By Zephyria 
Seo Yi-kyung leaned against the headboard of the bed for a while, savoring the pheromones lingering in the air. In the past, the scent of white wood had felt oppressive, but now, he didn’t feel that way at all. Rather, he even thought that no scent could be more fitting for Han Seung-jae.
Seo Yi-kyung slowly climbed down from the bed. He went into the bathroom, took a warm shower, and stepped out. As he tightened his bathrobe and rubbed his wet hair with a towel, he finally felt his mind clearing.
A knock sounded, and Seo Yi-kyung looked toward the door. Butler Do checked the empty dishes several times before gripping the tray with both hands.
“I will bring you a change of clothes. The primary physician is scheduled to visit shortly.”
“I’m fine now.”
As he slowly rubbed his wet hair, Seo Yi-kyung felt no more pain anywhere in his body.
“Still, Secretary Park insisted that you must be seen.”
With a firm expression, Butler Do turned and left. Seo Yi-kyung didn’t say anything more. He knew by now that this wasn’t Secretary Park’s idea, but an instruction from Han Seung-jae.
After changing his clothes, Seo Yi-kyung drew the curtains to the sides to get a better view of the terrace. Then, he returned to the bed and leaned back. As the sunlight streamed in, the room became brighter than before.
Not long after, the doctor arrived, just as Butler Do had said. After knocking and entering the room, the doctor looked at Seo Yi-kyung sitting on the bed and beamed.
“You’re awake.”
He skillfully stood by the bedside, checked Seo Yi-kyung’s temperature, and carefully examined his complexion. Even though he saw the hickey on the nape of Seo Yi-kyung’s neck, he cleared his throat once and spoke as if he had seen nothing.
“It’s a relief that your complexion seems better than yesterday.”
The doctor then listed foods that would be beneficial for Seo Yi-kyung’s body to Butler Do, who was standing nearby. Meanwhile, Seo Yi-kyung lightly touched his neck where the doctor’s gaze had lingered. Despite having the buttons fastened to the top, it seemed the hickey revealed whenever he moved his head could not be hidden.
After finishing the conversation with Butler Do, the doctor added a word to Seo Yi-kyung.
“Your body suffered due to morning sickness, so you can rest assured.”
Having finished the examination, the doctor prepared to leave. However, he didn’t forget to leave a warning.
“I shall be going now. If you feel even the slightest abnormality in your body, please contact me immediately.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Only then did Butler Do’s tense face relax in relief as he left the bedroom to see the doctor out.
After sitting blankly in the silent room for a while, Seo Yi-kyung pushed aside the duvet and put on his slippers. He felt as though staying still in bed only made his body feel weaker.
Still, he felt he could manage something as simple as going to the painting studio to organize his tools without any trouble.
Taking the elevator, Seo Yi-kyung went down to the first floor. The house was filled with silence. First, he went into the dressing room and threw a cardigan over his shirt. Since he had barely escaped the bed, he took care not to overexert himself so he wouldn’t fall ill again.
Seo Yi-kyung stepped out the door. Even then, no one was seen coming or going, but Seo Yi-kyung still didn’t think it was strange.
He entered the painting studio, looked at the canvas, and touched the tools on the work table. Shortly after, there was a knock, and the door to the studio opened.
“Were you here? I’ve been looking for you for quite a while.”
Butler Do entered with a troubled face. Holding a brush in his hand, Seo Yi-kyung turned around.
“I’m feeling better now. I was just organizing some painting tools.”
His words implied that there was no need for Butler Do to look so worried. Butler Do stepped closer. As he tidied the brushes of various lengths, Seo Yi-kyung asked.
“Is it already mealtime?”
Has it been that long? He hadn’t even painted; he had only organized some tools. Had that much time already passed?
“Young Master, I think you need to come outside for a moment.”
“……?”
Seo Yi-kyung looked at Butler Do with suspicion. Looking closely, it wasn’t an expression meant to announce lunch. Butler Do looked at Seo Yi-kyung’s pale face and spoke cautiously.
* * *
Seo Yi-kyung left the painting studio. Come to think of it, there had been no one moving about the living room for a while. Seo Yi-kyung had never known deeply what the helpers did. Above all, he was clumsy at giving orders. He had never intervened in whatever work they did.
It was the same for Han Seung-jae, and it was the same for the ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ of the original novel. Perhaps because there were no points of contact, the original novel contained no descriptions of where the resident helpers stayed or what their lives were like.
“This way.”
Butler Do walked past the drawing room next to the entrance. Seo Yi-kyung followed behind him. Before long, he could see the helpers gathered in the hallway.
“Whose room is this?”
