* * *

Wonbeom came here to hide for a while in a secure place, but despite appearing fine on the surface, his condition wasn’t great.

Now, he should fight like a businessman—strategically and diplomatically—but the executives who had grown up in the underworld still preferred solving problems with brute force.

They used the same method they once relied on to eliminate their competition on Wonbeom.

Past midnight, as Wonbeom was driving home, a truck slammed into his car.

Bang!

The impact was so powerful that his car spun on the road before crashing into the guardrail.

Fortunately, Kim, the driver, had noticed the truck speeding towards them and managed to swerve, or else the truck would have hit the side where Wonbeom was sitting, potentially killing him on the spot.

Hoooonk!

The loud sound of the horn echoed through the quiet, early morning road.

Kim, with his head resting on the steering wheel, wanted to check if Wonbeom was okay, but his body wouldn’t listen.

He barely managed to move his eyes, yet he still couldn’t see behind him.

[D-director…]

[……]

[Di…]

[…Yeah.]

Wonbeom had braced himself just before the crash, but the blow had rattled his head so much that it took him a moment to regain his senses.

[Hah…]

He let out a dry chuckle as he saw the figures approaching the car.

They hadn’t stopped at causing an accident; they had sent a number of people to finish the job.

However, Wonbeom had anticipated that this day would come sooner or later, so he always kept his people nearby.

His men, having witnessed the accident, rushed to the scene, and a chaotic fight broke out between them and the attackers.

The number of enemies, however, was significant.

Wonbeom had no choice but to join the brawl.

In the process, he was stabbed by someone wielding a knife.

Before the blade could sink in deeper, he swung his fist, shattering the attacker’s head, but the knife had already gone in deep.

[Director!]

[…Damn it.]

Getting stabbed wasn’t part of the plan.

Cheongoh rushed over and supported him.

[Let’s get you to the hospital right away!]

[Don’t kill them all—leave a few alive.]

Luckily, the knife had only grazed him, sparing any vital organs.

The incident that happened in the early hours of the morning made headlines, with hundreds of articles flooding in.

Even if it had involved a regular citizen, it would’ve been newsworthy, but the fact that the victim was an executive embroiled in a high-stakes corporate power struggle made it even more sensational.

On top of that, the road’s CCTV footage from that night was mysteriously unavailable.

It turned out that Chairman Kim’s side had tampered with it to set up the ambush.

Wonbeom decided to use this situation to his advantage.

For now, Wonbeom was said to be in the ICU, where no visitors were allowed.

Eventually, they would figure out he was fine, but until then, it would buy him enough time to strike back.

He hesitated to come here because of Jingyeom’s safety, but there was no better place.

He had already hired security guards for the mansion, and a visiting doctor was on call, making it an ideal hideout.

Of course, Soohyuk and Jinu weren’t too happy about it.

Wonbeom couldn’t take his eyes off Jingyeom, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“What have you been doing here for fun?”

“I’ve been reading books, playing games, watching movies… I’ve done a lot.”

“What book were you reading?”

“…”

“You said you were reading a book.”

“…Now that you ask, I can’t remember the title.”

When Jingyeom naturally blamed him for forgetting, Wonbeom shrugged his shoulders.

“Are you going to rest?”

“I was thinking about it. Why?”

“I’ll give you a tour of the mansion!”

Though he needed to rest, Wonbeom couldn’t ignore Jingyeom’s eager eyes, and he didn’t want to either.

“Sure.”

As he stood up from the sofa, Wonbeom still hadn’t let go of Jingyeom’s wrist.

Even though Jingyeom shook his arm, asking him to let go, Wonbeom simply tugged him along, telling him to lead the tour.

The tour of the mansion was really just for Jingyeom himself.

He repeated the introductions Mrs. Jeong had given on the first day, adding his own experiences to the mix.

He talked non-stop about which games were fun and how shocking the ending of the book was.

Even though he’d spoken to others in the mansion, talking with someone he knew was different.

Jingyeom dominated the conversation, just as usual.

In fact, the mansion’s staff would at least respond out of obligation, but with Wonbeom, it was more of a one-sided chatter.

Wonbeom wasn’t much of a conversationalist, but Jingyeom didn’t seem to mind and kept talking anyway.

“There’s a pool both outside and in the basement. It’s really big, but I haven’t used it yet!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. It feels like a waste to fill it up just for myself when no one else is using it.”

Wonbeom had expected it to be because Jingyeom didn’t like water, but he was a little surprised by the practical reasoning.

Maybe it was because the old Baek Jingyeom still lingered in his mind, but seeing this side of him felt new.

Still, the idea of wanting to swim but holding back due to wastefulness didn’t sit well with him.

“If you want to swim, do it. The water won’t go to waste. The house is big enough; we can use it for cleaning later.”

