“Did you buy every Korean snack out there?”

“Not all of them—just the ones you like. I got everything else ready too. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

There wasn’t a Korean town here, nor were there stores stocked with Korean goods. It was just that Joo Seunghyuk had been meticulously prepared.

“Did you hire the staff locally...?”

“Yeah. I had my secretary do the recruiting. The mansion’s unnecessarily large, so I needed a few people to maintain it. I’ve put most of them on leave for now—didn’t want anyone else seeing you.”

No wonder there were so few staff despite the mansion’s size... Seunghyuk had ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ given them time off. And when he said “hired here,” he must have meant Korean nationals living abroad, not natives of the island.

He hadn’t lied.

Everything he’d told me matched up with the situation and with the memo Joo Gyeongchan had left behind. I was the one who’d made assumptions.

“If people found out Red Lotus Flame was growing here, they’d lose their minds.”

“They’d go absolutely rabid.”

Plenty of pharmaceutical companies still hadn’t given up on researching Red Lotus Flame. There were scientists who insisted the flower held limitless potential.

But Red Lotus Flame withered the moment it left a Gate. Its mana plummeted to less than a thousandth of its original potency. Any drug made with the wilted flower would be essentially useless.

Joo Gyeongchan had understood this too. He believed that if he could bring back a living sample, he could develop the drug he wanted. The memo he left was filled hundreds of times over with the phrase “live Red Lotus Flame.”

Other pharma groups had tried similar paths, but no one had found a solution yet.

If they learned that Red Lotus Flame was blooming on the surface, they’d absolutely lose it—just like Seunghyuk said.

Now that I think about it, in the original novel, Joo Jeonghan once made Yeonsu a proposal.

He said there was a drug made from a special variant of Red Lotus Flame—and that if Yeonsu took it, he might awaken as an Omega. After much hesitation, Yeonsu took the pill, but nothing happened.

Was it this...?

“Then... is Sungan Pharmaceuticals experimenting on Red Lotus Flame right now?”

“No. I’d rather burn the place to the ground than hand anything over to that bastard Jeonghan. Unless he sneaks in and steals it himself, there’s no way I’d give it to him.”

Seunghyuk’s voice turned icy. Clearly, his relationship with Jeonghan was as bad as ever.

“Didn’t this mansion originally belong to Joo Gyeongchan? Wasn’t there also a Sungan lab here? Doesn’t that mean Jeonghan might still have some ownership stake?”

I wondered whether it was okay to bring up their biological father, but considering it was common knowledge in Korea, I asked directly.

“No. After Joo Gyeongchan died, ownership transferred to the chairman—my father. And now it’s mine.”

In the original novel, the chairman had planned to pass everything on to his nephews, Jeonghan and Taehan. But it seemed this time, he’d given it all to his biological son—Joo Seunghyuk.

“Do you like the mansion? Want it?”

“Ah—no! I don’t need it. It’s too big. It’s kind of overwhelming.”

Knowing Seunghyuk, he really might hand over the deed. I quickly shook my head.

“Okay. But if you ever want it, just tell me.”

“Sure...”

That was never going to happen.

“But, hyung.”

“Hm?”

“Why were you crying earlier?”

His voice was gentle, like the sound of waves.

“It was the novel, I—”

“It wasn’t because of the novel.”

Even I had to admit it was a flimsy excuse. Of course he’d see right through it.

And with the ring’s power showing me the past, it was only a matter of time before Seunghyuk figured it out anyway.

“Actually... I saw the past. I think the ring resonated with the Linked Gate, and that triggered a special ability. So... everything that happened in that warehouse—”

Even so, it was hard to say aloud. I didn’t want to reopen wounds that had already scarred.

As I hesitated, Seunghyuk spoke softly.

“You saw my childhood?”

“...Yeah.”

“Is that why you stayed? Out of pity?”

He didn’t ask if that’s why I cried. He asked why I stayed.

So he knew I’d been thinking about running away....

“No, I—”

I rushed to deny it. I wanted to lie, say I never intended to leave. But looking into his dark eyes, I couldn’t.

And yet, Seunghyuk didn’t get angry.

“If I’d known that, I would’ve told you sooner.”

