MIM 37

“I’ll accept whatever you offer.”

“What?”

Jae-seung burst out laughing. The answer meant to make him laugh was also sincere. Shin-woo wanted to somehow bind their relationship with money, to prevent Jae-seung from becoming emotionally attached to him. The boy who grew up confined had no immunity to kindness, easily opening his heart even to a simple smile. Having only believed in what he could immediately see, he mistook the pebbles at his feet for jewels.

Now that he was out in the world, it was only a matter of time before his horizons broadened. He’d have to be careful of people for a while, but after some trial and error, eventually…

“What should I do?”

Shin-woo snapped back to attention at the rhetorical question. Jae-seung, half-turned towards the door, let out a sigh-like chuckle. His eyes, still tinged with amusement, were cold.

“I can’t spend a penny more on that sackcloth-like body of yours.”

Bang! Silence fell with the sound of the closing door.

Even after Jae-seung disappeared from view, Shin-woo stood blankly in front of the closed door for a while. Without looking back at the past, contemplating, or sinking into profound thoughts, he just vacantly let time pass. He came to his senses when the smell of rain began to reach his nose.

Rain. Shin-woo looked up at the dark sky. As usual, he moved. He ran to the car in one go and was about to hurriedly push himself into the driver’s seat when he saw a round ball of fur at his feet. The puppy from earlier was still crouched in the same spot.

What do I care? Shin-woo closed the door and roughly shook out his wet hair. After folding Jae-seung’s shirt on the passenger seat, he turned his head towards the entrance. He intended to make sure Jae-seung got home safely before leaving.

The rain quickly intensified. It was raining so hard that it was difficult to see properly. This must be a downpour. Frowning as he surveyed his surroundings, Shin-woo’s eyes eventually glanced at where the puppy had been. The creature was still there, stupidly lying in the rain, apparently thinking it was a good idea.

If he took it, it would only end up at the hotel. He couldn’t take responsibility for it, and he didn’t know how to raise a dog. It was deceitful to offer a hand out of shallow pity and then withdraw it as if nothing had happened.

Boom! Just as he thought the sky was flashing before his eyes, a thunderous sound that seemed to shake the ground crashed down. After glaring out the window for a moment, wiggling his toes, Shin-woo couldn’t stand it anymore and quickly opened the door and jumped out. It took only seconds to scoop up the terrified puppy plastered to the ground and return to the car.

“Shit!”

He ended up bringing it after all. Frustrated, Shin-woo banged the back of his head against the headrest repeatedly, while the puppy leapt into his arms. When had it gone from lying lifelessly on the ground to suddenly getting excited and affectionately licking his lips? It was absurd how it had become whiter, as if washed by the rain, and now it was bouncing around, splashing rainwater everywhere and completely captivating him. The puppy wagged its tail furiously and licked Shin-woo’s entire face. The abandoned creature had quite a lot of energy.

“Stay still…”

As soon as he opened his mouth to try to calm the frenzied puppy, a tongue slipped in. He tried turning his head this way and that to avoid it, but in the end, not only his lips but even the tip of his nose ended up wet. Not knowing how to calm it down, he just squeezed his eyes shut, then experimentally started to gently stroke its back. The puppy gradually became more docile. Seeming to like the touch, the small ball of fur settled comfortably on Shin-woo’s warm thigh. He had to keep his hand moving constantly, as the puppy would immediately go for his mouth if he stopped petting it.

Not long after, a taxi illuminated the dark road. Soon, Jae-seung appeared holding a large umbrella. He looked around as if searching for something, then spotted Shin-woo’s car and stopped. A gloomy light settled on Jae-seung’s face as he stared blankly in this direction.

Even after Jae-seung disappeared in the taxi, the afterimage of his silver hair shining brightly in the darkness lingered before Shin-woo’s eyes for a long time.

In the future, Jae-seung would gradually learn more details about the experiments. Since he likely had no one else to talk to, there was a high chance he would meet and communicate frequently with Ye-wook. While he couldn’t kill Ye-wook right away, Shin-woo intended to watch him carefully. For that, he first needed to find a way to work by Jae-seung’s side. He’d have to think more about how to persuade Jae-seung, who had said he couldn’t spend a penny on his sackcloth-like body.

