The frosty breakfast hour had finally come to an end.
As soon as Kim Suhyun disappeared from sight, Seraph let out a heavy sigh and started walking away. The women, who had tacitly called a truce, hurriedly followed after him, leaving the dining hall behind.
It was quite a sight—half a dozen or so women tiptoeing stealthily behind a single angel.
But Seraph seemed lost in deep thought, completely unaware of the procession trailing him. He stopped in the garden and then, with no strength left, sank down to the ground, staring blankly up at the sky.
As time passed, Seraph’s behavior grew increasingly strange.
At first, he just gazed endlessly at the cloudless sky.
Then, suddenly, he covered his face with his hands, shaking his head as if to say, “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
He closed his eyes, clenched his fists tightly, and took desperate, deep breaths.
Yet all the while, his wings fluttered restlessly, rising and falling without pause.
Eventually, unable to calm himself, he let out a strange groan, dropped to his knees, and began banging his head against the garden floor.
“…I’ve never seen an angel act like this before.”
Nam Daeun, who had been quietly watching, wore a look of disbelief.
The others all nodded in agreement.
Because now, Seraph was curled up on his knees, rolling around on the grass.
“I think something must have happened between him and Oppa…”
Kim Hanbyul glanced back anxiously, and Go Yeonju frowned.
“I know that much too. The real question is—what exactly happened?”
Opinions were divided.
Some thought he was just haunted by some dark memory, but the prevailing theory was that he’d had a fight with Kim Suhyun and was so heartbroken that his mind was unraveling.
The atmosphere between the two when they crossed paths at breakfast had definitely been suspicious.
Just then—
“Uh… huh? What are you all doing here?”
As the group debated between “They fought” and “Let’s wait and see,” Lee Yujeong appeared, rubbing her eyes from oversleeping.
She spotted the women hiding behind the massive stone structure, then glanced over at Seraph in the opposite garden and clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, looks like they really did fight.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Go Yeonju, already worried, quickly asked.
“Well… um, last night I couldn’t sleep, so I wanted to sleep next to Oppa… I swear I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything…”
“Alright, alright, just tell us.”
Under Go Yeonju’s urging, Lee Yujeong recounted the events of the previous night: sneaking upstairs, confirming Seraph was in the office, the shouting match, and how Seraph stormed out without looking back.
It was more than enough to confirm the “they fought” theory.
“Did you hear what they were arguing about?”
“No, not clearly. Oppa said he was hurt, and Seraph said Oppa didn’t understand anything… Anyway, the mood was really tense.”
Go Yeonju’s face darkened with concern.
If the latter was true, it could be a serious problem—especially since it happened on the very day Seraph was invited.
As always, there were two things Kim Suhyun never compromised on: his children and stirring up discord.
Knowing his obsessive nature, Go Yeonju was well aware that even telling him to “behave sensibly” would be unwelcome.
Jung Hayeon, who had been silently observing with her arms crossed, finally spoke cautiously.
“If he didn’t say much this morning, maybe Seraph handled himself well…”
That was true.
If Seraph had deliberately tattled, there would have been a huge scene by now.
But the fact that he said nothing suggested, as Go Yeonju warned, that he’d behaved with discretion.
In other words, he’d kept the woman’s loyalty intact.
…Or so the women all thought simultaneously.
They had no idea this was a heated fight filled with love and passion.
“He’s so pitiful. He must be so frustrated…”
Im Hanna, soft-hearted as always, looked at Seraph with worried eyes.
“Yes. And considering how much pressure he’s been under for months… Isn’t this enough already?”
Kim Hanbyul cautiously voiced her opinion.
As all eyes turned to the still-distraught Seraph, Go Yeonju realized there wasn’t much time left to ponder.
“…You’re right. We were willing to understand Seraph up to a point anyway.”
Kim Hanbyul and Im Hanna visibly brightened.
Though the words were carefully chosen, the meaning was clear.
Finally, the lady of the house gave her approval.
“Well?”
Go Yeonju glanced sideways, and Nam Daeun, Lee Yujeong, and Cha Sorim all looked toward one woman.
Jegal Haesol shrugged.
“Fine, let’s do it. After all, the four of us didn’t do anything, right?”
Though she stepped back a bit, she agreed nonetheless.
Thus, a temporary alliance was formed between the ‘S.F’ and ‘W.E.F’ factions.
“Good.”
A small smile tugged at Go Yeonju’s lips.
“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it properly.”
The women nodded vigorously.
Meanwhile, Jo Seungwoo, busy preparing the escort team, hurried down to the first floor after an unexpected summons.
It wasn’t often that Go Yeonju personally called for him—not even Kim Suhyun did that.
“You called, Your Shadow Majesty?”
“Oh, you came right away?”
“Ha ha, well, yes. But what’s this about?”
“I just wanted to check on his schedule today. When will he be back?”
Jo Seungwoo’s eyes narrowed.
He wasn’t sure why, but there was a restless energy around Go Yeonju.
“Hmm, I think he’ll be back before evening at the latest.”
“Then could you have dinner with him outside today?”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, ask him to come home late.”
Jo Seungwoo was about to protest, “But Clan Lord has dinner plans with your daughter today…” when a sudden, inexplicable cold sweat ran down his back.
“This is a very important day… so please?”
Her clipped, staccato tone left no room for refusal.
