Se-hyeon seemed to realize what he’d done wrong and would be more careful next time. When he held out his loosely clenched fist, Yi-hyeon wagged his tail buung buung and sniffed at it, kink kink.
How good could it smell?
Hoping it might be the apple mango the Auntie had brought a few days ago, Yi-hyeon was sniffing eagerly when he suddenly froze.
The tail that had been swaying happily began to lower, little by little.
From the small, grayish pellets that looked like tiny twigs came the unmistakably sweet scent unique to grapes. They didn’t look like grapes, but a bad feeling crept up on him. Yi-hyeon clamped his mouth shut and backed away.
“What’s wrong, Louis? This is tasty.”
Se-hyeon pushed the pellets closer. When Yi-hyeon struggled and resisted, Se-hyeon said that once he tried it, it’d be so good he’d ask for more, and forcibly brought it to his mouth.
No. I’m not eating it. Stop pushing it. At this rate, the juice is going to get into my mouth!
Just as Yi-hyeon flailed with his front paws, rejecting it with his entire body—
Bang bang bang! Rapid footsteps pounded up the metal stairs, and then—thud!—a flying kick sent Se-hyeon’s body crashing onto the marble floor.
“You crazy bastard!”
As Han Jun shouted, Se-hyeon, sprawled on the floor, muttered a curse under his breath.
“Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t let it slide if you pulled that shit one more time? Didn’t I?”
“Are you insane? You got delusions or something? Why the fuck are you flipping out again all of a sudden?”
“If I’ve got delusions, then you’re a psychopath. I told you, didn’t I? If you hate me, take it out on me. Don’t mess with innocent animals.”
“Yeah, I hate you. I hate that you’re even breathing in this house. So if you want to protect your mutt, get out. That’s it. Simple. Why can’t you do something so easy?”
“You—this bastard. You did this on purpose…!”
Han Jun grabbed Se-hyeon by the collar and mounted him, drawing back his tightly clenched fist—when hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway as someone ran up the metal stairs.
“Se-hyeon!”
A middle-aged woman rushed up from the stairs and ran to Se-hyeon, who was still pinned under Han Jun. As she pleaded with Han Jun to calm down and let go, it was clear from her face—nearly identical to Se-hyeon’s—that she was his mother.
Moments later, a man in his late forties or early fifties came heavily up the metal stairs and stood in front of the door, glaring at Han Jun with a fierce expression.
With his actor-like good looks that were often mentioned even outside of the news, Yi-hyeon immediately recognized him as the National Assembly member.
“What do you think you’re doing right now!”
Only then did Han Jun fling Se-hyeon’s collar aside and let go. When Assemblyman Han demanded an explanation, Han Jun clamped his mouth shut.
“I didn’t do anything. Hyung suddenly just… I only wanted to get closer to him, so I brought something tasty for Louis, whom he cherishes.”
The guy who had been sneering at Han Jun just moments earlier, telling him to leave the house, was nowhere to be seen. His voice even trembled, as if he were genuinely frightened.
“Your younger brother tries to approach you first, and you, as his hyung…!”
Whether it was the students at school or his own father, they were all the same—listening only to Se-hyeon’s side and pressing Han Jun relentlessly. From Yi-hyeon’s perspective, the one being treated unfairly was clearly Han Jun.
“I suddenly lost my temper? Hey, watch what you’re saying. You knew exactly what you were doing. You were trying to feed it to him on purpose. You think I wouldn’t know?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, hyung.”
Se-hyeon maintained his act as a weak, innocent victim to the very end.
“You didn’t know how dangerous grapes are for dogs? Do you expect me to believe that? You crazy bastard.”
Se-hyeon’s mother asked him, her face full of concern.
“Se-hyeon, did you really try to feed grapes to Louis?”
“I brought them because they’re tasty. I didn’t know they were dangerous for dogs.”
She then looked back at Han Jun and spoke apologetically.
“Jun, Se-hyeon’s never raised a puppy before, so he probably didn’t know. So…”
“What if he’d died?”
“…What?”
“If he’d died, would you still say that? That he killed him because he didn’t know?”
“Jun, that’s…”
“All this over just one dog?”
At Assemblyman Han’s words, Han Jun’s expression twisted in a complicated mess of emotions. He sprang to his feet and grabbed the bag and wallet scattered across the desk.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m leaving. As you can see. It’s just one freeloader disappearing, so you won’t bother looking for me, right?”
