There was no night in this place, so I had to draw the blackout curtains to artificially darken the room before I could fall asleep. Lying side by side with Vin on the bed, we exchanged goodnight wishes and closed our eyes.
After a long while, I opened my eyes and saw Vin sleeping peacefully, his breaths soft and even. I slipped my hand out from under the blanket and waved it back and forth in front of his face.
Only after confirming that he didn’t react did I cautiously sit up. Stepping down from the bed, I tiptoed toward the door, lifting my heels off the ground to minimize noise.
I cracked the door open just enough to squeeze through. It was a tight fit, but thanks to my small frame, I managed to slip out.
Leaning against the door, I let out the breath I had been holding. The first thing I did was take out the token I had hidden in my pocket. Han Jae-hoon had given me this token, a permit that granted access to anywhere in the mansion.
—You should go and hear it for yourself.
Han Jae-hoon had told me to meet the old woman in person, refusing to let me continue avoiding the truth. I had hesitated, but in the end, I accepted the permit, agreeing to see the old woman and then discuss everything with him afterward.
‘Calm down.’
Taking a trembling breath, I closed my eyes. The old woman was said to be deep within the underground prison. I had to return before Vin woke up, so time was tight. I opened my eyes and ran in the direction Han Jae-hoon had instructed.
Descending the spiral staircase, I passed through a tunnel that resembled a cave. When I reached a barred door, a guard stretched out an arm to block my path.
I pulled out the permit from my pocket and showed it to him. He frowned slightly but withdrew his arm. With a small nod, he pushed open the barred door, stepped inside briefly, then came back out.
“Excuse me, but… do you have a flashlight?”
The guard glanced at me before jerking his chin toward a spot nearby. There, five flashlights hung on the wall, all looking quite worn. I grabbed the one that seemed to be in the best condition and stepped inside.
“Why isn’t this—ah, never mind.”
I smacked the flashlight against my palm a few times, and its flickering light finally stabilized. Remembering Han Jae-hoon’s words about the old woman being deep within the underground prison, I carefully moved forward.
Whenever the beam of light touched the other cells, I thought I saw something twitching in the darkness. They seemed to be people, but the strange noises echoing through the prison made me too afraid to look directly.
Frozen stiff with tension, I finally reached the depths of the underground prison. This should be the place Han Jae-hoon had mentioned. I looked around and spotted a familiar figure crouched in the center of a cell.
“Grandmother.”
“…Who’s there?”
The old woman squinted against the brightness before recognizing me. Tilting the flashlight to the side, I stepped closer to her cell. Reaching through the cold iron bars, I grasped her hand.
“Are you alright?”
“Better than you’d think.”
Though she was much thinner than the last time I saw her, the old woman forced a smile, insisting that she was fine. If we had never sought her out, no one would have discovered she was an Omega, and she wouldn’t have ended up imprisoned here.
“I’m sorry.”
“I told your father the same thing—I’m fine. Don’t say that.”
Her wrinkled hand gently caressed my cheek. I fought back the tears that threatened to well up and nodded. A faint, comforting scent lingered around her as she smiled softly.
“What brings you all the way here?”
Just as I was struggling to find the right words, she spoke first. Her kind gaze told me I could say anything, and after a moment of hesitation, I forced myself to speak.
“I heard that you told my father about Vin.”
“Vin…?”
“The child who’s always by my side.”
“Oh, you mean that Alpha.”
My heart nearly dropped at the word Alpha leaving her lips. I wasn’t ready to hear it. Clenching my trembling fingers into fists, I continued.
“My father says Vin can’t stay by my side. That my pheromones are already unstable, and eventually, the fevers will get worse… to the point where I could die. But I don’t believe him. That’s why I came to find out the truth.”
“…Child.”
“It’s a lie, isn’t it?”
The old woman looked at me with deep sorrow in her eyes but held back her words. I searched her gaze desperately, hoping for denial, but she never refuted what I had said.
Han Jae-hoon was telling the truth.
The reality I had been trying so hard to reject crushed down on me, heavy and suffocating. My vision blurred, my body swayed. I barely managed to grip the iron bars and stay upright, but even standing felt like too much.
“Are you alright, child?”
I shoved away the old woman’s reaching hand and collapsed onto the ground. The rough stone floor scraped my palms, leaving shallow cuts, but I couldn’t even feel the pain.
—Just remember this. If anything happens to you, I won’t hesitate to kill that child.
More than anything else, those words held the weight of absolute truth. And knowing that left me drowning in despair.
