RB 16

Right after that, he got dragged by Seo Taehwa to eat a late breakfast. On the wide dining table, there was only ever one serving prepared. Just like how Choi Yoonho used to eat, adjusted to the deceased’s tastes.

Choi Yoonho had a notoriously picky palate.

Most of his meals consisted of bread and noodles. He never touched spicy food and said seafood smelled fishy so he hated it. He usually got his protein from meat and eggs, and out of those two, he would eat any kind of egg dish without complaint.

There always had to be at least three types of jam to spread on the bread, and the juice always had to be freshly squeezed from real fruit. On top of that, the fruit for dessert had to be served separately.

People used to say he had the palate of a kid. No, even a kid would get tired of eating like this every day.

But Eunho had no right to complain about Choi Yoonho’s weird food preferences. Since he decided to become Choi Yoonho, it was only natural for him to change his tastes too.

He spread a thick layer of orange marmalade on the toasted bread and took a bite. The rich butter flavor and sweet taste covered his tongue. The bits of orange peel he chewed now and then tasted unfamiliar to him. Honestly, every dish tasted unfamiliar.

He even had to learn table manners after coming here. Since Choi Yoonho was from a chaebol family, even if his personality was awful, he had learned proper manners and etiquette. So Eunho had to at least keep up with the basics. Like not making smacking sounds while eating, or never making scraping noises with the knife on the plate while cutting food. He wasn’t even allowed to pick up fruit with his bare hands. Even a small blueberry had to be eaten using a dessert fork.

Even the best meal didn’t taste good when he had to follow so many rules while eating. Eunho let out a long sigh while trying to spread jam with his unfamiliar left hand.

“No sighing while eating.”

Seo Taehwa tapped the table lightly with his spoon. At the inspector’s warning, Eunho swallowed the breath he was about to exhale. His throat got clogged, and he started coughing. Seo Taehwa pushed the juice glass toward him.

“Try to enjoy your food. Right now, your face looks like you’re chewing rubber.”

Eunho thumped his chest and swallowed a sip of juice.

“You said I didn’t have to manage my expression until the end of this week.”

It had already been a month since he came into the annex. He was still in the adjustment period. Seo Taehwa’s plan was divided tightly into a 10-month course, and the first month focused on getting Eunho used to life in the annex. Though it was still pretty intense for an adjustment period.

“Oh, look at that. You’re even talking back now?”

Seo Taehwa propped his chin on his clasped hands and smiled. Sim Eunho, who always used to be quiet and wary of everything, now spoke his mind more often. That change was pleasing to him.

“Should we have Korean food this weekend?”

“Really?”

His eyes immediately widened. He couldn’t hide how happy he was. When Seo Taehwa saw the small trace of happiness in those gentle eyes, he smiled too without realizing it.

If only the real Choi Yoonho had been like that, how nice would it have been. That thought crossed his mind, and the smile on his face faded a little.

“You should eat what you want at least once. But we’ll keep it a secret, okay?”

“…What will the chairman say if he finds out?”

Eunho’s voice got lower. His face, which had brightened, turned dark again. He didn’t want to get on Choi Yeorok’s bad side.

“I can get permission for something like that. You know, your big brother actually has more authority than he looks. Convincing Choi Yeorok isn’t a big dea–oh, speak of the devil, here he comes.”

Seo Taehwa stretched his neck in the middle of talking. He had spotted Choi Yeorok through the full-length living room window.

Tap tap, he knocked on the glass lightly. Seo Taehwa pushed himself up from the table.

Choi Yeorok rarely came all the way to the annex. He probably had something serious to talk about with Seo Taehwa. Right now, he was curling and uncurling his finger at him.

“I’m eating right now.”

Seo Taehwa lightly patted Eunho on the shoulder and walked toward the living room. When he slid open the window door, the cool breeze from outside pushed its way into the room. The faint scent of cologne mixed into the air and tickled Eunho’s nose. The strong presence naturally made him look outside.

Choi Yeorok’s life was different from other people’s. He was the face of Haegang, but he left the actual management of the group to professional executives. That didn’t mean he was some retired old man stuck in the back room.

He had just stepped back from the front lines, but it was said that all the major decisions still had to go through him. The company wouldn’t run unless Choi Yeorok gave the go-ahead.

Instead of taking the title of CEO, Choi Yeorok acted as the chairman of the foundation. Since it was an official public-facing role, he met a lot of people, and his schedule was packed with events and appearances.

