DOGC Ch 7

In truth, living as a concubine and secretly slipping out at dawn was an incredibly perilous thing to do.

The person who, not unaware of this, had designated the time as two in the morning was either the type who thoroughly enjoys a thrill, or a psychopathic pervert who enjoys seeing others in a difficult situation. Ryu Yeonho seemed to be the type who belonged to both categories.

Should he consider it fortunate that the designated location was the lake and not a room? If he happened to get caught, he could just make up some excuse about having something like sleepwalking. Being a madman would be twice as good as being caught having an affair with his husband’s son.

After confirming that Chairman Ryu had not entered the room until dawn, Seorim stealthily set his feet outside the bed.

The temperature had now reached a point where it would soon be difficult to wander outside at night with just a thick cardigan. Would he be provided with an outer coat, or would he not be bought one since he had no reason to go outside the house? Perhaps if he whined a few times by the pillow about being cold, one might be procured for him.

Seorim slipped on the cardigan and quietly opened the door to his room. The empty hallway was permeated with an almost eerie atmosphere.

As he tiptoed to silence his presence, he felt like a ghost bound to an old, traditional house. People don’t usually live like this, so maybe he was closer to being one.

Getting past the main gate was over in an instant.

The midnight air is cold and fresh, making one feel as if their mind is being completely cleared. As he passed through the grassy field, the sensation of the dew that had formed on the leaves brushing against his legs was vivid. Such was the scenery of a dawn just before winter. Everything was so clear it was almost pure.

It feels cleansing to take a breath. Even while knowing that in reality, it’s not like that at all. Seorim took a large, deliberate breath and walked toward the shed by the lake.

Would Ryu Yeonho be waiting? The good news was probably about his father.

The shed door was slightly ajar. The acrid smell of cigarettes wafted from within. It was a clue that made it obvious who the first guest to arrive was.

With an indifferent expression, Seorim stepped into the warehouse that smelled of wood and cigarettes.

“You’re late.”

“It was difficult sneaking out.”

The sight of Ryu Yeonho extinguishing a cigarette against the wall with his long fingers caught his eye. He wondered if it was okay to do something like that in a shack made of wood. It would be a ridiculous sight if a fire broke out.

Even after hearing the answer, Ryu Yeonho said nothing more. Since Seorim also did not speak first, the conversation did not continue, meeting a void.

Yeonho, who had been quietly staring at Seorim, slowly raised his hand. And with a flick of his middle finger and thumb—thwack—he gave Seorim a flick on the back of his head.

“Ah.”

Is he a madman? What is he doing?

The back of his head was the same spot Chairman Ryu had hit earlier, so it stung even more. Unable to understand what had happened to him, Seorim looked up at Yeonho with a dumbfounded expression.

“What the… What are you doing?”

“You’re late and you didn’t even apologize, so it’s annoying, isn’t it?”

“It was hard enough just getting out at dawn.”

“Dealing with the old geezer is a busy job, right.”

It sounds sarcastic, yet it sounds teasing. It seems light, yet it has an edge. Ryu Yeonho generally uses that kind of ambiguous tone that conceals his true intentions.

“You’re pretty ridiculous yourself. Getting beaten up for protecting some brat you don’t even know.”

“He’s not a brat I don’t know.”

He calls his own younger brother a brat he doesn’t know. Seorim cast a fed-up glance and said.

“The child did nothing wrong.”

“Being born into this household is the wrongdoing. With a mother and father who are both fucking crazy.”

“Is Chairman Ryu mentally strange too?”

“Then is that normal? He’s gone senile.”

Certainly, from observing him up close, he was not normal. However, Seorim did not know what kind of personality a normal old man had. Maybe they all become like that when they get old.

As he thought about Chairman Ryu’s behavior, Seorim recalled the horribly mangled animal carcass he had seen during the day.

“I told him to stop playing with rat carcasses before, but he doesn’t listen.”

“I guess the fucking crazy blood runs too thick. I wonder if it can be treated, that thing.”

“Were you like that too when you were young, Ryu Yeonho-ssi?”

“I wasn’t.”