Now that I knew everything, Han Jae-hoon would never let Vin go. Even if I tried to stop him, the moment another fever took me out, I’d wake up to find Vin gone.
I had to accept it. I couldn’t protect him.
I’m powerless.
Whether I was thirteen back then or eighteen now, nothing had changed. I was still an incompetent fool who couldn’t do anything on my own. A sickly, useless wreck who couldn’t even control my own body.
I staggered to my feet and picked up the fallen flashlight. Ignoring the old woman’s calls of child, I walked toward the exit of the prison.
I handed the flashlight to the guard who glanced at me as I stepped out of the cell. Then, I began ascending the long, winding spiral staircase one step at a time.
Walking in a daze, I suddenly looked up and saw the exit, where light poured in.
“…Fuck.”
Only then did the curse slip out, accompanied by the tears I had been holding back.
***
Vin, still half-asleep, lay with his cheek pressed against the soft pillow. Out of habit, he reached out toward Seo-yul, who should have been beside him. But instead of the familiar warmth, all he felt was cold emptiness.
Slowly opening his eyes, Vin realized that the spot where Seo-yul should be was completely vacant. Sitting up, he scanned the dark room, but as expected, Seo-yul was nowhere to be found.
“Seo-yul hyung…?”
Seo-yul had disappeared without a word. Where could he have gone?
Vin climbed out of bed, staggering slightly as he walked toward the center of the room. Only then did the lingering drowsiness completely fade from his mind.
“Where did he go…?”
This wasn’t Sector 5. Seo-yul was in unfamiliar territory—Sector 1. That meant there was nowhere for him to go without telling Vin first.
Had he been summoned by Han Jae-hoon? If that were the case, Vin would have heard something, even in his sleep. But the room had been utterly silent the entire night. Not once had he heard someone calling for Seo-yul.
Something’s wrong.
His heart sank. A nameless unease tightened around him, freezing him in place.
Vin moved toward the door. He had to find Seo-yul, who had slipped away without a word.
Click.
He grasped the doorknob and turned it. The moment he pushed the door open and stepped forward, he locked eyes with someone standing right outside.
It was Seo-yul—the one he had been so desperately looking for.
“…Seo-yul hyung?”
“You’re awake?”
Seo-yul, briefly startled, quickly smiled and asked. Vin stood there blankly for a moment before nodding. The erratic beating of his anxious heart gradually steadied the moment he saw Seo-yul.
“Where were you going?”
“No, I just… woke up and you weren’t here….”
As Vin trailed off, he noticed Seo-yul’s eyes were swollen and red. Tear stains that hadn’t been completely wiped away still clung to his skin.
“Were you scared because I wasn’t here?”
“…Yeah.”
“Sorry. I just went to see my father for a bit.”
Seo-yul took Vin’s hand as he spoke, leading him back into the room. They closed the door behind them and crossed the dark space, sitting on the edge of the bed. Even then, Seo-yul didn’t let go of Vin’s hand.
“Do you want to sleep more?”
“No… I’m wide awake now.”
“I feel the same.”
Seo-yul gently released the hand he had been holding.
Without thinking, Vin reached out and grabbed it again. Even though Seo-yul was right next to him, it felt like he might disappear. If he didn’t hold on, the fear would drive him insane.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know… I just feel uneasy.”
Was it because of the darkness around them? But he wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore.
That fear had faded five years ago, back when he was locked away in an abandoned storage room where no one came for him. He had overcome that trauma thanks to Seo-yul—thanks to the way Seo-yul had held his trembling hands, whispered reassurances, and promised to always stay by his side.
Yet now, something felt different. This darkness seemed as if it would swallow Seo-yul whole and tear them apart forever. It shouldn’t be possible. Seo-yul had always been there—he always would be there.
“Vin, should we go out somewhere?”
“…Huh?”
“There’s a festival in the western village tomorrow. My father already gave me permission, so let’s go together.”
Han Jae-hoon, the man notorious for being overprotective of his son, had given permission to leave the mansion? And this wasn’t even Sector 5—it was Sector 1. Could he really have allowed it?
“Really?”
“Yeah, I begged him. Told him I wanted to go with you.”
With you.
That simple phrase melted away the fear inside him. As if by magic, the darkness no longer felt threatening. No matter how deep the shadows were, as long as Seo-yul was there, he wouldn’t be afraid.
“Yes, I’d love to.”
Vin met Seo-yul’s eyes and smiled shyly.
Excited about their first outing together, he didn’t notice that Seo-yul’s smile wavered ever so slightly.
“Alright,” Seo-yul said softly. “Let’s go together.”
