I Possessed a Terminally Ill Omega - Episode 198
I Possessed a Terminally Ill Omega – Episode 198
He had noticed this place last night too. Although the living room was filled with numerous objects and decorations, Seo I-kyung clearly remembered the sofa and table that had occupied this space. It was because this was where Min Ra-hyun had stayed. He couldn’t be more certain. So it definitely wasn’t Seo I-kyung’s imagination.
“What are you looking at?”
Butler Do’s question broke Seo I-kyung’s reverie. He had just returned from seeing off the attending physician. Seo I-kyung parted his lips while fixing his contemplative gaze ahead.
“I think there used to be things here…”
Seo I-kyung trailed off, recalling Min Ra-hyun’s image sitting here like an afterimage. Butler Do looked at the same spot and answered.
“Secretary Park said they’re making a baby room on the second floor for the soon-to-be-born child. Perhaps they’re changing the house’s landscape because of that?”
Only then did Seo I-kyung turn his head to look at Butler Do. He had turned his body slightly as if hiding his right hand, and pointed with his left hand to the areas that were changing.
As Butler Do said, the height, size, and length of objects were being thoroughly changed and decorated as if to welcome the new person who would enter this house in summer.
“I should have taken the initiative originally, but I unintentionally caused trouble.”
Originally, Butler Do should have been in charge of such household matters, but it seemed Secretary Park had handled many things while he was lying in the hospital room.
Looking at Butler Do’s troubled profile, Seo I-kyung casually remarked:
“Why are you hiding your arm?”
“Pardon?”
Seo I-kyung tilted his head and pointed to the arm Butler Do was keeping near his waist as if hiding it.
“You were injured then, weren’t you?”
Both of them were recalling the same day, the same place. Butler Do could guess that Seo I-kyung didn’t want to mention Seo Dong-hu’s name even implicitly.
“Ah, no, that’s not it.”
“Show me your hand this way.”
Seo I-kyung stood stubbornly in place. After refusing several times, Butler Do finally showed his arm. He was wearing white gloves on his hands. When Seo I-kyung looked at him as if telling him to take off the gloves, Butler Do reluctantly showed his hand.
Seo I-kyung looked at the scars remaining on Butler Do’s fingers and sighed. On that day, he had been too distraught to know what was happening to Butler Do. However, Butler Do had faced Seo Dong-hu, who was swinging a sword, with his bare hands.
Because the attending physician hadn’t explained in detail, Seo I-kyung had thought Butler Do had only suffered minor scratches. So he might have felt relieved thinking he wasn’t seriously injured. But there were indelible marks left on Butler Do’s hand.
“…”
“I apologize. This happened because of my inadequacy. Still, I will do my utmost in serving you, young master. I will ensure there is absolutely no lack.”
Watching Butler Do hastily put his gloves back on, Seo I-kyung said:
“If you hadn’t blocked him that day, I wouldn’t be here either.”
Butler Do’s movements stopped abruptly.
“Thank you for helping me.”
To Butler Do, the person he was facing now felt like someone different from the one he had served since childhood. It felt unfamiliar to a degree that he couldn’t describe accurately.
“Could you bring some tea to the studio?”
But soon he thought it must be his imagination. Seo I-kyung’s calm expression was no different from before. He treated Butler Do the same as before, not conscious of the wounds on his hands.
“Yes, I will do so.”
Seo I-kyung watched Butler Do’s retreating back as he walked away quickly, then turned as if heading to the studio.
―If the sword had penetrated just a little deeper, it could have been disastrous. We can only say you were incredibly lucky.
The attending physician had said this while wrapping bandages around Seo I-kyung’s body at Haseon Hospital. However, Seo I-kyung didn’t think it was just luck.
When Seo Dong-hu raised and swung the sword, Seo I-kyung had stepped back in that split second but couldn’t avoid the blade. And he clearly remembered Butler Do’s back that suddenly appeared. The back that became a shield with his whole body. Butler Do’s sacrifice couldn’t be dismissed as mere luck, could it?
Click, Seo I-kyung opened the studio door and stepped inside. The scent of oil paints wafted strongly. He looked around at the neatly arranged shelves and work table. Was it because he had been away for a while? It felt unfamiliar.
