#31

“And then suddenly, he tells me I need to take profile pictures and tells me to change into this hideous swimsuit. I barely managed to escape by pretending to change.”

Shin Ho-jae pressed his fingers to his temple and then let go.

“Are you an idiot?”

“What?”

“Common sense tells you that didn’t make any sense from the start. What kind of agency CEO scouts people at a nightclub?”

“It could happen! Some of my seniors debuted that way!”

“You didn’t even properly look into the agency’s name, and you just followed him because he called you? You were lucky you managed to escape; do you have any idea what would have happened if you’d been caught there?”

“Why are you talking like that? I looked it up too! It looked like a legitimate place! How am I supposed to know when someone is determined to deceive me!”

“Doesn’t it occur to you that trying to find a shortcut was the mistake? If you want to be an actor, practice until you drop and go to auditions like everyone else. Stop thinking you can succeed through sheer luck.”

“I did all that! I did everything, but I’m the only one things aren’t working out for, so what am I supposed to do! That man didn’t just say he’d let me debut from the start. He said he wanted to invest in me! That he’d sponsor me!”

“And you believed that was pure sponsorship?”

At those words, Shin Yeon-jae’s face turned bright red.

“I didn’t believe it, okay! Then what was I supposed to do! All my classmates are passing multiple auditions, and I’m the only one still rotting away at school!”

“…….”

“You, who’ve been called a genius since you were a kid, what do you know about how an ordinary person feels!? Your path was paved from the beginning! Mom and Dad only cared about you! A conglomerate chairman just handed you sponsorships! You manifested as a dominant Alpha right at twelve….”

“…Why is the conversation drifting there again.”

“What do you know about the heart of someone who just keeps falling behind….”

Eventually, Shin Yeon-jae burst into tears. With his face flushed red and tears streaming down, he looked quite pitiful.

Shin Ho-jae reached out to place a hand on Yeon-jae’s shoulder. Yeon-jae snapped it away and buried his face in his hands, clearly sulking.

Ho-jae let out a deep sigh and simply watched Shin Yeon-jae cry while resting his chin on his hand.

He knew Yeon-jae had been shocked and distressed all day, but that didn’t mean Shin Yeon-jae wasn’t in the wrong. It was absurd to fall for such a pitch so easily.

Out of frustration, sharp words had come out first. Comforting someone with sweet words was never his forte.

“Your nose is running.”

“Ah! Stop it!”

Shin Yeon-jae snapped, rolling his eyes. He seemed to be looking for a tissue, and as Ho-jae looked around as well, he locked eyes with someone standing behind the wall—though he couldn’t tell since when they had been there.

Jung-hyun spoke with an awkward expression.

“…Ah, I’m sorry. I heard loud voices and just came down for a moment.”

“…Sniff.”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop….”

With a troubled look, Kwon Jung-hyun returned from somewhere with a box of tissues.

Shin Yeon-jae bowed his head in gratitude and carefully wiped his face. He made a miserable face upon seeing the mascara and lipstick smeared along with the tears and mucus.

“Hing, I don’t know…. My mascara is all smudged.”

“Is that really what you’re worried about right now….”

Shin Yeon-jae took a hand mirror out of his small handbag and fixed his smeared makeup. He then put the mirror back and closed the bag.

Staring quietly at the teddy bear keychain attached to the handbag, Jung-hyun asked Yeon-jae.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is the relationship between you two?”

“Him? He’s my older brother.”

“…Ah.”

“But seriously, isn’t my brother too much?”

“Pardon?”

“He’s been getting sponsorships and sponsors since he was a kid, but he throws a fit and tells me it’s absolutely forbidden! Is it a romance when he does it, but an affair when I do?”

“…….”

“…….”

Jung-hyun fell silent, and Shin Ho-jae let out a short groan.

“I mean, do you think I really had no thoughts about it? Life was just so frustrating and nothing was working out, so I did it out of desperation, like clutching at straws.”

“Shin Yeon-jae, stop it.”

Ho-jae felt that if he listened any longer, something he couldn’t bear to hear would slip out. Something that he and Kwon Jung-hyun, who were in an actual sponsor relationship, should not hear.

“Stop crying. What are you going to say to Mom if you go home looking like that? Pull yourself together.”

“Ah, seriously! Can’t you just comfort me for once?! You T-type human!”

“…….”

“I’m a total sucker for asking you for help, seriously!”

