After being dragged home, Yudam threw such a fit trying to leave again that he was locked in his room.
They even confiscated his phone, leaving him unable to contact Ian. No matter how hard he pounded on the door, no one outside so much as budged.
For a moment, he considered escaping through the window, but his mother had stationed bodyguards below.
In the end, there was nothing he could do except curl up on his bed and stew in his anger.
It wasn’t until evening that his mother finally came to his room.
“Have you calmed down at all?”
She asked with a sigh.
“I’m going to Ian. This is the hardest time of his life. I need to be there for him.”
When Yudam stubbornly continued insisting on going to Seo Ian, his mother shook her head in exasperation.
“Come to your senses! Do you think Seo Ian is still the Seo Ian he used to be? If you marry him now, you’ll be the one who suffers! I heard his mother’s relatives have already taken over the company. He’s been forced out, hasn’t he? Even his house has been seized.”
“Ian can get back on his feet with his own ability.”
“Do you think reality is that forgiving?”
His mother snapped.
“How long are you going to keep living in a dream? You’ve never suffered a day in your life. Do you really think you could marry him and still be happy? It’s not as though I approved of him before because I liked him. Haemyeong Industries was hardly good enough to stand beside our family in the first place. I allowed it because it was obvious how much Ian cared about you. Haemyeong Industries itself wasn’t impressive enough, but I thought Seo Ian had enough potential to make something of himself. But that was then. Things are different now. No matter how capable he is, without anyone behind him, there’s only so far he can climb.”
Yudam pressed his lips together and stared at her.
The Han family was well known among the upper class.
Not because they produced exceptional alphas.
An omega was born into the Han family in every generation, and the alpha who married that omega was guaranteed to produce an alpha heir.
A breeding vessel for families determined to secure an alpha descendant.
That was how Yudam thought of his own family.
His mother, however, seemed to regard even that as a source of immense pride.
And she had reason to be so confident.
The moment Yudam turned twenty, marriage proposals from wealthy and influential families began pouring in without end.
Yudam had rejected every last one of them.
He already had an alpha.
Seo Ian was his lover.
He had no need for another.
“You really are materialistic.”
The bitter remark slipped out before he could stop it.
Until now, as long as Haemyeong Industries had remained standing, his mother had never once spoken badly of Ian.
The reason she was suddenly declaring Ian completely unacceptable was painfully obvious.
“I’m doing this for your sake.”
“When did I ever say I wanted to marry into a rich family? I want Ian!”
Yudam shot back, but his mother didn’t so much as flinch.
“Enough. Just prepare for your engagement.”
“Engagement…?”
A disbelieving breath escaped him.
“Who exactly is suddenly lining up to get engaged to me?”
Ian’s family might have collapsed overnight, but how convenient was it that someone had appeared at precisely the right moment, ready to become Yudam’s fiancé?
“Sanha Group.”
The two words fell curtly from his mother’s lips.
For a second, Yudam thought he had misheard.
What had she just said?
Sanha Group?
“Who from Sanha Group?”
Sanha Group had more affiliates than he could count.
Who could possibly have proposed marriage strongly enough for his mother to push this hard?
Still, if it was someone from Sanha Group, perhaps he could ask Kang Yunhui for help getting the proposal withdrawn.
They hadn’t seen each other in years, so things might not be the way they once were, but they had grown up together.
If Yudam asked, maybe Yunhui would help him.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door, and the butler entered.
“He has arrived.”
Yudam tilted his head at the subjectless announcement.
“Show him in.”
His mother answered the butler, then looked back at Yudam.
“Mind your manners. Don’t make a scene in front of your fiancé.”
“My fiancé? Who said I—”
Yudam had been about to tell her not to talk nonsense.
Then the door opened.
His eyes went wide at the man standing beyond it.
“Kang Yunhui?”
Why was he here?
“Come in. We’ve been waiting for you.”
His mother rose from her seat and greeted him warmly.
“I haven’t explained everything to him yet. Would you like to do it?”
“I will. Please don’t worry.”
Yunhui replied to her in a mild, courteous tone.
Apparently satisfied, Yudam’s mother smiled and left the room.
Yudam stared at Yunhui in silence.
“Don’t tell me it’s you.”
“……”
Yunhui said nothing, merely meeting his gaze.
“You’re seriously saying you’re going to get engaged to me? You?”
