SPM 3.7

‘Suspension.’

It was the first thing Ian had thought of and feared as soon as he heard that Terrence had beaten up several Alphas. Ian couldn’t concentrate on class at all and kept shaking his legs under his desk.

‘What was he thinking, with all his responsibilities…’

Terrence was a student particularly watched not only by the local community and parent associations, but even by members of the upper class who belonged to Greenwood Hill’s country club. It was natural since he was the captain of Lloyd Jones High School’s football team, a prestigious local school, and the youngest son of a famous political family.

The local patrons who donated to the school were keeping a close eye on Terrence, hoping that after graduating from Lloyd Jones, he would enter the University of Tennessee as a football scholarship student, Tennessee’s pride and flagship state university that always ranked high in American college leagues, and bring honor to the region and his alma mater within the college league.

Moreover, the family atmosphere was even more intense. His brother Bradley Hunt was at the center of it, as the eldest son of Richard J. Hunt, who had served as a senator, and a congressman eyeing the Tennessee governor’s seat in the future, he wanted to use his youngest brother’s achievements to capture the hearts of local influential figures who controlled public sentiment and money flow in the region, adding wings to his brilliantly shining political activities.

It was common. American football was the most popular sport in America, and that applied not only to professional leagues but also college leagues.

So the more Terrence excelled, the more upper-class members who hoped to elevate their alma mater’s status would rejoice and seek to build relationships with Bradley Hunt. Maintaining such close relationships would eventually allow them to form a Super PAC centered around them and receive massive indirect funding support. This was probably the Hunt family’s goal.

The reason they insisted on that damn ‘football scholarship’ despite being a family that wasn’t short on money at all was because of this. Terrence Hunt was the bright light that would make Bradley Hunt’s political activities shine even more brilliantly.

For people engaged in political activities as members of political dynasties in this country, it was nothing special.

Such families were generally like wagon wheels where everyone, including family members, united and moved forward with one central axis. As long as they were family, it was natural to help family members be politically active.

Therefore, Bradley Hunt’s expectation that Terrence would help him was reasonable in a way, and there was no reason to blame Bradley Hunt for restricting his brother’s freedom.

When Ian came to study abroad in America and learned about the culture, society, and politics here, he delved deeper and more enthusiastically than anyone else. To understand Bradley Hunt’s statements.

No, more precisely, because he wanted to understand Terrence.

Harrison, who had consulted with his son on this matter, completely agreed with Ian’s reasoning.

‘What he probably wants is for his brother to ultimately become a very famous professional player. This is just my guess, but Bradley Hunt has probably prepared a golden rail for his brother to walk on, step by step.’

Harrison explaining this had the face of a businessman, not just the unconditionally positive father he usually was.

‘Think about it, Ian. If your friend becomes a famous football player, appears in media, and is frequently exposed in the press, wouldn’t the public remember the Hunt family more easily and intimately? Human psychology is quite fascinating, if there’s even a little bit of information, people tend to consider it more positively than other things. That’s exactly why every company spreads even seemingly useless trivial advertisements endlessly in media. Let me see… For example, yes. Like this microwave here.’

Harrison put down the cup he was holding and tapped the microwave with his index finger like knocking.

‘It’s the same even when going to choose a microwave. Look carefully. Generally, people don’t even glance at items they have no information about. Definitely something they’ve seen in passing somewhere, items their acquaintances use, products advertised by celebrities they like. They unconsciously choose such things. Would it be different for politicians? Where do you think the votes of the general public, who aren’t very interested in politics, will lean when they vote? Won’t they choose a name they’ve seen favorably at least once somewhere? So it’s natural for Bradley Hunt to use his brother like that. It’s like the fate of someone born into a political family. It’s a duty that family members should rightfully fulfill.’

Harrison saying this was someone who wasn’t heavily involved in politics and rarely frequented country clubs full of old-fashioned privilege consciousness, yet he recognized this as natural, how much more so would others?

‘Moreover, Ian, you probably don’t know this well, but… I don’t know if I should say this about your friend, but Terrence Hunt is the son of a stepmother. His position in the family probably isn’t that solid.’

Harrison finished the story with a somewhat pitying expression. No one could know whether the person he pitied was Terrence or Ian.

“Haa…”

Ian, who had recalled the conversation with his father to the end, secretly sighed without being caught by the teacher.

Really, wasn’t it an enormous responsibility?

It was incomparable to an ordinary student like Ian. Family, school, region, too many people were watching Terrence, and the weight he had to bear was too heavy.

