Not knowing the intent behind his question, I blinked rapidly.
Yoo Joohwan lightly slapped Moon Dowon’s shoulder.
“What are you thinking? Do you think Seo Siho is going to fall for your brother or something?”
“Who knows. Since Seo Siho fell for my face, it’s entirely possible he’d like my brother’s, too.”
“He’s a beta.”
“That’s why I’m asking. I remembered my brother once saying he’d be happy living with a beta.”
Moon Dowon turned his head sharply to look at me, clearly intending to get a definitive answer.
I could feel his strong will to hear a response from his persistent gaze.
Moon Dowon is enough of a handful as it is, and now he’s bringing up his brother….
Even if they are both betas, same-sex romance wasn’t exactly common.
“I don’t know why you’re thinking that, but aren’t the three of you more than enough for me?”
“Then that’s fine.”
Even though I gave a clear answer, Moon Dowon’s mood didn’t seem to improve.
Seeing his disgruntled expression, Yoo Joohwan rubbed the watch on his wrist and chimed in.
“Moon Dowon is a twin. An identical twin, at that.”
“Ah…. But didn’t you say he was a beta?”
“Yeah. Usually, identical twins have the same traits, but he’s an exception. He’s a case where an alpha was born to beta parents.”
An alpha born to a beta couple.
I’d heard that such rare cases existed, but I knew they accounted for less than 1% of the global population.
As I looked at Moon Dowon with wonder, Yoo Joohwan leaned in and whispered in my ear while wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“Fascinating, right? But don’t make it obvious to Moon Dowon. Not only is he an alpha, he was born a dominant alpha—you can imagine what a sensation that was. He was even forcibly taken to a laboratory, but he threw a fit and barely managed to escape.”
“I can hear everything. Just say it to my face.”
At Yoo Joohwan’s words, Moon Dowon crossed his arms with a dissatisfied look, tapping his fingers.
Yoo Joohwan just smirked shamelessly, acting as if he didn’t care that he’d been overheard.
“That’s how we became friends. An illegitimate child and a mutant dominant alpha. It was a bizarre meeting, but I liked it. It felt like I finally had my first real friend.”
I used to wonder why Moon Dowon followed and cherished Yoo Joohwan so much beyond just being close, but it seemed it was because of their unique family backgrounds and the fact that they were each other’s first friends.
Sensing my desire to hear more of their story, Yoo Joohwan continued.
“When I was young, I lived with my mother. Moon Dowon lived next door back then. He was quiet, blunt, and wouldn’t answer even when spoken to. He was so incredibly rude. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t have had a single friend his whole life.”
His voice was playful, but it didn’t sound entirely lighthearted.
Moon Dowon didn’t seem to deny it, either, as if acknowledging the truth.
‘To be dragged to a lab at such a young age…’
He likely avoided people because of his wounded heart.
It was probably Yoo Joohwan who made him open that door, and Moon Dowon likely looked out for Yoo Joohwan then just as he does now.
I could see how they felt like family after spending so much time together.
Hearing about their past naturally made me think of Kang Taeyun.
I opened my mouth cautiously and asked.
“Then how did you meet Kang Taeyun?”
“Not long after I became friends with Moon Dowon, my mother passed away. At that time, Kang Taeyun came to the funeral with his parents. As it turned out, my mother and Kang Taeyun’s father were long-time friends. Back then, Kang Taeyun was the quintessential young master. You could tell he grew up receiving a lot of love.”
I nodded involuntarily at the description of a Kang Taeyun so different from how he is now.
Suddenly, I wondered if they also knew about the scars on Kang Taeyun’s body.
However, I couldn’t bring up someone else’s wounds so easily, so I just listened quietly to his story.
“Kang Taeyun is a pitiful guy, too. Not long after I finished my mother’s funeral, his parents died in a mysterious accident. We were only 11 years old then, so we were really young.”
I had heard that traits usually manifest after age 10.
Moon Dowon likely manifested at 10, and it seemed he met Kang Taeyun less than a year after meeting Yoo Joohwan.
11 years old is when a person’s character is truly formed….
I felt an indescribable pity.
