I tossed and turned, but it wasn’t like I had trouble sleeping—yet my body felt heavier than usual. It was as if I had been clutching a waterlogged piece of cotton all night, the lingering weight refusing to fade.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I climbed out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom. Half-asleep, I began undressing, only to pause when I caught my reflection in the mirror. Something looked different.
“What the hell is this?”
A red bruise had formed on my nape. Maybe an insect bit me—it was summer, after all. But the mark was too distinct for that. I couldn’t recall anything that might’ve caused it, so I decided to let it go. It wasn’t itchy, so it probably wasn’t a big deal.
“Good morning, young master. Did you sleep well?”
As I stepped out of the shower, the butler entered my room, carrying a tray of food. We exchanged brief morning greetings before I put on the clothes he had prepared for me.
The mark on my neck was bothersome, but fastening my shirt’s buttons all the way up mostly concealed it. A faint trace remained visible, but it wasn’t like anyone would come close enough to scrutinize my neck.
“The table is a mess again today.”
The butler sighed deeply as he surveyed the disorderly tabletop. No matter how many times he nagged me about it, my habits never changed. I laughed awkwardly and reached out to tidy up the scattered items—only to realize that something essential was missing.
Matches, flint, an ashtray, a pack of cigarettes—they were all there. But one thing was gone.
“The portrait…”
“Pardon?”
I shoved past the butler and searched the area around the table. Had it been blown away by the wind? I checked underneath it, then combed through the space under the furniture. But no matter where I looked, the portrait was nowhere to be found. It had disappeared entirely.
“Young master, are you alright?”
“It’s… it’s gone…”
“What exactly is—”
“The portrait of Vin. It’s missing. I can’t—I can’t be without it.”
I had sworn to throw it away so many times. But in truth, it was something I could never afford to lose. My hands started to tremble as I clasped them together, unable to let go of my lingering regret. Watching me desperately scan the room, the butler placed a firm hand on my shoulder.
“Young master, please calm yourself. Take a deep breath.”
I followed his instruction and inhaled deeply. Once he saw that I had settled a little, he gave me a reassuring pat on the back. Then, making me sit in a chair, he carefully set the food he had brought onto the table.
“If you eat your meal, I will have the attendants search your room. If you lost it here, it will turn up sooner or later.”
“…Thank you, butler.”
The butler reassured me before leaving to call the attendants. I stared at the table full of food, then scanned my room once more. My nerves were too frayed to even think about eating.
Where the hell did it go? I could remember placing it on the table last night before I fell asleep. There was no sign of a break-in, and even if someone had snuck in, why would they take that? There were far more valuable things in this room.
‘Maybe this is for the best.’
I had tried to get rid of it countless times, only to fail every single time. I had said, over and over again, that I would let go of my longing—but this might actually be my chance. A chance to sever my attachment to him.
‘No, there’s no way I can do that.’
I raked my fingers through my hair, squeezing my eyes shut as if that could scatter the chaos in my mind. Please, let it turn up somewhere I simply overlooked. But even after the butler and the attendants practically tore apart my room in their search, the portrait was nowhere to be found.
***
A cheerful hum echoed through the library.
Se-yul, who had been reviewing documents, glanced at him—Vincent Shining. He seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today. For the past few days, he had been completely out of it, yet now he was humming and diligently working.
If they had been close, Se-yul might have asked what had happened. Unfortunately, he and Shining weren’t on such familiar terms. But it was obvious—it had to be something related to Seo-yul.
Except, Seo-yul had been holed up in his room for days, refusing to come out. The attendants, forced to take turns cleaning his room in his absence, did so begrudgingly.
So, maybe it wasn’t about Seo-yul after all. Se-yul knew he shouldn’t be curious, yet before he realized it, his mind was entirely consumed with one question: What on earth put Shining in such a good mood?
“Han Se-yul.”
“What?”
“You did a great job preparing these documents.”
Se-yul’s eyes widened at the unexpected compliment. Shining flicked a finger against the papers and flashed a bright smile. It was so breathtakingly beautiful that even Se-yul, who harbored little fondness for him, momentarily lost his composure.
