Seyeon led Jihoon to her father's room. Lee Tae-gun stood by the window, watching the birds dance outside. The moment Jihoon stepped inside, his eyes landed on a small golden box that looked like a safe lying on the bed.
"Seeing that you're here proves your innocence, right?" Lee Tae-gun spoke without turning.
"I was never a spy," Jihoon replied, frowning slightly.
"I never thought you were," Tae-gun said as he finally turned to face him. "That aside, I need your assistance."
Jihoon raised a brow. "With what?"
Tae-gun glanced at the box on the bed. "With that. Take a seat."
Jihoon hesitated before moving to sit on the bed next to the safe. Tae-gun then instructed Seyeon to leave, as he wanted to speak with Jihoon alone. Seyeon was reluctant but obeyed her father's orders.
Once she was gone, Tae-gun ensured the doors were locked before he began to speak. "Back at the former house, there was a room where my father hid all his secrets. For years, I tried to break into that room, and when I finally did, all I found were three paintings."
"Just three paintings?" Jihoon asked, puzzled.
Tae-gun nodded. "Ever since then, I've been trying to figure out their meaning, but I've failed every time. Then, while searching through the rubble of the old house, I found this golden safe, which I believe came from that room."
"In that case, you don't need to figure out the meaning behind these paintings anymore," said Jihoon, picking up the small safe.
"On the contrary, I think the paintings were made specifically for that safe," Tae-gun retorted.
"Huh?" Jihoon looked at Tae-gun.
"Well, you see, it reacts to sounds..." Tae-gun shook his head. "It's better if I just show you."
Then, he pressed a little button on the golden safe before clapping his hands. The safe vibrated for some time but didn't open, letting out a sharp error beep.
"That's crazy," Jihoon was fascinated by the safe's security system. "Who made this?"
"Your father, if I'm guessing correctly," Tae-gun replied.
The look of fascination vanished from Jihoon's face a moment later. He looked at the safe once again, tears slowly forming in his eyes.
"Have you recalled your lost memories?"
Jihoon replied, "A few of them. I remember coming here when I was little, and I remember how close I was with Seyeon. I remember seeing my father and the late Mr. Lee talk. The rest are just bits and pieces—why do you ask, by the way?"
"Because of this," Tae-gun said, passing a partly burnt photo to Jihoon.
Jihoon glanced at the photo and smiled. In it stood his father and Tae-gun's father, Tae-shin. The young Tae-gun could also be seen in the picture with Seyeon and himself; both of them smiling brightly.
"I'm sure you remember this day," said Tae-gun.
"Bits and pieces," Jihoon answered, then turned the photo over. There was handwriting on the back, though some of it had been burned away.
"What does this say?" Jihoon asked.
"It says, 'Find Jisan,'" Tae-gun replied.
Hearing the name, Jihoon glanced at Tae-gun. "But my father is dead."
"I know, but since you're his son, I thought you might know a thing or two about the safe," Tae-gun said, taking the safe from Jihoon and placing it inside another safe. He typed in a passcode before locking it. "If you figure out how to open it, you can come here and try anytime."
Jihoon nodded, realizing why Tae-gun had shown him the passcode. "I will."
Tae-gun then handed Jihoon the key to the room and left. After he was gone, Jihoon lay on the bed and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep.
---
In his dream, Jihoon walked beside his father. This was just days before the accident, and by then, his father had lost almost all emotions. To keep himself from completely breaking down, there was a song he always sang:
My little prince,
Is sick with a disease,
Born into this cursed family,
He's not much for history,
My little prince, Ohmy little prince,
Forgive this mother for she pleads,
Having you was her greatest sin,
A fight with death, you could never win....
---
Jihoon suddenly woke up with a smile.
'So, it's that poem after all.'
He closed his eyes, trying to recall the rest of it, but the words wouldn't come. He kept trying for an hour before finally giving up.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. When he opened it, a maid stood outside.
"Tae-gun is looking for you," she said.
Jihoon nodded, subconsciously glancing at the clock. The long hand rested on twelve, the short on eight.
