* * *

He spoke cautiously, knocking on the door, and added when he realized it wasn’t yet 9 PM.

“Asleep?”

He remembered Beomhyeon mentioning how he hadn’t slept well the previous night.

Maybe he was already asleep?

Just as Jungin was about to turn away to avoid disturbing him, he heard a voice.

“What do you want?”

“Oh, I had something to ask. Were you working out?”

“Yeah. Sort of.”

Beomhyeon was breathing heavily, and as Jungin was about to step inside, his path was blocked by Beomhyeon’s arm.

Puzzled, he looked up to see Beomhyeon clearing his throat.

“It’s messy in here. Talk from the doorway.”

“Hey, what’s the big deal between friends? Besides, we even slept together just yesterday.”

“…You.”

“Huh?”

Beomhyeon ran a hand through his hair, revealing a jaw set tight with tension.

Is he angry?

Feeling nervous without quite understanding why, Jungin was led back to his room by the wrist as Beomhyeon pulled him along.

“Ask me here. What is it?”

“Oh, right, this problem… I couldn’t figure it out. Do you know how to solve it?”

With Jungin seated at the desk, Beomhyeon bent over beside him, took the mechanical pencil in hand, and explained.

“So, if you substitute 1 for x, you get minus 1 as the answer. Got it?”

“Oh? Yeah, got it.”

Was it too warm in the room?

Jungin’s face flushed bright red, and he bit his lower lip, nodding.

He was supposed to focus on Beomhyeon’s explanation, but his eyes kept drifting to the muscles flexing under Beomhyeon’s short sleeves.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Jungin, who had lived his whole life as a beta, had never felt attracted to a man.

But somehow, things were different with Beomhyeon.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of the changes in his body since he became Lee Jungin or because it was specifically Beomhyeon, and the confusion unsettled him.

“Did you really understand?”

“Yeah, totally.”

Jungin nodded quickly, his heart pounding, as he looked down at his lap.

“Anything else you’re curious about?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Alright.”

As he reached out for the pencil, his fingers brushed lightly against Beomhyeon’s.

Jungin sucked in a breath, squeezing his eyes shut at the sensation of that fleeting touch, embarrassed by his own reaction.

“I’m going to head out. Make sure you dry your hair well before you sleep, or you’ll catch a cold.”

“Oh, okay. You sleep well too…”

With an awkward farewell, Jungin raised his head only after he heard the door close.

“Sigh…”

He looked at the crumpled 50,000-won bill in his hand.

“I was supposed to give him this, actually.”

But the atmosphere had turned so strange that he couldn’t manage to.

Smoothing out the bill, Jungin slumped over his desk, pressing his flushed cheeks against the back of his hand.

Meanwhile, outside Jungin’s room, Beomhyeon leaned against the closed door, finally letting out a breath he had been holding.

“God, I’m losing it.”

Jungin’s room was filled with his sweet scent.

His freshly washed, slightly damp face and the body barely hidden under those oversized clothes had made it hard to think straight.

Though his rut cycle was still far off, the constant heat ever since Jungin moved in was driving him crazy.

Frowning, he walked to the gym in the house and kept working out until the heat in his lower abdomen subsided.

The next morning, Jungin woke to find his phone buzzing with a flurry of messages.

Reading through them, all sent by his older brothers, left him with a heavy heart.

The guilt for making them worry weighed on him.

“…What should I say?”

He thought about calling them but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Seeing the final message from Jungin’s brother, saying how much he missed him, brought tears to Jungin’s eyes, and he splashed cold water on his face.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Jungin clenched his fists.

“Be honest with yourself… You’re scared, aren’t you?”

He was more terrified of how his brothers might treat him once they realized he wasn’t the real Lee Jungin than he was angry at them.

He feared he’d taken away the real Jungin’s love.

Jungin wiped the dripping water from his face, took a deep breath, and resolved.

“I’ll tell them today.”

At the police station, he would finally meet his brothers.

After a long struggle, he had decided to face reality.

The real Jungin had died, and there was no way for him to return to his original body.

Having accepted this, he planned to come clean about everything once he wrapped up the school-related matters he had taken on.

Telling Beomhyeon might even result in getting kicked out.

His feelings were already confused whenever he saw him.

It seemed best to leave before he figured out what those emotions truly were.

“Hoo…”

Jungin tidied up everything in his room and packed a bag with a change of clothes and the 50,000-won bill.

When he stepped out, an all-too-familiar figure was waiting for him in the hallway.

“All set?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you really okay? We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Watching Jungin shake his head, Beomhyeon grabbed his hand tightly, as if to share his strength.

Jungin looked up at him with a bitter smile and took a step forward.

“Kid.”

Turning at the call, Jungin saw Chairman Ki, dressed casually for once, as though he’d skipped work.

“I heard from that boy. You haven’t done anything wrong, so go and do whatever you need to do.”

The chairman’s hand, rough but gentle as it tousled Jungin’s hair, brought a lump to his throat.

The man, feared by many as the head of Yeonhwa Group, had shown Jungin nothing but kindness.

“Make sure to teach the bastard who messed with you a lesson. If you need anything, I’ll spare no expense to support you.”

The chairman’s gaze softened as he noticed Jungin’s teary eyes and gestured toward Beomhyeon with his chin.

“That’s why I’m sending him with you. Use him well.”

“Thank you… really.”

Wiping his tears with his sleeve, Jungin bowed deeply before looking over at Beomhyeon.

Would he be able to come back?

Was this really goodbye?

With a sense of regret etched on his face, Jungin took one last look at Chairman Ki before reluctantly following Beomhyeon’s urging steps.

As the car headed to the police station, Jungin gazed out the window in silence.

“Jungin-ah!”

Hearing a familiar voice from behind, Jungin froze, his entire body stiffening.

His lips pressed together tightly, and his mind raced.

What should he say?

Running away was wrong, and he knew he deserved to be scolded harshly.

Turning around with a tense expression, Jungin’s vision darkened as he was pulled into a firm embrace.

“You’ve gotten even prettier, little one.”

“I missed you, my little brother.”

Jungin took in the playful smile of Jungseo, who was ruffling his hair, and the ever-gentle face of Jungwoo.

Swallowing back a sob, his eyes shifted beyond their shoulders to Jungjin, who had his arms open wide toward him.

“Come here, baby.”

At those words, Jungin finally burst into tears and ran toward him.

Collapsing into Jungjin’s big arms, Jungin sobbed uncontrollably as his brother patted his back.

“I’m sorry, little brother.”

Hearing Jungjin’s voice whispering as he held him tightly, Jungin realized something profound: even if these people turned their backs on him, he never could.

Looking at the three people who had become his family, Jungin let his tears fall freely.

* * *