Chapter 71
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When Jae-woo said he had made a reservation at a restaurant, Igeon thought it seemed unusual, and indeed it was. The manager who rushed out as soon as he saw Jae-woo led them to a private space. Menus were placed before them as soon as they sat down, but Jae-woo sorted through the many options with a few simple words. Soon, beautiful dishes that Igeon had never eaten before—or rather, dishes too beautiful to eat—began to appear.
“This place is delicious. Our family comes here often.”
It was indeed delicious, so much so that Jae-woo urged Igeon to try it quickly.
“You seem to get along well with your family.”
“Ah, yes. We really get along well. Especially my fathers. Those two are really… If it weren’t for my second father’s somewhat weak constitution, they probably would have had enough children to form a soccer team.”
“It’s nice to see.”
“Yes, it is. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching such fathers since I was young, but I also want to build that kind of family. I want to be good to my future mate too.”
“I think you’ll be good to them. No, your whole family is like that. Your sister too. And Taekyung.”
“Hmm… in the past I would have agreed with that a hundred times, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Why?”
“It feels like family gossip, but… my sister is fine, you know? But Taekyung hyung… he used to be really warm and caring, but after the accident, he changed a lot. Frighteningly so. He still loves his family and his fathers, but he himself seems… empty. And ultimately, the person who has to fill that emptiness is his mate… which makes it hard for the mate.”
Igeon nodded, understanding what Jae-woo meant.
“When Taekyung… changed after the accident, what did you think?”
Igeon carefully asked about what had happened then. It might be a painful memory for Jae-woo, but he was curious about those events.
“At first, it was just shocking. The caring, dependable hyung who protected us was gone. Initially, he couldn’t even recognize his family, so not only was it hard for him, but we were all very confused too. Especially my fathers—they were devastated. Still, we pulled ourselves together and did our best to help him remember. Fortunately, as he recovered, his memories of family gradually returned. When he first woke up, he was wary like a wild tiger, but after remembering, he became a gentle tiger. He remembered and called my name, remembered my sister’s name too… My fathers said they were satisfied with just that and comforted him, saying he didn’t need to try to recover more memories beyond that… But no matter how much memory someone loses, their personality doesn’t really change. Hyung put in a tremendous amount of effort. He went through all his past records, looked at photos, and asked me about each one. That’s how he became the hyung he is now. Do you know? Hyung started studying again from the beginning. Without feeling any shame, he received education again to piece together his lost memories. Starting from elementary education… all the way to business administration. He wanted to exercise too, but since his body wasn’t fully recovered, the doctors and our fathers stopped him from doing that, but once he got healthier, he practically lived at the gym.”
Ah, so that’s why his body is still in such good shape.
“That’s just like Han Taekyung.”
“Right? The hyung from before is gone now, but I like the current hyung too. But how was it for you, Igeon hyung? I mentioned it earlier, but I imagine you were shocked when you saw the changed Taekyung hyung.”
“I was shocked. I occasionally thought of the past Han Taekyung and at first, I acted as if nothing had changed… but I could tell he was a different person. Still, he’s Han Taekyung. Except for his personality getting a little worse…”
“A little worse?”
“Well… no, he’s changed a lot. But it’s not bad. I’m accepting him as Han Taekyung just like your family does. Though I miss the past, we can build new memories.”
Igeon said with a gentle smile. At those words, Jae-woo paused while cutting meat and looked at Igeon.
“What is it?”
“…Nothing. I just thought that was very like you, Igeon hyung. Strangely, Taekyung hyung couldn’t remember you. I gave him a lot of information. All the information about you. But he couldn’t remember… somehow, I felt sorry for you.”
“He doesn’t completely fail to remember.”
“Yes, he remembers a little. About 3% maybe?”
“That’s specific.”
“Isn’t it? I asked if meeting you brought back any more memories, but it doesn’t seem like it…”
“Then just leave it as is.”
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Not at all. As I said earlier, though I do miss it, it wasn’t that long a time. We can fill it in again soon.”
“…Thank you for thinking that way, Igeon hyung.”
“Han Jae-woo.”
Just as their conversation was wrapping up, there was suddenly a knock, and the door opened with a woman’s voice. When they turned their heads, they saw Han Tae-eun in a red suit, her flowing hair swaying as she approached with clicking heels. She glared at Han Jae-woo once, and he bowed his head deeply. Han Tae-eun looked at Igeon and greeted him.
“Hello.”
“Hello to you too. Were you having a meal here?”
