Chapter 28: The Distance Between Lies and Care

“Hyung, but…”

“Hm?”

“Then yesterday… where did you sleep?”

“……!”

At Hyunjin’s question, Hyunwoo’s body trembled slightly.

Last night with Seunghyuk had been nothing short of an accident. He hadn’t been in his right mind because of the rut, and Seunghyuk had only gotten caught up while trying to help him.

But regardless of the circumstances, it was true that they had spent the night together in a hotel. Even if nothing had happened, they had still shared the same bed. Hyunwoo looked at Hyunjin, flustered.

“Hyunjin, that’s…”

“Were you with Lee Seunghyuk?”

“……!”

How did he know? Hyunwoo’s eyes widened in shock.

Then it struck him—Hyunjin must already know about the rut he’d gone through yesterday. Even though Hyunwoo hadn’t contacted him in the chaos, somehow, Hyunjin had found out. Hyunwoo swallowed hard without realizing it.

“Yesterday, Lee Seunghyuk came to our house to get your suppressants.”

“R-Really? Yeah… I asked him to. He’s been driving for me lately, you know.”

“…And you stayed together until today?”

Hyunjin’s voice turned gloomy. Hyunwoo panicked and waved his hands frantically.

“Nothing happened between us!”

“…….”

“I’m serious! He brought me the suppressant, and the rut subsided. Seunghyuk was tired too, so we just slept in the same room, that’s all.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Hyunwoo nodded desperately. Seeing Hyunjin’s dark expression made guilt rise inside him again. He’d ended up hurting his little brother once more.

“From now on, nothing like that will ever happen again.”

“You promise?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, Hyung. I’ll believe you.”

Only after he gave his word again did Hyunjin’s expression brighten slightly. Hyunwoo let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Next time, if you ever stay out overnight, tell me first.”

“Okay, I will.”

“I was really worried, you know.”

Hyunjin grumbled as he reached out and hugged Hyunwoo, rubbing his forehead against Hyunwoo’s neck like an affectionate cat.

“……!”

Hyunwoo, out of habit, tried to reach out and pat Hyunjin’s head—only to freeze. A faint trace of pheromone brushed past his nose.

“Ugh…”

“Hyung?”

Hyunwoo’s body wavered. Normally, Hyunjin’s scent was pleasant, but today it felt suffocating. He frowned slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing… really.”

It must have been because his rut had only recently ended—his body still sensitive to omega pheromones. Taking a step back, Hyunwoo shook his head.

“I took the suppressant last night, but I should still be careful today.”

“Oh… okay.”

Though disappointed, Hyunjin nodded understandingly and stepped back. He forced a small smile.

“Then… good night, Hyung.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Hyunjin looked at him one more time before closing the door. Hyunwoo stared at the shut door and let out a soft sigh.

The next morning, as Seunghyuk naturally followed him down to the underground parking lot, Hyunwoo said,

“You don’t need to drive me anymore.”

“Sorry?”

Seunghyuk blinked in confusion. Hyunwoo looked at him calmly.

“What do you mean?”

“Someone else will be driving me from today.”

“…Someone else?”

For a moment, a chill flickered in Seunghyuk’s eyes, but Hyunwoo didn’t notice it as he turned away.

“Yes. My secretary will be coming.”

“Your secretary? Ah…”

Seunghyuk frowned slightly, as though he’d just realized something. Hyunwoo glanced down at his wristwatch.

‘He should be here any minute now….’

As a department head, Hyunwoo technically had a personal secretary who assisted him at work, though he’d never used him for personal matters before.

Hyunwoo wasn’t the type to rely on people privately. He’d grown up modestly despite his position, and he usually preferred to handle personal affairs himself—or leave them to Sungyoon, the chief secretary. But he couldn’t exactly ask Sungyoon to drive him around, could he?

So, after deciding to firmly distance himself from Seunghyuk, Hyunwoo had called his secretary the previous night. Startled by the rare after-hours call, the man had agreed without hesitation.

“Good morning, Director!”

A sturdy man jogged toward them, bowing deeply. He wasn’t very tall, but his build was several times broader than average.

If Hyunwoo remembered correctly, he used to be a judo athlete.

“Welcome, Jung-hoon.”

Park Jung-hoon—Hyunwoo’s secretary and the cousin of Sungyoon, his chief aide. Hyunwoo hadn’t known about their relation for a long time since the two looked nothing alike and had different surnames. He’d only found out much later, after being promoted to director in his previous timeline.

Jung-hoon wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled bashfully.

“Sorry for making you come so early.”

“Not at all! I should’ve been here sooner!”

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his large hand nearly the size of a pot lid.

