Waking from sleep, he blinked at the blindingly bright room, suddenly reminded that this was the heart of the District. With the endless daylight stretching on, he had no sense of how long he’d kept his eyes shut.
What he did know was that he’d slept deeply—something unusual for him. It wasn’t just exhaustion that had put him under; rather, it felt like his body had simply given out.
“Ugh…”
As he tried to sit up, a sharp pain shot through his head. He raised a hand to his forehead, steadying his unsteady breathing. Only then did his blurred vision gradually return to normal.
The sensation was all too familiar—it was the same as what he’d felt during that month apart from Seo-yul. His strength drained away, exhaustion crashing over him at random. He wasn’t in his normal state.
He didn’t know the cause, but the difference between being with Seo-yul and being without him was striking. No matter how much he suppressed it, his pheromones kept slipping out of control. Something was definitely wrong.
How much time has passed?
He had promised Seo-yul it would be over soon, yet weeks had already gone by. The only relief was that there were just two days left until the final day of the inauguration. Even that, however, felt unbearably long.
I can’t afford to drag this out any longer.
Sliding off the bed, he rolled his stiff neck. Just as he was about to open the firmly shut door and step outside, he noticed a small group gathered around the living room table—Ina among them.
“You’re up?”
Ina turned toward him as he emerged from the room. The people sitting around the table belatedly noticed him and shot up from their seats, bowing deeply.
“We greet the young master of the District!”
The booming chorus of voices echoed through the house, making him frown as he waved them off irritably. Some caught on quickly and sat back down, while others remained awkwardly frozen, watching as he approached.
“Come sit too,” Ina called.
He moved forward and took the chair someone had pulled out for him, settling into it naturally. Only then did the remaining people hesitantly take their seats again.
Spread out on the large table was a map of the mansion. Ina was explaining to the gathered group how to navigate through the estate, retracing the path he had previously described to her.
Looking around the table, he spotted a few familiar faces—the soldiers under Ina’s command.
“The operation is in two days, when the declaration ceremony begins.”
At Ina’s words, tension flickered across everyone’s faces. Their goal was to infiltrate the mansion as the ceremony started and put an end to the inauguration.
At the same time, Vincent Shining—presumed dead—would make a dramatic return, and the truth about Joshua’s condition, which Jeremy had been desperately concealing, would be exposed. With that, the illegitimate inauguration would be rendered void.
“It’ll be tough, but this will be the last time. In two days, we will take back the District.”
Ina rose to her feet, clenching her fist and thrusting it forward over the table. One by one, the others followed suit, standing with resolute expressions as their fists joined hers.
If they succeeded, it would be a revolution. If they failed, it would be treason. In two days, everyone here would face the moment that decided their fate.
Would they emerge as victorious revolutionaries, or be executed as traitors?
Everyone in that room was certain—they would be the ones to succeed.
“Disperse quietly.”
At Ina’s command, those gathered around the table silently slipped out of the hideout. Once the room had fallen into hushed stillness, Ina glanced around before tidying up the scattered map.
“Vincent.”
He approached without a word, and Ina handed him a small pill. Staring at it in his palm, he finally asked, “What is this?”
“A suppressant. You should take it.”
Only then did he realize that his pheromones were leaking uncontrollably. Letting out a deep sigh, he placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it.
“You haven’t been looking well lately. Are you okay?”
“…I wouldn’t say I am.”
Ina’s eyes widened at his blunt admission. She had suspected something was wrong ever since his pheromones started slipping out, but for him to openly admit it—it had to be serious.
“There are two days left. Can you hold on?”
“I have to.”
The suppressant was already kicking in. A searing heat spread from his core, and at the same time, the uncontrolled flow of pheromones began to subside.
Lifting his arm, he took a cautious sniff. The scent was gone. If he wanted to avoid a sudden heat cycle, he had no choice but to rely on the drug to keep his pheromones in check.
“If it gets too bad, tell me.”
“What, so you can carry me?”
“If you want?”
Ina shrugged. He shot her a look of pure distaste before turning to leave.
“Stay inside for the next two days,” Ina called after him. Instead of replying, he simply waved a hand dismissively.
“Ugh…”
The moment he shut the door behind him, his legs gave out. The suppressant had successfully subdued his pheromones, but in exchange, his entire body had turned ice cold.
Resting his head against the surface behind him, he let his eyelids slide shut as his vision blurred. Enveloped in deep darkness, he saw nothing—but that was preferable.
If he forced his eyes open and tried to look at anything, he felt as if his stomach would revolt, threatening to bring up nothing but clear bile. Every time he was apart from Seo-yul, his body fell apart like this, as if he were no longer a Shining but just an ordinary human.
Seo-yul hyung seemed to go through this too.
Helen had once told him that, for Seo-yul’s sake, they needed to minimize the time they spent apart. He had never fully understood what she meant, but after this past month, he knew Seo-yul had struggled through several close calls of his own.
Did I read too much into it?
The way Helen spoke, it was as if he and Seo-yul needed to stay close just to survive. The thought of being so deeply connected, as if they were one, made him feel strangely content.
A faint smile touched his lips as he opened his eyes. Beyond the window, clear daylight streamed in. He longed to return to the boundary where darkness still existed—he needed to get back.
“I miss you.”
He missed Seo-yul with a desperation that bordered on madness.
***
It had been weeks since he left for the mansion.
For the first few days, he barely managed by clinging to the lingering traces of Vincent’s pheromones in the room. But once that faded, his body once again began to collapse.
At first, he spent most of his time in a deep sleep, so lethargic that he rarely left the bed. By the second week, he had grown so weak that walking on his own became impossible.
The pain was familiar, but it was different this time. He knew now that Vincent would come back. That certainty kept him holding on, teeth gritted through the worst of it. No matter how much he suffered now, he knew he would recover the moment they were together again.
Once the constant exhaustion eased, he spent his nights sitting by the window, staring at the moon and praying to a god he didn’t believe in. He prayed for Vincent to return safely, unharmed.
“You didn’t tell him, did you?”
Helen’s voice broke the silence, her question pointed. She didn’t specify, but it was obvious—she meant the imprint. Why hadn’t he told Vincent?
Because if he knew, he wouldn’t have gone.
If Vincent learned the truth, he would never leave his side. He hadn’t wanted to let him go, but he couldn’t let his own selfishness stop him from doing what needed to be done.
When he gave a small nod in response, Helen let out a deep sigh, as if she had expected nothing less. He thought she might scold him, but instead, she simply picked up her mug of cold coffee and walked out of the room.
She must be frustrated.
His back ached from sitting upright for so long, so he leaned against the window frame, resting his cheek against the cool surface. The soft night breeze ruffled his hair.
He had no idea what Vincent meant by soon, but it was nearly a month since he had left. No one, not even the aides left behind, would tell him exactly what he had gone to do.
If this dragged on any longer, they would both suffer. He even found himself wondering—should he have gone with him after all? He had sworn never to return, but being apart from Vincent was worse than anything else.
Just a little longer.
When the moonlight faded, the morning would come again. And with that, it would mark three weeks since Vincent left. If he waited just one more week, it would be a full month. That was as long as he would give it.
If Vincent still wasn’t back by then—he would go find him himself.
