80
Spring Blossom Tree
I asked until bedtime and even after waking up, but Sebastian’s answer remained unchanged.
“I’m telling you, I saw him for the first time yesterday.”
“Our father is truly like an incarnation of Christ. He doesn’t yell at just anyone like that.”
Stop talking nonsense and quickly tell me where you incurred this grudge. We need to fix this. I barely held back the harsh words with my tongue and swallowed them. However, Sebastian, who hadn’t even heard the harsh words, looked down at me as if dumbfounded.
“Don’t talk about Christ resurrecting, it makes the world tiresome.”
“Why would Christ resurrect?”
“Because I’m annoyed hearing you talk.”
I find it astounding that you’re looking at me as if I’m the ridiculous one here. Ha. Even as Sebastian and I bickered, the staff bustled about busily. External staff were busy decorating us, and decorating again. Not only that, but Sebastian’s newly purchased mansion was in chaos.
“It’s beautiful…”
Although it was still early spring, somehow they had managed to bring in flowering trees, and spring was in full bloom outside the window. Watching Sebastian’s scale of spending money made me wonder if being a chaebol was also a talent. I probably wouldn’t have been able to spend money like this even if I had been born as a second-generation chaebol.
Just then, the staff withdrew from me. Of course, they didn’t just leave; they left only after giving me a tremendous amount of nagging. Don’t sit anywhere, don’t lean on anything, et cetera. And a little while later, Sebastian came to my side.
“Wow, I don’t want to get engaged to you.”
“You’re saying this on the day of our engagement?”
“The comparison between our faces is too stark.”
What are we, a knight and his squire? As I shook my head, Sebastian smiled with his eyes. Why is he smiling at my expression of annoyance?
“Can’t help the face. You’ll never beat me in looks, even if you die and come back to life.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, how would you know that?”
As I snorted, Sebastian was silent for a moment. He looked out the window and chuckled.
“I just know.”
I looked at Sebastian’s profile. His eyes were looking far off, somewhere. Outside the window, preparations to welcome guests were in full swing. Spring had made everything beautiful, but Sebastian’s gaze was only painful. Lee Shin-yeon? I recalled that name and looked at Sebastian’s face, shaking my head inwardly. I know Sebastian’s face when he thinks of Lee Shin-yeon. That face that looks like it’s in unbearable pain. That expression of a crumbling heart. It’s not that kind of face. Rather, that face was similar to the expression senior industry colleagues make when they leave the industry due to PTSD. (But it’s funny and sad that we mostly meet them again in the industry. When we meet, it couldn’t be more awkward. With a face that says, ‘No, senior. After all that melodrama…’, the harsh reply often comes back, ‘You’ll be like this someday too, you bastard.’)
As I stood beside him without saying anything, Sebastian muttered with empty eyes.
“You’ll be tactless again.”
This bastard.
“You’ll be this healthy again. Both in body and mind.”
Giving the disease and then the cure.
“Flipping my insides by constantly giving you away to people for the reason that you’re strong.”
Are you calling me a sucker?
No, so are you giving me the disease or the cure? As I looked at Sebastian with suspicious eyes, he turned to look at me. And seeing my eyes full of suspicion, he burst into laughter. He took my hand and kissed the back of it, whispering.
“And I’ll recognize you at a glance again. Over and over, dozens of times.”
“You sandwich insults and compliments.”
“The sandwiches I give are delicious, aren’t they?”
“Suddenly?”
“Stay happily by my side for life. Laugh healthily, be happy, and I wish you’d stop giving yourself away to those worthless bastards… but even that side of you is cute. You were originally a kind-hearted person. You were never harsh.”
“The reason I’m not breaking off the engagement with you who’s talking such nonsense is not because I’m kind-hearted, and certainly not because I’m strong.”
I was about to say it’s just because I like you, but the words wouldn’t come out. I turned my head and saw outside the window again, mumbling incoherently.
“It’s because the spring blossom trees are pretty.”
At that moment, Sebastian paused. He looked down at me with disbelieving eyes. Just as he was about to say something to me, a voice called from afar, “Mr. Schnieke, let’s talk about security issues!” It was Kouri. Ah, security. Right, security! Didn’t my esteemed fiancé invite all sorts of bastards to this engagement ceremony!
“I need to go.”
As I was about to leave, Sebastian hastily grabbed my arm.