He didn’t want to imagine what this man’s childhood was like. He might have looked cute on the outside, but his insides were probably stained black from a very young age.

Seorim stared at a clump of dust settled in the corner of the warehouse and said.

“That needs to be fixed now. It was said that they move on to bigger animals after that, and then they start expressing it toward people. If he’s unstable as a child, it can happen, so if he gets counseling and treatment quickly…”

“Are you going to keep talking about irrelevant things?”

At Yeonho’s interruption, Seorim shut his mouth. What he had to ask was clear, but for some reason, he kept trying to look away.

In truth, he might already know. He could vaguely sense it without even needing to go through an investigation. Those related by blood recognize each other just by making eye contact. No matter how long the period of separation, it’s instinctual.

He just needed confirmation, but the thought of hearing that confirmation suddenly scared him.

After hesitating, Seorim finally asked.

“What about the good news?”

“With nothing in return?”

“You said you’d tell me.”

“I’m not your Daddy-Long-Legs.”

Although it was true he was a literally tall man. He offered to help first. Seorim forced himself to shake off the lingering feelings about his father, his eyes turning a little colder as he spoke.

“If you’re asking me to give it to you once, even as a chaebol family’s concubine, the math doesn’t work out for me.”

“Is that so?”

In that moment, Ryu Yeonho’s scent drew closer. A cold scent resembling a snowy winter, mixed with a hint of cigarette smoke. As always, he suddenly pressed their lips together.

It was not a very welcome contact, but Seorim allowed Yeonho to entwine their tongues as he pleased. To be honest, physical contact with him, setting aside the emotional part, was quite good. He was a damn good kisser, and sex was terribly pleasurable.

A wet tongue sweeps across the roof of his mouth, then leisurely takes his lower lip to suck on it. The pressure of his lips was so strong that the flesh, tightly enveloped, was on the verge of aching.

Physiologically, heat slowly began to rise in his lower regions. The unavoidable reaction was infuriating.

Just as his mind was gradually turning white and his thought processes were dulling, their lips parted.

“I’ll value you highly for sleeping with the Chairman and pay you a lot.”

This person would be better off if he didn’t know how to speak. Seorim let out a faint sigh and took a step back. Yeonho watched Seorim with a languid gaze before he began to speak.

“Your father. You said his name was Baek Hongsik.”

“Yes.”

“The person working at the golf course, it is indeed Baek Hongsik-ssi.”

So it was true. Seorim let out a quiet breath. Faced with the truth, his lips trembled uncontrollably.

It was him. He was alive.

But mother passed away.

Ryu Yeonho wiped the saliva from his lips with his thumb and continued.

“Though that’s not his name now. Seems like he laundered it a bit. He was on the run, constantly fleeing from debt collectors?”

“He didn’t even come to my mother’s funeral.”

“His name is Lee Jeongnam now. It’s been a year since he started working at that golf course. He must have bought an identity somewhere.”

“He didn’t even come to my mother’s funeral…”

Yeonho, who had been continuing his explanation about the father, silently looked down at Seorim, who was repeating the same words.

He didn’t know when he had changed his identity. Perhaps he had been living a new life for much longer. For some reason, his hands trembled. To hide it, he gripped his left wrist tightly with his right hand.

Seorim stared blankly at the wooden wall, which had a scorch mark from a cigarette. Only after an unknown amount of time had passed was he finally able to squeeze out his voice.

“Is it that easy to run away and live without anyone knowing.”

“If you have nothing to lose, nothing to protect, and no lingering attachments, it probably wouldn’t be difficult.”

“Then I guess I wasn’t something for my father to protect.”

Perhaps his father wanted to forget all about his mother and him and start anew in a new place. If so, was that day he unexpectedly ran into him a disaster for his father? What could that trembling voice have been, calling his name as if his heart was breaking.

“Are you sad?”

“What’s there to be sad about when it’s not something I didn’t know.”

“Your face says otherwise.”

At those words, Seorim stroked his cheek with a somewhat twitching hand. It seemed his unconscious agitation had shown on his face. Yeonho, who was watching him with an expression of interest, muttered.

