By Zephyria 
Im Gyeong, who had been watching the stock graphs on his laptop screen, took a sip of tea and stood up. Wearing a charcoal-colored robe, he interlaced his fingers and gave a long, lazy stretch. Then, he stepped out onto the terrace. The wind felt exceptionally bleak today.
As he sat in a chair taking in the scenery of the garden, Todo Tatsuki brought him a cup of tea. Having left for Japan, he had returned after a week. It was obvious, even without seeing it, how much he must have been pestered by his mother.
His mother, Im Seong-hee, hated the idea of her only son, Im Gyeong, coming to Korea. The same went for him meeting his half-siblings and his father. The longer his stay became, the deeper her anxiety grew.
“The weather has warmed up quite a bit.”
Until last week, there had been snow and cold wave warnings, but the temperature had risen as if none of that had ever happened. The colorless scenery of this yard would soon change as well. This house was a place where Im Seong-hee had stayed long ago. His mother wanted to sell the house, but Im Gyeong liked it here, perhaps because of childhood memories. In truth, there wasn’t much to call a memory.
He wore a satisfied smile as he drank his tea. Just then, Tatsuki’s phone rang. It seemed an unexpected guest had visited since early morning.
“Tell him to come in.”
A moment later, Kang Hee-shin appeared from the direction of the main gate. He was dressed in his usual suit, with a dark gray coat over it. With his fair skin and handsome face, even the stodgy-looking coat suited him. He would probably look better in blue. I wonder how he’d look if I made him wear it later.
“You’re here?”
Kang Hee-shin walked toward him as he greeted him nonchalantly. A faint scent of powder wafted from the man as he drew near. A scent far too sweet for Kang Hee-shin to be wearing. While the man who had come smelling of such an unwelcome scent was irritating, he was strangely welcome.
“What is this?”
Kang Hee-shin thrust a message Im Gyeong had sent an hour ago before his eyes. It contained a photo of Yoon Se-na.
“Who else? The person who ordered the kidnapping of Kim Jun-gu.”
“Are you joking?”
“Let’s go inside first. It’s cold. The tip of your nose is red.”
Kang Hee-shin grabbed Im Gyeong’s arm.
“Why are you trying to drive a wedge between Se-na and me?”
“Drive a wedge? I’m hurt. You were curious, and I simply told you the facts. If you want, I’ll show you the evidence inside. First, though, get rid of that fucking powder scent clinging to you.”
“…….”
“Did you understand?”
Im Gyeong turned around, and Kang Hee-shin glared at the back of his head.
While he was with Yoon Se-na at the hotel, he had received a photo. He was told it was the person who commissioned the kidnapping of Kim Jun-gu, and surprisingly, it was Yoon Se-na. He couldn’t ask her about it and didn’t have the luxury of waiting until the afternoon. That was why he had rushed over, and it was infuriating that the other man was rambling about some powder scent, oblivious to his state of mind.
Following Im Gyeong, Hee-shin unconsciously pressed his nose to the back of his hand. Does he hate the smell of cosmetics? Is his sense of smell sensitive? He had been holding Yoon Se-na before leaving, but only for a very brief moment. It wasn’t a foul stench; it was just the common scent of cosmetics that comes from women.
Soon they entered, and he looked around the interior. The house was old and bore the marks of time, but it was that much more classical. The yard visible through the wide window was where he had been standing a moment ago.
“Sit. What tea do you want? I don’t have instant coffee mix, but I can buy some for you if you want.”
Instead of answering, Hee-shin took a seat on one side of the sofa.
“I don’t need any, so come sit.”
At those words, Im Gyeong laughed and looked at Tatsuki.
“See? He’s giving me orders.”
The man with Im Gyeong was lean but sturdy, wore light-tinted sunglasses, had a scar next to his eye, and had his long hair tied neatly in a ponytail. He had the visual of someone who would appear in a Japanese Yakuza movie. The kind of character who is soft-spoken and polite but possesses immense killing capability.
While he was lost in these random thoughts, Im Gyeong handed him a cup of tea.
“Drink. It’s good for calming the mind and body.”
“Explain the photo first.”
Im Gyeong took out his phone and opened a recorded file.
-It’s true! Please believe me! Why on earth would we be crazy enough to tail a prosecutor? A man came to see me last month. He said the person he serves had a job for me. At first, I didn’t know who it was. I asked around through acquaintances, and then I found out she was the youngest daughter of the Seoil Group.