“Why?”
With my arm caught and looking closely at his face, Sebastian’s white face looked much paler than usual. As I examined his face, waiting for him to speak, he couldn’t say anything and just shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Really?”
Is your complexion blue or white? I can’t even tell.
But he shook his head and let go of my arm. I was thoroughly confused about whether I could go. Just as I was about to ask once more if he was really okay,
“Mr. Schnieke!”
I heard the security team urging me. Sebastian pushed me lightly.
“Call me if anything happens?”
When I demanded confirmation, he nodded with a smile. After staring at that face for a few seconds, I ran towards the security team.
“Wow, to think this day has come.”
The youngest member of the close protection team, that is, one of the security guards who accompanies Kouri, muttered in a voice full of emotion. While Kouri and I were looking at the mansion map and mentally simulating ‘If I were a bastard, how would I break through this security and cause trouble?’, the youngest spoke in a nonchalant voice.
“I thought Mr. Riegel would pass away thinking only of that person in his dreams for his entire life.”
“Johar!”
The second oldest shouted, and that’s when I first learned that the youngest’s name was Johar. Well, they’re just security guards now, and they know my name too, so it would be fine to introduce ourselves to each other. But in the industry, we don’t ask for each other’s names. Generally, we know each other’s code names, and if not, we just end it with ‘How should I call you?’ ‘Call me Jo.’ In an industry with many enemies, trying to know each other’s personal information is considered rude.
Of course, if you gain some fame in the industry, your real name gets exposed along with it. Even in my case, doesn’t everyone know my name?
Johar looked at me nervously and scratched his head.
“I meant it in a good way. I mean… I wanted to say that I’m glad he finally met a good person in reality.”
“You’ve been…! Just shut up and live.”
The second oldest growled.
Well, they’re in the security business. Despite everything, if Sebastian terminates the contract because he’s displeased, they could all become unemployed. If they can’t protect the employer’s privacy, they should quit being security guards.
But I understand what Johar is saying. Sebastian is in a very close psychological relationship with the people he employs. People are employed by Sebastian but offer more than just loyalty, and Sebastian tries to buy all their grudges and repay them on their behalf. So to Johar, Sebastian can’t just be a simple employer. The younger and less experienced they are, the less capable they are at drawing such lines.
“By that person in his dreams, do you mean Mr. Lee Shin-yeon?”
At my words, everyone just looked around nervously. Judging by the atmosphere, it seems they didn’t know the name. But I’m certain. There’s no way Sebastian could have had such intense emotions for two different people.
“Is Lee Shin-yeon the ‘person in his dreams’?”
At my question, Kouri scratched his head, going “Augh.” He gestured for everyone else to leave, and Johar was dragged out by his ear by the third oldest. He’ll probably get scolded terribly. He might cry in the bathroom after being scolded to the point of wanting to die.
Left alone, Kouri clicked his tongue at me. In the quiet room, only the sound of him smacking his lips could be heard. Seeing that he seemed to be waiting for me to say something like ‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,’ Kouri finally spoke after the silence.
“Not many people know. The close protection team. A few people from the mansion. And a few family members.”
“That’s quite a lot, actually.”
“Mr. Riegel experienced a kidnapping incident. As you know, it was quite a big deal. There are a few unrevealed details, one being that Mr. Riegel was kidnapped in a very short time. Which means…”
“An insider was involved.”
“That’s right. And the insider was never found. The person who was most suspected was…”
“His mother, who had accompanied him and briefly left him alone, I guess.”
“Yes. Since it was related to Canaris, she was interrogated by various agencies, and of course, being Mrs. Riegel, she didn’t experience harsh treatment like torture, but… she suffered greatly.”
What mother could be okay when her son is kidnapped and she’s being interrogated as if she might be the kidnapper? Seventeen years ago, the interrogation would have been much harsher than now. Only then did I understand why that mother had turned her back on Sebastian. It’s not to say that it’s right, but you can’t endure everything just because you’re a mother.
“Mr. Riegel went through some rough situations when he was kidnapped. All his limbs were broken… The mental shock was as severe as the physical shock, so he received psychiatric treatment and had to quit all his schooling. And from around that time, Mr. Riegel’s sleep time increased. Sometimes it would exceed 24 hours.”
Sebastian’s past, which he had spoken of as if it were nothing, was shocking and sad.