“No. I just stopped by because I had some business here. Sorry to interrupt your meal. Oh my.”
While Tae-eun was greeting and talking to Igeon, the phone in her hand kept ringing incessantly. She brushed back her hair and showed her phone to Han Jae-woo.
“Can you see the screen?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Can you see who’s calling?”
“Um… noona.”
“Is it on silent?”
“Yes.”
Seeing Jae-woo shrinking more and more, Igeon was curious about what was happening, but since it seemed like a family matter, he just stayed quiet. Or should he leave?
“Yes, oppa.”
Tae-eun pressed the call button on the continuously ringing phone, tightly gripping it. And she put it on speaker.
[Haah…]
This sigh was Han Taekyung.
“Han Jae-woo is here. Want to talk to him?”
[Seo Igeon-ssi, I sent you a call but you didn’t see it?]
Suddenly being addressed, Igeon was startled.
“Ah, I didn’t bring the security phone today. I reported to Instructor Kim and got permission before I left.”
[What about your cell phone?]
“My cell phone…”
Igeon took out his cell phone. It was turned off. It was definitely on when he met Jae-woo earlier. The battery was at 76% at that time. Perhaps his old phone’s battery drained quickly and shut off because the other person had sent many calls or messages.
“I’m sorry. Is there something going on?”
[Come to the villa now. I need to go out.]
Strange. There should be people replacing him to guard Han Taekyung today.
“Hyung, I’ve been with Igeon hyung for just over an hour. Plus, we were still in the middle of our meal. There should be other security guards today, so do you have to call someone who’s on their day off?”
[Han Jae-woo, isn’t this why you introduced Seo Igeon-ssi to me?]
“Well… that’s true. But still, people need rest when they’re resting.”
[I’ll handle it, so send Seo Igeon-ssi.]
“…Alright.”
The call ended, and Igeon quickly got up from his seat and put on his jacket.
“I’m sorry. I’ll pay for this.”
“It’s okay, Igeon hyung.”
“No, let me pay for it. Tae-eun-ssi, it was nice to meet you. I’ll be going now.”
As Igeon hurriedly left and Jae-woo watched him go, he put down the knife and fork he had been holding onto the table.
“The cat’s out of the bag.”
“Didn’t you expect this? Haven’t you noticed that Taekyung oppa is strangely attentive to Seo Igeon-ssi even though he doesn’t remember him? And you’re the one who assigned Seo Igeon-ssi to him, expecting this to happen.”
“I know. I know, but…”
Jae-woo sighed deeply, hanging his head. Then Tae-eun sat in the seat where Igeon had been sitting and looked at her twin brother.
“What is it? What’s bothering you?”
“Hmm… just, a slight regret?”
“Regret?”
“Igeon hyung…”
“Does he look like an Alpha to you?”
At Tae-eun’s words, Han Jae-woo banged his head on the table. Seeing this, Han Tae-eun clicked her tongue.
“I wasn’t going to…”
“It’s true that Seo Igeon-ssi is attractive… though he doesn’t seem to know it himself… I was surprised watching him put on his suit jacket just now. I knew he had a good body, but the way clothes sit on him is impressive. Even his hair today looked like he put a lot of effort into it… It would be enough to cause a stir on social media. I don’t understand why he hides all those good features. If he dressed up properly, he could rival most actors…”
“Is there a stir on social media?”
Jae-woo asked, having only seen the initial reactions and not checked since.
“Of course. Many articles are coming out, and for the first time since the Olympic gold medal, the name ‘Seo Igeon’ is headlining on all sites.”
“He’ll become more famous.”
“Wasn’t that your intention?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“It’s a bit upsetting that this is the first time you’ve shown interest in an Alpha, but… give up. You can’t have Seo Igeon-ssi. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
At Jae-woo’s answer, Tae-eun stroked her brother’s hair. Her brother had never once had feelings for an Alpha before, so if he was developing feelings for Igeon, it would be his first love. Tae-eun also liked Igeon. He had a good personality, was humble, and from her investigation, had a clean private life. If not for the current situation, she would have helped Igeon and Jae-woo get together. But now she couldn’t. Because the reason Seo Igeon was here, in their world, was because of one person only.
“But noona.”
“Yes?”
“What if Igeon hyung starts to like me?”
“Jae-woo. Let me tell you as an Alpha… your life is precious.”
At his sister’s genuinely concerned advice, Jae-woo felt a chill run down his spine and hung his head again, feeling somehow depressed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
