Chapter 27: The Morning After Confusion

“Mm….”

Hyunwoo tossed and turned.

The soft sensation of the blanket wrapping around his body felt satisfying.

For some reason, the blanket felt a bit heavy and pressing, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Letting out a pleased sigh, he hugged something warm and firm in his arms.

It had always been Hyunwoo’s habit to hug a long cushion when sleeping.

But today, the cushion that was supposed to be soft felt oddly hard.

Still, it was much warmer than usual, which wasn’t bad, but—

“……!”

As that thought crossed his mind, Hyunwoo flinched and opened his eyes wide.

The first thing he saw was someone’s white chest.

“Ah…!”

Startled, Hyunwoo quickly pushed it away.

The person who had been sleeping with eyes closed frowned slightly.

“Hyung… you’re awake?”

“You—what… what is this….”

Hyunwoo, utterly shocked, scrambled backward.

What he thought was a heavy blanket turned out to be Seunghyuk’s arm,
and the thing he had mistaken for a cushion was actually Seunghyuk’s body.

Hyunwoo’s mind went completely blank.

“You really… don’t remember?”

“What?”

With an expression full of hidden meaning, Seunghyuk lowered his gaze and asked.

Hyunwoo’s heart started pounding wildly.

He frantically looked around.

A clean, neat room he’d never seen before—
most likely a hotel room from the meeting yesterday.

“…Ah.”

Then, memories of the previous night slowly resurfaced.

After the meeting, he’d run into Seunghyuk.

Then, suddenly, his head had started hurting and—

He’d gone into rut.

He faintly remembered asking Seunghyuk for a suppressant.

Hyunwoo looked at Seunghyuk with disbelief.

“Don’t tell me… I… I attacked you?”

“…….”

Seunghyuk had his upper body completely bare,
while Hyunwoo was only wearing a shirt.

His head throbbed faintly from the aftereffects of the rut,
but his body didn’t ache or feel sore anywhere.

That could only mean one thing—
he had probably attacked Seunghyuk.

Even if it had been because of the rut,
to have forced himself on someone he had decided to give up on—
and that too, the man who would soon become his younger brother’s lover.

Hyunwoo’s face grew pale.

“I-I didn’t mean to! You know how ruts are… I couldn’t control—”

“…Pfft.”

“Huh?”

Hyunwoo blinked, startled by the sudden sound of laughter.

When he looked again, Seunghyuk was quietly chuckling.

“Hyung, you’re so gullible. Nothing happened.”

“You—!”

Hyunwoo, angry and embarrassed, smacked Seunghyuk’s back hard.

A sharp slap echoed as his palm hit bare skin.

“You scared me!”

“Ah—ouch! That hurts!”

And why on earth was he half-naked like that?

Hyunwoo glared at him, not realizing that it was simply one of Seunghyuk’s sleeping habits.

“Ha…”

“Hyung, how’s your body feeling?”

“……”

Again with that question.

Every time something like this happened, Seunghyuk would always ask if he was okay—
and it made Hyunwoo feel as if his body somehow belonged to him.

“I’m fine,” Hyunwoo muttered, frowning.

He meant that his body was fine but his mind was in shock because of Seunghyuk.

But Seunghyuk only smiled, satisfied.

Hyunwoo clicked his tongue and looked away—
only to spot the clock on the bedside table.

“Ah! The time—!”

It was long past the time he should’ve left for work.

Startled, Hyunwoo jumped out of bed.

“Relax, Hyung. I already told the office you won’t be coming today.”

“What? Who told you to—”

“You were going to go right after your rut ended?”

“……”

It was customary for Alphas to rest at least a day after a rut ended,
since pheromone traces could still linger.

But Hyunwoo never had severe ruts before,
so he’d never followed that rule.

After a moment of confusion, he nodded reluctantly.

“What about you? Aren’t you going to class?”

“I’ll take you home first.”

“……”

He already seemed late enough.

Wouldn’t his grades suffer?

Hyunwoo felt uneasy, but no matter how many times he told Seunghyuk to go ahead,
the younger man wouldn’t listen.

As they rode together in the car, Hyunwoo found himself lost in thought.

It was because Seunghyuk, instead of avoiding him after all that,
was still sticking close.