That’s why he had distanced himself from Terrence even more. So that he could continue to be recognized by his family as the proud youngest son of the Hunt family.

Ian still clearly remembered Bradley Hunt’s contemptuous gaze toward him.

But now, for Terrence to be suspended again because of him.

The story he heard from David kept spinning in Ian’s head.

‘You didn’t know he was suspended? Ah… Well, that guy was probably too embarrassed to tell you. He stepped forward so coolly and beat up all those guys causing trouble in the auditorium, but the result was suspension. And you know…? How much Terrence cares about you. He probably couldn’t tell you more because he was worried you’d feel sorry. As for me, well, it was killing two birds with one stone… Since we’re on the same team, I couldn’t not know, and as I said earlier, being part of the honor committee means news comes in right away when issues break out at school.’

David continued his rambling explanation, perhaps worried that Ian might be hurt by the fact that he was the only one who didn’t know about Terrence’s suspension.

Ian was actually speechless because he was hearing for the first time that Terrence had pulverized the Alphas who had mocked and harassed him in the auditorium.

‘He beat up quite a few thoroughly… but he completely destroyed Drake Arnold. It was lucky that Drake was at least somewhat of an Alpha, otherwise it would have been really serious. He probably wouldn’t have been among the living anymore? Oh, of course, if it had been someone much smaller than his weight class, Terrence wouldn’t have touched them in the first place. He’s quite a gentleman, that guy.’

It was also the first time Ian heard that Drake Arnold, who seemed to be dating Della, was a recessive Alpha almost equivalent to a Beta.

‘Ha, but it was kind of satisfying. That guy always had such an inferiority complex toward Terrence. Well, who wouldn’t? Hunt is so outstanding. He looks like a model, has incredible athletic ability, and superior traits too. It’s just a difference of whether you express it or not. Anyway, what a pathetic bastard. That guy even acted like a villain during games, you know? I sometimes even suspected if Drake was a spy for the opposing team! No, it’s fine to be competitive with Terrence. But you shouldn’t show it during games…! But that bastard shows it. He pretends not to hear when the captain gives strategy instructions, goes off on his own somewhere else as usual, and I’ve even seen him deliberately not defend when the quarterback moves. Ugh, pathetic loser.’

The role of an offensive lineman is to physically block and protect their team’s quarterback, running back, and wide receivers during offensive plays so they can carry the ball and advance even a few yards for scoring. Simply put, when the opposing team’s defenders charge like buffalo to steal the ball, they have to act as human shields. But he had neglected that?

‘Terrence almost got injured several times because of that. That wrist ligament injury last time was also because that bastard Drake pretended to block while subtly not blocking properly. He’s had multiple false starts too, so that says it all. He’s a spy, a spy. If that bastard’s parents weren’t judges, I would have seriously suspected he was doing that shit because he was having financial difficulties and getting paid by the opposing team.’

So the judge parent who had threatened to sue Ian was from Drake Arnold’s family.

After beating up several people who had harassed Ian in the auditorium, Terrence had chased after him and ended up assaulting three more people, just how many had he pulverized… If Ian hadn’t first heard from Dylan about how he had thoroughly beaten the three guys who were trying to tear down the door, he might have fainted at David’s story.

‘Are those people targeting Terrence?’

‘Of course.’

‘My goodness…’

To think he would confirm the basis of people claiming to be victims like this.

They weren’t exactly victims ‘hurt by Ian.’ They were actually victims ‘beaten to a pulp by Terrence.’ And they had aimed their arrows at Ian, who was an easier target and convenient scapegoat…

Well, even to Ian who knew nothing, it would seem easier to deal with Harrison Bailey’s family, rumored to be eccentric among the upper class and not very active in social activities, rather than the historic political family of an influential Alpha household in Tennessee.

Their tactics might be underhanded, but they weren’t stupidly thoughtless.

However, the bigger problem now was that real big shots like the Arnold family were properly pressuring Terrence as the perpetrator, not these small fry.

‘I heard there are continuous voices from the parent association saying that suspension is too lenient a measure. My mother is also part of the Lloyd Jones parent association. They’re making even more of a fuss, saying aren’t they just being considerate of the Hunt family because they’re so powerful? Something about showing that justice is alive?’

If justice were truly alive, the disadvantaged side would be theirs. Ian let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity after roughly grasping the situation. But there were some concerning points.

