It was a light tone. However, he soon spoke in a low voice, gloomily.
“In the end, it comes to this.”
“You didn’t know it would turn out like this?”
“I expected it.”
Chairman Jin slowly leaned back against the chair’s backrest. The chair swayed smoothly without a sound of friction.
“Right. How does it feel to stab your father in the back? Is it exhilarating?”
“No. It hurts, very much.”
However, Siwoo continued to speak clearly while facing his father.
“But it had to be this way. You brought the knife to Sanho first.”
“You brought the knife.”
Chairman Jin stared at his son with a resolute expression. He straightened his back and leaned toward his son again.
“Siwoo, I’ll give you a chance. This is the last chance.”
“……”
“You may not believe it, but I like that kid.”
“……”
“He’s a determined child. I quite liked how he didn’t shrink in front of me. That’s why I gave him a chance. We made a bet.”
“A bet?”
“On that day at the club.”
Siwoo’s eyebrows slightly twisted. It was the day when Sanho, dressed in an indecently vulgar outfit and with his eyes covered, had begged to be held like a whore. The voice that had pleaded was soaked in fear. Siwoo looked at his father with wavering eyes.
“If he wins the heart of the guest who will arrive soon, I promised to grant him what he desires.”
“……”
“Dealing with someone desperate is easy. He was desperate. That’s why he made a foolish judgment. How can a child who made a foolish judgment defeat me?”
Chairman Jin continued, stroking his chin.
“Siwoo, this is really the last chance. That kid—”
He lifted his head, which had been slightly bowed toward his father. Siwoo interrupted his father and spoke.
“No, Father. The one giving the chance is me.”
“……”
“You lost. The bet with Sanho.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said that if you win the heart of the guest, you would grant him what he desires. I know you are a man of your word, no matter what happens.”
“Then.”
“It was a bet you could never win from the start.”
Chairman Jin narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Siwoo. The hand that had been stroking his chin fell down.
“You asked if I loved that kid.”
Siwoo spoke quietly.
“Yes, that’s right. I love him.”
Chairman Jin’s brow furrowed a little deeper. His gaze toward his son was unwavering, but he too must be experiencing countless storms within. Siwoo’s previously stiff expression softened.
“I heard something from Professor Kim.”
Professor Kim had been Siwoo’s attending physician for a long time. When an unexpected figure came up in the conversation, Chairman Jin raised his eyebrows slightly.
“You might have heard it too, Father. Emotional imprinting.”
“……”
“The day I manifested. No, the day before. I met a child in the garden. I don’t remember exactly, but… it was a small child of the same age. Very pretty.”
“……”
“I know that child is Sanho.”
“……”
“If meeting Sanho caused my manifestation, and if I were to meet the person who influenced my manifestation again and give all my feelings to that person…”
Siwoo smiled faintly. It was a smile so subtle it was almost invisible, but it was filled with certainty.
“They say emotional imprinting is engraved.”
“…That is.”
“Yes, it is a much stronger bond than physical imprinting. It’s a kind of bondage or confinement. A bond that absolutely no one can sever.”
Siwoo leaned slightly toward his father, placing both hands on the large desk.
“Father, what I need is time.”
“…Time.”
“Yes, I just need time, Father. Time to persuade you.”
Chairman Jin looked at his son, who was gazing at him with a straight look, with a somewhat new perspective.
“In the end, you will have to acknowledge Sanho. He is my omega, and I am his alpha.”
“What if you can’t persuade me until the end?”
Siwoo sighed lightly, as if laughing. Straightening his previously bent back, he spoke lightly.
“I’ll be with him for the rest of my life.”
Siwoo politely bowed his head toward his father. It might be the last greeting. But he had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the end. Siwoo was certain that his father would eventually acknowledge Sanho.
“…Father.”
“……”
“You raised me to be greedy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t want to lose anything. Not my mate, not my family.”
“……”
“And I am confident. Confident that I won’t lose anything.”
***
[Last, Present]
“One week.”
Even with Siwoo’s heavy voice, Sanho remained silent. Siwoo quietly looked down at Sanho, who lay on his side with his mouth shut. Sanho showed no words or movements, but Siwoo could tell. He could sense how terrified this child was.
“Was this one week worth more than your life?”
“……”
“…How?”
“……”
“How, why?”
Though he hadn’t added any other words, Sanho must have known. He must have known how tormented he was. Or did he really know? If he did, he wouldn’t have been able to make such a choice.
“……”
But in the end, it was his own mistake. It was entirely his fault. He should have told this trembling child to firmly root himself in the wide earth and wait. Even if everyone around him mocked that Jin Siwoo would never choose Baek Sanho, he should have told him not to believe it. He should have told him not to waver. A sense of disgust toward himself, who had given no explanation or faith, spread throughout his chest.
This child had always been like that. He was fearful and couldn’t trust anyone. Even when approached with goodwill, he had bristled with thorns and remained on guard. He had been hiding his tender insides. How had this child managed to endure all of this until now?
Siwoo silently gazed at the quiet Sanho for a long time, and he too remained silent.
“……”
“……”
It was a lukewarm silence. The silence was broken by the rustling sound of the bed sheets. Siwoo slowly rose. The bed sheets crumpled with his light movement, and Sanho, who had been held in his arms, slipped away. Siwoo saw Sanho’s eyelashes flutter as if he wanted to look up at him, but Siwoo simply stood up quietly. There was something he had to do. Perhaps it was something he should have done for this child much earlier.
“Sanho.”
Only after stepping down from the bed did Siwoo call out to Sanho. A faint reddish hue appeared on Sanho’s nostrils. His eyes were also tinged with red. Siwoo reached out and gently grasped Sanho’s shoulder.