Min Ra-hyeon’s voice was faintly audible. Then, the voice of a trembling helper was added.
“I-it’s my room.”
Min Ra-hyeon was haphazardly messing up the items inside the room. The women were restless. For some time now, Min Ra-hyeon had gathered people in one place and was searching for a lost item.
Traces of having searched through rooms several times were already visible. Every room Seo Yi-kyung passed had its door wide open. There were two beds placed side by side inside, suggesting it was a room shared by two people.
Items were scattered haphazardly around them. Drawers were open, bedding had slid onto the floor, and the contents of the wardrobe had poured out as if they had been ransacked.
Step, step.
Seo Yi-kyung continued walking toward where the people were gathered.
“There’s a bag hidden here too?”
“It’s mine. I didn’t hide it, it’s just……”
The sound of items crashing onto the marble floor followed. It was just as Seo Yi-kyung reached the door where Min Ra-hyeon’s voice was clearly audible.
“Where on earth did you hide it?”
Eventually, Seo Yi-kyung pushed the slightly open door further. The cluttered room came into view at a glance. Min Ra-hyeon, who was shaking out a bag she was holding, turned around.
“Yi-kyung, why did you come out?”
Min Ra-hyeon placed the bag she was holding on the bed. Similarly, two helpers turned their heads. The areas around their eyes were red. They seemed to be enduring it, but it wouldn’t be strange if they burst into tears at any moment.
“What are you doing?”
The voice that escaped Seo Yi-kyung was very calm. Min Ra-hyeon let out a long sigh and stepped forward.
“I’m almost done. I have to find what I lost. Because of that, you couldn’t even eat and got sick, Yi-kyung.”
“I never did.”
Especially since the bracelet was an object with a strong psychological influence. It made no sense that he couldn’t eat because it was missing. Moreover, since Han Seung-jae had already bought him a new one, there was no need to cause such a scene.
“Come out. This isn’t a place for Min Ra-hyeon to enter……”
Because it wasn’t.
Before Seo Yi-kyung could finish his sentence, Min Ra-hyeon suddenly lifted a pillow. He scanned the sheet and picked something up. A bracelet with a broken clasp hung down.
“Found it.”
An eerie silence suddenly fell over the room. As if riding the momentum, Min Ra-hyeon shook the bracelet in his hand.
“Who uses this bed?”
He had only asked that. Yet, one of the helpers standing between Seo Yi-kyung and Min Ra-hyeon let out a shrill cry. She recoiled in horror. She was the person who had previously reported the item she saw in Min Ra-hyeon’s room to Secretary Park. And Secretary Park had searched Min Ra-hyeon’s suitcase to confirm the gun she had mentioned.
“So you had it hidden here.”
“I-I didn’t!”
Tears burst from her eyes, which she had been held back.
“I didn’t do it, hic, I didn’t. Why is that, under my pillow, sob……”
Perhaps because she was overwhelmed with emotion, hse only wept sorrowfully. Because of this, she couldn’t even speak properly.
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been watching until then, spoke up.
“Are you suggesting that piece of jewelry is mine?”
The calm tone of his voice cut through, precisely dividing the two. Min Ra-hyeon turned his head and held up the bracelet higher so that Seo Yi-kyung could see it better. Still, Seo Yi-kyung’s attitude remained consistent.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s not mine. The chain is broken.”
The day before, Seo Yi-kyung had only mentioned to Min Ra-hyeon that he had lost the bracelet. However, Min Ra-hyeon, standing there with the broken bracelet, was certain. No matter how you looked at it, he must have thought the person who picked up the bracelet when Seo Yi-kyung dropped it was this helper.
He could never say now that he had picked it up and confirmed it with his own eyes back then. Doing so would be admitting that he was the one who picked it up in the first place.
As if he hadn’t expected Seo Yi-kyung to react this way, Min Ra-hyeon couldn’t refute him, so Seo Yi-kyung extended his arm. Similarly, he unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt so that Min Ra-hyeon could see clearly. On his pale, slender wrist, a bracelet sparkled.
“I found it on the nightstand.”
To be precise, in the velvet box that had been on the nightstand.
“But Yi-kyung, this is an expensive item.”
He could guess the rest without hearing it. How a helper could possess such an expensive item, and how hard he had worked to find it—it would surely be those kind of tedious, cliché, and unnecessary words. Thus, it wasn’t worth listening to.
“And?”
Seo Yi-kyung felt that his way of speaking was gradually becoming like Han Seung-jae’s. In the original novel, Han Seung-jae’s words had power. That was likely something that remained unchanged even now.
He used more restrained words than anyone else while taking away the most.
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”