TIN 161

The employees waiting at the villa didn’t welcome the child I picked up from the streets. Their faces were filled with obvious discomfort, but I ignored Logan and everyone else, pretending not to notice. After all, I knew they wouldn’t dare tell me to abandon him again.

‘Then should we abandon him again?’

As expected, Logan couldn’t readily answer that question. He hesitated for a long time before bending down and asking the child,

‘How old are you?’

The child was three years older than me, and Logan smiled kindly as soon as he knew his age. He must have been reminded of his son, Henry, who was lying sick in bed when he saw the nine-year-old boy. He had a sickly son who looked just like him.

‘He’s an older brother to Master.’

‘Hyung…’

The word that slipped out casually stuck in my mind strangely. It wasn’t that I didn’t know the word Hyung. It was just that it was a very unfamiliar word.

It was a life where I had never treated anyone as superior except for my father. Not only until now, but perhaps even for the rest of my days. To me, the title “Hyung” felt strangely attractive.

‘Okay, then I’ll call you Hyung.’

No one stopped the sudden declaration. Only the child stared at me silently as soon as he heard the word “Hyung.” Standing before those clear, shiny eyes, I felt strangely elated.

After the employees cleaned Hyung, they first conducted a health checkup. Height and weight, eyesight and hearing, and whether he was contagious. After confirming all of that, they even conducted a formality of a gene test and a pheromone recognition test, but the result was, of course, Beta.

The doctor said that the child was much lighter than he should be for his height, but he was healthy despite being so thin. There would be no shortage of food in this house, so that wasn’t a big problem. After all, he would gain weight quickly if he ate well and slept well.

However, the problem was.

‘…He can’t talk?’

My Hyung, who I had for the first time in my life, was mute for an unknown reason. There was no problem with his tongue or vocal cords, but he only moved his mouth without saying a word. He seemed to be touching his neck and lowering his head, so it didn’t seem like he was doing it on purpose.

Somehow, he hadn’t said a word since I took him out of the box. It seemed like he wasn’t just shy.

It was a shame. I picked him up because I was bored. To think that the only person I thought I could talk to couldn’t speak.

I can’t deny that my interest waned for a moment. It was true that I secretly thought I shouldn’t have picked him up.

But that feeling didn’t last long. After the doctor finished all the reports, at the dining table where the chef had prepared a wonderful meal for the child who must have been starving. It was when I sat facing the child and picked up my utensils.

‘Eat.’

‘…’

‘It’s prepared for Hyung to eat.’

I spoke as if ordering, but the child didn’t seem to mind. He just carefully looked around and lifted his spoon. Seeing his eyes widen as he took his first bite, I asked as if possessed.

‘…Should I give you dessert after you eat everything?’

“…”

I can’t forget the moment his sparkling gaze reached me. The moment the wariness peeled away from the child’s eyes, which had been shrinking all along. The moment his face, which looked as pretty as if it had been carefully crafted, nodded almost imperceptibly.

‘Eat a lot.’

I couldn’t help but think it was fun. No, to be exact, I should say I was excited. Like the satisfaction you feel after feeding a dog or cat.

The child emptied the food that was prepared and even ate a fruit cake with me. After the meal, he followed only behind me, ignoring everyone else, and that wasn’t bad either. I thought to myself that I was glad I brought him.

The child’s room was prepared right next to mine. The child, who looked scared at first glance, avoided everyone except me from that day on. He was so scared that he wouldn’t even come out of his room unless I called him.

‘Do you hate adults?’

The child didn’t answer, but it wasn’t difficult to draw a conclusion. The way he hid behind me and grabbed my clothes clearly showed that the child was shy. I even felt a sense of superiority in the way he followed only behind me like an orphaned duckling.

‘They’re all my people. They only do what I tell them to do anyway.’

I tried to comfort the frightened child as maturely as possible. The child, who was bigger than me, felt like a small being that I had to protect at that moment. Or maybe it was the first time in my life that I felt someone was cute.

‘So it’s okay if you’re with me.’

