WGD Ch 23

Instinctively, his breath stopped.

His heart was beating so fast that he felt as if it would explode or burst through his skin. His mind went blank, and his whole body stiffened. Instead of the sound of rain, a long, high-pitched ringing echoed in his ears.

How long had he been like that?

Cha Wonwoo, finally regaining focus in his flickering vision, lowered his gaze.

Blue veins stood out on the back of his hand, which rested on the document, and it trembled uncontrollably. His fingers, which had touched Siheon’s name written on the paper, recoiled as if burned. He was terrified.

He tried to calm himself down and examined the paper closely.

Kang Siheon.

What he had seen wasn’t wrong. The three syllables, which shouldn’t be there, which he hadn’t even imagined could be there, were still imprinted there.

Phone, the phone….

His lost and trembling eyes wandered around. His personal cell phone, which he couldn’t find, was in the room where Siheon was sleeping.

He couldn’t go there, he couldn’t see his brother’s face.

As a second option, he reached for the work phone on the desk. It was practically neglected, rarely used. He forgot what time it was and pressed the speed dial button like a man whose soul had left his body.

The ringing tone, longer than usual, stopped abruptly.

A low, sleepy voice answered. It was Secretary Yang, who responded without surprise to the sudden call in the early morning.

Cha Wonwoo, swallowing hard, parted his stiff lips.

“He’s there.”

—Yes? What do you mean all of a sudden?

“His name, his name is on this list.”

The other person was silent for a moment at the unusual tone of voice and the almost childish way of speaking. This wasn’t a call to find the secretary. This was a call to the adult he could rely on most, besides his family, besides Siheon.

“Here, why, he, I mean this….”

As he rambled, the other person calmly cut him off. It was a firm voice, as if reminding him not to forget his duty.

—Are you talking about the data Chairman Song Wonjoo gave you yesterday?

Cha Wonwoo nodded, forgetting that the other person couldn’t see him. But Secretary Yang asked the next question as if he were right next to him.

—If it’s a list…. It must be related to the clinical trial.

Again, Cha Wonwoo silently nodded his head up and down.

Secretary Yang, who quickly grasped the situation with just a few clues, spoke.

—If it’s Chairman Song Wonjoo’s will, he probably gave prior notice to his executive assistant as well. I’ll look into it right away and call you back. And…… No. I’ll contact you right away.

Secretary Yang hesitated as if he had more to say, but then ended the call.

While waiting for the return call, he thought of Siheon, who had declared the end of their relationship.

Did he say let’s get a divorce? Or did he say let’s stop this?

No matter how much he tried to recall, he couldn’t properly remember his brother’s face or voice at that time. It was as if it were obscured by a thick fog. His heart was anxious, and his head was dizzy.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

A monotonous ringtone echoed in the study. The receiver rang, emitting an ominous sign. Cha Wonwoo, looking at the object with the flashing red light, pressed the call button.

“…Yes.”

A low hum of an engine could be heard over the phone, as if the caller was in a moving car. Secretary Yang, who had started his work earlier than scheduled, reported the information he had learned without any embellishment.

—You remember the multinational pharmaceutical company we signed a large-scale consignment production contract with in our bio business division, right? They are developing a new drug related to traits, and the medical foundation managed by Chairman Song Wonjoo invested in it. The scale is quite large. Judging by the source and flow of the funds, it seems that the chairman’s influence was at play…. The problem is that it’s not a new drug being researched normally, but an illegal biochip.

The explanation continued on how manipulation and illegality had taken place in the process of contacting those desperate among the trait people who participated in the new drug clinical trial. It was a story about how they selected and approached the people who would be implanted with the biochip.

But nothing went into his ears.

He already knew that someone’s desperation was nothing more than an easy condition to exploit for Cha Hyunchul.

That wasn’t the important thing.

“Never mind the other stuff, just tell me why my brother’s name is here….”

It was hard to finish speaking because he couldn’t breathe properly. While he was tugging at the collar of his home wear as if tearing it apart due to difficulty breathing, Secretary Yang, hearing the urgency, cut out all unnecessary details and delivered the main point.

—One of the five people originally listed died from side effects, and your brother took the vacant spot. The timing was right after the chairman woke up.

“Cha Hyunchul did that to my brother….”

—Fortunately, he hasn’t been participating so far. For some reason, they removed him in the middle. It was right before the divorce proceedings, and even Chairman Song’s side seemed unaware of the details.

It was like being hit hard in the head. It felt like a lightning bolt had struck his mind. With each blink of his eyes, the thick fog lifted, and his brother’s face, mentioning divorce, began to appear clearly.

‘I’m just so tired.’

So that’s how it was. That’s why….

Cha Wonwoo, who had been listening quietly during the report, finally spoke after a long time.

“Tell the legal counsel to stand by.”

Cha Wonwoo, who hung up frantically without hearing a reply, wiped his face with trembling hands.

He didn’t know what to do or how to do it, but he called the lawyers first. He couldn’t tell if it was to protect his brother or to attack Cha Hyunchul.

Emotions he had been suppressing, such as pain, anger, self-blame, and sadness, washed over him like a flood through an open gate. The name of these emotions was fear.

What he had considered Cha Geum-ho and his wife’s misfortune just a moment ago suddenly became his own. The defenseless fear returned as unbearable coldness and pain.

He was still struggling to breathe.

＊＊＊＊＊

Siheon had a strange dream last night.

He dreamed of riding the subway at midnight and swimming in the Han River.

The tracks continued endlessly. The blue seats of the empty car swayed as if from the night breeze. The subway, having shed the weight of the people who had entered and exited it all day long, flew over the illuminated city in quiet stillness. Every time it passed a station without stopping, he saw at least hundreds of millions of lights flowing. It wasn’t just the lights.

Everything that flowed by was beautiful.

Memories especially.

The lights remaining in any form were all related to him. Eating, holding hands, sleeping. The dotted lights in the simple daily life were all Cha Wonwoo.

At some point, the distance between the illuminated city and the subway widened.

That’s what married life was like. It doesn’t get closer as time goes by, but farther apart. Because silence wedges itself between them.

As the unspoken things increased, the subway, which had derailed, moved away from the beautifully twinkling lights and finally disappeared into the darkness.

A short thought continued.

I want to go back. I want to see those beautiful twinkling lights again. I want to keep them by my side. I want to be with them. When he finally reached the desire to be together, as if he had arrived at the final destination, the doors of the car all opened at once, and the subway mercilessly spat Siheon out.

“——!”

Siheon, physically expelled from his dream, sat up abruptly.

It wasn’t a nightmare, was it?