Han Jun answered in a voice packed tight with suppressed rage, holding Yi-hyeon in his arms. Assemblyman Han responded by coldly declaring that the moment Han Jun walked out that gate, he would no longer be considered his child—and that he shouldn’t even think about setting foot in the house again.
“You didn’t bring me here because you wanted to in the first place. If you dragged me in just to keep me close and control me, shouldn’t you have at least pretended to treat me well? At this rate, I might rebel and go straight to a reporter myself—‘My father is Assemblyman Han Cheol-woo, and my mother is—’”
At the instant Assemblyman Han’s hand flew up, Yi-hyeon thought of his own father hitting him. He squeezed his eyes shut and burrowed into Han Jun’s arms. A sharp slap rang out, and Han Jun’s body staggered.
“Is that something you should say in front of the woman who took you in? You’re not even her biological child. Have you ever thought about how it feels for someone who put a child born out of wedlock—someone else’s child—onto her family registry?” Assemblyman Han’s harsh words finally made Han Jun snap.
“Yes, yes. Then please live happily ever after with your considerate stepmother and Se-hyeon, your one and only son. And if I die screaming on the streets someday, don’t you dare come to my funeral. Just like you didn’t come to my mother’s.”
After finishing his words, Han Jun clenched his teeth and fled the house as if escaping from Assemblyman Han’s furious shouting.
He did leave the house, but with nowhere in particular to go, Han Jun wandered the streets for a long time, holding Yi-hyeon tightly. Eventually, he sat down on a bench in a park playground and let out a deep sigh while scrolling through his phone’s contact list. Sitting beside him, Yi-hyeon didn’t know what to do as he watched Han Jun’s eyes sink with loneliness. It felt as though he’d inadvertently pried open a painful wound.
Yi-hyeon had always envied Han Jun.
A wealthy father who could send him to any university he wanted, excellent grades, a handsome face that drew people’s attention wherever he went, and tall height to match. He had everything—so Yi-hyeon had assumed he must be happy, without a care in the world. He never imagined a home like this lay beneath the surface.
Now, Yi-hyeon felt like he understood, at least a little, why Han Jun had become twisted.
The night air was still cold.
Yi-hyeon pushed his head into Han Jun’s chest as he held him close. Though he was nothing more than a cottony lump barely larger than two palms together, Yi-hyeon wanted to warm the heart that must’ve gone cold inside him.
“…You’re warm, Louis.”
As Han Jun murmured softly while looking down at him, his eyes shimmered forlornly under the glow of a streetlight in the alley.
Yi-hyeon had always thought Han Jun had an incredibly strong mentality, seeing how he spoke bluntly to classmates and remained unfazed by the sharp looks directed at him. But he probably never imagined his father would treat him with such cold cruelty. No matter how tough he was, this time, he must’ve been deeply shaken.
When Yi-hyeon squirmed and licked Han Jun’s hand, Han Jun took off his outer jacket and wrapped it around him. Then he set Yi-hyeon down between his thighs.
Trapped between firm thigh muscles, the black eyes of the white cottony lump wandered, unsure where to rest.
“I’m sorry. I lost my temper, so I couldn’t even bring your favorite cushion or toy.”
Han Jun gently scratched Yi-hyeon’s belly. The sensation of a peer-aged boy touching his stomach felt unfamiliar and embarrassing, and Yi-hyeon reflexively curled up.
“Hm… is this the only place we can go?”
While sending someone a message, Han Jun softly stroked Yi-hyeon’s chin with one hand. Then, as if he’d made up his mind, he slung his bag back over his shoulder, his face set with determination. He stood up from the bench, holding Yi-hyeon in his arms.
“Yeah. Let’s go. What’s the worst that could happen—getting chased out again?”
***
“I told you to stop pressing it. If you keep doing that, I’ll be in trouble.”
“I’m in a bit of trouble too. Sorry, sir.”
Stopping in front of the massive gate of a grand estate—roughly twice the size of the gate at his own house—Han Jun cheerfully greeted the man who came running out, shouting at him to stop ringing the bell.
“By the way, you look even better these days. Dating someone?”
“No, wait. Jun, if you just barge in like that—”
As Han Jun forced his way inside, the flustered employee hurriedly stepped in front of him to block his path.
Unable to properly push him out even as they climbed the stairs, the employee grew increasingly frantic—until he spotted an elderly man standing in front of the entrance hall. His face went deathly pale and froze in place.
The moment he saw Han Jun, the old man began swinging the cane he was leaning on, whoosh whoosh.
“You little bastard—do you even know where you’ve crawled into?!”
