“I’m going to swim for a bit, stop by my studio apartment for some cleaning and preparation. Well, and after the national competition, I plan to keep resting. I’m too tired… Yes, yes. See you the day after tomorrow. Aunt!”

Smiling mischievously, Kang Ihyeon straightened up and, just in case someone might recognize him, pulled his hat down deeply.

‘My body feels sluggish.’

Anyway, for someone whose job involved moving every day, staying immobile in bed for a few days was a dilemma.

Since Jaewon had prepared swimming trunks for his uncle, he thought about cutting himself some slack and spending the whole day in the water. With that in mind, he pressed the button for the first floor in the elevator.

“Ah. So annoying…”
Reluctantly commemorating parents he didn’t particularly like, Kang Ihyeon complained every year, questioning what kind of event this was.

“Ding,” as the elevator arrived on the 1st floor and he stepped into the lobby, Kang Ihyeon sighed with a nauseated expression.

“I’m glad you’ve recovered quickly, Master.”

“Really, like a ghost.”

In front of him, a bodyguard in a suit bowed his head respectfully. He was his grandfather’s person.

‘…So, Aunt didn’t know.’

Kang Ihyeon’s expression instantly crumpled.

Though it wasn’t exquisite without Nari, at least the plans for a decent week all went awry.

Clearly separated by Kang Sujin, it seemed that his grandfather had used various means to bring Ihyeon for some ulterior motive.

“The Chairman is also waiting. Shall we have dinner together?”

“They’re not waiting for me; they’re waiting for information. I decline…”

“As always, it won’t work.”

“…This isn’t the attire I’d wear to meet Grandfather.”

“The clothing you need is in the car.”

“Ha…”

As if it were a habit, Kang Ihyeon pretended to mess up his hair under his hat.

With a sharp expression he never showed to Nari or others, he surreptitiously placed his phone in the sports bag hanging on his shoulder and handed it to the bodyguard.

“It’s Uncle Jaewon’s. Please take care of it.”

“Yes, understood, Master. Then, let’s escort you outside.”

Avoiding the intensified gazes around, Kang Ihyeon simply sighed and walked out of the hospital.
A pitch-black tinted sedan limousine was parked to the extent that nothing could be seen inside.

He sat in the back seat comfortably. Next to him, there was a black shopping bag.

As the bodyguard took his seat in the front and smoothly started the car, Kang Ihyeon, familiarly, took a sigh as he pulled out clothes from the shopping bag.

“Anyway, grandfather’s taste… Wearing these clothes for a family meal.”

“Aren’t dignity and elegance important to him?”

Inside the shopping bag were luxurious suits from a high-end brand.

For a moment, Kang Ihyeon, who was about to say ‘old man,’ checked the bodyguard’s expression in the rearview mirror and then pulled the blackout curtain between the front and back seats.

‘Anyway, this old man really has a lot of desires like a pervert when it comes to his grandson.’

[Saint, ‘Staff of Purification,’ suggests considering some positive thoughts!]

‘Anyway, an old person wants to turn his grandson into a doll avatar.’

Following formalities, Kang Ihyeon, wearing a white shirt and a black jacket, and even a yellow tie, suddenly glanced at the shirt’s sleeves.

White cufflinks were visible.

“…”

Kang Ihyeon absentmindedly opened the inventory. The cufflinks Nari gave him were there.

Checking the bodyguard’s gaze beyond the invisible curtain, he cautiously replaced the cufflinks with the ones Nari gave him.

[Saint, ‘Staff of Purification,’ praises you, saying this suits you better!] It was as black as her color.

Kang Ihyeon glanced at the button with a slightly excited expression.

Meeting his grandfather felt truly dreadful, but still, he felt like he could endure it with this.

After changing clothes and opening the blackout curtain, Kang Ihyeon looked outside the car window.

A place where large apartments stood as if piercing the sky.

Among them, the penthouse of the most expensive apartment. That was his grandfather’s house.

Kang Ihyeon always thought of this place as a Tower of Babel.

While he was thinking that everyone here would self-destruct someday, having such a nutritionless thought, the bodyguard stopped the car.

“Young Master, we’ve arrived.”

“Yeah, got it. Thank you for your hard work.”

Kang Ihyeon, who checked his reflection in the window one last time, stepped out of the vehicle, looking outside.

As a blond young man with a soft smile entered the apartment, the bodyguards nodded and saluted.

“Long time no see, Young Master.”

“Yes, hello. We came to see our grandfather.”

“Please come this way.”

The bodyguard led Kang Ihyeon to the special elevator in the corner of the corridor.

Clicking the key into the lock and turning it, the elevator arrived promptly.

“Thank you.”

Kang Ihyeon nodded and pressed the top floor. As soon as the door closed, he sighed deeply, struggling to maintain his composure.

[Saint, ‘Staff of Purification,’ advises you not to force a smile and regards you with compassion, offering comfort!] “Alright. Still, we have to do what needs to be done. There’s something gained from it, too.”

Even for someone equally depressed, eating a whole ice cream in a spacious house and buying a luxury bag makes being depressed much better than just being depressed.

It was something Nari said a long time ago.

“I was closer to the former no matter how you look at it. I’ve gained a lot. You have to endure this much.”

[Saint, ‘Staff of Purification,’ looks at you, saying that even if you think that way, it doesn’t mean the emotions disappear.]

“…….,”

In response to that, Kang Ihyeon, with a bitter smile, looked down at the elevator floor. There was black marble.

“Nari endured it.”

Saying that, Kang Ihyeon clenched his fist tightly.

Nari endured those years.

Without an aunt like herself, without Uncle Jaewon, enduring the nightmare of a full 10 years with only her own strength.

“So, I have to endure too. To protect Nari.”

The Saint looked at him with concern. Ding, and the elevator door opened.

“Nice to see you after a long time, Young Master.”

Kang Ihyeon, who had been fiddling with his tie, straightened up and walked forward.

The grandfather’s secretary bowed politely and then guided him to the dining room.

“Hello.”

A long dining table. At the front, the grandfather sat, and beside him, relatives were dressed in suits and dresses.

While carving steak, the grandfather noticed Kang Ihyeon and said, “You’re late.”
“I’m sorry. I heard the invitation late, so I’m a bit late.”

“Uh, it looks like the fourteenth seat is empty.”

More than a family gathering, Kang Ihyeon sighed inwardly at the austere atmosphere resembling a business meeting.