Chapter - 9
Golden sunlight streamed through the curtains.
The room was warm.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Nani slowly opened one eye.
"...Mmm."
He buried his face deeper into the fluffy pillow.
"This pillow deserves an award..."
Another five minutes passed.
Finally, he stretched lazily before sitting up.
His messy hair pointed in every direction.
He blinked around the room.
"...Huh?"
He looked at the bed.
Then the blanket.
Then the familiar guest room.
A puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"I thought..."
"I was sleeping in the garden."
He scratched his head.
A full minute of silence.
Then...
"Ohhh."
He nodded confidently.
"I probably walked back here half asleep."
"I forgot."
He looked extremely satisfied with his own explanation.
"Mystery solved."
Not once did it cross his mind that someone had carried him upstairs.
---
Downstairs...
Breakfast had already been prepared.
The chefs carefully arranged the dishes.
Fresh fruit.
Warm bread.
Eggs.
Soup.
Rice.
Tea.
Everything was ready.
Nani happily skipped into the dining room.
"Good morning!"
Several staff members smiled politely.
"Good morning, sir."
Nani looked around.
"Manager Sky isn't here yet?"
Almost as if on cue...
Footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Sky entered.
Black shirt.
Perfectly neat.
Cold expression.
He sat across from Nani as usual.
"Morning."
Nani grinned.
"Morning, Cold Ice Cream."
Sky calmly reached for his coffee.
"...Morning."
---
Breakfast began.
For exactly twenty-three seconds...
It was peaceful.
Then...
Nani started talking.
"So..."
"I had the weirdest dream."
Sky quietly looked up.
"I think I fell asleep in the garden."
He took another bite.
"Then somehow..."
"I woke up in bed."
He frowned dramatically.
"My sleeping habits are becoming supernatural."
Sky silently continued eating.
Nani kept going.
"Maybe I sleepwalk."
"No..."
"I'd probably trip over my own feet."
He pointed at himself proudly.
"I'm very talented at that."
Sky's lips almost moved.
Almost.
---
Nani picked up another piece of toast.
"Oh!"
"And when I was little..."
"I once slept during an entire family picnic."
"They couldn't find me."
"They thought I'd been kidnapped."
The chefs quietly listened while pretending not to.
Nani laughed.
"I was sleeping inside the car."
Sky lowered his gaze to hide the tiny flicker of amusement that almost appeared.
---
The conversation continued.
"I also talk in my sleep."
"So if I ever say something embarrassing..."
"Please ignore it."
Sky answered calmly.
"I wasn't listening."
"You don't even know if I talked."
"I don't."
"Exactly."
Nani nodded proudly.
"I win."
"..."
Sky simply continued eating.
---
A few minutes later...
Nani pointed toward the fruit bowl.
"I don't like papaya."
Sky looked at the chef.
"Replace it."
"Yes, Boss."
A different bowl of fruit appeared within moments.
Nani blinked.
"Wow."
"This hotel really takes customer feedback seriously."
The guards lowered their heads.
Here we go again...
Nani happily smiled.
"Manager Sky deserves Employee of the Month."
Sky didn't even bother correcting him anymore.
---
Behind the dining hall...
Several guards stood watching.
One whispered,
"Boss hasn't interrupted him once."
Another nodded.
"And Young Master Nani has been talking for..."
He checked his watch.
"...twenty-six minutes."
Tee folded his arms.
"Our boss usually throws people out after five."
The younger guard looked toward the dining table.
"But today..."
"He's just listening."
---
Back at the table...
Nani continued another completely unrelated story.
"...and that's why I don't trust geese."
Sky finally looked at him.
"...Geese?"
"They're terrifying."
"They chase people."
Sky remained silent.
Nani nodded seriously.
"I'm glad you understand."
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't deny it either."
"..."
Sky took another sip of coffee.
He wasn't speaking much.
He rarely did.
But despite his quiet demeanor...
He heard every word.
Every complaint.
Every ridiculous story.
Every dramatic conclusion.
He listened without realizing it.