But he was sweating and his heart was pounding as if he had woken up from a nightmare.

Instinctively, he fumbled his hand and looked to his side. The spot was cold, as if it had been empty for a long time.

He got out of bed and went outside.

Perhaps because of the misty rain, the bluish interior felt like an abandoned ruin in an underwater city. It felt that way even though the temperature and humidity were properly controlled.

Siheon stretched his stiff body and headed for the study. He couldn’t feel any presence, but the pheromones couldn’t be hidden.

Knock, knock, knock.

After a polite knock, he opened the door and went in.

“You’re up early.”

Siheon, who was approaching with a light greeting, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Cha Wonwoo was strange.

Even though he was just sitting in the chair, he looked breathless. His face was pale, as if he was in a panic.

“Cha Wonwoo!”

Startled, he rushed over. He looked even worse up close.

“Ha… ha….”

“Are you sick? Where do you hurt? Tell me. Can you stand up?”

He leaned over and put his hand on his shoulder, and the startled young man trembled. He grabbed Cha Wonwoo, who was trying to back away, and checked his temperature. It was the same as usual, slightly higher, typical of a dominant alpha. His pheromone control wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t seem like a rut.

“Get on my back.”

Equally flustered, Siheon crouched down and offered his back. It wasn’t the time to discuss whether he could carry him or not. He just had to do something.

But there was no sign of him leaning on his back.

Siheon, turning back to his original position, looked up at Cha Wonwoo while kneeling on one knee.

“Wonwoo, what’s wrong? Tell me where it hurts so I can help you. Huh?”

Cha Wonwoo’s Adam’s apple moved slowly.

“Hospital….”

“Yes, let’s go to the hospital. 119, no, Secretary Yang, there are guards outside, so, yes, wait a minute.”

As he was about to make a call or go out and call someone, Cha Wonwoo hurriedly grabbed his wrist.

“Ah.”

Then, as if surprised by his own actions, he quickly let go of his hand.

Watching the series of events, Siheon’s heart lurched. He reflexively grabbed Cha Wonwoo’s hand and brought it to his own wrist.

“It’s okay. You can hold it.”

The fingers of the young man, who was breathing roughly, were trembling pitifully.

He patiently waited for the hand that hadn’t been able to reach him for a long time.

Finally, the large hand grabbed Siheon.

“Hyung”

Cha Wonwoo, as if he had finally found oxygen, took a deep breath and spoke the words he had been holding back.

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

“Okay, tell me where and how you’re hurting, so I can…”

“Not me, you.”

“Me? Why me all of a sudden?”

“Follow me.”

Then, as if he couldn’t hear anything, he grabbed Siheon and started walking with long strides. He could have resisted and not been dragged, but before he could, the young man stumbled and grabbed the wall.

“Wonwoo! Wait, just sit here for a moment…”

As he tried to help him up, the young man’s legs seemed to give way completely, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

“This is no good. I’ll go get someone.”

Unlike earlier, when he couldn’t even touch a fingertip, Cha Wonwoo clenched his hand with all his might and wouldn’t let go.

“I have to call the guards at least. Hmm?”

He was anxious, thinking something might happen if they stayed like this.

At that moment, Cha Wonwoo, who had been still like a wind-up doll, lifted his head. His lips were tightly pressed together, as if they would bleed.

“Don’t do that with your lips. They’re bleeding.”

He tried to insert his thumb to prevent him from biting them, but Cha Wonwoo, who avoided the hand, started to fumble over Siheon’s body while kneeling. It was a movement as if he was searching for something rather than a sexual act.

“Where is it?”

“What?”

“Is it here? Or here?”

Cha Wonwoo, who was searching fiercely, pulled him down by his hand, as if the eye level didn’t match. Siheon, pulled down, bent his waist.

There was urgency in the young man’s touch as he unbuttoned his loose pajama buttons. It seemed his hands kept slipping, so he gave up on unbuttoning and eventually ripped the buttons off. Then, he frantically touched and scanned the exposed parts of his upper body.

“Wonwoo.”

“Where is it? Show me. Where is it?”

“What is it? Tell me, and I’ll find it for you, so calm down.”

As he gently coaxed the young man, Cha Wonwoo asked back absentmindedly.

“…It’s not there. I can’t see it. Right? It really isn’t there, is it? Those bastards lied to me, didn’t they?”

A sinister chill crept up his feet and wrapped around Siheon. Looking at his desperate eyes, he pushed Cha Wonwoo away with a strong hand.

Thud. The young man dropped his head and his hands.

While he walked to the desk where Cha Wonwoo must have been sitting before he came in, the chill seeped beneath his skin and began to flow coldly through his blood vessels.

One step. One step.

With each step, the chill spread through his body, and he felt as if he was slowly freezing.

Siheon, his expression gone, arrived at the desk and checked the paper. He stared at the letters that spelled his name and muttered.

“No wonder I had such a restless dream.”

The moment he smiled faintly, Siheon’s face became as if he would collapse at any moment.

But he didn’t collapse in the end.

It wasn’t such a sweet dream, yet they woke him up like this.

Slightly resentful of God for the shattered peace, he raised his head.

He saw Cha Wonwoo kneeling in the middle of the study. The young man, who had been bowing his head, slowly raised it as well.

Their eyes met.

It was the first time he had seen such a broken face.

Siheon recalled the vows he had made at their wedding. He had vowed to protect this child for the rest of his life. The result of keeping that promise was this mess. He must be a truly terrible husband.

On the other hand, now that he knew why he was acting like this, he could actually calm down.

That was when it happened.

“Are you dying?”

A ridiculous question, not befitting the serious atmosphere, could be heard.

“Huh?”

“Are you dying? Is that why you told me you wanted a divorce? Because of the side effects of that chip, you became terminally ill or something, and you were trying to die alone?”

“What are you talking about? Why would I suddenly die?”

“Then what is it? Without saying a word to me, that, that…”

Cha Wonwoo’s eyes reddened as if he was about to cry. His trembling didn’t stop as if he couldn’t calm down. Siheon, putting down the paper, ran to him and hugged him tightly.

“Let go of me.”

“Wonwoo.”

“Let go of me because I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to use force on you.”

Siheon tried to soothe him by releasing pheromones, and Cha Wonwoo refused. The pheromone glands of the two, resonating, pulsed on and off, as if unsure of which rhythm to follow.

Because the young man in his arms couldn’t find stability, Siheon eventually backed off. As he released his hands, Cha Wonwoo staggered but got up. Then, he pulled Siheon, who was standing blankly.

“Go to the hospital right now and get checked from head to toe. I’m not talking about basic stuff. From one to ten, get every test that exists in the world in front of me. I need to know what condition you’re in.”

