The sky, which had been dark since the early hours of dawn, split open as if torn apart — and a torrential downpour began to fall.
Despite a full month of diligent renovations, the old building still carried a faint dampness to it. Fortunately, since the framework had been built with quality wood, the smell wasn’t unpleasant. The three-story building, which looked directly down over Blue Giraffe, had ceilings set rather high, so from the outside it appeared to be four stories or more.
The interior of the third floor looked completely brand new. The entire floor had been opened up into one unified space, and the south-facing wall had been replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows, so the pine-covered mountainside spread out in full view at a glance. The rain-soaked green looked all the more vivid against the dim sky. This quiet, cool space was set to become Lee Hyeon’s studio.
Beyond the work area, wooden-slat partitions had been set up to divide the space, with air-purifying plants tucked between them to distinguish each zone by scent. The rest area and bedroom lay beyond those.
An Eastern king-sized bed occupied the center of the rest area, and the snow-white bedding contrasted against the deep, rich tones of the natural wood, creating a surprisingly warm impression.
At the very center of the house stood Lee Hyeon.
He was scanning the interior with an impassive gaze, but the fact that he had nothing to say was itself an expression of satisfaction. Beside him, Chief Han stood quietly, going through a checklist to make sure nothing had been missed.
“All of the noisy construction work has been completed. The exterior waterproofing will resume once the rain lets up — I’ll make sure they carry it out quietly so it doesn’t disturb you.”
“I don’t mind either way. Thank you for all your hard work.”
“Are you truly all right with having no one to look after your meals?”
A flicker of worry crossed Chief Han’s face as he asked. He knew all too well that once Lee Hyeon threw himself into his work, he stopped taking care of his body. The medicinal tonics that Director Go Eunyeong had ordered him to make sure Lee Hyeon took — if left to his own devices, they’d barely be touched, and every time Chief Han had to throw them out, he was plagued by a pointless sense of guilt.
Chief Han reported again to the unanswering Lee Hyeon.
“I’ve had another vehicle brought — a more spacious one. And as you instructed, a child car seat has been installed as well.”
“Good.”
“How much longer are you planning to stay?”
Again, no answer to the question. Lee Hyeon simply shuffled around the workspace in his slippers, and stood where his favorite brushes and paints had been moved to, touching each one with his fingertips one by one. Is he starting to see color again? Chief Han couldn’t easily guess at what was going on inside him from his silence.
After Lee Hyeon had decided to purchase the rundown building right next to Yoon Seowoo’s shop, it was Chief Han who had handled everything from the acquisition to the renovations. Through that process, he’d formed some idea of what Lee Hyeon was planning — that he intended to get close to Yoon Seowoo and see what was truly inside him. But he couldn’t fully agree with the approach. So he’d been watching for an opening to offer some counsel.
When, about ten days before construction was complete, he’d witnessed Lee Hyeon simply barging into Seowoo’s home unannounced — Chief Han had been quite startled himself. Did it matter that much to him? he wondered. He admired Lee Hyeon as an artist and genuinely wished for his recovery, but he also couldn’t help thinking of him as a stubbornly headstrong youngest sibling.
“Do you remember someone named Ji Donghyeok?”
“Yes — isn’t he the friend who helped Seowoo settle here?”
“No, not that — I was curious how he seemed back then, when he was working at the gallery during the exhibition.”
“I don’t have much memory of him from that time either. As far as I know, he was a junior staff member without much of a presence.”
“Is that so?”
“Is there something about him that’s bothering you?”
“No, it’s just — I mentioned this place to him today and he said something rather interesting.”
Lee Hyeon, whose expression had been impassive the whole time, let the corner of his lips pull slowly upward.
“Our Seowoo already has a lot on his plate — that’s what he said……”
Before Lee Hyeon could even finish the sentence — the front door, which had been propped open with a doorstop, swung wide open as Seowoo came bursting in.
He clearly had an umbrella in hand, but the rain must have been falling sideways — he was completely soaked through from head to toe. He stood the dripping umbrella carelessly outside the entrance, fixed his rounded eyes with considerable force, and stared at Lee Hyeon.
“What on earth is going on here?”
“Walking into someone else’s home without even knocking.”
“You walked into my home without knocking too.”
Seowoo pulled his gaze away from the smiling Lee Hyeon and looked at Chief Han instead.
“I heard you were on vacation.”
“That’s not a lie.”
Lee Hyeon got ahead of him and continued.
“The renovations were done by an interior contractor, and Chief Han gave his instructions and then went on vacation. Isn’t that right, Chief Han?”
Chief Han nodded as though he’d been waiting for exactly that cue, and Seowoo was speechless. Pushing his wet hair back from his face, he looked hurriedly around the interior — it had clearly been set up in full earnest as a proper studio.
He was so baffled he could barely find words.
“This building — this building wasn’t even selling…… why would you——”
“It’s fine.”
“What do you mean, fine. Why would you do something like this. You said it was just a vacation.”
