By Zephyria 
“Even though you’ve had the injection, the drug might not work, so you must come out immediately if any abnormal symptoms appear.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After hearing the attending physician’s warning, Jeong-min entered the room. The door closed, and nothing illuminated the room except for the dark moonlight.
Glancing at the wall clock, he saw it was 3:30 AM. What on earth had happened in that short amount of time? Jeong-min sighed, looked down at Yu Shin-woo on the bed, and sat in the chair provided beside it.
“Shin-woo hyung.”
It would have been better if Hyung were happy. Instead of dying like this, it would have been better if he had imprinted with an Omega, started a family, and lived a normal, happy life.
Jeong-min looked at Yu Shin-woo’s hand, which was slightly peeking out from under the blanket. Fortunately, his fingers were wrapped in bandages. Holding that hand carefully, Jeong-min prayed. That everything would become alright.
“Huu….”
Just as the breathing, which had seemed a bit labored, stabilized, Jeong-min looked up. Yu Shin-woo still had his eyes closed, but Jeong-min could feel the hand he was holding tighten.
“Shin-woo…!”
“Yeong… min-ah….”
He hadn’t changed. This person…. He still couldn’t let go of that terrible and cruel love that had made him this way. Jeong-min smiled bitterly. Or perhaps it was a smile filled with sadness. Jeong-min slowly let go of the hand he had been holding.
“Jeong-min-ah?”
At the sudden sound of his name, Jeong-min looked at Shin-woo. Having regained consciousness, he looked at Jeong-min with wide, startled eyes. Then, he lifted the hand that had been held by Jeong-min and brought it to Jeong-min’s eyes.
“Why are you crying?”
Had he been crying? As Jeong-min blinked in surprise, a single tear suddenly dropped. How fragile this heart was. After claiming he would hide it and bury it so deeply.
Like a spell breaking a seal, as soon as Shin-woo called for ‘Yeong-min,’ the buried emotions poured out like a tide. It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything.
“I thought… you were going to die, Hyung.”
“I’m sorry. You were scared, weren’t you? I think the drug didn’t work. I’m really sorry.”
No. You don’t need to be sorry, Hyung. Rather, as a trait individual, I shouldn’t have stayed at your house, he wanted to say, but the burst of emotion made it impossible to speak. He could only clutch his aching chest, bite his lip hard, and hold back his sobs.
Shin-woo was surprised to see Jeong-min crying and wanted to comfort him quickly, but since his physical condition was poor, he could only pat his shoulder with his hand.
“Hyung…. You came to Korea to find an Omega to imprint with, right?”
And he knew. That even if he dug up what had been buried, it would only lead to everyone suffering together…. So let’s bury it again quickly. It’s not too late yet.
“How do you know that?”
“I’m sorry. I just wondered if there was anything I could do…. I met Kim Ju-hwan and heard about it.”
“Ah… Kim Ju-hwan….”
Shin-woo murmured Kim Ju-hwan’s name quietly and smiled faintly.
“He’s quite something. He helped me a lot while I was abroad. He still does…. Huu… you must have heard the story about me imprinting with several people.”
Jeong-min nodded.
“I guess I’m just a lost cause. I can’t even make one Omega happy.”
“That’s not true. It could just be that you weren’t compatible with them.”
“The pheromone compatibility was good. The matching rate was high too…. But it didn’t work. It’s because I lack the ability.”
“I told you it’s not that! You did nothing wrong, Hyung!!”
Jeong-min bolted up and spoke to Shin-woo. Shin-woo quickly told Jeong-min to calm down and pulled his arm to make him sit back down.
“You’re always the only one who says things like that to me.”
Shin-woo sighed with a smile. Resignation was etched on his face.
“Everything was good… but I couldn’t love them. Really… I didn’t have the confidence to make them happy… They accepted me and tried to love me, but since I was the one running away and lacking confidence, maybe they got tired too, and that’s why the imprinting was undone.”
“Hyung, imprinting doesn’t just get undone like that….”
“I know…. But I’m a special case. I thought that could be the cause…. Honestly, if the Cal Front people heard this, they’d fall over in shock, but I thought it was actually for the best. Isn’t this better for everyone…. I can be the only one who is unhappy; they don’t need to take responsibility for my misery.”
“You’re not unhappy, Hyung….”
“Jeong-min-ah….”
