Chapter 66
It was a delusional thought. While the head of the family was indeed the master of the house, that didn’t mean he could do everything.
Seoha knew very well that even the family head had strict boundaries in certain matters. But since there was no one to listen to her, she simply nodded without a word.
“You made the right choice.”
Ethan lightly pressed his lips against Seoha’s, as if giving candy to a child who had done a good deed. Seoha’s eyes, which had been tense, softened under the affectionate kiss.
“We’ll be late if we stay here. I’ll go now.”
“Take care.”
As Ethan saw Seoha off and was about to take a short break, a message arrived from Mihail. It was a trivial invitation to lunch.
Ethan hesitated, recalling Jenny’s words. He suspected that Mihail’s approach might have another motive beyond just wanting to meet. He wanted to confirm it.
“Fine, I’ll go.”
As long as he didn’t act overly suspicious, Mihail wouldn’t immediately change his attitude.
With a heavy heart, Ethan replied and prepared to go out.
“Are you really quitting after today?”
His colleague, veterinarian Kim Yeon-seok, asked with a stunned expression. His question was a bit late, but understandably so—he was off yesterday.
Since Seoha had a friendly relationship with Yeon-seok, she nodded with a smile.
“Yes.”
“Why all of a sudden? Is something wrong?”
Something was wrong—something very serious.
She suddenly remembered Friday at the Chantique Hotel, and her mouth felt bitter as if she had a sore in it. Especially the spot Jinwoo had held—it felt like insects crawling over her, and it was terrifying.
“Things just turned out that way.”
Seoha forced a calm expression over her momentarily twisted face.
“I’m sorry for quitting suddenly without a proper handover.”
“No, it’s not about receiving an apology…”
Yeon-seok furrowed his brow, scratched his head, and sighed deeply.
“I was lucky to work well with you. Now that you’re leaving, I’m already worried about who will take over.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“No, it’s true. That’s why I’m asking.”
Leaning slightly toward Seoha, Yeon-seok asked in a low voice:
“Where are you going? Another hospital run by the Cha family?”
The Cha family’s main business was medical services for beastmen. Since most beastmen weren’t covered by health insurance, and because the family monopolized the industry, they accumulated considerable wealth from it.
“No. I’m quitting entirely. My connection with the Cha family ends too.”
“…What?”
Yeon-seok stared at her, even more surprised than when he first heard she was leaving the animal hospital.
“Completely ending it… does that mean you left the family?”
“Well, yes.”
“No, how… that could happen…”
“Don’t be so surprised. You already knew, Mr. Kim, that I wasn’t actually blood-related to the Cha family.”
Among the staff at the animal hospital, no one was unaware of Seoha’s backstory.
When she first came to work at the hospital, Jinseong personally introduced her: “She’s like family, so please take care of her.”
At that time, I was so happy to hear that.
Looking back now, it was foolish. How could she feel joy at being told she wasn’t really family?
“But you’re like family to them!”
“Like family, yes—but not actual family.”
Seoha corrected him, and Yeon-seok’s expression darkened. He must have always thought something was off.
“Please keep this a secret from others.”
“Of course. But are you really okay with this?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Seeing Seoha’s resolute answer, Yeon-seok finally smiled and extended his hand.
“That’s a relief. You’re a good person, so you’ll do well wherever you go. I’ll always cheer for you.”
In his clear eyes, there was nothing but pure support.
Seoha smiled genuinely and shook his hand.
“Thank you.”
Mihail lived on the top floor of the hotel, in the penthouse.
When Ethan arrived, Mihail was on a call.
As Ethan entered, Mihail gestured for him to sit on the sofa and went into the bedroom.
Once Ethan sat down, a man brought him coffee—the same Lyme who had stopped Ethan from fighting Jinwoo in the hotel lobby.
What was his name…? Ethan had heard it before but couldn’t recall.
“If you need anything else, just call.”
After the man left, Ethan looked around the balcony. Outside, a huge river stretched before him.
It was a million-dollar view to others, but it left Ethan unmoved. He used it merely to kill time until Mihail returned.
Even that bored him, so he turned his head and noticed a fallen picture frame. All the other frames were fine, only one was toppled.
Ethan set it upright. Behind the transparent glass was a woman smiling brightly while holding a blonde child. From the looks of it, the child was Mihail. Then… the woman must be…
“Finished quickly, huh?”