After the regression, Seunghyuk had definitely changed.

Saying it was just guilt for getting hurt because of him didn’t explain this much.

Now, Seunghyuk acted like Hyunwoo’s well-being was the most important thing in the world.

Maybe it was because of that dream he’d had—
the one where he’d given up on everything before the regression.

Hyunwoo felt uneasy facing Seunghyuk.

Still, he couldn’t question him outright.

What if Seunghyuk really was just being responsible?

If Hyunwoo said anything, he might sound like he had a hero complex—
and that would be mortifying.

He sighed.

Regression didn’t change who people were.

Seunghyuk hated him before,
and that wouldn’t change now.

“We’re here.”

“…Yeah. Go to class.”

“Hyung.”

“……?”

As Hyunwoo turned to look, Seunghyuk smiled slightly and said,

“Next time you’re in rut, you can really attack me.”

“What?”

“See you later, Hyung.”

“Wait—”

But Seunghyuk had already hopped out, leaving Hyunwoo speechless.

His words sank into Hyunwoo’s mind,
slowly, heavily.

The thought that maybe—just maybe—Seunghyuk didn’t hate him
left Hyunwoo deeply unsettled.

Looking back, Seunghyuk’s behavior since the regression had been strange.

Refusing to cancel the proposal,
his reaction when Hyunwoo showed him a fake new lover,
and even that impulsive kiss….

The reason behind all of it turned out to be simple.

It was Hyunwoo himself.

He had returned to a time before their relationship had truly begun.

In the previous timeline, Seunghyuk had grown to hate him
because of the forced marriage.

But this Seunghyuk hadn’t gone through that yet.

That was the problem.

To make Seunghyuk truly let go,
he should have made him tired of him—
not confused him by keeping things halfway.

“Haah…”

Hyunwoo sighed deeply as he realized this too late.

But regrets changed nothing.

Apparently, Seunghyuk was the kind of person
who only grew more attached the more he was pushed away.

And Hyunwoo, in the previous life,
had only ever chased after him.

The idea that Seunghyuk might not hate him anymore
didn’t make Hyunwoo happy.

He’d already let go of that love.

He didn’t believe in those romantic stories
where a little change in behavior suddenly made someone fall in love again.

Instead, he felt uneasy.

It seemed like Seunghyuk was only curious now that Hyunwoo was pulling away—
but in the end, he would only be disappointed again.

Things would go back to the way they were before.

That fear tormented Hyunwoo relentlessly.

He agonized alone in his room for a long time.

“Hyung!”

“……!”

Knock, knock.

At the same time, he heard Hyunjin’s voice.

Hyunwoo turned his head quickly.

Hyunjin had just returned home from school.

Since they didn’t share any general classes,
Hyunjin usually came home earlier.

Hyunwoo quickly got up to open the door.

“You’re home, Hyunjin?”

“Yeah. But Hyung, are you okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“It’s because of me, right? That your rut came?”

“What? Don’t be silly.”

Hyunwoo chuckled softly at Hyunjin’s teary eyes.

It was true that he’d been affected by Hyunjin’s heat,
but the rut had come because he was overly sensitive to pheromones.

Even Seunghyuk, who’d been in the same room, was fine.

So, technically, it was his own fault.

Still, Hyunjin blamed himself.

Seeing his sweet, gentle little brother’s guilty face,
Hyunwoo sighed and shook his head.

“Just make sure you manage your heat properly next time, okay?
It can be dangerous if you’re careless.”

“Mm-hm.”

Hyunwoo reached out and ruffled Hyunjin’s hair.

The boy was so kind and soft-hearted—
how would he ever survive this harsh world?

Looking at him, Hyunwoo’s mind slowly settled.

After all, Hyunjin was one of the main reasons
he’d decided to give up on Seunghyuk.

He wanted his brother to have the happy ending he deserved—
just like in the original story.

But that wouldn’t happen
if Seunghyuk kept clinging to the wrong person.

‘I’ll have to make things clear.’

Hyunwoo thought firmly as Hyunjin smiled up at him.

No matter how unpredictable Seunghyuk acted now,
he would set everything right—for Hyunjin’s sake.

A determined light flashed in Hyunwoo’s eyes.