MIM 48

Ma Jae-seung’s birthday party had been the talk of the town for the past few days.

Jae-seung’s social media, which started with the somewhat ridiculous self-introduction as “The Master of Ma Mansion,” saw its followers snowball in just a few days. The first photo Jae-seung posted with the brief caption “Who’s coming to my birthday party” was of the grand reception room of the mansion. It was the place that had been burned black during the Ma Jin-seong incident and later restored, and was the most exposed crime scene in the media at the time. Journalists who remembered that horrific photo rushed to report on Jae-seung’s post, and the number of followers increased by the second.

Well, well. Shin-woo watched Jae-seung with mixed feelings of intrigue and unease. The very next day, Jae-seung posted a photo taken with Ban Woo-jin, one of the most popular actors among young people these days.

Even though he only posted a single photo, many people, especially kids Jae-seung’s age, went wild over it. Ban Woo-jin was not only the male lead in a currently popular drama but also an actor who did no other activities outside his work, so his private life was largely unknown, making him even more attention-grabbing. Moreover, Jae-seung took the photo in a completely different look from what had been revealed so far, with his beautiful hair past his shoulders and wearing a suit. Knowing Jae-seung’s selfie skills, Shin-woo was simply baffled. At this level, he must have hired a professional photographer for a pictorial.

Why go to such lengths? While wondering, people who had never followed Jae-seung before started following him one by one.

1 person, 2 people, 10 people. 30 people… As Jae-seung’s growing list of follows was shared, the public became curious about his criteria. Most of those Jae-seung followed back were kids who wielded considerable influence on social media, and when one or two of them leaked information about Jae-seung’s party as if boasting, soon all the kids were talking about ‘that party’ on social media. To Shin-woo, who didn’t use social media at all, this rapid flow seemed like magic.

In no time, ‘Ma Jae-seung’s birthday party’ became the hottest topic of conversation.

Shin-woo felt the changed atmosphere as soon as he arrived at school. When he had just enrolled, Ma Jae-seung was a ‘difficult person’ for everyone. Surrounded by numerous rumors, all of which were terrifying, even kids who approached out of curiosity quickly distanced themselves. Everyone kept their distance and anxiously watched Ma Jae-seung. No matter what he did, he tended to fall out of favor, making it difficult to make even one friend.

But mere social media changed that atmosphere.

“It’s fascinating,” Shin-woo muttered to himself, then looked up as he sensed the atmosphere becoming unsettled. Sure enough, Jae-seung had just stepped into the lecture hall. Though his body in a windbreaker and shorts made him look like an athlete, his face was still excessively pretty. After casually scanning the lecture hall, he spotted Shin-woo and abruptly turned away. It was blatant disregard.

Although he hadn’t expected a greeting, being so coldly ignored still stung a bit. Having been apart for a few days, Shin-woo felt annoyed at the guy who only showed his back, wondering if he had missed him.

Did he sleep well? He doesn’t look tired, thankfully.

As Shin-woo gazed at the cute, round back of Jae-seung’s head, people slowly began to gather around him. Some hesitated for a long time before speaking, while others tried to act friendly only to quickly run away. To them, Jae-seung was still a difficult person to approach, but their attitude towards him seemed more friendly than before.

“Yeah. So? I don’t know.” After giving a few short replies, Jae-seung promptly blocked further communication by plugging his ears with earphones. The guy who used to like people and wanted to make friends was now bristling with distrust and anxiety. Shin-woo had been puzzled by how brazenly he managed his social media, but as expected, he still put up his defenses against real people.

As lectures continued, Shin-woo compiled a list of those who claimed to have been invited to Jae-seung’s party on social media. As he went through them one by one, he soon noticed a surprising fact. Overturning the naive expectation that Jae-seung had randomly invited guys of similar age, those invited all had a clear commonality.

Most of them were children of those who had invested in Ma Jin-seong’s trait transformation research.

