In the dead of night, while everyone was asleep, Han Jae-hoon and I slipped out of the mansion as quietly as fugitives. Instead of the large, comfortable car I was used to seeing, an old and battered vehicle awaited us at the front entrance.
“I prepared a car that won’t attract attention,” the butler whispered as he approached discreetly. Han Jae-hoon seemed very pleased, but I couldn’t help worrying—how were we supposed to embark on a journey that would last an entire week in a car that looked like it might break down at any moment?
The attendants approached silently, loading our luggage into the car. As I watched the trunk slowly fill with neatly stacked bags, I glanced at the people who had come to see us off. But Vin was nowhere to be seen.
“Baby, get in first.”
Han Jae-hoon, who had finished making the final preparations, opened the door of the old car for me. I had been looking at the attendants with lingering regret, but I quickly turned my gaze forward. It was time to leave.
I climbed into the car first, and Han Jae-hoon followed, settling beside me. The attendants who were traveling with us boarded another old car that followed behind. For a moment, amidst the unfamiliar faces, I thought I saw a silhouette I recognized—but I dismissed it as my imagination.
‘I wanted to say goodbye.’
Even if he hated me, he could’ve come out. If that was too much, he could’ve at least shown his face. Until the car pulled away, I kept glancing back at the open entrance, hoping to see Vin. But even at the very last moment, he didn’t appear.
“Is your seat comfortable?”
The driver turned back and asked. Han Jae-hoon leaned into the creaking seat and said it was fine, but I was too focused on watching the mansion disappear to respond.
The car left the main gate and drove down a desolate road. The unpaved surface was littered with stones that sent jolts through the vehicle as we rolled over them. Unlike me, who flinched at every bump, Han Jae-hoon remained unfazed.
“If you’re tired, you can sleep,” he murmured.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to.”
“I see.”
Han Jae-hoon gave a faint smile and rested his head against the window. His slow-blinking eyes soon closed, and before long, he had fallen into a deep sleep. It was no surprise—he hadn’t properly rested since I collapsed.
I watched him sleep for a moment before turning my gaze back outside. In truth, this was my first time venturing so far from the mansion. It was a place I had always hoped to see someday.
‘But I don’t feel excited at all.’
Would it have been different if Vin were with me? As I stared at the monotonous scenery, I pondered the thought. Time passed meaninglessly.
***
After what felt like an eternity, the car finally arrived at our lodging. Han Jae-hoon, who had been dozing against the window the entire ride, only roused himself when the driver announced our arrival. I had been gazing outside the whole time, and before the driver could even open the door for me, I stepped out first.
“The sky is pale.”
Had we been in Sector 5, it would have been well past nightfall by now. But here, the sky was as bright as early evening. The closer we got to Sector 1, the more the night seemed to fade.
“What are you looking at?”
Han Jae-hoon approached and asked. Instead of answering, I simply raised my hand and pointed at the moon, which appeared to be floating in the sky. Following my fingertip, Han Jae-hoon’s brows furrowed.
“Doesn’t it just seem like a pointless waste of electricity?”
“The moon?”
“The moon? It’s nothing more than a giant fluorescent light sucking up electricity.”
With a twisted smile, Han Jae-hoon patted my shoulder and suggested we head inside. I tore my gaze away from the sky and followed him into the worn-down lodging.
Our accommodation was a small hotel meant for travelers passing through the sector’s borders. Calling it a hotel was almost laughable, given how rundown it was, but since it had been named as such, that was what everyone called it.
Han Jae-hoon and I each had separate rooms. He had wanted to share a room with me, but after much pleading on my part—insisting that, at eighteen, I was too old to share a room with my father—I barely managed to get my own space.
Only after appeasing Han Jae-hoon did I finally enter my room. Under the flickering, unstable light, I saw furniture as worn and decrepit as the building itself.
“I’m exhausted.”
The moment I shut the door behind me, I threw myself onto the bed. The old mattress let out a strained, creaking sound as if struggling under my weight.
Worried it might collapse, I pressed down on it with my hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad—though perhaps, compared to everything else in the room, the bed just seemed like the lesser evil.
“We have to travel for an entire week…”
I let out a deep sigh and turned onto my back, staring up at the unstable flickering lightbulb. Despite my exhaustion, only a single day had passed.
‘It still doesn’t feel real.’
Han Jae-hoon had told me to let him know immediately if I felt even the slightest fever, but ever since then, I hadn’t had so much as a faint rise in temperature. Right now, I felt as if I had never been sick at all.
