* * *

“Mom, that’s….”

My mind went blank, unable to speak at the sight of my mom’s intense anger.

In my imagination, I had always told my parents about Haeju’s existence myself, expecting a scolding.

But I never imagined it would be discovered like this.

“Why can’t you answer…!”

“I’m sorry, Mother. It’s my fault.”

“…What?”

Just as my mom’s patience was wearing thin and she was about to start another angry tirade, Taeshin pulled me behind him.

He shielded my terrified self with his broad back.

“Sunwoo knows nothing. I used that to lure him in. I liked him so much that I pretended to teach him things, knowing he was too innocent. Even though I knew he was drunk and couldn’t make the right decisions, I still did it. Because I like Sunwoo, I’m ready to take full responsibility for whatever happens….”

“Taeshin.”

Though not entirely false, his explanation made it seem like everything was Taeshin’s fault.

“Wait, wait. So… Sunwoo really is….”

“Yes. Sunwoo is pregnant.”

Mom seemed at a loss for words, gasping. My heart pounded as I clung to Taeshin’s hand and clothing. What do we do? Tears welled up.

Thoughts of saying ‘Mom, I’m sorry’, ‘I was wrong’, ‘I was going to tell you’, ‘I was scared’ swirled in my head.

I knew I should beg for forgiveness to calm her down, but I was too stunned to speak.

“When did this…!”

“On Geonwoo’s engagement day. My rut was that day, and Sunwoo remembers nothing. I’m sorry, Mother. I got Sunwoo pregnant. I should’ve told you before it got this far, but I was too scared.”

Taeshin bowed his head to my mom. His explanation, though true, placed all the blame on him.

I didn’t expect him to say he would take all the responsibility and face the anger of our parents and brothers.

“I knotted him, and Sunwoo didn’t even know he was knotted.”

“My God…!”

Mom was shocked.

Taeshin was indeed taking all the blame.

He was taking full responsibility for everything.

“My little brother….”

“…Pregnant?”

My third brother and Jinwoo murmured in disbelief.

Remembering their threats of killing me if I got pregnant, I shivered, but Taeshin’s firm grip reassured me.

“To our little brother….”

“…Pregnant?”

Jinwoo and my third brother muttered again, as if in a daze.

I peeked out to see my eldest brother expressionless, while Jinwoo and my third brother looked stunned.

It felt like the calm before the storm, making my heart race and sweat cover my body.

Soon, my brothers’ eyes met mine.

Jinwoo and my third brother, looking like they’d lost their country, stared at me blankly.

Then their expressions changed, turning fierce.

“…You’re dead.”

“You crazy bastard, our little brother!”

“Jinwoo! Geonwoo!”

Jinwoo moved first, grabbing a teacup from the table and rushing towards Taeshin with murderous intent.

My third brother followed, clutching a book as he leaped over the sofa.

Seeing my brothers move without hesitation, I felt suffocated.

Oh no, they’re really going to kill us!

Jinwoo and my third brother approached with terrifying expressions, their items turned into weapons.

Even my usually calm eldest brother was clenching his fist and coming towards us.

“Taeshin, you’re dead!”

“How could you, you piece of trash, do this to our baby brother!”

“Jiwoo! Geonwoo!”

Ignoring their mother trying to hold him back, Moon Jinwoo grabbed Taeshin by the collar.

Seeing Jinwoo about to smash Taeshin’s head with a teacup, my heart sank.

No, not my Taeshin…!

Smack!

“Moon Jinwoo, Moon Geonwoo. Stop it.”

Just as Jinwoo was about to bring the teacup down on Taeshin’s head, our eldest brother appeared.

He caught Jinwoo’s wrist and scolded both him and our third brother in a low voice.

“What the hell are you two doing in front of Mom?”

Jinwoo and the third brother, snapped back to their senses by the eldest’s reprimand, turned to look at our mom standing behind them.

The sight of her, staggering in shock, made my heart pound with anxiety.

“Mom!”

As I rushed to help her, my third brother got there first and supported her.

Seeing Mom so weak for the first time made my heart race and tears well up.

While I stood frozen, struggling to hold back my tears, my third brother helped our mom to her room as she groaned weakly.

“Lee Taeshin, you need to leave.”

“But I—”

“Leave. No one here wants you around right now.”

Eldest brother’s icy words were an exile. Taeshin stood frozen, unable to move. Fearing Jinwoo might actually hurt him, I turned and pushed Taeshin away.

“…Let’s go, Taeshin.”

“And where do you think you’re going? Stay put in your room!”

“I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere!”

“Are you going to shut up or not?”

As I tried to follow Taeshin to the door, Jinwoo grabbed me and pulled us apart.

Tears welled up as I picked up the ultrasound pictures of Haeju that had fallen, and Jinwoo cursed at me.

Why curse?

They’re pictures of our Haeju!

Clutching the ultrasound pictures to my chest, I was dragged back to my room by Jinwoo.

“Moon Sunwoo, until this is resolved, do not step out of this room. And don’t even think about seeing Lee Taeshin again!”

“Why?!”

“Why? Ha, damn it. Why? It’s bad enough that you were stupid and gullible enough to get pregnant by him! I warned you to be careful around him, didn’t I? I told you to always be wary of Lee Taeshin, but no, you just had to get tricked by that bastard… Are you kidding me? You kidding me??”