Back when Hyunwoo had been injured, Jung-hoon had even offered to help him outside work—but Hyunwoo had politely declined, not wanting to trouble him. In hindsight, he should’ve accepted.

Hyunwoo turned to Seunghyuk, who was still standing there.

“You got that? You should head to school now.”

From now on, Seunghyuk would go to and from school with Hyunjin. That was for the best—it would help the two grow closer. Hyunwoo patted Seunghyuk’s shoulder lightly.

“Thanks for helping all this time.”

“…….”

But Seunghyuk’s stiff expression didn’t ease. Hyunwoo frowned slightly, puzzled.

“Hyung, you hate having a secretary…”

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

Seunghyuk shut his mouth, shaking his head.

“Anyway, I get it. You don’t need me to drive anymore.”

“Right.”

Though he still seemed unsatisfied, Seunghyuk eventually nodded. Hyunwoo finally felt relieved as he got into the car with Jung-hoon. The car pulled out smoothly from the underground parking lot.

At the office, Hyunwoo barely had time to breathe. Work had piled up during the days he’d been resting due to his rut.

By afternoon, he finally had a moment to catch his breath and joined Jung-hoon for a quick coffee break.

“By the way, Director, didn’t you say you live with your younger brother?”

“Ah, yes.”

Jung-hoon asked cautiously. He probably knew because Sungyoon had helped Hyunwoo find Hyunjin’s place.

“I live with my younger brother too. He’s in college, and he’s always out somewhere with his friends.”

“Out somewhere?”

“Yeah. Said he’s going on a trip this weekend since exams are over.”

“Hm…”

Hyunwoo sipped his coffee, thinking of Hyunjin.

In the novel, Hyunjin had been depicted as kind and gentle—not exactly the type to hang out a lot. He did get along fine with classmates, but at home, Hyunwoo rarely saw him chatting or messaging anyone.

He even stayed home on weekends. Shouldn’t he be going on dates with the main character by now? Hyunwoo frowned in thought.

“Director?”

“Ah.”

“Something on your mind?”

“…….”

Hyunwoo looked at Jung-hoon’s innocent face and replied,

“My brother isn’t very… outgoing.”

“Ah, I see.”

Jung-hoon tilted his head. “So, he’s a bit of a homebody?”

“Hmm, not exactly…”

Hyunwoo didn’t actually know how Hyunjin spent his time outside, though he’d seen him chatting brightly with customers when he worked at the café. He didn’t seem antisocial.

Back when they were looking for a place to rent, Hyunjin had even said he didn’t mind living farther away since he’d barely be home between school and work.

Hyunwoo, unaware that Hyunjin had started staying home because of him, simply muttered,

“These days, though, he’s been staying home all the time.”

“Really? Maybe he’s out of money.”

“Out of money?”

“Yeah. When college kids stop going out, it’s usually because they’re broke.”

“Hmm…”

That didn’t seem likely. Hyunjin must still be getting allowance from their father. Even if the chairman wasn’t the most affectionate parent, he wouldn’t cut off his acknowledged son’s support entirely.

Unless… he did?

Hyunwoo’s face grew serious. Maybe Hyunjin’s part-time job wasn’t just for experience after all.

“My brother’s always asking me for allowance,” Jung-hoon said, chuckling. “Said he needs money to go out this weekend.”

“I see…”

If that were the case for Hyunjin too, he wished the boy would just tell him. Hyunwoo sighed inwardly.

Maybe he should quietly slip Hyunjin some pocket money this weekend—or perhaps give him something more subtle, like movie tickets or amusement park passes. Cash could be misused, after all.

Hyunwoo sipped his coffee, thinking seriously about it.

“What’s this?”

“Amusement park tickets.”

“Really?”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened in surprise as he opened the envelope. Seeing that, Hyunwoo smiled faintly.

“Why are you giving these to me?”

“Just because. Exams are over—go have fun with your friends.”

“Oh…”

“Seunghyuk, you’re going too, right?”

“…….”

Hyunwoo had bought extra tickets on purpose so it wouldn’t seem suspicious. If he only gave one set to the two of them, it’d look like he was pushing them together too obviously.

“When I ran into you guys before, I met some of your classmates. It reminded me of them, so I got these.”

“Oh… thanks, I guess.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes slightly, then glanced sideways at Seunghyuk, whose expression didn’t look pleased at all.

“Then I’ll go with you, Hyung.”

“…What?”

“To be honest, I’m not that close to my classmates. I don’t really hang out with them like that.”

“Uh…”

“You’ll come with me, right, Hyung?”

“…….”

Ah, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Hyunwoo stared at Hyunjin’s bright, expectant eyes, cold sweat trickling down his back.