The three of them stepped into the elevator. Yi Kyung had no idea where Seo Young Hwan was taking him.
Unlike the first floor, the VIP ward was relatively quiet. Following behind President Seo, Yi Kyung walked down the corridor and surveyed his surroundings. He had assumed the man merely wanted to leave the crowded first floor and speak somewhere private, but apparently that was not the case.
Before long, however, he saw the name "Seo Dong Hoo" on a hospital room door and understood the situation. There was even a sign hanging beneath it that read, "Authorized Personnel Only." Was his condition that serious?
Seo Young Hwan opened the door and entered first. A moment later, Seo Dong Hoo’s scream rang out like a thunderclap. Yi Kyung faltered. Seo Young Hwan looked back at him.
"Why are you standing there? Come in and see with your own eyes what you did to your brother."
"What Young Master Yi Kyung did? What exactly are you saying he did……?"
Butler Do cautiously questioned the visibly enraged Seo Young Hwan. Yi Kyung stepped into the room.
Seo Dong Hoo sat propped against the raised head of the hospital bed, both arms wrapped in bandages. His head was bandaged as well.
Butler Do entered behind Yi Kyung, his eyes widening. He was the one who had been slapped several times that day. Young Master Yi Kyung had even been forced to go to the hospital. So what in the world had happened to leave the elder young master in such a state?
The door closed behind them.
"What exactly did you tell Director Han?"
Seo Young Hwan’s voice was thick with anger. Yi Kyung looked at Seo Dong Hoo on the bed.
When Yi Kyung did not speak, Seo Dong Hoo lost his temper. He shoved several objects aside with his feet and climbed down from the bed with a clatter, then raised both bandaged arms as though he intended to strike Yi Kyung.
"What are you going to do about my hands? How will you take responsibility if I can’t use my arms anymore?"
Seo Young Hwan blocked Butler Do when he tried to step forward.
"You should leave us now."
"B-but Young Master Yi Kyung truly didn’t do anything."
Butler Do spoke urgently to the two men.
"I was with him all day. It’s true! Please believe me."
No one had remained by Yi Kyung’s side longer than Butler Do that day.
Even after they returned from the hospital, Butler Do had stayed until he saw Yi Kyung take his medicine and fall soundly asleep. He had only left in a hurry before Director Han came home, concerned that the man might object to his presence.
He had assumed Yi Kyung slept until morning. Had that not been the case?
"This isn’t because I don’t believe you. Wait outside."
Butler Do quickly responded to Seo Young Hwan, doing everything he could to untangle the situation peacefully.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. It would be best if you discussed this calmly. If you keep shouting, you’ll frighten Young Master Yi Kyung……"
If Butler Do left, there would effectively be no one in the room to help Yi Kyung. That was why he poured every ounce of effort into persuading them.
"What misunderstanding? You can look at these hands and still call it a misunderstanding?"
Seo Dong Hoo brandished one of his bandaged hands threateningly. It looked as though he might slap Butler Do at any moment, making the older man instinctively squeeze his eyes shut before opening them again.
At that moment, Yi Kyung, who had merely listened until then, spoke.
"‘Live as though you’re dead’?"
Butler Do’s bewildered gaze darted sideways. Seo Dong Hoo’s hand, which had been poised to strike him, froze in midair. Yi Kyung looked at Seo Young Hwan and continued.
"Is that something you say to someone about to be married?"
Throughout the original novel, Yi Kyung had felt suffocated whenever these two appeared. The original Seo Yi Kyung had merely listened in silence to everything they said, suffering alone afterward. Even then, he had never shown his father the slightest sign of displeasure.
Yi Kyung looked from one man to the other. They resembled each other so closely that they might have come from the same mold. He could not recall seeing any trace of his father in the face he had viewed in the mirror. No wonder he had failed to recognize the man immediately when they met in the hospital corridor.
"You……!"
Seo Young Hwan raised a wrinkled finger. Yi Kyung’s face, which had seemed almost buoyant earlier, had turned cold.
"I don’t have any money, so why do you keep coming to me?"
The house where he slept, the clothes he wore, the car he traveled in—not one of those things could truly be called his. All he possessed were some worn-out paintbrushes that were now useless to him, an unfinished canvas, and a wooden easel.
"I only went once!"
Seo Dong Hoo cut in. Yi Kyung ignored him completely and stared at Seo Young Hwan.
"You’re the one who sold me to Seung Jae, Father."
Butler Do’s mouth slowly fell open. Seo Dong Hoo lowered the bandaged arm he had been waving threateningly. All three of them looked at Seo Young Hwan.
"How did you……?"
Yi Kyung could tell what Seo Young Hwan meant without hearing the rest. He was asking how Yi Kyung had found out.
