...Could he be a ghost?
After all, there were creatures in this world that could switch between animal and human forms. Ghosts could certainly exist, too. In fact, ghosts made more scientific sense!
"Some people say there are actually six siblings."
As though reading Hae Dam's mind, Aeng Tam spoke up.
"Oh, now that you mention it, I think I've heard something about that. Apparently, there's a much younger brother, the baby of the family. He's still a student, from what I understand."
"A student? In high school?"
"I'm not sure. I heard there's a huge age gap, though. His brothers and sisters are so protective of him that not even his name has gotten out."
"Well, only five of the siblings are involved in running the group, so there's no real reason for the youngest to be publicly known. Even the media only ever mentions five siblings."
Oh, so he's not a ghost. Thank goodness.
Hae Dam breathed a sigh of relief.
He might be a brave weasel who had survived the clutches of animal smugglers, but to be perfectly honest, ghosts frightened him a little.
"Jeongwon!"
Just then, Ji Seok Won called out someone's name.
"It's cold out there. Hurry inside, our little one!"
His voice was warm, and his face was still lit up with a delighted smile. Every word was brimming with affection.
Someone stepped through the doorway held open by a bellboy.
For a moment, silence fell.
The hotel guests who had been pretending not to stare, the animal detectives who had been openly watching, and even the hotel staff, who were expected to maintain their professional composure at all times, had exactly the same thought.
He's gorgeous.
The man who had just entered was an entirely different kind of handsome from Ji Seok Won.
His hair was neatly styled, his expression composed, and his skin so pale that he looked as though he'd spent his entire life in the shade. His eyes were dark and subdued, and his nose was straight and finely shaped.
He wore a pale beige sweater over a shirt, jeans, and a long coat. With his height and excellent proportions, he looked like a model walking down a runway to show off the coat.
His tightly pressed lips and faintly furrowed brow made him seem somewhat sensitive and difficult to approach, but he was so beautiful that even those qualities only added to his appeal.
"Wow... He's ridiculously handsome. Is he an aspiring actor?"
"With a face like that, he could debut tomorrow."
"Maybe that's why the family keeps him so carefully hidden away...."
Hae Dam didn't hear a word the detectives were saying.
He had never expected to see the apartment owner here.
This was the first time they'd encountered each other while Hae Dam was in human form.
Was it because he wasn't looking through an animal's eyes?
He'd been looking at the apartment owner's handsome face for months, yet somehow, seeing him now made Hae Dam wonder whether the man had always been this good-looking.
Those sharp black eyes, edged with tension. The prominent brow bones. The firmly pressed lips and even more sharply defined jawline. The pale skin that betrayed just how tense he was.
So he really was relaxed at home.
At home, Hae Dam had merely thought the man lacked energy and vitality.
But now that he was seeing him outside, he realized that the man was just as devoid of energy and vitality here, only with an added layer of hostility toward the entire world.
He looked like a hostage who had been dragged into enemy territory and surrounded by hostile soldiers.
That impression persisted even when a faint smile appeared on his face as he spoke to someone.
His entire demeanor was tense and guarded, with an almost painful sharpness to it.
And yet that very air of sensitivity suited his delicate features perfectly.
He had the kind of face that seemed to have a story behind it: as though the most sensitive, tenderhearted painter in the world had resolved to paint the most beautiful thing imaginable for someone he loved, spent days and nights without eating as he worked on a blank canvas, and then dropped dead the instant he finished painting that face.
"He's a little thin, though. From what I know, everyone in that family is pretty solidly built. Just look at CEO Ji."
"You're right. Maybe he really is a model?"
The detectives immediately pulled out their phones and began searching.
Jeongwon, was it? Then his name must be Ji Jeongwon. Even his name sounds like a prince's....
But Hae Dam paid no attention to the excited murmuring around him.
He simply stood there, staring blankly at the apartment owner.
"Secretary Yoon, look at this. That's the coat I picked out for him. Doesn't it look fantastic? Jeongwon, that coat was made for you. I knew it'd suit you." New chapters come out on g.com first.
"Thanks, Seok Won."
Unlike his older brother, who was so excited about the gift he'd given that he looked more like the recipient, the apartment owner remained calm.
"Jeongwon looks good in anything. You could dress him in a burlap sack and he'd still look like a model."
"Thank you, Secretary Yoon. It's been a while."
"It certainly has, Jeongwon. You must have your hands full helping out your troublesome brother."
"Secretary Yoon, I'm your boss."
"You're the one who deserves sympathy, Secretary Yoon. It can't be easy working with my brother."
"You're as mature as ever, Jeongwon. Unlike your brother, who's sixteen years older and still hasn't grown up."
"Hey. I said I'm your boss."
Ji Jeongwon....
Hae Dam repeated the name silently to himself.
Ji Jeongwon.
The apartment owner, whom everyone had only ever called the baby of the family, Dungdung, or their youngest, finally had a name.
