Someone is looking for you

It was past 11 PM, but the streets weren’t dark at all. On the contrary, the overflowing neon lights were almost painfully bright.

Standing there dazedly, as if mesmerized by the lights, Sana bumped shoulders with a passing person.

“I’m sorr—”

She quickly bowed her head and offered an apology, but the other person didn’t seem to care at all and simply walked past.

The street was so crowded that a slight collision was utterly disregarded. She wondered where all these people had come from.

This chaos, familiar to most, was entirely new to Sana. It had been half a year since she started living in Seoul after the dismantling of Muryeong, but she still felt dizzy from the crowds whenever she went out.

Just going to the neighborhood mart made her feel overwhelmed by people, let alone Gangnam… Perhaps she had been too ambitious from the start. And on a Saturday night, the busiest time of all.

She should have waited until a weekday after the weekend. She regretted it belatedly, but she was already standing in the heart of Gangnam.

‘Maybe I can meet him.’ Thinking that, she couldn’t bear to stay still.

Walking a bit along the main road, she saw people queuing in front of a large building.

Even at a glance, it looked very different from typical buildings. It was dome-shaped, and its entire front was made of glass, so it glittered, reflecting light from other buildings and signs without needing any extra effort.

CLUB MUSE. In front of this peculiar building, the neon signs shone more brilliantly than anywhere else. That sign hadn’t been visible in her dream. Naturally. The place she saw in her dream wasn’t the club entrance, but the back of the building.

‘If I had seen the sign, I might have found this place easily sooner.’

She smiled wryly at her regret and shook her head. At least the building had a unique shape, which served as a clue, so it was a relief she could find it.

At first, she didn’t even know this was a club. Unlike the glamorous, bustling roadside, the back was quiet and dimly lit.

So, it took several repeated viewings before she realized the building looked somewhat different, and only then did she belatedly start searching for dome-shaped buildings.

‘Will he be here?’

She had come here impulsively, but she still didn’t know. The clues given to Sana were too few. A fleeting moment, a fleeting image—that was all.

‘If Mooyoung were here, he would scold me for being reckless.’ He would surely say it was unnecessary meddling, and that she should just let things be.

In everyday life, it would have been like that. As always, if it had just been one dream, she would have looked away, pretending not to see, letting it pass by.

If it had been just one dream…

She closed her eyes, and a man’s face vividly appeared. She was now so familiar with it that she could clearly recall his eyes, nose, and mouth.

‘I can find him. I’m confident I’ll recognize him instantly if I just meet him.’

Standing among countless people, she steadied her wavering heart, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes.

However, seeing the huge building towering before her and the long line of people waiting to enter, she felt intimidated again.

“Look at her.”

“She’s not seriously trying to go in there dressed like that, is she?”

She heard people giggling and laughing. Turning towards the sound, her eyes met those of the whispering group. They didn’t even try to hide their mockery, not even looking away first when their eyes met.

“Isn’t she here from some kind of shoot?”

“Oh, no way…”

Some people looked curious. Only then did Sana recall her own appearance. Indeed, her attire stood out here.

Both men and women were dressed to the nines. Women wore skirts so short and tight that Sana couldn’t comprehend, and men were adorned with countless accessories.

“Still, a hanbok? Isn’t that crazy?”

Someone spoke loudly, as if for her to hear. His words were accurate. The clothes Sana was wearing weren’t just plain or unfashionable.

It was the ceremonial attire she wore at Muryeong.

A pure white hanbok with a white kwaeja draped over both shoulders. Wearing a waist belt embroidered with silver thread, her appearance couldn’t help but look strange, beyond merely curious, to others. Especially in front of such a flashy club.

Since it was her everyday wear, Sana hadn’t expected others to find it so peculiar.

After she started living in Seoul, people would occasionally stare when she wore it, but most just accepted it. With so many people in Seoul, they were largely indifferent to others.

As people’s gazes began to turn towards Sana one by one, the large men guarding the club entrance exchanged glances, and one of them approached.

“Hey.”

A man easily twice Sana’s size called out, leaning his face close to hers. No, ‘threatened’ might be a more fitting word than ‘called.’

“You’re not seriously trying to go in, are you?”

