The direct eye contact sent chills down his spine. It was a warning from his instincts. Not to provoke him further here.

“Why.”

The corners of his well-shaped mouth curled up crookedly.

“Have you already grown tired of our relationship?”

It seemed his sister’s message and advice had been fully reported. His heart sank at the behavior as if he had just been notified of a breakup.

That wasn’t it. He needed to say something, but he didn’t know what to say. The information he wanted to hide was suddenly holding him back.

“But what can I do? I have no intention of letting Ryu Seo-ha go.”

Choi Gang-hu applied force to his hand. The sneer flowing from his twisted lips hurt more than the throbbing of his firmly grasped chin.

He’s a man who grew up watching his mother’s pitiful state after being cast aside overnight due to his father’s change of heart. He wouldn’t easily tolerate his lover’s avoidant attitude.

“It’s too late even if you regret it now.”

Choi Gang-hu, muttering as if spitting out the words, bent down to kiss him but stopped. No, the distance that had been closing actually widened slightly.

Only after feeling the touch of the arm wrapping around his waist did he finally realize. His body had staggered due to the dizziness that made his vision spin.

“…Perhaps the reason you’ve been postponing treatment was to leave an excuse to push me away?”

Just as he was about to deny this absurd leap in logic, he had to hurriedly cover his mouth to swallow the blood that suddenly surged up. It was really terrible timing.

“That’s not, it…”

He quickly shook his head without even managing to contain the fishy blood smell, but Choi Gang-hu’s eyes had already sunk deeply.

Ryu Seo-ha unconsciously grabbed his sleeve. He really hated this kind of awkward situation. The self-reproach for creating such a stupid misunderstanding made his throat sting.

“Or.”

“The treatment…”

As he hesitated, Choi Gang-hu’s cool hand suddenly approached and gripped his waist. When he reflexively twisted his upper body to escape, the black eyes narrowed as if scolding him.

“Prove it.”

“What…”

“That your feelings for me haven’t changed.”

“How…”

“With a kiss.”

Choi Gang-hu, who was about to overlap their lips again, suddenly turned his head. Following his gaze, Ryu Seo-ha saw Choi Junwan who had just turned the corridor corner.

“This is interesting.”

The sneering voice made his heart sink for a different reason than before. Had he come to dispel the suspicions of dispatching a spy?

He recalled the faces of the reporters who had stayed in the interview reception room until late. Just seeing the smirking expression, he could clearly read what kind of threats would be made.

“Homosexual scandal between From Hell Guild Master and S-class Healer! Haha, that’s a good headline, isn’t it?”

The words Choi Junwan spat out while leaning against the wall didn’t deviate at all from his expectations.

“I guess sponsorship allegations would be a bonus. Looks like the precious healer’s reputation will be tarnished with sordid rumors. How about it, Ryu Seo-ha? If you come to Gangseong Guild now…”

“Get lost.”

Choi Gang-hu bared his teeth and spread his navy coat like the night sky, embracing Ryu Seo-ha’s body. As if shielding a precious child from the gaze of a hyena.

“Now I finally understand clearly. The reason why a guy who’s not even a neat freak adamantly refused all those women.”

His half-brother, born from the culprit who had tainted his heart with distrust, added mockingly.

“Homosexuality is an issue, but you were being too forceful. Could it be unrequited love?”

Unable to stand the mocking voice any longer, his hand moved first. The hand that gently pushed aside the coat covering his body wrapped around the broad shoulders.

“Guild Master Choi Junwan. I’m sorry but…”

The gaze falling on his crown felt stinging. He casually placed his other hand on Choi Gang-hu’s waist.

“Please just pass by without interfering.”

Then he smiled wryly with his cheek against Choi Gang-hu’s firm chest.

“Rudely interrupting a conversation between lovers usually doesn’t end well, even if the intention is good.”

Choi Junwan’s expression, which had been full of derision, changed grotesquely. As if he had received an attack he never expected. Displeasure could be seen rising in the gaze directed at them.

Ryu Seo-ha paid no attention and put a little more strength into the arms embracing Choi Gang-hu. It was familiar. The hateful gaze full of prejudice. Even if the reasons were different, the underlying emotional color was always similar.

“Seo-ha, aren’t you afraid of the public opinion turning against you? The higher you climb, the more painful the fall when you crash down.”

Choi Junwan, who had composed his expression half a beat late, smiled and asked back.

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll pull me down yourself.”

“I could if I wanted to.”

“Feel free to try.”

“…Haha, what makes you so confident?”

As the other laughed hollowly as if dumbfounded, Ryu Seo-ha deliberately raised his heels and pressed his lips to Choi Gang-hu’s right cheek with a smack.

