By Zephyria 
“Seon-yu is here?”
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been lying in bed, looked at Butler Do as he approached and pushed himself up. Butler Do had received instructions from Han Seung-jae not to let anyone into the room. However, Jin Seon-yu had entered the house. Thus, he had come in to check if Seo Yi-kyung wished to see him.
“Shall I bring him to this room?”
Butler Do looked at Seo Yi-kyung, whose cheeks and neck were wrapped in bandages, with a pitying gaze. After thinking for a moment, Seo Yi-kyung shook his head. Because Butler Do could not feel the pheromones permeating the room at all, he did not know how much pressure was being exerted.
Seo Yi-kyung looked at the IV needle in his wrist, then pushed the IV pole and took a step forward.
He used the elevator to go down to the first floor. As he did, Jin Seon-yu, who had been sitting on the living room sofa, bolted upright.
“Yi-kyung.”
He stepped around the sofa and approached Seo Yi-kyung. Seo Yi-kyung gave a bitter smile. He felt a sense of embarrassment because of the hydrocolloid bandages on his cheeks.
Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze lingered on the sunglasses Jin Seon-yu was wearing. He must have cried again.
Feeling Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze, Jin Seon-yu awkwardly adjusted his sunglasses.
“Should I take them off?”
“No. It’s okay.”
If he took them off, swollen eyes would be revealed. As Seo Yi-kyung moved, the IV pole making a rattling sound, and sat on the sofa, Butler Do stepped away, saying he would prepare some tea.
“What happened yesterday?”
Jin Seon-yu asked, examining the bandages on Seo Yi-kyung’s cheeks and neck. Seo Yi-kyung hesitated on how to answer before speaking.
“…I got caught up in a physical altercation.”
It wasn’t a lie, but the reason he didn’t explain in detail was that he didn’t want to recall it. Even now, the moment he spoke, Seo Yi-kyung recalled the vivid sensation of the back of his neck being grabbed. The moment he was slapped without being able to resist and was pushed down onto the table repeated in his mind.
It had already happened. And it was a disaster caused by his own carelessness.
“Yesterday, Seung-jae carried you out like this.”
Jin Seon-yu reached his hand forward as if demonstrating the scene he had witnessed the previous day. Seo Yi-kyung flinched. Carried out like what? Moreover, he didn’t ask Secretary Park to do it, but walked out carrying him personally?
However, unaware of Seo Yi-kyung’s inner turmoil, Jin Seon-yu added.
“Seeing him that angry was… scary.”
Jin Seon-yu had stayed in this house for a few days, spending time with Seo Yi-kyung. And very occasionally, he had eaten meals with Han Seung-jae.
He had used formal language with Seo Yi-kyung and behaved politely. Watching that, Jin Seon-yu had been inwardly envious. The same went for the grand painting studio. Many of the brushes there were rare finds. Paints and canvases were stocked in every variety. It was a studio any painter would have dreamed of. It was that beautiful, spacious, and pleasant.
“Seung-jae was angry?”
At Seo Yi-kyung’s question, Jin Seon-yu nodded repeatedly.
“Yeah. Very.”
“….”
Seo Yi-kyung imagined how Han Seung-jae would have looked while angry. Would he have done it with the same expressionless face he used when dealing with him? Or, as seen in the original work, treating people like luggage in a terrifying manner?
However, aside from the sunglasses worn to hide his swollen eyes, Jin Seon-yu didn’t look particularly hurt. It didn’t seem like he was hiding any injuries.
In the first place, it was unbelievable that Han Seung-jae would be angry because of him. There was no reason to be angry.
Come to think of it, when he was brutally beating the man in the room, he had been somewhat agitated. When he woke up in the bathroom, Han Seung-jae also seemed to be in a foul mood. At the time, he couldn’t think deeply because he was distracted by the cold water hitting his chest and the penis stirring inside him.
“I’m sorry it’s because of me. I shouldn’t have insisted on meeting Gyu-ho.”
At Jin Seon-yu’s discouraged voice, Seo Yi-kyung, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality. In the meantime, Butler Do had placed down teacups and refreshments.
“The tea is hot, so please be careful.”
His words were directed at Seo Yi-kyung. As Butler Do walked away, Jin Seon-yu spoke again.
“I had heard rumors vaguely, but honestly, I didn’t want to believe it.”
Instead of interrupting, Seo Yi-kyung chose to listen.
“But seeing it with my own eyes, I feel… relieved. I think I can be okay now.”
Though he said so, Jin Seon-yu’s voice grew increasingly choked. He gripped the teacup and moistened his throat. Because the inside of his mouth hurt, Seo Yi-kyung didn’t touch anything.
