Diamond Dust — Chapter 6

...ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

OH...

Y-YES! THANK YOU...!

THAT SURPRISED ME...

COME IN.

OKAY.

HIS COLOGNE...

THERE YOU ARE, YEEHYEON!

WHY DID YOU BUY SO MUCH? YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT!

IT'S JUST SOME SNACKS.

I NOTICED YOU WERE LOW ON JUICE AND MILK LAST TIME...

GOODNESS, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, MS. HAN?

I THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR OFFER.

WOULD IT BE OKAY IF I WORKED AS YOUR LIVE-IN HELPER?

REALLY?

AS LONG AS IT'S OKAY WITH YOU...

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I OFFERED BECAUSE I NEED HELP.

OKAY, THEN! I'LL JUST PUT THESE AWAY AND GET STARTED ON THE CLEANING.

THANKS, YEEHYEON. I KNOW YOU'LL DO GREAT.

THEN, DIRECTOR HAN, SCHEDULE THE INTERVIEWS THROUGH THESE PLATFORMS.

I'LL FINISH THE BLURB BY THE END OF THE DAY.

AND FOR THE POSTER, LEAN A LITTLE MORE INTO THIS VIBE...

KUN...

...YOU'RE PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORT INTO SHUSHU'S EXHIBIT.

PEOPLE WILL START SAYING YOU'RE GIVING SPECIAL TREATMENT.

SHUSHU...?

THAT DOESN'T SOUND KOREAN.

OBVIOUSLY I'M GOING TO BE PUTTING IN A LITTLE EXTRA EFFORT HERE.

SHUSHU IS SPECIAL.

"SPECIAL...?"

MS. HAN, I'M DONE CLEANING.

I'M GOING TO HEAD OUT NOW. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU NEED?

OH, GOOD JOB. PERFECT TIMING, TOO! WE JUST WRAPPED UP HERE.

YEEHYEON, BY ANY CHANCE...

...WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HELP OUT AT THE GALLERY ON SATURDAY?

OUR CURATOR OVER THERE WANTS TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT EXHIBIT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE...

...SO WE NEED TO WRAP UP THE CURRENT ONE QUICKLY.

THE NEXT EXHIBIT...MUST BE THIS “SHUSHU” PERSON’S.

OH, ARE YOU ALREADY WORKING WITH THE MOVING COMPANY THAT DAY?

NO, NOT AT ALL. I’M FREE.

WOW! THANKS SO MUCH. I MEAN IT.

OH, RIGHT!

KUN, YOU’RE HEADING OUT NOW, RIGHT? DROP YEEHYEON OFF ON YOUR WAY.

I-IT’S OKAY! I CAN JUST TAKE THE BUS!

...LET'S GO.

I'M NO GOOD AT MAKING SMALL TALK... UGH, THIS IS SO AWKWARD.

I HEARD YOU TOOK LESSONS FROM DIRECTOR HAN BEFORE.

UH... YES. FOR ABOUT A YEAR, WHEN I WAS A KID.

HOW OLD WERE YOU?

I WAS IN FOURTH GRADE.

I'LL BE FRANK.

I DON’T AGREE WITH THE IDEA OF YOU MOVING IN THERE.

PARDON...?

EVEN IF YOU MET HER WHEN YOU WERE A KID, YOU WERE ONLY TOGETHER FOR A SHORT TIME. YOU’RE PRACTICALLY STRANGERS NOW.

I VOICED MY CONCERNS, BUT SHE WOULDN’T LISTEN TO ME.

SO I’M TELLING YOU DIRECTLY.

SAFE AND PEACEFUL.

THAT’S THE KIND OF LIFE I WANT HER TO HAVE.

IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?

SO THIS IS THE KIND OF PERSON HE IS.

SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T CARE HOW OTHERS FEEL WHEN IT’S ABOUT PROTECTING “HIS GROUP OF PEOPLE.”

A GROUP I'M NOT A PART OF...

STILL...HE DOESN'T HAVE TO TREAT ME LIKE I'M SOME SORT OF DANGEROUS CREEP.

I CAN DROP YOU OFF HERE, RIGHT?

YES, THANK YOU.

BY THE WAY...

...YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ME.

I LIKE MEN.

HAA...

MY HANDS ARE STILL SHAKING.

HE'S SO KIND TO EVERYONE AT PHANTOM...

WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO BECOME ONE OF "HIS PEOPLE," TOO?

HUH? YEEHYEON, YOU'RE HOME!

YOU SHOULD SAY HI AS SOON AS YOU COME HOME.

O-OW! NOONA!

GOOD BOY. WASH UP AND GO TO SLEEP, OKAY?

I'M NOT EXACTLY A "GOOD BOY."

GOOD BOYS DON'T LIE AND SAY THEY'RE GAY...

HUH?

WHY...

...DO I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT HE THINKS, ANYWAY?

I COULD'VE JUST IGNORED HIM...

...BUT I WENT AND LIED, WHICH I NEVER DO.

AND NOW I'M SITTING HERE WORRIED ABOUT BEING ONE OF "HIS PEOPLE?"

DO I HAVE A WEIRD KINK OR SOMETHING?

DO I LIKE TO BE IGNORED AND BULLIED...?

NO. NO WAY-

THAT'S RIGHT, SEO YEEHYEON. YOU DON'T LIKE BEING BULLIED.

YOU JUST...

...WANT ME TO THINK YOU'RE SPECIAL.

N-NO, I WAS JUST UPSET...

AH...!

YOU WANT ME.

HNGH...!

LIKE THIS.

HAA...!

WHAT-

AH...

UWAAAHHHH!