Snapping himself back to reality, Se-yul squared his shoulders confidently. Normally, Shining would have followed up his words with some sarcastic remark, yet he simply returned to reading the documents.
The investigation was nearing its conclusion. In just three more days, Shining would leave this place.
It was clear that expecting Seo-yul’s cooperation in his current state was pointless. Maybe now, while Shining was in a good mood, was the right time to speak up.
Swallowing his pride and irritation, Se-yul reminded himself of the bigger picture. If the power supply dwindled, their district would collapse in an instant. His personal pride was a small price to pay.
“Shining.”
“Mm? What is it?”
He responded in an airy, pleasant tone. The sheer contrast to his usual demeanor sent a shiver down Se-yul’s spine, but he forced his expression to remain neutral and pressed on.
“As you’ve seen, our district doesn’t waste a single drop of electricity. I don’t know where you got your information from, but by now, you must have realized that the reports you received were false.”
Shining’s smile subtly shifted as Se-yul spoke. It was a minor change, but it was enough to confirm that he was listening.
Se-yul had set the stage with a long-winded introduction. Now, after a deep breath, he finally got to the point.
“I won’t ask you to give our district special treatment. But I do ask that you conduct a fair investigation.”
“…As the next district leader?”
“Yeah, as the next district leader.”
He set the documents down on the table and crossed his legs. His expression gave nothing away—was he amused, indifferent, or annoyed? After a moment of scrutinizing Se-yul in silence, he finally spoke.
“Alright, don’t worry about it.”
“…Do you really mean that?”
Se-yul couldn’t let go of his suspicion so easily. The Shining were bastards who loved to toy with people’s emotions. Right now, he might be giving him hope, but who’s to say he wouldn’t feign ignorance later?
“Yeah. Just like you want, the investigation will be fair. That, I promise.”
Seeing Se-yul’s lingering doubt, he added those words as reassurance. Was it really true? After all the anxiety he’d wrestled with, Shining had agreed almost too easily.
If he had known it would be this simple, he wouldn’t have asked Seo-yul for help in the first place—he should have just spoken up himself. Instead, he had let his worries get the best of him and put Seo-yul in an uncomfortable position for nothing.
“Got nothing else to say?”
“…Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a ‘thank you’?”
Shining grinned, arms crossed. Of course, he wouldn’t let this slide without milking it. Se-yul was about to brush him off but figured he might as well swallow his pride one last time.
Hell, it wasn’t even that hard.
“…Thanks.”
“What was that? Couldn’t hear you.”
“I said thanks, you son of a bitch.”
Shining burst out laughing at the half-hearted, sulking gratitude. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. If all it took was some cheap words to get a fair investigation, he’d gladly throw away his pride a million times over.
His father had done the same to keep the district running. No, he’d suffered far worse. Luis Shining was notorious for using electricity to reduce people to miserable wrecks whenever it pleased him.
For the past eight years, he had been oddly quiet, but before that, things had been different. Every quarter, when he threatened to cut the district’s power, Se-yul’s father had to swallow his dignity and run all the way to District 1 to beg.
His father, the proudest man he knew, had bowed his head for the sake of their people. So what was stopping him? As long as he prioritized the district above himself, nothing else mattered. That was the burden of a district leader.
“…Honestly, you don’t even need to thank me.”
“Good. That makes things—”
“No, actually…” Shining interrupted with a smirk. “I might even owe you an apology soon.”
Maybe he had laughed too hard and rattled something loose in his brain, because his words made no damn sense. Se-yul frowned in confusion as Shining stood up.
Announcing that he was done for the day, he grabbed the coat draped over his chair and slung it over his arm. But just as he reached the door, he stopped.
Turning back, he spoke in a slow, deliberate voice.
“You know… no matter how much you try, some fucked-up memories just don’t fade. And if you really want to erase them, you have to destroy the source. Shatter it completely—until there’s nothing left, not even a trace. Only then can you be free from it.”
“…What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
It was cryptic nonsense. What did he mean by destroying the source of a memory? Se-yul’s expression twisted in frustration, but Shining just watched him with amusement before grabbing the doorknob.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
