By Zephyria 
“…Ha, I don’t even know where to start refuting Young Master’s words. Do whatever you want, and let’s get dressed quickly. I’ll kiss you when you’re done.”
“Okay. I’ll cleanly cut their throats and soak them in hydrofluoric acid… Huh?”
Then, Kwon Rae-i stopped emitting the ominous murderous intent. It’s funny how he immediately becomes docile when he says he’ll kiss him.
“Okay.”
He quickly put on his shirt, buttoned it up, and looked back at Tae-hwon like a child wanting praise. Tae-hwon put on his shirt and outerwear more leisurely than him.
Finally, after slowly looking around the dressing room, he quietly said this to Kwon Rae-i.
“Would you close your eyes?”
“…Yes. Yes, Tae-hwon.”
Kwon Rae-i obediently closed his eyes.
It was so easy.
It was so ridiculously easy that he was about to burst into tears.
Tae-hwon picked up a tie from the ties lined up on the shelf, made a loop, and tied it tightly. Then, he approached Kwon Rae-i, who had his eyes closed, and stood in front of him. He was kind enough not to open his eyes and kept them closed. His defenseless face and the expectant, excited cheeks were pitiful.
“I’m sorry, Young Master.”
He would have been less sorry if he had suspected something. At least if he had been wary of Tae-hwon.
Tae-hwon pulled the loop over Kwon Rae-i’s wrist and pulled it tight. Then, he tied the other end of the tie to the dressing room coat rack post to secure it.
“Tae-hwon? What is it? Tae-hwon!”
Kwon Rae-i startled awake, but his right hand was already firmly bound. Tae-hwon didn’t hesitate, using another necktie to tie up Kwon Rae-i’s left hand as well.
“Why are you doing this? What are you doing! Tae-hwon, no, right? It’s not what I think it is, is it?”
“I have nothing to say. I’m sorry.”
“Are you, are you trying to run away from me? To leave? Now? Where are you going? It’s dangerous! Tae-hwon, are you really planning to die? You’re not, are you!”
There was some struggle and scuffle in the process, but Kwon Rae-i already had one arm firmly tied to the pillar and was caught off guard, so Tae-hwon was able to tie both of his arms to the pillar without much difficulty.
Tae-hwon finally took one more necktie and gagged the shouting Kwon Rae-i. It would be a problem if Han-seon heard this shouting.
“Tae-hweo, eupp! Uueubeu…….”
“My existence is nothing but a bomb to you, Master. I don’t know when my memories will return, and if they do, you will bleed as well.”
It was hard to look straight at Kwon Rae-i’s face as he shook his head. But still, he had to look at him. Because this would be the last time with him. In this life, they would never meet or see each other again.
“Besides, Kwon Sang-oh is looking for you, isn’t he? It’s not just Sang-oh, but how long can we avoid the Gyeongjeong Faction’s pursuit? Woo Tae-hwon and Hyeon-oh will eventually catch up. It’s right for me to leave before that.”
Could he meet him again in the next life?
If they met again, how could they meet this time?
Like Woo Tae-hwon at twenty and Kwon Rae-i at twenty miraculously brushed past each other for a moment. He hoped they could meet like that in the next life. He hoped they could spend the same age and time together, laughing, joking, playing around, and discussing the future with a casual heart. If he could live like that, Tae-hwon would have nothing more to wish for.
“I betrayed Chairman Kwon Jung-il. I killed him. So I have to pay the price. With this body. With this life. The calculation ends when I die.”
His young Master. So precious. Not even painful to put in his eyes. Lovely Kwon Rae-i…….
At some point, Tae-hwon wanted to be his friend.
“Please don’t stop me anymore.”
He, who was his protector, family, and father, had become so blurred since some time ago. He wanted to cherish and take care of Kwon Rae-i, and at the same time, he wanted to look at the same place as him from an equal position. Many things that would have been possible if they were friends came to mind, and even though it was a life he had never experienced, he longed for that life.
More than anything else, Tae-hwon was glad that Kwon Rae-i saw him as he was.
He was grateful that he poured affection on Woo Tae-hwon as he was at the age of twenty, not as a half-shadow who had lost the memories of Woo Tae-hwon at the age of thirty.
Without asking or questioning anything, without resenting Tae-hwon, he just poured out unconditional love from beginning to end.