Seo I-kyung fiddled with the pocket watch necklace in his hand. This precious item had been in danger of being sold off cheaply here and there, meeting someone who didn’t know its value.
Seo I-kyung opened the glass display case and slowly placed the pocket watch necklace he was holding inside. The long sunlight touched the pocket watch, making it shine. It seemed to have finally found its rightful place.
Knock knock, Seo I-kyung turned around at the sound. The door opened and Butler Do entered, put down a plate of fruit, then picked up the teapot to fill the teacup.
Even in the hospital room, the attending physician had taken special care, but it was incomparable to Butler Do. Butler Do knew what fruits Seo I-kyung liked, what he ate well and what he didn’t.
As Seo I-kyung sat down, he suddenly looked at one spot.
‘That painting…’
A canvas was placed on a wooden easel. It was a landscape painting of a winter mountain. He recalled the conversation he had with Han Seung-jae when he took the painting Jin Seon-yoo had completed to the study.
―If I give you the painting… you said you’d pay the corresponding value.
Meeting Han Seung-jae’s cold eyes, Seo I-kyung’s nails dug into his palm as if they would pierce through.
―Do you want to find fault because you don’t like my painting?
―If you have something you want, say it. If you want the value of the painting in money, I can give that too.
Finally, the answer Seo I-kyung had been longing and waiting for came through Han Seung-jae’s mouth. Seo I-kyung said what he wanted without any hesitation.
There was only one thing he wanted.
―I want to leave this house now.
Clink. As he carefully placed the steaming teacup in front of Seo I-kyung, Butler Do said:
“It’s hot, please drink slowly.”
Seo I-kyung, who had been looking at the canvas, shifted his gaze and casually picked up the teacup. Saying he wanted to leave this house now had been close to his true feelings. As if he had noticed Seo I-kyung looking at the canvas, Butler Do murmured:
“Director Han told me to put it in the studio.”
Seo I-kyung, who was about to bring the cooled teacup to his lips, hesitated. He raised his head and asked Butler Do as if confirming:
“Seung-jae did?”
“Yes. He told me directly when I returned to this house after being discharged from the hospital.”
Butler Do had come straight back here after leaving the hospital room and was carrying out his duties. And he nodded emphatically, recalling the words he had clearly heard when he met Han Seung-jae, who had returned late from work.
He didn’t convey what Han Seung-jae had said just before Seo I-kyung left this house. Originally, Han Seung-jae had even instructed to burn that canvas with the winter mountain painted on it. It was proof of how displeased he was. However, Butler Do could never burn a painting Seo I-kyung had made.
It wasn’t just any object, but something painted by Seo I-kyung, for whom painting was his entire life. How could Butler Do burn that? So he had hidden the canvas in his own room.
However, when he returned home after being discharged, Han Seung-jae somehow knew this fact and told Butler Do to put the painting back in the studio. He thought perhaps Han Seung-jae knew that Butler Do could never bring himself to burn Seo I-kyung’s painting. But that was just Butler Do’s own interpretation of Han Seung-jae’s intentions.
“…”
After taking a sip of tea, Seo I-kyung’s gaze moved back to the canvas. He stared at the painting for a long time even after Butler Do left.
***
As evening approached, a sedan stopped in front of the townhouse. Han Seung-jae crossed the garden and entered the house. Butler Do hurriedly came out from inside to greet Han Seung-jae.
“You’re back. How would you like dinner?”
Butler Do asked, barely catching his breath. Han Seung-jae’s return time was earlier than usual. But he had no capacity to consider this deeply.
“Prepare it so we can eat together.”
“Understood.”
As Butler Do was about to turn away, Han Seung-jae spoke as if to stop him:
“Is he in the studio?”
“Yes, he’s been in the studio all afternoon. Shall I bring him?”
“No need, you can go.”
Butler Do hurried away. Han Seung-jae went to the dressing room to change clothes. After adjusting his sleeves, he headed to the studio. After the attending physician had visited in the morning, he had heard about Seo I-kyung’s condition through Secretary Park.
He reached for the studio door handle but then lightly knocked on the door. This was probably the only place he knocked before entering.
As Han Seung-jae slowly opened the door, Seo I-kyung, who had been standing in front of the canvas looking at the painting, turned around.