Shortly after Jae-seung had a brief phone call with someone, Ye-wook appeared. Jae-seung’s expression seemed more relaxed as he looked down at Ye-wook, who was much shorter than him. Had they gotten close already? His posture of slightly bending his waist to meet Ye-wook’s eyes looked natural. When the driver opened the car door, they both got into the back seat.

    Although he had only intended to watch them get into the car, before he knew it, Shin-woo was tailing Jae-seung’s car. He tried to rationalize it by thinking that Ye-wook seemed suspicious and kept catching his eye, but it left him feeling uneasy. Jae-seung’s words, telling him not to harm a hair on Ye-wook’s head, kept flashing in his mind. His cold voice echoed in his ears.

    Was I always this good at remembering? Shin-woo laughed. His chest felt tight, not knowing his place.

    After confirming that the car was heading to the mansion, Shin-woo turned towards the hotel. The call from Yoon-mi, the ice cream shop owner, came just as Jae-seung was parking his car in the hotel parking lot.

    – I’m calling about the puppy

    “Is it sick?” Shin-woo asked, his heart sinking.

    Yoon-mi quickly assured him not to worry. She paused for a moment as if considering how to broach the subject, then said,

    – I think I’ll have to close the shop soon. We were supposed to renew the contract in two months, and we had verbally agreed to extend it, but the building owner suddenly contacted me. He said renewing would be difficult and he’d appreciate it if I could leave as soon as possible. He said he won’t charge the last month’s rent because he feels bad.

    “What do you mean…”

    – It didn’t cost much since we only put up wallpaper, but he said he’d even reimburse the interior costs. I think he must have his reasons, so I didn’t pry. I’ve been there a long time, and he’s not a bad person. Anyway, I’m telling you this because I think I’ll need to take the puppy around to look for new shop locations.

    “I can take the puppy back.”

    – That’s fine too. I’m actually on my way up from Suyeo right now.

    Suyeo was a suburban area about a two-hour drive from here. Shin-woo pressed the elevator button and asked.

    “Why there?”

    – I thought I’d try somewhere farther away. The rent is much cheaper too. I’ll contact you later when I’m near the hotel.

    “Find a bigger place while you’re at it. I feel bad that this happened so suddenly.”

    – Haha, it’s nothing. I should be the one feeling bad after you put up a new sign.

    After exchanging cheerful goodbyes with Yoon-mi, Shin-woo hung up. It felt unsettling, but he supposed that’s just how things go sometimes with people’s affairs.

    As Shin-woo got into the elevator, he frowned slightly. Just then, Jae-seung had posted a new message on social media.

    @MSismine There’s not enough locker space at school, so my bag is heavy.

    * * *

    From the morning of his birthday, Jae-seung was busy. Planning a party turned out to be much more difficult than he had expected. Even though he had hired people to take care of everything, Jae-seung still had to check on all the little details himself, which took a lot of effort. When Shin-woo was around, he had taken care of everything, so there were no annoying tasks. But doing it alone, even managing people well was a job in itself.

    Despite being so busy, Jae-seung frequently checked his phone. He was on the verge of going crazy with anxiety. After hearing from the private detective that the ice cream shop owner had left the city and was looking around in other areas, he assigned another person to monitor her. It seemed the shop owner was still undecided about where to go, wandering east in the morning and west in the afternoon.

    Fuck. Maybe I should have left it alone. Thinking I’d need a locker too, took over the shop space by paying three times the original rent, but who knew she’d try to move far away. The more he thought about it, the more he got angry and threw his phone on the sofa. He was annoyed with himself for looking at it all day, and with the current situation.

    Of course, Shin-woo would follow this woman, right? They might even start living together. Since they’re already raising a puppy together, they’ll probably open a large shop with a spacious yard. The money he gave Shin-woo during his rut would be enough to pay a year’s rent and still have some left over.

    This swindler!

