By Zephyria 
“Jeong-min… please tell me honestly.”
His eldest brother, who had rushed to the house, spoke as if trying to persuade Jeong-min while struggling to maintain his composure. But truly, Shin Jeong-min had nothing to say.
“Hyung-nim, I have nothing to tell you.”
“If that’s not the case, why did the talk of breaking off the engagement suddenly come from Heonjae…?”
“I don’t know either.”
Honestly, the one who felt wronged was Jeong-min. Although they had only known each other for about a month, he had done his best at the hospital and during the couple of dates they had outside.
If the problem was that they hadn’t had sex yet, would that be it? He had even promised to do it during the heat cycle, only to suddenly receive a notification to break off the engagement.
“Was there really no word at all?”
“No, there wasn’t. I’m bewildered too. Why they’re suddenly doing this.”
“Why don’t you try calling?”
Sighing, Jeong-min tried calling as his brother suggested. Naturally, he was blocked. Jeong-min held up his phone, letting the sound play over the speaker.
“It seems the other side has truly ended it. I tried calling several times even before you arrived, Hyung-nim… but I couldn’t get through. I feel no will at all to speak with me.”
“I see, I see…”
The eldest brother seemed very discouraged. He must have planned everything out, including the business ties with Heonjae Materials. While being used as a pawn for his brother’s marriage wasn’t particularly pleasing, he still felt sorry. Because it felt like everything happened because he was lacking.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? Actually, I want to be angry. What on earth were you lacking that they suddenly—!”
“Honey, calm down. And Dongryeon-nim, you really don’t need to say you did something wrong just because this person says so. Actually, those people are the rude ones… perhaps there is a better match. Please don’t be too heartbroken, Dongryeon-nim.”
“I’m fine.”
However, he was worried about his mother. Since her son had been dumped twice, her heartbreak must have been great. Sure enough, she had been clutching her head and sighing repeatedly without a word for a while. His sister-in-law gestured for Jeong-min to go back up and that she would handle things. Jeong-min greeted the adults and went up to the second floor.
“Oh, you’re back?”
Young-min was lying on the bed playing a game on his phone.
“Go to your room.”
“I came to comfort you.”
“Is that the posture of someone trying to comfort another person right now?”
“I guess so, huh?”
Young-min laughed sheepishly, turned off the game, and sat up on the bed.
“No, seriously, what happened? Why the breakup?”
“It’s not exactly a breakup; we didn’t have an engagement ceremony, nor was it announced.”
“Shin Jeong-min, still, everyone in this circle probably knows. Heonjae Materials probably already took a lot from us. Is our family just any ordinary family? And yet they decided to break it off, throwing all that away? Something incredibly big must have happened.”
“I don’t know what that big thing is, but I don’t think it has anything to do with me. I didn’t do anything that would cause such a thing to happen.”
“Are you impotent by any chance? Can’t you get it up?”
Jeong-min threw a cushion at the serious-looking Young-min.
“Ah, why!”
“You crazy bastard. Even if we’re brothers, let’s be careful about what we say.”
“No, if that’s not it, why would they dump you? I’m not saying this because you’re my brother, but where else in this circle is there an Alpha like you? There are so many Omegas lining up wanting to marry you, and they dump you? Is it Park Seong-jin, or Jeong-jin, who’s gone crazy? Or did they meet some fancy host Alpha? And then a midnight escape?”
“Young-min… let’s stop talking about this. Since it’s already over, I don’t want to be curious anymore, and I don’t want to gossip with uncertain stories.”
“Ugh, look at you! Seriously!”
Young-min thumped his chest and flopped back onto the bed.
“Anyway, our mom’s luck is really miserable. She only has two children, and neither can have a proper marriage.”
Setting himself aside, Young-min had twisted his own fate, so he didn’t seem to realize how ridiculous those words sounded. Jeong-min didn’t bother to point it out. He didn’t want to fight with his brother.
“Trying to force a connection that isn’t meant to be… is useless.”
Jeong-min spoke with a bitter smile. Wasn’t that a fact he had learned painfully since childhood? A fact he had learned firsthand through several experiences.
“Huh? Jeong-min.”
And one of the people from those experiences was walking out of the hospital where Jeong-min worked. Shin-woo also seemed surprised to see Jeong-min and paused, then approached with a gentle smile.