He was someone who basically was Haegang itself. If it hadn’t been for Choi Yoonho, Eunho would never have had anything to do with someone like him. Eunho realized again just how far above him Choi Yeorok’s position was.

Choi Yeorok stood on the balcony deck, wearing another suit today. It didn’t look like he was trying that hard, but the tall man still stood out. It was probably the way he stood straight with his back firm, the perfectly tailored suit, and his refined face all working together to create that effect.

While talking with Seo Taehwa, he often lifted the corners of his mouth. In the past, Eunho would not have noticed the difference, but now he could tell apart Yeorok’s real smile and his fake smile. The smile he only showed in front of people he trusted was a privilege Eunho never received.

“……”

Eunho straightened his head and bit into the bread with a big bite. The bread had already gone cold, so it only felt dry and crumbly in his mouth, without any taste.

But Eunho quietly chewed the bread. He had nothing else he could do other than silently continue eating.

Half a day later, Eunho knocked on the room at the end of the first floor. When he heard a voice reply “Yes,” he opened the door and found Ahn Jaehwan moving around busily inside.

“Ah, you came? Just a moment, I’m not fully ready yet.”

“Take your time.”

Eunho pulled over a wheeled chair and sat down as if it was familiar to him. While Ahn Jaehwan stayed busy with preparations, Eunho quietly looked around the room. Somehow, there were more machines he had not seen before.

He received simple medical procedures in this room. To erase the scars on Eunho’s body, they had brought expensive dermatology laser equipment directly into the house.

At first glance, it looked like a hospital. In fact, Ahn Jaehwan was even wearing a white coat like an ordinary doctor.

After finishing the setup of the new machines, he sat in the chair and turned on the desk lamp. Eunho naturally stretched out his left arm. There were faint scars on the back of his arm. Even he himself did not know when those scars had formed.

It was normal to get at least one or two blemishes like that, but to become a replica of Choi Yoonho, he had to erase every little trace. The young master who grew up in a wealthy environment surprisingly had not a single mark on his body.

Last time, in the morgue, Ahn Jaehwan had recorded Choi Yoonho’s physical characteristics. Based on those records, he was changing Eunho’s body.

Ahn Jaehwan looked into Eunho’s eyes and smiled kindly. He spread thick numbing cream over the back of his arm.

“How’s your condition today?”

“Good.”

Even though his answer was calm, Eunho’s expression was stiff. He was already nervous at the thought of the procedure. Even with the numbing cream, it still hurt. The first time he received the laser treatment, he had even ended up crying.

To hold down his trembling, he clenched and opened his left hand. Ahn Jaehwan placed a soft stress ball in his palm.

“I want to make it hurt as little as possible… but it doesn’t always go the way I want.”

“It’s okay.”

Sim Eunho had never once cried that he didn’t want to do it. He just accepted it quietly, enduring the pain as if it was his karma.

Ahn Jaehwan carefully studied the pale face in front of him while putting on sterile gloves. Snap snap, the thin gloves fitted tightly to his hands. While Jaehwan moved on to the procedure preparations, Eunho fixed his gaze on the corner of the desk and breathed out.

“At this rate, I’m going to become a bad guy. All I ever do is make you go through painful things.”

“I’ve never thought that way.”

“Which hurts more, the meridian massage or the laser?”

“The laser hurts a little more… but the massage is long so it’s hard to compare… ugh!”

While he was answering, a red flash ran across his skin. With the stinging pain, Eunho squeezed the stress ball tight. Through the gaps of his whitened fingers, the sticky rubber bulged out.

“If it hurts, you can swear.”

Eunho clenched his teeth and shook his head. He couldn’t bear to watch the process, so he just closed his eyes.

After a few passes of the laser, Ahn Jaehwan glanced up to check Eunho’s expression. The laser treatment was several times more painful than the meridian massage. From the practitioner’s side, he could only feel sorry.

“Do you know what’s good about living as Choi Yoonho? You can vent your feelings all you want without worrying about what others think.”

Right after that, Ahn Jaehwan inserted an extremely fine needle into the area where the laser had just gone over. It was a delicate process of pushing collagen deep into the dermis.

“It’s not easy leaving however you want without worrying what others say. Since you decided to become Choi Yoonho, I hope you live with that kind of relief too. It’s one of the few benefits.”

For some reason, every evaluation about Choi Yoonho was harsh. Not a single person said anything good about him.

Whenever he heard those consistent evaluations, Eunho started to feel a little dispirited.

He felt that if he imitated Choi Yoonho, he would end up receiving the same evaluations too.