‘Erhan?’

Although I was startled by his sudden appearance, I wasn’t foolish enough not to recognize him. It’s just that the last time I encountered him was about 4 years ago, so I felt unfamiliar due to his height that had grown even taller and his more mature atmosphere compared to back then.

Even at that time, I thought there was no way he could grow any more.

“What.”

Perhaps because I was staring too intently, Erhan, who had been speaking to the people, turned to look at me.

His deep gray eyes gazed at me silently for a while. The way his eyes meticulously scanned each and every one of my facial features felt drawn out.

‘I feel like I’m being seen through.’

In the end, I was the one who averted my gaze first. Awkwardness washed over me like a rising tide, making it impossible to keep looking at him.

“We, we apologize.”

“Excuse us. Ahem.”

The people crowding around us also stepped back from their spots.

It was hard to believe that they had just surged forward and behaved so outrageously. I looked at the people, who were withdrawing in such a perfectly normal manner, in dismay. They wouldn’t listen to me at all when I told them to stop earlier.

As the people stepped back, Erhan lowered my body that he had lifted halfway.

The moment my feet touched the ground completely, Erhan turned his body as if nothing had happened and started to walk away. Just as he had approached without a chance to notice, he quickly moved away without a chance to grab him.

“…Wait a moment.”

What does he mean, leaving like that? I called out to him in a small voice, but Erhan left as if he hadn’t heard me. In the end, I had no choice but to hurriedly chase after him.

Fortunately, thanks to the people stepping back, there was nothing hindering my path as I pursued him.

“Please wait.”

Even so, Erhan’s strides were too fast for me to easily catch up. I tried to grab him somehow, but all I could do was frantically chase after him.

Does he have wheels on his feet or something? How can a person’s gait be so fast even when not running? Just as I was about to give up, slowly decreasing my speed as I had no intention of catching up…

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, I felt like Erhan’s back got really close. I widened my eyes and tried to stop, but it was already too late.

At this rate, I’ll bump into him. If the owner of the back in front of me was an ordinary person, I would rather lightly collide with them than forcibly stop, but since it was Erhan, it would be better to just fall flat on the floor.

I closed my eyes tightly and put strength into my body to change direction. As expected, because I hastily changed direction, my body, having lost balance, greatly staggered as if it would fall to the ground at any moment.

“Why.”

A strong force gripped my arm.

“You didn’t grab onto me?”

Erhan, who had caught me as I was about to fall, was looking at me with an exasperated expression.

He looked like he truly couldn’t understand why I didn’t hold onto him. Thanks to that, I was the one who felt absurd.

Knowing full well how much he hates physical contact, would I be crazy enough to grab him?

Although the gap in our relationship was long, the fact that Erhan was a rock that had been lodged and I was a rock that had rolled in remained unchanged. I wanted to go against his temperament as little as possible.

“Please let go quickly. You hate touching like this, don’t you?”

It’s fine as long as I didn’t fall. This much consideration is already plenty to be grateful for. As I spoke while slightly pulling out my held arm, Erhan stared intently at my arm without a word. He moved his mouth as if to say something, but then frowned upon noticing the noisy atmosphere around us. Erhan shrugged his shoulders and changed direction.

“There are too many eyes watching. Let’s go out.”

Every direction was full of people. Perhaps due to Erhan’s overwhelming presence, the atmosphere of the banquet was quite different from when I first arrived. Unlike earlier when people were simply drinking and enjoying themselves, most of them were now obediently gazing at this spot, and the stares being directed at us didn’t seem to be simply from drunkenness.

The stares that persistently clung on as if analyzing something were eerie. I made eye contact every time I turned my head. Agreeing with Erhan’s words, I slowly followed him. Unlike earlier when he was walking like crazy, Erhan slowed his pace enough for me to catch up.

“Ah, it’s refreshing.”

I thought he would take me to the balcony at most, but Erhan opened the banquet hall door and headed to the park next to the main entrance. The park was quiet because everyone was inside. In the midst of the pitch-black night sky, the cool air pleasantly brushed against my skin. Perhaps because the inside of the banquet hall was particularly humid and hot, the outside air felt even more refreshing.

“Have you been well?”

As I hesitantly spoke first, Erhan immediately replied.

“Formal speech again.”

Strangely, I keep using formal speech with Erhan. Is it because I feel unfamiliar every time we meet due to not seeing each other often?

“Are you well?”

