Chapter - 14
The black SUV rolled through the giant iron gates.
The guards standing outside immediately straightened.
"...Boss is back."
Another guard squinted through the windshield.
"...Young Master Nani too?"
The first guard looked again.
"...He escaped a wedding..."
"...and came back."
The younger guard sighed dramatically.
"I've officially stopped predicting this family's decisions."
---
The car stopped.
Sky stepped out first.
He walked around to open the passenger door.
Nani climbed out without looking at him.
He stretched lazily.
"...Ah."
"My favorite luxury hotel."
Sky rubbed his forehead.
"It isn't a hotel."
Nani nodded seriously.
"Exactly what a hotel manager would say."
Sky sighed.
"...I'm not the manager."
---
The mansion doors opened.
Every maid and guard looked delighted to see Nani again.
"Welcome back, Young Master."
Nani smiled brightly.
"I missed you guys."
The staff instantly smiled.
Sky quietly stood beside him.
"..."
Nani walked straight past him.
As if he didn't exist.
---
Inside the living room...
Tee walked over with a grin.
"Young Master Nani."
"You came back."
Nani dramatically pointed at Sky.
"I didn't come back."
"I was emotionally kidnapped by guilt."
Sky looked at him.
"...You literally told me to drive."
"Details."
Tee bit his lip to stop laughing.
---
Nani happily sat beside Tee on the sofa.
"So..."
"Did Cold Ice Cream eat properly?"
Tee looked toward Sky.
"...Not really."
"I knew it."
"He survives on coffee, work and bad decisions."
Sky quietly sat on the opposite sofa.
"..."
Nani continued talking to Tee.
"And did he sleep?"
"No."
"I knew it."
"He looks like an expensive zombie."
Several guards immediately looked at the floor.
Their shoulders were shaking.
---
Sky cleared his throat.
"Nani."
No response.
"Tee."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Would you like tea?"
"I would."
Sky blinked.
"I was talking to-"
"I know."
Nani answered without even looking at him.
---
Five minutes later...
The chef brought desserts.
Nani happily took one.
Sky carefully pushed another plate toward him.
"I remembered you like this one."
Nani looked at the dessert.
Then...
Very dramatically...
He pushed it back.
"I'm not accepting bribes."
"It's cake."
"It's suspicious cake."
Sky looked genuinely confused.
"...Suspicious?"
"You probably poisoned it with guilt."
Tee almost inhaled the wrong way.
---
Another five minutes passed.
Sky tried again.
"I had your room cleaned."
Nani nodded.
"Congratulations."
"I bought new cotton bedsheets."
"...Good for the bedsheets."
"They're the premium ones you wanted."
"I'm happy for them."
Sky stared.
"...You're impossible."
"I've always been."
---
Later...
The staff watched from the hallway.
Sky followed Nani into the library.
"Nani."
Silence.
Into the garden.
"Nani."
Silence.
Into the kitchen.
"Nani."
Silence.
The head chef whispered,
"Boss has followed him into five different rooms."
Another maid nodded.
"Like a very large, emotionally confused bodyguard."
---
At lunch...
Sky sat beside Nani.
Nani immediately stood up.
And moved to another chair.
Sky silently picked up his plate.
And sat beside him again.
Nani stared.
"...Seriously?"
Sky calmly took a sip of water.
"...Yes."
Nani stood up again.
Moved farther away.
Sky followed.
The guards watched the strange game in complete silence.
Finally, Tee sighed.
"Our boss..."
"...has become a lost puppy."
A younger guard whispered,
"A two-meter-tall puppy."
---
Sky tried one more time.
"I'm sorry."
Nani continued eating.
"I know."
"I mean it."
"I know."
"I'll keep apologizing."
"I know."
"I'll wait as long as it takes."
Nani finally looked at him.
"...Really?"
"Really."
Nani narrowed his eyes.
"Hmm."
Sky waited.
Nani pointed his fork at him.
"You're forgiven..."
Sky's eyes lit up.
"...0.0001%."
The hope disappeared instantly.
Nani smiled sweetly.
"You still have..."
He pretended to calculate on his fingers.
"...99.9999% left."
Sky slowly leaned back in his chair.
"...That's a lot."
"It should've been 120%."
Sky sighed.
"...Fair."
