Heavy Rain Chapter 74

“Jin was wearing the same clothes today.”

Was it just his imagination? Because he couldn’t be sure, Lyle posed the question to the servant who managed the boy’s clothes.

“Ah.”

“Do you know the reason?”

“It seems that due to the cast, it has been difficult for him to choose wearable clothes lately. He looked for the clothes he wore today, which had been laundered and put away a while ago, so I brought them back to him.”

“…I see.”

The anxiety that had briefly subsided quickly consumed him again. How stupid. Wasn’t this something he should have paid more attention to much sooner? What on earth must Haejin have been thinking while worrying because he had no wearable clothes?

What if he thought he was being mistreated again?

A sudden surge of worry made it hard to breathe. Lyle barely managed to throw out an order to the servant who was looking at him with wonder.

“Order more clothes. Put in more types of comfortable clothes similar to what Haejin wore. Make sure he never has to wear the same clothes twice.”

“Yes, Master.”

“…And increase the number of dressing rooms by about two more. Make it so that everything can be swapped out and rotated immediately on a weekly basis.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Though the servant looked a bit flustered, he busily entered the orders into his mind. Even though everything was running according to his command, Lyle could not shake off his persistent anxiety.

It felt as though such trivial things would never be enough in Haejin’s eyes.

Strangely, everything felt insufficient and lacking.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

The next morning, Haejin forced his heavy eyes open.

After going to the hospital yesterday, fatigue had inevitably piled up. It wasn’t that his body was physically struggling, given his current state of passing the time listlessly. The weight was surely on the mental side.

Yesterday was manageable enough because he didn’t have to see any needles. When his foot was being scanned by the large machine, he endured it by closing his eyes as if he were dead.

They said the leg was recovering well enough. Of course, because the bone had been shattered and then set, he wouldn’t be able to do strenuous exercise even after a full recovery. However, it was a relief for Haejin that being able to walk slowly on two feet would be enough.

To get through the day today as he always had to, Haejin slowly went out to the drawing room. After waking his mind with a simple face wash, he went to the dressing room and noticed something eye-catching.

“….”

A set of clothes he would likely wear was placed neatly in the center of the dressing room. It was on the table where small items were occasionally placed temporarily.

Haejin picked them up without much suspicion. His hand went to them readily because they were the wide-legged pants he had been looking for lately due to the cast.

While slowly changing his clothes, Haejin thoughtlessly assumed that Mark must have prepared these. However, it was a bit strange that he could faintly sense Lyle’s pheromones.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

“Did he wear them?”

“Yes. I am told he dressed in them exactly as prepared.”

“…And he didn’t say anything in particular?”

“No.”

Perhaps because the trip to the hospital yesterday was tiring, Haejin couldn’t wake up until quite late. Consequently, Lyle had to pace endlessly in front of the boy’s room before leaving for work.

“Make sure to tell him to eat his meals.”

“Yes.”

“…Don’t tell him that those were clothes I chose.”

“I will make sure to instruct the mansion staff.”

It was a largely impulsive act. Because the boy didn’t wake up, he had time left over, and his body had moved on its own. Even though it was a largely unnecessary act since it wasn’t related to Haejin’s health.

As a result of his urgent orders yesterday, a large quantity of clothes similar to what Haejin sought had been stocked at the mansion. While personally choosing one of them and coordinating the outfit, Lyle struggled to regulate his pheromones. He was afraid the boy might feel unpleasant if he noticed.

He worried that Haejin might sense something strange and refuse them, but fortunately, he seemed not to have noticed. In the future, Haejin would likely never know that such kindness or consideration originated from Lyle, but it didn’t matter. The important thing was for the boy to be in a better environment.

“May I continue with the report?”

“Speak.”

“Ten of the fired servants have applied for loans. It appears they are moving to appoint legal counsel.”

Lyle narrowed his eyes at the report that made his head turn cold.

Some of those involved in the matter concerning Haejin were trying to pull out of a lawsuit that was bound to be prolonged. It was as if they had keenly sensed that it would end in vain.

So Lyle had planted people to investigate their surroundings. To find people who would plant the illusion in them that this lawsuit was extremely unfair and that perhaps there might even be hope for them.

Since Haejin was not the explicit subject of the lawsuit, they found hope. This was because the charges Lyle had brought against them seemed somehow a bit lighter than that.

Lyle had already blocked individual funding sources through various methods. Therefore, some had to take out loans to raise money for appointing a lawyer.

The one that approached them was one of the many moneylending companies he owned. Specifically, among them, places where the fact that the business belonged to him was well hidden.

“Make sure the loans are approved as much as possible.”

“I understand.”

Lyle occasionally utilized these entities when orchestrating situations that skirted the law. They were things he had prepared since he was young so that even his kinsmen would not know. He had made plans to use them usefully if his position were ever threatened.

Lyle, having lightly pronounced the ruin of someone’s life, turned his full attention back to Haejin. At any rate, their ruin was something they had brought upon themselves. Just as Lyle himself was experiencing now.

Thinking calmly that he should check if the boy had eaten well at the appropriate time, Lyle focused on his work again.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

The greenhouse was finally completed. It took a little longer than initially expected. This was because the scale had become much larger than originally planned during the construction process.

Even so, it was not a sight that fully satisfied Lyle’s eyes. Although the greenhouse was neat and well-equipped, it gave a slightly suffocating feeling, as if it were the limit of being indoors.

Having prepared breakfast there, Lyle invited Haejin.

Haejin, slowly following Mark into the outer garden area, had a look of great surprise. This was because this area had been practically abandoned as a wasteland, as it was a zone not even visible from the mansion entrance. To him, it felt as though a new building had appeared while he was spending a brief time quietly in the main building.

Clean black steel frames crossed the sky. Beneath them, fresh plants that did not match the season were moistly breathing out moisture. The moment he stepped over the threshold of the greenhouse, Haejin was dazed by the warm air that rushed over him.

Lyle cautiously led the boy, who was looking here and there, toward the dining table. His hand naturally received the thick overcoat Haejin was wearing.

Haejin, who had handed over his clothes obediently without realizing it, had a slightly troubled face only after sitting down. This was because he realized he had treated Lyle too comfortably out of habit. In fact, Lyle was tidying his clothes as if it were nothing, regardless of what he was thinking.

Let’s not do this.

“A greenhouse has been built.”

“Yes. Since the weather has turned cold, I thought you might feel suffocated if you stayed only in the dining room.”

Haejin opened his mouth intentionally to shift his attention. However, Lyle’s reply was again troublesome because it sounded as if he had built this massive greenhouse specifically for Haejin. He steadied his mind while swallowing a sigh inwardly.

As the meal began, silence fortunately settled quickly. Occasionally, the sound of the sprinklers running caught his attention. Then, his gaze naturally wandered through the greenhouse.

No matter how much one vowed to suppress their heart, there was no helping the reaction to new stimuli. After all, Haejin’s life had been excessively colorless since he became an adult.

The freshness of the green kept carving its way into his field of vision.

“Do you like it here?”

“…It is my first time eating in a greenhouse.”

Lyle asked Haejin as if it were no big deal. Even his gaze was fixed on the main dish placed before him. Nevertheless, Haejin chose his answer carefully while feeling tense.