At that moment, Jang Yuguk tried to tear off his oxygen mask and sit up. From the machine attached to the old man’s chest, the sound of his heart rate climbing rang out sharply.
Beep, beep, beep, beep!
“Father, please stop. Calm down.”
Jang Jihyeok, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward and restrained Jang Yuguk. As he did, he cast a sideways glance at Choi Suho, who stood plastered against the wall, blinking as if trying to process the situation, and let out a smooth, elegant smile.
“Juho hyung committed suicide, didn’t he.”
“…What?”
Choi Suho murmured in a hollow voice.
“No, he didn’t. He died in an accident—”
Jang Jihyeok shoved himself closer and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, as if whispering directly into Jang Yuguk’s ear while the old man muttered, “Juho, Juho… don’t do this… don’t…”
“Father, Juho hyung gave birth to Suho and then killed himself. Are you out of your mind? You need to come to your senses. You’re the one who drove Juho hyung to suicide.”
“That’s not true!”
Jang Yuguk screamed. The cracks already forming in Choi Suho’s pupils shattered completely.
Juho hyung… was my father? The one who gave birth to me?
And the person who drove Juho hyung to suicide… was my dad?
“I never did that!”
Jang Yuguk roared and swung his fist, smashing it into Jang Jihyeok’s cheek.
Wham!
Jang Jihyeok’s body lurched violently, staggering, but he didn’t fall. Jang Yuguk continued to strike his upright cheek over and over, screaming like a madman.
“We loved each other! Juho and I! We were in love! And Juho gave birth to Suho! Juho died in an accident!”
“How is suicide an accident?”
Jang Jihyeok pretended to argue while letting the truth spill out. Unaware that Choi Suho was there, Jang Yuguk grabbed Jang Jihyeok by the collar and shook him violently. Choi Suho stood frozen, hidden behind the truth, unable even to blink his dazed eyes.
“At twenty-six, he was a brand-new employee who’d just joined the company—you raped him, locked him up for four years so he couldn’t run away! And that wasn’t enough, so you forced a pregnancy on him!”
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!
“And every time he miscarried, you locked him up in our house again and raped him until he gave birth! All because you wanted it that way! In the end, he got exhausted, gave birth to the child, and killed himself—whose fault do you think that is if not yours?!”
“Ghk… ghk…!”
As if every word were the truth, the device connected to his father’s chest let out shrill alarms.
This is the truth you wanted to know.
The father who loved you… was actually—
Someone who looked like you…
Your father…
Choi Suho staggered to his feet. Even when he opened the door and left, Jang Jihyeok merely turned his head and glanced after him. Beside him, Jang Yuguk, who had been gasping for breath, completely lost consciousness. Looking down at his collapsed father with indifferent eyes, Jang Jihyeok pressed the nurse call button and muttered,
“You can’t die yet, Father.”
As soon as the nurses and doctors arrived, they began emergency treatment.
In the meantime, Jang Jihyeok went after Choi Suho, who was fleeing desperately. But of all times, his mother, Jang Jihun, and Jang Jihae chose that moment to arrive together for a hospital visit.
Jang Jihyeok stood behind Choi Suho as he faced the three who had entered after unlocking the security key, observing quietly.
Their mother approached Choi Suho with the sharp clack of her heels, wrapped in a mink coat worth over ten million won. True to her dominant Omega status, she stood nearly 180 centimeters tall in heels. Linking her arms, she spoke.
“I was wondering how you got in here. Did Jihyeok open the door for you?”
She spoke in the exact same tone as Jang Jihyeok. When she shrugged off her mink coat, Jang Jihun took it from her, snapping back,
“Mother, don’t talk to him.”
“Isn’t it unpleasant? He’s not even family. Jihyeok, why did you go and show pointless sympathy by opening the door for him?”
As she shot him a sideways glance and asked, Jang Jihyeok swallowed his smile and replied,
“Still, I felt sorry for him. He deserves to know whether his father is alive or dead.”
“……”
Choi Suho didn’t answer. Given the truth he’d just heard, it was no wonder he didn’t have the presence of mind to speak. Jang Jihyeok smiled in satisfaction and slipped his hands into his trouser pockets—just as Choi Suho took off his coat and tossed it onto the floor with a dull thud.
Seeing Choi Suho with a cast on his right arm and an eyepatch over his right eye, their mother muttered,
“Even so, the Omega who gave birth to you wasn’t this vulgar…”
“I’m vulgar and rotten because I take after my dad. Want me to show you what that looks like, ajumma?”
Choi Suho spoke in a hoarse, shredded voice—and then suddenly charged at Jang Jihyeok, slamming his head straight into him. Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Jang Jihyeok went tumbling to the floor. Straddling him, Choi Suho began pummeling Jang Jihyeok’s face with his left fist.
Seeing that, Hwang Su-young, Jang Jihun, and Jang Jihae screamed and rushed in, but even with all three of them clinging on, it wasn’t easy to restrain the crazed, rampaging Choi Suho.
“You fucking bastard!”
Thud! Crack!
“Is this asshole insane?! Hey! This is a hospital where Father is admitted!”