The original Seo Yi Kyung had been expected to marry Han Seung Jae when he turned twenty. The arrangement had been made from the moment Yi Kyung presented as a dominant omega at the age of seven. But when Yi Kyung actually turned twenty, a different ambition took root in Seo Young Hwan’s heart. A dominant omega was a valuable card, and it was more advantageous to keep that card in his own hand. Using every excuse he could devise, he postponed the wedding while continuing to receive support from Myungjun Group.
Even after the marriage, Seo Young Hwan—Yi Kyung’s father and the president of Woorim Construction—used Yi Kyung as leverage to push unreasonable contracts onto Han Seung Jae and secure investments on terms favorable to himself.
Given Seung Jae’s true personality, he should have refused, yet he accepted them. Because the original novel never revealed his thoughts, most of his reasoning could only be guessed. Still, he and Yi Kyung were destined to marry, so perhaps he had extended a certain degree of courtesy appropriate to their relationship.
The original Seo Yi Kyung had known none of this.
No—there had been someone who eventually opened his eyes to the truth.
Min Ra Hyun, a recessive omega.
By that point, the original Yi Kyung had already been worn to the breaking point. Seo Dong Hoo’s constant visits had exhausted him, as had Seo Young Hwan, who called himself a father but appeared only when he needed something.
"Did Director Han tell you?"
Reproach colored Seo Young Hwan’s voice. He was the kind of man who enjoyed blaming everything on others. Show the slightest hesitation, and he would immediately shift the responsibility onto someone else.
Yi Kyung answered with deliberate confidence.
"Did you think I would never find out?"
Seo Young Hwan’s wrinkled throat bobbed. The conversations he had held in the study flashed rapidly through his mind. Perhaps Yi Kyung had overheard them then.
Seeing recognition enter Seo Young Hwan’s eyes, Yi Kyung added coldly,
"Never come looking for me again."
Because the person you’re looking for isn’t here anymore.
Inside the swiftly moving car, Butler Do studied Yi Kyung’s face beside him.
He was deathly pale. According to their plans, they should have visited the exhibition after his treatment, but he was clearly in no condition to do so now.
Butler Do considered asking him something, then quietly pressed his lips together when Yi Kyung released a long sigh.
The image of Yi Kyung in the hospital room returned to Butler Do’s mind. The frail young master he had always known had seemed like a completely different person. Yet when he looked at those subdued, lonely eyes now, it was clear that he was still the same man.
How deeply must he have suffered after burying all of that in his heart? Butler Do’s expression turned gloomy as well. Was that why Yi Kyung had said there was no point in telling his father?
"Young Master Yi Kyung……"
Holding open the sedan’s rear door, Butler Do called to him carefully. Only then did Yi Kyung turn his head weakly and step out of the car. He entered the garden, then changed direction slightly.
"Go inside without me. I’d like to sit out here for a while."
"Then I’ll stay with you……"
Yi Kyung shook his head.
"I want to be alone."
"……"
Butler Do stared at Yi Kyung’s retreating back. If only he had been able to see the paintings and lift his spirits, he might not have looked so exhausted now……
Unable to bring himself to leave, Butler Do finally dragged his reluctant feet away.
Step, step.
Yi Kyung wandered through the garden as though trying to soothe his tangled thoughts, then sat down at an outdoor table. He rested his cast-covered right hand on its surface. Perhaps because he had vented all his anger, even the little strength he usually possessed had deserted him.
He had thought he might feel relieved if he shouted at them and said everything the original Yi Kyung had been unable to say.
Instead, his chest merely felt heavy, as though a stone had been placed inside it.
Worse, the image of Seo Dong Hoo in the hospital room lingered before his eyes.
Had Han Seung Jae been the one who did that to him?
At home, Seung Jae’s behavior had always been impeccable. But unlike the decent man he pretended to be inside the house, outside it he was overbearing to the point of complete arrogance.
While reading the original novel, Yi Kyung had kept wondering when the original Seo Yi Kyung would finally see that side of him.
Yet Seung Jae had never once let himself be caught. He had truly been meticulous.
But now, he was revealing his true nature without hesitation.
He no longer bothered to act dignified in front of Yi Kyung or pretend to be a good man.
Late that night, Yi Kyung tossed and turned in bed.
He ran a hand over his stomach through his pajamas. Since he had skipped dinner, hunger gnawed at him. His mind was in complete turmoil, yet his stomach was faithfully demanding food. Somehow, that made his situation feel all the more pathetic.
Then he heard the bedroom door open and slowly turned his head.
A tall silhouette entered the room. As the light from the garden fell across him, his black hair and sharply defined features emerged from the darkness.
"You’re not pretending to be asleep tonight?"
The low voice reverberated in Yi Kyung’s ears.