Then, he burst into loud wails again. Ho-jae looked down at Shin Yeon-jae with a bewildered expression.

What exactly did he do to deserve shouting like that?

Does shouting just make it happen? You have to be worth comforting first. Is it the act of an adult over twenty to ignore their own faults and just expect someone to take their side?

Ho-jae was using superhuman strength to hold back the sharp words that wanted to escape when Kwon Jung-hyun, who had been watching from the side, quietly intervened.

“Mr. Ho-jae. If you go out, the kitchen is to the left. There’s a water purifier on the shelf. Could you bring some warm water for your brother to drink? There are tea bags in the drawer; it would be even better if you could brew some.”

“…….”

At those words, Ho-jae stood up. Based on his past experience, he knew all too well that trying to exchange more words with Shin Yeon-jae in that state would only lead to shouting.

As Jung-hyun had said, the kitchen was to the left after leaving the living room. Only then did Ho-jae slowly look around the house.

It was a spacious two-story detached house. At a glance, it felt ordinary, but there was a strange sense of clutter. Mail piled haphazardly on the console, or boxes that looked like they had been left unopened for a long time.

“…….”

Compared to the floors and furniture that were wiped clean without a speck of dust, these things felt out of place.

Ho-jae felt along the wall and turned on the kitchen light. The round light falling over the dining table revealed things that had been hidden in the darkness.

An open laptop, documents scattered messily. A medicine bottle with the cap open.

It seemed the owner of this house had no talent for organizing things.

For Ho-jae, who organized everything first, the space was full of irritating sights, but he walked further inside to achieve his original purpose.

As he brought back the warm water with a tea bag brewed in it, he heard the sound of chatting coming from the living room.

“……Isn’t he just the worst? He was judged as a dominant Alpha right at twelve. Mom and Dad’s eyes were practically hearts. He was so annoying. From then on, I don’t know how hard I tried and struggled because I wanted to manifest as an Alpha too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I even sprayed those thousand-won fake pheromone perfumes from the stationery store like crazy.”

“In my day, those were 500 won.”

“Hul. You know about those? Daebak. Anyway, I bought and sprayed those every day with the New Year’s money I saved. Every time I did, Shin Ho-jae would pretend to cover his nose, saying it smelled disgusting. So annoying.”

“Haha. You siblings get along well.”

“Huh? You heard what I said, right?”

Shin Ho-jae stood behind the wall, silently listening to their conversation.

“Anyway, I manifested very late.”

“…Ah, then Yeon-jae is currently.”

“An Alpha. Though not a dominant one. Still, I’m just glad I’m not an Omega. I was really worried because they said there’s a high probability of manifesting as an Omega even if both parents are Alphas.”

A small exclamation of “Ah” followed.

“Then Yeon-jae’s family is a household of all Alphas.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Holding the cup, Shin Ho-jae stood still and frowned. An uncomfortable emotion crept up from beneath his feet. After a brief pause, Kwon Jung-hyun’s voice followed.

“Then, Ms. Yeon-jae, do you want to become an actor?”

“Yes…. Why? Does it seem hopeless to you too, CEO?”

“Not at all. I don’t know much about that field, but I can tell that Ms. Yeon-jae has a face blessed for acting.”

“…Really?”

“You must have heard that a lot. Strangely, Ms. Yeon-jae lacks confidence.”

“No…. It’s just because Shin Ho-jae is right next to me. Since I was young, I’ve heard a lot that I’m not as good as my brother….”

Kwon Jung-hyun cleared his throat with an “Um.” Soon, a voice that sounded like a low whisper was heard.

“If it’s alright, could I help Yeon-jae?””

“Pardon…?”

“I mean, I would like to sponsor you.”

Crash!

Shin Ho-jae slammed the cup he was holding down onto the nearby console.

It was an instinctive action that occurred before the word ‘sponsor’ coming from Kwon Jung-hyun’s mouth could even be properly processed in his head.

The hot water overflowed from the cup and soaked Ho-jae’s hand, but he didn’t even notice because his head had gone cold with rage.

As he stepped straight into the living room, he saw a startled Shin Yeon-jae and an expressionless Kwon Jung-hyun. Without glancing at Kwon Jung-hyun once, Shin Ho-jae spoke in a stiff tone.

“Come out. Shin Yeon-jae.”

“Huh? What? Why?”

A bewildered Shin Yeon-jae asked, looking back and forth between Ho-jae and Jung-hyun.

32 – Puck Drop