Lyle set down his coffee cup with unnecessary force and lifted his head sharply toward Haejin.
“So you still have no intention of managing your body properly.”
A flicker of irritation rose. How many times would he have to point it out before it stopped being an issue? No one near Lyle ignored his words. Those who committed more than one mistake did not remain around him.
But Haejin could not be dealt with so simply. The moment he realized that, Lyle brushed his hair back with a subtle look of understanding. Bringing Haejin back this time had, in itself, proven a certain level of importance.
Was that what he was relying on?
“How much longer do you intend to be fussy about food? Enough of that. Eat properly.”
“Fussy about food?”
The calm expression with which Haejin asked in return only deepened the irritation. When Lyle had presented the contract and asked what he wanted, Haejin had not voiced a single preference. Lyle assumed he had behaved the same way with the butler.
“Yes. Stop being difficult like you were during the last contract. If there’s something you want to eat, tell the butler. Food from your hometown or whatever it is.”
It was the first time Haejin realized that failing to bring in the tray on time because he was too exhausted could be interpreted as being “fussy.” The bitter sensation that rose after long periods of hunger scraped along his insides. He had already intended to skip breakfast due to lack of appetite. Now, even that small desire disappeared.
Unlike before, he knew that eating would not fill the hollow inside him. There was no need to force down food his body did not even want.
He found it faintly absurd, but not angering. The emotion that had tried to rise dissipated weakly, crumbling before it could fully form.
Instead, he simply looked down at Lyle’s bright face and considered something.
So the butler’s unusual behavior had been ordered.
Unaware that the butler’s actions and Lyle’s words had merely coincided by chance, Haejin allowed a small misunderstanding to take root. He had thought Lyle was completely indifferent to him. Perhaps he had known, at least somewhat, how Haejin was being neglected.
People who saw his black hair for the first time often assumed he was foreign. His appearance was uncommon; he knew that. But hearing such words from Lyle—who had certainly read his personal file more thoroughly than Haejin ever had—felt different.
Like this clumsy indifference.
He remembered the tray that had carried an unpleasant smell. The butler’s pheromones clinging thickly to it. That was not kindness. It was violence born of indifference. And yet he was expected to accept it and swallow it, simply to avoid being labeled difficult.
“What.”
Receiving that empty gaze, Lyle muttered irritably. Haejin was only looking at him in silence. After such sharp words, some reaction would have been normal.
Seeing that disturbingly blank face, an inexplicable impatience surged up. His heart beat rapidly, as if he had drunk a stimulant instead of coffee.
Haejin looked so frighteningly hollow that it felt as though he might fall into some distant void.
“My hometown is this city, Mr. Vermouth.”
Perhaps because the weather was good, he had opened the window deliberately. Yet Haejin closed it without hesitation, drawing the curtains tight as well—ensuring not even the slightest line of sight reached Lyle.
Watching the sealed window, Lyle narrowed his eyes. The rejection was unmistakable, rolling between them despite the distance.
It felt as though the bright sky had abruptly darkened.
***
Only near sunset did Lyle return to his study. He had remained in the courtyard for quite some time, but Haejin’s window had not opened again.
With its curtains drawn tightly, Haejin’s room stood out starkly when viewed from afar. In the center of the estate, where transparent windows welcomed the clear sky, that single darkened square felt like an irritating mark.
It was his estate to begin with, yet such obvious discomfort displayed within it was absurd. Out of sheer stubbornness, Lyle even took lunch in the same spot.
Back in his study, after turning the matter over repeatedly, he opened one of the drawers. It contained documents related to Haejin.
“…His hometown really is here.”
He had assumed, seeing the black hair, that Haejin might have been adopted from abroad. But the file confirmed he had been raised here from the start. He had reviewed these papers before, yet until this moment he had forgotten. The information had been irrelevant to him.
Would it have been better if Haejin had openly shown offense at his misunderstanding? Instead, he had simply stated, in a flat tone, that his hometown was here and vanished. That image lingered longer than it should have.
A knock came at the study door.
At Lyle’s brief permission, the butler entered and spoke politely.
“I am preparing dinner. Is there anything in particular you would like, Master?”
Lyle, still looking at the document bearing Haejin’s photograph, asked what had been bothering him.
“Has Jin eaten?”
“Ah, well…”
The butler looked caught off guard. After hesitating for a moment, he answered.
“To my knowledge, he has not eaten since this morning.”
That coarse sensation returned to Lyle’s vision. The butler’s speculative tone was strangely unpleasant.
But what mattered was that Haejin had indeed refused the meal.
“Did I not make your role clear?”
At the sharpness in his voice, the butler lowered his head quickly. Then, in a tone edged with grievance, he protested.
“I even prepared dishes from Mr. Bright’s hometown, yet he would not touch them and sent them back outside. I am doing my utmost…”
The abrasive feeling vanished at once. Of course. The butler must have made an effort to treat him as a guest.
After scanning the text of the file, Lyle nodded once and offered new information—something he himself had only just confirmed.
“Jin is from here. Prepare ordinary food.”
“Ah… understood.”
Still, the unpleasant sensation did not fully fade. It was unlikely the butler had brought unfamiliar dishes every single time. Haejin’s thin body could not be explained away by one excuse.
Faced with a troublesome problem and no clear answer, Lyle shoved the documents back into the drawer with more force than necessary.
***
“What is it.”
Haejin, who had lain in lethargy all day, only managed to sit up by evening. He had eaten, in his own way. Lyle’s repeated remarks were bothersome, but he had no intention of punishing his body out of spite. So he had accepted the tray and eaten a small portion.
He had just washed and was preparing to sleep when he noticed a servant lingering suspiciously inside his room.
“Ah… just a bit of cleaning.”
“I was told the cleaning was done earlier.”
In the servant’s arms were stiff, new clothes. The direction he had emerged from was the dressing room connected to the sitting area.
“Ahem. Cleaning.”
Even while his gaze betrayed him, the servant coughed awkwardly. So that was it. The wardrobe had been filled properly, only to be taken back.
Exhausted with everything, Haejin simply turned away and retreated into the bedroom. He would lock the door tonight, he thought idly.
“Fuck, acting all high and mighty.”
The muttered words behind him were ignored. The items were not his anyway. They could take them back if they wished.
***
Under a dull morning sky, Haejin walked toward the outside of the estate, not bothering to hide his reluctance.
He was supposed to visit the hospital for his leg, yet walking across this vast estate felt more damaging than whatever injury they claimed he had. He had never scheduled the appointment of his own will. He was merely being guided by someone sent by the secretary.
Last time, he had awakened in the hospital. Truthfully, he did not wish to go on his own. Traveling that far only to be reminded of things that no longer existed felt unbearable.
The servant delivering the secretary’s message kept glancing back impatiently at his slow pace. But forcing his leg simply to avoid an irritated look would have been ironic. Haejin maintained his steady gait.
Only when they reached the place where the car was waiting did he regret it.
By unfortunate timing, it overlapped with Lyle’s departure. Even from a distance, the bright blond hair was unmistakable.
“……”
The moment he saw the servants assembled in orderly fashion at the front, Haejin turned around. He would wait somewhere out of sight until Lyle left.
The one guiding him disappeared quickly, claiming his task ended here.
But as Haejin turned, Lyle’s gaze shifted toward him as if drawn.
Seeing that lone figure walking slowly toward the darker edge of the estate, Lyle moved without thinking.
His body reacted before thought could form.
With most of the household gathered near the front, Haejin was heading alone toward a secluded corner.