Expensive antiques were displayed beside the antique furniture, along with paintings that looked like they belonged in an art museum. Vases overflowing with luscious flowers were arranged throughout the house, and staff members bustled about carrying food on serving carts.
Among them stood a middle-aged man in a neat suit, directing the people. This was Butler Yang, who handled all the affairs of the main household. As he was having the staff reset the stained tableware, someone approached from behind. Sensing the presence, Butler Yang turned around and pushed up his glasses. The man who had just arrived was the second son of the house, Kang Il-hyun.
"Welcome, Managing Director Kang."
"It's been a while."
"The Chairman said he and the Madam will be down in 30 minutes."
"Yes, I'll wait."
Butler Yang smiled and bowed slightly. Then he returned to his work. Watching his disciplined back as he gave meticulous instructions to the staff, Il-hyun fell into thought.
How old was he when he first saw Butler Yang? It was so long ago he couldn't remember. His mother was still alive then, so it must have been over 20 years. Even back then, the man didn't reveal his inner thoughts easily. Even when slapped or vented at by his mother, he always smiled like he did now.
Scrape. The sound of a chair being pulled dragged Il-hyun out of his old memories. Kang Yu-jeong, who had just arrived, took a seat beside him. Dressed in a comfortable T-shirt and jeans, she looked visibly exhausted at a glance. Unlike the three siblings who worked at the company, she had a separate profession as a doctor. A surgeon who saw blood almost daily, yet she said she was satisfied with her work.
"I thought you weren't coming."
"I came to see you. It's been a long time since we've seen each other's faces."
My cute little sister. Come here, let me hug you. She reached out her hand, and Il-hyun frowned, pulling his upper body back. Seeing that normally expressionless face contort, Yu-jeong cackled with delight.
"Is that funny?"
"Look in a mirror. Don't I look funny? If you saw your own rotting expression, you'd understand how I feel."
"Some hobby you have."
"Don't be cold. Did you forget we're on the same team?"
Il-hyun scoffed. Team... Yu-jeong was the only one among the siblings who shared the same mother as Il-hyun. But she too had no fond memories of their mother. Drunk and drugged until the moment she hanged herself from the second-floor railing, she never gave affection to her children. It wasn't entirely her fault. It was an unwanted marriage from the start, so how could she possibly love her children?
"You two arrived early."
Kang Tae-han and his wife Park Sun-ju, who arrived late, joined the dining table. Unlike yesterday when she served free meals, Sun-ju's makeup was heavier and her clothes more extravagant today. Sun-ju greeted Yu-jeong with particular warmth. Though they were sister-in-law and sister-in-law, the two got along quite well. They shared common hobbies, and contrary to appearances, their uninhibited personalities meshed well.
"The Chairman and Madam are coming out."
As soon as Butler Yang finished speaking, the four people sitting in their chairs stood up simultaneously. Chairman Kang, coming down the long curved staircase, was leaning on a cane, and beside him, his third wife and Kang Seok-ju's mother, Kim Sun-young, held his arm to support him.
Even though there was nothing particularly wrong with his gait, she made every effort to attend to her husband. And behind them was Kang Seok-ju, who had his temple pressed by Il-hyun yesterday evening. Chairman Kang took the seat of honor, with Kim Sun-young and Kang Seok-ju taking their places beside him.
"Everyone sit."
As soon as the words fell and everyone took their seats, Kim Sun-young's gaze shifted to Kang Il-hyun. Even while they waited after ordering the main course, her gaze didn't waver. Il-hyun set down his water glass and asked Kim Sun-young directly.
"Mother. Is there something you'd like to say to me?"
Though his tone was gentle, the atmosphere in the room turned cold. Il-hyun knew better than anyone that she wouldn't let slide the injury to the son she doted on.
"Shouldn't you apologize before I ask? You put a hole in a perfectly fine child's face."
Il-hyun's gaze moved from Sun-young to Seok-ju sitting beside her. A gauze pad was stuck to his temple. When their eyes met, Seok-ju's head drooped like prey before a beast. Sun-young's eyebrows rose sharply, and her voice gained strength as she scolded her son.
"Raise your head. Are you a cripple? Why are you bowing when you did something wrong?"
"You can ask him directly. Kang Seok-ju, answer me. Did I do something to you that warrants an apology?"
"...."
"Answer. If you want, I'll do it right here."
Seok-ju's anxious eyes darted around. High on drugs, he could at least act arrogant, but sitting here with a clear mind was hell. Every sibling's gaze pierced him like thorns.
"N-no. It's fine. Brother. It happened because I made a mistake... there's no need for you to apologize..."
Il-hyun looked at Sun-young with a regretful expression and smiled.
"You saw that? He says it wasn't my fault."
