Heavy Rain Chapter 76

In a way, the situation was no different from being under surveillance, yet it was difficult to maintain a sense of wariness. Whenever Mark’s wrinkled eyes curved into an arc, Haejin found himself wondering if this was what it would feel like to have a grandfather.

Haejin had no grandparents. The Bright couple who raised him had lost both of their parents early on. Since there were no close relatives either, Haejin, who had barely been incorporated into a place called family, was pushed out alone into society again after that accident.

“It was magnificent.”

Mark rambled on, claiming he had taken full charge of the greenhouse arrangement himself. He added that the area had been desolate for so long that it had been bothering him the whole time. Therefore, Haejin had no choice but to pour out his honest impressions.

Certainly, it was the first time in his life seeing such a magnificent greenhouse. To use such a place entirely as a dining area was likely an experience he would never have again. Since it was already a thing of the past anyway, Haejin tried his best not to attach any special meaning to it.

Even while he was subconsciously telling Mark that the blue arched entrance inside the greenhouse was particularly cool.

“It will be finished soon. It seems you can move in immediately after eating in about two hours. Is there any food you would like to have?”

“No. Everything is fine.”

Unless it was a time when he missed his mother’s star soup, Haejin had never specifically asked for anything. Even knowing that, Mark did not stop asking for his thoughts at every mealtime.

“By the way, I am worried you might lose sleep because your sleeping quarters have changed. Would you like a simple glass of wine in the evening? After drinking it, sleep should come reasonably well.”

“Ah, wine…”

“Hmm… I heard from the examination results that your physical condition has improved significantly, so a little alcohol is okay. Do you enjoy any alcohol other than wine?”

Haejin thought Mark would back off as usual at the sound of him saying there was nothing he wanted to eat. Instead, because he asked something unexpected, Haejin could not hide his bewildered expression in time.

“It is just that, I have never tried drinking alcohol before.”

“Oh, I see.”

The one who could not hide his embarrassment was Mark as well. It was as if he had never considered the possibility that the boy had not tried alcohol at all.

He was someone who had entered the mansion as soon as he became an adult. Since it was not a time in his life where he could spend his years comfortably drinking alone, he had never once had a drink. Though he remembered well how his hyung would often drink and cling to him in a good mood.

Mark, who had fallen into thought with a serious face for a moment, showed a broad, refreshing smile again. It was because he was conscious of Haejin’s gaze, which looked at him as if checking his reaction even though he had done nothing wrong.

“Then why not experience it this time?”

“Ah…”

“I will specifically choose a good wine with low alcohol content. Of course, you do not have to drink it if you do not want to.”

Mark rambled on again, saying there were so many good wines hidden in the mansion. Mark had become much more social after Haejin grew a bit accustomed to him.

In the end, Haejin ended up nodding dazedly.

“Yes…”

“Then I will come to get you again. Contact me anytime if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

To him, who never forgot to offer his thanks, Mark left behind another warm smile and disappeared.

It felt as if a sudden storm had passed. Wine; was he really about to experience something so unexpected? Haejin tried hard to bury this situation, telling himself that at least his body seemed to have gotten better.

Without even knowing exactly who he was hiding it from.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

The car heading toward the mansion was particularly slow today. Even though it was the chronic urban traffic congestion at this hour, Lyle could not suppress his thirst and kept looking out the window.

Around the afternoon, he had been informed that the move of Haejin’s room had finished safely. He was worried the boy might change his mind midway, but he was told the boy moved quite compliedly. Although they said he acted awkwardly once he actually entered that bedroom.

Hearing that news, Lyle was seized by the thought that he should have done this much sooner. From the beginning, he shouldn’t have been preoccupied with the guest room but should have just given him a good room. Furthermore, wasn’t Haejin’s room too far away, even if it was just a matter of distance?

There were still so many things he had to hand over like this, but time was just passing by mercilessly.

“Where is Jin?”

“He is in his room. He is likely waiting for you.”

To the question asked as soon as he arrived at the mansion, Mark answered with a benevolent smile. Even though they were the same words as usual, his feelings were fresh. Because the room mentioned today shared a drawing room with Lyle.

Thanks to that, his legs moved as if they were flying. Even though his reason shouted that it was surely a useless expectation, his body was so eager he could not help himself. To think he found it so pleasing and hard to bear just because the room where the boy stayed had gotten a little closer. He thought once again that the imprint was a terrifying thing.

Lyle, who was about to hurriedly open the door to the drawing room, paused for a moment and then cautiously rang the bell. A low response came from inside.

Upon entering, Haejin’s pheromones felt a bit thicker than usual. The boy was sitting on the sofa in the drawing room, looking down at something about the size of his palm.

“Jin.”

“You are late.”

Lyle, who had entered in a slightly excited mood, came to an abrupt halt. He had ended up a few minutes later than the promised time. Feeling a sense of “Oh no,” he hurried to his seat while checking Haejin’s complexion.

He wondered if the boy’s mood was ruined because he was late without permission.

“Sorry. Because the traffic was backed up particularly bad today. I will try to move a bit more diligently from now on.”

“…No, not to that extent.”

Lyle was likely the busiest person in this city. In contrast, he was someone so bored from having nothing to do at home that his body ached. Even now, wasn’t his bedroom attached right here?

In this absurd situation, he had to look at Lyle with a dubious face. The serious face looked very grave. Surely, he couldn’t have meant those words seriously.

As Haejin’s expression became subtle, Lyle became anxious in turn. Because the mansion was so far on the outskirts, the travel time was forced to be long. He felt he had to do something about it soon.

“How is the room you moved to? If there is anything lacking, make sure to tell me at any time.”

“….”

At the ensuing words, Haejin’s face became even more serious. Lyle’s request was no different from an insult to that new bedroom.

Even to Haejin’s eyes, who was ignorant of art, he could tell the items used in that room were extraordinary. On one side of the bedroom, a painting he felt he had seen somewhere before was hanging, and he was quite surprised that even a single doorknob had a detailed pattern engraved on it.

Furthermore, the size of the bedroom was enough to make one say it was vast. He had wondered why the bedrooms were awkwardly connected in a way that they faced the drawing room, but it was a mistake. This drawing room was just a passage, and the space assigned over there was so independent and massive it could be seen as its own entity.

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like a room meant for a mere passing guest to use.

“The room was too much for me. I will vacate it as soon as the construction is over.”

“…No. Stay comfortably until you go.”

After being here for only a few hours, Haejin was already thinking about leaving. From the moment the car was stuck in traffic, his endlessly thirsty heart began to drive him further. While controlling the pheromones that kept trying to run wild on their own, Lyle decided to change the subject.

He intended to shift the attention first and then work hard so that the boy could stay even a little longer. He definitely shouldn’t be greedy, but seeing Haejin once he entered this room, he kept feeling covetous.

Of this close distance.

“By the way, what were you looking at?”

“Ah… It is a family photo.”

However, at the place where he finally managed to shift the subject, an unexpected topic was lurking.

Lyle, who had been swallowing his clumsy greed, opened his eyes wide and tensed his spine. His heart began to race anxiously as if it were about to burst.

An awkward silence pressed heavily upon the drawing room. A faint gloomy aura also lingered in Haejin’s pheromones.

Lyle, who inwardly poured out unspeakable curses at himself for being prematurely greedy, took a deep breath. Every time the boy’s heavily sunken pheromones touched him, it felt as though heavy weights were being poured over his entire body.