MW 57

He had gotten quite good at talking with strangers. Jaeha smiled contentedly at the sight of Yijae gradually changing over time.

Just then, Jaeha’s phone, which he had put in his pocket, began to vibrate.

“Hello? Ah, yes, Manager Kim.”

Manager Kim was someone who, like Butler Choi, had managed the household for over 30 years. She had retired two years ago and came down here to manage the Jeju Island villa.

“Horseback riding?”

The call from her was a suggestion to go horseback riding after a long time. At that question, Jaeha turned his head and met the eyes of Yijae, who was looking up at him with clear eyes.

He liked seeing new worlds reflected in these eyes. Jaeha’s face already showed anticipation for what kind of reaction Yijae would have riding a horse as he opened his mouth.

“Yes, please arrange it then.”

⁺₊❆₊⋆

“How, how do I ride this thing……?”

It was a little embarrassing, but while a pony might have been fine, getting on a horse this big was impossible.

“Are you scared?”

“A little, by myself……”

“Then let’s ride together. This black horse has a gentle personality, so it’ll be easy for a first-timer.”

It might be okay if he was riding with Jaeha. He wouldn’t put him in any danger. As Yijae slowly nodded, Jaeha took a long piece of carrot from the bucket Manager Kim had left a moment ago and handed it to Yijae.

“His name is Spee. I named him myself when I was a kid, a little childish, isn’t it?”

The name, derived from “speed,” was rather cute and didn’t quite match his majestic appearance. Yijae gave him the carrot, and especially when he gave him a sugar cube, which Spee supposedly loved, he couldn’t hide his excitement and snorted so much that it made him laugh. The horse also seemed to like Yijae, calmly accepting his petting hand.

“It’ll be hard to get up, so I’ll help you.”

Jaeha, who had put a riding helmet on Yijae just in case of any danger, effortlessly lifted him up and seated him on Spee’s saddle.

Perhaps because it was much higher than he had thought, Yijae, with a startled face, leaned forward tightly and gripped the horse’s reins.

As if Yijae’s trembling was transmitted, Spee also seemed excited and snorted roughly. Jaeha, who mounted the horse in an instant after Yijae, stroked its side as if to calm it down and said to Yijae.

“That’s cute too, but you can’t see ahead if you stay like that.”

He grabbed Spee’s reins with one hand and slowly pulled Yijae’s shoulder with the other, continuing to speak.

“If you’re scared, lean on my chest.”

The solid chest against his back felt like it would protect him at all times. The tension in Yijae’s stiff body relaxed, and Jaeha slowly nudged Spee’s side, leaving the riding arena.

Soon, a wide field appeared, and they began to run, gradually picking up speed. It was a little scary at first, but soon, along with a feeling of his chest opening up, Yijae couldn’t hide his laughter.

“Whoa, whoa.”

Jaeha went to a spot with a good view of the sea and brought Spee to a halt. Yijae leaned his back against Jaeha and stared at the wide-open sea. It felt like he could reach it if he stretched out his hand.

The sea, which looked different from the scenery he had seen in the morning, was refreshing just to look at.

Yijae took a deep breath and then exhaled a long breath, feeling the smell of the earth mixed with the sea breeze. He closed his eyes, fully enjoying the pleasant scent of nature at this moment.

Slowly opening his eyes, Yijae looked at the sky where the sun was already beginning to set with a regretful expression.

“Let’s come again next time. We could even stay here during the school break.”

“Would that be possible?”

“Yijae, there’s nothing you can’t do……”

“There’s nothing you can’t do, Yijae. That’s what you were going to say, right?”

Yijae, who had unknowingly doubted the future, swallowed a laugh at Jaeha’s continuing answer and added his own words.

“Yes. You remember well.”

As a hand hugged him tightly from behind, Yijae, who was stroking the back of his hand, slowly turned his head to look at Jaeha.

The pinkish sky where the sun was slowly setting and Jaeha’s hair fluttering in the wind created an unreal beauty. Yijae, who was staring at him, mesmerized, felt his chest swell with emotion and opened his mouth.

“Thank you, always.”

