MIM 36

“You came running in a hurry. Were you that afraid I might tell Jae-seung everything?”

Seeing him sneer even with a face flushed from coughing, it seemed he had already told Jae-seung about the experiments. Shin-woo clicked his tongue, recalling Jae-seung’s suddenly changed attitude. He had hoped Jae-seung would remember those painful times on his own when ready, but it had come to this.

Shin-woo gently pulled Ye-wook’s collar, drawing him closer. As he narrowed his eyes, scanning Ye-wook’s gulping Adam’s apple, Ye-wook, perhaps feeling his feet go numb, started speaking unprompted.

“I can’t forgive Ma Jin-sung, but I don’t intend to blame Jae-seung. Quite the opposite. Jae-seung was also abused by Ma Jin-sung, like my brother. That’s why I wanted to meet him.”

“Where did you learn to,”

Sell that bullcrap. At Shin-woo’s words hissed through clenched teeth, Ye-wook’s delicate face contorted. Despite being terrified, he boldly glared back.

“Ugh… You, you just don’t want me around Jae-seung. You’re afraid of what I might say, knowing all about your past actions!”

“You seem to be seriously mistaken about something.”

Shin-woo’s face, drained of any hint of amusement, was pale. His brown eyes, now inches away, had sunk into a murky depth. Ye-wook, sensing murderous intent from the Beta who seemed to lack any particular strength, fumbled at the hand gripping his neck. It was a hand solid enough that applying full force could easily snap his neck.

“What you know is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Shin-woo’s breath was hot on Ye-wook’s neck. The thumb pressing against his throat felt like it might tear through the skin at any moment, causing sweat to form on his feet. Ye-wook exhaled a long, shaky breath and glared at Shin-woo with bloodshot eyes.

“Then I’ll just have to learn more going forward. Jae-seung has a lot to learn too, you know.”

As Ye-wook closed Jae-seung’s shirt with trembling hands, Shin-woo’s gaze fell to the collar. Seizing the opportunity, Ye-wook added,

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but he’s clumsy at controlling his pheromones. I’ve been teaching him.”

Shin-woo laughed at the words that seemed to be for Jae-seung’s benefit. You have a talent for making nonsense sound plausible enough to be heard out. He roughly grabbed Ye-wook’s neck and stared directly into his terror-stricken eyes.

“You don’t know this, Ye-wook.”

“……”

“The day before your brother committed suicide, your father came to see Chairman Ma.”

At this bait, the tension in Ye-wook’s furrowed brow suddenly released. Unable to hide his agitation, he began to pant shakily. Shin-woo deliberately paused, giving Ye-wook time to fill in the blanks himself. As he watched leisurely, the shock spread throughout Ye-wook’s body.

A person standing at the edge of a cliff easily loses balance. Shin-woo added a few more words, drawing out his speech.

“Some rather cruel words were exchanged, too harsh for a father who had lost his son to hear. I won’t repeat them myself.”

Ye-wook raised his head, exhaling a breath that sounded like a lament. His tear-filled eyes brimmed with hatred. Shin-woo met that fiercely glowing gaze of hostility, raising his eyebrows as if truly sympathetic.

“Can you really stay close to him?”

Being that man’s son?

The moment those final, decisive words fell, Ye-wook suddenly began frantically scratching at his neck with both hands. Panting, he roughly unbuttoned and threw Jae-seung’s shirt to the floor. He grimaced as if he couldn’t bear even the lingering scent of Jae-seung.

Jae-seung’s white shirt was trampled and crumpled under Ye-wook’s shoes. This wasn’t an oversized shirt hastily used to cover a growing body, nor his brother’s shirt he’d been forced to wear. This was a shirt Jae-seung had chosen himself, trying it on to ensure it fit his body for the new school term. Yet it was being carelessly torn and stomped on. Shin-woo, who had been watching silently, reached out towards the foot stepping on the shirt.

“Aaargh!”

As Shin-woo grabbed and yanked up his ankle, Ye-wook screamed like trapped prey and collapsed. Shin-woo grabbed Ye-wook by the hair as he lay face-down, gasping, and slammed his head against the floor. His lips, unable to even properly moan, were mercilessly crushed against the ground, again and again. Just as his head was about to be smashed into the floor once more, now stained with blood from his nose,

“Stop it!”

A very familiar voice commanded.