“What a cliché greeting.”

Erhan didn’t answer my question that I had brought up again. I thought he was being sarcastic, but when I looked at his face, he seemed to have no particular thoughts.

“You’re the one with all the rumors going around, so there’s no need to even ask if you’re doing well.”

I wanted to ask what kind of rumors, but I held my tongue and deflected the question, thinking it wouldn’t be anything good even if I heard it. When I didn’t answer, silence fell between us again. I stared blankly at Erhan, who was quietly looking at the distant mountains.

Frankly, since I see my own face and body every day, I didn’t really feel how much I had changed. But Erhan was different. Every time I saw him, he seemed to have grown even more.

Not just in appearance, but in his demeanor as well. He became more relaxed and brazen compared to before. However, the sharpness that couldn’t be concealed despite that was the same as the Erhan I knew. He had grown to somewhere between unfamiliarity and familiarity.

“Done observing?”

As I was examining him, Erhan suddenly whipped his head around. Our gazes met directly.

His eyes, containing gray irises, curved into a relaxed crescent shape as if knowing I had already been observing him. Ahem, a cough inadvertently escaped me out of embarrassment, and he curved the corners of his eyes even more seeing me cough.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

I’m not sure if this is the right way to put it, but compared to when we last met, his gaze felt more mischievous. Somehow, it was difficult to keep my eyes on Erhan. It’s not like he was wearing more revealing clothes than the other people in the banquet hall, or that he was in a particularly lewd posture. Strangely, just looking at him made me feel flushed. Unable to properly look at his face, I twisted my head, and his smile deepened.

“Want to try smoking?”

It was a cigar made by rolling leaves.

“…No.”

“Still such a kid.”

“I’ll smoke it.”

What do you mean, kid? When I impulsively reached out my hand, Erhan chuckled.

“Formal speech again.”

“I’ll smoke.”

Erhan laughed out loud. It’s really annoying. Strangely, whenever I’m with Erhan, I keep feeling frustrated.

He picked one out of the several cigars and held it out to me. Of course, I tried to take it, but my hand only cut through the air.

“You should abstain. It’ll make you sick.”

From the beginning, he had no intention of giving it to me, and had just been toying with it on his palm.

When I glared at him without responding out of dismay, Erhan turned his head as if he didn’t know. He fiddled with the cigar a few times and put it back in his pocket.

‘In the end, he’s not going to smoke it himself either.’

Why tease a perfectly fine person? While grumbling inwardly, I couldn’t voice my complaints out loud.

Erhan was a dangerous person. The more I met him, the more my suspicion solidified into certainty.

‘I don’t really remember Erhan from the original story though.’

I usually only remembered some stimulating scenes from the original. All I remembered of Erhan was the description of him being brutally murdered by Zachary.

That’s why I had to find out information about Erhan myself. Although Zachary is also related to my survival, in the long run, Erhan, the heir, is also very greatly related to my survival.

Even though we’re stepbrothers, my encounters with Erhan, including today, have only been about three times. If I were to judge solely based on his current appearance, he felt endlessly lighthearted yet dangerous.

What a paradoxical expression. Lighthearted and dangerous, yet Erhan was someone who suited paradoxes well.

“You’re not coming to the mansion anymore?”

Erhan slightly moved his eyebrows. Perhaps it was a conversation we should have had long ago. Although I may seem like an eyesore of a stepbrother to him. That’s why it was an even more important conversation.

If Erhan was uncomfortable because of me and not coming, it would be right for me to leave the mansion.

“Hmm.”

He didn’t answer right away. As if perplexed, he tapped his chin a couple of times with his fingertips and stared at me intently. He looked down at me with a quiet gaze. His eyes, tranquil like a still water surface, made me feel like I was being thoroughly scrutinized, making it uncomfortable to meet his gaze.

“I was originally planning to go inside.”

His nonchalant voice rang out.

“I was supposed to go in after finishing what I was doing, but I ended up not going.”

“Why?”

I glanced at Erhan, wondering if my presence was truly making him uncomfortable. However, the answer that came back was quite unexpected.

“There’s something in there that I can’t understand. I tend to keep my distance until I’m certain about strange things.”

“…You’re saying there’s something strange in the mansion?”

“Yeah.”

I furrowed my brow unknowingly, unable to comprehend what he was talking about. Erhan looked straight at my face.

“Something very strange.”

There it was again.

That intent gaze, as if observing me.