Whatever was going on, it was an absolute command he dared not disobey.
Just then, Jo Seungwoo spotted a little girl trotting across the lobby.
“Ah, understood. I’ll do my best.”
He quickly turned and followed Suna.
“S-Suna! Wait a moment!”
“Huh? What? Don’t talk to me like I’m some insignificant nobody!”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Shut up… Huh? Dad? Really, really?”
Whatever she’d heard, Suna soon broke into a bright smile and dashed up the stairs like an arrow.
“Such an easy kid to read.”
Go Yeonju watched her with a mix of disbelief and amusement, then turned her gaze back to the garden.
Seraph, who had been despondent earlier, was now being forcibly dragged away by several hands.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“W-Wait a minute…!”
“Don’t try to pull away. Do you know how rare it is for us to back you like this?”
“N-No…!”
Go Yeonju, who had been calmly observing, rolled up her sleeves as if she finally had something to do after a long time.
“Let’s go, Hanna. We’ve bought some time, but we can’t let our guard down.”
“Of course. You can never be too prepared for this kind of thing. Heh heh.”
Im Hanna smiled brightly as she tied her hair back tightly.
The two women headed toward the large bathhouse.
As soon as they arrived, Seraph was stripped naked and forcibly plunged into the hot bath.
When it came to this sort of thing, Go Yeonju and Im Hanna were unmatched experts.
They spent a good three or four hours scrubbing him clean from scalp to toe, meticulously washing every inch of his body before leading him to a room.
Even Seraph, who had been swimming in endless confusion, couldn’t help but be wide-eyed at the sight.
Because inside the room, neatly arranged were hundreds of luxury items—clothes, shoes, jewelry, even perfumes.
“Phew, this should be enough.”
Go Yeonju looked around the room with satisfaction and then abruptly yanked off the towel wrapped tightly around Seraph’s body.
Seraph screamed.
“Shall we start with the underwear?”
“Uh? Whose is this?”
Ignoring him, Nam Daeun eagerly lifted up a set of red lingerie.
The bra had a large heart-shaped cutout exposing the nipples, and the matching panties had the same revealing heart-shaped holes—extremely provocative underwear.
Even Go Yeonju couldn’t help but click her tongue.
“Heart cutouts on the chest and the bottom… Wow, whoever owns this is something else. Seraph, can you even wear this?”
“W-What? I mean… n-nooooooo!”
Seraph, barely calming down, was once again flustered.
For an angel who had always maintained a proper demeanor, this was understandably shocking.
“Disgraceful! Shameless! Who on earth would wear such a thing…!”
“Suhyun liked it…”
Im Hanna muttered to herself, blushing, as several others began bringing out armfuls of other lingerie.
The problem was, none of the underwear was remotely normal.
Garter belts, fishnets, cutouts, T-shaped designs, floral bouquets, pasties, jelly-like fabrics, flesh-colored bands, even disposable bandages—everything Seraph saw made him want to faint.
Even the teddy bear and strawberry-patterned sets Cha Sorim recommended looked tame by comparison.
“Wow… seriously, this is too much. What kind of play do you all usually get up to?”
“Why not just go all out and go completely exposed?”
“Oh, going commando has its own charm…”
“No way. Do you think the phrase ‘winning underwear’ is just a joke? You want to get branded as some exhibitionist freak on the very first night?”
At that, the angel snapped back to reality and mustered the strength to pick out a pair of ribbon-shaped lace panties. Meanwhile, Im Hanna gently dabbed some pheromone-scented candle wax onto Seraph’s pale skin.
Lee Yoo-jung, armed with a curling iron and comb, smoothed down her shimmering silver hair. Kim Han-byul began tending to her delicate hands, and Jung Ha-yeon prepared the bridal makeup.
And then there was Jegal Hae-sol, entrusted with the most important task.
“I’m so jealous,” she said, plopping down in front of the angel while Go Yeon-ju went off to find the perfect dress for Seraph.
“Huh? What?”
“Damn it, I’m jealous. My first time was in the middle of a wild orgy, and here someone’s getting all this care and attention. Oh, my luck!”
The blushing Seraph lowered her head in embarrassment but peeked up at the giggles.
“Anyway, while you’re picking out dresses and accessories, let’s work on your speech.”
“My speech?”
“Yes, that. We need to fix it.” Jegal Hae-sol grinned and added, “Let’s make it a little cuter. Like, ‘Aiiing~ Jagi~ Seraph wants to be with you today~’ Even if it’s a bit hard, you can manage that, right?”
She puckered her lips and winked, making a babyish sound.
“……”
Seraph’s expression clearly showed she was offended.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
One thousand chapters…
It feels surreal.
I first updated chapter one back in December 2012, and now here we are, hitting four digits…
Haha.
It’s quite a coincidence, actually.
Today, January 18th, when we reached 1000 chapters, is not only my birthday but also the day the visual novel finally launches. (Please don’t tell me it’s going to be delayed again… nervous sweating)
Anyway, I want to sincerely thank all the readers who have stuck with me this far.
I’ll finish the side stories soon, revise the e-book and serialized versions of Memorize, and prepare new projects. I’ll keep working hard! (__)
P.S. I’ve sent out all the stickers, including to those who hadn’t received them yet.
Please check your personal inboxes, and if anyone still hasn’t gotten theirs, let me know.