“There will be an Omega who is a perfect match for you. I’ll help you find them.”
“It’ll just repeat.”
“Don’t give up.”
“I won’t be able to love that person.”
Jeong-min wanted to ask why he thought so desperately, but he already knew the answer. He still hadn’t forgotten ‘Yeong-min.’ Jeong-min bit his lip.
“Everything… will work out. It’ll be okay, Hyung.”
✽✽✽
“Oh, you’re here?”
He had spent the night by Shin-woo’s side, worked at the hospital, visited Shin-woo again, and was on his way home. He was so exhausted that he planned to collapse onto his bed and sleep immediately, but as soon as he opened the door, he saw Yeong-min eating snacks on his bed.
Of all people… the person he least wanted to see today.
Jeong-min sighed and, without a word, grabbed his clothes, took a shower, and came out.
“Hey, don’t you even say ‘Welcome home, Hyung’?”
Watching Jeong-min emerge from the bathroom, Yeong-min grumbled with a pouty face.
“I’m tired. Let’s talk later.”
“Ugh, to think this is my younger brother~ I even bought gifts on my trip~”
Yeong-min complained as he tossed a luxury watch he had bought during his travels toward Jeong-min. Looking at the watch that had landed with a thud on the floor, Jeong-min sighed again and picked it up. Having no desire to wear it, he placed it on the desk and was about to leave the room when Yeong-min clapped his hands as if remembering something.
“Right. I talked to Kim Ju-hwan today.”
What? Why is that name suddenly coming out of Shin Yeong-min’s mouth?
“Why?”
“No, he just suddenly called today. And do you know what he said?”
Why was his heart pounding with anxiety?
“He asked if I could help Shin-woo hyung.”
“What? How?”
“He said that hyung is an incurable patient right now? He said you knew about it too? When I heard that, I wondered what on earth he was talking about. I couldn’t believe it because someone who seemed perfectly fine was suddenly an incurable patient! So I asked Kim Ju-hwan if today was April Fool’s Day. But I was surprised because he said it was true.”
Ha, Shin Yeong-min spoke as if he were sharing some piece of gossip he’d picked up for fun. For a moment, Jeong-min felt irritated, but he suppressed it and told him to keep talking.
“Anyway, he said he’s looking for someone who can cure that illness and suddenly thought of me. So he asked if I could help.”
“So, in what way?”
“He suggested doing a pheromone matching test.”
Kim Ju-hwan…. He really is like a ghost. He knew exactly what Yu Shin-woo wanted right now.
“So what did you decide?”
“I thought it sounded interesting, so I said I’d do it…. Um… well, anyway, I said I’d do it.”
Yeong-min, hesitating slightly, nodded and gave the conclusion Jeong-min wanted. Jeong-min didn’t know whether to be happy or sad…. He could only let out a hollow laugh.
On one hand, he had always envied Yeong-min. Because he could take everything lightly, reach simple conclusions in his decisions and thoughts, and do whatever he wanted.
He had thought that since their lives were so different when Shin-woo wasn’t around, they should just live their separate lives—you be you, and I’ll be me—and be satisfied with their own lives… but now, thinking about how they were becoming entangled again, he felt it was exhausting.
Right… setting aside that Yeong-min is just that kind of guy, what the hell is this Kim Ju-hwan bastard? Jeong-min kicked Yeong-min out, locked his bedroom door, and called Kim Ju-hwan.
─ Yes, Sunbae.
As if he had been waiting, Kim Ju-hwan answered on the first ring.
“Are you crazy? What are you thinking? Why Yeong-min….”
─ I’ve been thinking for a while… the people around you seem to like you a lot, Sunbae. Why do they deliver news so quickly? Ah, maybe I’m the same?
“Stop dodging the question. What on earth are you thinking?”
─ Don’t you know too, Sunbae?
“Know what?”
─ That perhaps the way to save Yu Shin-woo might be Shin Yeong-min.
“…Finding a matching Omega… is different from the heart.”
─ What if it’s the same?
“…….”
─ Shin-woo Sunbae lives, and I heard Yeong-min Sunbae is currently single? Since he’s already had the child he wanted so badly, he probably doesn’t have a desire for a new one. Maybe they could reunite and become affectionate. I don’t think that possibility is zero…. They’re the ones becoming happy, so we should wish them well. We should.