A small part of me still clung to the hope that my doctor had misdiagnosed me. Because deep down, I didn’t want to accept it either.
That I had become an Omega.
‘It feels suffocating.’
I opened my eyes and slowly sat up. There was still a long journey ahead, and I needed to conserve my limited energy. As I slid off the bed and slipped my feet into a pair of worn indoor slippers, I was just about to head to the bathroom when—
Knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
“I’ve brought your luggage.”
A slightly muffled voice came from beyond the door. If they were delivering my bags, it must have been one of the attendants who had traveled with us. I rolled my stiff neck lightly before heading to unlock the door.
The moment I disengaged the lock, the doorknob twisted sharply. Someone holding a bag suddenly pushed their way into the room. Startled, I instinctively stepped back, unwittingly allowing them to enter.
Messy black hair and oversized glasses covered nearly half of their face, making it difficult to recognize them at first. But soon, the familiar features began to emerge—
Skin so pale it was almost translucent, lips tinted with the color of flower petals, and behind those thick glasses, radiant ruby-red eyes. A person who shouldn’t be here.
“…Vin?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
As Vin pulled off the shaggy wig, vibrant red hair spilled free. He ran a hand through his disheveled locks, smoothing them down before finally removing the overly large glasses.
It really was Vin. My mind went blank with shock—so much so that I couldn’t think of anything else. The only thing I could comprehend was that Vin was here, right in front of me.
“Here’s your luggage, Seo-yul hyung.”
Vin lifted the bag in his hands and smiled. It was only then that I snapped out of my daze. I forced down the warmth rising in my expression and asked in a cold voice,
“Why are you here?”
“Because you’re not at the mansion, Seo-yul hyung.”
Vin blinked at me as if questioning why I would even ask something so obvious. I had repeatedly told him to stay at the mansion, practically begged him—but now that he was standing here, any words of reprimand caught in my throat.
After setting the bag down gently, Vin opened his arms and pulled me into a hug. His embrace carried a faint, floral scent, and the moment I was enveloped in it, I forgot everything I had intended to say.
“You didn’t recognize me earlier, either. If I keep the wig and glasses on, no one will know I’m a Shining. So… don’t try to send me back.”
Vin had anticipated exactly what I was about to say and cut me off before I could even begin. Technically, we had only left the sector a day ago, which meant now was the best time to send him back.
But Vin refused. He clung to me, pleading to stay. He promised to stay in disguise and avoid drawing attention—begging me not to send him away.
“I don’t want to be somewhere you aren’t, Seo-yul hyung. We made a promise, remember?”
“…Yeah, I remember.”
The day Vin had walked out of that storage room, we had hooked our pinkies together and made a promise. A promise I had sworn, over and over again, never to break. He was bringing it up now—because he wanted me to keep it. Because he wanted me to let him stay.
“You never listen.”
I let out a sigh and gently pushed Vin’s shoulders back, stepping out of his embrace. His red eyes, filled with uncertainty, searched my face, afraid I might still send him away. In response, I lifted my pinky toward him.
“Promise me something.”
“What is it?”
“Never take off your wig or glasses in front of others.”
Even I had taken time to recognize him, and I was the closest person to him. As long as he kept them on, no one passing by would suspect that he was a Shining.
It would be uncomfortable for him, but as long as he was careful, we could make this work. I knew how dangerous this was—if he was discovered, he could die.
But despite knowing that, I still wanted to keep him by my side.
Vin hesitated for a moment before quickly regaining his composure and hooking his pinky finger around mine. As he firmly intertwined our fingers, he nodded eagerly, shaking our joined hands up and down.
“Yes, I’ll never take them off. I always keep my promises—you know that, Seo-yul hyung.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Then… can I stay here? Can I go with you, Seo-yul hyung?”
Looking into Vin’s expectant eyes, I gave a quiet nod. Only then did a bright smile spread across his beautiful face. Still holding onto our intertwined fingers, Vin pulled my hand closer and pressed a soft kiss against it.
“Thank you, Seo-yul hyung.”
That once-awkward expression of gratitude had become so familiar now. Vin, clearly overjoyed, could do nothing but giggle, his cheeks flushed a deep red.
The dim light in the room hadn’t grown any brighter, yet somehow, the space around us seemed to glow. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the scent of flowers, as if stirred by excitement, drifted gently past the tip of my nose.
