* * *

Jinwoo recalled the day Woohee first came to the house.

After his birth mother left with a bag of money, Woohee had wiped his tears roughly with his small fists, like a little steamed dumpling.

Jinwoo had lifted him with some difficulty and brought him to his own room, deciding it was where Woohee should stay.

Carrying him, however awkwardly, didn’t feel like a burden at all.

Once inside Jinwoo’s room, Woohee stopped crying.

His already large eyes grew wider as he flapped his hands in awe.

“Wow. Wow. Wow. This is like a prince’s room.”

“Do you like it here?”

“Yeah.”

“Kiddo, you’re not supposed to speak informally to me. Didn’t you learn honorifics in kindergarten?”

Looking sullen, Woohee drew out his reply.

“Yes…”

“From now on, you’re my little brother. You can stay in my room. Try lying down here.”

Jinwoo climbed onto the bed first and gestured for Woohee to follow.

Woohee quickly climbed up and bounced on the bed like it was his first time using one, giggling with joy.

“Hyung, it feels like I’m on a cloud!”

“You like it? Then you can sleep here with me from now on. Does the bed feel nice?”

“Heehee. Yes.”

Jinwoo tucked Woohee into the blanket, wrapping him snugly like a cocoon.

Woohee, with his arms and legs restrained, whined in discomfort.

Jinwoo laughed and hugged the bundle tightly, hearing for the first time a childlike laugh that matched his age.

It felt like he had taken a potent sedative—his mind was hazy, and he felt as if he were floating in the sky.

No swing could ever make him feel this good.

Throughout the day, he imagined Woohee in his room, soaking in happiness.

The thought of hiding Woohee in the blanket to take him out whenever he wanted filled him with giddy excitement.

However, that evening, Chairman Yeo came to take Woohee.

“Woohee, it’s time to sleep in your room now.”

“Do I have a room too?”

Hearing that he had a room, Woohee peeked his head out from the blanket, curious.

“Of course. Daddy prepared a wonderful room just for you. Stop bothering your brother and go to your room now.”

Chairman Yeo unraveled the blanket binding Woohee and reached out to take his hand, but Jinwoo blocked the way.

“Woohee is going to sleep with me.”

“Jinwoo, what are you doing?”

“He’s mine. Why are you trying to take him away?”

Chairman Yeo shook his head in frustration, as though dealing with a headache.

“No matter how much you like your younger sibling, this isn’t appropriate. Save that kind of behavior for when you meet an Omega you fall for.”

Yeo Jinwoo slapped away the hands holding Woohee and broke their grasp.

Chairman Yeo’s eyebrows shot up in anger.

“How dare you do this to your father! Yeo Jinwoo, what’s gotten into you? You’ve never acted like this before. Do you want to be punished?”

“I said Woohee is mine! He’s mine! Mine!”

Yeo Jinwoo yelled like a madman.

His cold, indifferent demeanor—untouched by attachment—had shattered.

Chairman Yeo was caught off guard by his son’s unprecedented behavior.

Meanwhile, Yeo Woohee crouched down, clutching his head with his hands, sobbing.

Fueled by his unresolved frustration, Yeo Jinwoo breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling.

He slid his hands under the small boy’s armpits, lifting him up, and carried him back to the bed with considerable effort.

Chairman Yeo massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on from his son’s irrational actions.

Yeo Jinwoo meticulously wrapped Yeo Woohee in the blanket again, tighter than before.

He glared at Chairman Yeo with fierce, protective eyes, like a wildcat guarding its cub.

Forced to back down, Chairman Yeo retreated, but he couldn’t leave Woohee locked up in Jinwoo’s room forever.

The problem was that the tightly wrapped child cried no matter what Jinwoo tried.

He sobbed when given toys, and he wailed when Jinwoo tried to feed him.

Even gentle pats on his back failed to soothe him.

With no other choice, he let Woohee stay in his room.

Despite claiming he liked his bed, Woohee clearly preferred his own.

The thought crossed his mind: one day, he’d get rid of the bed in Woohee’s room entirely.

Without it, Woohee would have no choice but to come into his room, asking to sleep together.

Until then, he resolved to visit Woohee’s room while he was asleep, just to watch the adorable way he made soft, sleepy noises.

But one night, when Woohee should have been in his bed, he was nowhere to be found.

He even crawled on the floor, worried the boy might have rolled off the bed.

He checked the wardrobe and the bathroom.

“Where did he go? Could he be so cute that a thief took him?”

He needed to alert Chairman Yeo immediately and demand the return of Woohee.

The thief who dared to steal his precious boy should be arrested and sentenced to death.

Once he got Woohee back, he’d ensure no one could ever take him again—by keeping him in a small box to admire in secret.

Knowing the chairman usually ate dinner at this hour, he rushed to the elevator and descended to the first floor.

“What is this?”

To his shock, Woohee was sitting on Chairman Yeo’s lap.

Hot lava erupted within him.

Rational thought ceased; the only thing left in his mind was to grab the knife Chairman Yeo held for cutting steak and stab it into his stomach.

Seething with murderous intent for the “other alpha” who had dared to take his Woohee, he approached.

No one could comprehend the heartbreak he felt when he found Woohee missing from his room earlier.

That the “other alpha” was his father didn’t even register in his mind.

Woohee, chewing his food with puffed cheeks, looked up at him with wide eyes.

Jinwoo’s gaze shifted to the spare knife on the table.

He imagined dragging Woohee off the chairman’s lap and plunging the knife into his father’s stomach.

Perfect. His hand reached for the knife.

Startled by Jinwoo’s expression, Woohee climbed down from Chairman Yeo’s lap and bolted from the dining room.

The reason to kill the chairman disappeared.

Jinwoo calmly set the knife back down.

As an alpha himself, Chairman Yeo instinctively realized his son had just been moments away from killing him.

Why?

He couldn’t comprehend what had driven Jinwoo to this point.

Had he lost his mind?

Ever since Woohee had entered their home, Jinwoo had changed.

He’d lie awake at night, fretting that Woohee might not return from preschool the next day.

He carried around toys he’d previously ignored, using them like bait.

A chilling realization struck Chairman Yeo.

Surely not.

Jinwoo was only ten years old.

But he was a dominant alpha.

If he had imprinted on Woohee as his omega, it was a disaster.

Seeing Jinwoo glaring at him with murderous intent, Chairman Yeo’s heart sank.

“Jinwoo, I’m your father.”

“So what?”

“Woohee is your younger brother.”

“That’s right! My brother! So why is he on your lap? Why? He’s my brother, so why do you have him on your lap?”

Jinwoo’s fury was so intense it seemed he might grab the knife again.

If someone replaced the word “brother” with “omega,” his outburst could easily be mistaken for an enraged alpha catching a mate-stealer.

Chairman Yeo denied the possibility.

Woohee hadn’t even manifested as an omega yet.

There were no pheromones to indicate it.

So why had Jinwoo changed?

Why did he perceive Woohee as his omega?

* * *