With a firm grip, Kwon Chae-woo moved his hand aside and turned his head as if entranced.
In the garden, a woman wore a soft black straw hat and a loose jumpsuit with a connected top and bottom. Her gentle touch glided over each wooden pillar, caressing them tenderly.
She paused at a particular spot, seemingly unwilling to leave. Then, she gracefully bent down to pick up a few fallen leaves from the ground and blew them away, as if whispering a silent farewell to nature.
“What on earth is this…?” He thought.
Simultaneously, the woman felt like an incredibly distorted painting. How could someone be in this filthy place?
Unbeknownst to Kwon Chae-woo, his grip on the armrest tightened involuntarily.
But this must be an illusion. Unaware of Kwon Chae-woo’s tightening grip on the armrest, he couldn’t help but think that this must be an illusion.
Another layer of complexity added to his hallucinations—from the So Lee-yeon in his mind to a tangible presence before him. It was a shift from one to many.
“…Ha.”
Kwon Chae-woo clenched and unclenched his fist, struggling to suppress the raging turmoil within. However, he couldn’t possibly ignore the chilling instinct that was cutting through the back of his mind.
In the end, he took out her phone and made a call.
“Yes, Young Master.”
“A few days ago, someone claimed to have been confined in my guesthouse. Who on earth could that be?”
“… ”
The other end of the line was silent. Kwon Chae-woo pressed his forehead with his fist, exerting pressure on his incisors.
Even the brief silence that lasted for a few seconds was unbearable.
“If Beom-hee, if you’ve deliberately hidden something from me, I hope you’re prepared for the consequences.”
“It’s Gu Gyu-baek, sir.”
“What?”
His pupils seemed to dilate for a moment, and then his entire face contorted in a frown. The unexpected name only added to the ominous premonition that gripped her ankles.
The noisy thoughts in her mind quickly raced along a straight line, reaching a certain conclusion.
“F**k!” he exclaimed, pushing the chair forcefully, causing it to squeak.
“You seem to have a keen eye for other women.”
At that moment, his companion who had yet to leave the scene stepped in to block Kwon Chae-woo.
“Instead of displaying proper etiquette towards your intended partner, all you can think about is another woman behind her back—”
“What did you say?”
Suddenly, Kwon Chae-woo stood tall, her face stern and unyielding.
“Another woman?”
“Yes?”
The woman swallowed dryly, feeling the piercing gaze that seemed to penetrate through her.
“You just said something. What was it?”
“… ”
“Do you see her too, in your eyes?”
While maintaining his intense gaze, Kwon Chae-woo extended his arm and pointed precisely somewhere in the garden.
Despite the simplicity of the question and the situation, the woman oddly stiffened and became tense, questioning the sanity of the man in front of her.
Trembling, she followed the man’s index finger with her gaze, and upon seeing the person standing there, she nonchalantly nodded her head.
However, Kwon Chae-woo’s expression, which was already impolite and indifferent, suddenly turned pale.
“…I can’t see the woman sitting in the chair, but I can see that.”
“Why on earth are you like this?”
The woman witnessed Kwon Chae-woo’s face rapidly changing right before her eyes. It went pale as if he had lost his mind, then he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.
He continued to grope around somewhere in the garden with a lost expression, his lips pursed as if chewing on something.
In that precarious silence, as the tense atmosphere settled, Kwon Chae-woo finally started to move briskly, taking steps.
“Where are you going…! I should go first to make it look more plausible!”
However, as he rushed towards her with an overwhelming force, the woman trembled and exclaimed, “Eek!” Her body shook in surprise. Kwon Chae-woo didn’t mind her and started going to the garden.
He strode straight through the garden. As he got closer to the woman he was eyeing, his heart pounded as if it would explode, and blood rushed fiercely through his veins.
The man, who never had his breath disturbed even during intense workouts and fights, was now struggling to catch his breath.
As Lee Lee-yeon strolled along the neatly lined trees, Kwon Chae-woo clenched his jaw, observing her intently, someone he had sketched countless times.
As they drew closer, her fragrance became perceptible. It was a truly vibrant scent, unlike the perpetually sleep-deprived and colorless illusions. His mind felt empty, devoid of any thoughts.
And then, it happened.
A gust of wind swept through, causing Lee Yeon’s hat to be blown off, rolling ahead of them. With an exclamation of “Oops!” she turned around, feeling the refreshing breeze on her head.
“……!”
“……!”
Kwon Chae-woo stiffened as he caught the straw hat that flew towards him. As the hat unfolded like a skirt and Lee-yeon’s hair cascaded to one side of her face, revealing her snow-white forehead and sparkling eyes,
Kwon Chae-woo was taken aback, capturing each moment like pressing the shutter button of a camera. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, and his face twisted in a scowl.
“…Why.”
The sound that barely escaped his tightly constricted throat was incoherent.
“…Why are you here?”