* * *
Unable to touch him again, Han Kangwoo instead took off his coat and gently laid it over Seunghyun’s body.
It was a conscious gesture, aware of the foul pheromone lingering on the sheets.
Seunghyun buried himself in the coat.
He wasn’t in any state to refuse a kindness, even if he wanted to.
Soon after, when the security guards burst in and dragged off the intruders, their shouting made him grimace in discomfort.
This time, a large, warm hand cautiously covered Seunghyun’s ears.
“…”
Han Kangwoo met Seunghyun’s gaze, as if silently asking for permission.
When he saw the slight nod in response, he sat down gently in front of him.
With his body now blocking the view, the wrecked hospital room disappeared from sight.
Seunghyun held his breath, wondering if the pounding of his heart might be loud enough for Kangwoo to hear.
A quiet fury bubbled inside him—he had shown weakness in front of this man not once, but twice now.
How much time had passed?
Eventually, the chaos around them seemed to settle into quiet.
“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”
The hand covering his ears moved away, and before Seunghyun could react, his body was suddenly lifted off the bed.
Startled by the sudden change in perspective, Seunghyun looked down.
Strong arms were supporting him—one beneath his shoulders, the other beneath his knees.
“We’ve contacted your guardian at the hospital. They should be here soon. The room next door is empty—why don’t we wait there for now?”
Seunghyun’s legs, dangling in the air, swayed slightly with Kangwoo’s steps.
Despite his thin frame, Seunghyun was still over 180cm tall.
Yet Kangwoo carried him with complete stability, as if he weighed nothing at all.
Why is he going this far?
He swallowed the question before it could surface.
As far as Seunghyun knew, Han Kangwoo was outwardly polite and courteous, but he loathed getting involved in other people’s problems.
This unexpected kindness felt unfamiliar, and Seunghyun stayed silent.
Interpreting his silence differently, Kangwoo offered quiet reassurance.
“It’s okay. I’ll stay with you.”
Was he always this considerate?
No. Seunghyun rejected the thought firmly.
Kangwoo was not a gentleman overflowing with kindness.
In fact, the image of him back at that house—wild and unhinged—suited him far more.
And yet, if he reached far enough back in time… he could remember a version of Kangwoo who had been gentle.
“…”
He was too physically and mentally exhausted to dig any deeper into his doubts.
Letting his guard fall, Seunghyun rested his head quietly against Kangwoo’s chest.
His one and only friend.
The only person who ever came looking for him.
But at the same time…
He was also the one who had caused Seunghyun, who had been living a perfectly normal life, to present as an Alpha at the late age of twenty-six.
Thinking back, it had been like that from the very beginning.
From that moment on, Han Kangwoo had never left Seunghyun’s side for even a single second.
‘You’re going to stay by my side, right? You won’t leave me?’
‘…….’
‘Kangwoo….’
‘I won’t leave you.’
On the day of the elementary school entrance ceremony, when everyone else attended holding their parents’ hands, only two people were there alone.
Han Kangwoo, and….
‘Me.’
It hadn’t been long since his parents had passed away in a sudden accident.
Seunghyun had been left in the care of his grandmother, who had rushed up from the countryside.
His grandmother immediately started working as a housekeeper, and Seunghyun had to manage everything on his own.
The world around him remained the same, but for some reason, everything felt foreign.
Seunghyun bravely checked his class assignment, greeted his homeroom teacher, folded the newsletters in half to put them in his bag, and sang along loudly to the school song he was hearing for the first time.
When the ceremony ended, Seunghyun looked around the wide auditorium for his friends.
Having been raised with love, Seunghyun had a kind personality and many friends.
However, as soon as they shared a brief greeting, his friends were led away by their parents’ hands.
Watching that scene blankly, Seunghyun was left alone.
As the noisy auditorium gradually grew quiet, a teacher he met for the first time today knelt down to his eye level and asked if she should help him get home.
Thinking back now, it seemed the teacher knew about his situation.
Just as he was about to nod while fighting back tears,
‘Joo Seunghyun.’
Someone called Seunghyun from behind.
‘Go with me.’
‘……Huh?’
‘I said, let’s go home together.’
It was a blunt tone and a cold expression.
‘Han Kangwoo?’
It was a face Seunghyun knew well.
They had run into each other a few times in kindergarten, but they had never exchanged words.
Han Kangwoo frowned when his name was called, then turned around and walked out of the auditorium without a moment’s hesitation.
It was as if saying it twice was enough.
Terrified that he might leave first, Seunghyun hurriedly told the teacher he could go with Kangwoo and rushed after him.
‘Kangwoo, wait for me! I want to go with you!’
He flinched; his steps faltered and then stopped.
Without looking back, Kangwoo stood still and waited for Seunghyun.
Seunghyun soon caught up and grabbed Kangwoo’s hand.
Like that, as if by a promise, the two children began to spend every day together.
Even at a young age, he knew how to distinguish between what should be said and what shouldn’t.
He also instinctively knew that begging for love was something that could make people grow tired of you.
But sometimes, young Seunghyun could not suppress the rising impulses.
One day, while walking home together as usual, Seunghyun abruptly asked Kangwoo.
‘You’re going to stay by my side, right? You won’t leave me?’
‘…….’
He grew increasingly anxious at the lack of an answer.
Kangwoo still didn’t let go of the hand he held, but he just walked forward without even glancing toward Seunghyun.
His anxiety reached its peak, and eventually, Seunghyun stopped in his tracks and pulled Kangwoo’s hand.
He gathered his courage and called his name softly.
‘Kangwoo….’
‘I won’t leave you.’
Though they had stopped together, he still didn’t look back.
Seunghyun pulled his hand a little more.
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. Really.’
He was curious about the expression he made while saying those words.
Seunghyun took two big steps to stand in front of him.
When he thrust his face forward, Kangwoo avoided his gaze and lowered his head.
It was a long time before Kangwoo showed his face to Seunghyun again.
And Seunghyun’s eyes widened.
Kangwoo had smiled with a heavily distorted face.
It was the first time he had smiled in front of Seunghyun.
Kangwoo’s lips twitched, and he whispered softly as he let out a breath.
‘Because you won’t leave me either.’
At the time, he didn’t know why the one comforting him looked more satisfied than Seunghyun, who had been anxious about him leaving, but….
‘Kangwoo won’t leave me.’
His strange obsession gave Seunghyun a sort of satisfaction.
It was only after several years had passed that he sensed something was wrong.
At first, he didn’t think much of it, believing that childhood stubbornness had simply hardened into a habit.
The kind of thing where children easily promise to “stay by your side forever.”
Since Seunghyun was also longing for something that couldn’t be filled, he was inwardly happy about it.
However, as the days went by, the severity of Kangwoo’s obsession intensified.
Later on, even if Seunghyun just exchanged a passing greeting with someone else, Kangwoo would corner and interrogate him.
‘Joo Seunghyun. Who was that just now?’
* * *
