By Zephyria 
‘What……. What is that expression…….’
When he saw those eyes, the heat escaped as if holes had been drilled in his head.
No matter how much Tae-hwon put on a solid armor and held a sharply sharpened spear, he couldn’t cope with Kwon Rae-i coming out like this. Just, Tae-hwon, in the end, just…….
Because Kwon Rae-i always,
His small and young Young Master always…….
‘Eugh.’
He only wanted him to be happy…….
“I like you……. I love you.”
“……”
“Tae-hwon, I always……. Only Tae-hwon…….”
***
“Well, shall we eat?”
Dining room. Tae-hwon, who was sitting at the table, glanced and turned his eyes to look in the direction of the sound. Kwon Rae-i, holding a tray with dishes, was walking from the kitchen with a smile. He was like a scene from a pictorial that had been cut and pasted.
A man who seemed to be easily over 190cm tall was wearing a light gray gown made of thin satin material and light gray pajama pants that were a set, and walking around the house that looked like a drama set, so he was just a born actor.
Even though he kept looking at his pure white body hair and blue-gray eyes, which were unique to albinism, he still couldn’t get used to them, and they were new every time he saw them. He didn’t even look like a real person. Even though Tae-hwon didn’t have a natural sense of beauty, every time he saw Kwon Rae-i, he would think of something to compare him to, as if he had become a poet.
Angel. Saint. Mermaid. Pearl. The first snow that just fell. What else…… Today, he looked like a noble lily.
Even Woo Tae-hwon was like this, so he didn’t know what experts in the art industry would think if they saw Kwon Rae-i. Wouldn’t they fall in love at first sight and go crazy?
“I’ll cool it down for you. Just a moment.”
He put the tray down on the antique oak wood table, pulled out the chair next to Tae-hwon, and sat down. The bowl contained hot abalone porridge with steam rising from it.
Kwon Rae-i took a large spoonful of porridge with a silver spoon and started to cool the temperature by blowing on it in front of Tae-hwon. His plump lips were invariably pretty pink.
‘Here we go again.’
Tae-hwon sat quietly and let Kwon Rae-i take care of him as he pleased. Whether he was taking care of a patient or trying to get him into bad habits so that he would be dependent on him. Anyway, Kwon Rae-i took care of Tae-hwon’s meals every time without fail. He directly soaked the rice and cooked the porridge, which seemed excessive and sincere.
“Okay, now say ah.”
After cooling it down to some extent, Kwon Rae-i smiled and held the spoon to Tae-hwon’s mouth. Tae-hwon swallowed a sigh twice inside, and then obediently opened his mouth and ate the porridge. After chewing and swallowing, he said to him.
“Young Master. I can eat by myself.”
Kwon Rae-i answered while taking another spoonful of abalone porridge and cooling it down.
“I guess so. But you can only use your left hand. It’ll be hot if you accidentally spill it. Besides, you say that, but you eat it well, right?”
Kwon Rae-i held the spoon out in front of him again. Tae-hwon swallowed the porridge in one bite and gulped it down.
“Haha.”
Kwon Rae-i lifted the spoon and put a spoonful of abalone porridge in his mouth this time. He smiled with his eyes bent as if it tasted good, and muttered happily.
“We’re so lovey-dovey. How does it taste?”
Kwon Rae-i blew on Tae-hwon’s porridge again to cool it down, and Tae-hwon let out a light hollow laugh. Tae-hwon stared at his face and slowly opened his mouth to answer.
“It’s delicious.”
“You only eat porridge every meal, aren’t you tired of it? I put abalone in it this time, though.”
“No, it’s delicious.”
“Tae-hwon always says that everything tastes good, so it’s hard to know the standard.”
“Well, that’s because everything tastes good to me.”
Tae-hwon had to take care of his own meals since he was young. Because there was no one around to take care of him. When he was a child, he was always hungry, and he had to find and make food himself without anyone teaching him in order to relieve his hunger. Burnt or undercooked food, expired products, rotten or moldy ingredients, those things were familiar to him.
So, of course, the warm porridge that Kwon Rae-i made was delicious. He had been eating only this gruel for over a week, but he didn’t have any complaints.
“Tae-hwon is really kind.”
