Seo-yul being sick wasn’t anything new, but he hadn’t expected trouble to arise at a time like this. Their father had collapsed from overexertion, and now with Seo-yul in this state too, it was hard to keep his mind straight.
“He seems to be asleep.”
The butler, who had been by Seo-yul’s side, spoke. Listening to his fevered breaths growing slightly rougher, Se-yul entrusted Seo-yul to the butler and stepped out of the room.
“Is he feeling any better?”
He didn’t know how long the man had been waiting, but as soon as he saw Se-yul, he straightened his posture from where he had been leaning against the wall. Seeing that smiling face, Se-yul forced his expression to remain neutral, suppressing the scowl that tried to form.
‘Disgusting bastard.’
From the moment he first saw him, there had been a sense of familiarity, but he had never imagined that this man would turn out to be that Shining. The one who had acted as if he would always stay by Seo-yul’s side, only to suddenly leave for District 1 without a word.
Shinings were always ungrateful bastards, but he had thought this one was different. He had been so obsessed that he even hated Se-yul being near his own brother, yet he had abandoned Seo-yul without a word.
Thinking about how much Seo-yul had suffered because of him, there was no way Se-yul could ever like him. Not that he ever had any intention to, but now his resentment had only grown stronger.
“How generous of you to show such concern for my brother’s well-being, despite having nothing to do with us.”
Even with Se-yul’s voice dripping in sarcasm, the man remained completely unfazed. Instead, he only smiled brightly, shrugged lightly, and called out to Seo-yul with familiarity.
“Seo-yul hyung is sick. Of course, I’m going to worry.”
Hearing the sudden disappearance of formal speech, Se-yul wanted to drop his own as well. But unfortunately, this man was now an investigator sent from District 1.
With just a single word from him, District 5 could either collapse or be allowed to continue existing. No matter how much he despised him, Se-yul had no choice but to play along.
“You must be tired. Why not rest instead—”
“I came to see Seo-yul hyung.”
“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible.”
At Se-yul’s firm refusal, the man raised a single, straight brow. He was still smiling, but that expression meant something was rubbing him the wrong way.
Seeing that familiar habit, the reality of him being that Shining hit Se-yul all over again.
“Why not?”
“Why do you want to see my brother when you have nothing to do with him?”
“What do you mean I have nothing to do with him?”
Even now, he was still deluding himself into thinking he had any connection to Seo-yul. Despite being the one who had severed their ties with his own hands.
“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
In the end, he couldn’t hold back and dropped the formal speech.
The smile that had filled Vin’s face vanished in an instant, his red eyes sharpening with a murderous glint.
Se-yul flinched involuntarily but quickly regained his composure and glared at him. The tense silence between them, sharp as a blade, was broken just then by the butler stepping out and opening the door.
“Master Se-yul, you’re still—”
The butler’s words cut off the moment he spotted Vin standing in front of Se-yul. His green eyes wavered violently. Vin, who had been maintaining a rigid expression, smiled and gave a slight nod.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Connor.”
The butler, pale as a sheet, bowed deeply in greeting. Vin laughed, saying it wasn’t necessary, but his eyes told a different story.
Se-yul found it odd that the butler was so visibly terrified, but he dismissed it, assuming the man was simply startled by the unexpected reunion.
Vin stepped past Se-yul and approached the butler. The man, bent at the waist as if his forehead might touch the floor, slowly lifted his head at the presence looming over him.
The moment his gaze met Vin’s, the butler’s body staggered back violently.
Startled, Se-yul stepped forward and caught him, supporting him as he murmured a trembling word of thanks.
Vin, watching them in silence, suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
“From the outside, it looks the same, but a lot has changed. Keeping the lights on even before sunset… quite the luxury.”
“T-That’s—”
The remark was pointed.
It was clear he was criticizing District 5 for wasting unnecessary electricity.
Se-yul was about to protest when the butler’s trembling hand grabbed the hem of his sleeve—silently urging him to stay quiet.
“Butler.”
“Master Se-yul, please…”
The butler’s hand shook so violently it was alarming.
Se-yul swallowed the words he wanted to say.
Something was definitely going on.
There was no way the butler would be this afraid of Vin otherwise.
“It’s good to be back.”
Vin’s quiet murmur made Se-yul furrow his brows.
After leaving without a word, he had the nerve to say it was good to be back?
What an absolutely shameless Shining.
Vin gazed off into the distance, lost in thought, his eyes hazy with nostalgia. Then, as if snapping back to the present, he met Se-yul’s glare and smiled.
“The investigation will begin tomorrow. I’ll see you then, Mr. Han Se-yul.”
He left after dropping those final words.
