Se-yul arrived late in the afternoon, just a day before my birthday. In the letter we exchanged last week, he had said there was a high chance he wouldn’t be able to make it due to his schedule, but thankfully, it seemed like the school had made an exception for him.
“Hyung, I missed you.”
As soon as he got out of the car, Se-yul ran straight to me, his voice trembling with emotion. He had shot up to my height, yet his actions were still as childlike as ever.
“Thanks for coming, Se-yul.”
“Happy birthday, Hyung.”
“Please save that for tomorrow.”
Se-yul, who had been on the verge of tears, suddenly beamed. They say if you cry and laugh at the same time, hair grows on your butt. If that were true, then Se-yul’s backside would already be a fluffy mess.
I took Se-yul’s hand and led him into the mansion. The banquet hall, which normally served no greater purpose than an entryway, was bustling with servants preparing for tomorrow’s party. When they saw us, they immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed deeply.
“It’s really extravagant.”
Se-yul whispered as he stuck close behind me, his gaze sweeping the hall. He wasn’t wrong—this party was so grand in scale that it felt like Han Jae-hoon had gone a little overboard.
Since it was both my eighteenth birthday and the ceremony to announce the next district leader, the extravagance made sense. Even so, I still couldn’t understand why we had to throw such a massive party, going so far as to draw in electricity we didn’t even have.
‘This is way too much pressure.’
I swallowed down the words I really wanted to say and headed upstairs with an excited Se-yul. Even as we climbed the stairs, he kept glancing back at the banquet hall, where the servants were still hard at work decorating.
To me, it all just felt overwhelming and excessive, but Se-yul seemed to like it. Well, of course—he wasn’t the one at the center of it all. It felt like I was the only one bearing this weight.
“Seo-yul hyung!”
Right then, Vin, who had just finished running an errand for the butler, came running toward me. Se-yul, who had been tense at the sight of an unfamiliar face, finally recognized Vin in disguise and widened his eyes in surprise.
“Wow, that really doesn’t suit you.”
“…Does it really look that bad?”
At Se-yul’s teasing, Vin’s face crumpled as he turned to me for reassurance. While I tried to console Vin, saying that it actually looked good on him, Se-yul didn’t let up on his teasing.
Even after all this time, those two were still at each other’s throats. At first, I had hoped they would get along, but by now, I had completely given up on that idea.
If left alone, they would fight, then quiet down, only to start fighting again. I had hoped that at least a grudging bond would form between them, and fortunately, it seemed like that bond was steadily building.
“Young Master Se-yul.”
At the butler’s voice calling from afar, Se-yul flinched instinctively, sensing trouble. The butler approached briskly and informed him that Han Jae-hoon was waiting.
“Right, I should go say hello.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Se-yul soon managed a small smile and obediently followed the butler. When he was younger, he had trembled in fear, struggling to even take a step forward. But now, he had grown enough to smile about it.
“See you later, Hyung.”
Se-yul turned back to flash me a grin before disappearing down the hall. Watching his retreating figure, it finally sank in. Tomorrow was really my birthday.
I shifted my gaze, looking down at the servants bustling around below the staircase. The thought of the banquet hall being packed with people tomorrow made my vision blur with anxiety. Imagining myself standing in that space, receiving everyone’s congratulations, made it feel like I couldn’t breathe.
“I’ll be able to do well… right?”
“Yes, you will.”
Vin gently took my hand. His cool touch made me shiver slightly, but as our hands remained clasped, our warmth gradually blended together.
Through his glasses, I could see the warmth in his ember-colored eyes, curved into a soft smile. The subtle floral scent drifting from him seeped into me, melting away my tension, almost like magic.
“Yeah… I’ll be fine.”
I repeated the words to myself like a promise.
***
“Hyung.”
After finishing his meeting with Han Jae-hoon, Se-yul showed up in my room. Since he returned quicker than usual, I asked him what was up, and he simply laughed, saying it was because his report card hadn’t been released yet.
He flopped onto my bed and rolled around lazily. Vin, who had been sitting at the table with me, frowned as he watched the neatly arranged bedding he had carefully made get all messed up.
“I totally screwed up this semester. Next break is going to be hell.”
“How bad could it be?”
“Well… I think I got a B in history.”
“That’s not bad.”
“No, Hyung, you don’t get it. To my father, anything below an A doesn’t even count as a grade.”
Why was he so strict with Se-yul but endlessly lenient with me? If only he actually listened to my private tutor about my grades, he wouldn’t be saying I was fit to be the next district leader.
“Maybe you can make up for it with the other subjects?”