Tee clapped Sky gently on the shoulder as he walked past.
"Boss."
"Congratulations."
"For what?"
"You survived today's hourly roasting."
Sky frowned.
"Hourly?"
Tee looked at the clock.
"...Actually..."
He smiled innocently.
"It's every five business seconds."
From the dining table, Nani raised his hand.
"I'm just getting started."
The entire staff immediately became busy pretending they hadn't heard anything.
Sky closed his eyes for a moment.
For the first time in his life...
Negotiating with dangerous mafia leaders seemed much easier than coaxing one stubborn, sulking twenty-two-year-old.
------------
The next morning...
The mansion was unusually peaceful.
Birds chirped outside.
The chefs prepared breakfast.
The guards stood at their posts.
Sky, for once, had decided to personally bring Nani his favorite breakfast.
Premium toast.
Fresh fruit.
A fluffy omelet.
And the expensive strawberry dessert Nani liked.
Tee watched from the hallway with folded arms.
"...Boss."
"What?"
"I've never seen you carry a breakfast tray."
Sky answered without looking at him.
"...People change."
Tee nodded dramatically.
"I've witnessed history twice this week."
---
Meanwhile...
Nani was wandering around in fluffy slippers, still pretending Sky didn't exist.
Sky walked toward him with the tray.
"I brought breakfast."
Nani glanced at it.
"...Looks delicious."
Sky's eyes brightened a little.
Nani continued walking straight past him.
"...I'll eat it in five minutes."
Sky sighed.
"...Progress."
---
Suddenly-
The front gates burst open.
"DADADADA-"
A familiar voice echoed through the mansion.
"NANIIIIII!!"
Nani froze.
His eyes became as round as saucers.
"..."
"...DEW?!"
Without another thought-
Nani took off running.
Sky happened to be standing directly in the middle of the hallway.
"Nani-"
"Move!"
Before Sky could react-
THUMP!
Nani shoved him aside with both hands.
Sky, completely caught off guard, stumbled backward and landed on the polished floor.
The breakfast tray remained miraculously intact in Tee's hands-he had caught it just in time.
The entire mansion fell silent.
Sky sat on the floor.
"..."
"..."
His expression could only be described as:
????
---
Meanwhile...
Nani reached Dew at full speed.
"Myyyyy brooooo!!"
He practically launched himself into Dew's arms.
Dew laughed and caught him.
"There you are, you little disaster!"
"I missed you!"
"I missed you too!"
"You ran away."
"Twice."
"I know!"
"You couldn't even send me your address?"
"I forgot!"
"You forgot where you live?"
"I forget lots of things!"
Sky slowly stood up in the background, dusting off his coat.
He stared at the brothers.
Then at the spot where he'd been unceremoniously pushed.
Tee quietly looked away.
A younger guard whispered,
"...Boss just got tackled by someone half his size."
Another nodded.
"...Physics resigned."
---
Dew finally noticed Sky.
"Oh."
"Morning."
Sky nodded once.
"...Morning."
Dew looked at Nani.
"You shoved him."
"I did."
"You didn't even apologize."
"I was excited."
Sky exhaled.
"...Clearly."
---
Nani was still clinging to Dew's arm.
"You brought snacks?"
Dew proudly held up several shopping bags.
"Your favorite chips."
"Chocolate."
"Those pink marshmallows."
"And..."
He lowered his voice dramatically.
"Premium cotton pajamas."
Nani gasped.
"My brother loves me."
Sky quietly glanced at the bags.
Then at Tee.
"Tee."
"Yes, Boss?"
"Order ten sets."
Tee blinked.
"...Ten?"
"The best quality."
"Right away."
Nani overheard him.
He folded his arms.
"Hmph."
"You can't buy forgiveness with pajamas."
Sky nodded.
"I know."
"...But can I try?"
Nani looked like he wanted to stay mad.
He really did.
Unfortunately...
The thought of premium cotton pajamas was making that difficult.
Dew burst out laughing.
"Oh, you're doomed."
Nani puffed out his cheeks.
"I'm not doomed."
"I'm... considering negotiations."
Sky almost smiled.
Tee leaned toward one of the guards and whispered,
"Good."
"Today's roasting has been reduced."
The guard smiled.
"For now."
At that exact moment, Nani looked at Sky.
