By Zephyria 
Secretary Park took his phone out of his inner pocket. He was about to look at the photos being sent when he answered an incoming call.
“You mean you couldn’t find him?”
Stepping out of the Director’s Office with his back to the door, Secretary Park waved off the employees who approached him to ask if he needed anything. At that, they returned to their seats.
With the phone pressed to his ear, Secretary Park continued the call with the attending physician. He was confirming if what he had just heard was correct.
“He was on the second floor as recently as this morning. What do you mean by that?”
The physician’s bewildered voice continued over the phone.
[That’s why everyone is searching for him right now. But no matter how much we look, it seems he is not in the house.]
As if to prove the physician’s words were true, the chaotic noise of the living room could be heard mixed in over the phone. Secretary Park ended the call for now and examined the photos that had been received.
Han Seung-jae, who had already listened to an investment proposal presentation once this morning, was openly displaying his displeasure. Moreover, his mood remained largely the same even now. Thus, Secretary Park, who had to go back in and deliver the news he heard from the physician, found himself in a truly awkward position.
Secretary Park entered the Director’s Office and approached Han Seung-jae, who was sitting at his desk.
“I spoke with the attending physician.”
“Is that so?”
Han Seung-jae didn’t even look up. Secretary Park placed the phone he was holding on the desk. However, Han Seung-jae continued to flip through documents with an unchanging attitude. That is, until he heard Secretary Park’s next words.
“It seems he couldn’t be found.”
Han Seung-jae’s hand stopped, and he raised his head. His cold gaze landed on the phone Secretary Park had set down.
“I think you should see this first.”
Before Secretary Park could even finish his sentence, Han Seung-jae took the phone and looked down at the photo. In it was a image of Seo Yi-kyung leaving through the iron gate with a pale complexion. Furthermore, the clothes Seo Yi-kyung was wearing were identical to what Han Seung-jae had seen in the study the previous day.
Han Seung-jae’s eyes turned sharp as he gripped the phone as if to crush it. Seo Yi-kyung’s desperate voice brushed past his ears.
—I want to leave this house now.
* * *
Chaeon Foods, Executive Director’s Office.
Jin Seok-young, the Head of Department, sat at the sofa table with a disinterested expression as he looked at his phone, which was ringing repeatedly. The name appearing on the screen was someone he hadn’t been happy to deal with since morning. He had a feeling that this wouldn’t be a pleasant matter.
Jin Seok-young leaned back against the sofa, pressing the phone to his ear.
“Secretary Park is calling me this early in the morning; what’s going on?”
Although it was already noon, Jin Seok-young asked it that way. The gaze of Executive Director Jin Tae-won, who was sitting in the seat of honor, shifted toward him. He was in the middle of smoking a cigarette while looking through documents.
Suddenly, Jin Seok-young bolted upright.
“What did you say?”
Because of that, the ember of the cigarette Jin Tae-won was holding fell onto the document, leaving a black stain. Executive Director Jin Tae-won frowned. However, Jin Seok-young raised his voice as if he found it absurd.
“Our Seon-yu stole something?”
Executive Director Jin Tae-won hooked the cigarette from his lips with his finger and crushed it out in the ashtray. As he did, he habitually pulled out a new cigarette.
“Secretary Park! There must be some great misunderstanding. My brother Seon-yu is not the kind of child to steal other people’s things.”
Jin Seok-young recklessly cut off Secretary Park’s words and poured out what he wanted to say. He couldn’t just stand by and listen to Jin Seon-yu being falsely accused. It wasn’t that he was taking Jin Seon-yu’s side simply because he was his brother.
Of course, it was true that he trusted Jin Seon-yu’s words first, but at the very least, Jin Seon-yu had never once laid a hand on someone else’s belongings. Not only during his school days, but in any case, he had grown up without lacking anything in his entire life.
There was no need to steal from others; he could just buy whatever he wanted with Jin Tae-won’s card.
“Tell Director Han my words clearly. Our Seon-yu didn’t steal anything from that house. I’m hanging up.”
Jin Seok-young ended the call. Not only had he received an unwelcome call from Secretary Park since morning, but seeing his brother Jin Seon-yu being treated like a thief made his blood boil.
“What’s going on that you’re talking so loudly on the phone?”
Jin Tae-won lit a cigarette with a lighter and inhaled deeply, creating a hollow in his cheek. Buzz— Jin Seok-young looked down at his phone ringing again. The name of Secretary Park from the Myeongjun Financial Group occupied the screen.
Ultimately, pushed by Jin Tae-won’s gaze, Jin Seok-young pressed the phone to his ear. He couldn’t simply refuse to answer the call.
“I’ll go and check right now, so be prepared to apologize for misunderstanding our Seon-yu and wait.”
