Min Ra Hyun had been born to parents who chose love rather than viewing marriage as a mere means to an end. A recessive omega, Ra Hyun had met Han Seung Jae as a child through their parents’ connection. After spending many years studying abroad, he eventually returned and reunited with him.
[You don’t mind if I stay at your house for a while, do you?]
Ra Hyun gestured toward his suitcase with a tilt of his head. His gaze was fixed on Seo Yi Kyung, who stood behind Seung Jae. That alone filled Yi Kyung with an inexplicable sense of unease.
Was that when the first cracks had appeared in the marriage Seo Yi Kyung had worked so tirelessly to preserve? Before long, the story spiraled out of control.
Because Min Ra Hyun was always there between them.
In the end, Seo Yi Kyung made one wrong choice after another. The hands that had known nothing but painting since childhood, hands accustomed to handling works of art, took hold of cold metal that did not suit them at all.
...His vision wavered.
The gun in his hand was impossibly cold, coiling around him like a slender, smooth-scaled snake. As though poised to bite into his head at any moment, the muzzle pressed relentlessly against his temple beside his delicate eyebrow. His fingertip trembled against the trigger below.
His shoulders heaved. Then the tears obscuring his vision spilled down all at once.
Perhaps it was because his sight had cleared for a fleeting moment. Standing alone in his painting studio, awash in the blue light of dawn, Yi Kyung swallowed slowly. His mouth was so dry that there seemed to be no saliva left to swallow.
As though determined not to hesitate any longer, he pressed his index finger against the curved metal trigger.
Bang—
A brief gunshot rang out, and crimson blood scattered across the canvas resting on the easel—a landscape of fluttering cherry blossoms....
...Yi Kyung emerged from his thoughts and turned his head.
Seung Jae opened the door and entered. He held his phone to his ear, a glass in his other hand.
As that hand approached, Yi Kyung instinctively recoiled. But his back was already against the head of the bed. There was nowhere else for him to retreat.
Seung Jae placed the glass of gently rippling water on the tray, then turned away. Yi Kyung stared at his back as he continued the call.
When he had first opened his eyes here, he had assumed everything was a dream. The novel’s ending had been so shocking that he thought it had simply carried over into his sleep. Yet no matter how many times he slept and woke again, nothing changed.
If anything, he had even aroused Seung Jae’s suspicions.
Yi Kyung looked down at the ring on his finger.
It was time to acknowledge this reality and accept it.
Late that night, Yi Kyung slipped out of bed. A soft light filtered through the window, allowing him to move around without difficulty.
He stepped onto the terrace and braced both hands against the railing, staring past the stone steps at the illuminated garden below. If he made up his mind, it did not seem impossible to jump. Although this was technically the second floor, it was closer to a story and a half above the ground.
He simply had no idea where he would go afterward.
Then the glass door opened, and a low voice sounded behind him.
“You look ready to run away.”
Yi Kyung’s fingers curled around the railing. His bent body, which had been leaning forward to inspect the ground below, went rigid.
He slowly turned around.
Seung Jae had drawn back the curtain and stood with one hand resting on the glass door, his head tilted slightly to one side. An oppressive force seemed to radiate from his entire body.
What do I do?
Yi Kyung’s dry lips parted. He had to say something, make up some excuse....
“I wonder what excuse you’ll use this time.”
But Seung Jae preempted him with a slight tilt of his chin. He looked almost expectant, as if inviting Yi Kyung to try.
A peculiar silence settled between them. At last, Yi Kyung stammered out an answer.
“I slept... too much, so my head felt heavy.”
It was not a lie. He had spent the past several days lying in bed to avoid Seung Jae, and now his head ached from it.
He had hoped he would wake soon if this was a dream.
But perhaps there was no longer any point. If it was a dream he would never wake from, there was no reason to keep wishing for it.
Yi Kyung turned away, and the wind swept past his back, stirring his fine hair. He continued in a measured voice.
“Stay out and enjoy the fresh air. I’m going to bed first.”
He pushed himself away from the railing and walked past Seung Jae, who remained standing by the glass door, then entered the room.
Crossing the spacious room over the rug, Yi Kyung climbed into bed and burrowed beneath the downy covers. Compared with the cramped room where he had once lived, his surroundings were almost excessively soft and warm.
Even so, the blanket bunched in his hands felt unbearably heavy.
Seung Jae slowly turned around.
The instant Yi Kyung caught sight of the movement, he pulled the covers over his head. His small lips parted, releasing a deep breath.
Click.
At the sound of the door, Yi Kyung opened his eyes. He slowly dragged down the blanket covering his head. Even then, he looked around and made certain Seung Jae was nowhere in sight before sitting up.
The skin around his eyes was bloodshot. He had spoken boldly enough, but he had not slept a wink all night.
Splash—
Yi Kyung entered the bathroom and approached the sink. Bending at the waist, he cupped both hands beneath the steadily flowing cold water and splashed it over his face.
He raised his head. Droplets rolled down his deathly pale face as he stared blankly at his reflection.
As if verifying that his face truly had changed, Yi Kyung rubbed the mirror. It was small enough to disappear beneath a single hand. He had long eyelashes that seemed meticulously crafted, pale eyes, and red lips so smooth and perfectly shaped that they might have been painted on.
