#113
“You’re being cute. Do you really think I’m harassing you?”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
“My profession requires curiosity to succeed. But if it were just curiosity, I would have approached differently.”
Han Jeongwook took a step closer.
“It’s because you’re pretty, and I feel a sense of regret, that I keep talking to you and, as you said, being persistent. Though it hurts my pride.”
“…Stop it. It’s pointless.”
“You haven’t dated much, have you, Eunhong?”
“That’s because I avoid people like you.”
When Eunhong stepped back and sneered, Jeongwook burst into laughter again. Thinking his laugh was truly unpleasant, Eunhong frowned.
Jeongwook’s pheromones had been contained, with only lingering traces swirling in the air. If Jaeha knew about this, he would make a scene again. Eunhong frowned and lifted his arm to sniff at the pheromones that had soaked into his clothes. Jeongwook clutched his chest dramatically, pretending to be hurt.
Bang. An empty can that Jeongwook tossed hit the trash can with a loud noise. He stared blankly at Eunhong’s retreating figure, then suddenly called out in an exaggerated tone as if he’d just remembered something.
“Oh! Tell that hospitalized omega friend to make a decision quickly. If he waits any longer, he won’t be able to have the surgery.”
Surgery? Eunhong stopped and half-turned his head.
“What surgery?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? Oops. I made a mistake.”
“Was it really a mistake? It seems like you deliberately let that slip.”
Even as Eunhong narrowed his eyes and glared at him, Jeongwook just smiled with an inscrutable expression.
***
The Eunhong that Jaeha had known was naturally confident and proud since childhood. Despite his gentle personality, he had a strong sense of self. His inner core was quite solid, so he wasn’t easily shaken by others’ malice and didn’t readily notice insidious jealousy. Since he himself wasn’t deeply conscious of others’ actions, he assumed others would be the same toward him.
Even while living as a dependent in Jaeha’s house due to parents who couldn’t afford to care for him, he remained dignified and cheerful, not just because of Jaeha’s affection. It was largely due to his inherently upright nature and composed personality.
Many people considered Eunhong oblivious, but it was closer to indifference. Though he appeared soft, Jaeha was the only one he let close. Just as Jaeha had only Eunhong, Eunhong had only Jaeha.
Even such a strong-willed Eunhong began to be affected when Jaeha left his side and he was continuously exposed to the cruel malice of his peers. Words that were initially just tossed at him here and there became increasingly sharp and filled with vicious aggression when Eunhong appeared unbothered. They were desperate to inflict a fatal wound on Eunhong somehow.
With countless verbal knives stabbing at him, even Eunhong couldn’t remain unscathed. Going to school became painful, and every morning his steps felt heavier than lead. But he couldn’t show weakness to Jaeha, who was suffering from manifestation fever.
About a month after Jaeha quit school, Eunhong’s daily routine became composing his facial expression on the way home, emptying his message inbox full of countless insults, turning off his phone, and entering the house. He didn’t want to show his miserable state to Jaeha.
There were only a few months left until graduation. Just when he thought he only needed to endure a little longer, the realization that Jaeha would manifest and become a person of a different world made him feel hopelessly overwhelmed.
The fact that he had been relying heavily on Jaeha without even realizing it became a chilling fear as soon as he recognized it. That’s why he tried even harder not to show the slightest hint to Jaeha.
No. It would be more accurate to say he deluded himself into thinking he hadn’t shown anything.
That day too, Jaeha was sitting on the long chair on the second-floor balcony, waiting for Eunhong to return home.
It would be fastest to have the driver drop him off in the underground parking garage and take the elevator up, but Eunhong preferred to take the long way around and walk up. The spot where Jaeha was sitting now was the perfect vantage point to see Eunhong as soon as he entered the first-floor garden.
‘No different from a dog waiting for its owner.’
As his fingers tapping the armrest became increasingly agitated, Eunhong appeared in his school uniform. He crossed the wide garden, stepping on white stepping stones with his long legs as if crossing a stream. Jaeha took a deep breath. This was the moment his day truly began.
“Bunhong-ah.”
Eunhong was no different than usual. He shook off the clinging Jaeha as if annoyed and went straight to his room. In his rush to the bathroom, Jaeha couldn’t examine him closely, but he clearly saw it. The reddened, irritated eyes. The gestures avoiding Jaeha’s persistent gaze scanning his face.