He followed the maid to a large room where Tae-gun, Seyeon, and even Sera were present. Sera sat in a chair, reading a book. She glanced at Jihoon for a second before resuming her reading.
In the center of the room stood an easel and a palette, along with a blank canvas. Jihoon furrowed his brows and looked at Tae-gun.
"This is the main reason I even bothered looking for you in the first place," Tae-gun said.
"You want me to paint for you?" Jihoon's eyes widened before he grinned. "In that case, are you sure you can afford it?"
Tae-gun chuckled. "Sure, sure. How much do you charge?"
"A thousand dollars." Jihoon sat behind the drawing board without waiting for Tae-gun to reply.
Tae-gun raised a brow. "One thousand? I refuse to pay that."
Jihoon frowned. "It's just a thousand! Don't tell me you can't afford that?"
"That's not what I meant," Tae-gun said with a smile. "I'll pay you ten thousand."
"What?" Jihoon's mouth fell open. "Ten thousand?"
"Yes," Tae-gun nodded. "Ten thousand dollars each for a painting of Seyeon, my wife, and me."
Jihoon looked over at Seyeon, dressed in a beautiful blue gown with floral patterns. A silver hairpin adorned her hair, complementing her silver earrings, which glittered under the sunlight.
THE PRESENT
Golden sunlight streamed through the open window of a grand mansion, home to one of the wealthiest families in Seoul. A gentle breeze swept in, making the yellow curtains flutter to its rhythm.
Under the golden rays of the sun sat the daughter of the Lee family, her beauty unmatched, ensnaring the hearts of any man who dared to look at her. As the only child of her father and her late mother, she always got whatever she desired.
She had the money and the looks—one might say she was close to perfection. Her name was rarely spoken, as uttering it was considered a disrespect to her father's legacy. Her mother had allegedly been assassinated when she was young, and ever since, her father had subjected her to the harshest training imaginable, ensuring she could protect herself.
Before her stood Seo Jihoon, a 27-year-old freelance painter who struggled daily just to put food on his table. His rent had long expired, and the only thing keeping both him and his belongings in that house was his friendship with the landlord—otherwise, she would have kicked him out ages ago.
With a brush in one hand and a palette in the other, he skillfully captured the beauty before him. Painting the daughter of the Lee family only fueled his passion for art, making it burn even brighter. His heartbeat fluctuated with every stroke—he couldn't afford to lose this golden opportunity.
---
TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO
A Few Months Before Seo Jisan's Death
A man with a powerful aura sat in his office, scribbling down words in a small book. This was none other than Tae-gun's father, Kee Tae-shin. Shortly after, another man stepped inside the office, his face void of emotion.
"Tae-shin," Jisan called out, but Tae-shin remained fixated on his writing.
After a few more minutes, Tae-shin removed his glasses and tossed them onto the table. He looked at the book before placing it into a golden safe.
"You called?" Jisan finally spoke, seeing that Tae-shin was done.
"There was a particular song you used to sing. Can you sing it for me?" Tae-shin asked.
Jisan didn't bother questioning the request and simply sang the song Tae-shin wanted to hear.
When he was finished, Tae-shin asked, "Who wrote that?"
"My mother," Jisan answered.
Tae-shin smiled as he glanced at the safe. "There will come a day when the Black Crown comes looking for Tae-gun. I hope that by the time they do, he will have learned everything about them—everything I've written inside this book."
"Is he going to join the Black Crown?"
"No... The Black Crown has lost its way, poisoned by greed. My son cannot join them," Tae-shin said firmly. Then, he turned to Jisan and changed the subject. "Aren't you going to leave something for your son?"
"Leave something?" Jisan asked.
"Yes, just like I have for mine. You designed this safe so I suggest you leave something in it for him."
"I don't think there's a need for that. After all, the poem is the voice code to the safe, and Jihoon is the only one who knows it. If he finds this safe, the poem will be all he needs to hear from me," Jisan replied, his eyes devoid of emotion.
"I see," Tae-shin nodded, closing the safe.
---