Jang Jihyeok’s nose collapsed, and the sound of teeth flying out could be heard. Hwang Su-young shrieked, “Ah! Ah! Jihyeok!” then pulled off her high heel and brought it down on Choi Suho’s head. Blood spilled down from his scalp.
Even so, Choi Suho didn’t loosen his fists as he kept beating Jang Jihyeok.
“Fuck, you think you can screw me over like this? You slimy piece of shit!”
“Haha, hahahahaha!”
Jang Jihyeok laughed, feeling utterly refreshed. Jang Jihun grabbed Choi Suho by the collar, yanked him up, and punched him square in the face.
But because of the difference in age and muscle mass, Choi Suho merely swayed—he didn’t go down.
Wiping away the blood streaming from his nose, Choi Suho broke into a short run and slammed his shoulder into Jang Jihun’s chest.
“Urgh!”
“Fuck, you tiny piece of shit!”
Thud!
“Aaaaaagh!”
Completely enraged, Choi Suho stomped down hard with his shoe, crushing Jang Jihun’s balls and cock. Seeing that, Hwang Su-young smashed her high heel into Choi Suho’s back. Choi Suho finally pulled his foot away from between Jang Jihun’s legs, turned around, grabbed her wrist, and muttered,
“Ajumma. Stop it.”
“You—you—what do you think you’re doing to my sons?!”
Choi Suho stared at her pale face, blood still dripping from his nose, muttered “Fuck,” and let go. Jang Jihun rolled on the floor clutching his legs, while Jang Jihyeok couldn’t even get up properly, blood pouring from his crushed nose and mouth. Jang Jihae had long since fled, terrified of Choi Suho charging around like a wild beast.
And Ji Haesu had watched all of this after breaking through the security key.
Yeah, so you’re the same too. Well, if even half-blooded bastards act like this, how entertaining must it be for a complete stranger to watch.
Choi Suho roughly wiped the blood pouring from his nose with his left hand and strode forward. Blood flowed from the spot where the high heel had struck his head, trickling down the bridge of his nose. Only now did he realize his scalp had been split open.
But why did his chest hurt more than his head?
“Haa… haa…”
He walked, and walked, and walked again, but the pain in his chest was so severe he couldn’t move his legs. He felt like he was going to suffocate, like the world was spinning.
—At twenty-six, he was a brand-new employee—you raped him, locked him up for four years so he couldn’t run away! And you forced a pregnancy on him!
Choi Juho, the person he’d believed was his hyung, had gone through all that to give birth to him.
—Suho, the father who gave birth to you is a man named Yang Hee-jae. He was very beautiful and wonderful. Despite the nearly thirty-year age gap, we fell in love. It was a truly fated love, and even though it was difficult, Hee-jae accepted me.
Who is Yang Hee-jae? What if Dad’s words were true? A threadlike hope wriggled inside him. What if Jang Jihyeok had lied to deceive him? What if Choi Juho really was his hyung, and Yang Hee-jae was the father who gave birth to him? Why should he believe Jang Jihyeok? Jang Jihyeok, Jang Jihun, and Jang Jihae were all bastards who wanted to screw him over!
Descending the emergency stairwell, Choi Suho staggered, bracing himself against the wall—then collapsed straight down. He no longer had the strength to walk. The moment he sank to the floor, the semen Ji Haesu had spilled inside his ass pooled and leaked out, and it felt as if the tiny fragments of hope left in his head shattered one by one.
And the moment Ji Haesu’s large hand grabbed his shoulder—
“Suho.”
—Juho.
The instant the Alpha called his name and touched his back, he knew it. Everything Jang Jihyeok had said was true.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Choi Suho buried his blood-smeared face between his knees and let out a scream-like sob. Ji Haesu frowned, staring at the wailing Choi Suho, and when he couldn’t stand the ear-splitting cries anymore, he grabbed Choi Suho by the collar.
“Hey, hey! Choi Suho! Get a grip—”
He raised his hand sharply, about to strike him, but when he saw Choi Suho crying like someone who had lost everything in the world, he couldn’t bring himself to hit him.
“Hh… hhk.”
Tears streamed down Choi Suho’s eyes, tracing over his bruised, blotchy cheeks. Ji Haesu stared blankly at Choi Suho, who cried bitterly with unfocused eyes. Choi Suho sobbed, his collar stretched tight from Ji Haesu’s grip, then squeezed his eyes shut and wailed openly.
“Fuck… the world’s so fucking shitty…! It’s fucking awful!”
“What’s so fucking awful?”
“You—you knew, didn’t you?”
Choi Suho asked, hiccupping.
“That Choi Juho… hhk… wasn’t my hyung…”
Unable to finish the sentence, Choi Suho buried his head into Ji Haesu’s chest and broke down. With nowhere else to lean on, a child born from rape clung to the very person who had raped him…
“Hhhuuuk… Aaaaaah!”
No matter how much you cry, it doesn’t wash away the sins you committed, Suho.
“Dad… Dad, Dad…”
Choi Suho wailed endlessly, calling for his father. Ji Haesu neither comforted him nor held him.
He simply stayed there beside him.