After finishing the call with Secretary Park, Jin Seok-young added a comment to Jin Tae-won.
“Apparently, Seon-yu took something from Director Han’s house.”
“What does that mean?”
Executive Director Jin Tae-won’s voice was sharp.
“Exactly! That’s why I can’t help but be angry right now!”
Jin Seok-young immediately called Jin Seon-yu. The ringing tone sounded for a long time, but no matter how long he waited, Jin Seon-yu’s voice did not come through.
“Is he still sleeping? I’ll go home and check.”
Jin Seok-young walked briskly around the sofa and headed out. In the first place, there was nothing to check. However, he couldn’t just ignore Secretary Park’s call. Secretary Park’s call must have been under Han Seung-jae’s instructions. Therefore, Jin Seok-young had no choice but to see for himself and question the circumstances.
Jin Seok-young drove hurriedly and soon arrived home. As he entered, he spoke to a person passing by.
“Where is Seon-yu right now?”
“He hasn’t come down from upstairs yet.”
Jin Seok-young ran up the stairs, taking two or three steps at a time. He flung open Jin Seon-yu’s room door.
“What time do you think it is that you’re still sleep—”
Jin Seok-young, who had been scolding him, couldn’t finish his sentence, his mouth hanging open.
Jin Seon-yu, who was standing next to the bed, panicked and approached the door, pushing Jin Seok-young outside.
“Ah, Hyung! I told you to knock. How can you just open the door and come in like that!”
“You…”
Jin Seok-young was speechless, a look of absurdity on his face. He stared at the figure of Seo Yi-kyung leaning against the head of the bed. Jin Seok-young doubted several times if he was seeing correctly. However, he hadn’t misseen Seo Yi-kyung. No matter how much he blinked, he didn’t disappear.
“Get out quickly! Get out and talk to me.”
Jin Seok-young stumbled out the door under the desperate effort of Jin Seon-yu pushing him. Jin Seon-yu reached back to close the door and lowered his voice significantly.
“Yi-kyung is sick right now. Speak quietly. He can hear everything inside.”
The conversations he had just had with Secretary Park floated through Jin Seok-young’s mind, making him dizzy.
—He said to return what you took to its original place.
—I’ll go and check right now, so be prepared to apologize for misunderstanding our Seon-yu and wait.
And recalling the sight of Seo Yi-kyung he had just seen, Jin Seok-young murmured with a face that gradually turned ashen.
“What you ‘took’… wasn’t an object, but a person?”
And not just any person. Jin Seok-young stepped forward to resolve the situation quickly.
“No matter what, take him back quickly. Director Han said to return him right now.”
“He’s too sick to walk right now.”
“Where is he sick? Then we should call a doctor! No, take him back immediately. Or put him in my car. I’ll take him back right now.”
The more he spoke, the more Jin Seok-young’s face distorted in disbelief. Seo Yi-kyung was someone married to Han Seung-jae, but currently, he was also carrying Han Seung-jae’s child. The world was already full of rumors about whether it was a son or an Alpha. That’s why even Jin Tae-won was agonizing over what kind of gift to send.
For Seo Yi-kyung’s body to be sick here of all places, right now. This was a true disaster. If anything happened to him, Director Han would not stay still. And Jin Seok-young couldn’t help but keep one more person, Jin Tae-won, in mind. Jin Tae-won was a man whose hands were faster than his words.
As if knowing that, Jin Seon-yu said pleadingly.
“Never tell Tae-won Hyung that Yi-kyung is here. Just for a while. Okay, Hyung? Are you listening to me? I’m saying he’ll go once he recovers his strength.”
“Where is he so sick?”
Meanwhile, Jin Seok-young’s confused voice was almost a whisper. Jin Seon-yu drew a clear line.
“If you tell Tae-won Hyung, I will never talk to my second Hyung again.”
Jin Seon-yu finished speaking quickly and glared with a frown. It looked as if he were issuing a threat.
“Seon-yu…”
He wondered if such a ridiculous threat would work, but it worked perfectly on Jin Seok-young. Contrary to his rugged appearance, he was soft toward Jin Seon-yu. Jin Seon-yu ignored Jin Seok-young, who was trying to speak, and opened the door. Looking at Seo Yi-kyung leaning against the head of the bed, his soaring emotions subsided in an instant.
He had received a call from Seo Yi-kyung in the morning, driven out, and brought him here from where he was standing on the road. Seo Yi-kyung had been standing there, wearing only a thin shirt, with his cold hands pressed to his mouth.
From that alone, Jin Seon-yu could tell that Seo Yi-kyung had delivered the painting and declared their parting.
Therefore, he could not send Seo Yi-kyung back to that house.