Jingyeom’s eyes widened at the thought.

“Oh! I didn’t think of that! See… there’s a reason you’re a top executive.”

“…”

“So, should we swim tomorrow? I didn’t want to go alone, but if I go with you, it’ll be fine!”

Wonbeom couldn’t immediately agree.

The stab wound wasn’t fully healed, and he needed to be cautious.

But he also didn’t want to disappoint Jingyeom, who looked so excited.

Sensing Wonbeom’s hesitation, Jingyeom quickly added,

“Never mind. It’s too cold to swim anyway. Let’s just go to the greenhouse instead.”

“No, we can swim.”

“Don’t force yourself to do it just because of me. Really!”

“I’m not forcing myself. I’m serious—we’ll swim.”

Seeing that Wonbeom wasn’t frowning and seemed genuine, Jingyeom nodded slowly.

Truthfully, he really wanted to try the pool.

The lack of memories made everything feel like a new experience, which wasn’t entirely bad.

Well, only that part was good.

Jingyeom proudly showed Wonbeom the greenhouse, boasting about how he’d even pulled the weeds himself.

Of course, he left out the part where he pulled out a lot of non-weeds too.

Finally settling onto a bench, Wonbeom let out a short breath.

No matter how strong his body was, it had only been two days since the car accident and the stabbing.

His body needed more time to recover.

“See that over there? There’s a shower room next to the bathroom. You can even set up a tent here and sleep. Isn’t that cool?”

Wonbeom quietly watched Jingyeom, who kept talking without a break.

“It’s so warm here that you get really sleepy. Oh, should we watch a movie later? Do you like action movies? They’re sorted by genre, so it’s easy to pick one.”

How could someone talk this much? Wonbeom wondered how Jingyeom had managed to keep quiet before.

“The movie we watched last night was… how do I put this… shocking. It’s about a mafia that messes with a man who used to be in a special forces unit, and they all end up getting wiped out. Do you think one person could really do something like that?”

Jingyeom continued talking, staring at the ceiling, oblivious to Wonbeom’s gaze.

“Well, it’s a movie, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Could you win in a 17-on-1 fight?”

“Depends on who I’m up against.”

“Oh… I thought you’d say you could win for sure.”

Although Wonbeom wasn’t one to brag, Jingyeom thought he would at least say it was possible.

But surprised by the unexpected answer, Jingyeom teasingly pursed his lips.

“If it were 100 guys like you, I’d definitely win.”

“…”

Jingyeom shot him a sidelong glance, scrunching his nose before turning away.

“I’m leaving.”

“I’ll stay here. Guys like me, who would lose even if there were 100 of us, need a lot of sunlight.”

“It’s called sunbathing.”

“Same thing!”

Jingyeom, who had shouted in frustration, turned completely on his side.

Wonbeom chuckled and lightly tapped Jingyeom’s back.

“If you stay in the sun too long, you’ll get dizzy.”

“You just said it’s sunbathing.”

“And you said it was photosynthesis.”

“…Ah, seriously.”

Jingyeom groaned, his face scrunched in irritation, as he got up.

But he didn’t dare show his annoyance outright to Wonbeom, instead grumbling under his breath.

As he was about to step off the bench, Jingyeom tripped and nearly fell forward.

Reflexively, Wonbeom reached out and caught him by the chest, preventing him from tumbling.

Unfortunately, it was his injured left side, where he had been stabbed, and he realized too late.

“Ugh.”

A sharp pain made Wonbeom let out a soft groan, and Jingyeom, startled, quickly looked at him.

“Are you okay?”

“You?”

“I’m fine… But did you hurt yourself trying to catch me?”

Jingyeom, now standing straight, looked Wonbeom over, touching his wrist and arm, asking if it hurt.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Even though Wonbeom could feel the wound had opened up again, he didn’t show it.

After all, there was a doctor here, and he could deal with it later.

---

Jingyeom didn’t stop Wonbeom from resting as he said he would.

As he wandered the living room, thinking of what to do next, he noticed the doctor, who usually stayed in the staff quarters, walking in and called out to him.

“I’m not sick, though!”

“Oh, I’m not here for you, Mr. Jingyeom. The director called me.”

“The director? Ah… Was he actually hurt earlier? Where’s he injured?”

“I heard the sutured area opened up. I’ll stitch it back up, and he should be fine after resting.”

“Sutures…?”

Jingyeom hadn’t heard about Wonbeom undergoing any surgery.

He recalled seeing many fresh wounds on his body, and his expression darkened.

Only then did the doctor remember that everything about Wonbeom was supposed to be kept secret from Jingyeom, and he wore a troubled look.

“Let’s go together. To my brother’s room.”

So, Jingyeom headed to Wonbeom’s room with the doctor.

* * *