“……”
It was gentle but firm. As Sanho’s upper body was forcibly raised by Siwoo’s touch, his legs dangled down from the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sanho lowered his head. Siwoo knelt down in front of Sanho, bending both of his knees.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“…A favor?”
“Yeah. A favor. Will you do it?”
Sanho, who had been looking down as if it was hard to face Siwoo, finally lifted his gaze. Siwoo smiled slightly, narrowing his eyes.
“What is it…?”
Siwoo tilted his head. It was a gesture pointing toward the dressing room connected to the bedroom. Sanho’s eyes looked puzzled as they turned toward the dressing room.
“I want to see you wearing my clothes.”
He must have thought it was a ridiculous request. Seeing his eyes widen, it was clear that he thought so. It was a somewhat awkward request. Siwoo bit the inside of his lip and smiled wider.
“Over there, my clothes. The suit.”
He had been wearing that suit when he pushed past Sanho and stepped out of the room onto the emergency stairs. At that time, he hadn’t remembered why his clothes were there. But now he remembered everything. Sanho was still looking at Siwoo with a puzzled expression.
“Put it on. Quickly. Okay?”
He whispered as if to coax him. Sanho frowned slightly but soon nodded his head gently. Siwoo beamed at Sanho.
Sanho, wearing Siwoo’s dress shirt, sat back on the bed. It seemed difficult to wear the ill-fitting pants, so he was only in the shirt. The large dress shirt that wrapped around his bare body felt even more indecent than the vulgar outfit Sanho had worn at the club. Sanho, feeling shy, cautiously tugged at the hem of the shirt below his half-covered thighs. Siwoo smiled with a troubled expression. Seeing Siwoo’s smile, Sanho mumbled hesitantly.
“It’s… strange. The senior’s clothes are too big.”
“Yeah. They’re huge.”
“Why did you ask me to wear them?”
Siwoo gently rested his chin on Sanho’s thigh, looking up at him.
“Don’t you know about boyfriend shirts?”
Sanho’s face crumpled slightly. The look of disbelief was evident.
“Do people like you like that kind of thing?”
“What kind of person am I?”
“That’s what I mean.”
Sanho fell silent again. His tightly closed lips looked so innocent that Siwoo couldn’t help but chuckle. It felt like the heavy atmosphere had lightened a bit, bringing a sense of relief.
“Hmm. There’s blood on it.”
The cuffs of the dress shirt were stained with dark red blood. It was clearly from when he had picked up Sanho after he had fallen down the stairs. There were also droplets of blood that had fallen on his chest. Siwoo frowned slightly but soon forced his expression to settle.
“It’s more indecent than being completely undressed.”
Sanho’s cheeks flushed slightly. In a somewhat timid voice, Sanho spoke.
“I want to take it off.”
Siwoo tilted his head slightly, resting his cheek on Sanho’s thigh as he looked up at his face. A mischievous smile appeared.
“You want to take it off?”
“…Ah.”
“What are you going to do after taking it off?”
Sanho’s flushed cheeks turned even redder. It was unbearably adorable to see this child, who had spoken so lewdly, shy away from Siwoo’s teasing.
“Hmm? Tell me. What are you going to do after taking it off?”
“…Why do you keep asking?”
Siwoo drooped his eyebrows and made a sound of discomfort.
“Ah, I want to hold you.”
Sanho’s thigh, which had touched Siwoo’s cheek, trembled. Siwoo gently whispered, kissing Sanho’s smooth skin.
“I want to do it again.”
“……”
“I want to hold you tightly again and make a mess of things.”
“Stop it….”
“How have you endured being this pretty all this time? So delicious—”
“Senior!”
Sanho’s voice rose slightly, embarrassed by the explicit words. Siwoo chuckled and kissed Sanho’s round knee. Then he gently lifted his head.
“Hmm, before that.”
Before doing anything…? Sanho looked down at Siwoo with slightly furrowed brows. Siwoo calmly reached out and grabbed the suit jacket that Sanho had brought.
“This.”
The deep navy suit jacket had a slight wrinkle at the elbow, but it was still splendid. Siwoo gently draped the wide jacket over Sanho’s shoulders. As Sanho looked down at the jacket that wrapped around his shoulders, he gazed at Siwoo with wide eyes again.
“Check the pocket. The right one.”
Siwoo said to Sanho, who looked completely puzzled. Sanho tilted his head but followed Siwoo’s words and put his hand in the pocket. His long fingers rummaged through the inside of the pocket. Then, as if he had caught something with his fingertips, Sanho’s eyelids fluttered.
“……”
“……”
It was a simple design ring. A plain surface with a small diamond the size of a grain of rice embedded in it. Sanho carefully held the ring and stared at it blankly.
“This….”
Sanho’s fingertips trembled slightly. When he had called out to Siwoo in front of the hotel, when he had looked at Siwoo’s indifferent back, he had definitely seen this ring. The ring that had been on Siwoo’s fourth finger. It had clearly been on the hand that was supporting his fiancée, Jaeil. So he had thought it was just an engagement ring. He had thought that the alpha, who would never choose him, had gotten engaged to an omega who suited him, and that this was the token they shared.
“That’s yours, Sanho.”
Sanho slowly lifted his head to look at Siwoo. Siwoo smiled, slightly wrinkling his nose.
“I’m really pathetic right now. But if I dress up, I’ll look even better than now.”
“…No, you look good… now.”
The wrinkled nose crinkled into small folds.
“I didn’t want to give it to you looking this shabby, Sanho.”
Siwoo bit his lip, as if making an excuse, and looked at Sanho with kind eyes.
