Descending the spiral staircase, deeper and deeper, an unlit, shadowed space emerged—a place untouched by light. Passing through a tunnel that resembled a deep cave, Han Jae-hoon finally arrived at a large iron-barred door and lowered the flashlight that had been illuminating his path.
“Here it is.”
The old woman was imprisoned in the mansion’s underground cell. Because she had concealed the fact that she was an Omega, she had been confined in this dark, lightless place as punishment. Soon, she would be cast out beyond the walls.
Han Jae-hoon, feeling a profound sense of responsibility for this situation, couldn’t simply let her go like this. He wasn’t sure what he could do for her from within District 1, but at the very least, he wanted to meet her and apologize.
So, swallowing his pride, he had asked the man for a favor—to let him see the old woman, just once. The man had pondered for a moment, and surprisingly, he had agreed without much resistance.
“Access is prohibited.”
As he stepped closer to the door, a guard blocked his path. Without a word, Han Jae-hoon pulled out the pass he had brought and held it up. It was an authorization card given to him by Luis Shining, allowing him to go anywhere within the mansion.
The guard frowned, as if questioning why he had such a pass, but after a moment, he withdrew the arm that had been barring the way. Han Jae-hoon, meeting the guard’s still-suspicious gaze, pushed open the iron bars and stepped into the underground prison.
Switching the flashlight back on, he cast its beam around the area. The deeper he went, the more the faint traces of light disappeared completely, leaving him unable to see anything ahead.
Most of the cells were empty. Occasionally, he would spot movement—a shadow writhing in response to the light. But when he approached, he found they were not the person he was looking for. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he could even call them people.
Taking in the grotesque sights with a growing sense of unease, he pressed on toward the very depths of the prison. And there, he found her—the old woman, in a condition far better than the other inmates.
“Lady Xenia.”
“…Who are you?”
The old woman squinted against the sudden brightness as she addressed him. Han Jae-hoon shifted the flashlight’s beam aside and stepped closer to the bars. It was only then that her gray eyes wavered in recognition.
“What brings you all the way here—”
“I came to apologize.”
As Han Jae-hoon moved to kneel, the old woman quickly gestured for him to stop. Of course, he knew better than anyone that a simple apology couldn’t atone for what had happened. But right now, he had to do something. This had all happened because of him.
“It’s because I sought you out that your status as an Omega was exposed—”
“It’s fine. I was planning to move soon anyway, and they’re sending me to a place where others like me live. It’s actually a good thing. At my age, how much longer do you think I have left?”
Telling him not to worry, the old woman continued to reassure him. Holding back the surge of emotion welling up inside him, Han Jae-hoon grasped her wrinkled hands and made a promise.
A promise—to get her out of this place as soon as possible. A promise—to ensure she could live without hardship even if she was sent beyond the barrier. But the old woman refused both, saying she needed nothing.
“Your intentions alone are enough. You don’t have to concern yourself with me, so let go of that guilt.”
“How could I possibly do that? How—”
The old woman clasped Han Jae-hoon’s hands and shook her head. It was a silent command to stop speaking. Biting his lip, he lowered his head, unable to meet her gaze, weighed down by the heavy guilt.
“District 5 Leader, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
Her voice dropped to a near whisper. She quickly scanned the area with sharp, gray eyes, checking if anyone was near before looking back at him.
“The Awakening Pains… they come naturally, yes. But it’s rare for them to persist consistently over such a long period.”
“What do you mean—”
The abrupt change in topic made Han Jae-hoon blink in confusion. The old woman grew impatient, sensing they were running out of time. Refocusing his blurred thoughts, he fixed his attention on her.
“When an Omega is alone, the Awakening Pains usually pass like an ordinary fever. That’s why most don’t even realize they’ve awakened until they experience their first heat. That’s how it normally goes. But your child is different. Do you know why?”
“No. I have no idea—”
Clang. The sound of a door opening echoed from afar. Flickering light drew closer. Someone was coming for him. His heart pounded in urgency.
“Lady Xenia, I don’t understand what you’re saying. What do you mean Seo-yul isn’t normal?”
“If you leave things as they are, your child’s pheromones will only become more unstable. That means he’ll turn into an Omega who could go into heat at any unpredictable moment. In the worst case, he could succumb to a heat fever and die. That’s why you need to get rid of it.”
“‘It’? What do you mean? What exactly—”
“That is—”
The sound of footsteps came closer, stopping just in front of them. The old woman pressed her lips shut. Turning his head toward the approaching presence, Han Jae-hoon saw a butler from District 1 holding a lantern. The butler gave a slight bow and spoke.
“The District Leader has requested to see you.”
“I can’t go right now.”
“I was also instructed to relay this message: ‘There’s still much to discuss, so you’d best come while I’m asking nicely.’”
Han Jae-hoon already knew what this was about. The man wanted to negotiate terms regarding his unauthorized visit. Though in reality, it would be more of a one-sided decree than a discussion.