Only after he was gone did Se-yul finally let out the curse he’d been holding back.
The butler, who had been bowing low all this time, hurriedly made his escape under the pretense of going to see the master.
‘Something’s off.’
His instincts screamed that there was something going on—something he didn’t know about.
But there was no one to ask.
His father and Seo-yul were sick, and the butler would pretend to be busy and avoid him.
“This is going to be a pain.”
For the next week, as long as Vin stayed in the mansion, Se-yul could only hope nothing worse would happen.
***
On his way back to the guest quarters, he suddenly stopped walking and slowly turned around.
The guest quarters were located in the mansion’s annex, a place vastly different from what he remembered.
Well, the exterior might have looked the same, but the interior of the mansion had changed into something completely unfamiliar. The eight years he had been gone hit him all over again.
“Tch, how extravagant.”
Thinking that all of this was the price they got in exchange for handing him over to District 1, he felt the urge to draw his gun and shoot everything in sight.
But he didn’t lose control.
Clenching his trembling fists, he exhaled deeply.
Back in District 1, there had been very few instances where his emotions got the better of him. But here, it was different. Emotions he hadn’t even realized existed inside him were now boiling over.
Maybe it was because of that faint scent lingering in the air.
Closing his eyes slightly, he focused on the thick aroma of chocolate mingling in the atmosphere.
This scent was unmistakably—
“Vincent-nim!”
Someone called out to him from a distance.
It was one of the district leader’s aides who had accompanied him from District 1.
Opening his eyes again, he quickly schooled his expression. He couldn’t afford to reveal emotions so easily in front of people from District 1.
“You disappeared so suddenly—”
“I had business to attend to.”
Cutting him off firmly, Vin held out his hand without another word.
It was a clear demand—give him what he had been waiting for.
The aide, still catching his breath, hurriedly glanced around.
After ensuring that no one else was present, he pulled out a letter from his inner pocket.
It was a response to the letter Vin had sent from the district’s border before arriving in District 5.
Vin’s eyes wavered intensely.
Without hesitation, he tore open the envelope, bearing the seal of District 1, and scanned the contents of the letter.
The aide, unable to contain his curiosity, cautiously asked,
“What does it say?”
“…Just as expected.”
“Did they grant permission?”
Instead of answering, Vin simply nodded.
He handed the letter to the aide, who quickly unfolded it and began reading.
As soon as he finished, his face twisted with concern and apprehension.
“Must it really be done this way?”
“If it can be done peacefully, that would be ideal.”
“If we buy a little more time—”
“You know as well as I do that District 1’s leader isn’t exactly known for patience.”
The aide, who understood the district leader’s temperament better than anyone, let out a deep sigh of resignation.
Vin lifted a hand to cover the smirk tugging at his lips.
Ah, this was bad.
He shouldn’t be feeling pleased about this, but he couldn’t suppress his amusement.
“You should get some rest now.”
Vin turned to the aide, who still lingered by his side, unwilling to leave.
The aide tucked the letter back into his pocket and, as if he had been waiting for those words, broke into a bright smile and bowed.
“Please get some rest yourself, Young Master. Starting tomorrow, your schedule will be packed.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll handle it.”
The aide felt a slight unease at Vin’s vague response, but this wasn’t District 1, and the master of this territory was someone else. What could possibly happen?
As the aide finished his farewell and walked away, Vin remained where he was for a moment before turning back. Now that the nuisance was gone, this time belonged to him.
The sun filtering through the window had sunk considerably. Seeing it, he recalled the days when he would sit by a tiny window, watching the light trickle in as he endlessly waited for someone.
Standing before Seo-yul’s door, Vin quietly listened.
There was only one breathing sound from within.
After a moment of stillness, he carefully turned the doorknob.
The moment the door opened, the scent trapped inside spilled over him like water cascading from a waterfall, completely drowning him.
For a brief second, he was caught off guard, but then a radiant smile spread across his face.
Locking the door behind him, he approached the bed where Seo-yul lay. The man was panting through fevered breaths, his body consumed by heat.
Vin gently brushed his fingers across Seo-yul’s forehead, and at the cool touch, the tenseness in his fevered features softened into a faint smile.
Perching lightly on the edge of the bed, Vin leaned down.
With every breath, the thick, sticky scent of chocolate filled his lungs, shaking his very sanity.
Exhaling deeply, he finally let go of the pheromones he had been holding back.
The room was soon saturated with the invisible currents of their mingling scents.
Without blinking, Vin stared at Seo-yul, then tilted his forehead against his sweat-dampened one.
Every time their breaths mingled, he felt it.
“I’ll never let go again.”
This time, he had truly returned to Seo-yul’s side.
