The final dessert plate was placed before Inho. It was a cake with extravagant decorations, specially made to commemorate Chairman Seo’s birthday.
Inho, who was indifferently gazing at the dessert plate sprinkled with gold powder, once again picked up only his wine glass instead of a fork. He had not touched any of the courses that had come out over the long two hours. He was merely slowly emptying the wine beside him.
And he sat with a haughty posture, responding to Chairman Seo’s questions only with short answers. Even to that, Chairman Seo smiled as if he found it commendable and praised Inho. When Inho thanked the waiter who knowingly refilled his glass, Chairman Seo was pleased, saying his innate nature was upright. It felt as if Chairman Seo would praise Inho even if he smoked at this gathering.
“I will take my leave first.”
Inho, who had placed his napkin on the table, rose from his seat. He was no longer in the mood to drink more. He ignored Chairman Seo’s words to at least have some dessert before leaving. He did not offer any birthday greetings either.
Jang Eun-young called his name, but he left the room without looking back. His rude behavior caused his brothers to sigh or click their tongues quietly. Chairman Seo, who had been pleased by Inho’s attendance, also put down his fork with a hardened expression.
Inho, who had left the room, went straight to the restroom.
His stomach felt nauseous even though he had not eaten anything. His condition was even worse due to the gloomy weather. In the innermost stall of the restroom, he vomited only alcohol and stomach acid. Since he had not eaten anything, it was easy to throw up. He had only drunk alcohol knowing this would happen.
“You don’t look well.”
As Inho opened the restroom door, Seo Seung-won, who had been washing his hands at the sink, asked as if he had been waiting. He was Inho’s eldest brother.
“If you’re not feeling well, you should have just stayed home. Why come out and make things uncomfortable for everyone?”
He had the complete opposite atmosphere to Seo Taewan, who had a fiery temperament. He maintained a calm and sharp attitude in everything he did. As much as that, he was a calculating person who only moved for his own benefit.
Inho, who was walking out while rubbing his forehead, ignored him and headed for the entrance. Perhaps it was a familiar reaction, as Seo Seung-won calmly pulled out a hand towel and spoke again.
“Jung Haon, was it?”
He calmly grabbed Inho’s ankle with a cold tone.
“That friend of yours didn’t look too good either.”
Seo Seung-won scrutinized Inho’s reaction through the mirror.
Inho did not show a noticeable reaction to him mentioning Haon. He merely stopped walking and turned his head towards him. It was an attitude as if he had expected it to some extent.
“How about the two of you go abroad and live comfortably? While getting treatment too.”
Seo Seung-won approached Inho step by step. He was quite tall, not unlike Inho, but he did not look bulky because he was the type whose flesh and muscles did not attach well. It was due to the characteristics of his dominant omega-revealed trait.
“There’s no reason for you to keep living in Korea anyway. I’ll help you with everything.”
Clack, clack, the sharp sound of dress shoes grew a step closer. He surreptitiously scanned Inho’s body, which revealed him to be a dominant alpha, while suppressing the burning sensation in his gut.
Even as he aged, the stinging jealousy towards traits did not subside. Rather, it only deepened.
“I know you have no interest in company management. Moderate your mother’s false hopes and live comfortably overseas with your omega.”
Seo Seung-won, who had his hands in his pants pockets, lightly tilted his chin up. It seemed he absolutely could not tolerate looking up at Inho, who was taller than him.
“I’ll support you fully so you can settle down anywhere. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Even in his subtle expressions and actions, one could sense his awareness of Inho. He coveted the position of the next head of Hansung Group more than anyone else. In fact, there was no one more suitable than him. If it weren’t for Chairman Seo’s pathological obsession with traits, that position should have rightfully been his.
Inho silently stared at Seo Seung-won, who was unusually and diligently rambling to persuade him. He merely looked down at him without a word of reply, as if he couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“Hyung seems very impatient too.”
He broke the long silence, which had been irritating Seo Seung-won, with a short remark. At Inho’s low voice, Seo Seung-won’s stiff face momentarily contorted.
“Don’t cross the line if you want me to stay still.”
Inho, who had uttered the last words, stared intently at Seo Seung-won with his jet-black eyes. Even in his childhood, when he had withered away amidst violence and neglect, he used to look at his brother with that same gaze.
