“You! You guys, Seo Jiwoo! Lee Hyeonseok!”
In the meantime, Cheon Jaekyung, who had somehow discovered us, started striding toward us. Other people blocked his path and rushed at him urgently. However, Cheon Jaekyung, where on earth did such strength come from, wasn’t losing to them and was fighting back. Four researchers couldn’t beat one Cheon Jaekyung.
“You fucking bastards, I’ll kill you!”
“You seem to want to fall into the abyss, so I’ll do as you wish.”
“Hey! …Don’t do that.”
Even while struggling against them, Cheon Jaekyung’s gaze remained constantly on us. Lee Hyeonseok said in a cold voice, whether annoyed at Cheon Jaekyung attacking him or annoyed at this situation. It really seemed like he’d beat up Cheon Jaekyung. I grabbed Lee Hyeonseok’s arm and stopped him. Fortunately, Lee Hyeonseok didn’t shake off my hand and quietly looked down at me. I wanted to defend Cheon Jaekyung first because of guilt I didn’t need to have.
“His lineage was cut off, so how sad must he be? Still, since you’re the adult, endure it.”
“Seo Jiwoo, you vermin-like bastard. I’ll definitely pass you and your parents around to other bastards and make your life a gutter!”
“…Instead, you should do whatever you want, then.”
They say fight poison with poison.
When I let go of Lee Hyeonseok’s arm I was holding and gave him the go sign, Lee Hyeonseok didn’t hesitate and strode toward Cheon Jaekyung.
“Ah, CEO! I’m sorry. We’ll resolve this quickly. Please go inside.”
The research team leader, who had gone out one step ahead of us and was watching the situation from the middle, stopped Lee Hyeonseok, but he didn’t even pretend to listen.
“C-CEO!”
“Where do you think you’re going! I’ll kill you!”
In the middle of the murmuring commotion, Lee Hyeonseok and Cheon Jaekyung stared at each other. The researchers didn’t know what to do, and I too stood awkwardly in place, busy watching the situation. Then when I raised my head at a faint mint scent felt from somewhere, Lee Hyeonseok simultaneously frowned and looked at me. Probably meaning to get lost, he soon looked at the room we’d come out of. The research team leader also seemed to notice this and approached me to speak.
“Jiwoo-ssi.”
“I’ll stay inside. I have no hobby of watching rough things.”
“Yes, I’d appreciate it if you would.”
Though it was intriguing, since Lee Hyeonseok had stepped forward, the atmosphere would clearly become menacing. I had no hobby of enjoying a situation that would be unfortunate for someone. That said, to stop them again, Cheon Jaekyung wasn’t in a friendly relationship with me, and I didn’t care at all what the two of them did fighting or squabbling outside my sight. I tried to slip away from this chaos and enter the room we’d come out of, but Cheon Jaekyung noticed the change with amazing timing and shouted.
“You vermin-like bastard! Where are you going, you come here too!”
“Uh uh…”
“Whose mood are you watching right now?”
When I hesitated and watched the situation at Cheon Jaekyung’s shout, Lee Hyeonseok frowned and spoke. Why am I watching his mood—when he’s acting like he’ll kill me like that, it would be strange not to watch. However I felt, Lee Hyeonseok acted as if he very much disliked me watching Cheon Jaekyung’s mood.
“…….”
Oh no, this is trouble. Even though I consistently ruminated that Lee Hyeonseok was a rotten bastard, right now the only one I was somewhat close to was me. I ended up thinking that the way he acted so annoyingly was rather childlike and slightly cute. It was like having one ferocious beast cub or one rotten kid follow me, and it felt not bad at all. The saying ‘affection from antagonism’ didn’t exist for nothing.
“What are you doing not going in?”
“I’m going in now.”
“Come here, you fucking bastards!”
When Lee Hyeonseok urged me to go in quickly, I obediently followed his words, but Cheon Jaekyung called me back. Unless I was crazy, there was no way I’d listen to Cheon Jaekyung.
“Why are you throwing a fit over someone else’s thing?”
“Ha! Did you become a loving relationship in the time we haven’t seen each other?”
‘I’m mine…’
Before the door closed, at the sound of the two exchanging words again, I thought that even though Lee Hyeonseok lacked in many ways like manners and character, a kid was still a kid. He’d become 24, no, 25 years old, but anyway, it was still a young age if you considered it young. Moreover, wasn’t he 20 now? Even though every word he uttered was rude, if I thought of him as cherishing me in his own way like a child holding their one and only toy in hand, it wasn’t like I couldn’t see him cutely. Or it could be that right now I was mentally weak, so just the fact that he cared about me made me view him favorably.
Actually, the latter was more plausible.
“I really need stability…”
When I go to the newly moved house, I should just do nothing for a while and stay dazed. Or get counseling. Anyway, right now I truly need stability. I was sighing while pressing my temples when Lee Hyeonseok came in.
“Let’s go home.”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Whether he’d resolved it quickly, Lee Hyeonseok seemed unaffected. I didn’t particularly want to think about how he resolved it, but I was curious why Cheon Jaekyung was so angry.
“What happened?”
“You, you’re in big trouble.”
“Huh?”