“I wonder how you sell your body being such a little kid.”

“…”

“No, you are a little kid. How old are you?”

Little kid, little kid with every sentence he uttered. For a member of a chaebol family, the man had a foul mouth.

“I don’t remember well.”

“It’s not like you’re some dying old geezer who lost count of his age. You look like the ink on your ID card is still wet, what do you mean you don’t remember.”

“Around, twenty-two, or three.”

“He has a strong stomach, too. For someone that young to be sleeping with Chairman Ryu.”

Was sleeping with him all he did? He drank his saliva, performed oral sex. In many ways, he had experienced most of the things that would turn one’s stomach.

“…Thank you for telling me.”

A father living a new life.

He was surprised, a little hurt, and very angry. While someone was living in this mess because of the debt his father incurred, the man himself had slipped away to make a fresh start, which was insanely selfish. While his father was far away living peacefully, hadn’t his mother gone so far as to turn her back on the world?

And at the same time, he was curious. Did he truly, truly forget about him and his mother? Had they become mere fragments of a past that were nothing but a burden to remember?

Why didn’t he come to mother’s funeral? Could it be that he really didn’t know…

He didn’t feel good. He hated his father. If possible, he wanted to drag that life of his down to where he was. He could feel his fingernails digging into his skin from a fist he didn’t even realize he was clenching.

“Don’t you hate him.”

In the flowing silence, Ryu Yeonho’s casually uttered voice cut through the air. Following that, he added another sentence in a calm tone devoid of any highs or lows.

“Shall I punish him.”

Lifting his head, Seorim could not read the emotion in Ryu Yeonho’s eyes. It was too parched to be sympathy, and too cold to be vicarious anger.

“Who.”

“Your father. You can’t do it.”

“But why would you do that for me, Ryu Yeonho-ssi.”

With this person, he could never fathom the why, the reason for his actions. The reply came back in the same, utterly serene pitch.

“Well, I just felt like it.”

“…”

“I think I can do it if you ask me to.”

He thought he could vaguely guess what ‘punish’ meant. For now, he didn’t want to go so far as to do that to his father. Also, he couldn’t trust Ryu Yeonho right away. This man was also a member of the Ryu family, and a bastard who used others’ misfortunes for his own amusement.

“It’s alright.”

To signal the end of the conversation, Seorim turned his body toward the door.

“Can’t you just return the necklace?”

Instead of an answer, Ryu Yeonho merely put a faint smile on his lips. He knew what that meant. He was truly a persistent man.

🦅

Dawn had not yet broken when he left the shed. The wind of the deeper dawn settled refreshingly on his skin. Soon, once the season passed, it would become a fierce, biting wind that would painfully cut his cheeks.

Despite having such a beautiful forest nearby where fairies might frolic, the mansion was gloomy. As if the murkiness inherent in the bloodline of the Ryu family, the owners of the house, was eating away at the surroundings. Seorim, even while knowing he was no different from them, didn’t want to return to the mansion and become one of them.

And so, his brief look around the lake area became the source of trouble.

Someone appeared from a path concealed between the grass and trees. At this dawn hour, in a place where one wouldn’t expect to feel any human presence. Startled, Seorim froze on the spot.

The owner of the large figure was Ryu Hyunjun. The distance was rather far, so the other person did not seem to have noticed Seorim.

The eyes he happened to look at were much more hollow than when he had first seen them. His hair was also more unkempt, and his lips were colorless. Perhaps this house really had an energy that made people lose their minds.

To put it nicely, he’d lost his mind; to put it crudely, he seemed to have gone off his rocker.

He had seen many people whose minds were not sound while living this kind of life. They are dangerous, have poor judgment, and at times, are easy to use. They are in the optimal state for being sweet-talked into spitting out what one wants.

It was then that Ryu Hyunjun, who had been staring blankly somewhere in the air, turned his gaze.

“Oh…”

Their eyes met before Seorim could hide or run away. Even from a slight distance, it was clear that his pupils were wide open.

“Seorim-ssi.”

His voice had clearly called his name. It was already too late to leave. Toward the motionless Seorim, Hyunjun approached with wide strides. He had used up a lot of mental energy because of the news about his father, so he had wanted to go in quickly and rest.