“Don’t you remember? We got tested when we got our bonding confirmed. And I got drug tested recently too. I’m fine.”

“How can you be fine!”

Cha Wonwoo, who had never done so before, yelled.

“Cha Geum-ho died because of that fucking test. The person who was there before you got that chip implanted also died. You took his place. Do you know that? It’s already two people. Two people have died, that I know of! But what, you’re fine? Are you telling me you’re fine right now in front of me?”

Cha Wonwoo, who had been shouting as if he had lost his mind, suddenly closed his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. His heaving chest rose and fell repeatedly.

“I know what you’re worried about. I know, but there’s a reason I say I’m fine.”

Siheon, flustered by Cha Wonwoo’s unfamiliar appearance, hurriedly opened his mouth. The words he started disjointedly flowed out somewhat unorganized.

“Wonwoo, I had the chip removed early. Recessives are originally lacking in pheromones. That’s why it’s difficult to have children. To protect a child, there needs to be a separate pheromone pathway, but it was completely blocked, uh, so there was no need for it anymore. Once that happened, as soon as I heard that I wouldn’t be able to have children in the future, I immediately had it removed,”

“What?”

Cha Wonwoo opened his eyes wide. His black pupils, trying not to lose focus, trembled helplessly as they held Siheon.

“What did you just say?”

A fierce voice ripped through the air.

Cha Wonwoo, looking at him as if he would not tolerate any more silence, looked like an enraged beast.

“What happened, and I can’t have children anymore… what? What are you talking about?”

He repeated the same question like a broken recorder. It seemed like denial rather than incomprehension.

“Hyung”

Cha Wonwoo took a step closer and grabbed his shoulders.

“…….”

Siheon, his pale lips twitching, couldn’t say anything in the end. Cha Wonwoo, looking at him, nodded his head firmly as if to say it was okay.

“If you can’t talk about it, don’t. It seems like there are more than a few people who want to talk to me about this. If I ask anyone, they’ll tell me. You stay here. You can’t leave this house. I won’t let you go, no matter what happens.”

Cha Wonwoo abruptly released his grip on his shoulders and strode towards the phone, pressing the speed dial. The ringing tone cut short, and Secretary Yang answered immediately.

—Yes, sir.

“Have a car waiting in front of the house right now.”

—Understood. I’ll inform the security team right away….

Slam! Cha Wonwoo, hanging up the receiver almost as if to break it without listening to the end, walked towards the door with heavy steps.

It was when he passed in front of Siheon. Siheon, who had been gritting his teeth and standing his ground, grabbed him with all his might.

“Wonwoo.”

“Let go.”

“Cha Wonwoo.”

He looked down quietly at the hand carefully holding him, avoiding his cast fingers, then turned to Siheon with an agitated gesture.

“Are you trying to apologize? What are you sorry for? For doing what Cha Hyunchul told you to do? For keeping it a secret from me? For keeping it a secret and now telling me?”

“…….”

“Oh… or is it this?”

“…….”

“That you weren’t going to tell me until the end if I hadn’t found out.”

Looking into his messy, broken eyes, deep regret washed over him.

He shouldn’t have let him find out this way.

As Cha Wonwoo said, he was going to apologize. He wanted to say he was sorry. But the words wouldn’t come out of his throat, clogged with a hot lump. Countless words only swirled within his closed mouth.

Even though it had been a long time since he became an adult, only now, at this moment, did Siheon realize one thing. That when you are truly sorry, the words “I’m sorry” don’t come out. And also the fact that there are words he must say somehow.

Siheon forced his lips apart.

“…I was wrong.”

“…….”

“I was wrong. Everything. All of it….”

“…….”

“Excluding you, and the fact that you’re hurt now because of it, is all because of my choices. Even if that wasn’t my intention, in the end, I’m the one who made it this way. So, hear it from me, not anyone else.”

No matter how painful it was, it was right for him to be the one to say it.

Siheon, who had contacted Secretary Yang again and returned while he stood rooted to the spot, pulled him along.

“Let’s sit and talk. You’re not in a good state right now.”

“Ha….”

Cha Wonwoo, clenching his teeth, repeatedly wiped his face. Having somewhat relieved the shock and agitation swirling through his body, he spoke in a much softer voice.

“You… go change your clothes first. You’ll catch a cold.”

He pointed his chin at his disheveled pajamas, the buttons all ripped off, and left the study first.

The rattling sound mingled with the chilly sound of rain. The sound of a grinder came from the kitchen, as if he was making coffee to clear his mind.

Soon Siheon started to move as well. He took off his pajamas, tossed them aside, and grabbed any t-shirt from the dressing room.

Before grabbing and turning the doorknob.

“Huu….”

Siheon tilted his head back, looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and then came out to the living room only after he had calmed his breathing.

Cha Wonwoo, who had made coffee in silence, placed the cup on the table.

“Drink it.”

“It must still be uncomfortable with your cast… Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

He took a sip of the cool coffee. Perhaps due to the caffeine, his racing heart wouldn’t calm down. He had no choice but to put down the cup and sit there in silence for a while again.

After a long time, Siheon finally spoke.

He tried to tell everything that had happened, but he tried to be as objective and concise as possible, sticking to the facts, without trying to defend himself.

The day he first visited Cha Hyunchul at the hospital, Secretary Baek’s explanation, and the chilling, snake-like voice that made him an offer.

‘We can artificially control hormones and pheromones using a chip. Think of it as a treatment that raises a recessive to an average level, or even to a dominant.’

‘I hope the clinical trials have good results. I put your name on the list myself.’

The pheromones that started to fluctuate from that point on. The repeated tests and the disappointing test results.

More than anything, what tormented Siheon was the self-disgust he felt every time he accepted the results.

Every time he checked the numbers and stood before Cha Hyunchul with the results sheet, he felt like he was standing there with an answer sheet full of wrong answers, being scolded.

The chip changed his mindset, not his traits. Every time he saw the place where the chip was inserted, he felt like he was someone who was flawed and needed treatment.

His traits, constantly reminding him that he didn’t belong next to Cha Wonwoo, gnawed at him.

“My pheromones became unstable from then on, but it wasn’t serious. Of course, I didn’t become a dominant from a recessive. It was all pointless.”

As Siheon muttered quietly, Cha Wonwoo, overcome with emotion, shouted.

“What’s so important about traits? I told you. I don’t care if you’re an omega, a beta, or even an alpha. So what if you’re a recessive? You should have ignored whatever Cha Hyunchul said. Or you should have at least told me. Why did you so foolishly…!”

