It was an unreal scene. Chris’s roughly raised hand stopped in midair just like that. The man who had twisted and grabbed Chris’s wrist still had a cigarette in his mouth. He held the cigarette filter with his left hand, drew in a long breath, and exhaled smoke. Following the man’s breath, his cheeks hollowed out and puffed up repeatedly.
“I thought you were completely drunk, but I guess that’s not the case.”
The corners of the man’s mouth curled thinly. Chris’s jaw trembled as he looked at him. He seemed to have recognized who the person before his eyes was. It was the first time seeing Chris, who had such a high nose, act like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs.
“Th-that’s not… why… are you here…?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, no it doesn’t.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve sobered up.”
When Chris’s answer became clearer than before, the man’s voice also quickly became neat. However, the man’s blue eyes were directed at Bernard, not Chris. He stared blankly at Bernard’s pale face, then suddenly dropped his gaze down to his toes.
Bernard wiggled his toes, feeling an impulse to press down and smooth out his tightened heart. He had the foolish thought that he was fortunate to be wearing good shoes.
“Well, then… I’ll be going now…”
“What about the police statement?”
“I’m sorry. I, I drank too much…”
“Apologizing to me? This is a funny situation.”
A red tongue briefly appeared between the man’s lips and disappeared. Bernard was staring at it as if entranced. In the dark night, three people faced each other under a lone streetlight, but the man fixed his gaze as if only Bernard existed in this place. Receiving that gaze, Bernard opened his mouth.
“I’ll apologize in his place.”
“…For what?”
“I interfered with your smoking.”
At Bernard’s answer, Chris’s eyes widened. Bernard had always been nothing but a stutterer in front of Chris. Whether he graduated from a good university or had good grades, such things didn’t matter. Bernard, who had been nothing more than a worm groveling after being conditioned by violence, was now acting like quite a decent person.
“That’s a strange thing to say… like you’re drawing a line.”
“…You’re right. I’m grateful you helped, but I’d like you to let him go without reporting him.”
“Why?”
“Because people are watching.”
Though his voice trembled finely, Bernard straightened his back even more and faced his fear. Since they hadn’t gone far from the mansion, several people standing at the doorway were glancing at them. Light-colored blue eyes scrutinized Bernard’s face thoroughly. Bernard enjoyed the ticklish sensation brushing his cheeks.
“Pretty.”
At the voice that dropped flatly, Bernard felt a sense of detached reality.
“Fine.”
“Th-thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hurt!”
Chris’s answer awakened reality. Chris, who bowed profusely, fled the scene in a fluster. Only then did Bernard learn that the man’s surname was Hurt. It was a face he seemed to have seen somewhere, but he couldn’t remember clearly. If it was someone this handsome, there’s no way he would have seen and forgotten him… The other person only enjoyed smoking in silence, deeply inhaling his cigarette.
“If you’re done, go back.”
“Ah.”
“As I said, I intend to enjoy my interrupted smoking a bit more.”
Around the time the man said that, Gusto was running over from afar in a fluster. Gusto had an excited face and also seemed to have an expectant expression. While Bernard was being pushed along by Gusto, the man stood in that spot and kept watching Bernard.
Cigarette ash was flying under the streetlight. Gusto’s boisterous voice asking if he knew that man echoed in his ears. Bernard swallowed dry saliva and shook his head. The thought that he should act friendly and kind to Gusto filled his head completely, but it was difficult.
A subtle gloom settled on Bernard’s face and disappeared. When the streetlight was sufficiently far away and before going back inside the mansion’s fence, Bernard briefly looked back. Even then, the blue eyes were fixed on Bernard’s face. He was bothered by not having thanked the man.
“Ah, he’s indeed an incredible handsome man, isn’t he? That’s Mr. Rubens Hurt.”
Having noticed that gaze, Gusto suddenly brought up the subject of the other person. Bernard, who suppressed his bewilderment, smiled faintly, but he wasn’t confident whether it looked natural.
“He’s a tycoon among tycoons. I didn’t know he’d attend this kind of gathering… well, why would we need to know what’s inside his mind?”
“You seem to know him well.”
“Haha! Who doesn’t know Mr. Hurt? Anyone interested in money would know him thoroughly. Now, let’s go in. Let’s go in. I came out throwing aside the manuscript I was working on just because I could meet Mr. Elliot!”
Gusto kept grinning broadly. He seemed to be in a very good mood, and in contrast, Liam standing at the mansion entrance looked to be in a very bad mood.
“Oh, Liam! What a surprise. Were you waiting for me?”
“…Of course.”
Liam ground his teeth as he clasped the hand Gusto casually extended. Gusto burst out laughing, asking what he was so angry about, but Bernard couldn’t laugh. It was because Liam’s murderous eyes were directed at Bernard. Liam must be thinking that Bernard had ruined everything right now.
“…You were under the streetlight for quite a while, Elliot.”
