TRIPLE 35

Siyeon hinted at his condition, indirectly asking about a checkup. He hoped the other person would catch on immediately, but…

Chae Yoonoh 

I have a bit of a fever right now. It’s not severe yet, but I was worried about what might happen if it gets worse from here.

Chae Yoonoh 

I’m not sure. For now, I just feel a bit unwell and stuff. Like I’m coming down with a cold.

Aside from the fact that Beom Yisu might be reading the messages, sharing his condition with Chae Yoonoh made Siyeon feel strangely relieved.

The protagonist in the original work was the type to endure alone until the end, only making things worse, but Siyeon had no intention of holding out until his body broke down.

Of course, there was the sentiment that he shouldn’t rely too much on the couple’s pheromones. However, if his condition really became dangerous, he had to put out the immediate fire first, didn’t he?

‘It feels like it’s getting worse… something is.’

He didn’t think anything would happen right away. But just like when he had just taken the un-heat, his insides kept churning. While he was feeling that way, a message popped up immediately.

Since he couldn’t rely on Beom Yisu due to the un-heat situation, it was an unavoidable choice. Chae Yoonoh seemed to be pondering it, too; after a short pause, the answer finally came.

Chae Yoonoh Until I contact you again, do not open the door for anyone, no matter who it is!

Siyeon narrowed his eyes at the message that poured out like an order. He’d been alone the whole time, so who on earth was supposed to be coming? If it were normal, he would have retorted immediately, but right now, he didn’t even have the energy for that.

Chae Yoonoh I don’t know your condition for sure right now, so you have to be careful in advance.

The message paused for a moment before popping up again.

Chae Yoonoh I didn’t tell you, but that’s instead of a direct checkup.

If your numbers get very bad, you’ll be contacted separately.

What? Don’t tell me, does it transmit other information besides pheromones? Siyeon’s brow furrowed at the news he was hearing for the first time.

‘This jerk… I knew it.’

One guy does bio-tracking. One guy does phone-tracking. The couple really is in perfect sync. Siyeon moistened his dry lips with the tip of his tongue.

I understand. But I’m not in that bad of a shape right this second.

It was just as he was about to send the message to Chae Yoonoh.

Thump—

A dull sound echoed from somewhere, and the lights inside the mansion shook violently once more.

Zzzzt—

The wall lamp light flickered unstably. The living room repeatedly went dark and light in an instant.

“What the…”

This time, it was a bit strange. The atmosphere was distinctly different from earlier. It was as if the power for the entire mansion had cut out momentarily; he could faintly hear the sound of servants moving and low voices coming from far off in the hallway.

Siyeon grabbed his phone instinctively.

Is it really a power outage?

It was in that short interval.

“…When did that open?”

For some reason, the half-open front door caught his eye first. Surely someone must have left it open… but for some reason, the person who had opened it was nowhere to be seen.

The moment Siyeon slowly headed toward the entrance, an alien voice drifted in through the crack in the door.

“The hospitality here is still terrible.”

Shortly thereafter, a man he had never met before revealed himself.

Perhaps he was around fifty. Streaks of gray were scattered here and there through his neatly combed hair, and an authoritative light was settled in his deeply folded corners of his eyes.

But perhaps because of his firmly pressed lips that belied his age and his larger-than-average frame, or perhaps because his attitude of looking down on others was so natural—even though he was just standing in the center of the entryway, a strange sense of pressure was felt.

‘Who is it?’

Because he was acting as naturally as if he were the owner of the house, he instinctively knew that he couldn’t be one of the mansion’s servants.

He had never heard news that anyone was visiting today…. Then, perhaps he’s a guest of Beom Yisu’s. That would be the most likely scenario. Still, he felt he should ask who he was.

“Um… how did you get here?”

At Siyeon’s question, the man scanned him slowly, like someone trying to verify something.

“Ah, so it was you.”

…So it was me?

There was no time to question the man’s sudden remark. He naturally walked inside and handed the envelope he was holding to Siyeon, who had been standing there blankly.

“What are you doing? Don’t just stand there, take it.”