“How could I tell you, Wonwoo? I’m a man too. I want to look perfect to the person I love, and I don’t want to show my weaknesses. I, before I met you, I never once thought I was lacking. Even though I didn’t have a father, I received plenty of love from my mother, and received love from fans, so I lived thinking I had to do better, work harder. You know I hid my traits? It wasn’t because I was ashamed of being a recessive, but purely a strategic move for my career.”

Siheon continued his story calmly, not avoiding his resentful gaze.

“But after marrying you, I kept having these thoughts. I wish I weren’t a recessive. Being a recessive felt like it was my fault…. Why was I born a recessive? You know, I keep dwelling on things I can’t change and blame myself.”

Siheon became smaller and smaller throughout his married life.

Still, he could bear it. Since acting was his calling, he pretended to be fine, and it really felt like he was fine.

Even when Cha Hyunchul locked Cha Wonwoo in a hotel room and tried to do something with some omega, even when he endured it by cutting his thigh so he wouldn’t do anything reckless, even when he washed off his blood that would never be erased from his hands, even when the thought of giving up flashed through his mind, he always endured.

But the emotions he had been suppressing finally overflowed. Because of the last drop.

“Do you remember the dinner we had before our divorce? The day we had a big party at the Korea Hotel.”

“How could I forget? Because of what happened that day, when you said you wanted a divorce, I agreed.”

Cha Wonwoo mumbled as if growling.

That day was the day they had a dinner at the Korea Hotel for Cha Hyunchul’s birthday. Executives were invited with their spouses, and including other business figures and their spouses or partners, it was a large-scale dinner with over 300 people.

Since they weren’t divorced yet, Siheon also attended. Since Cha Wonwoo was in his position, he was also busy greeting people.

Cha Hyunchul planned a show that day.

Kang Siheon in heat, sleeping with the first person he saw. A small number of people who would witness this.

He thought that no matter how much Cha Wonwoo loved Siheon, as a dominant alpha with a strong possessiveness towards his mate, he would never tolerate it. He would divorce him out of pride, and there was also the intention to make Siheon’s comeback difficult and send him abroad.

Cha Hyunchul, anticipating Siheon’s vigilance, handed him champagne laced with a heat inducer himself.

But Siheon only touched his lips to it, not drinking it all.

Of course, as if he had anticipated that as well, the inducer, far exceeding the recommended dosage, worked even with just a sip.

However, Siheon himself was on high alert, and whenever Cha Wonwoo had to leave his side, even for a moment, he asked his uncle, Cha Donghyun, to stay close to him.

In the end, Cha Hyunchul’s plan failed.

‘I think something’s wrong with my body.’

Siheon told Cha Donghyun as soon as he felt the heat coming on.

‘Can you walk? Let’s go up to the room and wait for Wonwoo.’

Cha Donghyun moved Siheon to a safe room, away from the eyes of others. He also stayed by his side until his nephew, Cha Wonwoo, arrived.

A while later, Cha Wonwoo, after receiving the report, quickly came up to the room.

‘Siheon Hyung. Are you alright?’

‘Wonwoo. Brother-in-law, it seems he’s in heat.’

‘What do you mean all of a sudden….’

‘You can hear the explanation later, just go in and take care of it first. You need to at least bring down his fever before going to the hospital.’

‘…Alright.’

Except for the sudden, unprepared intimacy, it was considered a relatively safe passage.

Of course, because of this incident, Cha Wonwoo became completely disgusted with Cha Hyunchul.

So when Siheon brought up the divorce talk not long after, he couldn’t help but agree, even though he hated it. He thought, since he was sick and tired of this family, his brother must be even more so.

Let’s give him some breathing room, and let’s sort out the family and the company in the meantime.

So that Cha Hyunchul and others can’t touch him carelessly. So that he can come back. So that we can be happy together.

At that time, Cha Wonwoo was filled with those thoughts.

“After that incident, I went to the hospital, right?”

“I said let’s go together, but you said you were fine and went alone.”

“You were busy. And honestly, I wanted to go alone because I was afraid the chip implantation would be discovered. If you were there, the doctor would have been careful with his words, but I was still anxious.”

A person with secrets always has to live with the feeling of being chased. They can’t sleep soundly even in their dreams and have nightmares. Siheon was like that around that time.

“Anyway, I went to get checked to see if the heat inducer was okay for my body, and the doctor kept telling me to do more tests. So I said okay. After I finished all of them and sat in the examination room chair, the doctor said…”

Siheon paused to catch his breath after speaking up to this point. Recalling the past was painful, and the fact that he had to tell these words to Cha Wonwoo was also agonizing.

He parted his lips and began to tell the story of that day, as if exhaling the breath he had buried deep inside.

＊＊＊＊＊

Sitting across from the doctor in the examination room, which was set slightly warmer than the optimal temperature, Siheon felt strangely chilly.

“Patient Kang Siheon.”

“Yes.”

Siheon swallowed and clenched his hands on his lap in unnecessary nervousness. The doctor, looking at the test results he had received from the Traits Department, looked up at Siheon.

“I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, but… the fetus’s heart isn’t beating.”

He stared blankly at the doctor for a moment. He couldn’t understand.

“A baby? What baby?”

“I thought so since there were no records, but you weren’t aware of the pregnancy itself.”

As soon as the doctor finished speaking, his ears were muffled as if submerged in water. In the end, he felt breathless, as if he were stuck in the deep sea with no end in sight.

“In the case of betas, there’s a 12% chance of miscarriage. But in the case of males, recessive omegas, especially in the early stages of pregnancy, the probability of miscarriage is inevitably higher than for betas.”

The doctor recited numbers, as if he thought knowing the specific information would be comforting. He couldn’t hear well because of his ringing ears. He just assumed they were words meant to comfort him.

“It’s not your fault. As you know, the probability of pregnancy itself is very low for male recessive omegas. That means it’s difficult to maintain as well. Usually…”

He had only just learned that he was pregnant. The doctor already explained the types of miscarriages. Complete, incomplete, missed—words too unfamiliar to Siheon, who had lived a life close to a beta male.

The ringing in his ears became clearer, and his breath became short and fragmented.

“You’re… saying there… was a… baby?”

He asked, gasping for breath, and the doctor calmly nodded.

“The… reason, what’s the reason? Why…”

My baby, whom I never even met, is gone. The voice he added softly trembled pitifully because it was barely squeezed out. However, his gaze was steady, directed straight at the doctor.

“Miscarriages occur for a variety of reasons. Currently, it’s highly likely due to the suddenly induced heat cycle. But rather than the reason for the miscarriage, it’s better to focus on recovery and what to do from now on. It’s not your fault. There’s no need to keep dwelling on it.”