‘Of all things, violence…’

He didn’t want to criticize Terrence simply for punishing others with his fists. Especially since he was the person involved, he absolutely shouldn’t do that.

But wouldn’t it be different if that violence was carried out so conspicuously in front of everyone like now? Especially if it happened openly at an educational institution that teaches people to take responsibility for their actions…?

‘Anyone would naturally give Terrence a penalty…!’

The disadvantages that would fall on Terrence were so enormous it was dizzying. Ian felt his heart sink when he heard that the opposing side was attacking and pushing Terrence fiercely with an attitude of ‘We got you now!’

Especially knowing who this whole thing started because of…

And David’s final words drove a nail into the resolution Ian had been secretly making.

‘That guy Terrence… he might even get expelled.’

David sighed deeply and carelessly crumpled up the now-empty jelly bag, throwing it hard into the trash can.

‘Ha, does expulsion even make sense? I heard it would all remain on his academic record and might cause problems for college admission too…’

His worry was probably right. Ian had often heard from teachers and seniors even in Korea about stories of Ivy League admissions being canceled simply for being involved in violence or unseemly incidents during senior year.

‘But there are too many guys who got beaten by Terrence, and that side is grinding their teeth, so they can’t even argue back. And you saw the vice principal going in with police and lawyers earlier, right? They’re looking for whoever drugged you? Since it’s narcotics, the school is completely turned upside down. But your choir director, what was his name? The one who takes statistics class with us…’

‘Morgan? Morgan Lang?’

‘Yeah, that’s right, Morgan. That timid loser. He testified the other day. He said he saw Terrence leaving your practice room while the choir was away for formation practice.’

At the gloomy addition that suggested Terrence’s expulsion was an approaching future, Ian’s resolve became even firmer.

Once he clearly understood how things were unfolding, Ian’s head was actually getting colder. He had realized exactly what he feared most.

In the end, he couldn’t remember any of the class content, but the conclusion became clear. Only he could save Terrence.

Ian hurriedly drove home. He was organizing what he needed to do in order in his head.

As soon as he got home, he would contact his father to organize the details of the incident, then meet with the family lawyer to discuss together, thinking this as he turned into the Bailey House driveway…

CRASH! A thunderous roar from somewhere struck Ian’s ears.

Startled by the sound, he almost slammed the brakes for an emergency stop, but barely managed to keep his composure and continue driving. When Ian arrived home like this, what he discovered was a bewildering accident scene.

“Oh… my goodness. My goodness…!”

Olivia’s large SUV was smoking as it had crashed into a tall spruce tree planted in front of the garage.

“What on earth…!”

Seeing how the hood was completely crushed from such a hard impact, Ian barely managed to park his car. Then he opened the door with trembling hands and ran out.

Who was it? Was it Olivia? Why on earth had such an absurd accident happened?

Olivia drove dozens of times more skillfully than Ian, so for this to happen, something must have gone seriously wrong. Ian ran on shaking legs and opened the driver’s side door of the crashed car. And what he discovered was…

“…Della!”

It was his half-conscious younger sister.

“My goodness, this can’t be. Della…!”

“Ugh…”

“Snap out of it!”

I need to call 911! But black smoke was still billowing from the car. Ian, who had no experience or knowledge in such situations, felt like he was going to die from confusion. What if the car exploded like this? Should moving the patient be the priority? What should he do first?

His head spun dizzily, but his deliberation ended quickly. The sound of sparks crackling somewhere snapped him to attention.

“This won’t do. I need to get out of here quickly… Della, please wake up…! You need to come out… we need to get away right now…!”

Even knowing she couldn’t hear him, Ian frantically muttered while pushing through the airbag. As soon as he could properly see her body, he slipped his hands under Della’s arms and lifted his sister up. The smell of alcohol wafted from her limp, swaying body, but the immediate priority was getting far away from the car.

And after carrying Della’s body about thirty steps away, the car exploded with a BANG!, causing Ian to collapse on the ground in shock.

“Ugh…!”

He was startled and his legs gave out from the weight of the limp, unconscious person, but fortunately it was the soft lawn of the garden so neither of them got hurt.

Moreover, Ian had been scared for nothing, the explosion sound was very small, and it just spewed out more black smoke. Fortunately, the car didn’t properly explode like in movies with flying debris or terrifying flames.

Rather, as if that weak noise was the last of it, the car was now gradually quieting down. All that remained was the sight of what appeared to be coolant flowing out and wetting the asphalt, along with some smoke, that was all.