Kwon Rae-i lowered his eyes and chuckled. Tae-hwon didn’t really understand where he was being kind, but when he saw him smiling, he thought it would be okay to just let it go.
His languid laughter sounded quite good. He seemed happy, and he seemed excited. He also seemed happy…….
‘Is it that good…….’
Kwon Rae-i was meticulously feeding Tae-hwon porridge he had cooked, as if they were newlyweds. He cooled it by blowing on it, carefully placing each spoonful into Tae-hwon’s mouth with utmost devotion.
‘Does he really like me?’
It felt like they had come too far to doubt it now, but still, he couldn’t help but ponder it again.
Had Kwon Rae-i truly fallen in love with Woo Tae-hwon?
During the ten years Tae-hwon had lost, had he grown into a man who harbored romantic feelings for Tae-hwon? Was that how he should understand it?
‘But, Master is only twenty years old.’
Of course, with the memories Tae-hwon possessed, he was also twenty years old. This made him even more suspicious. Tae-hwon was twenty, but he didn’t really understand the feeling of love, nor did he have any experience with it. Moreover, wasn’t love at twenty generally dismissed as puppy love?
‘There’s also the saying that first love never comes true.’
Kwon Rae-i’s feelings, frankly… he couldn’t help but think they were incomplete.
He wondered if Kwon Rae-i was mistaking their close bond and emotional connection from childhood for something else. There was also the term “daddy issues.” Since he had always trusted and followed Tae-hwon, perhaps he hadn’t yet become independent and was exaggerating his desire to be with Tae-hwon, mistaking it for love.
‘It seems like he even feels sexual desire towards me, but it could just be youthful vigor, reacting to the slightest stimulation…’
At that age, it was common to find oneself in awkward situations.
‘Or maybe he has some kind of fantasy.’
Since the thirty-year-old Woo Tae-hwon had thoroughly pushed Kwon Rae-i away, perhaps it was a reaction to being rejected, a competitive spirit to obtain what he couldn’t have. At twenty, he would be at an age where he had ambitions for chasing and being chased. Tae-hwon himself was like that.
‘He just wants what he can’t have.’
Chasing was enjoyable, but love…
Honestly, it didn’t seem like he was at an age to understand such things yet.
‘Once he gets what he wants and knows the reality, his fantasy might shatter.’
Frankly, Tae-hwon couldn’t understand it at all.
Why would Master Kwon Rae-i, who was handsome, beautiful, devoted, kind, had a great body, was young, cute, looked good in anything, was a blessing to be in the same space with, had a melodious voice, laughed well, was radiant, sparkling, and warm… why would such a Master want a rough man like Woo Tae-hwon?
It was just because he was blinded by infatuation now. If you considered Tae-hwon’s true self, it was embarrassing to even compare him to Kwon Rae-i.
‘It’s not just because he’s our Master that I’m overestimating him and making a fuss, it’s really…’
Woo Tae-hwon had only ever heard that he was intimidating. His appearance was scary, his eyes were filled with murderous intent, people thought he could easily kill someone or two, that he was scary to see at night, that he would bury someone without a trace. He had only ever received such wariness and fear.
Moreover, Tae-hwon was only twenty in mental age; his body was still that of a thirty-year-old man. Scarred, muscular, bumpy… just a rock.
‘Right. Once he actually has me, Master will quickly lose interest.’
Thinking about it, it was quite a plausible theory.
In other words, he was sulking.
Like a child whining, “Me too, me too,” such… a tantrum?
‘It’s a fantasy. In the end.’
Lost in thought, Tae-hwon reached for a glass of water. He took a sip, rinsed his mouth, and stared blankly at Kwon Rae-i. His neatly arranged white hair sparkled dazzlingly like sunlight streaming through the leaves. His clear, bluish-gray eyes were cool and clean like ice with dewdrops.
‘What’s most certain is that I can’t leave Master like this.’
The thirty-year-old Woo Tae-hwon was a traitor to the organization.
He was currently being hidden and protected at Master’s residence, but outside, they must be in an uproar, searching for the traitor Woo Tae-hwon to kill him. Tae-hwon was essentially a fugitive, not paying for his crimes.
Having killed Chairman Kwon Jung-il with his own hands, when he had been Chairman Kwon’s right-hand man and leader of the action squad, was no small crime.
Naturally, he had to bear the responsibility for it.