By Zephyria 
“Why did you bring him along?”
Jin Tae-won rubbed his temples, a cigarette clamped between his fingers. Truly, they took turns turning his stomach inside out.
“Seon-yu won’t leave this house unless this bastard comes, will he?”
As Jin Tae-won tossed the cigarette to the ground, Jin Seok-young stepped closer.
“Otherwise, how on earth are we supposed to get Seon-yu out of Director Han’s house? With that personality of his, do you think he’ll just hand Seon-yu over obediently? We have to use our heads.”
Jin Tae-won gnashed his teeth.
“And the best you could come up with was… this?”
It looked as though everything Jin Tae-won had done until now was about to go to waste. He had finally reached a point where it seemed possible to bring Jin Seon-yu home.
Just then, a sedan glided to a stop. Secretary Park stepped out of the passenger seat and opened the rear door.
Long legs appeared first. Han Seung-jae, dressed in a dark suit, stepped out and scanned Jin Tae-won, Jin Seok-young—whose cheeks were flushed like autumn leaves—and Ham Gyu-ho, who was being held by the collar.
Han Seung-jae’s cold lips parted.
“Did someone send an invitation to my house without my knowledge?”
Jin Seok-young shook Ham Gyu-ho by the collar and spoke to Han Seung-jae.
“Give Seon-yu back.”
“One would think I’ve imprisoned him, the way you talk.”
Han Seung-jae’s eyes narrowed. At that moment, Ham Gyu-ho reached forward with both hands, grabbed Jin Seok-young’s wrists, and shoved him away with all his might. The recoil pushed the two apart, and they ended up in a standoff.
As the situation devolved into chaos, Jin Tae-won habitually put a cigarette in his mouth. His secretary approached to light it for him.
However, before it could be lit, Jin Seon-yu emerged through the open door and shouted.
“What do you think you’re doing? Right now!”
Jin Seon-yu rushed over and stood in front of Ham Gyu-ho, spreading his arms to block Jin Seok-young from hitting him.
Jin Seon-yu was wearing white shorts and a hooded tracksuit—the same clothes he had been wearing when he first arrived here. In the hand he used to restrain the two men, he held a thin brush.
“You… what happened to your face?”
Seon-yu’s voice toward Ham Gyu-ho was so small it sounded discouraged.
“Did Seok-young Hyung do this?”
Ham Gyu-ho rubbed his cheekbone with the back of his hand.
“….”
A gloomy Jin Seon-yu turned his head and spoke to Jin Tae-won.
“I get it. Like you said, Hyung… I’ll try… meeting someone else.”
Seok-young, who had been glaring at Ham Gyu-ho, suddenly dropped his gaze. Slowly, Ham Gyu-ho’s gaze shifted as well.
Clutching the brush and trembling with anxiety, Seon-yu added.
“Instead, I’ll be the one to choose who I meet.”
“Good call, Seon-yu. Throw a bastard like this away and find someone better—”
Jin Seon-yu’s eyes flashed with anger, cutting Seok-young off. He looked back at Jin Tae-won and murmured.
“Gi…”
“Gi?”
Seok-young, who was close by, repeated Seon-yu’s words. Clutching the brush, Seon-yu spoke.
“I want to try meeting Gi-jun.”
Jin Tae-won crushed the cigarette in his mouth, gripping it tight in his fist.
Han Seung-jae, who had been observing the scene as if it were someone else’s business, moved his feet. For a brief moment, Seo Yi-kyung’s figure seemed to be reflected through the open door. The commotion happening here was none of his concern.
“Who? My friend, Kwon Gwi-jun? I must have misheard, right? Right, Seon-yu?”
Ham Gyu-ho asked back several times as if to confirm. Jin Seon-yu swallowed hard and avoided looking at him. Then, Jin Tae-won asked.
“You want to meet Gi-jun?”
“Yes.”
Jin Seon-yu fidgeted with the brush in his hand.
Behind them, the door slammed shut.
* * *
Han Seung-jae stepped into the garden and locked eyes with Seo Yi-kyung, who was standing there. As expected, it wasn’t a hallucination. Han Seung-jae gestured with his chin toward the closed door.
“It seems your friend is leaving.”
“I know.”
“And the goodbye?”
“I already said it.”
“Is that so?”
Then, as if there was nothing more to hear, Han Seung-jae pushed the door shut with force, cutting off the noise with a loud bang.
Standing in the garden, Seo Yi-kyung quietly watched Han Seung-jae approach. His exposed forehead, strong brow bone, and deep-set eyes were sharp. A crease formed in the tailored suit he wore.
“Are you making that face because you’re sad?”
Seo Yi-kyung turned his head as if avoiding Han Seung-jae, who was leaning in. He didn’t know what kind of face he was making. He simply wanted to escape Han Seung-jae’s gaze as he drew closer.
A large hand reached out and gripped Seo Yi-kyung’s hair. The back of Seo Yi-kyung’s neck stiffened. Han Seung-jae’s lips were just about to touch his forehead. Seo Yi-kyung raised his hand and pressed against Han Seung-jae’s chest, trying to push him away.
“It seems you didn’t just say goodbye to your friend.”
“!”
Seo Yi-kyung’s cheeks flushed at the breath touching his forehead. Moreover, Han Seung-jae’s voice, coming from directly above, was excessively low.
Han Seung-jae moved his fingers, which were threaded through the thin strands of hair.
“It’s disgusting.”