When the sound of water began to come from the bathroom, Jaeha started rummaging through Eunhong’s belongings with an expressionless face. The neat bag and uniform, sketchbook, books, notebook, pencil case… Everything seemed normal, making Jaeha wonder if he was being oversensitive, when he noticed the completely black screen of the phone.
The natural next step was to turn on the phone. The black screen lit up white, and messages that had been queued began to pour in.
With each rectangular message notification that popped up on the screen, Jaeha’s eyes flashed more intensely with anger.
He had known for a long time that there were people who resented Eunhong for being by his side. Remarkably, such people always appeared. As if following the law of conservation of mass, when one disappeared, another would emerge.
Humans with incomprehensible greed. Those who coveted what wasn’t theirs as if it were natural, expressing their dirty desires without shame.
Jaeha never thought it would lead to such behavior since Eunhong wasn’t theirs to begin with. Though Jaeha had never given them the slightest attention, they were displaying unfiltered malice toward Eunhong as if something had been stolen from them.
Jaeha quietly turned off the phone, arranged Eunhong’s belongings as if they hadn’t been touched, and slowly turned to leave.
Calling out the ringleaders was easier than twisting a child’s arm. It was ridiculously simple. He deliberately mentioned his name and family background, contacted their parents, and those eager for connections with the Han family neatly packaged their children and sent them to the meeting place.
The one-sided violence began when Jaeha struck the face of the first person who entered the quiet walking path without warning. The densely packed trees absorbed the dull noise, and the wind muffled the screams.
After a while, his body, boiling from manifestation fever, staggered. When he came to his senses, both his hands were covered in blood. It was because he hadn’t thought about the aftermath and showed no mercy. It was amusing to hear them begging and calling his name, people whose names he couldn’t even remember.
“So what, fuck! What’s the big deal about crushing a few parasites that clung to you…”
An omega who had collapsed early on shouted into the air. A disgusting smell came from the bloody phlegm he spat out with a gurgling throat.
“Did I beat that bastard? Did I touch him? Why are you going crazy!”
Seeing that Jaeha had stopped and seemed to be listening, he shouted arrogantly. Either his brain was broken or he had none to begin with, as he couldn’t read the atmosphere at all. The omega sneered with malice.
“Who doesn’t know that your family is raising him as a breeding omega? Right? Taking in a beggar kid because of his manifestation type.”
Jaeha, slowly straightening his back, opened his mouth for the first time.
“…Do you think everyone is like you?”
“Fuck, don’t act noble. You’re no different. You want something from him too, that’s why you keep him around.”
When Jaeha looked down at him intently, the omega lying on the ground even laughed with a sinister expression.
“What makes you so different that you act noble…”
“……”
His carelessly outstretched hand grasped a stone. The omega opened his eyes wide in terror at Jaeha’s wild gaze.
The massive mansion, enveloped in darkness, was frighteningly quiet. Jaeha staggered toward Eunhong.
“What happened to your hands?”
Kind Eunhong. Momentarily startled by the sudden embrace, he carefully accepted all of Jaeha. Jaeha leaned into the gentle touch that embraced him.
“Jaeha. Lee Jaeha. Get a hold of yourself. Your fever is severe.”
Jaeha clenched his jaw so hard his teeth might break at Eunhong’s dizzying, stimulating scent. Would this feeling settle if he bit into that white skin and chewed, swallowed, and drank everything inside to make it his own?
The use of violence had pulled the trigger. Like throwing a grenade with the safety pin removed into his stomach, something exploded inside Jaeha. While screaming and swinging his fists, Jaeha felt a lightning revelation and endless despair.
How can I possess Eunhong completely as mine?
His boiling mind continuously came up with destructive methods. With unlimited money, there were many approaches. What couldn’t be done? Even if he had to force drugs…
When the boiling fever subsided and the dim light of dawn approached, Jaeha came to his senses.
Ah, I am broken.
That was when he resolved to leave Eunhong’s side.
The judgment that it would be more beneficial for Eunhong’s life if he wasn’t by his side came instantaneously. He felt an absurdly powerful conviction.
Thus, Jaeha left Eunhong’s side. He cut off their relationship without looking back, as if with a knife. Without even saying goodbye, he vanished from Eunhong’s side like dispersing fog.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
