* * *
“What the! Kang Hyunwook, what happened to your face? You’ve completely wasted away!”
I hadn’t seen Hyunwook since the Han Heeseong incident.
Joo Minhyuk had taken him away for “disciplinary action” and wouldn’t even let me ask how he was doing.
On top of that, Joo Minhyuk’s rut and my heat had overlapped, causing several days to pass.
Hyunwook finally came by today for the first time in ages, but he looked so haggard that I dropped the cat plushie I was holding in shock.
Tossing the doll aside, I was too busy fussing over his face.
“Hey, look at you. Did someone hit you?”
“No! Who would hit me? It’s absolutely nothing like that. I just sneaked away to see you because I thought you’d be worried.”
Instead of just asking, I felt like I needed to check for myself.
There was no way he’d admit it if he’d been hit.
I didn’t know what kind of punishment could make someone lose half their body weight like this.
Did they make him go on a forced march or something?
I slapped away Hyunwook’s protesting arms and lifted his shirt to check his back, stomach, and legs.
Seeing no bruises or wounds, it didn’t look like he’d been beaten… but maybe they starved him or deprived him of sleep.
I’d heard of punishments like that in the past, though I didn’t know if they still did them.
“I’m fine, Palace Master. If we get caught like this, people will seriously misunderstand! Put my clothes down!”
“What kind of discipline is it? Did they keep you awake and starve you? Did they hit you? Huh? I’m sorry I couldn’t help. I’ll talk to His Majesty…”
“Hit me? Who would hit me? Don’t say such dangerous things! I’m really fine. I am being disciplined, but it’s just hard because it’s work I’ve never done before. Being an Emperor, I mean… I realized not just anyone can do that. Why on earth are people so desperate to do that exhausting job? There’s a crazy amount of work! Not just a lot, but insanely, maddeningly a lot!”
Hyunwook, let out a scream-like groan, claiming that being an Emperor was not a job for a human, then clutched his hair and collapsed onto the sofa.
“His Majesty is truly amazing. I totally respect him. He’s a genius. How does he do all that? And that’s probably only part of the job, right? It’s surprising he even has time to sleep.”
“…What are you talking about? Why is His Majesty suddenly a genius? What does that have to do with you?”
“Me… when His Majesty gives me documents, I write up papers next to him. I’m not great with computers, so I’m sweating buckets all day just typing. I have to do it like a madman just to barely finish on time.”
“What? Why are you doing that? If they’re documents for His Majesty, aren’t they state secrets?”
“Of course, I don’t touch the ones that can’t be leaked. It’s just… other things. It’s complicated to explain. Anyway, I feel like I’m dying just hitting the keyboard, doing Excel, and organizing documents by version for His Majesty. It’s so hard. It’s a truly intellectual punishment.”
His “I’m about to die” expression was so pitiful it hurt to watch.
Was he going crazy trying to read text after a lifetime of physical work?
He used to be a good student back in the day, though…
They say you have to be smart to get into the Imperial Martial Arts Academy, but I guess this is a different kind of work.
“You’ve been through a lot. Still, you used to live with a computer back then.”
“It’s not even close to that level. You have to type so fast. The ancestors who wrote this stuff by hand were incredible. I have to type at a crazy speed. Since it’s a job His Majesty assigned, there’s no ‘I can’t do it.’ I just have to do it all.”
Joo Minhyuk is certainly punishing him properly.
Being stuck with the Emperor all day instead of just any superior must be harrowing.
If I had known my personal bodyguard position would be this heavy, I wouldn’t have chosen Hyunwook.
I’m truly sorry.
“Then, did he tell you not to come to me either?”
I cautiously asked how long the discipline would last.
Even though I was curious, I’d had to hold it in because I couldn’t even bring up Hyunwook’s name around Minhyuk.
“He said just for the time being. He looks incredibly cold, but he actually has a bit of a heart. He said he’d let me go after working me a little. And I do have break times. I’ll come by for a bit whenever I can, and tell you how Seojoo is doing.”
Ah, so it’s just for a while.
I wondered if Joo Minhyuk had a soft side to his personality, and it seems he just intends to use him for labor before sending him back.
That’s a relief.
By the way, our Seojoo.
Lately, I’d been so busy discovering a new world with my husband that I’d briefly forgotten about my brother.
Is he doing okay?
“Is Seojoo doing well? Is he still coming to exercise? I miss him, but right now I can’t even bring up the idea of going out.”
“Let’s stay quiet for a while. Or just endure it until I come back again. I’ll take some photos for you. Seojoo was doing fine, but he caught a cold a few days ago, so he hasn’t been able to come to exercise.”
“What? Why? Alphas don’t get sick easily. Why is he sick?”
The news of Seojoo being sick snapped me to attention.
Seojoo is sick.
