Raphael pulled his hat down low, seemingly conscious of the gaze fixed upon him, and disappeared.
While I stood there in a daze, clutching the business card he had handed me, Gongi saw the card in my hand, let out a startled shriek, and hastily clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Hah…… Rapha…… hup!”
“It’s real?”
Ian’s eyes also widened as he looked at the card, a look of shock washing over his face.
He stared at the card for a moment, then cast his gaze toward the exit as if to double-check that Raphael was truly gone.
Despite their reactions, I just kept a tight grip on the card and continued reading that name over and over.
‘Raphael Bayern.’
The final target of Crown Maker.
Every time that name crossed my mind, my head spun.
My stomach churned, and my ears filled with a loud, buzzing noise.
It felt like my hearing loss was acting up again.
Feeling a wave of nausea rising, I clamped my mouth shut.
“Yoon Seohyun! What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
Gongi approached me, asking with a worried expression.
Ian added from beside him, “You’ve looked unwell since this morning. Do you want to go home?”
I needed to answer.
But I couldn’t shake my head, nor could I nod.
I just repeated meaningless nods while looking blankly ahead.
Then, I suddenly felt a hand gently grab and pull my chin upward.
“Yoon Seohyun, does it hurt anywhere?”
A face handsome enough to feel utterly detached from reality.
Facing that face made my head feel like it was going to hurt even more.
Reflexively, I closed my eyes and shook my head firmly.
Seeing that, Cedric silently began packing my things.
Soon, he handed me my bag with all my belongings inside, not saying a single word.
It was a considerate gesture.
If it had been Kim Semo, he probably would’ve cracked some useless joke in a situation like this.
Before I could even thank him, I just gave a rough nod and headed home.
“Sorry, see you tomorrow.”
“Should I go with you?”
“No.”
After a quick and decisive denial, I hurriedly flagged down a taxi.
As soon as I gave my home address and leaned my body against the car seat, the strength drained from my whole body, leaving me limp.
……It must be a nightmare. It’s just a dream I haven’t woken up from yet.
But that thought lasted only a moment.
I furiously yanked and pulled at my hair, but no matter what I did, nothing changed.
Reality was still the exact same.
It just got more confusing.
Soon, the taxi arrived in front of my house.
Even after arriving in front of my house, it wasn’t easy to open the door.
I took a deep breath and tried to steady my mind.
What if Lucian is still inside the house?
His unreal appearance flashed before my eyes and then quickly vanished.
……What do I mean, ‘what if’? I’ll just kick him out.
I can’t have some ominous entity hanging around inside my house.
The exact moment I made up my mind and reached to open the door—
Click.
The door opened first.
And right before my eyes, platinum-blond hair came into view.
“You’re back, Master?”
‘Fucking hell.’
Lucian stood there wearing an apron over his shirt, sporting a gentle smile.
Moreover, his sleeves were rolled up.
It looked like he had been cooking.
Hard muscles were revealed past the cuffs of the perfectly ironed shirt sleeves.
……If I get hit by that, it’s a six-week injury.
“Yeah… I’m back.”
I instinctively activated my survival instincts and answered.
“You’re late. I understand you only had a major class today, did you perhaps go to a cafe?”
He said I had a major class, but how the hell did he know my schedule?
On top of that, the word “cafe” rolling so naturally off his tongue felt entirely out of place.
Still, my mouth answered calmly while glancing sideways at his bulging muscles.
“Yeah. We needed to talk for a bit because of a team project assignment, but I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back early.”
Then, abruptly, Lucian closed the distance.
Along with a wave of his body scent, a shadow fell over my face.
……Is he going to hit me?!
I answered just fine though?!
For a split second, I squeezed my eyes shut, but contrary to my expectations, a large hand pressed against my forehead.
“You have a slight fever. You should rest. Would you like to have a meal later?”
I immediately nodded.
If Lucian tried to cook, it would probably just be Western food, and eating that would likely upset my stomach.
Besides, I didn’t want to eat food made by the black-hearted villain.
It felt like he might pull out a bottle of poison while smiling at any second.
However, a sudden doubt crossed my mind. Was there even anything edible in our fridge to begin with?
I let Lucian naturally take my bag and tidy it away while I took off my shoes and thought about it.
But at that moment, a savory aroma stimulated my nose.
Drawn in by the scent, my feet moved toward the dining table of their own accord.
“You like tonkatsu, don’t you?”
At those words, my heart nearly stopped.
The ultimate soul food of Korean men.
Tonkatsu was laid out right there on the table.
Driven as if under a spell, I hurried my steps further.
Lucian was already seated, skillfully slicing the tonkatsu.
The crisp sound of the well-cooked fried batter being cut echoed cheerfully.
The thing being cut was just tonkatsu, but his fingertips gave off the graceful air of slicing a fine steak.
“……Did you make this yourself?”
When I asked, Lucian smiled and nodded.
“Yes. Thinking back on the food you used to prepare and feed me, I figured this might be something you’d like.”
I was at a loss for words for a moment.
……Wait a minute, me?
At that moment, memories flashed across my mind.
Now that I think about it, among the various things I fed Lucian back then, tonkatsu was in the mix, so I made him eat a lot of it.
But he remembered all of that?
The man in front of me pushed the plate forward as quietly and gracefully as a butler.
“Go ahead, eat. Master.”
……Is this okay to eat?
Food handed over by the villain.
Like a poisoned chalice, it looked appetizing yet ominous at the same time.
Anxiety crept in that the taste might be overly sweet, or perhaps spine-chilling.
With trembling hands, I took a bite of the tonkatsu. And—
‘Fucking hell……!’
It was a taste so fantastic it made the world flash before my eyes!
The batter was crispy, and the inside was moist.
The rich umami spreading in my mouth almost brought tears to my eyes.
Lucian smiled warmly and wiped away a crumb of batter stuck to the corner of my lips.
The moment the cold silk glove brushed against my lips, I flinched.
And then Lucian naturally licked the crumb off his finger with his tongue.
……Crazy bastard, what are you doing?