It had a warmth to it that suited him.
The three of them continued chatting as they walked toward the elevators.
Only when they approached did Hae Dam snap out of his daze and step aside with the other detectives.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
His heart was pounding wildly.
"Anyway, Jeongwon, thank you. For helping me out again today."
"It's nothing. I'm just glad I can be useful, even in a small way. Call me whenever you need me."
The brothers exchanged those words as they passed directly in front of Hae Dam.
His little heart hammered with nerves.
Don't be nervous. Why are you nervous? There's nothing to be nervous about.
I mean, how could he possibly know I'm that adorable weasel?
And the very instant he thought that—
The footsteps stopped.
The apartment owner's footsteps.
Ji Jeongwon came to an abrupt halt.
Slowly, he turned his head.
His gaze traveled in a perfectly straight line toward Hae Dam.
What? Why is he looking at me? He couldn't have recognized me. I'm human right now. I'm not a weasel. What's going on?
Ji Jeongwon's eyes widened, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.
He looked utterly incredulous.
Hae Dam was bewildered.
He looks even more shocked than when he saw me riding the crow. Why?
Hae Dam was the one who ought to be flustered, yet he couldn't understand why the apartment owner was reacting like this.
Unable to guess the reason, he could only dart his eyes around helplessly.
"Jeongwon? What's wrong?"
"Jeongwon?"
Ji Seok Won and Secretary Yoon looked back and forth between Hae Dam and Ji Jeongwon.
The doting older brother's gaze grew increasingly murderous.
His expression practically screamed, Did that bastard do something to you behind my back? Huh? Don't worry, I'll get revenge for you right now. I'll grind his filthy mouth into the concrete.
I want to run away.
Hae Dam wanted to burst into tears and flee the hotel on the spot.
He couldn't actually run away under the circumstances, but surely he was allowed to imagine it.
Then Ji Jeongwon's expression hardened into something cold.
He strode toward Hae Dam so quickly that he was practically running and seized his arm.
"Ow...!"
"Wh-why are you doing this?"
"......"
Hae Dam took a step backward as he asked.
Anyone could see that he was trying to pull away, but Ji Jeongwon refused to let go.
Hae Dam was confident in his self-defense skills. He could easily have freed himself if he wanted to.
But the moment he saw the expression on Ji Jeongwon's face, his will to resist vanished.
The man was biting his lip as he stared at him.
He looked like someone who would fall straight off a cliff if he loosened his grip.
That desperate, pleading expression made it impossible for Hae Dam to shake off his hand.
There were too many curious onlookers in the hotel lobby, so they moved to a staff office behind the front desk.
"All right. Now that it's just us, tell me. What's the relationship between you two?"
Ji Seok Won crossed his legs and directed the question at Hae Dam.
He was deeply shaken by his youngest brother's bizarre behavior.
After all, Jeongwon, who was always so calm and composed, had just grabbed another person's arm.
Worried about what the answer might be, Ji Seok Won had dismissed all the hotel employees and the other detectives. Only Secretary Yoon remained beside him as he began his interrogation.
"Just speak freely, okay? Relax."
Ji Seok Won cracked his knuckles.
How am I supposed to relax?
The menacing atmosphere made Hae Dam want to cry.
He had a traumatic history with this kind of threatening behavior.
"Sir, interrogating him like that is only going to frighten him. Please relax your expression."
Secretary Yoon whispered the warning.
"If he's got nothing to hide, there's no reason to be scared. Right? Why would an innocent person be frightened? Come on, tell me. Hae Dam, was it? Detective Hae Dam, how exactly do you know my brother?"
Crack. Crack.
This time, he rolled his neck until it cracked.
He couldn't have looked more threatening if he'd tried.
Hae Dam was reminded of his childhood.
Not the comfortable, peaceful years he'd spent with the ginseng-gathering couple.
No.
These were his final memories as a weasel.
A cabin reeking of blood.
Dark, cramped iron cages.
Men standing guard, blowing out clouds of cigarette smoke.
Those horrible humans raising their guns and aiming at the animals trying to escape.
"See? If you haven't done anything wrong, why can't you say a single— W-wait. Hold on. Why are you crying? Hey. Hey!"
Ji Seok Won panicked and hurried to soothe him.
Even then, Hae Dam's pride was wounded enough that he immediately corrected him.
"I'm not crying yet. My eyes are just watering."
His vision might have gone blurry, but no tears had actually fallen.
Therefore, he wasn't crying.
I'm going to say what I think, clearly and properly, without crying. I'm not the little weasel I used to be.
Hae Dam clenched his small fists tightly.
Ji Seok Won isn't one of those smugglers who locked animals in a cabin and tormented them.
He's someone who worries that his little brother will be lonely for the rest of his life. Someone who was so worried that he even asked an animal he couldn't communicate with to help his brother.
I know that.
So I don't need to be afraid of him.