When he came to his senses, he saw that even the glass hadn’t broken, so it didn’t seem like as big an accident as Ian had expected.

But he still couldn’t feel relieved.

Ian frantically searched his pockets while sitting carelessly on the grass, holding Della, who still didn’t seem in her right mind, whether from being drunk or from the shock of the accident.

“My phone, where’s my phone…? I need to call 911…”

But before he could properly press the screen, brightly painted nails came up and scratched Ian’s wrist.

“No… no, Ian. Don’t… Don’t call 911…”

When Della grabbed his wrist with a tearful voice, Ian was startled and focused on her face.

“Della? Are you conscious?”

When he carefully separated their tangled bodies and helped her up, only then could he see Della’s condition at a glance. Even though the airbag had deployed, she must have hit something as one side of her forehead was scraped, and bruises were forming on various wounds. And her makeup-free face covered in tears…

Her face, completely distorted with tears, turned toward Ian.

“I’m sorry, Ian… I’m sorry. It’s all because of me… This happened because of me. Both you and Terrence…”

His heart sank at her words. The cell phone he had barely found slipped from Ian’s frozen hand and fell away.

“What…?”

At this unbelievable confession, he felt as if all his blood was draining away. But at the same time, his rationality was getting cold just like before.

“Della, tell me straight. Did you drink? Where? Why on earth did you drive Olivia’s car out? How could someone without a license…”

When Ian asked calmly, Della roughly wiped her face, which was a mess of tears and snot, and lifted her head. Even that swayed a bit, whether from the alcohol still not wearing off or from the accident.

“The alcohol was… from the cabinet in mom’s study…”

It was a shocking story. Ian did know that strong whiskeys were kept defenseless like decorations in crystal bottles in Olivia’s study, but he never thought she would boldly touch them.

“Why on earth… Why did you do such a crazy thing…? Don’t you know that drinking and driving is suicidal? What were you trying to…”

“…to…”

“What?”

“I wanted to die… I wanted to die, Ian.”

Della, consumed by alcohol and the shock of the accident, forgot her usual venomousness and obediently confessed her feelings to Ian.

“Because of me, you got hurt and Terrence might even get expelled… With everything turning out like this, I just wanted to die… I wanted to die and apologize…”

Hearing those words, Ian couldn’t stand it anymore. Even knowing she was drunk and injured, he absolutely couldn’t tolerate it.

“Della! Are you crazy?”

Ian unconsciously shouted loudly at her crying face.

For that moment, he even forgot that Della was an injured patient. He really couldn’t see anything. He was that shocked and uncontrollably angry.

“How can you say such a thing! How!”

She wanted to die. And to carry that out, she drank and did this. His vision went dark and he felt dizzy.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Fortunately, contrary to Della’s intention, she didn’t get far and had the accident right in front of the house, so it ended up being just this much, but this was truly divine luck.

If she had actually gone out on the road and hit a passing pedestrian… Or if she had collided head-on with another fast-moving car…! Then her life would have truly been in danger. Not just hers, but others’ lives too.

If adult Ian had faced this situation, he would have calmly comforted and scolded the shocked girl, but Ian was also young. Ian grabbed the sobbing Della’s shoulders and asked in a coldly calm voice.

“Tell me straight what exactly happened. What do you mean it’s your fault? Della, did you drug me?”

He asked even though he thought it was impossible for Della to do such a thing. Just in case there might be other inside information besides what he had confirmed.

But making his brief tension while waiting for an answer meaningless, Della shook her head with her red, wet face.

“No…”

“Then why are you saying it’s because of you?”

Then Della burst into loud tears again. After crying like that for a while, she finally poured out her story in a sobbing voice.

“I told Drake… That I was upset. That I liked Terrence much earlier, but the one he likes is you, Ian. While he doesn’t give me a single glance, he treats you like you’re the most precious person in the world, so I was jealous and felt so wronged I could die.”

“……”

“Mom only scolded me last time too. The one who takes everything away is you, Ian… Mom said that. She told me not to think about getting between an Alpha and Omega. She asked if I couldn’t feel anything watching how mom lives with dad. She said there’s nothing more miserable in the world than a Beta caught between an Alpha and Omega, so she told me to give up… She said if I kept acting like this, she’d cut off my allowance, outings, everything…”

Hearing those words, there was a scene that flashed through Ian’s mind.

That day when they had a small family meeting about school schedules, the voices of Olivia and Della who seemed to have argued with each other, and even Della who appeared the next day with a face swollen from crying all night.

