“Seo-yul hyung, wake up.”
I opened my eyes at the gentle touch shaking me awake. I hadn’t been asleep for long, so my vision quickly cleared. His face appeared before me, backlit by the slanted rays of sunlight.
His fingers brushed my hair away from my forehead, the touch ticklish. I pushed his endlessly affectionate hand away and sat up, but the surrounding commotion caught my attention.
“…What’s going on?”
“We’re moving.”
I frowned at the abrupt statement, but he simply took my hand, urging me to hurry. Caught off guard, I climbed out of bed, only to find my legs still too weak. I had to lean against him for support.
As he helped me out of the stifling room, the attendant waiting outside approached. Speaking in a low voice meant only for him, the attendant relayed something before hastily disappearing. We followed right behind.
‘Where are we going?’
He offered no explanation, simply guiding me to the car waiting outside the inn. Once we were both inside, the vehicle started moving.
I wondered if we were already returning to District 1, even though my body hadn’t fully recovered. A wave of gloom settled over me as I thought about the people I hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to. As if sensing my mood, he gently took my hand.
“The inn must’ve felt cramped, right?”
“…A little.”
I had only stayed there for about three days, but the inn wasn’t exactly a place one could comfortably stay for long. That said, compared to the abandoned house where I had stayed with Choi Yeo-min, it was practically luxurious.
Hearing my vague answer, he smiled and nodded toward the window. I turned my gaze outside just in time to see the scenery shift as we passed over a hill.
‘This place….’
In the distance, Helen’s mansion came into view. My heart skipped a beat as I pressed up against the window for a better look. Beyond the wide-open gates, I could see people carrying in luggage.
The car gradually slowed and came to a stop in front of Helen’s mansion. With his support, I stepped out of the vehicle, my steps still unsteady as I made my way inside.
The men handling the luggage paused when they saw him approaching and bowed deeply. They must have been people from District 1 who had come with him. With all the movement and chatter, the mansion was bustling with activity.
“Seo-yul.”
Just as I was passing through the mansion’s entrance, someone called my name. Turning my head, I saw Helen approaching. As I struggled to hold back the sudden sting of tears, my face twisted involuntarily. Helen smirked and flicked my forehead.
“You’ve certainly brought a lot of guests to my mansion.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Helen had chosen to live in this secluded mansion on the western outskirts of the village to avoid mingling with people. And yet, because of me, the entire estate had been turned upside down, now swarming with visitors. She couldn’t possibly be pleased about it.
“Well, a little noise once in a while isn’t so bad.”
She patted my shoulder lightly, reassuring me not to worry. Then, lifting her gaze slightly, she exchanged a brief glance with him.
“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying while you’re here.”
Helen said nothing more and led us toward a room on the second floor. When I hesitated at the foot of the stairs, he swiftly lifted me into his arms and followed after her without pause.
“What are you doing? Put me down.”
“Just stay still. This is faster.”
Left with no choice, I let him carry me as we followed Helen. At the end of a short hallway, she stopped in front of a closed door and pushed it open.
It was the room I had stayed in before.
“This should be comfortable for you, right?”
Helen glanced back at me as she asked. Still nestled in his arms, I gave a small nod. Stepping aside, she let us enter. Fortunately, everything inside was just as I remembered.
“Well then, get some rest.”
With that final farewell, Helen left the room. Once the door shut completely, he gently lowered me onto the bed. Everything remained the same, except for the sheets—they had been replaced with fresh ones. I had a feeling he was the one who had changed them.
“This was your room, wasn’t it, Seo-yul hyung?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“No wonder. Your scent is the strongest here.”
At his words, I tried focusing on my sense of smell, but all I could detect was the dry scent of grass drifting in through the open window. The familiar, deep aroma of cocoa was absent.
“If it’s here, you’ll be able to rest comfortably, right?”
Only then did I realize why he had chosen Helen’s mansion. After a brief moment of contemplation, I nodded. Out of all the places, Helen’s mansion was the one that made me feel the most at ease.
“That’s a relief.”
Smiling softly, he leaned down and pressed a light kiss to my forehead. A strong floral fragrance bloomed, overwhelming the scent of dry grass.
More than Helen’s mansion, his scent was what truly put me at ease.
***
Life at Helen’s mansion was peaceful and uneventful. In some ways, it resembled my time in District 5 more than the days I had spent in District 1.
Maybe that’s why, whenever I gazed out the window, I often thought of the people from District 5. But I never called out for them. I already knew I couldn’t go back.
I woke up late in the morning, took a quick shower, and ate the meal he brought me. After finishing my meal, I would spend the day idly resting before taking a walk in the small garden before sunset.
Helen’s garden was filled with roses of various colors. However, the one color I never saw was red. Helen once told me she didn’t want to keep red roses, as they resembled the color of the Shining family.
That was why, whenever I walked with him in the garden, I felt strange. In a place deliberately stripped of the Shining family’s color, he stood out, more vividly than anyone else.
Before I knew it, two weeks had passed since I started staying at Helen’s mansion. Though he had clung to me as if he’d never leave my side, he was busier than I had expected.
I didn’t know exactly what he was working on, but sometimes, when I glanced outside, I saw him talking to his attendant with a serious expression. If our eyes met, he would quickly shift his expression, but he could never completely erase the lingering traces of worry.
Sometimes, it seemed like he left in a car to go somewhere, but he always returned before nightfall. And without fail, we had dinner together, sitting face-to-face, before falling asleep beside each other.
Unlike me, who spent my days in lazy idleness, he was constantly on the move. The moment he lay down in bed, he would fall asleep instantly. Even then, he wouldn’t let go of me, so even when I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t leave the bed.
‘It’s suffocating.’
I thought the same thing every night. But as I inhaled his scent, filling my lungs with every breath, sleep would eventually creep up on me. And when I opened my eyes again, morning had already arrived, just as it always did.
“Seo-yul hyung, wake up.”
His voice called out to me like an alarm, and I groggily opened my eyes. As I sat up, stretching my stiff limbs, I took in the sight of the sunlit room, still blurred by sleep. He approached, cupping my face in his large hands before pressing a light kiss to my lips.
“Go wash up. We need to eat breakfast.”
I nodded slowly, slipping out of bed and heading straight to the bathroom. The warm water trickled down my skin, gradually clearing my drowsy mind.
When I stepped out after my shower, the table was already filled with food. Taking my hand, he guided me to my seat before settling into the one across from me.
“Soup again today?”
“I heard the chef here is good at making soup.”
Scooping up a spoonful of thick potato soup, I took a bite and let out a small laugh. If this mansion had a chef, it was undoubtedly Choi Yeo-min. I hadn’t seen him since arriving here, but the moment I tasted the soup, I was certain he had made it.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
I finished the soup in no time and moved on to the soft bread. While he cleared the empty plates, I sipped my coffee leisurely, gazing out the window.
Once the table was cleaned, he returned to his seat, drinking from a mug filled with cocoa. The sweet aroma blended with the bitter scent of my coffee.
“Do you like it here, Seo-yul hyung?”
Instead of answering, I took another sip of coffee. The bitterness spread across my tongue.
He scooted his chair closer, his knee brushing against my thigh. Then, setting his mug down, he reached out and tapped my cheek, as if urging me to look at him. When I turned, he met my gaze and whispered,
“Why don’t we just stay here forever?”
“How?”
Rather than answering, he gently took the coffee cup from my hands and placed it carefully on the table. Then, he placed his hand over mine, his warmth sending a ripple through my heart.
“If you want, Seo-yul hyung… I can abandon everything and stay here with you.”
His voice was a soft, sweet whisper.