“That, that’s not fair! Taeshin didn’t know either! He didn’t know….”

“Don’t talk crap. What kind of Alpha forgets about their own knotting? Are you saying that bastard doesn’t remember?”

“It’s true! At that time, Taeshin—”

“Shut up, Moon Sunwoo! That lunatic dared to… to my sibling…!”

“……”

Jinwoo, enraged again, clenched his fist and looked ready to explode.

Afraid he might hit me too, I shrank into a corner.

After a moment, Jinwoo, slightly calmer, glared at me with terrifying eyes.

“If you step out of this room, I will destroy Lee Taeshin, got it?”

With a vicious warning, Jinwoo took my phone and left the room.

I knew my family would be shocked and angry when they found out I was pregnant, but their reaction was much more intense than I expected.

Mom didn’t even get mad; she just collapsed, and my brothers reacted more fiercely than I could have imagined.

“…It’s true.”

Neither Taeshin nor I knew we had knotted during the incident. It was only much later that I remembered and told Taeshin.

I trusted him when he said he couldn’t remember and was genuinely shocked when I told him I was pregnant.

“Ugh….”

I felt like I had committed the gravest sin in the world. Tears of sorrow fell uncontrollably.

Through my tear-blurred vision, I saw the image of my collapsed mom and Taeshin being driven out of the house.

My stomach ached again, perhaps because Taeshin was not with me.

---

Trapped in what felt like a prison, I felt gloomy and resentful.

Jinwoo kept watch over me all day, making sure I stayed in the room, while my third brother suspiciously questioned me about whether my relationship with Taeshin was really consensual.

The fourth brother, who heard the news late, stormed in threatening to kill Taeshin.

I was in so much pain throughout the night that I couldn’t sleep.

My stomach hurt, my body ached and swelled, and my joints were in agony. If Taeshin were here, I would feel better quickly, but I had four brothers who were vehemently against him.

They all opposed him.

Knock, knock.

“Hey, little bro.”

Just a while ago, the fourth brother had come by asking if I was eating, and now it was the eldest.

Hearing his voice for the first time today, I clutched the blanket over my head tighter.

I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t want to see or hear from my brothers who all wanted to kill Taeshin.

“Aren’t you hungry? You didn’t eat breakfast. Are you skipping lunch too?”

“……”

It was the eldest who had ordered Taeshin to leave yesterday.

The thought of seeing Taeshin being driven out again brought tears to my eyes.

As I sniffled, I felt the eldest brother sit on my bed and gently stroke the blanket covering me.

“Aren’t you worried about how Mom is doing after she collapsed yesterday?”

The mention of Mom made my heart ache.

I had nothing to say to her. I hadn’t expected her to collapse upon hearing I was pregnant.

The memory of her closing her eyes and trembling in shock was vivid, and I felt tears welling up again. I should have just told her. I regretted running away out of fear.

If I had told her myself, maybe she wouldn’t have been as shocked.

“Come down and eat. This isn’t just about you starving alone.”

With his words, I looked down at my swollen stomach. The sound of my eldest brother getting up from the bed and leaving the room indicated he understood I would come down.

I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning. Haeju shouldn’t go hungry. I hesitated but eventually got up, rubbing my lower abdomen.

This was not the time to be down. I had to pull myself together and convince not only my parents but also my brothers. I slapped my cheeks with both hands and headed to the dining room.

“Is that bastard gone?”

“He was still by the gate, but he’ll leave once he gets tired.”

“Let that bastard stay there for three days and nights. Damn beast, I told him not to touch our baby brother…!”

On my way to the dining room, I overheard my brothers’ conversation from the living room. My ears perked up as I pressed against the wall to listen.

“This whole house is a mess because of that bastard. Mom’s bedridden, our baby brother isn’t eating. What a disaster.”

“I will never, ever see our baby brother marry that beast. Never!”

“Cut ties with that family. Even if you have to deal with them, keep it strictly business. Absolutely no marriage with that trash for my younger brother.”

“He definitely seduced our youngest during his rut. There’s no way he would do something like that to our youngest by accident!”

“When Mom wakes up, I’ll suggest sending Moon Sunwoo abroad. I’ll talk to Dad about it tonight.”

Study abroad…?

Hearing Moon Jinwoo mention it as the solution while eavesdropping on my brothers’ conversation about how marriage was out of the question made my heart sink.

Without considering my opinion, my brothers had already agreed that it was the best course of action.

“I don’t like how Lee Taeshin is hanging around our gate. Should we chase him off?”

“If he’s still there later, chase him away, even if you have to use force.”

“Don’t use your fists recklessly. It’ll escalate things.”

My eldest brother, who hadn’t said anything until now, finally spoke up.

Hearing my brothers’ conversation about sending me abroad and treating Taeshin so poorly, I clenched my fists.

I was the one who got pregnant, but they didn’t listen to anything I had to say and were taking extreme measures.

I glared at my brothers through the wall, then turned my head sharply.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had tried to persuade my parents and brothers, but that was no longer necessary.

It was disgusting and humiliating, so I decided to leave home.

I’d rather think of myself as having no family and live with Taeshin!

* * *