“…Why, why do I have to be the only one to endure? Why only me…! Is it because I’m a Beta, that’s why I can’t receive dad’s love and can’t win Terrence’s heart either…!”

Weak hands feebly tugged at Ian’s clothes.

“Everyone says I’m the only problem…”

“Della…”

Ian sighed deeply and clasped his hand over Della’s.

There were so many things he wanted to say, but since she probably wouldn’t listen in such an agitated state anyway, he let it go and only asked about the most important part.

“Okay… I understand what you’re saying.”

“Huu-euk…”

“So Della. Did you ask Drake Arnold to do it?”

Ian stared at Della while removing her resentfully gripping hand.

The truth had to come out clearly and properly from Della’s mouth in order to protect everyone.

Ian knew exactly what he had to do. How to clean up this terrible mess that had become such a disaster.

If he just stopped and did nothing like this, the only path left would be mutual destruction.

“Della. Stop avoiding this and look at me properly.”

Someone. Someone had to move.

“You need to tell this properly to save Terrence.”

Perhaps it was because this was the first time Della had seen Ian treat her so coldly and rationally, but when he questioned her quietly yet seriously, Della looked somewhat frightened. Yes, he should have drawn the line like this from the very beginning.

“You said with your own mouth that it was because of you. And you apologized to me saying you were sorry. Was that a lie?”

“No…”

Della shook her head vigorously.

“Okay. I’ll accept that apology, so tell me properly. I need to know what really happened so I can help you. …And Terrence too.”

No matter how venomously she acted toward Ian, claiming he had taken away the things she wanted, and no matter how spitefully she behaved, Della was still just fifteen, a freshman. Only seventeen in Korean age. That was why Ian had avoided properly dealing with Della and had been evading her until now.

Comparing a teenage girl who was still mentally immature and had never properly experienced any life crisis, raised in a wealthy family, with himself, who was Omega but male, about two years older than Della, and biologically at least half her older brother, there were far too many reasons to avoid confrontation and just evade her.

So he had been avoiding and turning a blind eye to her, thinking it wasn’t right to confront her on equal terms. Never dreaming it would return as such a huge disaster.

Ian picked up his phone while pressing his throbbing temples. And he declared,

“Don’t worry. Terrence won’t get expelled. I’ll make sure of that.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Only then did Della, seeming relieved, pour out her story in a tearful voice.

She said that because of Olivia’s threats, she could no longer openly follow Terrence around, but seeing him become more intimately close with Ian hurt her pride and made her feel she had to give up even more. But human hearts don’t work according to decisions. Ian, listening to the story, knew this well.

While she still had unresolved resentment, lingering feelings, and regrets, Drake Arnold, who had been following Della around saying he liked her, actively pursued her, and as she got closer to him, she gradually opened her heart. At this part, Ian sighed softly.

“He was really, really good to me… I was really lonely… I always felt alone, but he was so devoted to me…”

Della poured out breathlessly that once she opened her heart, it didn’t take long to openly talk about the jealousy and envy she had been hiding, as well as her parents’ problems and her own frustrations.

“We surprisingly got along well in that regard. Drake said he had a lot of pent-up feelings about Terrence too… Born lucky as a dominant, easily taking not only the starting position but also the captain’s spot, acting like there’s nothing difficult in the world and getting everything for free. But he said that the family background and everyone’s admiration weren’t really Terrence’s, that he was sitting in an undeserved position despite being born under a worthless woman… Actually, his family background wasn’t inferior to anyone’s either, but because he was a recessive Alpha, he couldn’t even dream of the quarterback position since childhood…”

Listening to Della’s story reminded Ian of what he had heard from David. That Drake Arnold was a recessive Alpha born into a family that had traditionally produced only Alphas. Moreover, he not only couldn’t properly control pheromones but couldn’t even clearly perceive them, being so recessive he was close to Beta, which gave him a severe inferiority complex.

“…We often had such conversations… Complaints about inherited traits, things like that… I also, I also wanted to be born as an Omega…”

“……”

“If I had been born as an Omega, dad would have loved me more. Mom would have been much more loved than now and their relationship would have been better too. Then our family would have been more perfect… Not a bleak family like now, but a family truly overflowing with affection for each other. Like in movies or dramas… If I had been an omega, wouldn’t Terrence have liked me too… I was just talking about such things…”

It seemed they had built camaraderie with each other through complaints about their inherited traits. At least in Della’s short-sighted thinking. But since the flow of thought and complaints weren’t incomprehensible, Ian could only sigh. This trouble had occurred because she was a frog in a well who was also immature.