“You really appear and disappear like a phantom, Seorim-ssi.”

“I have sleepwalking. I don’t sleep well at night.”

“So you came out like this?”

“Yes, when I come to my senses… I find myself outside like this.”

He didn’t have sleepwalking, but it wasn’t a complete lie. It was true that he sometimes couldn’t sleep at dawn and wandered outside. Choosing his words, Seorim added briefly.

“I guess my sleeping arrangements are uncomfortable.”

Hearing that, Ryu Hyunjun seemed to think about something, then said in a small voice.

“I also came out because my sleeping arrangements are uncomfortable.”

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing much, just some tiring things.”

Seorim heard but did not ask further. His mind was filled entirely with thoughts of his father.

“Did Ryu Yeonho, that son of a bitch, not torment you today?”

The hatred toward Ryu Yeonho seemed to have grown even deeper than before. He didn’t seem to have the composure to notice that his inner thoughts were being blatantly revealed through his hostile tone.

“Ryu Yeonho-ssi is…”

“He tormented you, didn’t he?”

Hearing the strangely confident tone, Seorim belatedly recalled Ryu Yeonho’s pheromones. An extreme dominant among alphas. Everything Ryu Yeonho exuded had a distinct presence. His pheromones, his atmosphere, his voice.

Did they get on me without me noticing? He wanted to hide their tryst, even if it was with a lie, but Seorim had no choice but to opt for silence.

“Such a selfish bastard anyway. So full of greed… a madman. How can he only think of himself like that.”

He didn’t know what he was talking about, but Seorim answered appropriately.

“It’s taking a lot out of me to endure it.”

“How can I help you? Is there anything you want to eat? From outside. Or anything you want to have.”

Answering like that, he suddenly grabs his hand. The touching skin was colder than he expected, making Seorim’s fingertips tremble slightly. If anything, that seemed to win Ryu Hyunjun’s pity, which wasn’t a bad thing.

“No, they’re things that would be hard for you to grant, Hyunjun-ssi.”

“I don’t want to hear that here, too.”

Did I touch a raw nerve? Seorim shut his mouth. He had to watch whether touching the dragon’s scale would make him bristle elsewhere, or make him flinch.

“I’m actually quite capable myself.”

Ryu Hyunjun wore the expression of a peacock spreading its feathers to not lose to another male. Observing his gaze, Seorim said in a dejected voice.

“What if you end up in a difficult situation? Because of me.”

“Would something like that happen.”

“Really? I’m just…”

He trailed off, intentionally chewing on his lips. He could feel Ryu Hyunjun’s gaze land on his reddened lower lip.

“It’s just, I’m not asking for help, but I feel like I’m becoming some kind of fool.”

“A fool?”

“Because I’m just staying put, I don’t know what’s going on in the world. They say this is the time when people my age are dating, going to school, and having all sorts of experiences.”

Hoping that Ryu Hyunjun would catch his hidden meaning, Seorim continued as if lamenting.

“But it’s only natural for someone in my position to be left behind like this. It’s just, this is the right way for me to live.”

His act of playing the tragic figure to the hilt seemed to have worked, as Ryu Hyunjun asked a question with a rather serious expression.

“Can you tell me why you ended up like this?”

“It’s because of my father’s debt. I’ve been in this situation for a very long time. I wandered through omega red-light districts, and my family was poor from way back.”

“…”

“My mother died in an accident. Now I can’t even, remember her face well.”

Lately, he felt like he was explaining this sob story quite often. He had thought it was a fact he had grown numb to, but every time he spoke of it, a part of his chest ached.

After hearing the story, Ryu Hyunjun, with an expression of utmost pity, looking almost on the verge of tears, said.

“I thought your face seemed to hold many stories, you’ve really suffered a lot. How could something like that… Seorim-ssi, you’re still young.”

“It just happened that way.”

“A beautiful person with an unfortunate fate… and your pheromones smell of pomegranate.”

