I was overwhelmed. Strangers I had never seen before were shouting at me, the guards were scrambling in chaos, and my body, frozen by an unknown scent, refused to obey my will.
Not long ago, Joshua Shining had barged in recklessly, and now it was someone else. More and more uninvited guests were taking advantage of his absence.
—I’m the only one who can protect Seo-yul here.
I suddenly recalled the words he had once said.
“Seo-yul, snap out of it!”
Choi Yeo-min grabbed me and shouted, but I couldn’t move at all. Lying on the ground, I was retching up clear bile endlessly, even struggling just to breathe.
“Step aside! Forget about us—catch that Omega over there first!”
“If there’s an Omega inside the mansion, that bastard is the priority! Why the hell are you after us?!”
The people shouting angrily eventually broke past the guards and rushed toward me. The closer they got, the stronger the nauseating scent became. I couldn’t understand why such an overpowering scent was coming from ordinary people, not Shining bloodline.
“What do you think you’re doing?! Get away from him!”
Choi Yeo-min blocked their way, but they grabbed him and tossed him far off to the side. Now completely exposed and defenseless, I was surrounded. One of them shoved a small box exuding that disgusting scent right in front of me.
“Urgh.”
The dry heaving wouldn’t stop. It felt as if even my organs might spill out.
One of them, watching my suffering, grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up.
“Ahhck!”
“It’s him, no doubt about it. Look at that reaction.”
“Ha, some people never change their tastes. Take a closer look—doesn’t he look exactly the same?”
“Brats from District 5 all look alike.”
“Is that so?”
I thrashed my arms and legs, trying to break free from the people discussing me as if I weren’t even there. But the more I struggled, the tighter the grip on my hair became.
“Let me go…!”
“Stay still, dammit!”
Slap! A sharp sound rang out as my head snapped to the side. The sting followed a beat later, and only then did I realize I had been struck. A ringing noise filled my ears, likely from the impact.
“Shouldn’t we just take him now?”
“We’ve confirmed it, so we should move quickly.”
“Staying here any longer won’t do us any good.”
The people holding me yanked me to my feet, rough and unrelenting. Choi Yeo-min screamed at them to let me go, his voice nearly cracking from the strain, but they paid him no mind.
“Seo-yul!”
“Choi Yeo-min… Ugh.”
The force dragging me forward was too strong; I couldn’t even turn my head to look back. The guards stationed near the bedroom were blocked by the intruders’ men, unable to intervene, and Choi Yeo-min, now restrained, couldn’t help me.
There was no one here who could protect me.
Is this how I get thrown out?
Omegas were unwelcome everywhere, but the way they were treated in District 1 was particularly cruel. If an Omega was discovered, they would be exiled to the wastelands beyond the district’s borders, never to return until death.
I had wanted to leave District 1 on my own terms—but not like this. Not like this humiliating, miserable end.
“Move faster.”
“Ugh!”
A sharp kick struck the back of my leg. My balance collapsed instantly, and I crashed onto the cold marble floor with a loud thud. Pain exploded through my body as if my bones were shattering from the impact.
Where is this…?
Somehow, in the struggle, I had been dragged all the way to the mansion’s central hall. A growing crowd, drawn by the commotion, was now watching as I lay sprawled on the ground. Their gazes burned with judgment and disgust.
Humiliation curled around my throat like a noose.
Clicking their tongues in irritation, my captors moved to haul me up again. But my ankle twisted painfully—I must have sprained it when I fell. I couldn’t stand.
“Such a hassle.”
“Get him up. We don’t have time to waste.”
Rough hands grabbed at me indiscriminately—yanking at my hair, tearing my clothes, twisting my arms. Everything was a mess.
“Stop dragging your feet and move—”
Bang!
A gunshot shattered the air.
The entire hall fell into a stunned silence.
A moment later, the person gripping my arm crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, he collapsed, his head hitting the marble with a sickening sound. Crimson blood slowly seeped from his skull, spreading across the once-pristine white floor.
The moment the others noticed the pool of blood creeping toward them, they recoiled, stepping away from me.
“Shit, I told you it wasn’t time yet!”
“But we were told he wouldn’t arrive for another two days—”
Panic erupted among them.
Distantly, I could hear their voices, but everything sounded muffled, drowned out by the lingering shock.
