“What did you say?!”
Shin-Yeon, who was usually nothing but gentle, snapped—his eyes flashing as he shot back sharply.
“You remember when I caught you screwing around with alphas in an alley and you begged me not to tell our parents? And now you’re acting shameless after running off pregnant with another alpha’s kid right before your wedding. What kind of brother are you?”
Smack—!!!
“Ah—!”
Shin-Yeon stepped forward and slapped Shin-Hee hard across the face, then drove his foot into his knee.
“Be honest. If your boyfriend wasn’t a trashy gambling addict, you wouldn’t have come back even if the investment got pulled and our family went bankrupt, right?”
“I came back, didn’t I?!”
Shin-Hee, eyes bloodshot, shouted back hysterically.
Shin-Yeon let out a tired sigh as he looked at him.
“You came back because that gambling addict couldn’t keep up with your lifestyle and just drained your money. If that hadn’t happened, would you have even cared if Mom, Dad, or I ended up homeless?”
Faced with Shin-Yeon’s cutting words, Shin-Hee couldn’t answer—he just trembled.
“You lose everything and crawl back home broke, and now it’s ‘my man’? Don’t make me laugh. Still… I guess it’s a relief. Executive Director Seo never accepted my proposal anyway, so he’ll probably marry you. Try to act properly from now on.”
Dragging his suitcase behind him, Shin-Yeon walked up to Shin-Hee—
Thud—!
“Ugh!”
He swung his fist straight into Shin-Hee’s face.
Shin-Hee stared at him in stunned disbelief, like he’d never imagined his younger brother would hit him back this hard.
“I’m an adult now. Did you think I’d just keep taking it forever? You piece of trash—stop living your life like that.”
After finally venting everything he’d been holding in, Shin-Yeon turned and walked out toward the front door.
“Shin-Yeon!”
His mother hurried after him.
“Mom, I’m leaving. I’m not going to college either, so don’t look for me. You and Dad only ever cared about him anyway—you just raised me because you had to.”
“What are you talking about? Shin-Yeon, talk to me. You know your brother’s personality. If you apologize, he’ll calm down quickly. He said he regrets running away too. From his perspective, of course he’d be upset that you approached his fiancé.”
Shin-Yeon looked down at the hand gripping his arm, then let out a long breath.
“Do you really think I went after Executive Director Seo while my brother was doing everything right? He’s the one who got pregnant with another alpha’s child and ran away. I only… because the company and our home were about to collapse… haah. Just… if you care about me even a little, don’t try to stop me.”
He gently pushed her hand away and dragged his suitcase out through the front door.
He hadn’t even decided where to go—he just left.
As he reached for the gate, his mother grabbed him again.
“Shin-Yeon!!!”
She had run out barefoot, her face full of panic.
“You don’t even have money—how are you going to survive out there? At least take this. It’s your college tuition, so use it carefully. The password is your birthday. Just stay out for a few days, clear your head, then come back. Your father and I will calm your brother down. You know how upset he must be. Once he marries Executive Director Seo, everything will be resolved. And you’re not completely innocent either.”
At her words, as she slipped the bankbook into his pocket, Shin-Yeon felt his chest tighten. He wiped at the tears falling from his eyes.
“…You’re right. I didn’t do everything right either.”
“Haah… Shin-Yeon, don’t make things harder for me too. I already have enough on my plate with your father and your brother. If you just apologize later, everything will settle down.”
“I’m going to kill that bastard Kim Shin-Yeon!!!”
At the sound of Shin-Hee screaming from inside the house, their mother hurriedly pushed Shin-Yeon out past the gate.
Wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve, Shin-Yeon stepped out into the street, where the cold winter wind cut like a blade.
He had tried so hard—flirting, proposing to Seo Kyo-Shin—because he didn’t want to lose everything.
And in the end, he was the only one who lost his home and ended up out on the street.
***
Like a stray kitten with nowhere to go, Shin-Yeon wandered aimlessly until he found himself at a bus terminal.
He stared blankly at the long list of destinations, then bought a ticket for the next departure within ten minutes.
The employee explained the destination and time as they handed him the ticket, but none of it registered.
He only managed to catch the platform number and headed that way.
On the way, he stopped at a convenience store to buy water, wet wipes, and tissues. As he glanced around, his eyes landed on something rare these days—a public phone.
“….”
As if drawn to it, Shin-Yeon walked over, took out some coins, and dropped them in.
Clink, clink.
Then slowly, he dialed a number.
It was a number he had memorized without realizing it, from stubbornly texting and flirting in his attempt to win him over.
Ring— ring—
He listened blankly to the dial tone, but soon a message came through saying the call couldn’t be completed.
His expression fell.
Click.
Clatter.
He hung up, collected the returned coins, and walked toward the bus listed on his ticket.
“Excuse me, is this the bus on my ticket?”
