Leo raised his hand and slowly stroked his chin. If that child was Hyedam, this self in the memory was five years old. He gave him a four-leaf clover, pestered the flustered child, even hooked fingers and promised. To get married when they grew up.
And from that day, he became a perfect beta.
Leo showed alpha traits before he was born, but the test after birth showed beta. Only Komom and Daddy knew his pheromone scent, but they said they didn’t do any special tests.
Whether Golden Alpha or Hidden Alpha, they weren’t people who clung to medical definitions. Though he’d never officially revealed his trait, people knew through rough estimation that he was an alpha. Neither the family nor himself ever uttered a single word about that part.
Because traits weren’t a big problem in living.
Knowing his parents’ pheromones and his parents knowing his pheromones was like a small secret among family. When playing hide and seek, he was always caught because of pheromones, so he earnestly learned how to hide them too.
Then, on the day his great-great-grandmother passed away and they returned from the tree burial, his pheromones suddenly completely disappeared. He also couldn’t smell his parents’ pheromones.
How could I forget this?
When he thought of Hyedam, the first thing that came to mind was his pheromone scent. What led him in childhood was also his pheromones, and when he met him having lost his memory, the first thing he felt was also his pheromones.
Even in the recent reunion….
Releasing the strength from his clenched teeth, Leo sighed. Even trying to calm himself by sweeping back his hair and clenching and unclenching his fist, he couldn’t easily control his raw emotions.
Hyedam he met at five years old.
Himself who was an alpha and him who was an omega.
Though he’d say he was a child who knew nothing, but what if he had blindfolded him? If he had done that thing that couldn’t be explained medically.
Hyedam was an omega but would have lived with his trait hidden as a beta. Until he met him again and that blind was naturally undone.
There were too many things he’d done arbitrarily. Though not certain, his five-year-old self completely changed his life by blindfolding him. His twenty-year-old self met him, received a lot of help, and left without a word.
He really didn’t intend to do that.
Situations that hadn’t connected properly because too many pieces were missing came to mind simultaneously, creating one perfect memory.
That day, he was so fulfilled just by the loveliness of the person standing by his side that he wished this time would be eternal. He wanted so much to grab the back of Hyedam who left him behind saying he was going to the supermarket.
The moment Robert got out of the black car that stood in front of him as if blocking Hyedam across the street and stood before him, he forgot everything. All the time spent with him.
How could he have forgotten all of that?
What must Hyedam’s feelings have been, having to stay by his side forcibly held back? What thoughts did he have while being swayed by him arbitrarily?
The fingertips holding the empty box turned white, and red veins bulged up prominently. Going to find him after filling 45 days? Was it okay to bring him and keep him by his side?
Naturally, the thought of finding him and keeping him by his side shattered to pieces.
“Yes.”
Feeling like his head would burst from his runaway thoughts, when the bell rang noisily on top of that, Leo, whose soul seemed to leave him, answered the phone without even checking who it was.
— Can you talk now?
“…Why.”
After confirming Luna’s cheerful voice, he reluctantly answered.
— Please get some vin chaud. I’m going to send it together when I send things tomorrow.
“…He wants it?”
— When would Hyedam-ssi say such a thing? I’m taking care of it and sending it on my own. But are you really going to let Hyedam-ssi stay there alone?
“It’s vacation.”
Feeling like crying, Leo rubbed his face with one hand. At first, he thought he’d purely gone on vacation. Even though vacation ended and he didn’t return, he didn’t worry much since he knew where he was anyway.
“If you’re not busy, bring the vin chaud today. I’ll be working in the office until late.”
At the call that hung up before he could even answer, Leo moistened his dry lips with the tip of his tongue. He needed time to think. It wasn’t too late to think enough and move accordingly. At least the bird hadn’t left the birdcage he’d made.
“You’re the only one who tells the owner to come and go as you please.”
Leo, who entered Luna’s office, set down the vin chaud he’d brought on the table and headed straight to the bar on one side. As if using the simple bar in his own house or office, Leo, who took out vintage wine from the wine refrigerator, immediately opened the wine first.
“Hey! You know what that is….”
“You should have stocked some liquor then.”
“I’m going to bill it to you, so know that.”
Leo, who filled the wine glass to the brim, went to the window and looked outside. Though it was late at night, the city was still moving busily. Brilliant lights and cars moving according to signals. Even the people coming and going, everyone was living their own lives diligently.
“Is something wrong?”
Leo, who didn’t have the capacity to answer Luna’s words one by one, emptied the wine in one gulp and filled the glass again.
“Hyedam-ssi said he’ll come out around next weekend.”
“Since when did you freely hand over information about your clients to third parties?”