To me, those words are like trauma.
I was so happy that he was an Alpha here, but a cold?
Alphas hardly ever catch colds, so I was worried about why he was ill.
I’m truly sick and tired of Seojoo being in pain.
“Alphas are people too. They all get sick once in a while. And they suffer through it pretty intensely. My older brothers are Alphas, and once they caught the flu—wow, you wouldn’t believe how much they struggled.”
“…I’d rather it be you who’s sick. Since things are like this, you should have just caught the cold from him!”
“Wow, look at what this guy is saying… That’s freaking hurtful. His stamina is way better than mine! He said this is his first time catching a cold since he’s an Alpha! It already kills me that my soft little brother became an Alpha, but for a friend to be so heartless…”
“Hey! It’s not that, it’s just that if you were sick, His Majesty might go easy on the punishment. I try to look out for you and you just talk crap. But why are you upset that Seojoo became an Alpha? I like it. Since he’s an Alpha, our Seojoo is healthy, and Alphas are treated well here in many ways.”
I didn’t understand why he would suddenly say such a thing after always feeling pained seeing the frail, sickly Seojoo.
Hyunwook stared at me for a moment, and his gaze lingered on my neck.
Feeling awkward under his intense stare, I touched my neck and looked back at him.
“What? What are you looking at?”
“…Seojoo will look for an Omega too, right?”
“What?”
“Seojoo is an Alpha, so naturally he’ll meet an Omega. Just like you and His Majesty. Because that’s as natural as destiny.”
Hyunwook looked so sad as he spoke those bitter words.
Realizing what he meant, I felt a pang of regret and fell silent in embarrassment.
In our last life, Seojoo died first so they couldn’t be together; in this life, the chances of them meeting are lower because Hyunwook is a Beta and Seojoo is an Alpha.
Alphas naturally seek out Omegas.
While there are Betas who date Alphas, most end with the Alpha leaving to find an Omega.
So even if the two of them felt the same way and met, the one who would ultimately get hurt would be the Beta, Hyunwook.
Just thinking about that made me feel frustrated.
“It can’t be helped. Seojoo doesn’t even remember me, so I’m happy just to have met him again. Now I don’t have to search for you or Seojoo anymore, and I don’t have to miss you vaguely. It’s a relief just knowing what environment he’s in and how he’s doing.”
“Hey, Kang Hyunwook…”
“To me, the fact that I can see you and Seojoo face-to-face like this is more meaningful. Let’s think about the other stuff slowly.”
My nose tingled.
I shouldn’t cry.
Seojoo, who doesn’t remember us.
Just thinking about that makes my chest tight; how must Hyunwook feel?
His heart must melt with longing every time he sees Seojoo.
It felt newly sorrowful that Seojoo didn’t remember us.
While I had only been thinking of myself.
“Don’t cry, man. I’ve got to go now. And don’t worry. His Majesty is nicer than you’d think. Well, not when he’s working, though. I’ll come by often during breaks. Don’t worry about what I said about Seojoo. I was just venting.”
Hyunwook stood up abruptly and waved his hand, leaving quickly before I could say another word.
I stood up as well, following him for a moment and watching his retreating back.
Then, I returned to the sofa.
Holding the face-down cat plushie in my arms, I lay on the sofa and closed my eyes for a moment.
What should I do about Seojoo?
I don’t think it’s necessarily good for Seojoo to remember me again.
But I can’t just do nothing when I think of Hyunwook.
Should I tell them it’s fine if he doesn’t remember me, and just let the two of them start over cleanly from the beginning?
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. There’s no guarantee Seojoo’s feelings will be the same as before. And what if only Hyunwook gets hurt… I don’t even know Joo Minhyuk’s heart right now, so there’s no way I can know the heart of a Seojoo who has no memories.”
I didn’t have a clue what the best way to handle this was.
Even though it was still bright daylight outside, the space where Minhyuk sat was pitch black.
If it weren’t for the light leaking from the phone on his large desk, it would be impossible to even tell that it was Minhyuk sitting there in the darkness.
And Minhyuk’s expression as he stared intensely at the phone was very stiff.
His hand was covering his mouth, and his eyes didn’t even blink.
Minhyuk’s hand moved toward the wireless earphone in his ear.
He placed the earphone on the desk as if throwing it, but his gaze still refused to leave the phone.
Currently, the screen of his phone was filled with a purple light, and only the sound of soft breathing could be heard through the earphone.
Haejoo, wearing a purple shirt, had fallen asleep on the sofa while hugging a cat plushie to his chest.
From the moment Haejoo was playing with the cat to the scene of Hyunwook coming and going, Minhyuk had seen and heard it all.
He sat quietly in that dark room for a long time.
* * *
NO WONDER HE HAD THE CAT REDONE..