"Ugh…!"
When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in the driver's seat of a car. The scene outside was as peaceful as ever. My head hurt as if I had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Just in case, I cautiously touched my neck, feeling the sharp thorns under my fingers.
"Of course. It wasn't a dream."
I looked around to see if anything had changed, and something on the passenger seat caught my eye.
A flower. A flower glowing redder than the sunset in the sky. The moment I saw the layers of petals stacked as if they had swallowed the sun, I knew what it was immediately. It was
"Why is this… here?"
As I lifted the flower, I noticed a small note beneath it. The paper had a strong scent of the sea, and the handwriting was so neat that I recognized it immediately.
[To my dearest.]
The same phrase that'd lured me to the flower shop. There couldn't be a more mischievous prank.
****
I ended up with a new addition to my household that was worth about the deposit for a studio apartment.
"This isn't something that should be here…."
I wasn't sure why he gave me such an expensive item, but I brought it into my home since I'd received it. I didn't even have a vase or a proper jar, so I stuck
They say it's a flower that brings disaster. At first, I felt uneasy about keeping it at home, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt a sense of kinship. After all, I was already cursed; what difference would a single flower make?
It's been a week since I left the island. The first thing I did was quit being an errand boy.
[Are you still taking requests?]
[I've quit.]
[Why?]
[Personal reasons. If you keep messaging me, I'll block you.]
Even when I got messages through open chat, I cut them off just as decisively as I did just now.
This time, I was determined to find a proper job. My life might be down to less than a year, but even now, why not try? After all, no law says I have to die right away. Living a normal life and then quietly passing away could be a blessing.
I even took new ID photos and submitted resumes to various part-time jobs. Despite my worries about my lack of relevant experience, I received a call from a café for an interview within a day. I ironed a white shirt that I'd shoved in the corner of my closet at some point and headed straight to the café.
Jingle—.
When I walked in, the fragrant smell of coffee filled the air. The large potted plants placed here and there, along with the wooden furniture, created a cozy atmosphere. As I studied the empty counter, a young woman's voice called out from inside the kitchen.
"Welcome."
"Uh, I'm here for an interview…"
"Oh! Please, have a seat wherever you like."
As I waited at the closest table to the counter, a young woman in an apron soon emerged from the kitchen. She looked quite young, wiping her wet hands on the apron before sitting across from me.
"Mr. Hajae… Shin?"
"Yes. Hello."
Wanting to make a good first impression, I greeted her with a soft smile, and the café owner's face brightened.
"You're much more handsome than in the photo. The customers are going to love you."
"Haha, thank you."
Is this what being handsome looks like? After the accident, I only heard that I looked straight-laced and polite. But it was a compliment, so I accepted it gratefully. The café owner seemed quite taken with me, leaning forward to ask more questions.
"Have you ever worked in a café before?"
"No. This would be my first time."
"Hmm, then what have you done before?"
"Uh… I've done a lot of customer support… work for quite a while."
"Oh, so you're good with customers then."
I've encountered many customers who would act out just because they thought they could stay anonymous while making a request. I figured dealing with customers at a café wouldn't be worse than that—probably easier. I nodded confidently, signaling that I was ready to handle anything.
"Everything looks good, but… could you maybe take that off?"
"Sorry? What do you mean…?"
The manager's gaze dropped below my chin. I only realized she was looking at the collar around my neck. I had gotten so used to wearing it that I'd forgotten it was even there—a thorny vine wrapped around my neck that not even dogs would wear.
I touched the collar gently and gave an awkward smile.
"Oh, this?"
"Yes. It might alarm some of the elderly customers since we're close to a hospital."
Come to think of it, people had been glancing at me a lot recently. I guess this was the reason.
I'd love to take it off too, but it wouldn't budge no matter what I tried. Not even wire cutters or a knife that could slice through a watermelon could make a dent in it. I couldn't explain that to her, so I just shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid the topic.
"That might be a bit difficult."
"Oh… I see. Well, I guess there's nothing we can do, then."
The manager sighed and shrugged, clearly disappointed.
"I'll be in touch."
I failed the interview. Never in my life did I think I'd be rejected because of a collar. This meant that other places would probably ask about it, too. Maybe getting a normal job wasn't in the cards for me.
"…Thanks for your time."
Feeling utterly deflated, I made to drag myself out of the cafe.
"Pfft."
When a burst of laughter hit my ears. It somehow felt like I was being mocked. I snapped my head toward the sound, only to see someone sitting alone in a corner wearing a mask. As I was about to glare at them for laughing, the individual took off their mask, and a shiver ran down my spine.
"Why…?"
Was Sang here?
He always dressed in shirts or suits, but he wore a knit sweater today, so I hadn't recognized him. Even though he looked great in casual clothes, it took me a moment to snap out of my daze. As I blinked in confusion, Simeon grinned. It felt like the blood in my head turned cold.
I tried to turn away and escape, but his languid voice held me back.
"Mr. Hajae?"
Simeon gestured for me to sit across from him. Now that I noticed, he'd already ordered coffee, two drinks, one for him and one for me. It seemed like he knew I'd come and had been waiting. In the end, I slowly walked toward him, like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, before eventually sitting down in front of him.