"You really..."
"Stop it. What kind of behavior is this at the dining table?"
At Chairman Kang's sharp rebuke, everyone fell silent. Kim Sun-young looked at her husband with a hurt expression. She knew he favored Kang Il-hyun. Of course, he was capable and looked just like him, so that was understandable, but seeing him overlook such excessive behavior sometimes made her blood boil. She bit her lower lip and clenched her fist under the table.
When the main dishes arrived and the meal began, the somewhat tense atmosphere gradually relaxed. Most of the conversation was about work, with occasional mentions of Tae-han's twins and Yu-jeong's hospital.
"When did you say Chang's son is coming?"
Tae-han, who was drinking wine, answered first. Tomorrow.
"Where will he stay?"
Il-hyun, who was cutting meat, lifted the tip of his knife slightly. I'm planning to have him stay with me.
"Take good care of him. He's Chang's son, so he's like a brother to you all."
At the word brother, Il-hyun smiled faintly. Fuck, there's too many brothers already.
"Yes, I will, Father."
Just then, Seok-ju sitting across from him came into Il-hyun's view. He watched with amusement as the man flinched whenever their eyes met, then suddenly had a good idea.
"Come to think of it, it would be better for Seok-ju to take care of him. They're the same age, so they'll probably have things in common."
Seok-ju's knife slipped as he was cutting his steak. Why was the arrow suddenly flying at him? He looked up at Il-hyun, who was smiling with a wine glass in hand. Goosebumps rose on his skin, so he quickly averted his gaze. He didn't know what the man was plotting, but he ground his teeth, determined that someday he would kill that bastard with his own hands.
***
"I've always been interested in Korean art. So I asked my grandfather and got to come here."
Watching Ja-kyung speak like a robot, Wang Han clicked his tongue. No, even robots these days would be better than that. To stay at Kang Il-hyun's house, he had to pretend to be someone else, and of all people, it had to be a weak young master. Wang Han looked Ja-kyung over from head to toe. His skin was tanned by Thailand's hot sun to nearly copper, and his eyes were so intense they could pierce through glass even with glasses on. Moreover, a snake with its mouth wide open crawled across his shoulder—who would look at that and see a weak young master?
"Ja-kyung. Don't go out until you leave the country. That might help your skin recover a bit."
"Skin?"
"You were definitely pale when you were young. No, even the year before last when you were in Shanghai, it wasn't this bad. If you stay holed up at home for about two weeks, it'll be better than now."
Ja-kyung pursed his lips until wrinkles formed on his chin and fell into deep thought. To infiltrate the target's house, he had to impersonate a Hong Konger named Jang Yi-an. He was the grandson of the boss of the Hong Kong organization Black Society, who lost his father at a young age and was raised preciously by his Korean mother and grandfather—a hothouse flower.
In comparison, he was a weed. A weed that endured steadfastly even when trampled and crushed. Both were plants, but of different classes.
"I wonder who the client is."
Ja-kyung suddenly became curious. Wang Han guessed it was someone from the Ha-eun Group. Someone with the power to commission an assassination through Dmitri as an intermediary. Someone who could swap out a big shot's grandson. And someone who wouldn't be easily discovered even after doing so.
"It must be family."
In this world, it was commonplace. Family or friends killing each other. Even lovers were no exception. Putting bullets through the heart and head of someone you'd shared your body with last night was nothing special. That was why Ja-kyung didn't easily trust or meet people.
"Whoever it is, they'll realize they made an excellent choice. Picking me, that is."
Seeing Ja-kyung's confident face, Wang Han shook his head.
"With your acting skills, you'll be found out in no time."
"Is it that bad?"
Wang Han stared intently at Ja-kyung's face. His eyes with thin double eyelids were large and clear. The shape of his eyes changed with his gaze. The area around his eyes was unusually red, so when he looked down, he appeared forlorn, and when he looked up, the corners raised slightly, giving him a bewitching look. Women went crazy for that.
"Hmm... try relaxing your eyes a little. Right now they're very sharp."
At the mention of being sharp, Ja-kyung opened and closed his eyes wide to relax his eye muscles. How about now? he looked at Wang Han, but this time he'd relaxed too much and looked dull. Wang Han shook his head as he searched for the brown irises that had disappeared between his eyelids.
"Forget it."
"How about this?"
Now he was deliberately crossing his eyes to play around, so Wang Han grumbled that if he was going to use that handsome face like that, he should give it to him instead.
"Your face is one thing, but never let them see you undressed. If they see the small scars on your body, they'll be suspicious from the start."
Hearing this, Ja-kyung laughed in disbelief and leaned back in his chair.
"Don't worry. What reason would I have to take my clothes off? It's not like I'm going to seduce Kang Il-hyun."