“But that doesn’t mean I wanted this kind of result…! Ian, I didn’t want you to get hurt…! I know how scary that kind of thing is…! How could I have wished for you to go through such a thing?”

Perhaps because Ian had calmed down and become quiet, Della trembled her lips and urgently confessed as if afraid Ian would misunderstand.

“I really didn’t know he would do such a crazy thing!”

Ah. As expected.

Drake Arnold. That guy was indeed the mastermind who led all this trouble.

For Della, who had never attended nighttime parties, lived under strict curfew, and obediently followed her daily schedule under Olivia’s management, it was something she couldn’t even imagine. Della had probably never even seen drugs.

“Drake was bragging proudly and I felt terrible…! He said it was a golden opportunity he couldn’t miss to screw over both you and Terrence, that he had put drugs in your water. Naturally, you immediately went into heat and were properly humiliated… Plus, as he expected, Terrence also went on a violent rampage, so from one to ten it was all a perfect plan, he said while bragging with his all beaten-up face…!”

At the end of the explanation, tears finally burst out even louder, and her wet voice became muffled.

“He said that. That Terrence had gone more wild than expected, so even expulsion wouldn’t be a problem. I really felt like I was going crazy listening to it!”

Drake probably wanted Della to praise him, to understand his base feelings and genuinely be happy for him.

Although Ian had thought Della was immature due to her past childish actions and words, he felt despair at the fact that she had no eye for people and was so narrow-sighted that she couldn’t foresee consequences.

“I felt like everything happened because of me and I couldn’t stand it… If only I, only I disappeared, then to you Ian, and to Terrence too, I could apologize…”

Her whole world was just the well, so even her way of apologizing was narrow and foolish. Ian frowned and shook his head firmly.

“Della, you’re completely wrong.”

“……”

“You want to apologize to me?”

Just then, the sound Ian had been waiting for began to be heard faintly in the distance. It was the sound of an ambulance siren.

“Then get proper treatment… And never, really never do something like this again. The words about wanting to die, don’t even think about saying that for the rest of your life. Understand?”

Ian, who had been staring at the ambulance entering the driveway, looked down at his screen. Calls were pouring in from Harrison and Olivia, whom he had contacted immediately after reporting to 911 with an emergency call earlier.

“Did you understand what I said?”

“Yes…”

Della nodded while swaying, her face still a mess of tears.

Watching the ambulance doors open and people approaching in unison, Ian stood up.

It was time to resolve this chaotic situation completely and put everything back in its place. Including his own position…

* * *

Everything after that went smoothly.

No, it had to go smoothly. Ian already had decisive evidence.

‘Ian, look at this. I think I’ve discovered something incredible.’

On the day Ian was discharged, when he stopped by Dylan’s hospital room to say goodbye, Dylan was looking at something with a serious face, then turned his laptop screen around to show him.

‘I had nothing to do so I turned it on to edit the video from that day…’

Dylan, who always spoke decisively about everything, couldn’t continue his words.

In the video, the perpetrator was clearly shown. Drake Arnold entering the choir practice room, carefully checking Ian’s seat, and secretly putting drugs in his water bottle, everything.

‘I guess he didn’t know there was a camera.’

‘The tripod was all folded up… The camera was so small it probably wasn’t noticeable either.’

‘Wow, look at this bastard shaking the water bottle to mix the drugs well? It’s so clearly filmed there’s nothing to say.’

Dylan’s eyes lit up as he laughed as if it was absurd.

‘We won.’

This was decisive evidence that would be impossible to lose with in court.

Dylan sent his video to Ian and smiled the smile of a victor, but Ian couldn’t smile happily back at that face. This was separate from feeling so relieved that his strength drained away at the fact that everything could return to its place.

They had won. It was fortunate that they won.

But could there be such a hollow victory? With everything around already in ruins, wasn’t this like standing on collapsed debris waving a victor’s flag?

That was sufficiently painful.

Ian held his forehead and came out of the room. He tried to stay in his room as much as possible at night when all the family members were resting comfortably, but tonight sleep wouldn’t come and he felt stuffy as if his insides were blocked.

When he was heading to the kitchen to bring up a bottle of lemonade, a place lit up alone in the dark midnight caught Ian’s eye. The dining room, which was rarely used except when everyone gathered for meals, was dimly glowing.