Whenever that happened, Seo Seung-won would frown as if he were looking at a bug and walk past Inho. When Inho called out ‘Seung-won hyung’, he would cut him off, telling him not to say his name.
Now, too, he glared at Inho with a similar expression from back then and left. Unlike in their childhood, he wasn’t ignoring him, but rather avoiding him.
Inho did not leave the sink until Seo Seung-won disappeared from his sight. Only after confirming that there was no sign of him returning did he slowly turn on the faucet and wash his hands.
While rubbing his neck with his hands washed in cold water, he suddenly rummaged through his pocket.
He took out the otter-shaped origami he had received as a gift from Haon and stared at it blankly. The origami, with its dark gray front and white back, made him think of an otter even more. As much as that, his thoughts about Haon also grew.
What could Haon-ssi be doing?
He took out his phone, which was unsettlingly quiet, intending to text Haon. However, before he could, a cautious voice came from the restroom entrance.
“Hyung, are you okay…?”
The child, who had revealed only half of his face while hiding behind the wall, was Jang Eun-young’s second son. He was the newborn baby that Jang Eun-young always held preciously in her arms when Inho was desperately trying to give up on his own life.
“What did Seung-won hyung say? Was he angry?”
He was smaller and more frail than others his age. His still boyish face resembled Jang Eun-young as much as Inho did, but his frame was thin and looked weak.
Seo Joo-han, Chairman Seo’s last child and Jang Eun-young’s hope, had gone through a childhood similar to Inho’s. It was a past that was already over for Inho, but unfortunately, not for him.
Seo Joo-han, whose growth was slower than his peers, had not even manifested his trait yet. It meant there was no sign of him manifesting as a dominant alpha at all.
“Why didn’t you eat anything at all? Are you sick?”
He was walking the same thorny path that Inho had trod, but his personality was completely different. If young Inho had been a quiet child whose thoughts were unreadable, Seo Joo-han was a child anxious to reveal himself. The way he cautiously tried to strike up a conversation while reading others’ moods was also very different.
“Hyung, why are your eyes red? Did you cry?”
Joo-han looked up at Inho, unable to hide his surprised expression. He seemed unable to believe that Inho had cried.
“Hyung, just a moment.”
As Inho tried to walk past him, ignoring him, Joo-han timidly spread his arms to block his way.
“That is…”
He hesitated as if he had something to say, then whispered so that his voice wouldn’t be heard outside.
“Mom is very angry.”
As he said this, he swallowed hard with a nervous expression. It seemed Jang Eun-young was waiting for Inho outside the restroom.
“Should I go and tell her you’re sick, hyung?”
Joo-han, his eyes wide open, asked sincerely. He hadn’t completely shed his childishness yet, but his eyes were quite sharp. His two eyes held a faint competitive spirit that had not yet raised its head. It was something that young Inho had not possessed.
Inho did not push away his younger brother who was blocking his path. He merely looked down at his small, pale face for a moment.
Beneath his sharp eyes, a faint bruise mark was visible. Upon closer inspection, it seemed the bruise had been covered with makeup. There was also a scar under his eyes, as if he had been scratched by something sharp.
Inho, who silently took this in, soon walked past his brother.
As he stepped out of the restroom, Jang Eun-young, as expected, was waiting for him, reeking of strong perfume. The wide hallway was already filled with her flamboyant and artificial fragrance.
“You find it amusing to embarrass me, don’t you?”
Jang Eun-young glared at Inho, who was walking out leisurely, as if she could kill him. She released one arm that was folded and pressed it to her forehead, taking a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress her anger in her own way.
“Is it that difficult to pretend to eat in front of your father?”
She was burning with anger as she watched Inho, who didn’t even glance at the food and only sipped his wine. It wasn’t just any day, but an important occasion celebrating her husband’s birthday. If he attended such a precious gathering, he should at least make an effort to pick up his utensils out of courtesy.
“How old are you to still be acting like a child?”
“Who was it that begged me to just show my face?”
Inho drawled the end of his sentence sarcastically and tilted his head. He was quite pleased that Jang Eun-young’s face was flushed red enough that it couldn’t be completely covered by her thick makeup.
“Then you shouldn’t have called me in the first place. Did you really think I would act all smiles and try to please Father?”
