The Duke’s Obsession Leads to a Death Flag

3.The Emergence of a New Flag

“Missed you, Hyung.”

Se-yul, hugging me tightly with both arms, spoke in a trembling voice. I wanted to tell him I missed him too, but my lips, unaccustomed to such sentimental expressions, wouldn’t open so easily.

‘This kind of thing is a little overwhelming.’

I barely managed to part my lips to say something, but in the end, I failed. Instead, I patted his small back, and just like that, the tears he had been holding back burst forth, his shoulders beginning to shake. It seemed like all the longing he had built up over the past six months had exploded at once.

“Are you crying?”

“No, I’m not.”

Even as he sniffled, his voice thick with tears, he buried his face deeper into my chest, pretending not to cry. The adorable sight of him trying to stifle his sobs made it difficult for me to hold back my laughter.

“I’m really not crying.”

“Yeah, you’re not crying.”

“I’m serious!”

“Mm, I believe you.”

Just a year ago, he was a crybaby who would burst into tears at the slightest thing. Now that he’d grown a bit, he was trying to act tough. I comforted Se-yul as we got into the car.

“Welcome back, Young Master Se-yul.”

The butler, who had loaded our luggage and joined us in the car, greeted him warmly. Se-yul, wiping away the tears that had stained his cheeks, gave a small nod in return.

“Did you cry, Young Master Se-yul?”

“No! I didn’t cry!”

“But your nose is red.”

“It’s because of allergies!”

Even as he made up such an unbelievable excuse, he stubbornly refused to admit he’d been crying. His determination made it impossible for me to hold back my laughter any longer. I had expected things to feel awkward, but the unexpectedly warm atmosphere put my heart at ease.

With everyone aboard, the car slowly set off toward the estate.

“Was the trip boring?”

“It was so boring. There was nothing to do, nothing to see.”

From the intercity bus that connected different zones, the only view was the barren wasteland where nothing could survive and the towering walls stretching endlessly.

If the scenery had been more varied, at least my eyes wouldn’t have been so bored…

Se-yul grumbled that seeing the same view over and over, as if stamped from a mold, made him feel like he was losing his mind, so he just slept the whole way.

“I don’t want to go back. Do you know how miserable it is to be stuck in a car all the time?”

We hadn’t even arrived at the estate yet, but Se-yul was already dreading the day, a week from now, when he’d have to return to Zone 1. Letting out a deep sigh, he leaned in closer and rested his head on my thigh.

The unexpected skinship made my body stiffen for a moment, but I quickly relaxed. Luckily, I’d gotten used to physical contact thanks to Vin constantly being around me lately. If it weren’t for that, I probably would’ve reacted noticeably.

“How was this semester?”

“Same as always.”

Whether he found it too bothersome to talk about or just didn’t want to, Se-yul, who usually couldn’t wait to chatter on about everything that had happened, suddenly clammed up at the mention of school.

“That’s all?”

Sensing there was more to the story, I pressed him slightly, and after some hesitation, he finally spoke up.

“…Actually, I got into a fight with some kids.”

“When?”

“A month ago.”

“Oh, a month ago.”

“It wasn’t my fault. The Zone 1 kids started it first.”

Worried I might misunderstand, Se-yul quickly added an explanation. His dark eyes, wavering slightly, pleaded for me to believe him.

I already knew that ever since the start of the school year, kids from Zone 1 had been persistently picking fights with those from Zone 5. For some, simply being from a poorer district was enough of a reason for discrimination.

‘People will always find a reason to hate someone if they want to.’

Since Se-yul was the son of the district governor, they probably didn’t mess with him as easily, but I had heard that the bullying of other Zone 5 kids was getting worse and worse.

It started with petty errands and escalated to outright violence. Se-yul must have finally reached his breaking point and clashed with the Zone 1 kids who were leading the discrimination.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. There were five of them, and I was alone. What was I supposed to do, just stand there and take it? I only hit them because I had to. It’s not my fault they were weaker than me. So why am I the only one being punished?”

Se-yul bit his lip hard, the injustice of that day clearly still fresh in his mind. Logically, the group that had ganged up on a single person should have received the harsher punishment, but from what Se-yul was saying, it seemed the outcome had been anything but fair.

“Joshua Shining—that bastard’s the real problem.”