Ryu Hyunjun’s pheromones were on the weaker side. He thought he might be a recessive alpha, almost close to a beta. Encountering him right after being with Ryu Yeonho, he could barely feel his pheromones at all.

“It’s just, I get so lonely from time to time. I guess that’s why I can’t sleep well either. There’s no one to talk to.”

“Are you lonely?”

“Yes. It would be nice to have a friend. If I could just hear someone else’s story about what they ate, what they saw, what they did today, I think I might want to live a little more. Even in this situation.”

He was disgusted by the words he was spouting. As if he were someone who was wrapped up in self-pity and actually enjoying his miserable situation. But there was no other way. Seorim needed even a passing moment of pity.

“I talked too pitifully, didn’t I? Because you listened so well, Hyunjun-ssi.”

He didn’t forget to smile awkwardly and blame himself. He gently brushed the back of the hand he was holding with his thumb. Ryu Hyunjun’s skin was softer than Ryu Yeonho’s.

Hyunjun, who had been listening quietly, muttered with his gaze fixed on Seorim’s fingertips.

“It’s just like a cat. Prickly one moment, then seemingly leaning on you the next. It’s fascinating.”

“…”

“I like it, it feels like we’ve gotten that much closer.”

“Is that so.”

“If you’re lonely, I think I can help with that.”

Ryu Hyunjun lifted the corners of his mouth to form a small smile. With shadows under his eyes, smiling with that gaunt face didn’t look particularly good. Seorim gently let go of the hand that was being held and replied.

“Thank you. I feel a bit more at ease now that I’ve gotten it off my chest. I think I can sleep now.”

“I see. I should get some sleep too. What am I even doing at this hour. The atmosphere here is so different from Seoul, it makes you do strange things.”

“Are you not going back to Seoul?”

“But I like it here. There are many pretty things. I guess it’s a mansion that bewitches people.”

A mansion that bewitches people. Is it the mansion that bewitches people, or has the strange aura exuded by the people gathered in the mansion simply pooled in this place?

The dawn wind rises and the moon wanes. Their insides are complicated, yet the mansion, with its lips sealed tight, is nothing but tranquil.

Soon, when autumn passes, a harsh winter will come to this place too.

🦅

“…Why are you here.”

There was no one who would knock on the concubine’s room in broad daylight. Even the servants who brought meals would just leave a little food in front of the door at mealtimes and go. But when he opened the door to an unexpected knock, there stood Yeonwoo.

“Hyung-ah.”

The unexpected visitor, Yeonwoo, answered in a small voice. Since it didn’t seem like a good scene for anyone to see, Seorim looked around and quickly brought the child into the room.

“Hyung-ah’s room is nice.”

“What’s so nice about it. There’s nothing in here.”

“Aren’t you bored, hyung-ah?”

“I am bored.”

Wasn’t that why he was spending his time doing things like reading books, which didn’t suit him, and taking walks while avoiding Chairman Ryu’s eyes? It was a stifling life, to the point where he envied a bird trapped in a cage.

This was his first encounter with Yeonwoo since the small commotion with Chairman Ryu in the reception room. It seemed as if his chubby cheeks, which had been plump and clear, had thinned out a bit.

Did the little thing suffer some hardship? The image of him trembling like a baby bird that had fallen into water was vivid in his mind.

“Are you okay?”

Seorim asked out of a nagging sense of unease, and Yeonwoo, fiddling with his fingers, hesitated before speaking.

“Hyung-ah, I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for.”

“Because of me, your head… you got hit…”

It seemed he had been bothered by that even amidst the shock. The kid seems nice, so how on earth did he end up playing with a rat carcass?

“It’s fine.”

Seorim smacked his lips and then roughly patted Yeonwoo’s head.

“Don’t play with rats. You’re not supposed to do that.”

“I won’t play anymore.”

“Did you do it because you were bored?”

Yeonwoo, with a downcast expression, nodded his head. It seemed he had somehow ended up scolding him. He was definitely not the type of person to discipline anyone.

“They’re also, uh, what is it, living things, how could you tear them apart like that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Apologize to the rat, not me.”

Ryu Yeonwoo, despite being a member of this household, exuded a gentle aura that made one concerned. Seorim furrowed his brow slightly and scratched the back of his head.

