By Zephyria 
Min Ra-hyeon felt awkward, realizing that his leaking voice was trembling far too much. Han Seung-jae looked down at him as if crushing him under his gaze.
Min Ra-hyeon scanned Han Seung-jae’s face, his suit, and the blood on his hands with fearful eyes. The more he looked, the more his body shook like an aspen leaf. He had never known this cold-blooded side of Han Seung-jae.
Did Seo Yi-kyung know this side of him? Had he maintained their married life knowing this? Thoughts branched out in ten thousand directions, tangling haphazardly in Min Ra-hyeon’s head. However, crushed by the weight of Han Seung-jae’s gaze, he soon found himself unable to think at all.
“Seon-woong acted on his own. It has nothing to do with me. I just…”
Min Ra-hyeon didn’t have the luxury to think deeply. Just the fact that Han Seung-jae had straightened his posture to look down at him made his knees buckle. Then, Min Seon-woong, who had been rolling on the floor clutching his eyes, lifted his head. He seemed to glance at Min Ra-hyeon, then lowered the hand covering his eyes, his face contorted. Min Seon-woong pushed himself up from the floor with both hands and fled.
The men rushed out after him. Left behind in an instant as if abandoned, Min Ra-hyeon’s voice dwindled to a whisper.
“I just… said that Yi-kyung was there…”
“You just said it? And then this happened.”
Han Seung-jae filled in the end of the sentence. Min Ra-hyeon braced himself against the floor. However, he didn’t have the strength to push himself up like Min Seon-woong had moments ago.
“That’s right. That’s how it was!”
Min Ra-hyeon now openly shifted all the blame onto Min Seon-woong. Since he wasn’t there, there was nothing to hesitate about.
“Seon-woong did it on his own…”
When he saw Seo Dong-hu behind Han Seung-jae, the words wouldn’t even come out properly. He just kept muttering that he had nothing to do with Seo Yi-kyung getting hurt. It has nothing to do with me.
“Is that so?”
At Han Seung-jae’s words, Min Ra-hyeon nodded vigorously. He gripped the wrinkled carpet. Han Seung-jae reached out his blood-stained hand. To Min Ra-hyeon, it looked as if that hand was coming for him. However, Secretary Park, who had been standing by Han Seung-jae’s side all along, placed a handkerchief over that hand. Han Seung-jae wiped the blood away. Watching this, Min Ra-hyeon murmured.
“I’ll never tell Yi-kyung. I won’t say a single word about what happened here.”
Min Ra-hyeon felt that Han Seung-jae’s attitude had softened compared to before. He judged that his claim of having done nothing had been accepted. However, after wiping his hand, Han Seung-jae tossed the handkerchief onto the carpet.
“You can’t tell him anyway.”
“…….”
Min Ra-hyeon couldn’t hear Han Seung-jae’s voice clearly. It was because it was mixed with the screams of Seo Dong-hu struggling on the floor.
“I didn’t hear what you said.”
Han Seung-jae stepped closer and leaned his upper body down, so that Min Ra-hyeon could hear him better.
“You just spoke, and Seo Yi-kyung almost died.”
* * *
…In the bluish dawn, Seo Yi-kyung, lying on the hospital bed, let out a groan through his teeth.
“Ugh.”
It felt as if something had been seared into his chest with fire. Due to the excruciating pain that felt like his skin was burning, Seo Yi-kyung lifted his heavy hand. The IV line attached to his wrist swayed. Feeling the sensation of bandages against his fingertips, Seo Yi-kyung slowly opened his eyelids. A strange ceiling came into view.
Seo Yi-kyung blinked several times. The hospital room was filled with a lingering bluish light. Click. The faint sound of metal clashing reached Seo Yi-kyung’s ears. It was slow but repeated incessantly. As if drawn to it, Seo Yi-kyung’s head turned to the right. Only then did the silhouette sitting in the chair beside the bed blur into his vision.
Aside from the clicking metal sound coming from the person’s grip, the face of the figure was not clearly visible. However, Seo Yi-kyung knew it was Han Seung-jae.
Not only because of the presence he radiated, but because the scent of white musk filled the room. He felt it was almost difficult to breathe. That likely wasn’t just because of the pain radiating from his chest.
“Are you awake?”
A clear yet low voice disturbed his ears. Han Seung-jae was asking while still leaning back in the chair, even though he had seen Seo Yi-kyung groan and move his hand to stroke his chest.
Seo Yi-kyung opened his mouth, then bit his lower lip. This was because Han Seung-jae leaned his upper body forward. A deep shadow fell over Seo Yi-kyung’s pale face. Then, Han Seung-jae’s features, which had been vague, suddenly became clear. Dressed in a dark suit, Han Seung-jae exuded a chilling atmosphere.
“……!”
Han Seung-jae’s cold eyes were slightly narrowed. Even without looking at his eyebrows, he could tell that he was in a bad mood.
There were many things he could guess. Despite Han Seung-jae saying he would come early, Seo Yi-kyung had hidden the pocket watch necklace and left the house.
Han Seung-jae reached out. He grabbed the back of Seo Yi-kyung’s hand, which was resting on his chest. Han Seung-jae’s long, cold fingers curled around it. Seo Yi-kyung’s fingertips curled and stiffened.
“Are you afraid I’ll break this hand too?”
Han Seung-jae spoke as if he had seen right through Seo Yi-kyung’s thoughts. Seo Yi-kyung’s left hand, lying on the bed, was already in a cast. He even had bandages wrapped from his shoulder to his chest.
