The room was filled with loud music, raucous laughter, and the smell of cigarettes. Yoon-sung, who'd been talking with the crowd at the party, picked up his coat and stood up. As he stood up, everyone in the room looked at him.

Yoon-sung was clearly used to all the attention, as he smiled at everyone. Just as he was about to leave, the party host hurried over, looking concerned, and asked if he was leaving already. Yoon-sung replied,

"Someone's coming home today."

"Someone? Who?"

"I'm not sure."

"Anyway, you've got something to do, right? That's too bad. I was just about to do something really fun."

People are always anxious because they couldn't get along with Yoon-sung. He was born into a very wealthy family and is extremely attractive.

"I'm out. See you later."

When Yoon-sung went outside, a few friends followed him. Yoon-sung gave them a quick hello, then hopped on a fancy motorcycle.

Yoon-sung started the motorcycle and looked straight ahead. The cityscape, painted in black, white, and lots of greys, came into view.

There are three types of people: ordinary folks, the colorless, and the colorful.

Yoon-sung is 'the colorless' who sees everything in black and white from birth. People who don't have much color in their lives can only see color when they meet their own 'color.' People who don't have much color in their lives are called 'colourful' people.

With so many people in the world, how could one possibly find their one and only color? Yoon-sung walked down the seemingly boring road towards his home.

Yoon-sung currently lives alone after moving out on his own. His dad, who made him move out, had taken in the housekeeper and her son, and they all lived together like they were one big family.

But about a month ago, the housekeeper died in a sudden traffic accident. Yoon-Sung's dad wanted to take responsibility for the housekeeper's son, but it seemed like too much of a hassle to raise him himself, so he sent him to Yoon-Sung's house, saying that they were the same age.

"I hate having anyone at home."

Yoon-sung parked his bike in the garage, feeling a bit uneasy, opened the front gate, and went into the neatly trimmed lawn.

When he opened the front door and went into the living room like he always did, Yoon-sung was surprised to see someone asleep on the sofa. He wasn't easily startled, wherever he was and whatever he saw, but this time was different.

The unknown boy - His hair was soft and looked great, skin was flawless, eyelashes were long, nose was high and straight, lips were slightly parted, and his teeth were neatly aligned.

Yoon-sung instinctively covered his mouth with his hand. If he hadn't, he would have shouted out loud.

'How can someone be so beautiful?'

The boy, with his impossibly good looks, had been crying until just a moment ago and had fallen asleep without realizing, as there were dried tears around his eyes. His long, straight neck was visible above his buttoned-up shirt, which looked a bit suffocating. His collarbone, which was barely visible, moved a bit with every breath he took, catching Yoon-sung's attention.

Yoon-sung was curious about the unknown boy sleeping on his sofa.

'It'd be better if he could get some sleep in his room.'

Yoon-sung thought for a second, then carefully placed his hand on the sleeping boy's shoulder. The boy opened his eyes the moment Yoon-sung touched him, and Yoon-sung's vision turned completely pink.

"Oh no, what is this...!"

After a moment where he felt a bit suffocated, as if trapped in a pink veil, the world that came back into Yoon-sung's eyes was different from before. Everything he saw was colored.

"Huh?"

The boy looked confused when he woke up and started looking around quickly. Yoon-sung looked into his eyes. A light blue ring appeared above his black pupils.

There's a ring mark above the pupils. It was proof that he was 'colorful.'

Yoon-sung picked up the hand mirror on the living room table, keeping his fingers crossed. He gave himself a quick once-over in the mirror. Above his pupils, which had always been blank, a light pink ring had appeared.

"Wow, hey."

Yoon-sung put down the mirror and called out to the person in front of him. As soon as he heard the call, he instinctively narrowed his eyes and went on alert.

"What's wrong? I think I'm your 'color'."

"What...?"

"Never mind, what's your name?"

"Shi-heum."

A small voice said, "Hyun Shi-heum." Yoon-sung nodded when he heard the name, then put his hand on Shi-heum's shoulder and said something.

"Hey, if you're feeling really down and tired, maybe it'd be better to head to your room and rest instead of staying here, you know?"

When Yoon-sung said, Shi-heum realized that he'd seen him crying. He grabbed his suitcase and took off somewhere.

"Where are you headed? You should at least know my name!"

Yoon-sung shouted, looking at Shi-heum's small back.

"I already know."

Shi-heum gave a quick response and went into Yoon-sung's room. He had no idea where he was supposed to go, so he just went into any room.