“No, I want to hear it in detail.”

Siheon put strength into his fingertips as if to dig into his knees. If he had to let it go like this, he had to know the proper reason.

The doctor let out a sigh, or perhaps a breath of regret. He was also a director at the CH Foundation Hospital and one of the attending physicians in charge of the owner family. He was in a position to know how Cha Hyunchul treated Siheon. And he could guess that the suddenly induced heat cycle was not a natural occurrence.

“Normally, heat doesn’t occur when you’re pregnant. But because it was forcibly induced by medication, the body considered it an attack and blocked Mr. Kang Siheon’s pheromones. Simply put, it closed off the pheromone pathways connected to the organs capable of pregnancy.”

“What does that…”

“In the case of healthy omegas, this naturally recovers, but not for recessives. Even if it does recover, the fetus and the implantation site reject Mr. Kang Siheon’s pheromones, so…”

In short, it meant he couldn’t have children for the rest of his life unless his internal pheromones completely changed.

This fact was immediately relayed to Cha Hyunchul. He quietly summoned Siheon to his Hannam-dong home and urged him to get a divorce. Cha Hyunchul didn’t regret the child who might have been born if it weren’t for the heat inducer.

“How can you do this? Let’s say it’s fine for me. But to Wonwoo, how can you be so cruel to Wonwoo’s child?”

“Brother-in-law, a dominant needs a dominant.”

Siheon realized with a heart-wrenching pain how crazy Cha Hyunchul was.

At the same time, he decided to keep it a secret from Wonwoo.

If it was a fact that couldn’t be changed, he wanted to keep this pain entirely to himself.

The moment he dragged his exhausted body back to his newlywed home.

He suddenly felt suffocated. He couldn’t stay home. So he desperately asked Kangsan to take him anywhere.

Kangsan, noticing Siheon’s unusual state, drove without asking anything. He didn’t remember where they went that day.

However, when he arrived at an open space and tried to get out, the seatbelt wouldn’t come undone. Was it because his hands were shaking, or because he had no strength?

Click. Click.

No matter how many times he tried, the seatbelt wouldn’t release. He was annoyed. Anger, with no specific target, welled up inside him.

Later, he tried to pull it out by force, but it was no use. The more he did, the more the seatbelt wouldn’t budge.

“Brother, just a moment.”

Kangsan, unable to just watch, got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door.

“Brother, I’ll undo it for…”

Kangsan’s movement, about to come inside, stopped as if startled.

Siheon, unfazed, tried to undo the belt. A painful groan escaped him as he moved his hand.

It’s okay. I can do it.

But contrary to his thoughts, the edge of the buckle was bent. Tears dropped onto the back of his hand.

I can do it.

A sob escaped his lips, and Siheon bit his lip hard. But because of the welling tears, his vision kept blurring. His hands kept slipping.

He felt frustrated because he couldn’t even control the belt. He was frustrated because he couldn’t escape this short strap that was holding him back.

So he just let go of his hand. He gave up.

Trapped in the narrow seat, Siheon burst into tears he had been holding back. He sobbed like a child and lowered his head.

He started crying because he was frustrated, and as he cried, everything became frustrating.

＊＊＊＊＊

Repeated friction and pressure cause calluses on the skin. The mind is the same. So, Siheon, having finished his story, was unexpectedly calm.

But Cha Wonwoo was not. The story his brother had confided swept through his heart in an instant. His tattered chest felt as though it would remain gaping open like this, unable to be stitched closed no matter what he did for the rest of his life. He had newly discovered that he could feel physical pain just by listening to someone’s words.

At the same time, he felt a genuine urge to kill Cha Hyunchul. He felt as if he would completely lose control the moment he let go of even a sliver of his rationality.

A low, stifled groan escaped from Cha Wonwoo’s throat.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You should have told me. Brother, you were hurting all alone. While you were so sad and struggling, I didn’t know anything….”

“What’s already happened can’t be changed. I didn’t want to hurt you too.”

“That’s for me to bear. If it was a situation where I would be hurt, you should have done it. You should have told me everything. Why do you protect me so much!”

If words had physical form, all the ones he had just uttered would be sharp and pointed. However, rather than piercing the other person, the sharp pain seemed to be directed at himself. The fool wasn’t his brother, but himself. In reality, he was no different from an animal trapped in a cage, but because of his brother, he had thought it was a flower garden.

Now that he knew everything, rage spread like wildfire. He felt as though even his reason would evaporate and fly away in the flames that threatened to consume him. Just as he was about to jump up and strangle Cha Hyunchul’s neck…

“Are you going to keep saying stupid things? I love you, how could I hurt you?!”

“……What?”

Cha Wonwoo instinctively held his breath. His heart ached sharply. His dark pupils trembled uncontrollably, revealing his agitation.

“Ha….”

Seeing his brother roughly run a hand through his hair, his mind went blank. Just a moment ago, he had been boiling over, but now a different emotion filled the spaces where the ashes remained, as if he had been doused with ice water.

The raging anger also extinguished instantly. Because it was a phrase he hadn’t heard in a very long time.

“Please say it again. What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

“I want to hear it again.”

Cha Wonwoo only realized after hearing it once how starved he had been for his brother’s expression of love. If he could, he wanted to swallow those sweet words with his whole thirsty being. He stared intently at Siheon with reddened eyes.

“Tell me again.”

His gaze was so intense it felt almost sticky. The intangible air greedily scanned Siheon’s face.

“It’s natural for anyone to want to protect the person they love. Right now, this is all I can say. If you want to hear something else… that’s for later.”

Siheon, averting his eyes slightly, surprisingly looked a little shy. His expression was usually so composed that he would have missed it if it hadn’t been for that fleeting moment.

Cha Wonwoo felt momentarily relieved.

“That’s a relief. I thought you were completely fed up with me.”

So, there’s still a chance. The words slipped out like a sigh of relief.

His brother never did anything half-heartedly. He felt a definite sincerity in the fact that instead of just throwing out a word like a handout and escaping the situation, he was promising something for the future.

Sometimes, it is difficult to express certain feelings with words.

Siheon firmly dismissed the idea.

“I’m not fed up with you, I’m tired of the situation.”

As if deciding he needed to organize his thoughts a little more, he continued with a bitter smile.

“I didn’t tell you about losing the child because I didn’t want you to get hurt without knowing anything. And the infertility….”

“…….”