Yudam asked again, unable to believe it.
It made no sense.
Why would Kang Yunhui—
“That’s right.”
The calm answer made something inside Yudam snap.
“Kang Yunhui!”
“I’m not deaf. You don’t have to shout.”
“Why the hell are you doing this?”
At Yudam’s question, Yunhui tilted his head as though he were the one who didn’t understand.
“You know better than anyone what an omega from the Han family represents.”
The detached, impersonal answer only made Yudam angrier.
“That’s not what I’m asking! You know better than anyone what Ian and I are to each other. So how can you do this? How can you do this to us?”
The angrier Yudam became, the colder and calmer Yunhui seemed by comparison.
That made him feel even more unfamiliar.
Yunhui had never been particularly talkative when they were young, but he hadn’t been this cold.
The man standing before Yudam now hardly seemed like the Kang Yunhui he remembered.
“What you and Seo Ian are to each other is irrelevant. What matters is that Sanha Group—and I—want an omega from the Han family.”
“Hah. You really…”
Yudam was so dumbfounded that words failed him.
His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
He was discovering firsthand that when rage became hot enough, the mind really could go completely blank.
“If all you want is an omega, there are plenty besides me! With a family like yours, you could find any number of omegas with better prospects than mine!”
“It’s not that I particularly want an omega.”
Yudam frowned at the answer, which directly contradicted what Yunhui had just said.
He had no idea what the bastard was even talking about anymore.
“Then why me? You don’t like me.”
Even when they were children, Yunhui had always been fairly indifferent toward Yudam.
He had never been openly cold or cruel, and whenever Ian looked after Yudam, Yunhui had usually been there too.
But there had always been a clear difference between the two of them.
They had both protected Yudam, but Ian’s protectiveness was always rooted in warmth and affection.
With Yunhui, it had felt more like he protected Yudam simply because he happened to be there.
That was why Yudam had always been certain Yunhui held no particular interest in him at all.
Yunhui gave no answer.
He simply looked at Yudam.
The longer the silence stretched, the more Yudam’s expression twisted.
“Because you’re Han Yudam.”
The words made no sense.
Yunhui offered no explanation.
He merely continued to regard Yudam in silence.
There was no affection in his eyes.
No fondness.
Only a chill so cold that meeting his gaze sent a shiver down Yudam’s spine.
“The situation isn’t good. As you already know, your mother was born with a weak heart. The shock increased pulmonary blood flow, which caused the pulmonary artery to dilate and the pressure to rise…”
Ian sat with his head bowed throughout the doctor’s explanation, unable to say a word.
His own heart was perfectly healthy, yet it felt as though something were crushing it inside his chest.
What if something happened to his mother too?
The mere thought of the worst-case scenario left him struggling to breathe.
After speaking for some time, the doctor paused and let out a long breath.
“The medical expenses will be difficult for you to manage.”
Ian lifted his head at the abrupt remark.
“Your mother’s treatment isn’t something that will be finished in a day or two. And given her current condition, she requires intensive care. The costs will be considerable.”
It took Ian a moment to understand what the doctor was getting at.
His lips suddenly felt dry.
Never in his life had he imagined that money for medical treatment could become an obstacle.
“I’ll find the money somehow. So please don’t worry about that and just continue her treatment—”
“Mrs. Han has made it clear that she will not provide any assistance.”
The doctor mentioned Yudam’s mother.
The hospital belonged to the Han family.
Apparently, the hospital staff had assumed that if Ian proved unable to cover the expenses, perhaps the Han family would step in, and had contacted them.
The answer had been an unequivocal refusal.
It made sense.
They were trying to marry Yudam to someone else now.
The last thing they would want was to remain entangled with Ian.
Even if marriage was no longer possible, they had still known each other since childhood…
More than hurt, Ian felt hollow.
The single fact of his father’s death had set off consequences in far more places than he could ever have imagined.
“This has nothing to do with the Han family. I’ll pay for the treatment myself.”
At Ian’s answer, the doctor opened his mouth as if to say something.
Then, apparently deciding against it, he let out another heavy breath and turned away.
Once the doctor was gone, Ian entered the hospital room and sat beside his mother’s bed.
In only a few days, she had grown so thin and frail that she was almost unrecognizable.
The sight made his chest ache.
He couldn’t lose his mother too.
Whatever it took, he had to protect her.