"Oh, and Mr. Sky?"
"...Yes?"
"You still owe me approximately..."
He pretended to calculate.
"...99.9998% worth of apologies."
Sky gave a small nod.
"...I'll keep working on it."
The staff exchanged amused glances.
It wasn't peace.
Not yet.
But the mansion, which had once felt cold and silent...
Sounded a little more alive again.
-------------
The next afternoon...
Sky's mansion had somehow become even noisier.
The reason?
Dew.
He walked through the front gates carrying two shopping bags and waving at the guards.
"Morning, everyone!"
The guards looked at one another.
"...Young Master Dew."
"You're here again?"
Dew nodded confidently.
"Yep."
"I'm basically a monthly subscription now."
One guard whispered,
"He walks in like he pays the electricity bill."
Another guard nodded.
"I was about to salute him."
---
Inside...
Nani looked up from the sofa.
"DEWWWW!"
Dew tossed a packet of chips toward him.
"Caught it!"
Nani caught it perfectly.
"My hero."
"I know."
Sky, sitting nearby with a stack of documents, watched the brothers with an unreadable expression.
Tee quietly leaned toward him.
"...Boss?"
"What?"
"I think you're being ignored again."
"...I noticed."
---
A little later...
Dew wandered through the mansion as if he were giving himself a house tour.
"So this is the library..."
"Ohhh..."
"Cinema room?"
He peeked inside another room.
"Boss is rich rich."
A maid giggled.
"Please don't get lost."
"I probably will."
---
At the same time...
Tee was carrying several files down the marble staircase.
"Need to get these signed..."
He looked at the papers instead of the floor.
A terrible decision.
His shoe landed on the very edge of a step.
"...Oh."
His foot slipped.
"WAIT-"
The files flew into the air like startled pigeons.
Everyone turned.
Tee braced himself for a painful landing.
Instead-
A pair of arms caught him around the waist before he hit the floor.
Silence.
Complete.
Absolute.
The papers drifted down dramatically around them.
For one extremely awkward moment...
It genuinely looked like the ending of a romance movie.
Dew blinked.
"...You okay?"
Tee blinked back.
"...I think so."
Neither of them moved.
One guard quietly whispered,
"...Should we add background music?"
Another answered,
"I can almost hear violins."
---
Across the hall...
Nani witnessed the entire scene.
His jaw slowly dropped.
Then-
"OHHHHHHH MY GOSHHHH!!"
His dramatic scream echoed through the mansion.
"You two!!"
Dew immediately stepped back.
"No!"
Tee straightened his suit at lightning speed.
"It wasn't-"
"I slipped!"
"I caught him!"
Nani pointed at them with both hands.
"I SAW IT!"
"The waist hold!"
"The flying papers!"
"The slow motion!"
"It was CINEMA!"
Tee covered his face.
"...Please stop narrating."
---
Still laughing, Nani began walking backward.
"No, no..."
"I need a minute."
"My brain needs subtitles."
He took another step backward.
Then another.
Without looking-
Thunk.
He bumped into something warm and solid.
Or rather...
Someone.
Nani slowly looked up.
Very...
Very...
Slowly.
Sky.
Standing directly behind him.
Arms folded.
Watching the entire disaster unfold.
"...Finished?"
Nani grinned sheepishly.
"...Maybe."
Sky looked past him at Dew and Tee.
Then at the scattered papers.
Then back at Nani.
"I leave you alone for ten minutes..."
"...and somehow this happens."
Nani nodded seriously.
"We're talented."
Sky let out a quiet sigh that sounded suspiciously close to amusement.
---
Dew scratched the back of his head.
"I was just trying to stop him from falling."
Tee nodded rapidly.
"Exactly."
Nani folded his arms dramatically.
"Mhm."
"That's exactly how every romance starts."
"It doesn't."
"It absolutely doesn't."
"It absolutely does in dramas."
Sky finally spoke.
"Nani."
"...Yes?"
"Stop watching so many dramas."
"I refuse."
Sky shook his head.
"I know."
The guards exchanged amused glances.
One whispered,
"Our boss has accepted his fate."
The other nodded.
"He doesn't run the mansion anymore."
"Who does?"
The guard looked toward Nani, who was still teasing Dew and Tee.
"...Chaos."
And somehow...
Nobody disagreed.