Diamond Dust — Chapter 2

OH...

HIS EYES ARE THE COLOR OF THE OCEAN.

THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL.

WHO IS THIS?

AH, RIGHT.

DIRECTOR HAN SAID WE WERE SHORTHANDED, SO SHE CALLED IN A FAVOR.

YEEHYEON, THIS IS OUR CURATOR.

OH...

HELLO, I'M SEO YEEHYEON.

HUH...?

WE'RE NOT EVEN MAKING EYE CONTACT...

...BUT I CAN FEEL HIS GAZE PICKING EVERY INCH OF ME APART.

THE PRESSURE IS SUFFOCATING.

WE'RE NOT READY YET, ARE WE?

HE HASN'T EVEN TOUCHED THE PIECES IN SECTION C.

LET'S DO OUR BEST TO FINISH IN THREE HOURS.

KWON JUHAN, COME WITH ME.

YES, SIR!

MAYBE THAT FEELING WAS BECAUSE OF HIS PHEROMONES...

I KNOW HE'S A GOLDEN ALPHA, BUT STILL... BETAS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO SENSE THEM.

I WAS SO NERVOUS.

YEEHYEON!

LET’S PUT THE CAPTION CARDS FOR THIS AREA UP.

ONCE THE SECTION C PIECES ARE UP, WE’LL DO THOSE TOO.

OKAY!

HAA...

OOH!

WOW, IT'S ALREADY SPOTLESS! YOU'RE REALLY GOOD WITH YOUR HANDS.

NICE WORK!

OH WOW! DONE ALREADY?

I THOUGHT WE'D BE UP ALL NIGHT AND BARELY MAKE IT BEFORE OPENING.

MS. HAN!

DIRECTOR HAN!

ONE MORE PAIR OF HANDS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

YOU BROUGHT FOOD?

OH, JUST A LATE-NIGHT SNACK. WE SHOULD EAT BEFORE WE KEEP GOING.

THOUGH IT'S BASICALLY MORNING.

WOW! WHAT DID YOU BRING?

SANDWICHES.

I FIGURED EVERYTHING WOULD BE CLOSED THIS LATE.

IS THERE ONE WITH AVOCADO?

LET GO.

I GRABBED IT FIRST.

WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT, YEEHYEON?

I'M FINE WITH WHATEVER'S LEFT.

THIS ONE'S GOOD. HERE, TAKE IT.

THANK...

...YOU.

DOES HE...

...NOT LIKE ME OR SOMETHING?

YEEHYEON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING TODAY.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD'VE DONE WITHOUT YOU.

YOU MUST BE EXHAUSTED.

WANT TO TAKE THE SANDWICH HOME INSTEAD?

IS THAT OKAY? THEN I'LL JUST...

YEAH, GO AHEAD. I'LL SEE YOU AT MY PLACE LATER.

GRAA

NO!! WAIT!!

YEEHYEON! COME AGAIN TOMORROW!

WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?

WE'VE BEEN DOING FINE ON OUR OWN.

WE'VE BARELY BEEN SCRAPING BY!!

I KEEP TELLING YOU, THE SCHEDULE IS BRUTAL!

YEEHYEON IS A GREAT WORKER.

HE'S GOOD WITH HIS HANDS, LEARNS FAST, AND WORKS EVEN QUICKER.

IT'S ONLY BEEN ONE DAY AND HE'S BASICALLY ON PAR WITH JUHAN.

HEY, WHY AM I GETTING DRAGGED INTO THIS?!

WHAT DO YOU THINK, YEEHYEON? ARE YOU FREE TOMORROW?

UH...

I MIGHT NOT BE GREAT WITH CUSTOMERS, THOUGH...

THAT'S FINE!

PLEASE, MR. LIU?

HEY, YEEHYEON!!

HI, NOONA.

WHY ARE YOU HOME SO LATE?!

ISN'T HE TECHNICALLY EARLY? WELCOME HOME!

YEEHAN HYUNG, YOU'RE ALREADY UP?

YOU TEXTED ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT SAYING "MS. HAN ASKED ME TO DO A ONE-DAY GIG FOR HER, SO I'LL BE HOME AFTER THAT."

UGH

THEN YOU DON'T SHOW UP UNTIL MORNING? DID YOU THINK WE WOULDN'T WORRY?

SORRY... IT ALL CAME UP KIND OF SUDDENLY.

Friday, May 16, 2025 Ms. Han Yeehyeon, can you do a one-day gig for me? Please help my crew out :( 10:55 PM A one-day gig? 10:56 PM

Ms. Han It's just some simple stuff. Even a newbie can handle it!

COME ON, HE'S NOT A KID! HE EVEN DID HIS MILITARY SERVICE.

HE'S STILL A BABY. LOOK HOW SOFT HE IS. WE'RE ONLY A YEAR APART...

KOREA TIGER

YEAH, HE DOES KIND OF FEEL LIKE A BABY. I'LL GIVE YOU THAT.

UGH, I'M NOT A BABY.

A GIANT BABY.

HAHAHA!

SO, WHAT WAS IT?

UH... I HELPED SET UP AN EXHIBIT AT A GALLERY MS. HAN WORKS AT.

A GALLERY? LIKE AN ART MUSEUM?

YEAH. I'M GOING BACK THIS AFTERNOON.

ISN'T THAT A BIT MUCH?

YOU'RE ALREADY EXHAUSTED FROM THE USUAL WORK SHE GIVES YOU...

I'LL BE FINE AFTER I GET SOME SLEEP.

YEAH, YOU'VE BEEN AWAKE ALMOST 24 HOURS ALREADY. GO TRY AND GET SOME SHUT-EYE.

I'M DONE IN THE BATHROOM. IT'S ALL YOURS.

OKAY.

WE'RE GONNA HEAD OUT SOON, SO YOU TAKE THE BED, TOO.

SURE, THANKS.

THEY WOKE UP SO EARLY AND LEFT AHEAD OF TIME FOR MY SAKE...

IF I WEREN'T HERE, THEY COULD RELAX TOGETHER...

MR. LIU DOESN'T SEEM TO LIKE ME...

...BUT IF I HELP OUT AGAIN TODAY, I'LL EARN A LITTLE CASH.

AND HONESTLY...

...I THINK I REALLY ENJOYED MYSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE.

WHEN EVERYTHING GOES QUIET, ALL I CAN HEAR ARE CARS AND THE HUM OF THE CITY.

...I CAN'T HEAR THE OCEAN ANYMORE.

OH, RIGHT...

THAT UNFAMILIAR FEELING MAKES ME REALIZE...

...JUST HOW FAR FROM HOME I AM.

"PHANTOM," HUH...?

PHANTOM.

A PRESENCE THAT DRIFTS, NEVER FINDING A PLACE TO LAND.

THERE WAS A TIME I WANTED TO BE LIKE THAT.

MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE NAME FEELS SO FAMILIAR TO ME.

BUT WHY WOULD THEY NAME A GALLERY THAT?

I WONDER IF SOMEONE AS COLD AND DAZZLING AS HIM...

HAS EVER FELT LIKE A GHOST, TOO...?

PHEW! EVERYTHING HAS BEEN CHECKED!

TIME TO GET A QUICK NAP IN.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THE KID THAT WAS IN HERE EARLIER?

IS HE YOUR BOYFRIEND?

ARE YOU CRAZY?! HE'S LIKE, TEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME!

I USED TO TEACH HIM FOR A BIT BEFORE I LEFT FOR HONG KONG. I RAN INTO HIM AGAIN BY CHANCE RECENTLY.

HE'S A GOOD KID.

HMM...