By Zephyria “Instead, we’ll get a diagnosis through photos.”
Lee Hae-sung summoned Manager Kang. Even Manager Kang rarely came up to the third floor when Choi Hong-seo was present, but this time, he didn’t even ask Choi Hong-seo’s opinion. He was that resolute.
Lee Hae-sung took off Choi Hong-seo’s jacket and examined the affected area more closely.
“Take off your top so I can see. Are there any more elsewhere?”
Seeing how gravely concerned he was, Choi Hong-seo didn’t refuse and took off his hoodie and t-shirt.
“There are two more below.”
Lee Hae-sung, carefully touching his bare skin, said in an almost despairing voice, “I wonder if it’s cold…”
“It doesn’t seem like a normal rash either… Is it erythema…”
“You called for me, Vice President.”
Lee Hae-sung quickly ushered Manager Kang inside as he appeared at the entrance of the dressing room.
“Ah, Manager. You know the person who used to look after Ju-seong’s skin? I don’t remember his name… but he opened his own practice after leaving Goryeo Hospital…”
“Yes, Dr. Lee Seung-jun.”
“Let’s send him some photos. A VIP suddenly developed this symptom, and I’m worried.”
VIP was slang for ‘Yoon Hye-an’ in this house. It was a title Lee Hae-sung had instructed, as he didn’t want to call the person everyone knew as Yoon Hye-an by that name, nor did he want to hear it.
Lee Hae-sung tried to show Manager Kang Choi Hong-seo’s back, and Choi Hong-seo hesitated, not wanting to turn around. He didn’t want to give the impression that Lee Hae-sung was being overly dramatic because of Yoon Hye-an over something trivial. Even if they didn’t show it, it felt like everyone in this house, including Manager Kang, already thought so.
“Mis… ter…”
Choi Hong-seo, who had intended to stop Lee Hae-sung by saying it wasn’t itchy or painful and there were only two or three spots at most, unconsciously let out the word “mister.” Manager Kang’s expression, which he’d glanced at, showed no change, but his gaze did turn in their direction for a moment.
“I’m really okay. It must have just been a bit dry. I’ll go to the hospital on Monday.”
“Skin conditions aren’t something you can fix with just any hospital. Ju-seong… my younger brother suffered from atopy for a long time. I have a good specialist who treated him, so let’s send them a few photos.”
Although Lee Hae-sung prioritized Choi Hong-seo’s feelings in everything, he showed no signs of backing down on this issue. With Manager Kang’s help, Lee Hae-sung took several photos of the affected areas and showed them to Choi Hong-seo as well.
Choi Hong-seo, who had put his hoodie back on, looked at the phone he handed him. The photos showed red spots shaped like donuts or rings. The wounds looked like burns at first glance. He was a little surprised by the surprisingly clear color and shape, but since there were no immediate symptoms of itching or pain, he wasn’t too worried. Lee Hae-sung, however, seemed to think differently.
“Tell him I said it was urgent.”
“Understood. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back.”
“No, don’t wait for that. Ask him to contact me directly.”
“Understood.”
After Manager Kang left the dressing room, Lee Hae-sung tidied Choi Hong-seo’s hair, which had become disheveled while putting his t-shirt back on. Choi Hong-seo handed him the phone and picked up his jacket again.
“Going for a walk?”
“We agreed to, didn’t we? It’s not like I’m sick. Let’s go out and get some fresh air.”
Lee Hae-sung followed Choi Hong-seo out with a reluctant expression.
The two walked slowly along the path leading to the lake in the center of the garden. Of the three gardens in Lee Hae-sung’s Bundang mansion, the main garden was designed to resemble the famous Indonesian garden in Bali, known as ‘Taman Ujung,’ or the ‘Palace of Water.’
Dozens of stone statues of Hindu gods, said to have been made and transported from Bali, were placed there, and in the center of the lake stood a replica of the ‘Gate of Heaven’ from Bali’s other famous tourist attraction, ‘Lempuyang Temple.’ This, too, was a work crafted by a Balinese artisan.
Lee Hae-sung had explained that in front of the actual ‘Gate of Heaven’ in Bali, there was no water, but tourists enjoyed taking photos that made it look like it was floating on water by using a mirror reflection.
However, the ‘Gate of Heaven’ at this mansion was actually built over the lake, making it appear as if it were floating on water.
Lee Hae-sung had been deeply impressed after visiting the ‘Palace of Water’ and the ‘Gate of Heaven’ during his trip to Bali for photography. He had decorated this garden based on his aesthetic taste, regardless of religious beliefs.
Choi Hong-seo also fell in love with this garden the moment he first saw it. Even though it lacked greenery in winter, he liked the atmosphere created by the exotic statues and the water. The mysterious ambiance, which felt like it existed somewhere between reality and the heavens, strangely brought him a sense of peace.
Cruelly, when this mansion was being built, Lee Hae-sung had named this garden ‘Bardo.’