Instead, he gave me a faint smile.

“I was really, really pitiful. I didn’t even know the Korean alphabet properly until I was thirteen.”

He drew emoticons like ‘ㅠ_ㅠ’ and ‘>_<’ into the sand with his finger.

“These symbols would show up in books, and I had no idea what they meant. I thought they were some kind of special Hangul. I didn’t know they were facial expressions. Silly, right?”

“No.”

I shook my head slightly.

“I always ate leftovers—what people didn’t want anymore. And if someone tossed me an expired cup noodle, I’d be grateful. Even boiling water for it, I had to be careful not to get caught. There was so much more.”

“......”

I bit down on my lip and tried to keep my tears in. Seunghyuk held my hand tightly.

“Then pity me. Even pity is fine—just stay with me.”

“Seunghyuk...”

“Don’t leave pitiful me alone.”

He pleaded like a child. He was willing to bare every ugly detail of his past just to keep me.

“I won’t go.”

It came out impulsively—but I didn’t want to take it back.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

I kissed him. Lips brushing, lingering, then parting slowly.

Seunghyuk stared at me, stunned, before pulling me into a tight embrace.

“Let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

“We’ve been through a lot today. Let’s get some real rest.”

“Yeah, let’s.”

And so, life at the mansion resumed.

I took one last look at the ocean.

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” he added.

“...What?”

“Early in the morning.”

I hadn’t misheard. We were really leaving the island.

And the moment I gave up running from him—was the moment I found freedom.

I had passed Joo Seunghyuk’s test.

***

I found freedom.

But right after that came the next ordeal.

The next morning, Joo Seunghyuk and I climbed to the mansion’s rooftop.

A helicopter was waiting. As the spinning propellers roared in my ears, my blood ran cold and my legs buckled. Seunghyuk caught me immediately.

“Careful, hyung.”

“Se, Seunghyuk... are we getting on that?”

“Yeah.”

He smiled brightly.

But while Seunghyuk looked thrilled, I was in full-on panic mode.

“Shall we go?”

“W-Wait!”

I grabbed his hand in a panic just as he turned toward the helicopter. He blinked, his eyes curving into amused crescents.

“I love it when you grip my hand like that.”

Love it, my ass, you crazy bastard!

“Seunghyuk, can’t you knock me out? Just hit me, really hard.”

“How could I hit you? Even as a joke, don’t say things like that.”

Totally out of character for a yandere whose hobbies include kidnapping and casual violence.

“Just enough to knock me out—just once.”

“Absolutely not. I could never.”

He cupped my face gently, like he was handling a delicate treasure.

Come to think of it, no matter how furious he got, he’d never actually hurt me.

If he couldn’t knock me out, then I had to try something else.

“Then a sleeping pill! Like the one I took last time—just put me under!”

That’s how I’d flown here to begin with. It could work again.

But Seunghyuk firmly shook his head.

“Hyung, you can’t rely on those. They’re bad for your health. You should only eat things that are good for you.”

What kind of health-conscious yandere are you?! This goes against everything the role stands for!

“But still...”

Just hearing the helicopter’s rotors spin made my hands go cold. I was already scared of airplanes—there was no way I was getting on a chopper.

Honestly, if my fear hit max level and I passed out, that might be ideal.

Then Seunghyuk pulled me into a warm hug.

“Is it really that scary?”

“Yeah... Seunghyuk, can I please take the pill, just this once?”

“Come here.”

He took my hand and led me back down from the rooftop.

“Seunghyuk, where are we going? To get the pill?”

“No. We’re taking the boat.”

“The... boat?”

“Yeah. I figured you might be scared, so I got a yacht ready just in case.”

When we walked down to the beach, a sleek white yacht waited by the water.

“Seunghyuk...”

“You don’t get seasick, right?”

“Nope!”

I nodded eagerly. Seunghyuk chuckled and patted my cheek.

We boarded the yacht together. As the motor roared and sea spray flew, the vessel slowly pulled away.

The mansion disappeared into the distance.

I thought of Seunghyuk’s childhood again, and my chest clenched. I squeezed his hand tightly. He squeezed back.

And on his face bloomed the brightest smile I’d ever seen.