I Bought the Male Lead with Money

28.

Yu Jin raised his hands and embraced Keith’s back. This seemed better than an apology. Being in the warm embrace, his body relaxed and his mind eased.

‘I guess I’ve been tense all this time.’

Well, he hadn’t been at ease since learning that this world was from a novel. That didn’t change even after Jinhyeon discovered Yu Jin’s identity.

He knew that even though Keith was comforting him now, this peace wouldn’t last long. Once this moment passed, Yu Jin would again struggle in anxiety to survive.

Neither his past life nor his current one was easy, making him sigh involuntarily. As if sensing Yu Jin’s feelings, Keith’s arms tightened around him.

It felt like he was saying it was okay. With a full stomach and a calm mind, sleepiness crept in. He wondered if he should ask Keith to sleep together. They used to sleep together often in the past.

As he was thinking this, suddenly there was a loud knocking sound. The body that had been relaxing tensed up again.

Maids or servants wouldn’t behave so roughly. Was it Haruna then? As Yu Jin lifted his head from Keith’s embrace to look over his shoulder, the door suddenly opened without permission. And the person who entered was Jinhyeon.

‘What? What’s going on?’

Jinhyeon’s gaze towards Yu Jin was fierce. It looked like he might pounce at any moment, but fortunately, he didn’t act so rudely. Jinhyeon sat on the sofa at a nearby table, and following him, a small child entered hesitantly. It was San, the child Jinhyeon had brought from the back alleys.

San felt happy for the first time in his life. When he was first brought to the noble’s mansion, he had worried about what might happen, but none of the terrible things he had imagined came to pass.

He could bathe in warm water, eat until he was full, and the room they gave him to stay in was incomparably better than where he used to live.

Before, he often slept on the dirt floor without even straw to lie on, but this bed had soft cotton inside.

‘As expected of nobles!’

When he lay on the bed, it felt like his body was melting. He slept for a while, and when he woke up, a day had passed. After eating another delicious meal, San sprawled lazily on the sofa. Although he couldn’t go outside the room, he felt he could live like this forever if this was what life would be like.

“This is nice.”

A smile naturally broke out. He grinned as he admired the garden visible through the window. As he was dozing off again, holding his full belly, suddenly Jinhyeon barged in.

Bang!

Startled by the sound of the door opening, San jumped up.

“Get ready.”

His drowsiness disappeared instantly.

“Ready for what?”

He asked cautiously, but all he got in return was Jinhyeon’s cold stare. It seemed to say, ‘You don’t know?’ Only then did San come to his senses. Right, he came here because there was something to do.

“I’m ready!”

San quickly got up, straightened his clothes, and followed Jinhyeon. Jinhyeon moved without hesitation and stood in front of a door. The room, with delicate carvings on the door itself, looked extraordinary at a glance.

It must be a noble’s room. Thinking this, San swallowed. Now Jinhyeon would knock on the door, so he should prepare to greet them.

Should he prostrate himself on the floor? He had acted clumsily at first, but this time he wanted to show a more competent side.

‘If I make a good impression, maybe I can keep staying here.’

San held onto that hope. As he was looking at the door, Jinhyeon flung it open.

‘Is that allowed?’

San’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Follow me.”

Inside was a spacious room. In the center were a table and sofas, and delicate, beautiful furniture filled the room. Passing through there to the wall, there was another door. This time, Jinhyeon knocked.

Bang bang!

Was knocking usually done so forcefully? San had his doubts but couldn’t ask Jinhyeon anything. He didn’t know how to show proper respect to nobles. Jinhyeon seemed to know well, so he thought he should just follow what he did.

‘But why do I feel so uneasy?’

San’s body trembled. Somehow, this didn’t feel right. Nobles were high-status people and most had strong pride. He had often heard rumors of commoners having their limbs cut off for behaving rudely towards nobles. Sometimes they even cut off heads, he’d heard.

San unconsciously rubbed his neck.