Siyeon took the envelope he held out without a word. When he peeked inside at the heavy weight, he saw small boxes wrapped in luxurious packaging. At first, he thought it was tea leaves or cookies or something, but the picture stamped on the surface of the boxes was unexpected.

Cat treats. And they were ridiculously luxurious, looking even more expensive than what people eat. But why would he give a gift like this? Had they been raising a pet or something in the mansion?

“I heard you brought a cat into the house. I felt bad coming empty-handed.”

The man, who gave a relaxed smile, continued speaking.

“I bought a variety of things. Make sure you pick and choose.”

Damn, isn’t this guy crazy? Is “cat” supposed to be referring to me?

While Siyeon swallowed his curse, the man was already moving his steps inside.

“W-wait… why….”

For a moment, he wondered if he should stop him, but he had no clear justification. After all, Siyeon was also just a person living under someone else’s roof.

Moreover, more puzzling than the appearance of this uninvited guest was the fact that Mrs. Park, who would usually be the first to show her face, was nowhere to be seen. Since a loud noise had occurred, it would be normal for at least one person, if not her, to come out to the entryway to check. Where had everyone gone?

It was quiet, as if only Siyeon had been left in this mansion.

‘What if I just left like this?’

If a stranger can come in, isn’t the probability high that the front door is also left open? His gaze went momentarily toward the open front door, but the short-lived impulse quickly subsided.

His condition wasn’t good enough to run away right now, and above all, he needed to verify what that man knew to have come all the way here.

In the end, Siyeon followed the uninvited guest inside.

“Are you not going to tell me who you are?”

“Right, the introduction was late.”

He felt as if the master of the house had changed in an instant. The man leaned his body back against the sofa and crossed his legs leisurely.

“I am Yisu’s uncle.”

As the arrogant self-introduction dropped, Siyeon searched his memory. Scenes from the original work blurred and mixed in his feverish mind.

If he’s Beom Yisu’s uncle… it was Director Yoon, right? The person who had been involved in Beomyeong Construction for a long time.

He remembered that his relationship with his nephew, Beom Yisu, as well as his spouse, Chae Yoonoh, was not very good. It wasn’t just at the level of a simple rift. In the original work, Director Yoon had persistently tackled every piece of work Beom Yisu touched.

As for Chae Yoonoh, he was a guy whose family was decent enough to arrange a political marriage and whose personal career was solid, so no matter how much it was Director Yoon, he probably wouldn’t have been an opponent he could easily touch.

Perhaps because of that, the one who inevitably suffered the most was the protagonist, Hong Siyeon.

He had been talked into leaving the mansion by Director Yoon’s coaxing, and then he was blackmailed using that as a pretext. In the end, he even triggered Beom Yisu’s displeasure, fueling an even more desolate life of confinement.

‘After that episode, I wasn’t even allowed to roam the mansion freely. My ankle got broken, too.’

To think that out of all people, I would be left alone right now with one of the persons of interest I wanted to avoid at all costs. No, did Director Yoon ever visit the mansion in person at this timing in the first place? He was a character who appeared around the middle of the work… it was clear that the circumstances of the original story were going slightly off track.

He had struggled to avoid being dragged along according to the original story, so it was the result he wanted, but it was unavoidable that things became troublesome every time uncontrollable variables popped up one by one.

“What’s your name?”

“I am….”

While he was agonizing over it, Director Yoon asked for his name.

Is it okay to tell him my real name right now?

Since it didn’t seem like a good choice, just as he was hesitating, a name that flashed through his mind suddenly popped out of his mouth.

“I’m Seong Yohan.”

The name of the child in the photo he had seen at the Nagwon-dong church. He himself didn’t know why that name had come out. It wasn’t a word he had pulled out with intent or thought. It was closer to the feeling of a memory buried away for a long time being momentarily pushed out through his lips.

Thump— Thump—

Along with a throbbing headache, he felt his heart beating violently as if it were being torn apart. Yohan. Seong Yohan. Siyeon, who had been repeating the name, curled his lips tightly in response to the strangely heavy, aching feeling deep in his chest.