At the same time, I realized that Yoo Joohwan had consistently played the central role in leading their relationship, both then and now.
“When I went to pay my respects with my father, I felt rebellious and tried to hide in a corner behind a stack of boxes. But Kang Taeyun was already there. Seeing him crying endlessly with a face full of terror… I couldn’t help but feel for him. I don’t know why, but I kept worrying about him, so I followed him around and asked to be friends.”
“…….”
“But he gradually changed. The kid who once showed traces of being loved started acting like someone without emotions at some point. It got to the point where Moon Dowon said he hated him because he was like an emotionless doll.”
Yoo Joohwan shook his head slightly, saying he felt so much for the boy—who wouldn’t show any emotion and whose eyes were out of focus—that he wanted to take care of him.
Recalling those days, he ran a hand through his hair with a pained expression and leaned back against the wall.
“I wonder when the last time was that I saw Kang Taeyun truly smile.”
Yoo Joohwan clicked his tongue, saying that even the smiles directed at him felt more like a performance than the truth.
At that moment, I remembered the bright smile Kang Taeyun had given me at the studio apartment.
If only he didn’t have those scars, he would have been someone who smiled well and was affectionate, like he was back then….
As I bit my lip with regret, Moon Dowon, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke up.
“You’ve had sex with Kang Taeyun, so you must know. Why he changed like that.”
“That’s right. Didn’t Kang Taeyun tell you? He’s not the type to talk by nature, but he’s different in front of you.”
Yoo Joohwan agreed with Moon Dowon and stared at me intently.
It seemed they assumed that since I had seen his scarred body, I had either guessed the truth or asked Kang Taeyun directly.
I hesitated, feeling uneasy about discussing this while Kang Taeyun wasn’t here, but Yoo Joohwan answered as if reading my mind.
“He won’t mind.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re worried about Kang Taeyun. You’re being cautious about sharing this kind of story behind his back.”
When I nodded, Yoo Joohwan gave a small laugh.
He seemed satisfied that I didn’t speak carelessly about someone else’s trauma.
“This isn’t a place for bad-mouthing him, and it’s a fact both Moon Dowon and I already know. You’re Kang Taeyun’s lover, and you’re going to be with us for the rest of your life, so what’s the problem? If you tell Kang Taeyun you were curious about him, he’ll actually like it. You’re someone who usually isn’t curious about us at all.”
At the words “rest of your life,” my suppressed conscience pricked me like a thorn.
As I subtly avoided his gaze, Yoo Joohwan spoke up and asked.
“Do you know why I hate Chairman Kang?”
“…I think I have a little bit of an idea.”
“See, you do know. Then listen more. You’re curious too, aren’t you?”
In fact, I was grateful that Yoo Joohwan was telling me this.
Given Kang Taeyun’s personality, it didn’t seem likely he would open up and tell me himself.
“If it started after he was 11, that means he’s been beaten from then until now…. Honestly, I don’t understand. If it were me, I would have reported it already.”
“Report it? Do you know how many big shots in the business world Chairman Kang raised under the guise of sponsoring children, not to mention those in politics? The list of corruption-related information Chairman Kang holds is enormous. That means no one can touch him.”
“…But he could have avoided it.”
“Usually, people being abused don’t know. They don’t know if it’s discipline or violence. Especially in cases of gaslighting. In Kang Taeyun’s case, even if he realized it later, he just took the hits. Because avoiding it was meaningless.”
Perhaps he felt there was no reason to avoid it.
Maybe he lived thinking that since he’d been beaten all this time, he just had to endure this moment and it would be over.
The image of the scars on his back kept flashing in my mind, making my eyes sting.
“Why was he beaten…?”
“Because he looks like his late mother.”
“…….”
“I heard Kang Taeyun’s father married his mother despite strong opposition. Even after the marriage, he hated her until the end. Then, in an accident, Chairman Kang lost his only son and lost his mind. Kang Taeyun was the only target left in his sight.”
It meant that, in the end, he just needed someone to take his anger out on.
He had been lashing out because he believed Kang Taeyun’s mother played a part in his son’s death.