“I trust my man.”

When he smiled brightly and drove the point home, Choi Junwan’s expression, which had just barely composed itself, crumpled again.

He wasn’t unconcerned about the content that would be reported through those cunning lips. But rather than letting them distort the relationship between the two with talk of coercive relationships based on hierarchy or whatnot, it seemed better to firmly establish the fact that they were dating with mutual understanding.

“But you should be prepared.”

It also felt like if he didn’t step up like this, his precious person might get blood on his hands right away.

“As you know, my man is so capable.”

Though it was an irresponsible statement, Choi Gang-hu’s expression when he glanced up was much softer, as if he was satisfied with such dependent reliance.

The arm that had slid down to wrap around his slender waist now provided gentle support instead of strong pressure. The situation of clinging to each other as if in competition was a bit embarrassing.

However, for Ryu Seo-ha, his potentially hurt lover was far more important than the issue of sexual orientation that would become controversial. He wanted to soothe his heart like this, at least.

“I wonder if such words will still come out after seeing this.”

Choi Junwan, who had been silent for a moment, held up something yellowish. It was a common document envelope.

“Open it.”

Choi Junwan smiled and handed over the envelope, but he didn’t accept the offered document. He had no intention of being swayed by deliberately cast bait.

“I have a policy of not accepting bribes.”

He expressed his unwillingness to accept any information by putting forward a nonsensical pretext. To leave no room for possibility.

At the utterly firm rejection, Choi Gang-hu’s gaze fell on his face intensely as if to bore through it. Choi Junwan, frowning irritably, took out the document himself and showed it.

“Just look at it first. Whose Swiss account was receiving monthly interest from Ryu Seo-ha.”

He couldn’t help but hesitate at the words “Swiss account.” He was about to turn away, letting the words that were obviously meant to drive a wedge between them fall on deaf ears… But his eyes kept going to the unfolded document. It was the content he had planned to look for first after resolving the lifespan issue.

“That capable man of yours received the transfer of Ryu Seo-ha’s debt. From YH Capital.”

Numbers so complex it was dizzying brushed his retina. It was a table meticulously recording the route the money he had transferred had moved through several countries.

The structure was too elaborate to be a fabrication, and methods similar to the tax evasion evidence he had secretly secured from YH Capital were noticeable. In the traces left here and there.

The fingertips touching Choi Gang-hu’s waist flinched. If that document was true, why had he held onto his debt without saying anything? What on earth was he thinking?

The whereabouts of the pledge containing the instant death penalty floated in his mind. The debt document that could become his only leash, which even the [Sanctification] characteristic couldn’t nullify.

“Now, do you feel like listening to what I have to say?”

He stared at Choi Junwan, who asked with a grin, then shook his head. While fumbling to find and grasp Choi Gang-hu’s hand, who was standing with an unfathomable expression without any excuse.

“I’ll hear the explanation directly from him.”

He decided they needed to talk first. Lack of communication breeds misunderstandings. Misunderstandings lead to quarrels, and quarrels leave invisible emotional scars even after being resolved through reconciliation.

It had just happened moments ago. He had unintentionally provoked the wounds in Choi Gang-hu’s heart. By avoiding conversation with the thought that he should open up after resolving the issue, since he could take the elixir in just one day.

“Haha, no matter what he says, do you think you can believe those excuses? You’re not a fool. Think he can’t fool you twice after fooling you once?”

There’s nothing more dangerous than arbitrarily judging and negatively concluding the intentions of a precious person. He repeated that to himself. To avoid being tempted by the voice fanning his inner anxiety and doubt.

“It would be wiser than blindly believing the exposé of a rival guild master.”

Faced with defense as solid as an S-class tanker, Choi Junwan crumpled the document envelope with a sour expression. His muttering voice saying “You’ll regret this” was eerie.

“Choi Gang-hu, let’s go.”

“…Where to?”

Regardless, as he tugged on Choi Gang-hu’s hand and whispered, a slightly hoarse voice asked back.

“To our home.”

He smiled gently and softly nestled into that broad embrace. Choi Gang-hu, who had been standing completely still as if even holding his breath, planted a brief kiss on top of his head.

“It can only be Ryu Seo-ha. The only person who can change the temperature of the world I feel in an instant, like this.”

With a whisper like a sigh, his vision blurred. He let the familiar sensation of comfortably leaning against the large body wash over him, having experienced it many times before.

A cool breeze brushed his cheeks. He could see Namsan Tower in the distance, leisurely changing colors. And the red rose petals spread on the ground like a red carpet.

“…What is all this?”

At the end of the flower path laid out on the heliport, colorful candlesticks were forming a heart shape.