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[Last night around 8 PM, a man was seen banging aggressively on the door of a hotel room at JS Hotel. Witnesses claim he threatened the occupant to open the door, causing a disturbance for over five minutes. The man, identified as Ki Beomhyeon, heir to the JS Group, has sparked controversy over his behavior. According to witness accounts, …]
“Didn’t I tell you not to look at it?”
Jungin’s hands were wrapped in bandages.
Although the burn was relatively minor, each time Jungjin saw Jungin’s reddened hands, his insides churned with frustration.
“I’ll help you wash your hair. Come here.”
“Hyung, are you getting married…?”
Jungjin froze mid-motion, halting as he was about to lift Jungin’s frail body.
His eyes trembled visibly, a small but telling shake.
Noticing it, Jungin let out a faint laugh, his voice tinged with hollow resignation.
“So, you’re really getting married.”
“Jungin.”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“That’s not it. Jungin, think about my age. It’s long past the time I should have been married.”
Jungjin still couldn’t bring himself to reveal the truth to Jungin.
Instead, he forced a gentle smile onto his face and patted Jungin’s head in an attempt to soothe him, continuing softly.
“Jungin, people like us… this is just how it is. People don’t always marry for love. More often than not, marriages are strategic, based on mutual interests.”
“Then what about Jungwoo hyung? Wasn’t his dream to be a doctor? He worked so hard to get into medical school, so why did he suddenly transfer to engineering?”
Jungjin exhaled deeply.
He had anticipated this after hearing that their mother had visited Jungin, but he hadn’t expected her to reveal such detailed information.
Seeing Jungjin momentarily at a loss for words, Jungin bit his lip as his eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.
“Jungseo hyung was the same… They all gave up on their dreams because of me. If only I hadn’t—”
“Jungin.”
“If only I hadn’t been born… everyone would be happier now.”
Jungjin tried to comfort him, insisting it wasn’t true.
But the weary-looking Jungin pushed his hand away and lowered his head.
“I’m going to sleep now… I’m tired.”
Jungin didn’t think he could face his brother any longer.
Forcing Jungjin to leave, he curled up under his blanket, replaying his stepmother’s words in his mind.
“Because of me… everyone’s suffering. It’s all my fault…”
Consumed by his spiraling thoughts, Jungin wept silently, his sobs muffled in the stillness.
Suddenly, a faint vibration pulled him from his despair.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Noticing Beomhyeon’s bag at the side of the room, Jungin slipped out of bed.
Things had been chaotic at the hotel, and their belongings must have gotten mixed up.
The sound was coming from a tablet inside Beomhyeon’s bag, its low battery warning beeping incessantly.
As Jungin reached to turn it off, he accidentally pressed the wrong button, causing several windows to pop up on the screen.
Among them, one caught his attention.
‘Bonding.’
The word displayed in the search bar made Jungin’s expression twist in disbelief.
His hand trembled as he scrolled through the screen.
Numerous searches about bonding between Alphas and Omegas filled the history.
His eyes fell on a compatibility test report, and he instinctively covered his mouth to stifle a gasp.
“How… How could you do this? Without even telling me…”
He recalled reading research papers that suggested bonding was linked to the lifespan of the individuals involved.
The records Beomhyeon had searched contained the same information.
This wasn’t a baseless fear.
In the end, Beomhyeon had chosen bonding as a way to save him.
Just like his other brothers, even Beomhyeon…
Jungin’s face turned deathly pale as a crushing pain seized his chest.
Knock, knock.
“Jungin, can I come in?”
Beomhyeon’s voice came from behind the door, startling Jungin.
He nearly dropped the tablet but quickly shoved it back into the bag and rushed to lie down on the bed, feigning sleep.
“Jungin.”
With his back turned to the door and his eyes tightly shut, Jungin remained silent.
‘What on earth are you thinking?’
Bonding… Even after living for ten years as a Beta, Jungin knew exactly what bonding entailed.
Reality wasn’t as romantic as the movies or dramas made it out to be.
Moreover…
‘My stepmother will kill me someday.’
If not now, then eventually, she would.
She wasn’t the type to allow any trace of betrayal to remain in the world.
If Jungin bonded with Beomhyeon and died, Beomhyeon’s life would also be at risk.
Overwhelmed by the horrifying thought, Jungin bit down hard on the inside of his cheek.
For now, he couldn’t say anything to Beomhyeon.
Beomhyeon, noticing the faint trembling of the blanket, let out a long sigh.
Quietly, he took Jungin’s hand and retrieved the ointment he had brought.
He gently applied it to the burns on Jungin’s reddened hand.
It was a beautiful hand—soft palms, neatly trimmed nails, and a tiny mole on the back.
There wasn’t a single flaw.
Yet seeing the scars left on those hands made Beomhyeon’s heart ache.
“I’m sorry.”
Jungin nearly burst into tears.
His eyelashes quivered as he held back the hot tears threatening to fall.
He was the one who should be apologizing.
He had come into Beomhyeon’s life only to ruin it.
Beomhyeon blew softly on the treated hand, his warm breath brushing against the skin.
Jungin suppressed the lump in his throat and continued pretending to be asleep, even as Beomhyeon held onto his hand for a long while.
“Good night, Jungin.”
Beomhyeon’s voice was low and tinged with sorrow.
After tucking the blanket around Jungin carefully, he left the room.
Once the sound of his footsteps faded, Jungin opened his eyes.
Tears slid silently down his face.
He couldn’t go on like this.
He didn’t want to be a burden to the person he loved.
Biting down on his trembling lips, Jungin gazed out the window with blurry eyes and quietly sat up.
“Madam, there’s a call from Young Master Jungin.”
“From him?”
With a surprised smile, Madam Jang set down the paintbrush in her hand and turned around.
“What’s the reason? Is he asking me to withdraw the charges?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Shall I connect you?”
“Go ahead. I’m curious to hear what he has to say.”
The image of the trembling boy from yesterday, shaking like a newborn deer and unable to utter a word, crossed her mind.
It would have been better if he had come to speak in person.
Suppressing a twinge of regret, Madam Jang picked up the phone handed to her by her secretary and placed it to her ear.
-It’s me.
For some reason, Jungin’s voice on the other end of the line was different—firmer—than the usual frightened tone she expected.
“Yes. What is it you want to say?”
Even though the reason for his call was obvious, Madam Jang smiled calmly and asked.
Jungin gritted his teeth before speaking into the phone.
-Withdraw the charges. And take down the articles your family published about Beomhyeon.”
Madam Jang was well aware of the steady stream of defamatory articles about Beomhyeon that her family’s paper, Inhwa Daily, had been publishing.
“And why should I?”
-Because if you don’t, I’ll file charges against you.”
Her lips curled into a laugh, startled by the boldness of his voice.
She rubbed the corner of her mouth and asked, still smiling, “And what grounds would you have for that? Do you think people will believe you if you claim that I tried to kill you? A mother simply using extreme measures to see her son—that’s all they’ll think.”
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