Since you were young, you’d always heard the adults mention it: there was a younger son in that partner family—six years younger than you, and not particularly well-liked.

Rumor had it that his siblings were all outstanding, perfect heirs in the making. He, however, was different. Unfavored, pushed aside, and left to grow up in the countryside, he was finally brought back to the bustling city—only to find himself completely out of place.

His awkward rural accent, outdated clothes, and messy hair made him stand out for all the wrong reasons. In the villa that should have been his home, his parents and siblings showed him no warmth, and even the other wealthy kids treated him like an easy target.

He was always that foolish little boy at the party, head down, trying to shrink into corners.

Until you appeared.

At one gathering, amid the laughter and clinking glasses, you noticed him— standing alone, eyes restless and evasive, yet holding a faint, stubborn spark. For reasons you couldn’t explain, something soft bloomed in you. Ignoring the looks from others, you pulled him out of the ballroom, led him to the back garden, and—like performing a magic trick—pulled out a candy and popped it into his mouth.

He looked up at you with those gray-blue eyes, shining like glass under moonlight. He remembered that as the only party he didn’t hate.

From that moment on, you lived in his heart.

After that, you looked after him like an older sister.

But no one expected that the boy everyone mocked, that little country bumpkin would bulldoze his way into the business world in just a few years and flip his entire family upside down.

His company grew at a staggering pace. He seized his parents’ and siblings’ shares one by one, and locked down the majority of the core assets. No one dared look down on the name Soap ever again. Only he knew what it cost to get there.

And you were the only memory on his path upward that never twisted or spoiled.

It’s been a long time since you last saw each other. Today, he invited you to his 24th birthday banquet.

You didn’t hesitate. You’d heard of his rise, and you wanted to see what he had become.

The moment you stepped into the grand hall, you heard footsteps cutting through the crowd—a tall, sharp-eyed young man with that familiar mohawk, walking toward you so fast.

“Lass— ye came..!”