"What's wrong with him?"

Yoon-sung was a bit surprised by the loud noise of the door slamming shut.

As soon as he left Yoon-sung's room, Shi-heum realized he'd gone into the wrong room. The walls were covered in metal band posters, and the floor was littered with all kinds of clothes.

This was Yoon-sung's room. Shi-heum tried to make a quick getaway, but Yoon-sung burst into the room right before he could.

He looked exactly like the young Chairman Chae he'd seen in a photo, but he had a bit of a rebellious vibe going on. Without thinking, Shi-heum took a few steps back from Yoon-sung.

"Why did you barged into my room and start looking at me like I'm a criminal?"

Yoon-sung stood a bit askew and asked Shi-heum.

"You even had me engraved as your 'color.'"

Yoon-sung pointed to his eyes, like he was saying, "Check out this ring mark," showing Shi-heum the mark that had never been there before, barely visible in his eyes.

"You're the one who came to me without asking. Don't make it seem like it's all my fault."

Shi-heum spoke carefully, and Yoon-sung took a few steps back from him.

"So, does this distance make you feel better?"

"I, I'm off now."

As soon as Shi-heum stammered, he immediately fell into despair. He was surprised that he'd shown such a flustered expression to the other person. It was only a matter of time before he was seen as the odd one out here.

"You're going solo, but I won't stop you."

Yoon-sung tried to calm him down, but Shi-heum pushed him away and stormed out. Then he hurried into his room, crouched down in front of the door, and cried quietly.

Shi-heum's mom had passed away. He couldn't live in Chairman Chae's house anymore. His roommate, who he'd only met for the first time that day, was clearly uncomfortable, but he'd still made an impression on him. But he didn't even bring his suitcase from his roommate's room.

All of that made Shi-heum feel pretty down in the dumps.

As Shi-heum wiped away his tears with both hands, Yoon-sung looked at the suitcase he'd left behind in his room. He paused for a moment, then grabbed the suitcase and went into Shi-heum's room.

"Hey, you left your suitcase... What's going on? Are you crying?"

"Don't worry about it."

Shi-heum replied in a cold tone and took out two photo frames from the suitcase Yoon-sung had brought. One was a photo of Shi-heum with his mom, and the other was a photo of him with Chairman Chae. The front of the photo had the date and location written on it.

"The other photos are fine, but don't take out this one."

Yoon-sung said in a slightly harsh voice as Shi-heum picked up the frame with the photo of him and Chairman Chae in it.

"Whatever, it's not like it's your business."

"Just don't take it out. Seeing that guy's face really throws my mood."

Yoon-sung said pretty uncomfortable attitude, and Shi-heum was glaring at him with teary eyes.

"His face is so disturbing to look at that it makes me sick. That fucking old man."

"Don't talk like that!"

Yoon-sung's words were too much for Shi-heum to take.

"Well, our dad was seeing your mom. I knew about it too, even though I don't live with them. So... does that make our dad feel like your real dad?"

When Yoon-sung started snickering, Shi-heum, who'd reached the end of his patience, shouted at Yoon-sung to get out of there, straight away.

"I had an appointment today, but I came early to see you. But you've been pretty frosty."

"I told you to leave."

"OK, I'll take my leave since I'm feeling a bit off. Anyway, don't take out that old man's photo."

Yoon-sung gave Shi-heum a heads-up and then went back to his room. All of a sudden, Shi-heum felt really tired and plopped down on the floor. The floor wasn't just black and white, but it had a few colors in it, and he was never going to get used to it no matter how much he looked at it.

Yoon-sung was just as surprised by the situation. It's like suddenly seeing color and being totally affected by it.

"How could this happen?"

Just because there was color didn't mean the world looked the same as before, and it was always catching his eye. Yoon-Sung felt a little dizzy and closed his eyes.

*

The next day. Yoon-sung was just about to head off to school when he noticed the door to Shi-heum's room was closed. Yoon-sung opened the door and found Shi-heum asleep. There were dried tear stains on the pillow under Shi-heum's head, and next to the pillow was a photo frame with a picture of Shi-heum's mother.

"......."

Yoon-sung looked at the sleeping Shi-heum with a subtle expression, then gently placed his hand on Shi-heum's shoulder. As soon as Yoon-sung touched his shoulder, Shi-heum's eyes flashed open.

"Why...?"

"You're not going to school, are you? It's almost time."