But he had yet to hear the most crucial part from the old woman. He needed to know exactly what had to be removed to keep his son safe.
“Hurry along now.”
Under the butler’s urging, Han Jae-hoon hesitated, unable to move forward or stay behind. His body slowly rose, yet his eyes remained locked onto the old woman.
Just as he was about to reluctantly follow the butler, she suddenly reached out and tugged on his sleeve. In a hushed, urgent whisper, she said:
“The Alpha beside your child—you need to get rid of him.”
***
His head spun. No matter how much he wanted to process what he had just heard, his overwhelmed mind kept slipping into a daze.
The old woman had said that Seo-yul was different from ordinary Omegas. That the relentless heat surging through him at all hours, the abnormally prolonged manifestation pains—none of it was normal.
And now, the reason everything had escalated to such a critical point was because an Alpha had been by Seo-yul’s side for too long. Not just any Alpha, but the same Shining servant assigned to him—someone of the same age.
Yes, the very Shining he had received as a “gift.”
If things continued as they were, Seo-yul’s pheromones would become even more unstable, making it impossible to predict when his heat would strike. He would turn into an uncontrollable Omega. And even if he managed to silence the boy, it would no longer be possible to hide the fact that Seo-yul was an Omega. It would be obvious to anyone who laid eyes on him.
I should have just killed him from the start.
If he had simply used him for stress relief and disposed of him, there wouldn’t have been any need to lock him away in that storage room. Seo-yul would have never met that boy. In the end, his own complacency had led to this disaster.
If Seo-yul had never met that child, his manifestation pains would have been mild. He could have gotten through them without issue, taken the proper medication during his heat, and no one would have ever suspected he was an Omega.
His pheromones wouldn’t be spiraling out of control like this. He wouldn’t be suffering from these unexplained fevers. And he would have been able to live a perfectly normal life, just like before.
—You have to get rid of the Alpha by your child’s side.
As the old woman had said, he needed to remove Shining from Seo-yul’s side. Now. But the biggest problem was that Seo-yul cherished that boy. Perhaps even more than his own younger brother, Han Se-yul.
If he removed Shining without a valid reason, the backlash would be unbearable. For Han Jae-hoon, the only thing scarier than Seo-yul’s condition worsening was Seo-yul hating him.
So, he needed a justification—one that Seo-yul wouldn’t be able to argue against. A reason that would force him to accept it, one he couldn’t possibly reject.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Ah…”
Lost in thought, he hadn’t even realized they had reached the District 1 Leader’s office. The steward opened the door and stepped aside. Forcing himself to set aside his tangled thoughts, Han Jae-hoon entered.
“Welcome, Jae-hoon.”
The man greeted him warmly. Han Jae-hoon, his gaze cold and devoid of emotion, ignored him and silently walked over to the sofa in the office. He sat down before the master of the room even had a chance to. Watching him, the man merely shrugged.
“At this rate, it’s hard to tell who the real master is.”
Once he had taken his seat across from Han Jae-hoon, the steward placed two cups of steaming tea before them. The rich red liquid let off curling wisps of steam as the man took a sip, his lips curving into a smile.
“The tea is particularly well-brewed today. Would you like to try some?”
“Cut the useless chatter and get to the point.”
“Why the sudden formality? Didn’t we agree to drop honorifics when we’re alone?”
It was always like this. He would call him in as if there was something important to discuss, only to waste time on trivial jokes. Han Jae-hoon’s insides were already boiling, and watching the man sit there, grinning, only made it worse.
“Just get on with it.”
“You’re always so aloof.”
Though, that was part of your charm.
The last part of the sentence was muffled as he took another sip of tea, but Han Jae-hoon pretended not to hear it. His emotions were already unstable, and now more than ever, he needed to stay sharp. He couldn’t let himself be dragged into the man’s pace.
The man watched Han Jae-hoon’s anxious demeanor with amusement, taking his time sipping his tea. He knew better than anyone what would happen to the relationship between the two districts if Han Jae-hoon stormed out of here now.
That was the kind of person he was—someone who relished in others’ distress and took pleasure in watching them struggle. Then again, all Shinings were like that.
“If you’re not going to speak first, I will.”
“Go ahead. Whatever it is, I’ll hear you out.”
What the hell was he thinking? Han Jae-hoon had been the one summoned here, not the other way around. And yet, this man was acting as if he already knew what he wanted to say—going so far as to promise he’d accept whatever it was.
Politics was a game of wits. This was a transparent move to gauge his intentions, and he knew better than to fall for such an obvious ploy.
But right now, Han Jae-hoon was far too anxious, too emotionally drained to play this game properly. His eyes lingered on the man’s elegantly pale hands before he finally spoke.
“I need to return to District 5 immediately.”
“Then do so.”
The response was so straightforward that he was momentarily at a loss for words.