Jinhyeon opened the door before getting a response from inside. Then he strode in. San hesitated but carefully stepped in.

It was a slightly smaller room than the one they had just seen. But it still looked large to San. Unlike the previous room with a table and sofas, this room had a bed. On the unbelievably large bed, someone was lying.

One person was showing only their back so San couldn’t tell who it was, but he could recognize the other person facing this way. It was that noble he had met on the first day. The noble who had looked surprised soon frowned.

Seeing this, San realized. We’ve done something we shouldn’t have.

He didn’t want to be associated with Jinhyeon, but in this situation, anyone would consider them the same. San closed his eyes tightly and opened them again.

‘I don’t want to die.’

How had he endured until now? San’s judgment was quick. He immediately prostrated himself on the floor and cried out.

“Please spare me!”

He had made a mistake. He should have apologized for the wrongdoing first. But in his desperate desire to live, the plea to be spared came out first. San felt like crying. He felt he should say he was sorry even now, but his voice wouldn’t come out due to extreme nervousness.

‘I’m going to die.’

San was terrified. He regretted following Jinhyeon, wishing he hadn’t come. But considering what Jinhyeon had done, he probably would have died even if he hadn’t come. He couldn’t understand why life was like this.

In the end, San cried. As he lay prostrate, sobbing loudly for a while, strangely there was no particular reaction from those around him. As he was sniffling, wondering what to do now, something touched the top of his head.

It was someone’s hand. The hand gently rubbed his head as if trying to comfort him. He had never seen his mother even once since birth, but if he had a mother, he thought it might feel like this. Feeling even more pitiful, he cried harder, and the hand moved down to lift San’s face.

Rubbing his teary eyes, he looked up to see an angel before him. Even San, who had lived in the back alleys, knew about angels.

“Are you an angel?”

He asked tearfully, and a familiar voice replied incredulously.

“Angel?”

The familiar voice belonged to Jinhyeon. Shaking off his tears with effort and turning his head, he saw Jinhyeon with an incredulous expression.

“Who’s an angel? Look again.”

As told, he looked forward again, but what he saw didn’t change. He still saw an angel in San’s eyes. Of course, he realized it was actually the face of the noble he had seen on the first day. But his actions were like those of an angel.

Compared to someone who had acted like a devil, the difference was enormous.

“I’m not going to hurt you, so stop crying.”

The noble, Yu Jin, wiped San’s cheeks with his hand. He had thought the warm water, delicious food, and soft bed were wonderful, but there was something even better.

It was the gentle touch comforting him. San was completely captivated by this care and kindness he had never received from anyone before.

“Look at that?”

Jinhyeon clicked his tongue, but San didn’t look back. As San sat up and wiped his eyes with his fists, Yu Jin laughed out loud.

“You’re brave.”

Oh my. The angel said I was brave! To San, Yu Jin was already an angel.

“Now, let’s get up. The floor is cold.”

As instructed, he stood up, and Yu Jin seated him on the sofa. San sat quietly and followed Yu Jin’s gaze. He sat opposite San.

“Do you like snacks?”

Although he had never eaten snacks before, San nodded anyway. Then maids came in and set out refreshments. For a moment, he worried if it was okay for others to see him sitting here.

The boss of the back alleys never let anyone sit across from him. He said it irritated him to have inferiors trying to get close to him. So every time San saw him, he had to prostrate himself on the floor.

But Yu Jin didn’t do that. A noble must be a much higher person than the boss of the back alleys. It felt strange.

Yu Jin was the first to pick up his tea. Jinhyeon didn’t seem interested in drinking tea at all. San watched carefully and picked up a cookie. In the center of the heart-shaped cookie was something red and shiny, which looked very pretty.

When he took a bite, sweetness seeped in. The red part, which he couldn’t identify, was sweet and sour. San ate the snacks frantically.

“Eat as much as you like.”

Yu Jin pushed a plate towards San. San’s thin cheeks were now puffed full of cookies.