"Are you sure you're going to be okay going like this?"
Se Ah watched Min Hyun putting back his clothes after a brief shower and could not help but wince every time the fabric touched his damaged skin, just imagining it sent shivers down her spine.
"It's fine, Miss Yoon, I would love for you to take care of me but I really need to go."
It was true, right after Miss Yoon finally let go of Min Hyun's worn-off body, he received a message from his father inviting him to an urgent meeting at his office. It was the first time Se Ah saw him react so seriously to a mere text message, it almost felt like he was called in to fight a forest fire. On the other hand, watching him get ready in such a rush felt like she was a housewife sending her busy husband off to the night shift. It was dangerously confusing.
When Min Hyun was all set to leave, he looked at his reflection in the mirror next to the exit, sighed, and mumbled almost incomprehensibly,
"I can hide my body but the lips... What should I say?"
"You sound like you're going back home to your wife after having an affair."
Se Ah leaned on the wall to his right and grinned. Min Hyun frantically shook his head and scratched the back of his neck trying to hide his awkwardness.
"It's nothing like that! I am meeting my... father."
He uttered the last word so reluctantly, it almost felt like he forgot how to say it for a moment. Miss Yoon widened her eyes, shocked by his reply.
"Your father?! So what kind of excuse will you give him, then?"
"I don't know yet, I'll have to think about it on my way there."
The intern shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant smile on his face, while Se Ah rubbed her forehead in obvious distress. But what was the point of that? It was not her problem anyway, yet somehow, she still felt responsible. It was burdensome, she needed to get rid of that feeling as soon as possible. She lightly pushed Min Hyun on his back and said in a rather irritated voice,
"Alright, just go already. And make sure to take care of yourself when you get back home."
"Good night, Miss Yoon!"
Min Hyun waved her goodbye but she only shut the door in his face without even saying anything. He touched his still-stinging lips, then let out a heavy sigh, and strode to the elevators. The car was already waiting for him at the hotel entrance, and when he jumped into the front seat with the black suit jacket in his hands, Ji Seon widened his eyes and almost shouted at him,
"What the fuck?! Hyung, just what kind of sex are you having?!"
The intern opened the transparent plastic case that was covering the jacket, put it on rather skillfully, then fixed his damp hair, and leaned back in the car seat.
"Kids like you won't understand."
Ji Seon pouted like an offended child.
"We're the same age, you know."
"Just watch the road, will you? And don't park next to his building, I need to fix myself up before I go to see him."
"Yes, boss."
Ji Seon nodded and started the car while Min Hyun closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, sinking into his own thoughts. Why would he even need to come up with an excuse, anyway? The old man would not care what happened to his face, he would not care if he came to see him sitting in a wheelchair, as long as he would still do whatever he would be ordered to do.
Mr. Yang's office was in the tall business center built by his own construction company twelve years ago. While his company was mainly involved in building and designing residential buildings and hotels, somehow, he regarded this office center as his most valuable project so far.
Min Hyun was already on his way to the elevators when he heard familiar voices ahead of him. He felt an unexpected wave of disgust filling him up from the inside like liquid waste.
"Min Hyun? You came sooner than I expected. Gosh, what happened to your face?"
Yang Min Seok stopped right in front of him and grabbed his brother's face by the chin but Min Hyun slapped his hand away and almost hissed at him like an angry stray cat. Min Seok raised his hands in the air as if he was surrendering to him, and sighed.
"I guess your face is a sore spot right now, I understand."
"And what's wrong with your face, brother? You seem unusually distressed today."
Min Seok loosened his dark-blue tie and rustled his hand through his perfectly styled hair, leaving it in a rather messy state.
"Father brought up the topic of marriage again so we had a little fight. I suggest you don't get on his nerves right now."
Min Hyun's face melted into an inappropriately wide, although painful, smile but the sense of his brother's words was almost as effective as a healing potion. Marriage, of course! Even if Min Seok were to flirt with Miss Yoon, there was no way their father would allow him to marry her! Everything was returning back to its place, and Min Hyun was now ready to even face the Devil himself.
"Ugh, I envy you, brother. Marriage is the only thing you have to worry about, how unfortunate! Anyway, I must go now. Get home safely!"
The intern almost sang those words as he patted his brother on the shoulder, offered him a surprisingly supportive smile, and walked away, whistling a cheerful melody like a madman. Min Seok brushed his shoulder with his hand and furrowed his eyebrows - Min Hyun's fake compassion annoyed him even more than the bothersome topic of an arranged marriage.
"Sure, life must be relatively easy when you're this crazy, right, Lee Min Hyun?"