“That’s right. Go ahead. Put your suitcase in the storage below.”
After confirming with the driver, he stowed his luggage and climbed aboard, finding his seat and dropping into it.
“…Since it’s the last time… I wanted to hear his voice.”
Leaning his head against the window, Shin-Yeon wiped at his tear-filled eyes with his hand and pulled the curtain closed.
Without even checking the destination, he clenched the ticket and stuffed it into his pocket.
Wherever it was, it would be unfamiliar anyway.
He just wanted to forget everything and live quietly wherever he ended up.
“I’ll forget Seo Kyo-Shin too. He can go be happy with my pretty, awful-tempered brother. There’s no reason to hang onto someone who never even answered my proposal.”
Sniff—
His face crumpled, and he bowed his head, crying quietly before biting down on his lip.
“It’s not like Seo Kyo-Shin is the only alpha in the world.”
But… there’s only one Seo Kyo-Shin.
Sniff—
It hadn’t even properly begun, so there was nothing to be rejected from—but Shin-Yeon still felt like he’d been dumped by himself. He pressed his forehead against the window and kept sniffling for a long time.
Someone took the seat next to him, but Shin-Yeon didn’t notice at all.
At some point, he simply fell asleep.
And the bus carrying him departed for its destination.
***
Kyo-Shin, who had been late to work taking care of a sick, exhausted little kitten after his first time, was swamped catching up on delayed tasks.
Lately, he had been postponing or skipping schedules more often, and the backlog had piled up so much he didn’t even have time to check on Shin-Yeon.
It was late at night before he finally finished everything.
Standing by the window, looking out at the snowy city, Kyo-Shin smiled faintly as he remembered the kinds of messages Shin-Yeon used to send on days like this.
Recalling the way he had devoured him like a beast in heat made his lower body tighten.
The image of Shin-Yeon, flushed and drunk on pheromones, clinging to him and crying out, rose vividly in his mind, and heat spread through him again.
“…Looks like my rut’s coming soon.”
For the past few years, he had endured his rut alone with suppressants, pushing through his busy schedule.
“Would my baby even be able to handle it?”
He was still too young to have a child, so contraception would be necessary.
It would be better to take care of Shin-Yeon while he was in college, enjoy their time together, and wait until he was in his mid-to-late twenties before having their first child.
By then, that soft body would have matured more—making pregnancy easier on him.
“…Which means I need to deal with Kim Shin-Hee first.”
His eyes turned cold as he looked out the window, then back to his monitor.
He considered checking what his baby was doing through the CCTV, but decided it would be faster to just go home and see him himself.
On his way home, he stopped by a flower shop.
He paused in front of a cluster of fragrant freesias.
“Mr. Seo Kyo-Shin, please marry me!”
He remembered Shin-Yeon kneeling on one knee, holding out a bouquet with a solemn expression—then awkwardly switching knees halfway through because his leg cramped.
“If I were just one year younger, I would’ve accepted that proposal right away.”
That fearless proposal from such a pretty little thing had been unexpectedly adorable.
Kyo-Shin bought a lavish bouquet—tulips, freesias, and other flowers mixed together—and placed it in the car.
He planned to place it in his baby’s arms while he was curled up somewhere in the living room or bed, still sore… and if his condition allowed, spend another long night with him.
After parking, Kyo-Shin entered his home in an unusually good mood.
“…?”
But the moment he stepped inside, something felt off.
The atmosphere was too quiet—and the freesia scent had faded.
Instinctively, he knew something was wrong.
He went straight to the bedroom.
Empty.
He checked the bathroom. The dressing room.
In the dressing room, the clothes he had dressed Shin-Yeon in were neatly folded.
Too neatly.
Like they had been carefully returned.
His blood ran cold.
Kyo-Shin searched the entire house.
Nowhere.
Shin-Yeon was gone.
Realizing it, he walked over and sat heavily on the sofa. Maybe he had gone home—but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.
“…Hmph.”
As he moved to set the bouquet down, he noticed a note.
To Executive Director Seo
By the time you find this, I’ll already be home.
“Sharp homing instinct for a baby.”
He smirked at first—but as he kept reading, his expression turned icy.
“…I like Kim Shin-Hee?”
His eyes darkened dangerously, veins standing out along his temple.
I hope you’ll be happy, Executive Director Seo. Please marry my brother, the one you truly want, and be happy.
As for me, the one who got in the way, I’ll return to where I belong.
Please stay healthy, and forget everything that happened between us.
After reading it once, he read it again.
And again.
Then he laughed in disbelief.
“Ha.”
“…So that’s the misunderstanding you came up with.”
The air around him turned cold, killing intent flickering in his gaze.
Kyo-Shin shot to his feet, threw the note onto the table, and strode straight for the door.
“…You really slept with me and ran. Bold little thing.”