Mihail, finishing his call, noticed Ethan looking at the frame and froze, his face hardening.
Was he not supposed to see it? Ethan apologized, setting the frame down.
“Sorry. It caught my eye.”
“Huh? Oh, no. I left it there so you could see it.”
As if he had never stiffened, Mihail smiled and sat on the sofa. The man from before set a cup of coffee in front of him.
“I’ll order room service. What do you want to eat?”
“I have something I want to ask first.”
“What is it?”
“When we first met, you said you approached me because you fell for me, right?”
The hand stirring the sweetened coffee paused for a moment. Mihail tilted his head slightly and looked at Ethan.
“Why are you bringing that up now?”
“I’m curious. Am I right?”
Mihail didn’t answer immediately. He stared at Ethan for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. You know back then, you had long hair and a small frame, so you looked like a girl. I fell for you at first sight, only to find out you were a sly guy.”
Mihail looked Ethan over from head to toe, clicked his tongue, and shook his head.
“Now I have the embarrassing memory that my first love was a guy. Other beastmen would laugh so hard. If you’re planning to tell anyone else, don’t.”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
It wasn’t a particularly pleasant memory for Ethan either. Their first encounter had been far from enjoyable.
“And after that?”
“Hmm?”
“Even after knowing I was a guy, why did you keep trying to be close to me? Could it be…?”
Ethan hesitated, running a hand along his mouth, and said carefully:
“You like guys…?”
“Are you crazy?”
Mihail frowned as if he had heard something absurd and denied it.
“I like women. I don’t like guys.”
“Then why…?”
“Because I liked you. Not in a romantic sense, purely as a friend or colleague.”
Mihail spoke firmly, as if to prevent any misunderstanding. Ethan knew Mihail didn’t have romantic feelings for him.
But he had asked to gauge Mihail’s true thoughts. If he had asked directly, Mihail wouldn’t have answered.
“Why suddenly curious?”
“Just curious.”
Ethan picked up his coffee cup and answered casually.
“I heard a rumor that you despise Limes. I wanted to know if it’s true.”
“That rumor’s been around for a long time, hasn’t it?”
“I only heard it recently.”
Not very recent, but not that old either. Ethan had learned about it less than a year ago, being mostly indifferent to others’ affairs.
“I always found it strange. Yesterday, I was talking with Noah, and the topic came up. I was curious why, and if you had any romantic feelings for me, I thought it’d be better to reject them.”
“I don’t. I don’t have even the tiniest bit of romantic feeling for you, so don’t get any ideas. It’s disgusting.”
Mihail frowned, clearly displeased. Ethan shrugged and put down his cup.
“So, you purely liked me as a person? Back then, I was a Lime.”
“You’re misunderstanding. I don’t hate all Limes.”
Mihail put down his cup and leaned back.
“What I hate are rude Limes who don’t know their place. I dealt with a few of them before, and that’s how the rumor spread that I despise Limes. That’s all.”
The rumor had been wild, but Mihail’s explanation was believable. Ethan had never seen him disrespect or belittle other Limes, including Ethan himself, and he had been polite to Mihail’s mother.
When Ethan first heard the rumor, he had been skeptical but quickly dismissed it as nonsense.
“As expected, it’s Mihail.”
Yet, the research Jenny had done still bothered him. He couldn’t shake his doubts.
Even with the risk of being caught, he thought it best to ask more directly. But just then, the man standing behind Mihail whispered into his ear. Mihail furrowed his brow and sighed deeply.
“Sorry, I have to attend the morning meeting. If it’s not urgent, can we talk later?”
“Okay.”
There were still many questions Ethan wanted to ask, but pressing too hard would only raise suspicion. He reluctantly turned and left the penthouse.
Immediately, Mihail’s eyes narrowed like a snake’s. He touched his chin and muttered:
“Ah, it seems I got caught. What should I do?”
His tone sounded troubled, but his sharp, sparkling gaze showed no real difficulty.
Mihail picked up the only fallen frame. His fingers traced the transparent glass with affection.
He gazed at the smiling woman and said:
“Let’s do it today.”
The smooth curve of his lips looked cheerful. He placed the frame back down and looked at Ethan.
“If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to finish. Let’s wrap it up today.”
