Chapter 160
The next day, Hyeon-woo was forced to wake up early, even before his alarm went off.
Bang, bang, bang!
Someone was loudly knocking on his door. Hyeon-woo, who had barely fallen asleep in the early hours due to his troubled thoughts, opened the door with bleary eyes.
The butler stood at the door with an angry face. Before Hyeon-woo could ask what was wrong, he shouted loudly.
“Pack your things and leave immediately!”
“…What?”
Hyeon-woo blinked in surprise at the butler’s incomprehensible outburst so early in the morning.
“I must be getting old, my judgment of people seems to have gone completely wrong.”
The butler muttered incomprehensibly, massaging his temples as if he had a headache, and then firmly declared once more.
“You’re fired as of today. What are you doing?! Pack your things now!”
The word “fired” jolted Hyeon-woo awake. He asked with wide eyes:
“…Fired? What do you mean?”
What on earth is this about? This was more bizarre than being woken up by a loud noise. As Hyeon-woo stood frozen in shock, the butler, looking displeased, turned his head and signaled to someone.
“Throw him out.”
Two strong men who had been waiting in the hallway suddenly entered Hyeon-woo’s room. They were the ones usually called to subdue Tae-geon during his ruts. Hyeon-woo, his face pale, shouted at the butler:
“Why are you doing this? At least tell me the reason!”
“Do you remember the warning I gave you on your first day in this mansion?”
“Which warning? There were so many!”
“I warned you not to steal anything from here.”
“…Steal? Are you saying I stole something…?”
The butler clicked his tongue at Hyeon-woo, who was asking like a fool.
“Tsk, how could you think of touching the young master’s belongings? It seems our relationship ends here.”
“The young master’s belongings?”
It was one thing after another. Every word from the butler left Hyeon-woo more and more dumbfounded.
So, they’re treating me like this because they think I stole something from Tae-geon?
“This is unfair!” the innocent Hyeon-woo shouted.
“I never did such a thing. Search! You can search my room yourself to see if there’s anything of the young master’s! What did the young master lose? Where’s your evidence that I stole it?!”
“…That’s not really important to me.”
You’re causing all this commotion because of my alleged theft! But now you’re saying that’s not important?!
As Hyeon-woo was left speechless by these contradictory statements, the butler’s cold voice reached his ears.
“What’s important is that the young master no longer wishes to keep you by his side.”
“……”
Hyeon-woo’s face turned pale as he lost his words.
…He no longer wishes to keep me by his side? Just like that, overnight? Why so suddenly?
It was strange. Just yesterday, they had eaten together, and he had read books to Tae-geon, spending a day no different from usual. But now, after waking up, this situation had unfolded. How could anyone easily accept this?
Hyeon-woo racked his brain trying to remember if he had ever taken anything from Tae-geon’s room, but he never had. If anything, he only remembered bringing things into the room, like the armchair and the music box.
Theft? Of all the possible accusations, it was absurd that they were trying to frame him with the most implausible one to drive him out.
If Tae-geon no longer wanted him around, that reason alone would have been sufficient grounds for dismissal. Hyeon-woo couldn’t understand why they were accusing him of theft instead.
By now, the strong men had approached and restrained Hyeon-woo’s arms on both sides.
“We’ll pack your belongings and send them to your home after searching your room.”
With those final words, Hyeon-woo was dragged outside.
He didn’t encounter anyone else until he was led out of the East Wing through the corridor. Although it was early, it was strange that not even one person showed their face out of curiosity given the commotion. It was as if there was a protocol for such situations, with no one showing themselves.
Soon, they reached the parking lot where an unfamiliar car was waiting.
Hyeon-woo’s face turned pale as he was forcibly led to the car by the men. If he was taken away in that car, he would never be able to return to this place again.
Realizing this, Hyeon-woo struggled with all his might.
“Hey! Can’t you stay still?!”
