Chapter 16
“Oh dear, that was one of my favorite teacups.”
Simon murmured in an easygoing voice.
I immediately stood up and began cleaning the broken pieces of the cup.
It was half instinct.
“Step aside. I’ll clean it.”
Matthias stopped me.
“I’m the one who broke it. Why are you cleaning it, noona?”
His voice was tightly restrained with emotion. Startled, I looked at him carefully.
“Matthias… are you crying?”
“……”
Without answering, Matthias gathered the broken shards in silence, then suddenly stood up from his seat.
“…I’ll go.”
“What do you mean, you’re going? All of a sudden?”
I grabbed him at once, but Matthias walked straight out of the shop.
I couldn’t catch up to him anymore—my younger brother, who had grown taller than me before I knew it.
Left with no choice, I returned to Simon and apologized.
“I’m sorry. My brother is still young and lacks manners.”
“He’s sixteen this year, isn’t he?”
“Yes. The age of a stormy adolescence.”
Simon let out a faint laugh at my reply, his gaze fixed on the teacup Matthias had broken.
Noticing his stare, I quickly added,
“Ah, I’m sorry about the cup. I’ll buy a new one.”
At that, Simon shifted his gaze to me.
“You seem fine. You looked like you were about to cry earlier.”
“No matter what, I can’t cry over family matters in front of my employer. And I certainly can’t abandon my post to chase after my brother who’s bigger than I am.”
Matthias was a smart kid. It wasn’t as if he would get lost somewhere.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t worried at all… but I couldn’t just throw the shop aside to chase after someone who had already left.
The misunderstanding he had could be cleared up later by letter.
Simon, who had been listening quietly, frowned slightly.
Had I said something that bothered him?
“I need to step out for a while.”
Soon after, Simon also rose from the table and left the shop.
“What’s with everyone today?”
I stared blankly at the empty spaces they had left behind, then shrugged and began clearing the table.
Honestly, my life seemed to be full of incomprehensible men.
* * *
After leaving the shop, Simon headed toward the nearby train station.
It wasn’t hard to spot Matthias sitting on a bench with his luggage beside him.
His slumped posture, unfitting for his tall frame, plainly revealed his state of mind.
Just as Ariel had said, he was very much an adolescent who wore his emotions openly.
Sensing Simon’s presence, Matthias looked up. He seemed startled at first, then glared at him with guarded eyes.
With his sister no longer there to scold him, he looked ready to scowl as much as he pleased.
Simon addressed him in a rather gentle voice.
“May we talk for a moment?”
Though the boy’s face was scrunched in a deep frown, he obediently accepted the proposal.
Simon guessed he was thinking, I’ve got plenty to say to you too.
The way he refused to be intimidated in any situation resembled Ariel closely.
And the way he bristled sharply at an unfamiliar adult reminded Simon of that nameless boy.
It wasn’t unreasonable to think of his own younger brother when looking at Lucas.
Soon, the two of them sat facing each other in a café, an awkward silence hanging between them.
Matthias didn’t like how the man who had called him out now simply sipped his tea in silence.
The relaxed attitude—as if telling him, If you have something to say, go ahead—irritated him.
As if this meeting was arranged for my sake…
Clutching his teacup tightly, Matthias finally spoke first.
“You know, I hate men who toy with women.”
“…I’m not particularly interested in men either.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Simon let out a low chuckle despite Matthias’s outburst.
“You’re playing with my sister like that, aren’t you? Without caring at all about the feelings of the one who’ll be left behind later…”
Simon’s expression finally turned serious at the emotion grinding through the boy’s voice.
He set down his teacup and spoke calmly.
“You seem to think I’m a scoundrel like your father without any real evidence. Have you considered that such narrow-minded judgment could ruin Miss April’s social life?”
“What did you say?”
The mention of his father made Matthias flare up even more.
But Simon cut him off coldly before he could continue.
“She’s an adult. She doesn’t complain about her circumstances. She doesn’t pity herself. She simply tries to fulfill her responsibilities. If she found out that the younger brother studying with the money she earns behaves this immaturely, wouldn’t she be hurt?”
“….”
Matthias’s fists clenched tightly under the table, his eyes turning red.
Not from tears—but from anger, suppressing the boiling rage inside him.
Yet Simon didn’t stop.
Instead, as if provoking him, he continued more harshly.
“I know. Your sister resembles your sick mother, and you resemble the father who abandoned her. Born the younger sibling, forcing your sister into sacrifice—you must see your father in yourself and hate it. That’s why you project that image onto every man who approaches her… I can understand that.”
“What do you know?!”
At last, Matthias grabbed Simon by the collar.
His heart pounded violently; his hands trembled uncontrollably.
I never told anyone…
How could this man see straight through feelings no one else had ever noticed, speaking them aloud as if they were plainly visible?
It felt as if his deepest shame had been stripped bare.
Their mother’s hair had been a warm pink, like curtains glowing in sunlight.
And Ariel’s hair, which inherited their mother’s features, was the same.
But he was different.
He had inherited everything from the father he had never once seen.
Matthias hated that.
Hated that he had been born the younger sibling, someone who forced his sister to sacrifice.
Hated that part of him wished to one day step out from her shadow.
So he wished that his sister would never meet someone like their father—or like himself.
Because she would surely end up with wounds that could never be erased, just like their mother.
The strength slowly drained from Matthias’s grip.
Simon brushed his hand away and sat upright again.
“You saw April’s letter and assumed that, didn’t you? That your sister had finally come to rely on a man. And that the man must be a terrible one.”
“….”
“You’re gravely mistaken. Miss April stood up on her own. Just because I am the employer who pays her doesn’t mean she is leaning on me.”
As he spoke, Simon felt an unfamiliar discomfort stirring inside him.
He knew he wasn’t truly in a position to preach.
Monopolizing her abilities and using them to make money…
The tea in his mouth suddenly tasted bitter and dry.
“She would earn her own living and survive anywhere, with or without me. Whether the amount is large or small.”
After saying everything he intended to, he felt thoroughly foul.
Damn it…
Muttering inwardly, Simon set down his teacup firmly.
When he looked at Matthias again, the boy was on the verge of tears, deep in thought.
Simon took a handkerchief from inside his jacket and offered it to him.
“But relying on someone isn’t a bad thing. Especially if that someone is family.”
“Ugh…”
The tears Matthias had been holding back out of pride finally spilled.
Snatching the handkerchief, he wiped his eyes roughly.
“So stop overthinking and be proud of your sister. That’s all she wants.”
It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
That was how Matthias heard it.
He knew the man was deliberately poking at his most painful spots—yet somehow, he felt strangely comforted.
It irritated him. It frustrated him.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, he had been thoroughly outmatched by the eloquence of an adult.
Turning sharply toward the window, Matthias muttered bluntly,
“Damn it. Must be nice for you. Being an adult.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
That part of him is the most annoying of all…