The man’s voice in the recording was trembling slightly. He guessed it was Lee Chang-seon, who was said to be abroad.
-He told me to monitor Kim Jun-gu after he was released from prison. To make sure he couldn’t approach that prosecutor. I was even asked to handle him if he did. Then I happened to witness the scene. I didn’t even know that bastard was threatening him! Why would I be crazy enough to tell him to threaten a prosecutor! Please believe me!
The man’s voice was desperate as he appealed his innocence. Hee-shin, who had been listening in silence, stood up. As he walked toward the entrance, Im Gyeong, sitting on the sofa, merely turned his head to look this way.
“Leaving already?”
“I know who it is, so that’s enough.”
“Aren’t you curious why she did it?”
“There must have been a reason.”
“What kind of reason?”
“You heard it too.”
“Ah—to protect him from Kim Jun-gu? You believe all of that?”
Im Gyeong laughed, leaning back against the sofa, and Hee-shin stopped in his tracks and glared at him.
Why hadn’t Im Gyeong returned to Japan? Why did he stay here and interfere in his problems? Why did he make him come all the way here this morning? What did his subtle behavior mean? The conclusion he reached was…
“Im Gyeong, are you interested in me? Do you like men?”
The handsome Im Gyeong’s brow furrowed in a pleasing way. No way.
“Or is it the opposite?”
He meant whether Im Gyeong was interfering because he liked Yoon Se-na. Though rare, he had encountered cases where such things happened between half-siblings. Hearing this, Im Gyeong laughed with a frown. It was like looking at the face of a handsome actor from a classic black-and-white movie.
“Explain it to me. In a way that I can accept.”
Before he even finished speaking, Im Gyeong slowly rose from his seat. He walked straight toward Hee-shin. With his long legs, he reached him in just a few steps. A man taller than him with a pretty face looked down at him from right in front of his nose.
“A reason, huh…”
His fingertips almost touched Hee-shin’s neck, sliding down to skim the front of the suit, moving to the center, and finally touching the tie. He lightly lifted the end of the tie and smiled. He had an expression that looked as if he were about to call him a snob at any moment.
Hee-shin indifferently brushed that hand aside and turned away. He felt there was nothing good about staying longer. Im Gyeong would probably just keep playing word games until the end. Regardless, Yoon Se-na had plenty of reasons to monitor him. No, even if there were no reasons, it was his lot in life to accept it.
Just before leaving the house, he spotted a large tree.
It had neither leaves nor fruit, but a small sign written beneath it caught his eye.
He suddenly wondered what the date from 30 years ago meant. Was it the day Im Gyeong was born?
His own mother had told him that after giving birth to him, she buried the umbilical cord under the jujube tree in the front yard. However, as the family fortune declined, the house had to be sold for a pittance, and the umbilical cord became fertilizer beneath it. In the end, it had only benefited someone else.
Tracing old memories, he opened the gate and stepped outside. He went to the car parked in the alley, untied the tie Im Gyeong had touched, and tossed it onto the passenger seat. Just as he started the engine and was about to leave, someone knocked on the window. Looking back, Im Gyeong was standing in front of the driver’s side window.
He erased the irritation from his face and tried to maintain a fairly gentlemanly attitude.
“Do you have more to say?”
Im Gyeong suddenly thrust his face through the window.
“That’s right.”
Startled, Hee-shin instinctively leaned back.
“Wha—what is?”
“You asked me earlier. If I’m interested in you.”
While he just stared in confusion, Im Gyeong pushed his face in further.
Since their lips were about to touch, he hurriedly blocked the man’s face with his palm.
“What the fuck!”
He laughed and pointed toward the passenger seat with his eyes.
A box that hadn’t been there a moment ago was now there.
A beautifully wrapped box of cookies.
“Eat them on your way. I baked them myself.”
“…….”
“Why. Did you think I was going to kiss you?”
“…….”
“I’m not gay, but I’ll do it if you want.”
“…….”
“Want me to?”
This bastard, seriously. Half-sibling or not, should I just punch him? While he was thinking that, the man laughed and took a step away from the car. Safe travels. Watching him stand there with both hands in his pockets, smirking, Hee-shin could imagine how pathetic he must look right now.
Instead of answering, Hee-shin drove off. On the way, he almost threw the cookies the bastard gave him out the window, but he stopped. What crime did the cookies commit? The person was the criminal. Even so, not knowing what might be inside, he couldn’t bring himself to eat them.