“Sniff.”

[Nari-nari~ You’ll catch a cold like that, says the Lord of Chaos as he pats your head.]

“I don’t know, I cried so much today that I’m really exhausted now.”

Nari got off the bus again at Busan Station.

Wiping away her tears, Nari sat on a bench on a street full of flashy neon signs and billboards near the station, hugging her knees.

For now, she was told to go out and have fun, so she headed to the area near the station without a plan, but being alone in an unfamiliar place, she had no idea what she should do.

Around her, families were gathering in groups of three or five to go to restaurants or hang out, as it was early December.

But Nari had no one to meet up with.

“There are lots of places to go alone…”

Nari grumbled in discontent and took out her cell phone.

Since she had cut off all her relationships after middle school, the only friend she could think of to ask to hang out with now was Kang Ihyeon.

[You said not to contact him because he’s being wiretapped, right? says the Lord of Chaos, glancing at you.]

“That’s about ‘Rude’. And kids these days use messenger apps.”

The fact that Rude was an alter ego was known only to Kang Ihyeon and Jeong Sooho.

Even Jeong Sooho himself was never fully convinced until the end that Nari was Rude.

Anyway, if Kang Ihyeon was being wiretapped, it would only reveal that Shin Binnari and Kang Ihyeon were close.

In fact, even that made her uncomfortable, so she had been refraining from contacting him, but the current Nari was in a state where she wanted to be with someone so badly that she couldn’t care about such things.

[Are you okay?] 1

Nari turned on the messenger app and sent a simple greeting. The 1 disappeared, and a reply came back soon.

Nari lowered her head with a sigh.

[I’m fine! I’m completely better now.] [Thank you for worrying about me!] [What about you, Nari?]

Nari laughed, thinking that he would use the same emoticons.

She was about to ask if he could come out now, but paused for a moment.

“He must be busy with the state funeral, I wonder if he can come out.”

The state funeral was the day after tomorrow. First of all, she wondered if he was really fully recovered, and she was also concerned that he might be busy with preparations.

[I have free time now] 1

[If you’re up for it, want to hang out?] 1

Anyway, if Nari stayed alone in this state, she would definitely spend the 24 hours she was told to wait just tapping her nails.

Someone had to be by her side.

Suddenly, Nan’s words came to mind. When he told her to go out with friends or go on a date, Nari suddenly gripped her cell phone tightly.

“D-d-date.”

[Date?! The Lord of Chaos turns to look at you sharply.]

“No! Anyway, whenever a man and a woman are together, it’s strange that people always think they’re in a relationship!”

[Oh my, I see~ I’ll think about it on my own~ grumbles the Lord of Chaos.]

After arguing back and forth with the constellation for a while with her Bluetooth earphones on, Nari suddenly felt something strange and looked at the messenger.

The 1 had disappeared, but Kang Ihyeon’s message had not arrived.

“…What’s going on?”

This had never happened before, Kang Ihyeon always replied promptly.

[Maybe he just went to the bathroom? says the Lord of Chaos, looking at you.]

“I’m telling you, he always replies right away. If he’s going to be even 5 minutes late, he sends a message saying he’ll be late… Something’s weird.”

But still no message had arrived. Feeling a slight unease, Nari immediately called Kang Ihyeon.

It might be an overreaction, but she was anxious.

The phone rang for a long time, doo-roo-roo, doo-roo-roo.

[This is the timeline separator]

And a few hours before Nari called Kang Ihyeon, that morning.

Kang Ihyeon was also having a tough day from the morning.

“Yes, Auntie. No, I’m being discharged today. Yes, I came back last night. I recovered quickly. That’s right, it’s fortunate that I came back before the state funeral. Really.”

Kang Ihyeon, who had finally regained his spiritual power, was changing into the casual clothes Min Jaewon had brought him to be discharged after receiving a full recovery diagnosis.

It was a beige sweatshirt and jeans prepared for convenience.

[Anyway, your grandfather has given up. Since you signed a contract with Mr. Rude, Grandfather’s reach won’t extend that far. He said to let you rest this week too.]

“Oh, really?! Thank you so much, Auntie!”

Kang Ihyeon, who was on the phone with Min Jaewon’s cell phone borrowed to prevent wiretapping, smiled.

[The state funeral is the day after tomorrow, you know that, right? Auntie made a reservation at the styling shop, so come there by the morning after tomorrow.]

“Yes! Thank you, Auntie. Oh, Mr. Rude is…”

[I included him in the vacation list this time, so don’t worry. Well… it seems he’s going there to personally commemorate someone.]

“Ah…”

Kang Ihyeon rolled his eyes. Nari must have gone to commemorate her mother. With that thought, he shrugged his shoulders.

‘It’ll be a bit hard to be together this time.’

Looking very disappointed, he slung the sports bag Min Jaewon had brought over his shoulder.

When his aunt asked what he was going to do now, Kang Ihyeon thought for a moment and answered.

“I’m going to go swimming for a bit, then stop by my place to clean up and get ready. Well, after the state funeral, I’m going to sleep the whole time after that. I’m so tired… Yes, yes. See you the day after tomorrow then, Auntie!”

Kang Ihyeon, who was grinning, stretched his body and pulled his hat down deeply in case anyone recognized him.

‘My body feels stiff.’

Anyway, for him, whose job was to move every day, spending several days confined to a bed without moving was torturous.

