* * *

Grinding his teeth, Jinwoo thought back to that day a year ago.

When he returned home from work, Woohee had been outside in the garden, wearing shorts and a sleeveless top, his arms and knees glowing pink as if smeared with peach juice.

When July arrived, the peak temperature in Seoul soared to a sweltering 38.7°C.

Sweat poured down like rain even when standing still, and the news was filled with reports of farmers collapsing in the fields, urging people to stay indoors.

The blazing sunlight left the leaves in the garden parched and brittle.

Despite spraying pesticide, cicadas droned incessantly throughout the day.

It was said that their noisy cries were an effort to attract mates—a sign of summer as the season of fiery passion and unabashed desires.

At twenty years old, Yeo Woohee was so starved for connection that he found himself envying the mating cicadas.

Yeo Jinwoo’s relentless kindness was driving Woohee to frustration.

Despite his attempts to seduce Jinwoo, the latter remained completely unmoved, leaving Woohee doubting his own charm.

With summer break in full swing, Woohee was stuck at home, sprawled on the sofa eating ice cream while watching Animal Kingdom on TV.

In his tightly controlled, barren existence, the only way to witness anything remotely risqué was to observe how lions, zebras, or hippos mated.

A male lion mounted a lioness, diligently performing its reproductive duty.

As Woohee watched, he mentally analyzed how he might position himself in such scenarios.

But his musings were abruptly interrupted when the TV switched off without warning.

Standing nearby, Kang, the family steward, held the remote control.

“Ahem. Young Master, you’re still too young for this sort of thing.”

Animal Kingdom was a universally rated documentary even preschoolers could watch.

Denying him access to it felt absurd, and Woohee worried he might die young from pent-up frustrations.

Sullenly, he licked his spoon of ice cream.

“So what am I supposed to watch? No dramas, no celebrity gossip, only the 9 o’clock news?”

Jinwoo had banned all celebrity-related programs, claiming they were detrimental to Woohee’s education.

In response, Butler Kang turned the TV back on, offering to find a children’s program.

However, as he fumbled with the remote, switching channels aimlessly, a drama scene popped up on the screen.

An alpha and an omega were kissing.

Shocked, Kang dropped the remote.

Woohee, curious about the rare sight, fixed his attention on the two men passionately locking lips.

“Don’t watch this! It’s not appropriate!”

Butler Kang scrambled to pick up the remote and turn off the TV, but the batteries had fallen out.

Unable to stop the broadcast, Woohee managed to see the alpha pinning the omega to the bed.

Though the scene didn’t go beyond suggestive movements under the covers, Butler Kang’s face turned ghostly pale.

Panicking, he turned off the TV using the main power button.

“Please don’t tell the Director about what you just saw.”

Woohee pouted as he looked up at Kang.

“Then can I wear short sleeves and shorts?”

“…But that’s…”

“I’ll get permission from Mom, okay?”

The real hurdle wasn’t Kim Minjeong’s approval but Jinwoo’s strict rules.

Feeling conflicted, Butler Kang broke into a nervous sweat.

“I’ve been cooped up inside with the air conditioning all day, and it’s giving me a headache. I want to go out to the garden for fresh air and a walk. I’ll get Dad’s permission too, okay?”

No one Woohee’s age needed parental consent to wear short sleeves and shorts—it was the norm.

But Butler Kang, sympathetic to the younger master’s plight under Jinwoo’s suffocating control, hesitated.

Woohee lived in near isolation, confined to the house unless it was for school.

Denying him even the smallest freedoms seemed unbearably cruel.

Moved by pity for the kind, gentle second son who treated the staff well, Butler Kang decided to take a risk.

He secured permission from Woohee’s parents without informing Jinwoo, knowing full well the latter would never approve.

When Kang presented him with summer clothes, Woohee beamed.

“Thank you, Butler Kang!”

His bright smile lit up the atmosphere, drawing subtle smiles from the other staff members as well.

Woohee dashed up the stairs to his room and returned wearing the short-sleeved shirt and shorts, thrilled by their comfort and lightness.

“This feels so cool and comfy! I want to wear these every day in summer!”

“You really like them, don’t you, Young Master?”

Butler Kang smiled, pleased, as though he had given his own son a coveted toy.

Woohee’s happiness was evident in his glowing expression.

Excited to take a walk in the garden, Woohee went outside.

Spotting the gardener watering the flowerbeds with a hose, he exchanged greetings and soon took the hose in his hands, sprinkling water over the plants himself.

Sunlight filtered through his thin shirt, outlining his silhouette.

Dew-like beads of sweat formed on the nape of his slender neck, while water from the hose cast a faint rainbow in the air.

Laughter as bright as ringing jade filled the garden.

Butler Kang felt justified in his decision, moved by how such a simple change brought Woohee so much joy.

He resolved to have Woohee change back into his usual clothes before Jinwoo returned.

But an unexpected turn of events disrupted his plan—Jinwoo, who should have been at work, arrived home unannounced at 3 p.m.

By then, Woohee’s thin, damp shirt had become semi-transparent, clinging to his chest and belly, revealing the outline of his nipples and round navel.

His pale arms were fully exposed, and his shorts had ridden up, revealing his smooth thighs.

Caught under Jinwoo’s icy gaze, Woohee froze in shock, accidentally dropping the hose.

Water continued to gush onto the lawn, forming a puddle.

A sharp, heavy sound shattered the tense silence.

“Ah! Brother! Please, don’t—don’t do this!”

Yeo Jinwoo punched the gardener standing beside Yeo Woohee.

The gardener collapsed onto the dirty ground.

Clad in a flawless suit, Yeo Jinwoo kicked tirelessly, yet his face remained impassive, betraying no hint of the violent act he was committing—like a swan gliding serenely across a lake while paddling furiously beneath the surface.

The gardener writhed in pain, begging for his life.

Yeo Woohee clung to Jinwoo’s arm, pleading desperately for the innocent gardener.

Blood from the gardener’s shattered nose drenched his face, and Woohee’s trembling hands, which had been trying to stop Jinwoo, fell away naturally.

It was fear—fear that Jinwoo’s wrath might turn on him. Woohee stepped back helplessly, tears streaming down his large eyes.

“Woohee, how could you stoop so low as to fall for a gardener? Hmm? Was my brother always this worthless?”

“Sob… No! I didn’t fall for the gardener! I swear it’s not true!”

The gardener, battered mercilessly, finally lost consciousness.

His slightly parted lips revealed missing front teeth.

Yeo Jinwoo, unshaken except for the bulging muscles in his thighs beneath the tailored suit pants, continued his assault.

Turning to Woohee, who was weeping uncontrollably, Jinwoo clutched his chest, soaked from exertion.

“Then why was my brother—who isn’t a cheap prostitute—parading around like a man offering himself up for sale, with his chest exposed?”

“Sniff… It was just… sniff… water play.”

“And what about your shorts? What did you do to rip them?”

“Eek!”

Jinwoo reached his hand into the gap of Woohee’s shorts, which had ridden up above his knees.

Woohee tightly pressed his knees together, trying to block Jinwoo’s hand.

“When you wear shorts like this, it’s so easy for someone to slip their hand in, isn’t it? If my Woohee goes around dressed so carelessly, wouldn’t that worry me? Wouldn’t it?”

In a soft, almost coaxing tone, Jinwoo posed the question to the crying Woohee.

* * *