Shin-woo, reacting immediately to the voice, stopped moving. The first thing that caught his eye was a familiar design of sneakers. He’s safe. As relief washed over him, his field of vision gradually widened. Jae-seung, who had just opened the door and come out, looked fine except for wearing a gray shower robe.

Jae-seung discovered Ye-wook lying face down half-naked and bleeding, and let out a dry laugh. He trudged over and gestured halfheartedly to Shin-woo with his chin.

“Move aside.”

“It would be better if you don’t get close.”

“I said move.”

Only after Shin-woo reluctantly stepped back did Jae-seung crouch down in front of Ye-wook. Though there was blood visible due to the nosebleed, it was likely just a mild concussion with no major issues. However, seeing Ye-wook’s torn forehead, Jae-seung seemed to think differently. His brow was deeply furrowed as he raised his head.

“What the hell is this?”

“He probably didn’t approach with pure intentions.”

“Does anyone approach me with pure intentions?”

Jae-seung snorted and grabbed Ye-wook’s arm to lift him up. Jae-seung’s long arm wrapped around the thin shoulders to steady Ye-wook, who was stumbling dizzily. As Jae-seung, practically carrying the much smaller body, handed Ye-wook over to the servants who had come out to the entrance, Shin-woo stepped back and silently watched.

As the loosely draped shower robe slipped slightly, a long neck was revealed. Below the soft-textured silver hair, strong trapezius muscles and broad shoulders formed a beautiful line. Perhaps because he wasn’t used to seeing Jae-seung supporting someone instead of lying down in pain, Shin-woo found it hard to look away. Though he had always been big, his aura had clearly changed starting this year. It finally hit home that Jae-seung had truly become an adult man.

Shin-woo smiled. The distance was welcome.

Did they sleep together?

Amidst all this, an inappropriate curiosity raised its head. Finding it amusing that he was curious about something completely unrelated to himself, Shin-woo self-deprecatingly mused. It’s natural for Jae-seung to freely sleep with someone he chose himself. Even if it wasn’t Ye-wook, it was bound to happen in the near future anyway. As he fully transitions into an Alpha and gradually enters a stable period, he’ll likely develop techniques for dealing with ruts, and it’s not bad to start getting proficient in these matters from now. After staring at the large hands gripping Ye-wook’s shoulders, Shin-woo turned his attention to the shirt that had fallen to the floor.

It was only a bit stained, not torn. As Shin-woo picked up the shirt and smoothed out the wrinkles, he felt a gaze and looked up. Jae-seung was staring intently at him.

Jae-seung seemed cautious, as if deliberating what to say. Perhaps because he had been through a lot in a short time. Seeing him carefully choosing his words in front of him like never before made Shin-woo realize he had really left home.

“I want to see more of him because he’s a friend who understands my situation.”

The carefully chosen words were to protect Ye-wook. Do you understand? As if that wasn’t enough, Jae-seung asked again.

“So don’t lay a finger on him.”

Words that had lingered in a corner of his mind for a long time, identical down to the last particle, scratched coldly across his heart. Shin-woo straightened up with a start and took a deep breath. As he met the eyes demanding an answer, he dissolved the pain into his breath, and the burning sensation gradually dulled.

Accustomed to swallowing pain, Shin-woo nodded.

“Yes.”

Only after getting a clear answer did Jae-seung change the subject.

“Why are you here? I’m pretty sure I told you to leave.”

“I’ve cleared out all my things from the annex. I’ll commute from a hotel.”

Jae-seung seemed momentarily surprised to hear all the belongings had been removed, but he quickly returned to a composed expression and shook his head.

“I don’t need a driver or bodyguard.”

“You will need them.”

While commuting from a hotel was fine, the security issue was non-negotiable. When Shin-woo firmly countered, Jae-seung’s eyes took on a strange gleam. He tilted his head, standing with one leg crossed, as if plotting some mischievous scheme. His smiling eyes soon took on a familiar playful glint.

“Let’s negotiate.”

“…”

“Try negotiating your own worth. Who knows? If I think it’s reasonable, I might reconsider.”

Saying such things means he’s hurt. Of course he can’t be unaffected by the fact that his father put him on an experimental table. Shin-woo swallowed to moisten his parched throat. Even though his pride had long since been stripped away, his voice wouldn’t come out immediately.