And for the first time in years...
The silence around him no longer felt empty.
It simply sounded like Nani talking.
--------------
The morning drifted by quietly.
After breakfast, Sky prepared to leave for an important negotiation in North City.
His black suit was immaculate.
His expression unreadable.
Tee walked beside him, reviewing the schedule.
"Boss."
"The representatives have already arrived."
"We'll leave in three minutes."
Sky gave a short nod.
"Let's go."
---
Meanwhile...
Nani had absolutely no idea any serious business was happening.
He wandered through the enormous garden with his hands behind his back.
"Hmm..."
"This hotel really has a nice garden."
He admired the flowers.
Smelled a few roses.
Stopped to watch butterflies for a while.
Then...
He spotted a small orange cat sitting near the fountain.
"Oh!"
"A baby!"
The cat immediately ran away.
"Hey!"
"Wait for me!"
Nani laughed and hurried after it across the grass.
The cat disappeared behind a row of bushes.
Nani slowed down.
"Where did you-"
Crunch.
"...Huh?"
A sharp pain shot through his foot.
His face froze.
"...Ow."
He looked down.
A jagged piece of broken glass was buried in the sole of his foot.
For one second...
He simply stared.
Then the pain hit all at once.
"AHH!"
"It hurts!"
His eyes instantly filled with tears.
"I didn't even do anything!"
"I was just walking!"
He carefully tried to lift his foot.
The movement only made it sting more.
"Owww..."
---
Just then...
Sky stepped out of the mansion with Tee.
The black SUV was already waiting.
He had one foot toward the car when-
"AHH!"
Nani's cry echoed through the garden.
Sky stopped instantly.
His expression changed.
"What was that?"
Another pained voice followed.
"It hurts!"
Without another thought...
Sky turned away from the car and strode toward the garden.
Tee blinked.
"...Boss?"
The negotiation.
The schedule.
Everything was forgotten.
---
Sky found Nani sitting on the grass, clutching one foot.
His brows drew together.
"What happened?"
Nani looked up with glossy eyes.
"I..."
"I stepped on something..."
"It hurts..."
Sky knelt beside him.
His gaze fell to the broken glass and the small streak of blood.
The air around him turned cold.
"Who left this here?"
No one answered.
The nearby guards looked alarmed.
Sky's voice sharpened.
"Search the entire garden."
"Now."
"Yes, Boss!"
The guards scattered immediately.
---
Nani sniffled.
"I was chasing a cat..."
"I didn't even see it..."
Sky carefully examined the injury without touching it.
"You tried to walk on it?"
"I thought I could..."
"It didn't work."
"...Clearly."
Nani pouted.
"You don't have to say it like that."
Despite the complaint, another tear escaped the corner of his eye.
Sky noticed.
Without hesitation...
He slipped one arm beneath Nani's knees.
The other supported his back.
Before Nani could react-
He was lifted effortlessly into Sky's arms.
"W-What?!"
"My legs work!"
"One of them doesn't."
Sky answered calmly as he walked toward the mansion.
Nani looked around awkwardly.
"...People are watching."
"I know."
"This is embarrassing."
"You stepped on glass."
"Still embarrassing."
---
The mansion doors opened before they even reached them.
The staff hurried aside.
Sky's voice echoed through the hallway.
"Call the doctor."
His tone left no room for delay.
"My room?"
Tee asked.
Sky shook his head.
"No."
He looked down at the still-frowning Nani.
"Nani's room."
Then, without slowing his pace, he added,
"Within ten minutes."
"Yes, Boss."
Tee immediately reached for his phone.
The entire mansion burst into motion.
Doctors were called.
First-aid supplies were prepared.
The negotiation...
Was quietly postponed.
And not a single person dared question why.
Because everyone had seen it.
The feared mob boss had ignored an important business meeting...
For one injured foot.
Tee watched Sky disappear upstairs carrying the still-muttering Nani.
He sighed quietly.
"Our boss..."
"...is never beating the allegations now."
The younger guard beside him nodded solemnly.