‘Olivia…’

Ian thought of the name of the person who would be occupying the dining room. Juanita, who was in charge of housework, had already gone home long ago, and Harrison was away from home, so she was the only one left.

For a while, Bailey House had been very busy. Harrison had worked hard in all directions with lawyers to cleanly handle the dirty lawsuit involving Ian, while Olivia had taken care of hospitalized Della alone.

And now that most everything had been resolved and they were in a lull, Harrison had gone to watch over Della today to let his wife, who had suffered for several days in the hospital room, rest. His younger brother Liam would be deep in sleep.

When he peeked in, he could indeed see Olivia tilting a wine bottle inside the arched passage some distance away.

‘As expected…’

She must be tired. It would be exhausting. Events that couldn’t help but exhaust the entire family had occurred one after another. Not wanting to disturb her as she tilted her glass at the end of a difficult day, Ian turned his steps around. It seemed he would have to resolve his stuffy feelings by just opening his room window.

But an unexpected voice stopped his feet.

“Ian?”

When his name was called, Ian slowly moved his steps and entered the dining room.

“…You must be tired, why aren’t you sleeping quickly?”

While he understood her wanting to relieve her weary heart with alcohol, her face was already flushed red like someone who had drunk a lot. Knowing this was meddling but unable not to say it, even that made Olivia smile with her chin propped up, raising the corners of her mouth long as if amused.

“Sit down.”

Olivia, who had pulled out a dining chair for Ian and offered him a seat, got up and headed to the kitchen. Then, as if she had read his mind, she brought out several bottles of drinks like lemonade and cherry-ade from the refrigerator. When Ian grabbed one of them, she too opened one and poured it into her mouth.

“It’s been… a difficult time, hasn’t it?”

At her question while wiping the lipstick mark on the bottle mouth with her thumb, Ian slowly nodded.

Due to the schemes of an insane Alpha, he had embarrassingly gone into heat in front of hundreds of students, and had almost been r4ped. The school was full of people whispering all kinds of rumors around him, and he had even been sued by several parents who pointed to Ian as the perpetrator. Of course, now that decisive evidence had been revealed, those pointing fingers had returned to themselves. They had withdrawn their lawsuit with shameful faces and Ian’s side had been able to receive formal apologies instead.

But Harrison didn’t stop there. As he had resolved at the hospital, he filed a civil lawsuit for defamation of his son’s honor, and persistently pursued them even requesting a jury trial.

Due to that incident, the vice principal and several parents who had essentially advertised their racist ideology and Omega-discriminatory perceptions were talked about by people for quite a while.

The criticism from people toward them was scathing, to the extent that proudly walking through Whitmore Town with chins raised felt like a previous life. No matter how much this was a narrow upper-class society full of elitist consciousness, they were also people who were certain about appearances. Having essentially advertised themselves as possessors of low-class consciousness, they wouldn’t be able to properly fit into the social community centered around Greenwood Hill in the future.

Moreover, Tennessee was the birthplace of the KKK, an extremist and dangerous white supremacist group. The neighboring Mississippi had been the most racially discriminatory region in America until about half a century ago. This area had particularly deep-rooted perceptions of discrimination remaining among Southern regions, and at the same time, it was also a place that tried hardest to react sensitively to discrimination.

The jury unanimously sided with Ian.

They sided with Ian, who was Asian mixed-race and an Omega considered socially vulnerable, opposite to Alphas.

Harrison’s argument that Ian couldn’t attend the same school as the perpetrator was accepted by the judge, and the three Alphas who had threatened Ian had no choice but to leave Lloyd Jones as if driven out. The vice principal who had sided with them was the same. He left the school with disciplinary action.

Drake Arnold’s punishment was even more severe.

Drake’s action of secretly administering narcotic date r4pe drugs was considered a serious crime, and the case was transferred to adult criminal court. Ian heard that Drake’s father, being a legal professional, was desperately working as if his hands and feet were on fire, facing not only imprisonment and fines but also sex offender registration, but Ian dismissed it all with a snort. As Dylan had said, the Arnold family was already socially buried in this area anyway. News was already coming that Mrs. Arnold was preparing to move to a distant region.

It was a short but frantically whirlwind-like time, and yes, she was right. It had been a truly difficult summer vacation for Ian as well.

But the part that troubled Ian most wasn’t about himself.

The fact that the people around him had gotten tangled up in a mess and rolled together in dirty mud , that’s what tormented Ian the most. Even all the people he loved.

