Then Yul gave a small, crooked smile and disappeared back inside.
??????
At home, Seungho stood at the window of his penthouse. The city sprawled below, sleepless and glimmering, like a sea of embers pretending to be stars. His coat hung over a chair, still faintly dusted with snow.
He loosened his tie. The smell of smoke still clung to it.
Sleep didn’t come.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw two things:
A boy with blood on his lip, still refusing to bow.
And the way the word “Sky” had once felt on his tongue, centuries ago, or so it seemed, burning as it left him.
He poured himself a drink he didn’t want. Set it down untouched.
Outside, the frost spread slowly up the glass, refusing to melt.
And for the first time in years, Seungho felt something alive inside him that he couldn’t command.
It wasn’t peace, or hope.
It was recognition.
The kind that hurts before it heals.
??????
Chapter 13 – The Man Who Waits in the Corner
The first time he came back, Haneul thought it was a coincidence.
Velvet Eclipse was full that night—weekend crowd, holiday hangovers stretching thin. The bar lights flickered violet and gold. Bodies brushed too close, sweat gleamed on shoulders, bass thudded like a slow heart. Nothing unusual.
Except him.
Seungho Yeol walked in through the main entrance like someone who’d taken a wrong turn on his way to an art gallery.
Black suit. Hair brushed and tied back neatly. No tie tonight. Neat whisky, two fingers, no ice.
He didn’t touch anyone. Didn’t look impressed, or interested, or comfortable. Didn’t even belong here.
He sat in the farthest booth, shadowed by red light, watching the stage.
Watching him.
??????
By the fourth night, the staff had stopped pretending not to notice.
Junseo nudged Haneul near the service counter, smirking. “That tower’s got a crush.”
Haneul scoffed, fixing his braid tokens tighter. “He’s probably here for the free nuts.”
Junseo snorted. “Sweetheart, the man looks like he’s never eaten anything out of a bowl that wasn’t made of glass.”
“Then maybe he’s here for the ambience.”
