“…You.”
The man who had frantically turned around to look at me was Seojoo.
Seojoo had definitely just called me ‘Brother.’ Brother. Seojoo called me his brother.
“Brother, I’m sorry I’m late.”
“Se-Seojoo? You remember me? Did you just call me brother?”
“I’m really late, aren’t I? But I kept my promise. I told you that when I was born in the next life, I’d be healthier than you and protect you.”
It was a bright, innocent smile that completely clashed with the desperate situation.
I never imagined I would see that bashful, beaming smile again.
‘Next time, I’ll grow up bigger and healthier to protect you, Brother. I promise!’
Seojoo, who used to constantly chime about becoming healthier than me, had truly returned to my side looking exactly like the promise he made.
I had told myself countless times that I needed to let him go—that I shouldn’t bind him to the past so he could live his current life to the fullest—but that single smile caused tears to well up in my eyes.
“We can talk later; let’s get out of here first. Dad is outside. He wanted to come with me, but I told him to wait in the car.”
Coaxing me as I cried, Seojoo gently lifted me up and had me rest my back against a nearby tree.
“Stand right here. It’s easier for me to fend them off if you stay put. We need to find an opening and break out.”
Seojoo maneuvered me into the gap between himself and the tree, pressing me tightly against it.
I leaned my back squarely against the trunk so no one could launch an attack from behind.
In front of Seojoo, Hyunwook stepped forward to shield the two of us.
Hyunwook must be dying of curiosity about Seojoo too, making the timing of this situation incredibly frustrating.
As if they had been waiting for this exact moment, the enemies lunged forward ferociously.
Hyunwook fought to intercept them, blocking them from drawing any closer.
Seojoo used a training longsword he had brought along to fend off the opponents.
‘Don’t these guys have guns?’
Even while I was consumed by that worry, Seojoo had to place me behind him, protecting me while holding off the oncoming men.
Because he had to keep an eye on me while moving, he minimized his physical radius and swung his blade with precision.
Seojoo channeled his strength into his wrists, focusing his attacks exclusively on the vulnerable neck area to avoid wide, sweeping movements.
Just then, one of the bastards slipped past Hyunwook’s flank, aiming a blade directly at his waist.
“Hyunwook!”
The moment Hyunwook flinched, startled by my scream, my brother raised his gun and shot the assailant in the leg.
As the gunshot echoed, a brief stillness fell over the area before the atmosphere grew significantly more sinister.
My heart ached terribly seeing everyone enduring unnecessary hardships solely because of me.
“Hyunwook, are you alright?”
“Yes. Thank you, elder brother.”
“We’ve dragged this out far too long. We need to get out of here fast. If we’re careless, we’ll end up completely trapped.”
Though his expression didn’t show even a hint of exhaustion, sweat was pouring down Brother Hanbin’s face and neck despite the freezing weather.
With an expressionless face, my brother ruthlessly subdued the men swarming them once again.
Hyunwook also refocused his mind, striking down the men one after another, but their numbers were simply too overwhelming.
My heart grew anxious with the fear that they might start shooting.
No matter how incredible Hanbin and my brother’s stamina were, it wouldn’t be easy to continuously withstand this type of onslaught.
Just then, as if making a firm resolution, my brother locked eyes with Hyunwook.
Hyunwook nodded and immediately cast the exact same look toward Seojoo.
As if grasping the intent, Seojoo tightly gripped my wrist.
A moment later, Brother Hanbin fired several rounds into the air, and the men, startled by the gunshots, covered their heads and ducked.
Without missing a beat, Seojoo grabbed my hand and accelerated into a sprint, while my brother and Hyunwook followed closely behind to escort us.
After running for dear life, we broke out to the exterior, where a van screeched to a halt right in front of us.
“Get in, quick!”
My dad’s frantic voice echoed through the open window.
We were barely able to escape the palace grounds and scramble into the vehicle.
The moment we climbed in, the car sped off.
Plumping down onto the seat, I leaned my head back and panted heavily.
‘What did I even do to be this exhausted?’
The people who fought with everything on the line to protect me were the ones truly suffering.
My heart was pounding so wildly that it thudded right through to my head.
This was an entirely unexpected attack.
Whose doing could it be?
I couldn’t comprehend why Joo Minhyuk’s Imperial Guard had mobilized.
Gathering my breath for a moment, I looked around to check if everyone was unharmed.
Showing no signs of fatigue, my brother crossed over to the passenger seat, reloading his gun while remaining entirely vigilant.
Hyunwook also kept his guard up, moving to the very back row to keep watch out the window and monitor the situation.
It was obvious they would pursue us immediately.
Though we had successfully fled, the interior of the van was thick with tension.
I could see my dad’s face, ridden with worry for me.
Seojoo was also scanning both side windows while catching his breath.
Only then did it finally sink in that I had escaped the palace.
‘We actually made it out.’
“Is anyone hurt?”
When I asked in a cracked voice, my brother looked back from the front seat.