Shin-woo absently fiddled the shirt garter belt that could be felt through his pants. He found it comforting to wear this even after the rut ended, and had somehow kept wearing it. He felt reassured every time the tightly stretched shirt stuck to his burns.

The puppy in his arms whimpered. Not knowing anything about dog language, Shin-woo arbitrarily concluded it must be because it was wet. He turned on the air conditioning and then wrapped the soaking wet puppy in Jae-seung’s shirt. Watching the creature wriggling inside the large shirt, he already felt a bit attached.

“Haah.”

Shin-woo heaved a deep sigh and searched for the nearest animal hospital.

On his first night at the hotel, Shin-woo was busy. Organizing his few belongings didn’t take long, but the new addition was the problem. As soon as he arrived at the hotel, Shin-woo washed the puppy before even cleaning himself. The first thing he did was cut off its collar.

Contrary to expectations, the puppy didn’t have any major injuries. It just had some skin problems, so it received various injections and was prescribed medicine to mix with its food. The doctor said it would be fine soon if well-fed and rested. The dog breed was Bichon Frise.

“You’re disgustingly dirty. Did you roll around in a dung heap or something?”

Shin-woo grumbled while washing every nook and cranny until the water ran clear. Though he had brought it along, he already had a headache from the trouble it caused. He couldn’t bear to give it up for adoption to a stranger, and wondered if he should ask about keeping it in the mansion’s garden. It could run around in the spacious garden, and he’d just need to feed it occasionally. The gardener had liked the dog they used to keep, so he might agree if asked. As for food, he could just buy plenty of dog food in advance.

After being thoroughly washed and dried, the puppy found its own bed naturally. Perhaps because it had been raised by humans before, it knew where to sleep. Only after feeding the comfortably settled puppy its medicine mixed with food could Shin-woo finally take a shower.

He felt much refreshed after a cool shower. With a towel draped over his head, Shin-woo wandered around the room for a while searching for the hair dryer. The hair dryer he expected to find in the bathroom was discovered in a drawer opposite the bed. A large full-length mirror was conveniently placed there, apparently for drying hair in front of it. After hesitating in front of the mirror, Shin-woo eventually took the hair dryer to the bathroom.

His short hair and Jae-seung’s cleanly washed shirt dried quickly. Drying off with warm air in the cool air-conditioned room made him drowsy. Envying the carefree sleeping puppy, he flopped onto the bed as his eyelids grew heavier. Lying alone on a bed big enough for two people made him think of Jae-seung. Jae-seung’s bed was much larger than this, but due to the young master’s huge build and terrible sleeping habits, it had never felt spacious.

“It’s wide.”

Shin-woo mumbled to himself, spreading and waving his long limbs. After rolling around, he suddenly got up, removed the new bedding, and pulled over the blanket he had brought from the annex. Though regularly washed, it was so old and worn that it didn’t match the new-looking bed at all. Nevertheless, he liked it. It wasn’t something he had used since childhood, just a blanket that had passed through many hands and accumulated wear, but it helped him sleep better.

The clock that suddenly caught his eye showed it was past midnight. This was when Jae-seung would be struggling the most. Certain that he would still be awake, Shin-woo took out his phone and called Jae-seung.

As expected, Jae-seung didn’t answer. Shin-woo rolled his eyes, then picked up a small booklet on the bedside table. After skimming through the booklet introducing the hotel’s history and various branches, he connected directly to the voice mailbox. Then, in a low voice, he read the booklet aloud, recording a voice message over 5 minutes long. When struggling with separation anxiety, just a voice can help.

For Jae-seung as much as for himself, today must have been an exceptionally long day.

Rain was still pouring outside the large window. As he stared blankly outside, fatigue washed over him. After dimming the lights, he closed his eyes, but sleep didn’t come easily. He wasn’t the type to sleep well in unfamiliar places, so even on rare business trips to other regions, he found it more comfortable to sleep in the car.

“…Haah.”

He straightened out his curled-up body. He pulled the blanket up to cover his head, then abruptly yanked it down and took a deep breath. His heart was beating anxiously. Shin-woo closed his eyes and tried to picture Jae-seung’s face and voice.

Wait. When he becomes an adult…

His heartbeat gradually steadied. Shin-woo buried himself in the old blanket and barely fell asleep.