The man pointed his thumb towards the glittering club entrance. Sana couldn’t answer immediately, only biting her lower lip. ‘If I go in there, will he be inside? I don’t know.’

“I’m… looking for someone.”

That was all she could say in response.

“Someone? Who?”

The man’s question again left her speechless. She knew his face, but not his name.

As Sana couldn’t answer right away and averted her gaze, the man’s already gruff face twisted further.

“Don’t play games, just go. This isn’t for kids.”

The man waved his hand dismissively, perhaps trying to placate her. When Sana still didn’t budge, he stepped closer, intimidating her with his body.

“I’m not a kid.”

Due to her younger-than-her-age appearance, she had been asked if she was a high school student several times since coming to Seoul, so she quickly shook her head, wondering if he was making such a mistake.

“Even if you’re not a kid, you can’t go in dressed like that.”

The man said firmly and pushed Sana’s shoulder. It felt like a light touch, but perhaps due to the difference in their physiques, or maybe the man was stronger than she thought, her body was pushed back several steps.

“But…!”

This was the only clue she had. It was definitely this building. Although it seemed to be the back of the building rather than inside, it was certain that ‘he’ was here.

“What is that?”

A rough voice came from behind the large man. The man quickly turned around and bowed deeply.

“Brother, you’ve come out.”

His attitude was completely opposite to how he treated Sana.

“What is it?”

The man was smaller than the one in front of him, but with his lean, angular face and slit eyes, he looked even fiercer.

“It’s nothing much. She was loitering out front, so I was just about to remove her.”

At the large man’s words, the slit-eyed man scrutinized Sana from head to toe.

“Why does she look like that?”

He frowned deeply in displeasure, then, with both hands in his pants pockets, he approached right in front of Sana.

Just as she thought the distance was too close and tried to step back, he reached out and grabbed her chin. That made her meet his gaze directly.

“Her face is pretty decent. If we just get her changed and seated, there’ll be plenty of guys swarming around her.”

He turned Sana’s face from side to side, assessing her.

“The second son of Daejin Group is here, right? That bastard likes unique things, so send her to his room or something.”

Words she couldn’t understand followed.

“Take your hand off me.”

When she slapped his hand away from her chin with a sharp sound, he quirked his lips into a smile, as if amused.

“I didn’t come to play, I’m looking for someone…”

The large man standing beside them tried to interject, but he quickly shut his mouth when the one called ‘Brother’ glared at him.

“Whether you came to play or not, you want to go in there, don’t you?”

He gestured with his eyes towards the club building. Sana couldn’t answer yes or no. She still hadn’t decided whether the person she was looking for was inside, or if she needed to search around the club building.

“You’d best not.”

Another voice cut in between them, drawing everyone’s attention. A red cigarette butt was visible first from the alley next to the building. The building cast a shadow, so the speaker’s face wasn’t clearly visible.

“Brother Heukrang.”

The large man seemed to recognize the person by their silhouette in the darkness and called out to him. Unlike when the slit-eyed man appeared, a sense of relief was present in the large man’s voice.

“Although the second son of Daejin Group likes unique things, I haven’t heard that he’s gay.”

Thump, thump. With the sound of footsteps, the figure in the darkness gradually emerged. The moment he fully stepped out of the alley and his face was clearly illuminated by the dazzling neon lights, Sana’s eyes widened.

“That guy, even if he looks like that, he’s definitely a man—!”

Before the one called Brother Heukrang could finish his sentence, Sana dashed towards him.

“What is this?”

He was taken aback, his body jolting backward from the impact of her tackle and embrace around his waist. He tried to push Sana away, but she held on, resisting with all her might.

‘I found him. Finally… I found him.’

“This is absurd.”

The slit-eyed man looked dumbfounded.

“Was he your lover?”

Displeasure was heavily laced in his tone as he asked about a lover.

“Is that a man? Talk about a homo bastard, look at him.”

He glared at Sana, then frowned deeply as if he’d seen something disgusting, spat on the ground, and turned away.

“Lee Jungwook.”

The man Sana was clutching by the waist called out to the large man who had first approached her.

“Explain this to me.”

He pointed at Sana and asked, but the large man, Lee Jungwook, was just as clueless.