“I don’t even expect that. I’m just telling you to observe basic manners, basic manners!”
In the end, Jang Eun-young raised her voice, and veins popped out on her neck. Joo-han, standing between them, bit his lip as he looked around to see if anyone was listening.
“Mom… hyung isn’t feeling well today. Please don’t be angry.”
“You be quiet.”
Jang Eun-young’s sharp gaze turned to her youngest son, not Inho. She no longer cherished her youngest as she had in the past.
“Inho-ya.”
Jang Eun-young, who quickly softened her voice, forced a smile. She didn’t even bother to try to make it look natural. She showed her twitching lips, making it obvious that she was smiling for his sake.
“Your father only looked at you again today. He was worried, saying you looked thin.”
Was he supposed to be touched by those words? Inho, tilting his head slightly, couldn’t help but laugh.
“Son.”
Jang Eun-young, who had clenched her fist as she watched Inho openly mocking her, took a step closer. Clack, clack, the sound of her heels stimulated Inho’s frayed nerves.
“You’ve played enough. What more is left?”
She tried to coax Inho in a tone used to appease a child. Seeing her suddenly act like this after being quiet for the past few years, the situation was obvious.
“You’re not going to live like this for the rest of your life, are you?”
Joo-han, standing behind Jang Eun-young, came into Inho’s view.
He was small and thin, showing no signs of developing into a dominant alpha. He consciously tried to straighten his posture, but his shoulders drooped habitually. He was doing so even now.
A dry laugh kept escaping Inho at that familiar sight.
How can my mother not change? Inho thought as he stared at her chattering red lips.
“How many times do I have to tell you that you just need to sit still? Just pretend to work after inheriting the company. Your mother will take care of everything else.”
Jang Eun-young treated her youngest son as if he didn’t exist. It was the same during meals. For a long time, her gaze was only fixed on Chairman Seo and Inho. The youngest seemed used to that cold attitude and didn’t even look upset. He was just dispirited.
“If you continue like this, you won’t be able to protect what you want to protect.”
Jang Eun-young’s voice smoothly penetrated Inho’s skin. It was a word imbued with a chilling warning.
Knowing what she was trying to bring up, Inho maintained an even deeper smile. It was a smile that conveyed that no matter what she babbled, he would no longer be affected in the slightest. Along with derision.
“Why don’t you just have another child?”
Inho, lowering his gaze, looked down at Jang Eun-young’s short skirt.
She only wore clothes that accentuated her slender legs, which Chairman Seo liked. The skirts, whose fabric and color were even tailored to Chairman Seo’s taste, were getting shorter with each passing year.
“Why? Are you getting weak now?”
Inho, taking a step closer to Jang Eun-young, whispered something in her ear. It was a voice so small that the youngest, standing right behind her, couldn’t hear it.
Slap!
Jang Eun-young, who had been listening to the filthy words pouring into her ear, finally slapped Inho’s cheek.
“Mother!”
Horrified, Joo-han stepped between Jang Eun-young and Inho, checking to see if anyone was watching.
“M-Mom, we’re outside right now. Calm down.”
Joo-han reached out a trembling hand towards Jang Eun-young, then turned to look at his brother. He couldn’t bring himself to ask if he was okay and merely looked up at his brother, whose one cheek was bright red.
“Hyung… should I get you ice? An ice pack?”
There was a scratch on Inho’s pale cheek, likely from Jang Eun-young’s ring. It was a similar shape to the scratch under Joo-han’s eye.
“Don’t lay a hand on the kid.”
Inho warned Jang Eun-young, who was catching her breath. And he left a word for his brother, who stood before him, pale as a ghost.
“Don’t just stand there and get hit.”
“Do something. Don’t let them treat you carelessly.”
The words were spoken with an indifferent expression and voice. However, Joo-han, who listened intently, instantly had tears welling up in his eyes.
Inho turned his back on Jang Eun-young and Joo-han and left the stuffy hallway.
Joo-han called out ‘Hyung’ from behind, sobbing, but he didn’t look back.
It was an hour before sunset.
Inho stared out the window, where raindrops were beginning to form, and sent a text message to Haon. He was leaving now.
However, even after Inho’s driver started the car and they drove away from the building, he did not receive a reply.
