The moment that brat called Vin a bug, I couldn’t hold back my boiling anger. I swallowed down the string of curses that threatened to spill out and shot to my feet, ready to rush at the kid, but Vin reached out and stopped me.
“Seo-yul hyung, calm down.”
“You think I can stay calm after hearing that?”
“I’m fine, so don’t get angry.”
I could still vividly remember the way Vin had smiled so carelessly back in the storage room when I asked for his name, telling me to just call him a bug.
Back then, my heart had dropped with a heavy thud. I didn’t know who was responsible, but I had sworn to myself—I would beat the shit out of every bastard who ever dared to call this small, young child something as vile as a bug.
And now, one of those very bastards was right in front of me, giving me the perfect chance to finally fulfill that wish. So why the hell was Vin stopping me?
While I was seething inside, frustrated beyond belief, Vin remained utterly indifferent.
“Bug, why the hell did you come back? Do you even realize how much you’ve ruined the atmosphere in the mansion?”
“…….”
“If you got ‘disposed of,’ you should’ve just died out there instead of crawling back in to make things harder for the rest of us. Did you really think forcing your way in would somehow turn a bug into a human?”
Completely oblivious to the tension, the brat kept running his damn mouth. I knew I wouldn’t feel better unless I rushed over and smashed his face in, but I still couldn’t move forward with Vin holding me back.
“Let go. I’m gonna beat that little shit to a pulp.”
“Seo-yul hyung.”
“I’m leaving that fucker half-dead today.”
I finally shoved Vin aside and picked up a rock from the ground—the very same kind that brat had thrown at us first. That meant throwing it back was only fair, right?
I aimed for those murky red eyes and pulled my arm back, ready to hurl the stone. But once again, Vin stepped in front of me.
“Move,” I snapped, telling him to get out of the way. Instead, Vin snatched the rock from my hand and, with a grin, said, “Seo-yul hyung, let’s just go.”
I couldn’t understand why he wanted me to hold back. Worse, after hearing that bullshit, he was seriously suggesting that we just walk away?
Without a care, Vin tossed the rock far into the distance and then grabbed my hand, tugging me forward.
For a second, I wondered if it was trauma that made it hard for him to face the brat. But no matter how I looked at him, there wasn’t a single trace of distress on Vin’s face.
If anything, he just looked… annoyed.
That was when I finally understood.
To Vin, that brat was nothing. No lingering trauma, no ties of blood—nothing worth even sparing a thought for.
“Hey! Are you just gonna ignore me?!”
When there was no reaction from Vin, the brat started screaming at the top of his lungs. Vin glanced in the direction of the voice but, as expected, didn’t respond at all.
“You little bug! Answer me! Are you deaf? Or is it because you’re a bug that you can’t even understand human speech?”
Looking at him now, spewing insults and shouting all on his own, the brat looked utterly pathetic. Vin wasn’t the slightest bit affected, yet he was the only one getting worked up.
“How dare you ignore me!”
Unable to contain his anger, the brat hurled the last remaining rock in his hand straight at Vin. I realized what was happening a second too late. The rock was flying directly toward his head, and there wasn’t enough time to dodge.
“Vin!”
Thud.
The sound rang out. I had squeezed my eyes shut without thinking, and now I was too afraid to open them. My whole body trembled as I forced my eyes open, only to see Vin’s head tilted to the side—just like he had been hit.
“V-Vin…”
He turned his head back as if nothing had happened, then lifted his hand. In his palm lay the rock the brat had thrown. I didn’t even know when he had caught it. Vin was completely unharmed.
“Just wait here for a moment, Seo-yul hyung,” Vin said, patting me lightly.
I swallowed hard and nodded, pretending to be fine. Once I did, Vin let go of my hand and turned to face the brat.
“W-What the hell…”
The brat, who had been acting all tough from a distance while hurling insults, suddenly flinched and stepped back. He must have been scared after seeing Vin catch the rock midair like it was nothing.
Vin strode toward him with long, unhurried steps. When he reached the brat, he looked down at him in silence for a moment before returning the rock to him.
“You shouldn’t throw things at people. You could’ve seriously hurt someone.”
“W-What—”
“And damn, your aim is impressive. Must be because you’re a Shining, huh? If it had been even slightly off, that could’ve been a disaster. Man, what a relief, right?”
Vin flashed him a bright smile and patted him lightly on the shoulder. The brat, who had taken the rock with both hands like it was some kind of sacred offering, trembled violently. The moment Vin turned away, he bolted.