Twisting his body left and right, he kicked the men’s shins forcefully one after another.
“Ugh!”
Taking advantage of the loosened grip, Hyeon-woo ran with all his might around the corner of the mansion.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
The men followed him around the corner with limping steps, low curses flowing from their mouths.
“…Damn it.”
There was nothing but dense shrubbery. Their faces were twisted with frustration as they began to search for where Hyeon-woo might have disappeared.
Hyeon-woo had hidden himself inside the thick shrubbery he had once entered riding in Ju-on’s car. He watched the men’s movements through the sparse leaves while holding his breath.
After thoroughly searching even the remote areas of the mansion, the men regrouped in front of the parked car. They had a brief argument before getting into the car together.
Eventually, the car started and drove away slowly. As Hyeon-woo had suspected, detecting their ploy to pretend they had completed the task of driving him out, he soon saw them shamelessly re-entering the mansion.
What could be the reason they want to drive me out?
‘What’s important is that the young master no longer wishes to keep you by his side.’
If this had happened when he first started taking care of Tae-geon, he would have understood. He had often acted on impulse and behaved as he pleased, irritating Tae-geon. But nothing had happened then, so why now?
He thought hard but couldn’t come up with any plausible reason. Hadn’t Tae-geon been genuinely happy when he gave him the music box and when he read to him? There was no falsehood in those expressions.
The more he thought about it, the more puzzling it became. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to guess anything until he heard it directly from Tae-geon’s mouth.
*
As the sun set behind the mountain ridge, the forest was quickly engulfed in darkness.
Hyeon-woo’s back was stiff from sitting against the rough tree trunk for so long. His empty stomach, having not eaten all day, grumbled loudly.
His whole body, hugging his knees tightly, was shivering. After being exposed to the cold winter air for hours in just his pajamas without a proper coat, his entire body felt ice-cold.
“Haa.”
Hyeon-woo, who had been warming his frozen hands with his breath, looked up at the distant mansion. It was time for the employees who had finished their work to go to bed.
As the lights in the West Wing, which had been lit after the naturally dark East Wing covered by blackout curtains, began to go out one by one, the surroundings were plunged into pitch-black darkness. Only then did Hyeon-woo stand up.
“Ugh.”
Swaying back and forth once, Hyeon-woo barely managed to grab the nearby tree trunk to regain his balance. He had almost fallen over. His legs, having been curled up for so long, seemed frozen and wouldn’t move as he wanted.
As he finally made his way out of the shrubbery and started walking, Hyeon-woo staggered again. His head was dizzy and spinning. It seemed he had been exposed to the cold for too long. His body, wracked with chills, trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his back. It felt like he was coming down with a severe cold.
Gritting his teeth as if steeling himself, Hyeon-woo fixed his gaze on the mansion and quickened his pace. He recalled the memory of his first secret entry into the East Wing. He planned to use the same method this time.
Where was it, the location of the room where he had left the window latch unfastened?
As Hyeon-woo scanned the windows one by one, his eyes suddenly lit up. This was it. He could easily find it because part of the dust accumulated on the window frame had been cleanly wiped away, as if someone had been in and out.
Creeak.
As expected. The window opened without resistance, and Hyeon-woo threw himself inside in one swift motion.
Thud.
As soon as he landed on the floor, a cloud of fine dust rose. He quickly approached the door, alert for any possible signs of people, but heard nothing. The mansion, shrouded in darkness, was eerily quiet.
Click.
After peeking out to check the corridor, he carefully made his way to the third floor. Finally reaching the door of Tae-geon’s room, he took a short deep breath before flinging the door open and stepping inside.
“…?”
Confused, Hyeon-woo frantically moved his head, thoroughly scanning the room. However, Tae-geon was nowhere to be seen. Not on the bed, not at the table, not in the armchair. Not in the bathroom either. Just in case, he even checked the terrace, but to no avail.
Tae-geon was not in the room.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