“If you’re bored, just come by like this during the day or something. I’ll play with you.”

“Is that okay?”

“I have nothing to do either.”

Because Yeonwoo’s head was bowed, he could only see his chubby cheeks twitching. The child, who had been mumbling to himself for a while, threw a question in a listless voice.

“Hyung-ah, is Mom a bad person?”

“Why.”

“Because Father hates her.”

“She’s a sick person. Not a bad one.”

He had heard that Yeonwoo’s mother had a mental illness. What kind of actions she had taken, and how she had treated the child. The child had probably turned out this way because he hadn’t received enough love. While Seorim was lost in thought for a moment, Yeonwoo continued the conversation in an even smaller voice.

“Father is a bad person.”

“Huh?”

“He hurts you, and he hurts me, and Mom, and hyung-ah too.”

People with dark and gloomy thoughts reveal it in the words they speak. Even this frail and tiny child.

“Do you hate Father?”

“…Yes.”

“There’s no need for that. Try to live without thinking too much. It’s tiring to live while hating others.”

This was something Seorim had realized from living a life of deep thought and intense hatred for others. If you hate someone and suffer, and that feeling is not resolved, you end up giving up on everything. And as you let go of each clump of emotion, you turn into an empty shell.

“You just live filling your head with good things. You’re allowed to.”

Ryu Yeonwoo, who had much and could have more in the future, had no need to become an empty shell.

“I don’t really know.”

Mumbling in that barely audible voice, Yeonwoo carefully leaned his head against Seorim’s chest.

If this child grows up in this family as he is, how will he be broken?

He wasn’t in any position to pity others, but his mind became complicated for no reason. With a touch full of distress, Seorim gently, gently stroked Yeonwoo’s head.

Was there any way to soothe the child’s loneliness and help him develop healthy emotions?

Finding himself pathetic for having such thoughts, Seorim nonetheless sank into contemplation. And suddenly, he came up with a conclusion that he wasn’t sure would be a good solution.

“…How about trying to grow a plant or something.”

“A plant?”

The image of him previously picking apart the dead rat carcass came to mind. At least with a plant, he thought, he wouldn’t be able to engage in such a cruel form of play. At the same time, it seemed like it could cultivate a sense of accomplishment and responsibility from growing something. Seorim briefly bit his lower lip, then let go and answered.

“Yeah, you liked planting flowers before.”

“Planting flowers is fun.”

“Flowers are grown outside, though. What about something like a cactus?”

“A cactus?”

Seorim awkwardly pulled Yeonwoo away from his chest where he was leaning, and bent down to meet his eyes.

“You have to water it properly, and you must never pick off the stems or anything, no matter how curious you are. Because it hurts.”

“Does it hurt the cactus too if you pick a stem?”

“Of course. You’d be in pain too if someone just ripped off your arm, right? It’s similar to that.”

At the word ‘cactus’, Yeonwoo’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“It likes sunlight too… and it probably wouldn’t dislike you talking to it. I think.”

“…”

“Once in a while, it might even bloom, or whatever.”

Something felt off after he said it. He felt his explanation was too messy. Seorim vaguely averted his gaze and then carefully took Yeonwoo’s hand.

“A flower?”

“It’s small, very. It might be different from what you expect. But the fact that you made it bloom is what’s meaningful.”

As he finished speaking, Yeonwoo’s gaze slowly shifted. His stare, which had been fixed on Seorim, drifted down slightly before returning. His eyes looked as if he was deeply contemplating something internally.

“Then, then shall I try growing a cactus.”

It was a very small utterance, from which expectations were peeking out here and there. Hearing those words, Seorim gave a faint smile. He felt as if he was feeling the moment someone was beginning to change, however small, with his fingertips.

“You pick one that doesn’t have thorns that are too sharp, and has cute flowers.”

As he said that, Seorim sincerely hoped that what he had just planted would grow up straight and true inside Yeonwoo. If this child’s heart could be changed through a single cactus, it would be quite a rewarding thing.

“I like cactuses. A cactus.”

“Can you take good care of it?”