"Not after postponing a negotiation because Young Master Nani chased a cat."
--------------
The doctor had ordered one thing.
"Stay off your foot for at least a few days."
Nani had nodded obediently.
"...Okay."
Exactly twenty minutes later...
He was already bored.
---
He lay sprawled across the soft bed.
Scrolling through short videos.
One reel.
Two reels.
Thirty reels.
He laughed at a cat wearing sunglasses.
Watched someone burn instant noodles.
Learned a dance challenge he immediately forgot.
An hour passed.
Nani threw his phone onto the pillow.
"...I'm bored."
He stared dramatically at the ceiling.
"I've officially watched the entire internet."
Silence.
"...Now what?"
---
He looked around the room.
Plush pillows.
Blanket.
TV.
Books.
Nothing sounded interesting.
"I'm going to lose my mind."
He sighed dramatically.
"If I stay in this room any longer..."
"I'll start talking to the wallpaper."
---
Downstairs...
Sky had returned to working in his office after making sure the doctor had treated Nani's foot.
Reports once again covered his desk.
Tee quietly entered.
"Boss."
"The postponed negotiation has been rescheduled."
"Good."
Sky signed another document.
Yet every so often...
His eyes drifted toward the office window.
Toward the guest wing.
Tee noticed.
He wisely pretended not to.
---
Meanwhile...
Nani had reached his limit.
"I don't care."
"I'm walking."
He carefully slipped into his slippers.
"I'll be slow."
"What could possibly happen?"
Using the wall for support, he hobbled out of the room.
One careful step.
Then another.
"So far..."
"So good."
---
Halfway down the hallway...
The pain made him wobble.
"Oh..."
He reached for the nearest table.
Missed.
His balance disappeared.
"I'm falling-!"
Before he could hit the floor...
A firm hand caught his arm.
Another steadied his back.
"Careful."
Nani blinked.
Standing before him was a tall young man in a tailored suit.
Neat blond hair.
Calm expression.
Professional.
"I'm sorry," the stranger said. "Are you hurt?"
Nani immediately smiled.
"Oh my gosh!"
"Thank you!"
"I nearly became today's headline."
He straightened himself.
"I'm Nani."
The man gave a polite nod.
"Leon."
"I'm here for business."
Nani grinned.
"So you're not a hotel guest either?"
Leon looked briefly confused.
"...Hotel?"
"Never mind."
Nani laughed.
"I've got an injured foot."
"The doctor banned me from walking."
"I'm ignoring him."
Leon couldn't help the small smile.
"I noticed."
Within seconds...
Nani was chatting away.
"I stepped on glass."
"Then Manager Sky carried me upstairs."
"And now everyone's treating me like I'll shatter."
Leon listened patiently.
"You seem to recover your energy quickly."
"I get bored quickly."
"That's my real illness."
---
Upstairs...
Sky stood near the office window.
He had been reading a report.
Until movement in the courtyard caught his eye.
He looked down.
Nani.
Laughing.
Talking comfortably.
With Leon.
His expression remained unreadable.
But his grip on the file tightened.
Leon said something.
Nani laughed again.
The sound carried faintly through the open courtyard.
Something sharp twisted inside Sky's chest.
A feeling he disliked.
A feeling he refused to name.
His jaw clenched.
Without realizing it...
His hand tightened against the glass beside him.
Crack.
A web of fractures spread across the window.
The room fell silent.
Tee looked up in surprise.
"...Boss?"
Sky slowly looked at the cracked glass.
Then at his own hand.
He withdrew it.
The room felt colder.
"No."
He spoke quietly, almost to himself.
"I have no feelings."
His gaze returned to the courtyard.
"I never did."
"And I never will."
He picked up the report again.
As if nothing had happened.
Outside...
Nani was still happily talking to Leon, completely unaware that a single conversation had left a spiderweb of cracks across the office window.
Tee looked from the broken glass...
Then toward the courtyard.
He said nothing.
But for the first time...
He wasn't sure whether his boss was trying to convince everyone else-
Or himself.