Jeong-min blinked several times, wondering if it really was Yu Shin-woo. He wondered if it was an illusion, but seeing him look slightly more mature than in his memories, he smiled inwardly, thinking he couldn’t have imagined such detail.
“Shin-woo hyung.”
“So it was the hospital where you work. Ah, right. This hospital is under the Shinsung umbrella. I had forgotten.”
“That’s right. Somehow, I ended up working here.”
“Haven’t you heard a lot of talk about you being a ‘parachute’ hire?”
“Of course I have. Why wouldn’t I? But what can I do? I’m talented.”
As Jeong-min spoke with a shrug, Shin-woo let out a laugh and patted Jeong-min’s shoulder.
“You’ve really changed a lot. In a good way, too.”
Since they were people who had spent a long time together, if it looked like he had changed, then he truly had.
“But Hyung, why did you come to the hospital? Are you sick somewhere?”
The reason he was able to meet Shin-woo was that the latter had visited the internal medicine department. Seeing as he had received a consultation directly from a professor, Jeong-min was cautious about asking, fearing it might be something serious.
“Ah, no. Professor Gwak here is a professor who helped me out a lot when I was in the States. So I stopped by to say hello. And since I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, I got a check-up while I was at it.”
“As they say, the monk cannot shave his own head.”
At Jeong-min’s remark, Shin-woo laughed again and tapped Jeong-min on the back.
“Since we’ve run into each other, shall we grab a coffee? Do you have time?”
“I can. For about 30 minutes…”
Jeong-min led Shin-woo to the coffee shop on the second floor of the hospital. Fortunately, there weren’t many people, so it seemed they could talk comfortably.
Once Jeong-min sat down with his iced americano, Shin-woo stared intently at him. Feeling burdened by that gaze, Jeong-min looked away and asked.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I just think you’ve grown up well. Our Jeong-min.”
“Hyung… I’m 30. Stop treating me like a kid.”
“But it’s strange; to me, you still look exactly as you did in middle school.”
“Why of all things middle school?”
“Hmm… because that was a time when we could live without worrying about the future?”
Yu Shin-woo was right. Back then, whether it was being an Alpha or an Omega, or their dreams for the future, they had thrown it all aside and just played, talked, and were happy together as a trio.
“It really is surreal. Seeing you here.”
“I find it surreal too. I didn’t think I’d be able to see you again.”
As soon as he said it, Jeong-min realized his mistake. Feeling that it might sound subtly suggestive, he quickly added on.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that! I just… I just didn’t think we’d be able to talk again after parting ways like that. That’s all I meant.”
“I don’t misunderstand it in that way. So much time has passed that it’s naturally become the past. I don’t think it’s the present. I heard rumors that you dated an incredible number of Omegas?”
“Uh…”
He wanted to deny it, but since it was true, he couldn’t lie. Jeong-min gave a strained nod.
“I also heard you had someone you were about to marry.”
“Hmm…”
It seemed the newly updated information hadn’t reached him yet.
“We broke off the engagement.”
“What? Broke off…?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to even call it a broken engagement since we hadn’t officially gotten engaged… but the other party asked to act as if it never happened, so we did.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry, Hyung? It’s okay. We weren’t that deep into a relationship.”
“Still… that’s how dating is. And if you were at the stage of marriage, it could have definitely become a lasting bond. Since a relationship you thought would lead to a union broke, there’s bound to be heartbreak, even if it was just a brief encounter.”
Jeong-min thought that the gentle consolation was very like him. And he was right. It wasn’t exactly heartbreak, but there was a sudden sense of emptiness. After receiving the notice of the broken engagement, when he went to work the next day, the other person had already submitted their resignation and vanished, meaning he couldn’t even see their face one last time. No matter how little they had been, there was naturally a lingering regret that they couldn’t at least part with a smile. Well, it was understandable if they were afraid he would demand to know why they wanted to break it off… On the other hand, seeing how they settled everything and fled like a fugitive made him wonder if that person had done something wrong.
“Don’t worry. A good match will appear. There will definitely be someone who loves you.”
What is the probability that the person I like will like me back? What is the probability that I will love the person who likes me? Yu Shin-woo knew that such a connection was harder than a miracle, but that was the only comforting word he could offer Jeong-min for now.
“But Hyung…”
“Yeah?”
“Ah, Doctor Shin!”
Just as he was about to ask if Shin-woo was seeing anyone these days, a doctor entered the cafe and called out to Jeong-min.