I decided to take care of Hyung more sincerely. I managed his clothes and food myself and interfered in every move he made. When he inevitably faced an employee, Hyung always hid behind me, and honestly, sometimes I deliberately dragged out the matter in that state.

I couldn’t help it. The fact that someone was relying on me was an indescribably rewarding thing. The gaze that only looked at me blindly was enough to intoxicate me, who was only six years old, with a sense of superiority.

Then one day, something like that happened. I, who had fallen asleep unusually early, woke up in the middle of the night and went out into the hallway.

‘…’

Light was seeping out from Hyung’s room, where he should have been asleep. Wondering if he was still awake, I opened the door and entered, and saw a small lump covered in blankets on the bed.

Perhaps sensing my presence, Hyung peeked out and looked relieved as soon as he found me.

‘…’

His pretty eyes were clearly drooping. A shallow sigh flowed from his red lips, like the fruit he had eaten during the day. Seeing all of that, I couldn’t help but approach him and ask.

‘Why are you doing this?’

‘…’

‘Aren’t you sleeping?’

It was obvious, but the child didn’t answer. He moved his lips as if to say something, but slowly avoided my gaze and lowered his eyes. As soon as I saw his gloomy face, a thought flashed through my mind.

‘Hyung, maybe…’

Hiding in the blanket without even turning off the lights. Not being able to fall asleep until this early morning and trembling while crouching. The meaning of these unfamiliar actions was one.

‘…Are you afraid of the dark?’

Hyung didn’t deny it and just blinked slowly. The fluttering of his long eyelashes was so pitiful that it aroused a protective instinct that I didn’t even know I had.

‘You’re a coward.’

I said it as if looking down on him, but in fact, it was nothing more than a bluff. I was scared at first too. The sound of the waves was so loud that I couldn’t sleep because of anxiety and trembled. I swallowed all those words and told a lie, pretending to be calm.

The words I really wanted to say came out right after that.

‘What can I do to make you not scared?’

I didn’t know the method, so I solved it with time. Was there a way to solve it without doing that? If someone had been by my side, wouldn’t it have been easier to adapt to this empty darkness?

‘What can I do to make you not scared?’

The child, who had been silently not answering, only gave me an answer after I crawled up the high bed and urged him. He didn’t do it with words, he just carefully reached out and grabbed my hand. The temperature of his hand, which was quietly clutching my finger, felt so faint that it seemed like it would disappear at any moment.

And what the child did was pull me and lay me down next to him. Even with his lighter-than-feather gesture, I couldn’t resist and lay down facing him. His face was visible from a much closer distance than usual. With a pale face that looked like it would be soft if I touched it, Hyung awkwardly reached out and patted my back.

‘…’

It was a strange feeling. To such a patting that no one had ever done for me, that was awkward and unfamiliar to me.

So that’s what you want me to do. Once I realized that, there was no need to hesitate. I held his hand with one hand and patted his small shoulder with the other. No, is it a bit strange to say “small” to Hyung, who is bigger than me?

‘Sleep well, Hyung.’

The sound of his small, pounding heart was heard excessively loudly. The immature pheromones were flowing out and soaking Hyung without me noticing.

Not long after that, I fell into a deep sleep.

From the next day, I went to Hyung’s room first. I went up to the bed first, holding the large pillow I used to use in my arms, before Hyung pulled me. After all, I didn’t need permission, and he didn’t seem to dislike it.

It was all for Hyung. Really.

I think I liked and disliked the way he was scared. On the one hand, I felt proud that I wasn’t the only one, but on the other hand, I felt bad for no reason, thinking that I must have looked this pathetic too. To be exact, it was that I had to endure it alone despite that.

But unfortunately, Hyung adapted faster than I thought. Not long after, he no longer avoided adults. He even watched the gardener trimming the trees with curious eyes.

‘…You’re not hiding behind me anymore?’

You relied on me. You grabbed my clothes and only looked at me as if I was the only one.

My throat was parched at the fact that those black eyes weren’t looking at me. I didn’t like that he was standing in front of me instead of behind me. If he took one step, two steps forward like this, he wouldn’t look for me in the dark night anymore?

Do you not need me anymore?