He never thought a day like this would come in his life. He didn’t think he had lived a particularly good life, so it was still amazing how he had met Jaeha.

“I…… If it weren’t for you, sunbae, I probably would have lived without even knowing a world like this existed.”

He quietly watched Yijae’s eyes, which were slowly filling with emotion, and tightened his grip on the hand wrapped around him.

“I will also try to make my world beautiful. So that every moment I spend by your side, sunbae, can be beautiful.”

If he was to be with the person he loved, Yijae no longer wanted to color his life darkly. He wanted to see only good things and experience only beautiful things with him. Yijae, who tightened his grip on their clasped hands, slowly bowed his head and covered his lips first.

As if waiting, Jaeha’s mouth opened, and he pushed his tongue in as if to devour Yijae, tilting his head while cupping his cheek.

⁺₊❆₊⋆

Dohae, who returned home with no success, gritted his teeth as he looked at his ruined clothes from taking a crowded bus during rush hour.

He had no idea why Dr. Yang was suddenly acting like that. He had heard that he had a daughter studying in the U.S., so maybe he would come back if he gave him a little more money.

If that really didn’t work, it would be inconvenient, but he could find other doctors besides him. Besides, since he already knew Seo Yijae’s location, it wouldn’t be difficult to summon him either.

If he tried some pathetic resistance, he would have to use that bastard’s weakness to bring him in.

Having organized his thoughts like that, Dohae decided to find some money first and slowly opened the main gate.

Creeak.

The sound, which seemed particularly eerie today, gave him a bad feeling. Dohae, frowning one eyebrow, cautiously took a step to avoid being seen by people around.

Just as he stepped into the mansion, the door to the main building burst open, and Dohae’s face crumpled.

If he was caught by someone else here, he might be kicked out on the spot. No, he might even have to leave with what little he had taken from him.

He was clutching his pounding heart in anxiety and hurrying toward the warehouse when Dohyeon, who was supposed to be in the hospital, came into Dohae’s sight. And he was standing there perfectly fine, dressed very neatly.

“Hyung. Why are you coming out of there?”

“Fuck, what the hell are you doing here? I heard you got kicked out?”

The way he came out, twirling a new sports car key on his index finger, was too different from the story that he was still unconscious and lying in a hospital bed.

“When, no, why are you okay?”

“Is that what you should be saying now? Fuck, because of that bastard who’s either your younger or older brother. It pisses me off just thinking about it.”

That’s not what he was asking. He was curious why Gu Dohyeon, who was supposedly unable to move and confined to a hospital bed, was walking around perfectly fine. Dohae’s eyes gleamed as he rushed at him and grabbed him by the collar.

“What the! Are you crazy?”

“You deceived me? You said you almost died. You said you weren’t even conscious!”

“I almost died. Can’t you see this? My head was so busted I got stitches?”

Dohyeon lifted his hair, then pushed Dohae’s shoulder in annoyance and walked forward. Dohae, who fell backward from the force, bit his lip and lifted his head.

“I won’t let you off once I become a dominant. Once I become the mistress of the Kangmyung Group……”

“What can you do now that your mother is gone too?”

Dohyeon cut Dohae off and sneered, looking down at him with a disdainful face as he approached step by step.

“Gone?”

“You didn’t know? I don’t see her, whether she died somewhere or if Seo Yijae took her. And frankly, if I were Kang Jaeha, I would have chosen him, not you. Seo Yijae is a real dominant, after all.”

Dohyeon scanned Dohae’s disheveled appearance from top to bottom, then smiled with one corner of his mouth and continued.

“In fact, it should have been Seo Yijae in your place, right? Isn’t that so?”

“Ha…… haha…… Heuk, keuhahaha!”

He shook his body and burst into laughter. At Dohae’s seemingly insane state, Dohyeon narrowed his brow. He was clearly crazy. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he passed by Dohae as if fleeing and went out the main gate.

Dohae, who had been sitting on the floor and continuously bursting into laughter, got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

There was no hope left for him. The engagement was canceled, his adoptive parents had abandoned him in an instant, and Dr. Yang also said he would no longer perform the procedure. It was the same with Seo Yijae and his weakness, his mother, disappearing.