“It really is fine. Because I’m not selling it.”
He wore the same expression as Dano when the little one got a toy he liked, and held out a towel to Seowoo.
“Dry off. You’re completely soaked.”
As if keeping time with his shamelessness, Chief Han set out a pair of slippers and adjusted the heating. Then, announcing he’d give them some privacy, he pulled the door shut and stepped out — leaving just the two of them in the new space.
“What are you doing standing there. Come in.”
“……Okay.”
Seowoo slipped on the slippers — set out as if their arrival had been calculated in advance — and stepped inside.
The space was largely white. Beyond that, the only other colors were the natural wood tones and green. Following where Lee Hyeon gestured, Seowoo shuffled hesitantly over to the sofa table and sat down, and Lee Hyeon came back with two cold bottled drinks.
“Where’s the baby?”
“……He went out with Donghyeok’s father. There’s a baduk club meeting.”
“Baduk? That sounds dreadful.”
“He goes to collect pocket money. And candy too. He’s practically a regular at this point.”
It was nothing much, but Lee Hyeon broke into a laugh.
“Seems like that little one only dislikes me.”
“……He doesn’t dislike you.”
Seowoo had rushed here without a second thought after Donghyeok had passed along the news that Lee Hyeon had apparently bought the building. But now that he’d confirmed the situation with his own eyes and gotten his answer, he found himself at a loss for what to say. It might have been because Lee Hyeon looked so completely unbothered, as if it were nothing at all. Or it might have been that the rain had quite literally cooled his head down.
Come to think of it…… am I even in a position to make a fuss about this?
When he actually thought about it, Lee Hyeon had always had studios scattered all over the country. He knew from things he’d overheard that there were more than three on Jeju Island alone. Put generously, he was someone who liked to stay in familiar places. Put less generously, he was the sensitive type who was greatly affected by his environment. So it wasn’t unreasonable that he’d want to set up somewhere here as well.
What nagged at him was simply that it had to be here — in the place where Seowoo lived — and right on the heels of their reunion.
……
Unable to find what to say, Seowoo just rubbed at his hair with the towel. But the mood wasn’t quite right for getting up and leaving either. Without meaning to, his eyes drifted toward the entrance — and when they slid back to Lee Hyeon, the man was watching him with a strange, amused smile.
“Didn’t you come for the housewarming after Donghyeok told you the news? That’s exactly why I had him tell you.”
“Ah, I…… I didn’t bring anything……”
“I wasn’t expecting a gift, so take your time and look around. You’ll be coming by often going forward, after all.”
……
Coming by often — that would mean the pheromone treatment.
When he put it that way, Seowoo suddenly felt strangely restless, like he couldn’t sit still. He’d never felt like this in Lee Hyeon’s studios during the exhibition preparations. It had been quite the opposite, in fact. In that space, filled with soft colors and gentle scents, he’d always felt at ease. To the point where the other gallery staff had found it puzzling.
“What do you think of it — this place? From your perspective, Seowoo.”
“As a studio? It feels similar to your old studio.”
“That’s all?”
“Oh, and……”
Seowoo’s eyes, glancing awkwardly around the room, happened to land at that very moment on the snow-white bed. He was the one who had said a pheromone shower wasn’t necessary, who had said what are you even thinking — and yet his pupils dilated sharply. It was as if the only thought in his head right now was his heat cycle.
Flash — as if on cue, a bolt of lightning struck, and the world outside the window blazed white before plunging into darkness.
……
In the pitch black that had fallen over the room, Seowoo simply blinked. After the low, rolling thunder passed, the sound of rain pouring down in sheets filled his ears completely. Oh — a power outage, he finally registered.
“Stay put. I’ll go check.”
In the darkness, a hand took hold of his, and Seowoo shuddered. Lee Hyeon let out a scoff as if exasperated, then pulled out his phone and switched on the flashlight. The bright light stabbed at his eyes.
“Why do you startle so easily every single time. You’re not made of glass.”
“Ha……”
“Hm?”
“Do you actually know how?”
Seowoo said it with full confidence that Lee Hyeon wouldn’t have the faintest idea where the circuit breaker was. The flashlight was so intense that the smile directed at him looked vaguely unsettling.
“Seowoo.”
At the sound of his name spoken without any formality, Seowoo shuddered again.
“Do I really look that helpless to you?”
It’s admirable that he’s been living so independently — but if he trusts him this little, that’s another matter entirely. Lee Hyeon twisted his lips to one side and unwrapped the compression bandage he’d been wearing on his right hand.
That Seowoo had given birth alone to a baby who might be his. That he’d been hiding it all this time. He knew well enough that he had no certainty of anything yet, and that he still didn’t know what was truly in Yoon Seowoo’s heart — so he needed to watch slowly and carefully and find out the truth.
And yet, at moments like these, something inside him would get inexplicably scraped raw, and all he wanted to do was press for answers, recklessly and without restraint.