“Yes!”

Yeonwoo nodded his head vigorously with a bright smile. Feeling a sense of pride for some reason, Seorim patted the child’s short hair a few times.

“If you take good care of it, it will become a good friend.”

Watching Yeonwoo’s excited expression as he repeated the word ‘cactus’, Seorim found himself raising the corners of his mouth. And before the smile had even faded, he muttered very softly.

“Though I’m not living my life properly either.”

He had no such thing as a good friend, nor the emotional余裕 to take responsibility for someone with a beautiful heart. He felt like he was lecturing, what was he even doing in his position. It felt like his heart, which had been smiling, was slowly sinking. He had never been comforted by such words himself, yet strangely, he was hoping these words would reach this child.

“…Ha, shit, I feel like I might have said something pointless. I don’t know.”

“Cactus.”

“It doesn’t have to be a cactus, just make a friend for yourself in the house.”

Hearing the reply, Yeonwoo rolled his round eyes and asked.

“What about hyung-ah?”

“Me, why am I your friend. I’m just someone who lives in the same place…”

And a beat later, Seorim added.

“I’m a little, bad for your emotional well-being.”

“What’s emotional well-being?”

“It’s a thing.”

It was something he had heard from Ryu Yeonho before. It wasn’t worth getting worked up over now, but it didn’t feel pleasant either. Having spat out self-deprecating words, Seorim shoved his hands into his pockets with a displeased expression.

“Go now. I’m going to eat.”

There would probably be a simple bite to eat if he went down to the dining room. One of the few good things about this mansion was that the food was delicious.

🦅

Was it three afternoons ago that he brought up the cactus?

Looking down at the child whose eyes were sparkling in front of him, Seorim tried to gauge how many days had passed since he had met with him.

“Hyung-ah!”

He called out so loudly that a servant passing by the front of the reception room turned to look their way. Unaware of this, Yeonwoo, with a thoroughly excited expression, grabbed the end of his shirt sleeve.

“Come here, over here.”

“Why? Don’t tell me you.”

“Quickly, quickly.”

The little thing was strong. With his arm caught, Seorim ascended the stairs in an awkward posture, led by the child. It seemed he intended to take him to his room.

Yeonwoo’s room, like Seorim’s, was on the second floor. His cheeks puffed out roundly, and the hand that opened the door was filled with excitement.

“What on earth is it.”

In truth, he had a rough idea of why he was acting this way. Tossing out the words, Seorim looked into the open door with an indifferent gaze.

The room was a little larger than Seorim’s. The wallpaper was a calm ivory color, unbecoming of a child’s room, and the bedding and desk were neatly arranged, giving a clean impression. Overall, the room gave the impression of being too mature for an elementary schooler to use.

In the middle of it was a guest who had arrived first.

Ryu Yeonho was in a casual shirt with his hair down, unstyled. He looked three or four years younger than usual. He was casually holding something in his hand.

Seorim, who was quietly looking down at him sitting on the rug, spoke.

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“It’s my day off.”

“What’s that in your hand?”

“You can see what it is. It’s a cactus.”

Resting gently in Yeonho’s hand was a small flowerpot. The cactus planted in it had a chubby body the size of a finger joint, with fine thorns sprouting sparsely. A few pebbles placed on top of the soil lightly covered the stem. It had the clumsy and cute appearance of something that had just been brought home, obvious at a glance.

Click. After closing the door with a sound, Yeonwoo came scampering over.

“Hyung bought it for me. I haven’t named it yet.”

Seorim, along with the child, peered down at the flowerpot. Does a cactus need a name? Although he had said nice-sounding words with his own mouth about cherishing it and raising it well, his cynical self, which had lost its childlike innocence, kept rearing its head. He barely suppressed the urge to say he could call it whatever and, compromising with the little affection left inside him, Seorim spoke in the softest tone possible.

“Try naming it whatever you want.”

“You’re being insincere to the kid.”

“It’s green, so why not just call it Yeondu.”

It was an answer he had put a little thought into, but Ryu Yeonho didn’t even pretend to listen.

“It’s pretty, so shall we call it Baek Seorim?”