“I lived most of my life as a Beta. If I had remained a Beta until the end, what would it have mattered if I couldn’t have children? But I lived like that, pretending to be a Beta, when in reality I’m an Omega. While dating and marrying you, I thought I had fully accepted and become accustomed to my secondary gender, right? But I guess not. I had only acknowledged the ‘recessive Omega’ written on my secondary gender registration as mere words.”

Knowing intellectually what the life of a male recessive Omega was like was different from actually living it. That alone was confusing enough, but he had suddenly been diagnosed with a defect as an Omega.

“Infertility, it’s no one’s fault. I know. But it felt like I had developed a flaw. And yet, I, a man, wanted to appear perfect to you, Cha Wonwoo, until the very end.”

That’s how pride was. It was the kind of thing that made you hold your head high, especially in front of the person you loved.

“Anyway…. It was my own emotional issue. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you or that I kept it a secret for that reason.”

Cha Wonwoo sat there feeling somewhat dazed. He knew that his brother had broken down the wall he had built up in his heart and revealed his most vulnerable place.

After the tidal wave of emotions had swept through, the two fell into a momentary lull.

“And the reason I asked for a divorce….”

Having said this much, Siheon paused. Then, he suddenly recalled a memory from when he was nineteen.

“When our mother was hospitalized…. Was it three days before she passed away? Looking at her lying in the hospital bed, I suddenly had this thought. I wished she wouldn’t hold on because of me. I wished she would stop being stubborn and suffering because she was worried about me, and just rest peacefully.”

His mother’s warm, strong hands and wrists had become thin and bony, and the cool temperature when he held them made his heart ache. The nineteen-year-old boy’s only wish, as he held his mother’s frail hands in his own, was that.

“I knew it would be painful for me, but if it meant our mother wouldn’t be in pain anymore, I knew I could let her go.”

His voice cracked as he continued. Cha Wonwoo listened quietly.

“But strangely, I couldn’t do that with my child. I kept having these terrible thoughts. Why couldn’t it hold on? Why couldn’t it hold on just a little longer? Why couldn’t it hold on, even if it was in pain? Even just until I knew….”

Even though he knew that family meant nothing. Later, he simply didn’t want to recall any related memories. Clearing his throat, Siheon continued.

“But I kept thinking about it every time I saw you. Like how when you’re told not to think of an elephant, it’s the first thing that comes to mind. ‘I have to keep this from Wonwoo.’ Every time I thought that, I was reminded of losing the child, and that there would never be children between us.”

Slowly turning his head, Siheon looked at Cha Wonwoo sitting beside him.

“That’s why I asked for a divorce. I thought that if I didn’t see you, I wouldn’t be reminded of what I had lost. Cowardly, isn’t it?”

He didn’t mind if the world was a bit noisy and clamorous about him and Cha Wonwoo. Because in their own world, they were sufficiently peaceful and happy.

But it had gradually become burdensome, and at some point, married life began to feel like a slow process of drowning. Like a whale leaping to breathe, Siheon also wanted to escape from beneath the still surface and breathe.

“Don’t say that. You’re not cowardly.”

The voice that refuted him was firm, but laced with tears. Every time Cha Wonwoo swallowed, his protruding Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably.

“Rather, I’m,”

The tears he had been desperately holding back welled up in his dark eyes. His eyes grew hot.

“I’m so pathetic.”

The tears that had barely been contained spilled down as he blinked. And still, the tears didn’t stop. Cha Wonwoo looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

“I should have known. It’s your life, your body. I should have…”

Siheon’s heart sank at the sight. Reaching out, he wiped away Cha Wonwoo’s tears that were streaming down his cheeks.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to see you like this. I didn’t want to see you hurting and crying.”

At the comforting touch, Cha Wonwoo was overwhelmed with sorrow. Tears, mixed with self-reproach, fell faster than before. They flowed endlessly.

“I’m sorry, brother, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

At his firm words, Cha Wonwoo’s eyes reddened even more. As if to compensate for all the times he had cried alone, he cried and cried. Siheon pulled him into a tight embrace.

The sorrow he had already endured, Cha Wonwoo was just now learning about.

Siheon thought it was fortunate.

Because he had suffered first, he could now wholly comfort him.

It was only when Cha Wonwoo’s eyes, and even his tear-stained cheeks, had become puffy from crying that his heaving back finally calmed. He buried his face in Siheon’s shoulder, slowly catching his breath.

“Hyung.”

He hesitated before lifting his head.

“I understand why Cha Hyunchul and Song Wonjoo were so adamant about not telling me this. First, they tried to shake me up, but I guess they thought I would let you go out of guilt. Or that we would fight and properly break up.”

What they overlooked was that the two of them were in a mutually imprinted bond.

“But I can’t let you go. I can’t give up.”

Cha Wonwoo’s lips trembled as he spoke in a voice hoarse from crying. He was more scared than ever. Yet, his eyes held a promise of unwavering love.

“I’m not asking for an answer right now. I didn’t even know you were struggling alone, so what right do I have to ask to stay together? It’s my turn now. I’ll take responsibility and sort things out on my own. So, put my answer on hold and just wait a little while.”

Instead of answering, Siheon gently stroked Cha Wonwoo’s swollen cheeks, as if trying to erase the anxiety and unease that clouded his face.

＊＊＊＊＊

A line of black sedans sped away.

The security vehicles that had been tailing them for protection, front and rear, slowed down as they followed the driveway that wound through the woods, ensuring complete privacy.

They came to a complete stop in front of a villa on the outskirts of Seoul.

Security personnel poured out of the cars in a coordinated manner and moved busily. Cha Wonwoo’s expression, as he waited in the back seat until they had finished clearing the area, was unreadable.

A moment later, a polite knock sounded on the car door.

The door opened, and spotless shoes and long legs emerged.

Like donning armor, Cha Wonwoo buttoned his jacket and walked towards his destination. Secretary Yang, who had already entered and exited the villa, quickly approached him.

“CEO.”

Cha Wonwoo, acknowledging him with a glance, asked casually,

“Traffic control?”

“You can converse comfortably.”

His brisk walk across the lawn paused. Cha Wonwoo’s dry, cold gaze swept over the large wooden building. He suddenly smelled something like the metallic scent of blood. He tightened his tie and rolled his tongue around his mouth.

“Let’s go in.”

Finally, having adjusted his appearance, Cha Wonwoo took a step forward, toward where Cha Hyunchul was recuperating.

Screech.

The floor, crushed under the weight of his dress shoes, let out a strange shriek.

Those with many enemies do not lay down anything to muffle their footsteps on walkways frequented by people. The path to where Cha Hyunchul was, was no different.

No matter how careful one is, pressing down on a wooden floor with weight is bound to make a sound.