Then his gaze settled on the scab forming over his lower lip.
It was the kind of face he would have kept glancing at if he had encountered it outside.
Yi Kyung tried smiling. The face in the mirror smiled foolishly back at him, yet he could not shake his discomfort. They shared the same name, but they truly looked nothing alike.
He abruptly noticed something and tapped the mirror in dismay. The forehead reflected in the glass creased faintly.
“I’m shorter.”
This was a disaster.
No wonder Seung Jae’s presence seemed to crush him every time they met. The original novel had described the man as more than six foot three and fond of various sports. Seeing him in person, however, Seung Jae appeared even larger.
Yi Kyung walked away, briskly drying his cheeks with a towel. With a solemn expression, he pulled it taut and draped it around his neck.
After taking a brief, deep breath, he opened the door.
The first thing he saw was a long corridor.
He encountered no one as he left the second-floor bedroom. The moment he emerged into the central hall, however, a housekeeper who had been changing the water in a vase hurried over.
“You’re awake?”
“Ah.”
Yi Kyung had come out after steeling himself, but his face filled with bewilderment when a character suddenly appeared before him. The housekeeper failed to notice and turned toward someone passing by.
“Tell Butler Do. Quickly.”
Then she looked back at Yi Kyung.
“You wouldn’t come out of your room.... Butler Do was terribly worried about you.”
The original novel had never described these people individually. It had simply referred to them collectively as housekeepers. Seeing one of those background characters standing before him and genuinely worrying about him felt strange.
After a brief pause, Yi Kyung answered.
“...I’m all right now.”
Just then, footsteps sounded from the stairs below.
“Young Master Yi Kyung, are you awake?”
Butler Do climbed the stairs swiftly and stopped before Yi Kyung. His face was full of concern.
Butler Do Yoon Seok, a man in his mid-fifties, oversaw every major and minor affair in the household. He had accompanied Yi Kyung when he married. Yi Kyung’s father had decided that a son who did nothing but hold paintbrushes and handle antiques could not possibly manage the affairs of such a large household by himself.
Butler Do quietly examined him. Perhaps because he had been ill for several days, his already slender body had grown even more gaunt.
“Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? You’ve done nothing but sleep since returning from your trip.”
“Th-that’s...”
Yi Kyung’s eyes widened. The words circled uselessly on his tongue.
A trip....
The honeymoon, briefly mentioned at the beginning of the story, flashed through his mind.
“Come along now. Breakfast is ready. Do you think you can eat porridge? I instructed them to prepare several things for you, but once you’ve eaten, you and I should go to the hospital—”
Yi Kyung caught Butler Do by the arm.
The man stopped speaking and looked down at him. Yi Kyung forced a smile.
“Butler Do?”
The cut on his lower lip stung faintly. But after seeing his face in the mirror, Yi Kyung suspected it possessed the power to make people want to grant him anything he asked.
“I’m very hungry.”
His appetite had returned. That meant there was probably no need to go to the hospital.
And his judgment proved exactly right.
Yi Kyung looked in every direction as he followed Butler Do to the first floor. Luxurious leather sofas large enough to sleep on and matching tables had been arranged in different colors according to each space. Everywhere his gaze landed offered an entirely different atmosphere. One area evoked an opulent hotel, while the opposite side presented a sleek, modern scene.
The Seongbuk-dong townhouse consisted of two floors above ground and one below, arranged in an L-shaped layout. A world-renowned architect had designed every part of it with meticulous care.
Yi Kyung and Seung Jae had been promised to one another from an early age. Nothing had been neglected: the spaces Yi Kyung used were clearly separated from the rooms reserved for Seung Jae. The living quarters for Butler Do and the resident housekeepers had likewise been divided.
Yi Kyung scanned the paintings hanging on the walls.
Then the elevator doors opened, revealing Seung Jae.
“...!”
Yi Kyung, who had been looking around, flinched. His legs rooted themselves to the floor the moment he belatedly noticed Seung Jae. The smile on his face vanished without a trace.
Seung Jae had finished exercising and come back aboveground. Butler Do bowed to him.
“Good morning, Director Han. Breakfast has just been prepared.”
“All right.”
Seung Jae passed them as though it were of no importance.
Yi Kyung unconsciously bit his lower lip. The taste of iron spread from the cut. Perhaps because the skin had already been broken, even the slightest touch made it bleed again.
“Please give that to me.”
Only after straightening did Butler Do notice the towel draped around Yi Kyung’s neck and take it from him. Now that his initial relief had passed, he also noticed Yi Kyung’s pajamas. In his earlier distress, such details had escaped him.
Butler Do hesitated, uncertain what to do. Seung Jae had already seen him, however. Yi Kyung had been ill until yesterday, so appearing somewhat disheveled was unlikely to cause any serious problem.
At that moment, someone approached behind Yi Kyung.
“Excuse me, where should we hang this?”
Yi Kyung naturally turned toward the spot she indicated.
Two men stood there holding a framed painting. It depicted dense trees beside a dark river.
“Oh?”
At Yi Kyung’s brief exclamation, Seung Jae stopped walking.
He looked back.