When Yoon-sung said something, Shi-heum got ready for school right away. Yoon-sung was waiting nearby, minding his own business on his phone. Today is Shi-heum's first day of school, so he probably didn't know where the school was.

"If you walk to school now, you'll be late."

When Shi-heum was all set for school, Yoon-sung put his phone in his pocket and said,

"Then, are we going by bus or something?"

"Something like that."

"What does 'something like that' mean?"

"Just follow me."

Shi-heum tagged along behind Yoon-sung to the garage and stood in front of it. He was shocked when he saw Yoon-sung pulling a motorcycle out of the garage.

"You look a bit shocked. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?"

"No."

"Then give it a shot this time. Otherwise, you'll be late from the first day."

Shi-heum was sitting on the back of the motorcycle, like he'd made up his mind. Yoon-sung gave Shi-heum an extra helmet, put on the one he was wearing, and sat in the driver's seat.

Shi-heum paused for a moment, then put his arms around Yoon-sung's waist, and Yoon-sung started the motorcycle. They arrived at school super fast, which made Shi-heum feel faint.

"Phew, phew.... I'm never going to ride a motorcycle again."

Shi-heum, who'd been through a real ordeal the whole time he'd been on Yoon-sung's motorcycle, gasped for breath as he spoke.

"But we'll have to ride it again when we go home."

"Then just drive more carefully."

"I was planning on doing that even if you hadn't said anything. This time, I drove fast because you made me late. You don't even appreciate the favor I did for you."

When Yoon-sung got annoyed, Shi-heum glared at him with wide eyes. Yoon-sung also narrowed his eyes and stared back at Shi-heum. At that moment, Yoon-sung's friends approached and asked about Shi-heum, who they'd never seen before.

"Hey, Yoon-sung. Who is this?"

"Oh, he's my color. As you can see, he's not very friendly toward me."

"Your 'color'?"

"I guess he's not a fan of being stuck with me. I feel the same way about that guy, because I don't like him either."

When Yoon-sung said this, looking a bit annoyed, Shi-heum told him to tell him where the 1-2 class was.

"You in the second class? Anyway, that fucking old man, he's done everything useless."

So, Shi-heum was put in charge of the first-year Class 2, which also happened to be Yoon-sung's class. Yoon-sung wasn't too thrilled about sharing a class with Shi-heum.

"Why...?"

When Yoon-sung came into the room and put his bag down, Shi-heum muttered to himself, a bit flustered.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe that old guy asked for it on purpose. I'd say the latter."

Yoon-sung spoke frankly and sat down at his desk, then realized that he was the only one in the class without a seatmate. In the end, Yoon-sung got seated next to Shi-heum.

"What kind of situation is this?"

Shi-heum did his best to stay as quiet as possible, but Yoon-sung's friends wouldn't leave him alone. Yoon-sung was the real power in the classroom and even in the school. It was only natural. Chairman Chae built this school from the ground up.

Yoon-sung's influence meant that the kids tried hard to win Shi-heum's favor. Shi-heum didn't seem to care what anyone thought of him.

During class, which was kind of boring, Yoon-sung kept looking at Shi-heum, who was sitting next to him. His smooth, flowing hair and neat sideview were so beautiful.

'It's not my business, no matter how attractive he is.'

When the morning classes ended, Yoon-sung asked Shi-heum to go to lunch with him. Shi-heum wasn't having it, and Yoon-sung didn't ask him again.

Even after Yoon-sung left to get lunch, the others in the classroom tried to take Shi-heum to the student cafeteria. Shi-heum said no to all their requests to eat together and stayed in the classroom on his own, lying face down on his desk.

After his mom passed away, Chairman Chae sent him to live with Yoon-sung because he was having a hard time seeing Shi-heum, who looked like his mom. Now he had to admit it. The chairman was nice to Shi-heum, but only because he loved his mom.

The chairman never really saw Shi-heum as his own son, even though he'd said otherwise in the past.

Shi-Heum's eyes welled up with sadness. But he held them back. If he stayed like this, he might really start crying, so Shi-heum went to the toilet and composed himself in front of the mirror.

He looked at his gaunt self. The pale blue rings around his dark eyes were a bit unnerving. Shi-heum was thinking about Yoon-sung's eyes. Baby pink and baby blue. It was a color combination that was just right.

When the classes ended, Yoon-sung said no to his friends' suggestion to go out and play, and tapped Shi-heum on the shoulder. He wasn't really into hanging out with Shi-heum, but Shi-heum didn't know how to get back home, so Yoon-sung offered to help.

"Let's head back."