“Hey! What are you saying? It’s not someone else, I’m telling you because it’s about Hyedam-ssi.”
“What do you want me to do when he took vacation saying he wanted to rest and doesn’t come back? Go right now and drag him back?”
Normally he would have told him to prepare accordingly for when he returned, but from Leo’s mouth, bound all over in a net tangled in a mess with no way to untangle it, sharp words popped out.
“You really don’t know.”
“What don’t I know? I’m in the middle of finding the answer on my own now, so don’t cross the line. If there’s anything needed from now on, I’ll send it through Robert, so don’t contact me and tell me to come and go like today.”
Leo, who gulped down the blood-red wine, set the glass down on the table beside him and headed for the door.
“Leo Lewis. If you’re in your right mind, if you’re a bastard with even a little sincerity, you need to take the private jet to the uninhabited island right now. Go and kneel and bow your head first. Even if Hyedam-ssi says harsh things and casts you out, you have to do that. And even if in the end Hyedam-ssi doesn’t forgive you, understand. Because you’re a bastard who deserves that treatment.”
Leo fully received the countless curses pouring onto his back.
“I don’t know exactly what happened between you two, but even if it’s something unrelated to you, a pregnant person staying alone on an uninhabited island isn’t a normal situation. Do you know how unstable the early stages are, not even the stable period? Morning sickness, dizziness, and even emotional ups and downs aren’t easy to handle alone. When Hyedam-ssi returns and submits his resignation….”
“…What?”
Leo, who was about to pass by without focusing on her words, cut off her words at the array of unfamiliar terms. A pregnant person? What are morning sickness and dizziness, and the word resignation were things he’d never thought about even once.
“…No matter how dull and stupid you are, really. You were the person right next to him. But you didn’t know? Even I, who only saw him occasionally, noticed? Yeah. Even I couldn’t have said anything. What would you say to someone who doesn’t even look at children and is sick of them? Don’t tell me…. You didn’t prevent Hyedam-ssi from even bringing up the topic of a child, did you?”
Facing Luna, who laughed as if absurd and dejected with an expression of disbelief, Leo couldn’t say any words. Come to think of it, Hyedam had brought up topics related to children a few times. Once it seemed like he said an employee who worked with Leo had a baby, and when with Luna, while looking at photos of Luna’s child….
[By any chance. If you had a child….]
[That’s why I’m being careful.]
Leo slumped into the chair beside him from the pain of feeling like his throbbing head would burst.
It’s not that he disliked having a child with Hyedam. Literally, he just needed Hyedam. If he really wanted a child…. That would be later after completely sharing hearts with each other, and when the ring he ordered from Luna was completed, properly propose, so there’s an order to things….
He’d learned too many things in a short time. He was garbage that couldn’t be sorted for recycling, of no help at all.
“…Is Hyedam okay?”
“He always says he’s okay. Though he didn’t tell you, there was morning sickness relief medicine in the list of items sent, and every time we talk his voice is good. Even the housekeepers who go in to clean every three days while Hyedam-ssi is asleep say he seems to be eating well and doing fine.”
Luna’s voice, which had been attacking Leo full of sharpness until just now, had settled down a lot.
“I don’t want to get involved in other people’s business either, in yours. Yes, I admit it. It’s my meddling. But you’re even thinking about marriage, and Hyedam-ssi…. Looking at your reaction now, he made that decision by choosing the child, not you. Please have a proper conversation between the two of you. This is something that can all be resolved with just a little heart-to-heart talk.”
“While kneeling with my head bowed?”
At Leo’s muttering after washing his face dry, Luna answered, “That position seems like it would suit you perfectly.”
During a work-related call, when Hyedam brought up wanting to spend about a week on the uninhabited island he mentioned before, he didn’t know things were tangled like this. But now after a month, since there was no one to solve it if not her, Luna, who took charge, looked at Leo clutching his head and went into her office, then came out holding a paper bag.
“Your ordered ring came out. Take this and go, whether it becomes porridge or rice, do something. But do you know Hyedam-ssi’s changed phone number?”
“…I do know it.”
Luna clicked her tongue looking at her friend who had been perpetually single despite having perfect looks and an even more perfect body. Just owner, good. Good. Loyal to whatever the owner says. I’ll do as told, what’s the difference between this guy and a large dog that just follows the owner? What good is being good at work and smart when his sense is at Andromeda level?
As Leo’s figure leaving her office with the paper bag completely disappeared, Luna picked up the wine bottle Leo had opened. Let’s drink wine. It’s not like she could resell opened wine anyway. Luna, who filled the wine glass to the brim, went and stood by the window where Leo had been standing a moment ago.
Within a few days, what should she prepare for Hyedam who would return? It seemed good to make an appropriate list in advance.