Moreover, Cha Wonwoo was currently stomping through this massive wooden structure with each step. The intention and emotion contained within his heavy footsteps could not be hidden.

Secretary Yang’s eyes, following a little behind, glanced at Cha Wonwoo’s fingers. The doctor wanted him to keep wearing the brace a bit longer, even after removing the cast. Secretary Yang felt the same. Especially today, even more so. It was because he had a premonition that Cha Wonwoo would use his hand roughly.

However, Cha Wonwoo firmly refused.

‘The moment I show even the slightest weakness, the positions of hunter and hunted are reversed. Dominant alphas are all beastly bastards. Myself included. So, I have to think like a beast. Does a predator on the hunt reveal its wounds and fight?’

Modern medicine dismissed dominants as merely beings overflowing with pheromones, but his thinking was different. To Cha Wonwoo, dominant alphas were beings covered in human skin, with the vestiges of beasts not yet erased.

Especially those obsessed with traits, those particularly crazy bastards, do not see humans as equals. Even among dominant alphas, it was the same. Those who distinguish between predator and prey, even with their own children.

‘If it gets worse, Actor Kang will worry a lot.’

When Secretary Yang expressed his concern, Cha Wonwoo’s face, which had been gleaming like a beast, quickly softened.

‘I have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m trying not to act spoiled with hyung anymore.’

Thinking of the one person who had tamed him, he spoke.

‘He must have been very lonely on his own. Now, I’m going to make it so hyung can act spoiled with me. To do that, I have to deal with Cha Hyunchul first to prove it. How strong I am, how well I can protect hyung. So that hyung can choose me as his lifelong sanctuary.’

For the man he loved.

For his omega, whom he had imprinted on and who had imprinted on him.

“This way.”

From the grand lobby to the central staircase, and the wide hallway on the second floor, disarmed security guards stood facing the walls along every path Cha Wonwoo walked. Cha Wonwoo’s security team was densely positioned beside them, but there were no signs of severe physical altercations or resistance. It was because they had been informed beforehand.

That the owner of the CH Group would change.

“You’ve arrived.”

And the one who had persuaded Cha Hyunchul’s security team was Director Baek Sang-gang, who had personally come out to greet the young master visiting. Commonly called Secretary Baek, he had taken care of internal traffic control for the young master’s visit. Except for one room behind him.

“The Chairman is inside.”

Baek Sang-gang stepped aside with the most respectful gesture possible. However, even after he bowed for a long time, Cha Wonwoo stood motionless.

There was no instruction to straighten his bowed body, so it was awkward. The atmosphere suggested he had done something wrong, but having been by Cha Hyunchul’s side for a long time, it was difficult to pinpoint one specific thing.

Drip. Drip.

Embarrassed beads of sweat dripped from the man’s forehead. The delicate wood grain darkened in circular shapes. He clenched his molars.

Baek Sang-gang had also assimilated into the dog-eat-dog world and enjoyed considerable power at Cha Hyunchul’s side. So, he wasn’t ashamed to be like this in front of Cha Wonwoo, who was much younger than him. It was simply the logic of power.

However, it was difficult for his aging body to maintain the same posture, and he was a little afraid of voicing the reason why his superior was angry.

“…Sir.”

Baek Sang-gang was just about to speak. At that moment, Cha Wonwoo, who had been silent until then, cut him off as if he had been waiting.

“I have something I’d like to ask Secretary Baek.”

Only then did the man straighten his back. His eyes conveyed a willingness to answer any question.

Seeing him, Cha Wonwoo asked in a calm voice. His tone was as if he were asking about the next meal menu.

“Where would you like the Chairman to spend his final years?”

“That is…”

“I’m disappointed that the answer isn’t coming right away. Secretary Baek knows the Chairman’s preferences better than I do.”

Baek Sang-gang, who had been prepared to answer any question wholeheartedly, rolled his eyes in difficulty. This was because the questioner’s intention wasn’t simply about his residence. When the man hesitated to answer, Cha Wonwoo changed the question.

“Then, where would it be good to bury the Chairman when he passes away?”

Baek Sang-gang, stiff with tension, swallowed hard and replied.

“Wouldn’t it be appropriate to enshrine him in the Cha family’s ancestral burial grounds? In Chairman Cha Geum-ho’s time, he wasn’t buried in the ancestral grounds according to Catherine’s wishes, but this case is different. There are many watching eyes, so it would be best to proceed with your succession without any complications…”

“Appropriate. What kind of appropriateness is Secretary Baek thinking of?”

“…….”

“Was it appropriate for Ms. Kwon Su-yeon to be buried in the river?”

Kwon Su-yeon wanted to be scattered in the river herself. From the river to the sea. In her son’s hands, she was scattered by the wind and went out to the vast open sea. She didn’t have the option of staying by his side until the end. It wasn’t that she couldn’t have it. It’s that she didn’t have it.

“Secretary Baek, then what about this.”

Thump.

Cha Wonwoo approached the man who was sweating profusely.

“My child.”

“——!”

“Was it appropriate for our child, that hyung carried, to leave without anyone even knowing?”

“S-Sir.”

“I’ve thought a lot about whether you knew or not, but you really knew everything. Well, it doesn’t make sense for Secretary Baek not to know.”

Suddenly, Cha Wonwoo grabbed the man by the collar. “Gasp!” Baek Sang-gang’s upper body was pulled forward by the force. Secretary Yang, who had been anxiously watching in case the boss’s fingers became aggravated, confirmed that the hand gripping the collar was the uninjured one and calmly stepped back.

However, the security guards who had served Cha Hyunchul for a long time weren’t the same. They had been told to comply with the flow beforehand, but when even Secretary Baek, who had given them the instructions, was grabbed by the collar, some of them struggled and resisted.

“E-Everyone, gasp, stay still!”

Secretary Baek shouted. He fixed his gaze on the opponent in front of him, who was making it difficult for him to breathe.

“Calm down, please calm down and go inside. If you act emotionally… ugh, you’ll lose. Be rational….”

“My loved one went through something like that, and you think I can be rational right now? Don’t you agree?”

“Don’t you think the Chairman… wanted this? You need to think carefully. Why he made you aware of something that’s been hidden until now.”

“You’re good with words.”

Judging by his rough tone and the act of grabbing the collar, Cha Wonwoo might be emotional as Secretary Baek said. However, his words and voice were incredibly calm.

“Secretary Baek picked the right side, but you shouldn’t have kept that a secret.”

“Sir….”

“Ah, did you switch to my side faster than others because you have a guilty conscience? But what should I do? I can’t give you any leniency.”

