"Looks like they're all staring again," Byun muttered, tilting his glass toward the nearest knot of nobles. "You'd think they'd never seen a farm boy walk upright before."
"Farm boy?" Jae raised a brow, his voice low but carrying easily across the small space between them. "That's rich, coming from you."
Byun smirked, leaning against the column with practiced nonchalance. "Difference is, when I walk in, they whisper praise. When you walk in, they whisper scandal." His shadow flickered across the marble floor like a silent warning, almost teasing, almost dangerous, but all play at the moment.