Seo Yi-kyung blinked. He understood Han Seung-jae’s words a moment later. A faint scent of cigarettes clung to his body. Jin Tae-won had been smoking throughout their time at the Ivory Pavilion. Han Seung-jae must have smelled it.
“I just got back from going out, so I’ll go wa-wash… ugh!”
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been pushing Han Seung-jae’s chest, winced. Only then did Han Seung-jae’s gaze drop. He looked at Seo Yi-kyung’s hand resting on his suit. The white fingers lacked even a modicum of strength. To think he tried to push me away with this…
Noticing that Seo Yi-kyung’s finger was bleeding, Han Seung-jae frowned. He withdrew the arm holding the back of the neck and grabbed Seo Yi-kyung’s wrist to examine it closely. The nail of the index finger was lifted. Had he been walking around like this?
“Well, the bandage fell off while I was showering this morning.”
After that, he had been too preoccupied preparing to go to the Ivory Pavilion with Seon-yu to treat it.
Han Seung-jae took a stride forward. Seo Yi-kyung, his arm held, followed behind him.
“Welcome back, sir.”
Butler Do, who rushed toward Han Seung-jae as he entered the house, bowed. Han Seung-jae brushed past Butler Do like a cold wind. He started toward the second floor but stopped, walked to the sofa, and sat Seo Yi-kyung down.
Plop. Seo Yi-kyung, pushed onto the sofa, saw Butler Do approaching with a bewildered expression.
“Bring the first-aid kit.”
“Pardon? Yes…”
Butler Do hurried back the way he came. Han Seung-jae unbuttoned his suit jacket and slid his arms out to take it off. In the meantime, Butler Do returned with the first-aid kit.
His gaze shifted to Seo Yi-kyung. As the kit was opened on the table, Seo Yi-kyung reached for a bandage. However, Han Seung-jae’s hand was faster in grabbing the gauze.
“Where did you get hurt so badly?”
Butler Do’s face was clouded with worry. Seo Yi-kyung forced a smile toward him.
“No. It’s just a little scrape…”
“It’s not ‘a little.’ It looks like the nail is about to come off.”
“What?”
Butler Do asked back in surprise. Seo Yi-kyung waved his hand, saying he was fine. Han Seung-jae gripped Seo Yi-kyung’s wrist. He paused while trying to wrap the bandage and looked at Butler Do.
“Where is the disinfectant?”
“He-here…”
Butler Do pulled it out and tactfully poured the disinfectant onto a piece of gauze. Receiving the wet gauze, Han Seung-jae wrapped his hand around Seo Yi-kyung’s finger.
Seo Yi-kyung’s bitter smile instantly froze. Butler Do, unable to step in, looked anxious until he was pushed away by Han Seung-jae’s gaze.
Only the two of them remained in the living room.
“Where did you go?”
“Ah… to a place called the Ivory Pavilion…”
Han Seung-jae’s gaze dropped as he wiped the blood from the finger. Seo Yi-kyung quickly continued.
“Seon-yu said the food there is delicious and that I absolutely had to try it.”
“And was it to your liking?”
“Yes…”
It was delicious. Just as Seon-yu said, it was savory and melted on the tongue. He could only manage a couple of bites, but he had tasted it.
“I suppose you ran into Executive Director Jin while you were there.”
Han Seung-jae recalled seeing him talking to the manager as he left the Ivory Pavilion the previous day. Had he mentioned that Seon-yu would be coming and to make a reservation? And predictably, Seon-yu had come. The problem was that Seo Yi-kyung had appeared with him.
After a few movements of his hand, Han Seung-jae released Seo Yi-kyung’s hand.
He walked away. A moment later, a helper passing by picked up the suit jacket he had left behind.
“….”
Seo Yi-kyung fidgeted with the bandage wrapped around his index finger. The nail was only slightly lifted, but it had been wrapped as if the nail had completely fallen off.
Seo Yi-kyung winced. The tip of his finger stung. He slowly stood up.
All the way to the second floor, he felt a lingering heat at the tip of his finger. Even more so, from the palm where Han Seung-jae had held him.
* * *
Seon-yu twirled the brush. Jin Tae-won sat to his right. He smoked cigarette after cigarette, watching the brush in Seon-yu’s hand that wouldn’t stay still for a second.
As Seon-yu rolled down the car window, the rushing wind quickly dispersed the nauseating smell of cigarettes.
“The thing you said you left behind…”
At Tae-won’s words, Seon-yu puffed out his cheeks and kept his head fixed out the window.
“This is it.”
In the first place, Jin Seon-yu hadn’t had time to pack his things. He had simply left in the clothes he was wearing, taking only his phone and card.
Of course, since he had changed back into the clothes he arrived in, one could say he had retrieved his belongings.
—Are you dressed?
A short while ago, as Seon-yu had changed his clothes with a gloomy face inside the house, Seo Yi-kyung had approached from behind.
—I’m leaving now. Thank you for everything these past few days.
As Jin Seon-yu started to trudge away, Seo Yi-kyung held out the brush he was holding.
—Take this. This is the only thing I have.
Jin Seon-yu couldn’t understand Seo Yi-kyung’s words. In the dressing room alone, there were expensive accessories that matched Seo Yi-kyung’s clothes.
Furthermore, there were many luxurious items throughout the house. Yet, Seo Yi-kyung was holding a single thin brush and saying that.
Startled, Jin Seon-yu took the brush. Was he giving it because leaving empty-handed would arouse Tae-won Hyung’s suspicion? Just as he thought that.
—Why don’t you try doing as your brother said?