Lee Hyeonseok suddenly scared me out of nowhere. While flustered, I guessed whether Cheon Jaekyung was sharpening the blade of revenge toward me. Though I hadn’t lived looking up at the sky without a single shame, I hadn’t lived a life that would earn someone’s resentment. Even as a guess, it was almost a certainty—the only thing was making a rich family’s son a eunuch. When I scratched the back of my neck in difficulty, Lee Hyeonseok stroked the back of my neck vertically with his index finger.
“Huk! What!”
The moment goosebumps rose all over, I brushed off Lee Hyeonseok’s hand and created distance. Seeing me flustered yet not letting down my guard, Lee Hyeonseok laughed saying it was good. As expected, he’s not in his right mind… I should find the timing to suggest we go to a psychiatrist together.
“Cheon Jaekyung was determined to kill you.”
“It’s not that I don’t understand his heart…”
Lee Hyeonseok said it lightly, but the content was never light. Since Lee Hyeonseok said nothing, I wondered if Cheon Jaekyung had given up, but apparently not. If only Cheon Jaekyung hadn’t crossed the line first, it wouldn’t have turned out like this.
“I can handle it myself, but I don’t know if you can handle it well yourself.”
As I was sighing and worrying, Lee Hyeonseok spoke teasingly. My baseless confidence whispered that when it came down to it, I’d probably be able to handle it well, so when I looked at Lee Hyeonseok with exactly that kind of gaze, he closed his mouth. Lee Hyeonseok’s eyes somehow looked like they knew.
“Don’t be like that too much.”
“What?”
Embarrassed, I changed the subject. When I gently stopped Lee Hyeonseok’s full fighting spirit, he asked menacingly with a face that said he really didn’t like it. He seemed to very much dislike me caring about Cheon Jaekyung.
“Does it make sense to be genuinely pissed at a kid?”
Once I thought of him as a beast cub or kid and understood him as a bastard with a lot of possessiveness, I understood his thinking to some extent, so I spoke as if soothing him.
“Does entering into a book make sense?”
“They say reality is stranger than fiction.”
Then Lee Hyeonseok burst into a hollow laugh and spoke sarcastically. It seemed his mood was already hurt. Instead of getting angry, I went along with it emptily.
“And you made him a eunuch with a sound mind because you weren’t pissed?”
“Me not making Cheon Jaekyung a eunuch would be not being sound.”
At my stubborn appearance, Lee Hyeonseok spoke sarcastically once more. I was going to just let this pass appropriately too, but I thought it was about time to cut off Lee Hyeonseok constantly treating me like a strange bastard, so I responded seriously. Perhaps Lee Hyeonseok liked this me, he relaxed his sneering expression.
“I suppose so.”
Where on earth did he relax, why did he relax? He was a fucking bastard I knew yet didn’t know.
“Think of it as convalescing for a while.”
“I should… It would be nice if that Cheon Jaekyung kid could also think it’s his own doing and let it go a little.”
Lee Hyeonseok jerked his chin saying let’s go now and took a step. I obediently agreed to those words and slowly followed behind him while muttering.
“Not only did he become a eunuch, he became an omega, so how could that be?”
“?”
Omega? What omega? Who became an omega? That omega I know? Wait, what did I just hear?
“What? No, what?”
Following Lee Hyeonseok, I stopped in place at his bombshell statement and asked back several times with a stupid face.
“Cheon Jaekyung became an omega. He was originally a bastard who would manifest as an alpha, but after you made him a eunuch, he became an omega.”
“Uh… oh… um…”
Not only did Lee Hyeonseok speak as if nailing it down, he calmly stated even the cause and original result. It seemed the faint mint scent was Cheon Jaekyung’s pheromone scent. They said pheromone scents are all different for each person, and it was true. Omega. He became an omega. I wandered for a long time without being able to find words. My eyes also couldn’t find their way and swam here and there, then I finally covered my mouth with my palm and glanced up at Lee Hyeonseok. He was watching me as if expecting my words, but I still couldn’t think of what to say.
“…I’m fucked?”
“You’re fucked.”
Lee Hyeonseok easily affirmed the impression I barely uttered. Should I write a will in advance?
“Do you feel like staying in my good graces now?”
“Did I say that from the moment we first met, I’ve always only had the heart to stay in your good graces?”
“…….”
Lee Hyeonseok probably intended to enjoy and tease my flustered appearance, but I instead came out with a shameless yet servile attitude. My appearance was like the very flattery he’d been talking about recently. Lee Hyeonseok had no words, as if he hadn’t thought I’d come out like this or had lost his words. Since I’d already laid down the iron plate on my face, I decided to lay down a bit more.
“I said I’d do well. So you’ll take good care of my parents, right?”
I made finger hearts with both hands and shyly yet confidently pleaded. This too wouldn’t be strange even if called aegyo that he’d been talking about recently, but I had no shame. My life was about to be screwed and as someone in the position of asking, there was no time to find shame.
“…I must be crazy.”
I was prepared to earn a curse or two from Lee Hyeonseok, but unexpectedly he didn’t respond at all, then muttered something obvious and took a step. Instead of telling him ‘you’re only realizing that now?’, I obediently followed behind him. Seeing how there was no response to my words, it seemed to be a silent acceptance. Wow, this works.