“I wish….”
Se-yul trailed off before suddenly sitting up straight. He dragged a chair over and wedged himself between me and Vin, then glanced at the tightly shut door. Lowering his voice, he whispered,
“I told you I had something I wanted to say to you, Hyung.”
“Something you wanted to say?”
“I wrote about it in my letter.”
Had he mentioned something like that in the letters we exchanged last week? I thought hard, but when nothing specific came to mind, I just nodded. Se-yul hesitated for a moment before sneaking a glance at Vin.
“Can you ask Shining to step out for a bit?”
“Why? Is it something Vin shouldn’t hear?”
“It’s not that, but…”
“Then just say it.”
Vin spoke firmly. Se-yul, realizing that Vin had no intention of leaving, quickly gave up. After making Vin promise to keep it absolutely secret, he finally spoke, his voice cautious.
“Actually, Hyung… there’s someone I like.”
“Someone you like?”
I was so startled that my voice came out louder than I intended. Se-yul flinched and shot me a warning look, telling me to be quiet. I quickly raised my hand to cover my mouth and muttered a fast apology.
“Wait, don’t tell me… Is that why your grades dropped? Because you’re too busy dating?”
“No! It’s nothing like that!”
Se-yul let out a deep sigh before turning to Vin, who still hadn’t reacted. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, irritated. Vin, however, only shook his head, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with curiosity.
“Keep talking,” Vin urged.
Se-yul narrowed his eyes, warning him not to tease. Vin nodded vigorously, assuring him he wouldn’t. Only then did Se-yul, after a brief hesitation, begin his story.
“They’re a classmate of mine. We’ve actually known each other for quite a while. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but—no, actually, I think we liked each other from the very beginning. I believe that.”
It felt like I was listening to some dramatic first-love story straight out of a movie. I steadied my heartbeat, waiting for him to continue. Vin, now just as serious, was also silently anticipating Se-yul’s next words.
“Last week, in my dorm room, they kissed me on the cheek first.”
“They kissed you first?”
“Yeah. That means they like me too, right? But… friends sometimes kiss on the cheek, don’t they?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
I answered so firmly that Se-yul’s face instantly brightened. He must have been agonizing over the ambiguity of that kiss.
Judging by the situation, the person Se-yul liked was probably Choi Yeo-min, the main bottom of Mad Love. The two had started as longtime friends before eventually becoming lovers.
‘So their fates are already starting to intertwine.’
Unlike the despair-filled events of the original story, this future had taken a different path. Se-yul wouldn’t die, and Choi Yeo-min would never end up meeting Vin. This was the future I had changed.
“He wanted to come with me today, but since it’s during the school term, he had no choice.”
“What, do you want to tell Father? That you’re dating?”
“No! We’re not even anything yet!”
Se-yul’s face turned bright red as he buried it in his hands, clearly embarrassed. Even though it was summer, he was off in his own little spring. I watched him fondly.
In this world, same-sex marriage wasn’t particularly common, but it wasn’t forbidden either. Of course, public opinion was still divided.
The real issue was how Han Jae-hoon would react. As the traditionalist leader of District 5, there was a strong possibility he would disapprove of Se-yul’s love.
But that was a problem for the distant future. Right now, Se-yul’s love hadn’t even begun properly, so I decided to support him. After all, the two of them were destined to be together.
“Make sure to bring him next time. Let’s all go on a trip to the villa.”
“Really? Would that be okay?”
Se-yul asked cautiously. Since he could only return to the mansion during school breaks, he had never once been to the villa.
Han Jae-hoon’s treasured estate in the outskirts was a place filled with memories of Han Seo-yul’s childhood spent with his mother. Perhaps that was why Han Jae-hoon despised even the mention of the villa coming from Se-yul’s lips.
Since he was little, Se-yul had longed to visit that beautiful villa, with its vast gardens blooming in every color and the forests where one could hunt freely. But he had never been able to say so outright, always too wary of Han Jae-hoon’s reaction.
But after tomorrow, I would be the next district leader. Taking Se-yul to the villa would be an easy task.
This was exactly what power was meant to be used for. Han Jae-hoon had pushed through things I absolutely hated, so a little rebellion on my part should be fine.
“I’ll talk to Father about it.”
“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”
The simple phrase someday carried a certain magic—it gave people hope for the future.
I pictured that day in my mind. The day Se-yul and Choi Yeo-min, with their feelings fully realized, would visit the mansion together. The four of us—me, Vin, Se-yul, and Yeo-min—would set off on a trip to the villa.
‘That doesn’t sound bad at all.’