Jin Seon-yu sat quite calmly, but he might still need time. Because no matter what anyone said, Jin Seon-yu had been sincere.
* * *
Chaeon Foods, Executive Director’s Office.
“What brings Secretary Park here?”
Jin Seok-young, sitting on the sofa, looked on with suspicious eyes. Secretary Park strode forward and held out an envelope toward Jin Tae-won, who was seated at the desk.
Jin Seok-young stood up, but Secretary Park’s words came faster.
“Director Han sent me.”
Jin Tae-won took the envelope. Inside the thin envelope were only a few sheets of paper. Without any formal cover page, the word ‘Invoice’ was written at the top.
Step, step. Jin Seok-young walked over and looked down at the paper Jin Tae-won was examining.
“What is this? A bar tab?”
Jin Seok-young snatched the paper and read it, muttering in shock.
“How many Omegas did you play around with? At this rate, your place must be worn out.”
As Jin Seok-young flipped through the two pages listing Omegas divided into SSS, AAA, BB, C+, and D-grade, detailed amounts for property damage were listed. Jin Tae-won took out a cigarette with his long fingertips and put it in his mouth. He lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke.
“Shut your mouth before I burn it with this cigarette.”
At Jin Tae-won’s words, Jin Seok-young pressed his lips together. Jin Tae-won’s sharp eyes turned toward Secretary Park. He had been told by Jin Seok-young that a catastrophe had occurred the previous day. By the time he had arrived, there was no room to take action.
He was told about the situation where Han Seung-jae carried out the unconscious Seo Yi-kyung, and even the look in Han Seung-jae’s eyes that seemed to want to bury Jin Seon-yu and Kwon Gwi-jun right there. He had confessed everything in the hope that Jin Tae-won would prepare a countermeasure. Thanks to that, having grasped the entire situation, Jin Tae-won had been judging that it wouldn’t be strange for Han Seung-jae to visit at any moment.
“Since Seon-yu caused the trouble, we will handle this on our end.”
Jin Tae-won crushed the cigarette in the ashtray. Secretary Park added slowly.
“Director Han said that, in the future…”
—Tell him that if this happens again in the future, I will not be courteous to Executive Director Jin.
Han Seung-jae’s voice, which he had murmured to Secretary Park as he left the office a moment ago, spread coldly in his ears. Recalling the image of him saying that he had endured it once, but there would not be a second time, Secretary Park spoke.
“He said that if such a thing is repeated in the future, he will no longer show courtesy to Executive Director Jin Tae-won.”
The paper crumpled violently in Jin Seok-young’s fingertips. Jin Tae-won took out another cigarette and lit it.
“Tell Director Han that this incident was an unfortunate coincidence. And that I owe him one.”
“I understand. I will convey that.”
Secretary Park bowed politely, then turned and walked out. Once he disappeared through the door, Jin Seok-young slammed the paper onto the desk. However, under Jin Tae-won’s piercing gaze, he said nothing and returned to the sofa to finish what he was doing.
Jin Tae-won picked up the invoice. He inhaled the cigarette until his cheeks hollowed. White smoke surrounded the area densely. Jin Seon-yu’s face from this morning unfolded in his mind. Perhaps having cried all night, he had said he was okay with a puffy face. That he wouldn’t cry anymore. And that he would find someone who loved him more. So, isn’t this a truly small cost for the price of changing a person’s fate? It was necessary to pay the price in full.
* * *
Rattle.
Returning to the bedroom, Seo Yi-kyung set the IV pole by the bedside. He laid his exhausted body on the bed and pulled the cozy duvet over his chest.
Jin Seon-yu’s voice brushed past his ears.
—I did something wrong, so it’s understandable that he’s angry. I would have been the same. Still, it’s a relief that he’s kind to you. That’s enough, then.
—…?
Kind? Seo Yi-kyung chewed over the part he didn’t understand.
—And I brought this to give to you.
Jin Seon-yu had placed a box on the table that had been on the sofa. Opening the case revealed oil paints. The painting studio was already sufficiently stocked with this amount of paint.
—You’re planning to give a painting as a gift to Seung-jae, right?
Seo Yi-kyung couldn’t give any answer. It would be awkward to say it was payment for biting his finger, and he couldn’t exactly say no, could he?
—I’ll help you.
Seo Yi-kyung brushed his fingers over the paints. Jin Seon-yu continued.
—What you draw isn’t what’s important; who draws it is what’s important. Have confidence.
Lost in thought, Seo Yi-kyung curled his body. Han Seung-jae had consistently dismissed his paintings as a joke. But if he claimed that was truly his skill and gifted such a mess of a painting, he would undoubtedly be suspicious. Because Han Seung-jae was a man with great intuition.