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Join the Server“Oh, hyung… y-you’re awake?”
“Strawberries?”
“Uh…”
…Strawberries?
Hyeon-woo looked back and forth between Hyun-jin and Seung-hyuk in confusion.
Hyun-jin looked startled.
Seung-hyuk looked, as always, unfazed.
Soon, Hyeon-woo understood the situation.
The fruit basket was bought by Hyun-jin, and the reason he’d taken so long to return was because he had been running around trying to find strawberries.
“In what world did I say I wanted strawberries?”
“What?”
“Lee Seung-hyuk.”
“……”
Seung-hyuk turned away as if he didn’t know anything.
Hyeon-woo glared sharply.
“Hyung, didn’t you want strawberries?”
“You really believed that?”
“Ha…”
Hyun-jin covered his face with one hand and sighed.
Strawberries in midsummer?
Running around in this heat searching for fresh strawberries?
Who even sells that this season!
Hyeon-woo clicked his tongue.
“Where would anyone sell strawberries in the middle of summer.”
“I thought maybe if I looked around, one place might…”
“Aigoo, seriously.”
“Hing…”
Hyun-jin trudged closer, pretending to cry.
Hyeon-woo reached out and patted his head.
“That fruit basket—did you buy that too?”
“Yeah.”
“Good job. Forget the strawberries and go rest.”
“…Okay.”
Sweat beaded across Hyun-jin’s forehead, proof he’d been walking around in the heat.
Hyeon-woo chuckled lightly and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Ugh…”
“Hyun-jin?”
“S-sorry… my pheromones…”
“Ah.”
Right now, Hyeon-woo was receiving a pheromone shower from Seung-hyuk to stabilize his condition.
Because of that, his entire body was saturated with dominant-alpha pheromones—
And it was affecting Hyun-jin.
“You feeling a bit better?”
“…Yeah.”
He’d quickly stepped back, but his complexion still wasn’t good.
Hyeon-woo watched him with concern.
“Mm… I was going to go out for a bit anyway. Want to come with me?”
“…Yeah.”
A little fresh air might help dilute the pheromone scent.
So Hyeon-woo decided to step outside with Hyun-jin.
“You stay here.”
“…Why?”
“I’m going out with Hyun-jin.”
“……”
Seung-hyuk looked betrayed, but Hyeon-woo was firm.
It was a small punishment for letting Hyun-jin wander around in the heat.
And surprisingly, it worked—Seung-hyuk’s face twisted amusingly.
“Hyung…”
“Hey. I said don’t follow.”
He spoke firmly and left the room with Hyun-jin.
Seeing that Seung-hyuk didn’t try to follow made him chuckle to himself.
“Hyung… is it really okay for you to walk around?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Then, realizing Hyun-jin was watching him, he quickly wiped the smile off his face.
Sleep had restored him, and being wrapped in Seung-hyuk’s pheromones all night had stabilized him further.
“Still, it was pretty serious. Shouldn’t you rest in the room?”
“It wasn’t a fatal condition. And I told you—I’m fine now.”
“……”
He felt some pain the day he was admitted, but now there was no discomfort at all.
If going outside were dangerous, the doctor would’ve said something.
“Phew…”
Breathing fresh air felt relieving.
Walking the hospital garden, he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
Then he lifted his arm and sniffed.
Now that he was outside, the pheromones on his body should have faded a little—
But because of the imprinting, he could only smell Seung-hyuk’s scent, making judgment impossible.
Even in the open air, the forest-like alpha scent lingered strongly.
“Mm… does my scent bother you less now?”
“…Yeah. A little.”
“Really?”
The answer was lukewarm, but Hyeon-woo still felt relieved.
Not that it mattered; once they returned to the room, he would be enveloped in Seung-hyuk’s pheromones again anyway.
“But hyung… what are you going to tell the chairman?”
“Mm…”
The question made Hyeon-woo’s expression harden.
If Chairman Joo learned he’d changed into an omega and gotten pregnant—
He would never sit still.
He’d erase the child without hesitation and use any method necessary to force Hyeon-woo back into being an alpha heir.
He was the only successor.
Even in the original story, the villain Joo Hyeon-woo was not cast away—just temporarily removed from public attention.
Once things calmed down, Chairman Joo intended to bring him back.
He would never allow his alpha bloodline to be “lost.”
“Hyung… are you okay?”
“Ah… yeah. Of course.”
“……”
He’d unknowingly wrapped both hands around his stomach.
Realizing this, he quickly lowered them.
“Hyung… should we… just run away?”
“…What?”
“Chairman will never leave this alone. So maybe we should just run… far away…”
“Okay, okay—calm down. Hyun-jin.”
“…Sorry.”
Hyun-jin lowered his head.
Seeing him like that made Hyeon-woo’s heart soften.
He must have been terrified.
“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”
“But… I’m just so worried, hyung…”
“You don’t need to be.”
“…Mm.”
Hyeon-woo gently cupped his cheek.
Ever since he collapsed, Hyun-jin must have been imagining the worst.
If their positions were reversed, he’d be just as frantic.
“…Sorry. You’re suffering too…”
“No. If I were you, I wouldn’t be calm either.”
“……”
Hyun-jin said nothing for a moment.
Just when Hyeon-woo thought he’d settled down—
Hyun-jin spoke again.
“I… like you, hyung.”
“…Hm?”
“I really… really like you.”
“…What?”
The sudden confession made Hyeon-woo blink.
Like him?
Of course he liked Hyun-jin—he was family.
He answered naturally.
“I like you a lot too.”
“No, hyung… not like that.”
“What?”
“I’ve liked you ever since I thought we were real siblings.”
“……”
“And even now… I still like you. A lot.”
The repeated words made the air shift.
Hyeon-woo froze mid-step.
Hyun-jin looked at him with sad eyes.
“…I liked you before Seung-hyuk did.”
“Hyun-jin…”
“Why… can’t it be me?”
“……”
He… liked him romantically?
Ever since childhood?
Even back when he thought they were blood siblings?
The shock made Hyeon-woo’s mind go blank.
“What… what are you saying…”
“I couldn’t say anything. I was scared you’d hate me.”
“……”
“But I really meant it, hyung.”
“……”
Hyun-jin wasn’t the type to lie about this.
That made the weight of the confession even heavier.
Hyeon-woo instinctively stepped back.
“Hyung…”
“I…”
In all the time he lived in this world—
He had never seen Hyun-jin as anything but a little brother.
He hadn’t cared that they weren’t truly related.
But Hyun-jin…
He had liked the original Joo Hyeon-woo romantically since childhood.
‘What kind of insane original novel was this?’
He felt dizzy.
The supposed main character… was actually in love with his older brother?
This was absurd even for fiction.
“I… only ever saw you as a younger brother. Even now.”
“……”
“I’m sorry… I can’t accept your feelings.”
“……”
The apology dried his mouth.
It hurt to even look at Hyun-jin’s face now.
“No, hyung… honestly, it’s a miracle you didn’t hit me or curse me.”
“H-ha…”
“Thanks for taking me seriously.”
The real Joo Hyeon-woo definitely would have.
He would have felt betrayed, furious—who knows what he might’ve done.
But he wasn’t that man.
He couldn’t return the feelings, but he didn’t want to hurt him either.
Hyun-jin was precious family.
“…So I’m still… your little brother, right?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
He nodded softly to the sorrowful Hyun-jin.
It was the only answer he could give.
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