What’s with this man, he’s spouting strange things out of nowhere. At the sudden compliment-like remark, Seorim forced his lips into a line, trying not to show his bewilderment.

“What’s there to be pretty or not about a cactus.”

“It is pretty, isn’t it? The stem is smooth and shiny, and for a thing the size of a palm, it has thorns sprouted determinedly.”

As it became increasingly unclear whether being compared to the pretty cactus was a compliment or an insult, his startled heart calmed down a bit. Yeonho, who was fiddling with the tip of the cactus with his thumb, turned to look at Seorim.

“You put him up to it, didn’t you? To ask me to buy a cactus.”

“What do you mean, put him up to it. I just mentioned it.”

“The kid suddenly calls me and sings a song about wanting to raise a cactus.”

“I guess he felt like raising one.”

It was a rather irresponsible remark, but he felt it was acceptable with this man. Yeonwoo seemed to have no interest in the bland banter exchanged by the two adults beside him. The child, staring intently at the cactus in Ryu Yeonho’s hand, asked.

“What should I name it?”

With a blank expression, Ryu Yeonho firmly pressed the plump, water-filled stem. The stem seemed to bend and then resiliently returned to its original position. Seeing this action, Yeonwoo clung to Yeonho’s shoulder and said.

“Hyung, you can’t do that. You have to be nice to it. It’s my friend.”

“How can you be friends with a plant.”

Why couldn’t you be friends with a plant? The father’s concubine and the children were in one room naming a cactus.

“Hyung-ah said I could be friends with it.”

“How sentimental.”

“What’s sentimental?”

“Something good.”

Is it okay to answer a child so carelessly like that? After handing the cactus pot to Yeonwoo, Yeonho sat a little closer to Seorim. He whispered in a subtle voice, low enough for the child not to hear.

“The more I look at it, the more it resembles you. Should we really name it Seorim?”

“Say something that makes sense.”

“I think I brought this one because it resembles you.”

What on earth is he talking about.

For some reason, his stomach churned, and he felt a tickling sensation on the nape of his neck, so Seorim whipped his head away. The stinging on his cheeks was probably because Ryu Yeonho’s gaze was upon him.

“So what do you want me to do about it…”

Seorim deliberately fixed his gaze on the cactus Yeonwoo was intently observing and said.

“Name it, Mallangi.”

“Mallangi?”

“Because the stem looks soft and squishy.”

Of course, the actual texture was closer to firm, but since it was full of moisture, it looked as if it would be soft, so that name came to mind. The thought that he had named it too carelessly clashed with the thought of whether he needed to pour a lot of effort into naming a cactus.

Seorim gave the child a nod, as if to ask if it was okay. Yeonwoo traced the word with his lips while looking at the cactus, then, with an excited expression, jumped up and down on the spot.

“Mallang, Mallang. I like Mallangi! It’s cute.”

He seemed to like the sound of it, repeating it several times and then smiling brightly.

“Mallangi is cute. I love you. I’ll give you lots of water, and let you get lots of sunshine. And I’ll tell you lots of fun stories.”

“You shouldn’t give it too much water.”

Watching Yeonwoo already stroking the cactus with a cherishing touch, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

A child can say ‘I love you’ so easily. It had been a very long time since he had said ‘I love you’ to a specific person. It had been a long time since he had lost both someone to feel love for and the courage to say it, so whenever he heard such a sparkling expression, his throat felt scratchy.

If this child can say the words ‘I love you’ out loud and smile so prettily like that, he can still change.

What a relief.

You, don’t be broken.

Seorim whispered softly to himself. Yeonho silently watched his clear side profile.

🦅

Peace refers to a state of mutual understanding, friendliness, and harmony, free from conflict and strife.

In the world, as many people live as there are stars in the sky, and they each have their own different thoughts and egos. It is an exceedingly difficult thing for all of them to understand each other and live in harmony.

And so, we live amidst conflict and turmoil.

Conflict is like the waves crashing in from the sea. Seorim had always lived by being swept away by the waves in a black sea, being hit by the surging torrents, and remaining like dregs with the foam.