It was like watching a cartoon bully extra run away after getting a reality check. Absolutely pathetic.
Vin brushed his hands off and jogged back to me with a bright smile.
“Seo-yul hyung, let’s go back to our room.”
Moments like this reminded me—no matter what, Vin was still a Shining. In this world, and even in reality, not just anyone could catch a rock flying straight at them like that.
“You should’ve just smacked him once,” I muttered as he got closer.
Vin glanced up in thought, then grinned. “Yeah, maybe I should’ve.”
Liar. He never had any intention of doing that.
“You feeling okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t beat the shit out of that bastard.”
I clenched my fist tightly, still seething, but there was no one left to punch. Letting out a deep sigh, I felt a weight press against my shoulder. Vin had leaned in close, resting his head against me.
For some reason, his cheeks were flushed red, and he smiled shyly as he whispered, “I’m happy.”
“Why?”
“Because Seo-yul hyung got angry for my sake.”
Seeing him get happy over something so damn weird, I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief. Here I was, still pissed off, and yet he was over here enjoying it. Seriously, Vin was one strange kid.
“From now on, don’t just let bastards like that run their mouths.”
“I’m fine. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve heard it.”
“Hey.”
“Mm… I’ll try to get angry next time.”
Something about the way he phrased that felt off, but before I could dwell on it, Vin grabbed my hand and tugged me forward. He was already urging me to hurry back to our room, and all I could do was sigh in frustration.
‘Next time we meet, I’ll make sure to beat the shit out of him.’
I had memorized that brat’s face, down to his murky red hair. I didn’t know when we’d cross paths again, but when we did, I’d make sure to rush in and land a punch before Vin had the chance to stop me. I swore it to myself in silence.
“I’m glad you get angry for me, but I don’t like it when you put yourself in danger.”
“It wasn’t dangerous.”
“If you got into a fight, you could’ve gotten hurt.”
Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that I might lose. The thought of maybe getting hurt hadn’t even been a consideration. I figured I’d just charge in, land a clean punch, and have him crying surrender in no time.
“Seo-yul hyung.”
Vin called out when I didn’t respond. I tried to ignore him, but his persistent gaze bore into me until I finally gave in with a reluctant, “Fine.”
Only then did his furrowed brows smooth out, and he smiled brightly.
“Commander Han asked me to take good care of you—to make sure not even a hair on your head got harmed.”
“…My dad is way too overprotective.”
I had figured Han Jae-hoon might have asked Vin to keep an eye on me, but to actually hear it confirmed was something else. Did he seriously not think that at eighteen years old, I could take care of myself? At this rate, I’d probably still be dealing with his overprotectiveness even when I was an old man.
“But I understand where Commander Han is coming from.”
“Don’t try to understand. It just makes my life more exhausting.”
“But I think about it every time I look at you, too.”
A hand slid down my arm, fingers tapping lightly against the back of my hand. A cool touch slipped through the gaps of my fingers, sending a small shiver up my shoulder.
Vin exhaled a quiet breath, then pressed his lips close to my ear and whispered,
“It’s dangerous outside… I want to lock you away somewhere with no one else around. Keep you from ever leaving.”
“…What the hell does that mean?”
“Well, I guess that’s just how much I want to protect you.”
For a brief moment, his red eyes gleamed with something unsettling, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Straightening himself, Vin gave our clasped hands a gentle shake and spoke in his usual light tone.
“Hurry up and change your clothes. If you stay in those wet clothes any longer, you’ll catch a cold.”
Now that he mentioned it, I finally started to feel the chill creeping in. I must’ve been so pissed off that I didn’t even notice how much body heat my damp clothes had been stealing away.
“District Leader will be back by dinner… No, probably later than that. So take a warm bath and change into dry clothes.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Vin took the lead, marching forward even though he had no idea where he was going.
As I watched his swaying red hair, a scent slowly drifted toward me.
He’s angry.
An old woman had once told me—pheromones could carry emotions. If that was true for Omegas, then it had to be the same for Alphas, the new species of humanity.
I wasn’t entirely sure yet, but if my guess was right, Vin was an Alpha. That would explain why I could sense emotions leaking through his scent, despite how hard he tried to hide them.
Vin is angry right now.
He had acted completely unbothered in front of me, but his scent told me otherwise—he had been holding it in. Though, whether it was because another Shining had called me a bug, I couldn’t say for certain.
It’s kind of fascinating.
It felt like I had just learned something new about Vin.