“Ah, well. It seemed he got caught up in some trivial commotion. I ran over in a fluster and brought him back, so don’t worry.”
“…It didn’t look like a good situation though.”
“He seemed like a drunk.”
Gusto nonchalantly deflected the warning directed at Bernard. Liam, who let out a deep sigh at that, shook Gusto’s clasped hand. Bernard stood beside them and smiled like a well-decorated ornament. It was the best he could do in this situation.
“Then shall we step aside and have a talk? I happen to want to hear your opinion on the manuscript I’m working on. Mr. Elliot is very knowledgeable about such things.”
“He’s merely my inadequate son, yet you treat him so preciously, Mr. Gusto.”
“Really now. You bragged about your son so much in front of me before, but now you’re being modest just because you’re in front of your son!”
At Gusto’s laughing answer, Bernard lowered his head slightly as if shy. Liam’s words must be sincere. Could the commotion under the streetlight have possibly reached Liam’s ears? Cold sweat formed, but for now, it was something he couldn’t confirm.
The moment it was revealed that it was Bernard, not Elliot, who was here, Liam would change completely. And Chris seemed to have already noticed. He appeared too drunk right now to think properly, but soon rumors would surely spread at school. Bernard bit the inside of his mouth and smiled as warmly as possible. He had to manage this situation somehow.
Liam and Gusto were already engrossed in talking about the new manuscript. Occasionally they asked for Bernard’s opinion. Each time, Bernard faithfully answered while showing a submissive demeanor.
“My son has a very good eye for works. You remember, don’t you? That introduction to your previous work. I mean the first paragraph. That part Elliot advised on.”
“Of course I remember. The moment I heard about that paragraph, I thought ‘this is it’ and wrote it right after getting permission. Writing from a third-person perspective. Unfortunately, since that was already a contracted work, it was difficult to scrap it…”
“Haha, what’s the problem? There’s a new manuscript.”
Bernard concealed a sigh with champagne at Liam’s snake-like aspect of subtly reaching out. That’s when it happened. A low murmur spread from behind them. Bernard, who was standing with his back turned, couldn’t see, but Liam’s eyes, which had been glancing at the doorway, narrowed at once.
“…Rubens Hurt? No, I thought I saw wrong earlier.”
“Ah, I heard Mrs. Hudson invited him this time, so it must be true.”
“He must like books.”
Bernard, who had been acting submissive, smoothly interjected into the two people’s conversation. Liam’s eyes sharpened at once, but he hid his fists behind his back. Bernard guessed that Liam would raise his hand to strike as soon as they returned home. However, his immediate curiosity tickled inside his chest.
Gusto continued chattering as if pleased by Bernard’s interest. Rubens Hurt. Called the Midas touch in the investment industry, he was a figure always at the center of attention. A perfect upper class who walked the elite course. A man who became the center of attention with just his beauty alone despite not being a celebrity, subtly attracting paparazzi.
And that man’s gaze hadn’t left Bernard’s vicinity since earlier.
Rubens glanced over the shoulders of the other person despite many people clinging around him and offering greetings. Thin blond hair sparkled under the fluorescent lights. The corners of Rubens’s mouth stretched slightly. It would have been a waste of time attending an uninteresting gathering, but his thoughts changed completely due to a sudden encounter with a certain person.
Perhaps thinking that the subject of Rubens’s observation was Gusto, the people around bloomed in conversation about Gusto’s previous works. Amidst the tedious topics, Rubens brought his champagne glass to his lips. Bernard’s form crystallized in the glass and was soon swallowed down his esophagus. Rubens, who had stayed in place only for a time that wouldn’t be too rude, turned his gaze to his wristwatch.
“CEO, the meeting time is soon.”
“I see.”
His secretary, Dale Roman, perceptively whispered by his side. However, the response that came back was quite lukewarm. Rubens’s gaze licked Bernard’s face once again. A bright smile spread over the pale face that had an immature air. Even though it was an appearance somewhat lacking for his taste, strangely Rubens couldn’t tear his gaze away as if nailed in place.
“…Is there something bothering you?”
“No.”
Rubens’s gaze fell away with difficulty. Then, to those clinging by his side, he said he should be going now, left words of regret, and turned around.
“Do you know his name?”
“He introduced himself as Elliot Weil.”
Dale answered skillfully without needing to specify who the subject was. Then he soon disappeared in quick steps, saying he would bring the car around.
“Bothering me, you ask…”
It felt like pebbles gathering and colliding in a corner of his heart. Rubens, who put a cigarette in his mouth and pulled out a lighter, took a long breath. His eyes narrowed as he saw a familiar vehicle smoothly stop in front of the entrance.
“Well, setting everything else aside, first of all, it’s a face that would look more lewd if laid on a bed.”
Rubens’s eyes narrowed as he watched the cigarette smoke mix with the hot night air and scatter. The night was deepening.
