.  Those who recently pulled me into their arms were just embracing me shortly for greeting or playing around; I seldom buried myself into someone’s arms in this way.

  At that moment, Ruda and I had eye contact. As soon as we exchanged our glances, he blushed after me. Feeling weirder for some reason, I just imagined myself seizing my hair.

  Hold on, then what about Yoo Chun Young?

  That was when I came up with a question that I forgot while following the stir caused by Ruda’s gender reveal. Ruda was the one who took Yoo Chun Young’s first kiss, so I thought Yoo Chun Young’s partner position in this novel would indeed be Ruda. However, Ruda was a boy, and he seemed to have no feelings but hostility toward Yoo Chun Young. Thus, who would be Yoo Chun Young’s partner then?

  Rambling those thoughts in my mind, I quickly lifted my head when I heard Lucas shouting in front of us, “It’s the rooftop!” He then pulled the door open.

  Through the open door, a breathtaking sight flooded into my view.

  The gray rooftop floor spread wide toward the horizon; there was a helipad with a circle and ‘H’ mark drawn inside. Over the gray horizon, high rise buildings near City Hall station were creating a mesmerizing skyline.

  The day was breaking. A hazy orange light leaked gently through the dark violet clouds.

  On top of the ‘H’ sign, there wasn’t a helicopter. Checking that out, I turned my head unconsciously and swallowed a sigh.

  Was it too absurd to expect a dramatic ending like that of the ‘Shawshank Redemption?’ There wasn’t any helicopter, which we were in need; instead, Ban Yeo Ryung and Jooin came into view.

  The two; however, didn’t look good. Well, they couldn’t help having those faces since a bunch of men in black suits were surrounding them.

  I turned my head. Within a close distance from Yeo Ryung and Jooin, Yi Jenni was standing there with her signature ponytail and black two-piece suit. Shoving one hand in her pocket and the other waving in this direction, she said, “Hey, everyone?”


  Including me, Ruda and Lucas also turned stiff.

  I murmured, “Damn, we’re done! But if we run down the stairs right now, we may possibly escape from this situation…’ Looking at the iron door that we just stepped through, I thought about the way to get out of this place. However, Yi Jenny had Yeo Ryung and Jooin with her, so I couldn’t leave them here and just run away alone.

  When Ruda put me down, a heavy silence began to prevail around the rooftop.

  I, Lucas, and Ruda couldn’t raise our heads.

  There was only one thought inside my head. ‘How could Yi Jenny be here on the rooftop ahead of us? How did she get aware of our plan?’


  Her following words then solved my question so simply.

  “Hey, Lucas.”


  As she called him in a soft and low voice, Lucas replied in much tension, “… Yes.”


  “Hey… didn’t you think that I might have planted any listening device in Ruda’s room?”


  With that said, Yi Jenny tapped her in-ear headphone.

  ‘That’s what happened,’ heaving a deep sigh, I showed a sign of nervousness.

  So did Ruda and Lucas. They were wearing a worried look on their faces. Yi Jenny was listening to every conversation we had in Ruda’s room. In other words, she fully grasped the truth of the incident that took place ten years ago.

  Standing near the helipad, Yeo Ryung and Jooin stared at us in anxiety. They knew nothing about what happened between Ruda and Lucas; therefore, they had no idea what was going on.

  Meanwhile, Yi Jenny flung a question while tapping her in-ear device again.

  “What? You pretended to bear a grudge against me to deceive me, huh?”


  “Um, that’s…”


  “I’ve raised and fed you, but how dare you return evil for good?”


  Trying to add some words on behalf of Lucas, I soon had my mouth shut at Yi Jenny’s remark. I threw a glance at Lucas and thought, ‘Lucas was an orphan.’


  He looked nonchalant as if he had never forgotten that he was adopted and raised by her.

  I murmured to myself, ‘What’s gonna happen to Lucas then?’ Considering Yi Jenny’s cold-hearted personality, she would have done Lucas, who had been rude for the whole time, a favor for just one reason.

  A little reward to the previous successor candidate, who was disqualified from competing due to somewhat unreasonable factors…


  However, it was now revealed that everything turned out to be Lucas’ plan. He even had no interest in choosing the right successor but tried to take care of Ruda.

  Lucas’ existence, therefore, went thoroughly against Yi Jenny’s intention to pick the perfect successor from the selective tests. Thinking to that extent, I learned that my heart was throbbing.

  I slowly lowered my head and found Ruda, who was standing beside me, shivering his hand. After a moment of hesitance, I lifted my hand and quietly put it on his tightly clenched fist.

  Ruda switched his gaze to me. His blue eyes seemed to talk something to me. I was able to grasp what they were.

  ‘Should I interfere?’ I nodded my head while thinking, ‘This is the time to return the kindness I received from Lucas.’


  That was when Ruda took a step forward and tried to open his mouth. Shoving her hands to both pockets, Yi Jenny sneered as if she felt absurd. Her voice slipped from her mouth.

  “Geez… Now you’re twenty-four, so let’s say you’re able to deceive me anyway, but back then, you were only fourteen.”


  “…”


  Lucas remained silent with a stiff face. Yi Jenny continued, “Besides, you were stabbed in the side and bleeding severely, but it was you, who plunged the knife into yourself and acted that way while bearing the pain…”


  “Excuse me.”


  That was when Ruda, standing beside me, couldn’t help staying still and detached his lips. Throwing a glance at me out of the blue, Yi Jenny asked, “Hey there, was your name, Ham Donnie?”


  “Huh? Yes.”


  Since I had no idea why she called me in this situation, I turned stiff in tension.

  “Now I come to think of it, I didn’t know about my son more than you did. When I told you that it was Ruda, who stabbed Lucas, you looked unbelievable.”


  “…”


  I thought, ‘What does that mean? Is she angry?’ However, Yi Jenny looked too nonchalant to describe that she was mad.

  Suddenly, another question returned, “Now that it turned out to be you were correct, let me ask you one thing.”


  “Um, yes.”


  “Do you still believe that Ruda isn’t a good fit for my successor position?”


  Wondering for a second, I replied immediately, “Yes… I believe that…” I tried to respond as confidently as possible, but I couldn’t help my voice getting slightly lower against Yi Jenny’s threatening spirit.

  Despite my weak response, Yi Jenny tossed a question, “What makes you think so?”


  Glancing at Ruda, I lifted our holding hands. While Ruda looked at me with his eyes wide open, I diverted my gaze back onto Yi Jenny and opened my mouth.

  “Um, ma’am… The successor you’re looking for is a cold and heartless person who can even stab his own brother if that’s required. However, as you can see from Ruda, he isn’t that kind of person.”


  I then threw a glance at Lucas, who was also looking in my direction.

  “You may understand if you’ve heard our conversations in the room. Ruda thought Lucas had betrayed him. That’s why he harbored a grudge against him for years. How long did he have those feelings? Almost a decade… which is such a long period of time.”


  As if she couldn’t wait any longer, Yi Jenny asked, “So?”


  “It hasn’t even been a day since Ruda found out the truth. In Ruda’s perspective, he would definitely feel resentment at Lucas.”


  “And?”


  “But when you interrogated Lucas, Ruda was trembling his hand.”


  “…”


  A moment of silence came by.

  Meanwhile, I shook Ruda’s hand, which I was holding, in the air. His hand followed mine helplessly as I shook it. Doing that action, I continued, “As you can see, he’s still trembling. You would get it right away once you grab his hand.”


  “…”


  As if something dissatisfied her, Yi Jenny narrowed her eyes and was at a loss of word while biting her lips.