The young master must be in shock. I betrayed not only Gyeongjeong and the Chairman, but also the young master.’
Tae-hwon, holding onto the sink, turned on the faucet and lowered his head.
Swish.
The sound of the flowing water somehow sounded familiar. It felt like the stream of water was sweeping away all his memories, and his emotions were raging out of control, driving him crazy.
It was unfair enough to go from twenty to thirty overnight, but he had even lived the last 10 years wrong.
He had committed an unforgivable, irreversible sin.
‘Murder, of all things.’
Just yesterday, Tae-hwon had been spending peaceful time with a ten-year-old young master in a remote Separate House, but now…
‘Fuck…’
Tae-hwon clenched his teeth tightly. The look in his eyes reflected in the mirror was fierce. He couldn’t contain his anger at his thirty-year-old self, who had completely ruined and destroyed his life, and he wanted to set something on fire. But this time, Tae-hwon’s target for revenge was himself. So, there was nothing he could do.
‘Unless I recover from the past…’
What on earth had happened? Why did he do that? Shouldn’t he at least know exactly what happened and regret it, even if he did regret it? Only then would he have the decency to atone, at least a little.
Tae-hwon washed his face with the water that had filled the sink. He couldn’t move his right arm, which was in a cast, but he could use his left hand, so he had no choice but to use only one hand. When the cold water touched his skin, his hazy mind seemed to clear, and his thoughts became clearer. He no longer cared about the sound of the water.
Just then.
“Tae-hwon.”
The closed bedroom door opened, and Kwon Rae-i entered the brightly lit bathroom.
“Are you awake now?”
His eyes met his in the mirror. Tae-hwon inadvertently looked at him and was startled.
“…Yes, young master.”
In fact, Kwon Rae-i looked far too unfamiliar to be called young master.
He had a towering height of at least 190cm, making him taller than Tae-hwon, and he had broad shoulders and a thick chest. What’s more, his attire was extraordinary. He was wearing a black suit made of cashmere and silk blend fabric, with a black tie around his neck.
Considering his snow-white hair, blue-gray eyes, and unique mysterious atmosphere, he couldn’t be anyone other than Tae-hwon’s young Master Rae-i, but everything else about him was unfamiliar.
He felt strange. Seeing him grown up so wonderfully and admirably made him feel secretly happy and proud, but he was still awkward and embarrassed. Inevitably, his body stiffened and he became tense. It meant that he couldn’t treat him the same way he used to.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone, Tae-hwon. I’m on my way back from the funeral.”
Funeral.
Tae-hwon’s expression changed completely to one of misery. He really didn’t want to ask, but he felt like he had to confirm it himself.
“…Is it Chairman Kwon’s funeral?”
“Yes. The burial is over.”
“…”
Ha. This couldn’t be happening.
The strength left his body, which had been holding onto the sink. His limping legs faltered, and Kwon Rae-i, who had quickly approached, wrapped his arms around Tae-hwon’s waist to support and hold him up. The arm that touched him was thicker and stronger than he had expected, which surprised him even more.
Tae-hwon frowned deeply and looked at Kwon Rae-i with trembling eyes. Now he had no choice but to ask him again.
“Why… why did I betray Chairman Kwon?”
He knew it would be painful no matter what answer he heard. However, Kwon Rae-i only shook his head.
“That’s the question I want to ask. I really don’t know why you did that, Tae-hwon. The motive is unclear.”
“That can’t be…”
“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly making such a painful face? Do you regret it? You chose to run away with a wad of cash, a forged passport, and a whole bunch of stuff.”
“…I’m sorry.”
He had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths. Tae-hwon was just devastated, frustrated, and miserable. He was really going crazy. Kwon Rae-i, seeing Tae-hwon apologizing for what he had done without even remembering it, let out a faint laugh.
“No. Don’t apologize. That’s not what I want to hear from you, Tae-hwon. Regret and apology only come from looking at the past. I don’t want that. I’d rather you only look forward.”
Kwon Rae-i reached out his long arm and turned off the faucet, which was still running.
“Do you understand? I want you to only look at the future where you’ll live with me.”
“Young master, but.”
And he brought his lips close to Tae-hwon’s face, which was wet with moisture. His beautiful, rosy lips lightly brushed against his cheek.
“I said it’s okay. Don’t dig up the past. If you’re even a little worried about me, open your lips.”
“Yes?”
“I need to kiss you right now, Tae-hwon.”
He grabbed the back of Tae-hwon’s head, lowered his head, and kissed him.
They collided with a smack, then he twisted his head to adjust the angle and delved in deeply. His tongue slowly traced his teeth and touched the inside. Tae-hwon, who was extremely disturbed, was startled and pushed against his chest.
“S-stop. I can’t.”
It was a reflexive action. Kwon Rae-i had just come back from his biological father’s funeral, and he was kissing the murderer who had killed his father. Was this even a reasonable situation?
Tae-hwon was already confused and had complicated feelings. He couldn’t just blankly and irresponsibly cling to young Master Rae-i and kiss him.
He felt guilty towards the young master, guilty towards the Chairman, and everything was just a mess.
“Why can’t you?”
Kwon Rae-i twitched his eyebrows. He lowered his eyes as if he was displeased and looked at Tae-hwon languidly, muttering sullenly. It was hard to tell whether he was holding back his rising anger or just being petulant.
“Young master, what are you saying? You said you just came back from the funeral.”
“So? My father is my father, and I am me. I’m telling you, I love Tae-hwon.”
“No, that’s… I can’t accept it. This, this isn’t right.”
“What’s not right again? Why do you keep telling me it’s not right?”
Kwon Rae-i sneered and lowered his lips again. Tae-hwon didn’t know what to do and turned his head to avoid him. He tried to get out of his arms, but the arm supporting him was wrapped tightly around his torso, making it impossible to escape. Kwon Rae-i kissed Tae-hwon’s ear instead of his lips.
“It’s not like it’ll wear out. Can’t you comfort me a little?”
“I can’t. I’ll comfort you in a different way. To me, young master is…”
Before Tae-hwon could say anything, Kwon Rae-i cut him off. As if he had heard the words Tae-hwon was about to say to him countless times and knew them all.
“Like a child?”
“Young master.”
“Am I your son, Tae-hwon? Who decided that?”
Kwon Rae-i laughed savagely and nibbled on Tae-hwon’s ear. He bit down with his teeth and whined.
“You killed my biological father, Tae-hwon. So, who is whose son? Would you do such a cruel thing to your son?”
Sharp words pierced him like daggers.
Like poison on the cutting edge, Kwon Rae-i’s every word dug into Tae-hwon’s heart. Woo Tae-hwon, of course, knew in his head that his thirty-year-old self had committed a heinous act, but the current Tae-hwon was a twenty-year-old who had lost his memory. The twenty-year-old Tae-hwon, who cherished and cared for the young ten-year-old young master in his heart, had no immunity to such words. It felt like his heart was being torn apart.