My body tensed instinctively at the familiar name. Of course, this was Zone 1. Given how many children Luis Shining had, it wasn’t surprising that one of them happened to be at the same school as Se-yul.

“Hyung, I really didn’t do anything wrong.”

Se-yul, sensing my silence, called out to me anxiously. I had just been thinking things through, but he must have interpreted my lack of response differently.

Anyone else might not understand, but Se-yul firmly believed that I, at least, would. Meeting his gaze, I spoke.

“Violence is never a good solution, no matter what.”

“…I know.”

His answer was an agreement, but his expression said otherwise. Se-yul let out a short sigh, unable to hide his disappointment in me for not taking his side.

He abruptly sat up and turned his back to me, pretending to look out the window. But from the way his shoulders slumped, his feelings were obvious. Trying to act like he wasn’t sulking, when it was completely clear that he was, only made it more obvious.

“Se-yul.”

“What.”

Even while pouting, he still responded properly. Holding back my laughter, I waited for him to turn back around.

As always, he couldn’t endure the silence for long and eventually peeked over his shoulder. The moment our eyes met, I reached out and ruffled his soft, fluffy hair.

“You did well.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Violence wasn’t good, but they had started it first. If it were up to me, I would’ve told him to hit them even harder—but I held back. No point in encouraging unnecessary fights.

‘This much should be fine.’

After a brief pause, Se-yul’s face lit up in a bright smile, and he nodded. Unlike the resentment he had felt a month ago, now he seemed simply happy that someone understood him.

“Thanks, Hyung.”

***

The car gradually slowed as we arrived at the estate. Se-yul, who had been watching the outside world like he was about to jump through the window, immediately threw the door open and bolted out the moment we stopped.

“Hyung!!”

Like a puppy seeing snow for the first time, he ran wildly through the garden before flopping onto the grass. He waved at me excitedly, urging me to come over.

Holding onto the butler’s hand, I stepped out of the car and made my way toward him.

“This is a present!”

In the meantime, Se-yul had found a tiny flower and offered it to me. It was so small that I had to hold it carefully in my palm, but just as I did, a gust of wind carried it away.

“Ah…”

I let out a small sigh of disappointment, but before I could say anything, Se-yul quickly plucked another flower and placed it in my hand. This time, it was pink.

I felt like I had heard the name of this flower from Se-yul before, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember it.

“There aren’t any flowers like this in Zone 1. Everything’s taller than me, so they don’t even feel like flowers.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. They’re all, like, this big.”

Se-yul reached up, waving his hand far above his eye level. If the flowers there were about my height, then were they just sunflowers? I tried to picture Zone 1 in my head, a place I had never been.

“In Zone 1, there’s no night, so you have to close the curtains to sleep. The kind that block out every bit of light are called blackout curtains. When you cover the windows with them, it becomes pitch dark, just like night.”

After revealing his little secret, Se-yul started chattering nonstop, as if a dam had burst. I listened to him while glancing up at the sky, noticing the sun had already sunk quite low in the west.

In the distance, the moon hanging over Zone 1 had become even more distinct, its outline glowing sharply. Evening was creeping in. I hadn’t realized so much time had passed while I was out picking Se-yul up.

‘Vin must be waiting for me.’

The thought of how long I’d been delayed made me worry about Vin first. As Se-yul bounced around excitedly, I tried to find the right moment to wrap things up and head to him.

Right then, the butler, who had finished unpacking, called out to Se-yul.

“Young Master Se-yul.”

Se-yul, who had been talking so animatedly, suddenly clamped his mouth shut. As the butler approached, the brightness in his face drained away at an alarming speed.

“The district governor is waiting for you.”

As expected, my uneasy feeling had been right. Se-yul, his shoulders slumping, shot me a pitiful look.

“Hyung….”

His whole body screamed that he didn’t want to go. I wanted to help him, but I couldn’t interfere with a long-overdue meeting between father and son. If they weren’t forced into moments like this, they’d probably never see each other at all.

“Young Master Se-yul.”

At the butler’s urging, Se-yul reluctantly got up from the grass, dusting off his clothes. Even as he trailed behind the butler, he kept glancing back at me, his eyes filled with reluctance.

I gave him a small wave, silently telling him to go on.