“This is nothing. I was only worried about you.”
“I barely did anything… everyone is suffering just to protect me. I’m sorry. And Dad, thank you for coming. You must have been so shocked.”
“Of course I was. I was so startled that I don’t even remember how I managed to drive all the way here. I have no idea what is going on. As long as everyone is safe, that’s all that matters.”
I turned to the side to check on Seojoo’s face.
Meeting my gaze, Seojoo offered a bashful smile.
It was the exact smile of the Seojoo I used to know.
The cold, wary demeanor from before was completely gone, and I could finally see the smile of my true younger brother.
“Seojoo, how did this suddenly happen to you?”
“Mister, was Seojoo’s situation what you wanted to talk to me about earlier?”
The moment my words ended, Hyunwook questioned my dad.
I wasn’t the only one stunned by Seojoo’s unexpected appearance; Hyunwook had been so incredibly shocked that he hadn’t even been able to focus on defending for a brief moment.
Seojoo glanced at Hyunwook once before wrapping his arms tightly around me.
“I was sick a little while ago, and while I was bedridden, my memories came back. My body hadn’t fully recovered so I couldn’t go out, so I just waited for the day Dad would come see me at the gym once I gained some energy. That was just yesterday. It was so sudden that Dad and I did nothing but cry continuously when we met. We had just calmed down when Hyunwook called.”
“Wait, so the moment your memories returned…”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m really upset. To think that Brother had to endure such a horrible thing…”
Feeling the warm skin and beating heart of Seojoo as he held me close, I realized this wasn’t a dream. Seojoo had truly remembered me.
“Now that I remember, everything makes sense. I mean my behavior.”
“Your behavior?”
“I was incredibly obsessed with working out and staying healthy. To a completely ridiculous degree, I was fixated on health. Even among Alphas, my body is excessively healthy, but I clung to it like a compulsion. Even with working out—normal people wouldn’t dream of registering at Hyunwook’s gym, but I fought tooth and nail to get in there.”
“Is that so?”
Listening to Seojoo’s explanation, I felt a deep ache of pity for him. Bit by bit, I could understand the reason behind his obsession with exercise.
“I didn’t know why I was so obsessed with working out. Before I knew it, I’d be exercising, and before I knew it, I’d become a martial arts dan-holder. It was as if I absolutely had to, chasing an unknown strength without knowing the reason, while my chest always felt empty. ‘Why am I like this…’ But now I finally know.”
My younger brother, who was older than me in this life and possessed a sturdy build, smiled brightly as he said he had found the answer.
Finding that sight deeply admirable yet sorrowful, I smiled back at him through my tears.
I had a strong feeling that the reason Seojoo chased after strength was entirely because of me.
“I realized it was to keep the promise I made to you, Brother. I didn’t have a single memory, but in my subconscious, I was straining with all my might to keep it. I really kept my promise. Since you devoted yourself to me in our past life, I’m going to protect you this time.”
I worried whether I had inadvertently saddled Seojoo with a heavy burden.
Because I had only thought of Seojoo’s health in our past life, everything had been centered around that.
Thus, a healthy body was what we had desired most, yet I was still weak and fragile.
“That’s right. Seojoo was always a good, obedient younger brother, so I’m incredibly grateful. Thank you so much for remembering me. I don’t have any wishes left now. Truly.”
Since it was a reunion I hadn’t even dared to expect, nothing could make me happier.
And yet, despite being happy, my heart felt incredibly heavy.
It was so heavy that my chest felt suffocatingly tight.
The dream I had longed for had finally come true, yet my heart was filled only with gravity.
“Haejoo, Seojoo. Dad is here, so don’t worry and get your heads down for now!”
My dad’s reassuring words instantly turned into a scream.
The moment his command to duck ended, a massive impact violently slammed into the van.
Vehicles pursuing us appeared from all directions, and in no time, the van was right on the verge of being surrounded by them.
“They caught up already. Damn it. I didn’t even get a chance to catch up properly yet,” Hyunwook swore under his breath, gripping his gun tightly.
“But who on earth is trying to kill Haejoo?”
“We don’t know yet. It’s not clear. Imperial Guard items did come off their bodies, but their physical movements don’t look like soldiers at all. I don’t see the unique movements characteristic of a trained soldier.”
My brother responded to Dad’s sharp question, and I lifted my head in utter shock at his answer.
“Brother! You’re saying those people don’t seem like soldiers?”
“Yeah. You can tell just by watching them. For starters, they aren’t military. They look like some highly trained group from a private organization. They don’t seem like gangsters either… soldiers and gangsters swing blades differently. That’s why this time, I’m going to sever a limb or two and drag one back alive. We need to find out who it is.”
Whether it was the instinct of a soldier who had trained for a long time, his voice and gaze were completely different from the brother I knew.
I felt I could faintly understand how he had overcome such brutal training to become the youngest brigadier general.
If that was the case, it meant this might not be an order carried out by Joo Minhyuk.
And I sincerely hoped that was the truth.
