↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第三

Seonghwa watches in abject fascination as a deep burgundy puddle pools on the floor with bits of broken glass floating around in the tide.

He brings his eyes back up to the guest— his guest's face— and all he can see are strong features and a look of pure shock.

He doesn't know whether to be offended or amused.

On one hand, he is one of the wealthiest people in the city, a former playboy whose antics always made the tabloids; on the other, he's a former playboy confined to a wheelchair, his arms toned from years of pushing himself around but his legs little more than dead sticks.

If he were in this man's place, he would be shocked too, but certainly not enough to spill such expensive wine.

"Are you ok, Hongjoong-ah?" Wooyoung questions, rushing frantically to the aid of their guest.

The man, this Hongjoong, stammers out an apology and then he's turning so pink in the face that his bleached hair next to his burning cheeks looks respectively like vanilla and strawberry ice cream.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, I just— I— he—" The man's voice is deep and smooth, not anything like what he expected.

"I know I'm not much to look at, but this was kind of unnecessary," Seonghwa interjects dryly, rolling over to take his spot at the head of the table.

He watches Wooyoung fuss over their guest, taking a rag to the man's pants and Seonghwa sighs.

"Wooyoung, just call Yunho. I'm sure he's still in the building somewhere."

Wooyoung perks up at that; his eyes are wild.

"Oh my god, you're right! I'll be right back." He saunters out of the room then and Seonghwa eyes the other man.

"Did Wooyoung not tell you about me?"

Swallowing hard, Hongjoong fiddles with the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt.

It's not expensive, but nice, and it hangs over a set of toned shoulders.

He looks strangely put together and unkempt at the same time, but of course, the terribly bleached hair isn't helping the image.

"No, that's not it," he refutes quickly.

"I just— you look like someone I used to know. Do you have any siblings in Jinju or maybe a cousin— a girl?"

This makes Seonghwa laugh, because if this man knew anything about him, or anything about his father, then it's a rather simple question.

"My family is from Jinju, but no, I don't have any family there anymore," he explains with a shrug.

"Both my mother and father were only children and I only have an older brother in the service."

Which is why I'm here, Seonghwa wants to add.

His status as a possible heir to the company is the only reason his father hadn't disowned him yet.