Since Uncle Jaewon had prepared a swimsuit for him, he thought he should buy a day pass and spend the whole day in the water, and pressed the 1st floor button in the elevator.

“Ah, so annoying…”

He grumbled about what kind of thing this was, having to commemorate parents he didn’t even like every year.

Ding, the elevator arrived on the 1st floor and as soon as he stepped out into the lobby, Kang Ihyeon sighed with a disgusted expression.

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

“You’re really like a ghost.”

In front of him, a bodyguard in a suit was bowing his head. It was his grandfather’s man.

‘…Auntie didn’t know either.’

Kang Ihyeon’s expression instantly crumpled.

Even though Kang Sujin had definitely detached him, it seemed his grandfather had deceived her and was making moves to bring Ihyeon back.

“The chairman is also waiting for you. He said to have dinner together.”

“He’s not waiting for me, but for information. Refusing is…”

“As always, not possible.”

“…I’m not dressed appropriately to see Grandfather right now.”

“The necessary clothing is in the car.”

“Sigh…”

Kang Ihyeon made a gesture of messing up his own hair above his hat out of habit.

Wearing a sharp expression he never showed to Nari or others, he secretly put his cell phone in the sports bag and handed it to the bodyguard.

“It’s Uncle Jaewon’s. Please return it to him.”

“Yes, I understand, Young Master. Then, shall we head outside?”

With the surrounding attention focused on him, Kang Ihyeon just sighed and walked out of the hospital.

A sedan limousine with tinted windows so dark the interior wasn’t visible was parked there.

He familiarly sat in the back seat. On the seat next to him was a black shopping bag.

As the bodyguard sat in the front seat and smoothly started the car, Kang Ihyeon, who was used to it, pulled out the clothes from the shopping bag and sighed.

“Anyway, that old… Grandfather’s taste. Wearing these clothes to a family dinner.”

“He values dignity, does he not?”

Inside the shopping bag was a luxurious brand suit.

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

‘That old man really wants too much from his grandson like a pervert.’

[The constellation ‘Wand of Purification’ consoles you, saying you should try to think pretty thoughts!]

‘Anyway, the elderly man really wants to make his grandson into a dress-up doll avatar.’

Kang Ihyeon, who put on a dress shirt and black jacket according to the formalities and even tied a yellow necktie, suddenly looked at the sleeves of the dress shirt.

White cufflinks were visible.

“…”

Kang Ihyeon unconsciously opened his inventory. The cufflinks Nari had given him as a gift were there.

Checking the bodyguard’s gaze beyond the curtain that couldn’t be seen, he carefully replaced the cufflinks with the ones Nari gave him.

[The constellation ‘Wand of Purification’ praises you, saying these suit you better!]

They were black, like her color.

Kang Ihyeon looked at the buttons with a slightly excited expression.

Although the feeling of meeting his grandfather was truly terrible, he felt he could endure it with this.

Kang Ihyeon, who had changed clothes and opened the blackout curtain, looked out the car window.

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

The penthouse of the most expensive apartment among them. That was his grandfather’s house.

Kang Ihyeon always thought this place was like the Tower of Babel.

Thinking that someday the people here would all self-destruct, he was in the middle of such meaningless thoughts when the bodyguard stopped driving.

“Young Master, we have arrived.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Good work.”

Kang Ihyeon, who took a final look at his reflection in the window, got out of the vehicle.

As the handsome blond young man entered the apartment, the bodyguards bowed their heads.

“It’s been a long time, Young Master.”

“Yes, hello. I’m here to see my grandfather.”

“This way, please.”

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

With a click, he inserted and turned the key, and the elevator arrived immediately with a ding.

“Thank you.”

Kang Ihyeon bowed his head and pressed the top floor button. As soon as the door closed, he frowned and let out a deep sigh.

[The constellation ‘Wand of Purification’ pities you and comforts you, telling you not to force yourself to smile!]

“It’s fine. I have to do as much as I can. Because I’ve gained from this too.”

Being depressed in a spacious house while eating a whole pint of ice cream and buying designer bags is much better than just being depressed.

It was something Nari had once said to him.

“I was closer to the former in anyone’s eyes. I’ve enjoyed a lot. I have to cheer up to this extent.”

[The constellation ‘Wand of Purification’ looks at you and says, but just thinking that way doesn’t make the emotions disappear, right?]

“…”

Kang Ihyeon smiled bitterly at those words and just looked down at the elevator floor. There was black jade.

“Nari endured it.”

Kang Ihyeon muttered like that and clenched his fists tightly.

Nari endured those years.

Without an aunt like him, without Uncle Jaewon, she endured a 10-year nightmare with her strength alone.

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

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

“It’s been a long time, Young Master.”

Kang Ihyeon, who had been fiddling with his necktie, straightened his back and walked forward.

His grandfather’s secretary bowed to him and led him to the dining room.

“Hello.”

A long dining table. At the very front sat his grandfather, and next to him were relatives dressed in suits and dresses.

Grandfather, who was cutting a steak, noticed Kang Ihyeon and spoke.

“You’re late.”

“I apologize. I received the message to come a bit late, so I was slightly delayed.”

“Look, the thirteenth seat is empty.”

Kang Ihyeon sighed inwardly at the bleak atmosphere that felt more like a business meeting than a family gathering.