While there are various interpretations of Bardo, a term originating from Tibetan Buddhism, Lee Hae-sung focused on the meaning of ‘intermediate state.’ Between birth and death, between sleep and wakefulness, between ignorance and enlightenment. He named it ‘Bardo’ because he wanted to stay in this garden in a free state, unswayed by any extreme and not forced into any particular state, free from all oppression.
And as Choi Hong-seo later found out, the ‘Bardo,’ the intermediate state, in Tibetan Buddhism had another meaning. Between death and reincarnation.
So, it was no wonder Choi Hong-seo felt at peace in that garden. It was a garden that perfectly suited his current state.
As Lee Hae-sung had said, the temperature wasn’t that low, but the wind was quite strong. Still, breathing the fresh air deep into his lungs made his heavy head and heart feel a little lighter. Hoo, the steam escaping Choi Hong-seo’s lips as he exhaled a long breath was swept away by the biting wind and scattered in an instant.
Lee Hae-sung tightly hugged Choi Hong-seo’s left shoulder and rubbed his arms up and down as if to ward off the cold.
“It’s gotten much colder. They said there would be less snow this year.”
“They say the first snow will be later than usual too.”
“What should we do on the day of the first snow?”
“……”
The walking path led to a straight stone path that divided the lake in two. The left side was open for boating, and the right side of the lake housed the ‘Gate of Heaven’ and the statues. As they entered the stone path, Choi Hong-seo’s steps slowed.
“Is there something you want to do? Come on, tell me.”
Lee Hae-sung seemed pleased that Choi Hong-seo had something he wanted.
“Anything is okay?”
“Of course. Who’s asking? I have to grant them anything.”
In the middle of the stone path, Choi Hong-seo stopped walking. He looked up at the person he loved. The wind was strong and the air was piercingly cold, but the sunlight was intense. The sun shining behind Lee Hae-sung’s head made it difficult to look at him directly.
After hesitating for a long time, Choi Hong-seo gathered his courage.
“You said our old place in Hannam-dong… is it still there?”
“You want to go there? It’s Hong-seo’s home, my home, what’s so difficult about that? Since you mentioned it, shall we go today?”
Grabbing Choi Hong-seo’s gloved hands, Lee Hae-sung bent down. For the first time in a long while, his face looked bright, without a shadow.
The thought of not wanting to steal the smile from that face made Choi Hong-seo ponder again. But it was a smile obtained by deceiving each other about the truth. A smile built on instability was bound to crumble at any moment. It was a realization gained through death in his previous life.
“No, that place… it’s not somewhere I particularly want to go.”
“Then where? It’s okay, just tell me. I’ll take a long vacation and go with you for sure.”
Seeing Choi Hong-seo’s unusual expression, Lee Hae-sung now looked at him with concern.
“When I ran into you at the ancestral shrine. That’s when I first collapsed.”
Choi Hong-seo’s voice trembled unstably, and Lee Hae-sung’s expression hardened.
“I felt cold sweats, dizziness, and nausea, and at one point, I just couldn’t bear it anymore. Then I lost consciousness.”
“……”
“After that, I had similar symptoms in the drawing room on the second floor of Director Kang’s house.”
Lee Hae-sung remained silent, but his lips parted in an ‘Ah…’ of realization, and his ragged breath escaped.
The drawing room on the second floor of Director Kang Woo-hyun’s house was where Lee Hae-sung and Choi Hong-seo first met, and where they promised to become lovers.
“And then…”
“Was it the villa in Seocho-dong?”
Lee Hae-sung’s voice was low and calm as usual, but it carried a cold metallic tone, as if he were angry.
Choi Hong-seo nodded cautiously.
Lee Hae-sung, who had been unconsciously holding Choi Hong-seo’s gloved hand, squeezed his own hand with great force. It was so tight that blood couldn’t flow to his fingers, but Choi Hong-seo didn’t ask him to let go or say it hurt.
“I thought it might get worse if I didn’t say anything. So I told you.”
“Yes, you did well. It’s better if we know everything together.”
Lee Hae-sung forced his expression to calm down. He swallowed dryly, licked his lower lip with his tongue, then stroked Choi Hong-seo’s hair from behind and patted his shoulder. Then, with a moment of stiff eyes, he cupped Choi Hong-seo’s cheeks and met his gaze.
The touch of his leather gloves against his cheek was cold.
“You said you’d do whatever I wanted, wherever I wanted to go, right?”
“……”
“I want to… meet the shaman again.”
As their eyes met, Lee Hae-sung’s eyes and breathing turned chillingly cold. Even the breath rising from his lips seemed like a pale frost. He, who had been frozen like a piece of ice, shook his head resolutely after a long moment.
“No.”
“Mister.”
“That’s absolutely not allowed.”
The voice that came from his twisted lips was colder than his gaze, his breath, or his leather gloves.