Baek Sang-gang just listened. He knew that this would happen someday. As Cha Wonwoo said, he knew exactly what the chairman had done to Actor Kang, so it was true that he switched sides faster. The temptation to resign was only momentary. He knew that if he left without cleaning things up, Cha Wonwoo, upon learning all of this, would drag him back and make him pay the price, one way or another. It was wiser to be ruthlessly used and retire at an opportune moment.

“I’m sorry.”

“This isn’t something that ends with an apology.”

“Ugh!”

As Cha Wonwoo tightened his grip, Baek Sang-gang, whose throat was being choked, let out a pained moan. Seeing the man’s face gradually turning white from the inability to breathe, Cha Wonwoo spoke.

“Do you know what the first thing the vassals do when a new king ascends to the throne?”

“I don’t, gasp, I don’t know.”

“It’s to give their opinions on where to enshrine the previous king’s tomb.”

*Even if they weren’t officials belonging to the Samdogam, any court official high enough to speak in front of the king would try to put in their two cents.

“They would try to read the new king’s intentions, how much he thought of the previous king, and recommend an ‘appropriate’ place, and if the new king liked it, they would be rewarded.”

Baek Sang-gang’s face was gradually losing color due to his constricted breathing.

“If he didn’t like it, they would be stripped of their office and rank and their name would be erased from the register.”

The state funeral didn’t just end with the previous king’s funeral; it also became a justification for the new king to reshuffle his officials. It was like holding a funeral for the power wielded by the previous king’s inner circle. Even an unparalleled power broker’s situation changes the moment they die. If the new king disliked the previous king, the change would be more radical and dramatic.

“I will never forgive you, Secretary Baek.”

Baek Sang-gang, who had instinctively raised his hand to push Cha Wonwoo away because of his blocked airway, summoned superhuman patience. He clasped his hands behind his back and tried hard to keep them from moving at all.

“So, Secretary Baek, you can dig the chairman’s resting place yourself. And after that,”

Cha Wonwoo abruptly released his grip on the collar.

“I’ll quietly dismiss you.”

With the sudden rush of air, Baek Sang-gang coughed repeatedly. His head spun and his vision blurred. He didn’t have the presence of mind to wipe the saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth, but he managed to answer Cha Wonwoo’s words, gasping for breath.

“Yes, I… I… gasp, understand what you mean.”

Cha Wonwoo, who had all his life abhorred his own bloodline, the inglorious wealth and power, finally succumbed. He openly moved to acquire what he had always denied. Because he had to take it. Because he had to repay Cha Hyunchul. The time had come to end the unwanted, long-standing ill-fated relationship.

Turning his face away from the person he was done with, Cha Wonwoo looked at the door.

“Shall I open it?”

At Secretary Yang’s question, he nodded slightly.

There was no polite knock or anything of the sort.

The door swung open without any warning to the person inside. Cha Wonwoo strode into the room.

After he was completely inside, the door closed behind him.

“Tsk tsk, such ill-mannered behavior.”

At the same time, Cha Hyunchul’s tongue-clicking sound was heard.

The room, created by opening up one side of the second floor and the full height of the second and third floors, was magnificent. The space, which until recently had been used as a study, had been transformed into a huge calligraphy studio.

It was intentional.

It was intentionally decorated like the study of that time.

Korean paper hung everywhere. The pungent smell of ink. Cha Hyunchul elegantly wielding a brush at the long desk, holding the paper down with a paperweight.

Everything was exactly the same as when he had been training Cha Wonwoo.

He had recreated the torture chamber of his youth here.

“Now that you’re here, grind the ink. That’s about all you’re good for.”

Physical violence, mental abuse, both leave traces in one way or another. It felt like his vision was blurring. Even though he knew it was a provocation, he couldn’t control his surging emotions. What should he do? It felt like he was returning to the powerless days of the past.

As he just stood there blankly, Cha Hyunchul clicked his tongue again.

“You useless thing.”

Cha Wonwoo was about to clench his fist as if to break it, but he hesitated. It was because he thought that he shouldn’t aggravate his fingers. Why shouldn’t he get hurt? After the question, a voice softly emerged.

‘Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot? What did the doctor say? Why did you get hurt?’

‘What do you mean, if you grip it tightly, your fingers will break?’

‘Get on my back.’

‘It’s okay. You can hold on.’

‘It was my fault. All of it. Everything….’

‘Are you going to keep saying stupid things? I love you, how can I hurt you!’

It had been like this before.

When he went into the study because he wanted to attend the same school as hyung after meeting him, he recalled the scent he had smelled on hyung instead of the horrible smell of ink. That alone made him not afraid of being alone with Cha Hyunchul.

‘It’s natural for anyone to want to protect the person they love.’

Hyung’s voice wrapped around his entire body. He came here to protect hyung. And also for the child he couldn’t protect.

Releasing the tension in his hand, Cha Wonwoo walked forward. Just like when he first stepped onto the wooden floor, without hesitation, stomping on the floor, like a march solidifying his resolve.

Cha Hyunchul’s gaze said, “What can you possibly do?”

Approaching closer, Cha Wonwoo examined the desk with a relaxed attitude.

He looked at the inkstone. As he gazed at the ink pooled in the inkstone, Cha Hyunchul scoffed. He seemed to think that Cha Wonwoo had come to grind the ink again as he wished. However, Cha Wonwoo casually shifted his gaze. To a rather large ink jar, shimmering black.

Ah, this awful smell of ink.

He picked up the jar without giving the other person time to react. Then, he poured it directly over Cha Hyunchul’s head.

Gurgle.

Black ink streamed down from Cha Hyunchul’s stiffly upright head.

Covered in black ink, his wide-open white eyeballs were particularly noticeable. Within them, confusion from not understanding what had happened and, conversely, the horror of realizing what had happened were mixed.

This time, Cha Wonwoo sneered at the other. Letting out a snort of derision, he threw the jar, after emptying every last drop, next to Cha Hyunchul’s face.

Crack!

The high-quality porcelain was heavy and hard, so instead of a shattering sound, it made a cracking, splitting sound as it broke into pieces.

Unfazed, Cha Wonwoo glanced down at his fingertips and rubbed his ink-stained thumb and index finger together. It felt like filth. Like a stain. No. It might be the product of the pain Cha Hyunchul had inflicted. Like the tears or blood hyung might have shed. So much and so dark that it had become this color.

He raised his head again.

Cha Hyunchul, trembling with rage at the unprecedented situation, was still standing there.

“First,”

As Cha Wonwoo opened his lips, a chilling voice, one he had never heard before, flowed out.

“Shall we start with begging?”

And in the next moment.

He fully opened his pheromone glands.