Hwang Nari was standing at the entrance to the living room while she looked at Yeonjun. 

She appeared calm, but her eyes showed she was surprised to see him sitting there. The light behind her was highlighting her face and hair. 

She was the young wife of Yeonjun's father and the mother of his little sister.

Yeonjun nodded toward her.

"Hello, Nari-ssi¹," he said. "I was nearby and I thought I might see Ji-won. I missed her."

Nari paused for a moment before she walked into the room with slow steps.

"You didn't miss us?" Nari asked.

"I missed everyone," Yeonjun said.

He was looking away as he spoke. Nari was smiling while she kept her eyes on him. She turned her head and called down the hallway.

"Ji-won! Come here!" Nari said.

A door opened and a little girl with messy hair was running toward them. Her feet were bare and her arms were swinging.

"Oppa-yah²!"

Yeonjun crouched just in time to catch her as she launched into his arms. She wrapped herself around his neck while he pulled her close. The muscles in his face relaxed as he held her. Nari was standing a few steps back while she watched them with a thin smile. Yeonjun did not acknowledge her at all because his arms were busy staying around his sister.

"Did you miss me, Oppa? I thought you couldn't carry me anymore, but you can!" Ji-won said.

Yeonjun smiled at her.

"You're still five, Ji-won. I can carry you for a long time," Yeonjun said.

"You promise?" she asked.

"I promise," Yeonjun said.

He was lifting her into his arms as he carried her toward the couch. They were sitting together while she started talking without stopping. She told him about a pink flower at her school and her teddy bear's scratched ear. Yeonjun was listening and nodding as her voice filled the empty parts of his mind.

A few minutes later, the housekeeper came in with a tray and set down two cups of coffee. Nari was already sitting across from them, and she pushed one of the cups closer to Yeonjun.

"Oppa, can you sleep here tonight?" Ji-won asked as she tugged at his sleeve. "I want you to stay."

Yeonjun turned his head slowly while his eyes went cold again. He did not say anything. Nari spoke with a smooth, distant voice.

"Oppa probably has things to do. Don't bother him too much."

Ji-won held onto his arm because she did not want to let go.

"But just for tonight. Please, Oppa? Stay with us."

Nari sighed and then she nodded.

"All right. Just for tonight. It would be awkward if you left right after dinner," she said.

But Yeonjun had already made up his mind.

"There's a school gathering tonight, Ji-won-ah³. I can't stay over, but I'll visit again soon. That's a promise."

He gave himself fifteen minutes to leave the house because he wanted to check into a hotel for the night.

—

Seojun was sitting alone in his studio.

From the outside, the building was part of the house's simple design with its pale walls and steel door. Beyond the glass wall inside, the backyard was lined with perfect grass and trimmed hedges. The whole place looked like something from a brochure.

Inside the studio, everything was alive. Paint-stained canvases were leaning against the walls while a steel table was overflowing with paint tubes and dirty jars. Brushes were stuffed into mugs and sketchbooks stayed open on every surface. The clean white walls only made the mess stand out more.

A large oil painting was standing against the far wall. It looked raw and unfinished. 

Seojun was wearing a faded black T-shirt and a denim apron while he held a brush in his hand. He had a wine glass in his other hand as he took a sip. He stepped back and looked at the canvas with his head tilted. The painting was still resisting him.

Loud music was playing from a corner speaker before he changed it to something slower. He dropped onto the couch and lay down while he watched the clock. It was already past midnight. Three knocks sounded at the heavy door that led from the main house into the garage.

"Come in," Seojun said.

When the door opened and a tall man stepped inside. He was wearing a suit and his sleeves were rolled up. He moved with quiet confidence.

"The music caught me off guard," he said.

Seojun was lying on the couch while he smiled.

"Hi, Dad." 

His father closed the door behind him. He was looking over the paint tubes and the wine glass as he walked closer.

"How was your first day back at school?"

Seojun looked down at his wine while he took a slow sip. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It was alright. There's not much to say."

His father was staring at the unfinished canvas for a moment.

"Your mom told me something. Is it true?" he asked.

Seojun slowly nodded his head.

"Yeah. Finally."

"You should've done this a long time ago. You know that, right?" Seojun's father asked.

"I know. Actually, today was kind of strange, Dad," Seojun said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

Seojun looked back at the painting.

"Not yet. But I hope someday I'll be able to," he said.

His father did not say anything else. He stayed where he was while the soft music was filling the space between them.

—

The hotel room was quiet while the TV made a low sound. The gray walls and sterile furniture made the place feel like no one had ever stayed there. 

Yeonjun was lying on the bed in a robe as he stretched one leg out. A glass of wine was sitting on the nightstand while the nearly empty bottle stayed in its silver holder.

His phone was buzzing on the chair next to the bed. He reached over and picked it up because he saw a message from Ji-a.

Why aren't you coming home? 

He was staring at the screen for a few seconds before he typed his reply.

We broke up, Ji-a

Jia's next message arrived almost immediately.

You know it's not that simple

"Yeah, right," Yeonjun said.

He typed another message.

You hit me

In school yard

There was a long pause before her reply came.

I'm sorry

Please just come home

Yeonjun did not respond. He turned off the screen and powered down the phone before he tossed it back onto the chair. 

He looked at the TV again, but the images did not make any sense to him. He had not been truly alone in a long time. Even the quiet in the room felt like it was pushing down on him.

He took another sip of wine as he settled deeper into the pillows. He knew he had to go back for his things eventually, and he needed to figure out where he was going to stay next.

Suddenly, the memory of the courtyard was rushing back to him. He heard Ji-a's voice while she was yelling at him. He saw her hand as it was swinging toward his face. He felt the heat in his cheek while everyone was staring.

His body went still as he sat up quickly. He reached for his wine glass, but his elbow knocked it off the nightstand. It fell to the marble floor and broke while the wine was spreading everywhere like blood.

"Fuck."

He was staring at the mess on the floor for a long moment. Then, he started to laugh. It was not because the situation was funny, but because the whole thing felt ridiculous to him. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees while he laughed quietly to himself.

And then, the face of the punk student from school appeared in his mind. Yeonjun's smile disappeared. He covered his eyes with his hand and stayed perfectly still.

"What the hell," Yeonjun said.

He did not move while the TV kept flickering and the wine slowly spread across the marble floor.

—

¹ -ssi (씨) is a Korean honorific suffix used after a person's name. It is a polite and neutral way to address someone, typically among acquaintances, colleagues, or when showing respect to someone of similar or slightly higher status. It can be translated roughly as "Mr.," "Ms.," or "Mrs.," though it's less formal and gender-neutral.

² oppa-yah (오빠야) is a childlike, affectionate way of calling an older brother, with "-yah" (야) adding familiarity and emotional tone.

³ -ah (아) is a vocative suffix in Korean, added to names when calling someone in a familiar or affectionate way.