    He doesn’t even call these days. Shit, shouldn’t he keep calling even if I don’t answer? Was he too busy preparing for the move? He’s still coming to school, but at this rate, there’s a high probability that he won’t even come to school soon.

    That can’t happen. Where does he think he’s going?

    “Is everything ready? You need to fix your tie.”

    Ye-wook, who had approached without notice, examined the tie with a worried face. It’s no exaggeration to say that this party couldn’t have been held without Ye-wook. He had helped Jae-seung wholeheartedly. Not only did he shortlist the people to invite, but he also discussed with Butler Hwang about how to decorate which parts of the mansion. Jae-seung had thought it would be enough to invite a few famous people and decorate things somewhat presentably, but he realized only after trying that the difficulty level of “somewhat presentably” was off the charts.

    “Thanks for your help. I’ll compensate you.”

    “What compensation? I helped because I thought it might be good for me too if I could hear some unknown stories. It’s not like I volunteered. By the way, many people said they’d come when they heard Shin-woo wouldn’t be here. It was a good idea to put that in the invitation.”

    Shin-woo. Jae-seung’s nerves were on edge as soon as the name, laden with implications, was suddenly mentioned. He readjusted his tie and picked up the phone he had thrown earlier. There were no new messages.

    “About 300 people will come today. We sent out about 350 invitations. They should start arriving soon, one or two at a time.”

    Ye-wook finished speaking and looked outside. Following his gaze to the window, Jae-seung saw a sky full of clouds. Dark clouds were swarming as if it would rain at any moment.

    “Happy birthday. You look handsome today.”

    Startled by the sudden words, Jae-seung turned to look at Ye-wook. Come to think of it, it was a birthday party. He had been so focused on gathering people who knew about the research that he had completely forgotten what the party was actually for.

    To be honest, he didn’t really care. Perhaps because he had no memory of properly celebrating his birthday, he felt little emotion even when being congratulated. No one would come all this way just to celebrate his birthday anyway. They were probably excited to see celebrities, or to be invited to a special party others couldn’t attend, or mostly likely, to see the results of the research they had invested in.

    Would I be a failure in their eyes? Jae-seung suddenly wondered. Rain finally began to fall in the pale sky.

    The first guests were the vice president of an airline and the former police chief. Jae-seung headed to the entrance to greet the people arriving one by one. Those arriving earlier than the scheduled time were mostly older, in other words, the actual investors in the research. They probably wanted to examine him more closely at a closer distance before the party got too hectic.

    “Hello, thank you for coming.”

    Jae-seung smiled and greeted politely. He could feel multiple gazes persistently following his every move. It would be easier if both parties wanted something from each other. They wouldn’t avoid conversation.

    As the former police chief took a step forward, the people around him stepped aside slightly to make way. He accepted this consideration as if it were natural and offered a handshake to Jae-seung.

    “It’s good to see you looking so healthy. What should I call you?”

    What nonsense. Jae-seung swallowed a laugh and shook hands. Given that even the former police chief had invested in the research, the feeling that there was no one to trust must be shared not only by him but by everyone in this city.

    “You can comfortably call me Jae-seung. Thank you for coming.”

    “No, no. I was very surprised to receive the invitation. To think I’d be invited to a young person’s party at my age. Wouldn’t it be more fun if you youngsters played among yourselves?”

    The man probed Jae-seung like a cunning snake, saying he was quite puzzled. He was subtly asking why he had suddenly been sent an invitation to a birthday party when they had never met. The only connection was the trait transformation research, so there was no point in pretending not to know. Jae-seung answered smoothly.

    “Of course I had to invite you. Thanks to you, I was able to,”

    Carefully choosing the words Ye-wook had used.

    “obtain such excellent traits, so I’m always grateful.”

    The man stared at Jae-seung with a smiling face. Jae-seung met his gaze without avoiding it, as the man examined whether he was sincere or hiding any malice. The man’s yellowish, oily eyes finally curved. He poked the airline vice president standing next to him in the side and burst into hearty laughter.

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