"......."

Shi-heum didn't want to follow Yoon-sung, but he had nowhere else to go. So, he reluctantly rode Yoon-sung's motorcycle.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Hungry? You skipped lunch."

As soon as they got home, Yoon-sung said something that Shi-heum hadn't expected at all.

"Nah, I'm not hungry."

Shi-heum wasn't really feeling it. He didn't have time to worry about feeling hungry right now.

"Hmmm."

Yoon-sung bit his lip and looked at Shi-heum. Shi-heum shot Yoon-sung a quick look. Yoon-sung was good-looking, with a sharp, angular face, but he didn't look particularly cheerful.

When Shi-heum looked at Yoon-sung with a cautious eye, Yoon-sung made it clear he wasn't pleased.

"Why are you so suspicious? I haven't done anything to you."

Shi-heum gave Yoon-sung a look, then went into his room. While Shi-heum hit the books in his room, Yoon-sung took a shower and got ready to go out. Then he got a call from his dad.

"Why?"

-I gave you a call to see how you and Shi-heum are doing.

"Why didn't you just call Shi-heum yourself?"

Yoon-sung asked, but his dad just kept quiet.

-Hey, just make sure you take good care of him, alright? Poor thing.

"If you're going to be so sympathetic, you should take care of him. Why do you leave him to me and nagging what to do?"

-You just hate everything I say, right?

"Once you've sent him to my compound, now he's in my charge. Oh, and by the way, he's imprinted with me."

After Yoon-sung ended his call, he felt like he was being watched behind his back. Shi-heum was the owner of the sign.

"What did the president say?"

Si-Hum asked, clearly embarrassed. Yoon-Sung said the situation was just funny.

"You're so insidious. As soon as you got here, you didn't even come out of the room. You sneak out of the room quietly because you think you hear my dad's little voice."

"Don't say useless things and answer the question I ask."

"Hey."

Yoon-sung said Shi-heum in a much lower voice than before. The voice was so cold and oppressive that Shi-heum couldn't even bring up what he was trying to.

"Don't boss me around. If you've been left behind, act a bit more appropriate."

After Yoon-sung finished the warning, he went outside. After getting hurt, Shi-Heum stood around for a bit, then slowly came back to the room and started doing his work. But he couldn't concentrate at all.

Shi-Heum was abandoned. Yoon-Sung's words were harsh, but they were also right.

*

Yoon-sung wasn't comfortable as he went outside after making a harsh sound on Shi-Heum. He was kind of bored with the meeting with his friends today, so he hurried back home. When he got home, Shi-Heum was getting ready to sleep.

"Hey. When I went out to see friends today, they only talk about you."

Yoon-sung said, while he was leaning over the door to Shi-heum's room. Shi-Heum didn't respond to that. It was unfortunate news.

"Anyway, are you going to sleep?"

"Yeah."

"I should sleep, too."

Yoon-sung took off his t-shirt as soon as he finished speaking. Shi-heum couldn't believe it when Yoon-sung suddenly stripped down, but he averted his gaze and did his best to keep his composure. At first glance, Yoon-sung's body looked a lot like the model in the magazine.

"Anyway, I'm sorry about that earlier. I think I was talking too much."

Yoon-sung sat next to Shi-Heum and give him an apology. Yoon-sung's body smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, so Shi-Heum frowned without realizing it.

"Why're you frowning in front of someone who's saying sorry?"

"Your body smells bad."

"I'll head off to wash up soon. Anyway, give me your phone number."

Yoon-sung said, taking out his phone from his jeans pocket. Shi-heum paused for a second and left his phone number on Yoon-sung's phone.

"Now, here's my phone number. Anyway, good night."

Shi-Heum spoke in a low voice and his cheeks were red.

"Yes, good night to you, too."

Yoon-sung's simple words as he left the room stuck in Shi-heum's ear for a while.

*

With the sun streaming in through the window, Shi-Heum opened his eyes, but he didn't want to open them. He was getting ready to go to school when he sat in bed and was lost in thought.

"I don't want to do anything."

After his mother died in an accident, Shi-heum lost interest in life. President Chae's decision to make shi-heum leave his house made him even more disheartened.

Shi-hum was ready for school in no time after a little sit-down break. Then he looked at his mom's picture. And he muttered something in a barely audible tone.

"I'll be back from school."

When Shi-heum opened the door, Yoon-sung, who was eating breakfast served by a housekeeper, talked to him.

"Are you going to school?"

"Why?"