So he was trying to gather these people to collect information. There was a reason the guy had been working so hard on the groundwork. It wasn’t that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with friends and have fun together; he had a hidden agenda. As Shin-woo recalled Jae-seung’s actions so far and how he had been looking down indifferently at the kids approaching him, he finally understood.

@jgg___11 But I heard Shin-woo isn’t coming to that party? It’s written on the invitation lol

Shin-woo furrowed his brow as he thoroughly investigated the accounts of those invited. Upon further search, he found that a considerable number of the invitees were openly discussing him. As word spread that Shin-woo was not planning to attend the party, people began to speculate.

This could become dangerous.

Firmly stating that ‘Shin-woo won’t be there’ would not help Jae-seung’s safety at all. It was especially dangerous since many of those invited were aware of the research.

Those who had invested in the research are undoubtedly keeping a close eye on Jae-seung. Ma Jae-seung was the sole surviving lab rat and the only evidence of a terrible research that would cause a huge stir if revealed. All those invited were on high alert to see whether he, having just come of age, would fully establish himself as an alpha or not. If by any chance Jae-seung failed to overcome his rut or succumbed to side effects, it wouldn’t be surprising if knives flew from all directions the moment his knees buckled.

They’d want to wrap up the failed case of the abandoned research.

To invite such people to the mansion while excluding me. Shin-woo rubbed his throbbing forehead. If something were to happen…

As he was racking his brains, the lecture ended. Shin-woo followed behind Jae-seung, maintaining a proper distance.

Although they had to move immediately to make it in time for the next lecture in 15 minutes, the guy suddenly turned towards the back gate. Wondering where he was going, Shin-woo realized it was the ice cream shop ‘Sweet Home’. He knew as soon as Jae-seung stepped into the familiar alley.

What on earth is he doing there? Shin-woo watched Jae-seung with narrowed eyes. He couldn’t yet judge whether Jae-seung went there because he wanted ice cream or if he was curious about the ‘shop owner who Shin-woo was crazy about’. After all that talk about money, money, money, Shin-woo had thought Jae-seung would be gleeful, thinking Shin-woo had spent all his earnings on dating, but he didn’t expect him to actually visit the ice cream shop himself.

Jae-seung stood staring blankly at the new sign Shin-woo had put up. As if playing a game of hidden pictures, he kept staring at the sign intently for a long time. After standing there looking for several minutes despite there being no line, he ordered his usual banana pudding flavored ice cream. Then, holding that ice cream, he stood there again, staring fixedly at the store.

Is he upset thinking I used the money I took from him to make the sign? Although it seemed unnecessary to miss class on time for this, it was better for Jae-seung to be indignant than anxious.

Jae-seung leisurely licked his melting ice cream while glaring at the store for 30 minutes before finally heading to the lecture hall.

After following Jae-seung all day and sitting through three lectures, the sun had already dipped low. Now, he just needed to confirm that the driver picked up Jae-seung, and today’s work would be done. Shin-woo stretched his arms out wide. Sitting for hours had made him stiff all over.

Shin-woo stopped at a distance and took in the sight of Jae-seung’s car. Although the parking lot provided an open view, it didn’t matter since he hadn’t been secretly following anyway. Jae-seung had probably been aware of his gaze for a long time.

He could see Jae-seung standing askew in the distance, talking with the driver. It was strange that they weren’t leaving right away, even though they weren’t socializing. Was he waiting for someone? Shin-woo gazed at Jae-seung endlessly.

Under the setting afternoon sun, Jae-seung was as clear as the sky. Beneath his silver hair fluttering in the gentle breeze, his slightly furrowed eyes sparkled innocently. The windbreaker draped over his broad shoulders and the shorts on his long legs fit him well, giving him a stylish look. His upright posture exuded confidence.

The wounded child who had been curled up trapped in the mansion was nowhere to be seen. Shin-woo smiled. Suddenly, the burn on his back throbbed.