When he thought of them, even the moments of being unjustly suspected and misunderstood, even the cruel gazes of others full of curiosity, felt like nothing compared to this pain.

Wasn’t Olivia, who was continuously drinking now, feeling something similar? Ian carefully opened his mouth.

“…How is Della?”

He had heard from Harrison that there were no serious injuries, but that was all. Then why hadn’t she been discharged and returned home yet?

“As you know, nothing’s broken or seriously injured. The bruise on her forehead has all healed too. It’s just that the child still seems a bit unstable… After all, this isn’t something that can be easily overlooked. The doctor said she’s probably been suffering from depression for a long time.”

Depression. Ian felt as if he were sinking deep underground.

“Could it be… could it be because of me?”

Wasn’t Della unable to return yet because of him? Wasn’t she hurting this much because of his existence, just as Della had resented? When he voiced the guilt he had harbored in his heart, Olivia’s eyes widened.

“…What do you mean…?”

Then she let out a laugh as if it was absurd. It was probably a natural expression she wouldn’t have shown if she hadn’t been drinking at all.

“Ian, to think you were having such thoughts…! Not at all! Don’t even speak such nonsense. I’m really sorry you were thinking that way. Rather, I wanted to apologize, which is why I called you.”

“……”

“You went through that because of my daughter.”

With a bitter smile, the drink from the bottle went into her mouth again with gulping sounds.

“I heard everything from Della. Why she did such a thing, who suffered what kind of damage and how. Also all about the verdict that was concluded this time… I heard it all.”

Ian silently just fidgeted with his lemonade bottle while listening to her murmuring.

“The bastard who committed that stupid crime to please one girlfriend is the worst, but that doesn’t make Della’s sin any lighter… As her mother, I should rightfully apologize…”

The words that couldn’t continue after a sigh lingered in the silent air for a long time.

“…Do you resent me?”

“…Then do you resent me, Olivia?”

Perhaps not expecting Ian, who was always quiet and adjusted himself to the surrounding atmosphere, to throw such a provocative question, Olivia stared into his eyes blankly for a long time before shaking her head.

“I don’t know, Ian. I don’t know anything.”

“……”

“How could I resent you?”

Before she knew it, her voice was full of hollow moisture.

“Actually, the one I resent most is myself.”

A lament that had clearly been festering for a long time burst out of Olivia’s mouth.

“…I was a woman who didn’t want to get married. From the beginning. You can feel it when you look at yourself objectively, right? I knew from the start that I wasn’t suitable for marriage.”

Olivia’s brow was deeply furrowed as she looked back at the past, at how it all began.

“There was a time when I believed your father and I could live well forming a decent partnership. When we were young like you, long ago. But when I learned what kind of look Harrison could have in his eyes…”

“……”

“Betas and Alphas don’t marry.”

Olivia clicked her tongue self-deprecatingly.

“That might be where we buttoned things wrong from the start.”

A marriage that began with resentment, children born to a woman who originally had no intention of having kids…

“Still, I tried my best. I loved the children and did my best so that it would be okay even if they weren’t born under parents who loved each other to death. …Of course, even that seemed insufficient for my daughter.”

Ian also knew that she had done her best to be faithful to her role as a mother. Having lived together for the past year and watched Olivia by his side, he couldn’t not know.

But people sometimes value intuitive something more. Just as Ian had always been anxious despite knowing that both parents loved him. Della probably was anxious too. She must have felt from the beginning that the soil where her roots were planted wasn’t fundamentally solid.

“…I don’t resent you, Ian. What I should resent is myself to begin with. I know that not everyone acts like Della when they have to live with half-siblings. It’s just… I, Harrison and I probably raised that child wrong…”

There’s no clear perpetrator, but there are plenty of hurt people.

No, perhaps they were all perpetrators and victims at the same time.

“…Thank you for telling me it’s not my fault.”

Ian quietly stood up and cleared away the glass and bottle in front of Olivia.

“Please go to sleep now, Olivia.”

“……”

“Della will be okay.”

She promised me she wouldn’t do that again. Ian wanted to believe Della’s promise.

“…Time. Time will solve everything.”

“…Could that be possible?”

“Of course. I’ll make it happen.”

Ian supported the drunk Olivia and stepped into the couple’s room for the first time. Leaving Olivia lying down without even taking off her nightgown, Ian closed the bedroom door and came out.

A night was passing that could only make his resolution firmer.