"Wait for me to eat. I'll go with you."

Shi-Heum sat on the sofa and waited for Yoon-Sung. The housekeeper also offered Shi-Heum breakfast, but Si-Hum said no.

"Why don't you just eat it?"

"I'm not eating that."

"Then you starve to death."

Yoon-sung was sarcastic with Shi-heum over breakfast, and he was wearing only his pants like yesterday. Si-heum frowned for a bit.

"Oh, and the old man told me to take good care of you."

Yoon-sung spoke to Shi-Heum in a pretty emotionless tone, and then went up to his room to put on his school uniform. Shi-Heum didn't get why Yoon-sung was saying something like that.

Even today, Yoon-sung's friends came to Shi-heum and asked a bunch of questions. Some of them were about the school he came from, and Shi-heum mentioned the name of the school that Chairman Chae previously attended with consideration.

"Really? Isn't it a really prestigious high school?"

"Yeah, I know. What are your parents doing?"

Shi-heum just said they had passed away and left. Everyone started pointing the finger at the person who made Shi-heum left.

"I didn't mean to do this...…."

The kid who asked the question looked at Yoon-sung's face. Yoon-sung just ignored it and talked with the other kids. He sometimes fiddled with his cell phone.

[Where are you?]

Yoon-sung texted Shi-heum while holding his phone. Si-heum tried to reply to Yoon-sung's text, but he quit because he couldn't think of anything to talk about.

Shi-Heum stood in the hallway where unfamiliar children came and went. A person from the other side of the hallway ran in and bumped into Shi-heum. Shi-heum was sidelined because of its power, and then a hand shook his shoulder.

"If you got a text, you should have replied."

There are some parts of this that are spoken quietly, but there are others where the pressure is on. Shi-heum thought he knew who it was without even looking at his face.

"Classes will start soon. I don't care if I'm late, but you won't."

When Yoon-sung asked if he was serious about studying, Shi-heum nodded. Then he looked at Yoon-sung's hand on his shoulder. He've got a big hand with a bunch of chrome rings on it.

"Why?"

When Yoon-sung asked, Shi-heum shook his head and went back to the classroom. When Shi-Heum came back, the kid who'd asked about his parents immediately apologized. Shi-heum said it was okay and prepared for class.

*

Yoon-sung left school with Shi-heum again today, leaving his friends behind. Shi-heum took a second to wonder if Yoon-sung was doing this out of consideration.

Shi-heum went straight to the room as soon as he got home. Yoon-Sung peeked into Shi-heum's room, which was open at the door, and then changed into his workout clothes and hit the homegym. As Yoon-Sung's T-shirt was soaked in sweat, his dad called.

-…Did you engrave with Shi-heum?

"Why, do you think I'm lying?"

Yoon-sung's dad was quiet for a bit, then finally let out a sigh.

-Oh, you....

"Why, are you shocked that the one you thought was your son mentally and the one who is genetically a son turned out to be each other's 'color?'"

-Do you talk rough like that to Shi-heum?

"I'm trying to be gentle to him, so mind off it."

-I'll stop by soon, so take care until then.

Chairman Chae said, and hung up the phone. Yoon-sung was swearing at the phone for a while, then went up to the second floor of the house to find Shi-heum. But Shiheum wasn't there.

Instead, Yoon-sung heard water dripping from a bathroom nearby. Yoon-sung opened the bathroom door without a second thought, and Shi-heum, who was washing defenselessly in a shower booth, was startled when he saw Yoon-sung.

"Ah...!"

When he saw Yoon-sung standing there, Shi-heum thought maybe he'd come in by mistake. But Yoon-sung's calm expression made it clear that his current entry was on purpose, not a mistake. Shi-heum was eager to escape right away, but he didn't want to be pushed back by Yoon-sung.

"What is it?"

He did his best to keep it together, but Shi-heum's body was clearly nervous. Yoon-sung looked at Shi-heum, thinking.

"Hmmm."

"Why are you here?"

As Yoon-sung's time to observe himself without saying anything went on, Shi-heum asked again for something.

"I'm going to order pizza for dinner. Are you going to eat it?"

"Yeah."

Shi-heum chose the answer to end the conversation as soon as possible and said. And as soon as Yoon-Sung left, he remembered the image of him standing at the door until just now, and the muscles he had seen over his sweaty shirt.

Shi-heum's ring in his eyes got thicker right away when he remembered Yoon-Sung. Just reacting to how his 'color' is acting. It was all because of a bloody imprint.