My throat was dry with tension. Instinctively, I reached for the cup, but then hesitated, wondering if he'd drugged it again. Maybe my resolve not to fall for the same trick twice showed on my face because Simeon chuckled.
"There's nothing in it."
"If it were you, would you believe that?"
I threw back at him the same words he'd said to me before, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a slight smile. He took my cup and took a small sip to show me it wasn't poisoned. Only then did I feel reassured enough to take a sip through the straw. The cold caffeine felt refreshing.
"How did you know I'd be here?"
"By chance."
His short response was casual.
"Liar. You followed me."
"Well…"
He arrived at the café before me, so technically, it wasn't following. Anyway, the claim that we met by chance was a hundred percent false. As I chewed the end of my straw suspiciously, Simeon kept smiling as if something amused him. Then, suddenly, he changed the subject.
"Why did you decline the job?"
"….That message this morning, was it from you?"
"I'm asking why you turned it down."
His steady gaze felt intimidating, so I had no choice but to respond.
"I told you in the message. I quit due to personal reasons."
"Whose decision was that?"
"Obviously mine!"
I raised my voice without thinking at the ridiculous question. For a moment, the café's patrons turned their attention to us. Students who'd just come in to order coffee and office workers who'd been laughing and chatting paused and looked our way.
Instead of apologizing, I offered an awkward smile and bowed my head slightly, and the café's lively atmosphere resumed. Although some customers were still glancing over, they seemed more interested in Simeon than me, so I let it be.
"Be honest. How did you know I was here?"
When I pressed him with a direct look, Simeon wordlessly pointed to my neck with his gaze.
The damn collar again. It prevented me from disclosing information about the Apostles, and it seemed he was also using it to track my movements. My head throbbed at that thought, and I downed the remaining coffee in one go. My head seemed to hurt even more.
"Thanks to you, I couldn't even get a job."
I grumbled, slamming the coffee cup down like a bottle of alcohol, and Simeon's eyes softened.
"Then, do you want to come back?"
"No thanks. Stop with the jokes."
"Even if I'm serious?"
That was the problem. He was always serious.
I pretended not to hear his last remark and tugged at the collar with my finger.
"You said it would come off on its own eventually."
"Yes, that's right."
"When exactly? I couldn't even cut it with a knife… Is it really going to come off?"
Could that have been a lie, too? As Simeon just kept smiling silently, I couldn't help but doubt him. I anxiously chewed on my straw as Simeon calmly sipped his coffee and spoke.
"It's a spirit item."
"Huh?"
"It's called
I gave him a questioning look, prompting him to explain.
"Long ago… in the now-ruined kingdom of Celia, there was an incident."
In the past, strange rumors circulated in Celia's palace. The queen was having an affair. No one believed it, as the lover was just a nameless commoner, but soon enough, the rumor proved to be true. According to the law, the queen should've been dethroned and executed immediately, but the king, who still loved her, decided only to impose a punishment.
"A punishment?"
"She had to wear that crown on her head."
I felt my breath catch. Imagining this sharp, thorny crown being worn on one's head was unsettling.
"When the king placed the crown on her, he made a condition: If she lived quietly for the next year, she'd be freed. But if she met the man even once, the crown would tighten and cause her a painful death."
Even though the story wasn't over, I could already predict the tragic ending.
Spirit objects are more likely to become sacred when they are fueled by people's strong desires and the sacrifices made for them. The thorny crown must have grown into
"…She went to meet him, didn't she?"
"Yes. Because of that, the queen died, but the king kept her body in the palace."
All the tragedy stemmed from the queen's betrayal, but instead of feeling pity for the king, the king only seemed frightening. She tried to escape at the risk of her life, but even in death, she couldn't get away from him. If I were in the king's shoes, I would've let the person I loved go…
"It was quite the obsession."
I murmured, touching the collar, and Simeon's brows furrowed slightly.
"It was a great love. Even after being betrayed, he gave her another chance."
Best gifts for your loved ones
His gaze shifted subtly, chilling as it passed over me.
The more I thought about it, the more ironic it seemed. A king who bound his queen to his side with a thorny crown and a queen who tried to escape even at the cost of her life. Isn't my situation with Simeon eerily similar to the origin of
"Do you still think I'm like 'that person'?"
"...."
"Is that why you're doing this?"
He stared at me silently without a word.
The suspicion I had been harboring grew into certainty in that bleak silence. I finally understood why Simeon gave me special treatment from the start and wanted to keep me by his side. It wasn't just because I resembled Johan.
I was a substitute. Just as a child who loses their favorite toy finds a similar one, he is trying to fill the void left by Johan with me. Whether or not I'm Johan no longer matters. No matter how much I tell him I'm not Johan, or even if I show him proof, he will never let his obsession go.
"You know, Mr. Hajae."
His quiet voice shattered the silence.
"Do you know why the queen tried to escape?"
"…Because the king didn't try to understand her feelings and just wanted to keep her bound to him."
"No."
His dark eyes slowly roved over my face and settled on the collar.
"Because he allowed her freedom."