In Tae-hwon’s life, it was the first time for such an experience. It was the first time for such a person.
So he was deeply grateful to Kwon Rae-i. And sorry.
“……Master.”
To the point that he felt terrible and desperate about leaving him behind like this.
“Thank you for everything.”
Tae-hwon took a step back from him and knelt on the floor. Kwon Rae-i was staring at Tae-hwon with his already pale face turned ashen and his blue-gray eyes wide open. He looked like he was about to lose his breath. In front of such Kwon Rae-i, Tae-hwon bowed deeply to the floor with a determined heart.
Putting both arms in front of his head and hitting his forehead on the floor.
Tae-hwon, who bowed to Kwon Rae-i with all his heart, got up from his seat. Kwon Rae-i, who had been struggling, was now standing still like a stone statue, only looking at Tae-hwon. The atmosphere of his eyes seemed different from before. Until just now, he seemed to be shouting and grabbing Tae-hwon, but now a chillingly calm glint was emitting a sharp light. As if he knew Tae-hwon’s intentions, clearly and surely.
And he no longer shook or twisted his tied arms. He did not resist and stared at Tae-hwon’s back as he left until the end. After doubt, denial, and anger, now he saw a cold will in him. He was about to chase him to hell.
And Tae-hwon left the dressing room, leaving Kwon Rae-i tied up. He went down to the first floor by the stairs and looked at the clock.
Soon, it was time for Han-seon to come.
***
In fact, Tae-hwon’s plan was very simple.
To overpower Han-seon by force.
He had seen him come and go to this house several times. Surely he would know the password and have the key. So, if he grabbed him when he came into the house and took him out, that would be it, wouldn’t it? Even by threatening him.
Tae-hwon first went into the kitchen and took a sharp kitchen knife.
Han-seon would know that he at thirty was a skilled swordsman in the Gyeongjeong Faction, so if he held a knife to him and acted as if his memories had returned, wouldn’t it be easy to threaten him?
‘It’s like repaying his kindness with evil.’
He had treated Tae-hwon this much, but he was being held and threatened with a knife. Tae-hwon’s position of having to do such a terrible thing was not pleasant either.
‘I can’t help it.’
Tae-hwon swung the knife in the air. He didn’t really intend to cut Han-seon, but strangely, the handle of the knife felt familiar in his hand. Even though he was holding the knife with his left hand instead of his often-used right hand, it fit perfectly in his hand as if it were made for him. The sound of the wind cutting through the air sharply was also unusual.
And at that very moment.
He heard someone coming in from the front door.
Tae-hwon quickly hid the knife behind his back and hid behind the corner next to the front door. With his body hidden, he held his breath and waited for Han-seon to come in.
Before long, several locks were released in order and the front door opened. But this was not the end. The iron bars in front of the front door. He had to wait until that opened.
‘……Now.’
Han-seon took out the key from his pocket and inserted it into the tightly closed iron bar lock. The moment he turned it, Tae-hwon suddenly jumped out.
“Ugh!”
Surprised, Han-seon fell backward and landed on his butt. Tae-hwon fiercely snatched the key he had dropped. And he put it back into the iron bar lock and turned it.
But.
“Oh, wow. Huh……. It’s really Woo Tae-hwon.”
What?
Something felt strange. Tae-hwon tightly gripped the key and shoved it into the keyhole and turned it. But no matter how hard he tried, it only rattled and the lock did not open. After several attempts, the iron bars remained tightly closed. Flustered, Tae-hwon cast a bewildered gaze at Han-seon, who had fallen behind the front door.
‘Why……. Why doesn’t the key fit?’
Hadn’t Han-seon just tried to open the lock with this key and come in?
Then this key should fit?
Tae-hwon grabbed the iron bars and shook them. But no matter how much he shook them, the tightly locked lock showed no sign of opening. Then, Han-seon, who had been lying down, shook off his clothes, stood up, and adjusted his disheveled glasses.
“Oh, Woo Tae-hwon. Don’t bother. That key won’t work anyway.”
“Yes? What do you mean it won’t work.”
“Huuu, Master Rae-i ordered in advance. He said he would skip today’s checkup. And he instructed me to bring a fake key.”
Fake key?
Then…….
“……Master already knew?”