And then—on the breeze that swept through the hall—I caught a familiar scent.
This scent…
My hazy vision slowly came back into focus. The overwhelming stench that had suffocated me was now completely erased by the presence of a new scent, one that was approaching me. At the edge of my downward gaze, I saw a pair of spotless black shoes.
“Seo-yul hyung.”
A gentle voice called my name. I lifted my head. A pale, cool hand reached out and cupped my swollen cheek.
Vibrant, flame-colored hair swayed slightly in the faint breeze.
He knelt on one knee to meet my eye level and draped a jacket over my shoulders. The oversized fabric was filled with a familiar floral fragrance, a scent that always put me at ease. Vin’s scent.
“I’m really late, aren’t I?”
I nodded honestly.
I wanted to scold him, to tell him just how much he was late. But my lips, split open from the earlier slap, throbbed with pain, making even speaking difficult.
Vin’s gaze slowly traveled over my battered state, his expression twisting as if he was in pain himself. In his flickering, ember-colored eyes, sorrow and fury swirled together.
Then, he looked past me, toward someone else.
His sadness vanished, leaving only pure, seething rage. A murderous glint flared in his crimson eyes.
“T-That’s not—”
“Vincent, please, listen to us first. This is a misunderstanding—”
“Calm down for a moment and just hear us out—”
“Shut up.”
His single command silenced them all.
Slowly, he rose to his feet.
The grip on his gun tightened, his jaw clenched hard enough to form deep dimples in his cheek.
He intended to kill them.
“Stop! Don’t!”
I grabbed his arm before he could move.
He came to an abrupt halt, looking down at me as I clung to him. He tried to pry my fingers away, but I only held on tighter.
No matter what, I didn’t want to see him kill someone again.
“Seo-yul hyung. Let go—”
“Don’t go, Vin.”
“!!”
I wrapped my arms around his legs, my voice desperate.
Please, don’t go. Stop this. Please.
Like a fool, I repeated the same words over and over again.
Sensing the change, the bystanders quickly scattered. Even the distant servants who had been silently watching understood the situation and slipped away.
Soon, only the two of us remained in the vast, empty hall.
“Seo-yul hyung.”
He called my name again.
I was trembling, still holding onto him, too overwhelmed to even glance around.
Vin bent down and gently pried my fingers from his leg, but I grabbed him again.
“Please, don’t go.”
“…I won’t. So let go now, okay?”
His voice was soft, reassuring. Only then did my fingers slowly begin to loosen.
As soon as I felt his warm hand pat my trembling shoulder, all the emotions I had been holding back finally broke free.
Tears spilled over.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“I went to the edge of the district.”
“You said you’d be back soon.”
“I’m sorry. Things took longer than expected.”
As his hand reached for me, I pushed it away and clenched my fists tightly. Then, without hesitation, I started swinging.
I hit him—his face, his body—striking wherever my fists landed.
“This happened because you brought me here. You left me here, and look at what happened!”
“You’re right. This happened because I brought you here.”
“If I had stayed in District 5, this never would have happened! But you took me, and now look at me. This is all your fault!”
“Yes. It’s all my fault.”
“Why do I have to suffer like this? Why do I have to be humiliated like this? Why?”
The more I shouted, the more my pent-up frustration exploded.
But he—he just stood there, silently taking every bit of my rage, as if this was all he could do for me.
Eventually, my fists slowed. Then, they stopped altogether.
I had thought that hitting him would make me feel better, that it would somehow ease this unbearable weight inside me. But it didn’t. If anything, I felt even more suffocated. It was all meaningless.
“Seo-yul hyung.”
His voice was careful, as if he were handling something fragile.
Slowly, he reached for me again.
His fingers brushed against my clenched fist, rubbing gently over my knuckles before prying them open, one by one. Then, without giving me a chance to pull away, he interlocked our hands together.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “For hurting you. For making you suffer.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry for not being there.”
The moment I heard his sincere apology, something deep inside me melted away.
Like a tightly knotted rope finally unraveling.
Relief washed over me—the kind that made my entire body feel heavy with exhaustion.
Leaning against him, I closed my eyes.
The floral scent surrounding me filled my lungs, soothing me, as if whispering that everything would be okay now. That he was here.
“I won’t leave you alone again.”
