* * *

The familiar figure crossing the street at the crosswalk—it was unmistakably him.

Underneath a black umbrella, moving with deliberate steps, it was his own body.

Unconsciously, Jungin’s hand tightened on the car door handle.

“I need to meet him.”

Jungin’s mind went blank, focused solely on the thought that he had to catch him.

“What are you doing!”

Beomhyeon’s panicked voice cut through as he grabbed Jungin’s hands, preventing him from stepping out of the car.

His eyes took in Jungin’s dazed, almost vacant expression.

“Lee Jungin.”

“…”

“Jungin!”

As Beomhyeon cupped Jungin’s face with both hands, Jungin released the tension in his body.

“No… I can’t let it end like this…”

Jungin, who had promised to visit soon, hadn’t reached out for reasons unknown.

If Jungin left now, who knew when they’d meet again?

A part of him feared that meeting Jungin in this state would undo everything—that their time together would be their last, that it would all slip away.

“I just… thought I saw someone I knew.”

Pulling Beomhyeon into a trembling embrace, Jungin buried his face into his chest, his hands clutching at him tightly.

---

“Director.”

Jungjin handed over a stack of documents detailing suspected tax evasion through art transactions to Secretary Kim.

“Send these to Prosecutor Choi’s office.”

Prosecutor Choi was known as the Grim Reaper of corporate corruption, targeting the rich and powerful.

With a promotion to branch chief on the horizon, there was no way he’d pass up such a tempting target as the Hyun Group.

“This will likely impact the stock prices. Are you sure about this?”

“Director Kim.”

“Yes, Director?”

Director Kim was Jungjin’s junior from university and had worked closely with him for years, fully aware of his family’s complicated dynamics.

This allowed Jungjin to speak openly with him.

“If I don’t sever my mother’s grip completely, this time, it’ll truly be the end for Jungin.”

“…”

“Marriage? Even if I were to marry Yoo Hyemin, my mother isn’t someone who would let go of Jungin so easily. Right now, she’s restrained because of Ki Beomhyeon, but she’s always looking for cracks to exploit. The moment she finds one, she’ll hurt him.”

Even after orchestrating a car accident, Jungin’s mother had relentlessly planted her people near him, forcing Jungjin to continuously remove them.

“Don’t you think so too?”

“…”

Director Kim remained silent, prompting Jungjin to smirk bitterly as he lit a cigarette.

Acrid smoke filled his lungs.

‘What has Jungin done to deserve this?’

Jungjin ground his teeth at his mother’s warped sense of justice—her attempts to vent her betrayal by her husband and beloved younger son onto Jungin, an innocent child.

“We need to act quickly. Are the entertainment-related articles being suppressed?”

“Yes, there’s no need to worry about that front.”

“Good.”

Jungjin had no intention of going through with the marriage his mother had proposed in exchange for granting him independence.

His meetings with the pharmaceutical heiress from Seonah were merely a façade to plan business projects together while avoiding his mother’s gaze.

With the Hyun Group involved, any rumors about their marriage would likely boost stock prices for both sides, creating a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Besides, Yoo Hyemin already had her own secret—a relationship with an Omega lover that Jungjin had discovered by chance at a club.

Using that knowledge, he accepted his mother’s proposal, all the while gathering evidence to expose everything.

The call from Yoo Hyemin a few days ago had confirmed that time was running out, prompting Jungjin to take the calculated risk of unleashing the evidence he had compiled.

“I’ll coordinate with Prosecutor Choi to conduct a search and seizure within the month. What about Chairman Lee?”

“What about him? He’ll go down with my mother. Check his ghost accounts. A man that greedy is bound to have left some kind of trail.”

Crushing his cigarette in the ashtray, Jungjin raised a single eyebrow as he thought of his father’s declining judgment in recent years.

It was a habit that surfaced whenever he was displeased.

The only thing Chairman Lee had ever done right was fathering Jungin.

He had long since failed as the head of the group.

Jungjin recalled the sight of his father in his office, entangled with a young male Omega, and turned off the screen with a grimace.

“It’s about time he stepped down.”

“Understood.”

“Good. It’s almost time for Jungin to finish school. Let’s wrap this up, Secretary Kim.”

Jungin, who was diligently studying to get into a prestigious university, tugged at Jungjin’s heart every time he struggled to wake up in the mornings due to his chronic fatigue.

“Contact Chae Gumhyeon and have him prepare a tonic for Jungin.”

“Because of the medication he’s currently taking, we’ll need to do another health assessment.”

Ah. Jungjin hadn’t considered that.

The medication Jungin was on contained compounds that regulated his Omega traits.

“We’re already going to the hospital today. Let’s schedule some time with Dr. Choi. Free up my evening by 8 p.m.”

“Understood.”

The sound of rustling papers filled Jungjin’s office as he methodically worked through his tasks with unsettling efficiency.

---

Since the moment Jungin spotted what seemed to be his own body wandering around, he had been in a daze.

Unfortunately, it resulted in a severe stomachache from the food he had eaten earlier that morning.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“A little…”

“You must be feeling unwell. You’ve already taken some medicine, so it’s best to lie down and keep your stomach warm for now.”

Jungin, who had endured the discomfort until lunchtime to avoid being a burden, looked up at Beomhyeon standing next to him with a worried expression.

“I’m fine… Just go ahead.”

Beomhyeon hadn’t eaten lunch yet because he had been too busy looking after Jungin, who had rushed to the restroom the moment he grabbed his tray.

Worried that lunch would end without Beomhyeon eating, Jungin lightly tapped his arm and repeated himself.

“Hurry…”

“I think I’m starting to feel sick too.”

A dominant Alpha getting indigestion was unheard of.

The school nurse smiled quietly as she commented.

“It seems he just wants to stay with you.”

“He’s not my friend—he’s my fiancé. I’m Jungin’s guardian.”

Though the term “fiancé” didn’t carry legal weight, it symbolized a bond recognized by their families.

Noticing the diamond rings on both their fingers, the nurse gave an awkward smile before speaking.

“Even so, he’ll need to leave before the fifth period starts.”

“Understood.”

Beomhyeon, ever polite, answered quickly.

Gently lifting Jungin in his arms, he placed him on the infirmary bed and carefully tucked him in.

“I’ll close the door, so rest well.”

The teacher left the infirmary, leaving a quick “take care” to Beomhyeon, who bowed his head in acknowledgment.

As the sound of the door locking echoed, Beomhyeon turned back, his gaze trembling slightly.

Jungin lay on the bed, looking drained as he blankly stared at the ceiling.

Something about his fragile state, as if he might fade away at any moment, sent Beomhyeon into a panic.

He instinctively reached out.

“Jungin.”

At the sound of his voice, soft brown eyes shifted toward him.

Seeing Jungin’s face focus on him, Beomhyeon clenched his fist slightly in relief.

* * *