“Should I just break it? Then you wouldn’t be able to paint.”
At Han Seung-jae’s self-mocking words, Seo Yi-kyung let the strength leave his hand. Seeing that there was no particular force in the fingers gripping the back of his hand, it seemed he had no intention of causing harm.
No, even if he did intend to cause harm, Seo Yi-kyung had no choice but to accept it defenselessly. Just breathing felt like his chest was being crushed, and his left arm in the cast wouldn’t move as he wished, making it equally burdensome. The only arm that could be called intact was being held by Han Seung-jae.
“I intended to be a bit angry when I saw you.”
Seo Yi-kyung’s pupils flickered. Whether he noticed or not, Han Seung-jae’s low voice added,
“But I’m not angry.”
With that, Han Seung-jae placed what he had been holding in his grip into Seo Yi-kyung’s palm.
“So I was feeling a bit troubled.”
“…….”
The metal curling into his palm was something Seo Yi-kyung recognized. The pocket watch necklace. Seo Yi-kyung fixed his surprised eyes on Han Seung-jae at the sensation in his palm. The object that had been making noise in Han Seung-jae’s hand all along must have been this.
Before Seo Dong-hu burst in, Seo Yi-kyung had planned to leave the house to meet someone. If he hadn’t suddenly run into Seo Dong-hu, he surely would have met the person Kwon Gwi-jun mentioned.
The conversations Kwon Gwi-jun and Jin Seon-yu had exchanged floated chaotically in Seo Yi-kyung’s ears.
—Tonight at 7 PM.
—The mountain? How much did they say the amount was?
—They said they’ll decide after meeting in person.
—Seeing it in person?
—A car will go to your house. They said only Seo Yi-kyung should get in that car. The person doesn’t like it when people are late, so be careful not to be late.
Finishing the recollection, Seo Yi-kyung curled his fingers and gripped the pocket watch. Was the person who said they would buy this Han Seung-jae? Did Kwon Gwi-jun visit him with this on that day?
The thought suddenly occurred to him that the reason Han Seung-jae’s mood was so unpleasant now might be because he knew Seo Yi-kyung had tried to sell this. Was that why he had intended to be angry?
Strictly speaking, it was Han Seung-jae who paid the money at the auction. He had simply put it in the painting studio, but Seo Yi-kyung had taken the expensive pocket watch necklace, one of the items small enough to fit in a pocket, when leaving the house.
However, as if to quiet Seo Yi-kyung’s confused mind, Han Seung-jae released the hand he had been holding.
“I’m not usually a person who is late for appointments. But I’m a bit late.”
Before he knew it, the bluish light in the room was fading, and the morning sunlight was casting its glow. Han Seung-jae’s gaze traveled from the bandages wrapped around Seo Yi-kyung’s exposed shoulder to his chest, his stomach covered by the blanket, and finally to his casted wrist.
“Since you were hurt because of me, I’ll take responsibility.”
Seo Yi-kyung stared blankly at Han Seung-jae as he continued. Han Seung-jae’s cold and heartless lips parted.
“Let’s go home.”
Seo Yi-kyung did not answer. He had a strong desire not to go there. Min Ra-hyeon would be in that house. He didn’t want to return to such a place anymore. He had even told Han Seung-jae while painting for him that he would leave that house.
Furthermore, Han Seung-jae must know that he had received help from someone else while painting that picture. Yet, there was no mention of it.
“…….”
The silence flowing between the two was broken as the hospital room door opened. The attending physician, entering, spoke in surprise.
“Director Han, when did you arrive?”
The physician had entered the room until late at night, checking several times to see if Seo Yi-kyung was asleep.
“You should have told me. I would have come up immediately.”
The physician had remained on standby. He couldn’t relax for a moment, fearing that the hard-won opportunity before his eyes might vanish.
However, Han Seung-jae’s gaze remained fixed on Seo Yi-kyung. Soon, the physician brightened up, seeing that Seo Yi-kyung had regained consciousness.
“You’re awake. I’m so glad the baby is safe and that both of you are alright.”
The physician beamed with genuine happiness. Soon, noticing the chilly atmosphere flowing in the room, the physician became cautious.
“Um, I’ll check the wounds.”
He had come in to disinfect the sutured wounds on Seo Yi-kyung’s skin. Since he was carrying a child, medication could not be used carelessly. Therefore, the best course of action was to prevent things from worsening. At the same time, he wanted to check if Seo Yi-kyung had regained consciousness.
The physician unwrapped the bandages extending from Seo Yi-kyung’s shoulder to his chest and lifted the gauze. He continued the treatment while checking the stitched wounds. As he did, the physician’s hands were trembling slightly. Partly because of the gaze watching from behind, and more so because of Seo Yi-kyung’s appearance as he endured the pain.
The physician replaced the bandages on Seo Yi-kyung’s body and bowed to Han Seung-jae. Suddenly, the physician’s eyes fell on Han Seung-jae’s hand. There was a scratch on his fingertip. The physician asked cautiously.
“Shall I treat that for you?”
However, Han Seung-jae didn’t even give him a glance. Soon the door closed, and only the two of them remained in the room. Seo Yi-kyung’s hand kept drifting toward his stinging chest.
Han Seung-jae slowly stood up.
“If you’re going to run away, try and do it well this time.”
Seo Yi-kyung’s head turned from his shoulder to the opposite side. Han Seung-jae added, as if kindly reminding him,
“Though I don’t know if it’ll be possible.”