By Zephyria 
“…You.”
The man who turned to look at me urgently was Seo-joo. Seo-joo had clearly called me ‘Hyung.’ Hyung. Seo-joo had called me Hyung.
“Hyung, sorry I’m late.”
“Seo, Seo-joo? Do you remember me? Did you just call me Hyung?”
“I’m too late, right? But I kept my promise. I told you that in the next life, I’d become healthier than you and protect you.”
It was a bright smile that didn’t suit the urgency of the situation. I never thought I would see that shy, beaming smile again.
‘Next time, I’ll grow bigger and healthier and protect you, Hyung. I promise!’
Seo-joo, who used to sing about becoming healthier than me, had truly returned to me exactly as he had promised. I had vowed countless times to let him go, to let him be faithful to his current life without being tied to the past, but tears welled up in my eyes at that smile.
“We can talk later; let’s get out of here first. Dad is outside. I told him to wait in the car even though he wanted to come in with us.”
Comforting me as I cried, Seo-joo carefully helped me up and leaned my back against a nearby tree.
“Stay right here. It’s easier for me to block them if you’re here. I’ll find a gap and break through.”
Seo-joo pushed me between the tree and himself so that I couldn’t move. I pressed my back firmly against the tree trunk so that I couldn’t be attacked from behind. And in front of Seo-joo, Hyun-wook stood, blocking the way for both of us. Hyun-wook must be curious about Seo-joo as well, and I felt resentful that the situation was like this.
Then, as if they had been waiting, the enemies rushed in fiercely. Hyun-wook defended to prevent them from approaching us. Seo-joo blocked the opponents with the training longsword he had brought. Don’t they have guns? While I was lost in that worry, Seo-joo had to fend off the rushing humans while keeping me behind him for protection. Because he had to keep an eye on me, he swung his sword while minimizing his body movements.
Seo-joo put strength into his wrists and focused his attacks solely on the throat—the vital spot—to avoid wide-ranging movements. Just then, one of them slipped past Hyun-wook and aimed for his waist.
“Hyun-wook!”
The moment Hyun-wook flinched at my scream, Hyung raised his gun and shot the man in the leg. As the gunshot rang out, a brief silence followed, and then the atmosphere became even more grim. My heart sank as I watched everyone suffer through hardships they didn’t have to, all because of me.
“Is Hyun-wook okay?”
“Yes. Thank you, Hyung-nim.”
“We’ve stalled for too long. We need to get out of here quickly. If we’re not careful, we’ll be trapped.”
Though he showed no sign of struggle, sweat dripped from Han-bin Hyung’s face and neck despite the cold weather.
With an expressionless face, Hyung relentlessly subdued the men who were swarming back. Hyun-wook also regained his focus and took down the men one by one, but there were too many of them. I was anxious that they might start firing guns. No matter how good Hyung and Han-bin’s stamina was, it wouldn’t be easy to withstand this kind of offensive indefinitely.
Then, as if he had made a decision, Hyung locked eyes with Hyun-wook. Hyun-wook nodded and immediately sent the same look to Seo-joo. Understanding the signal, Seo-joo gripped my wrist tightly. Soon, Han-bin Hyung fired several shots into the air, and the startled people covered their heads with their hands and ducked.
Seizing the moment, Seo-joo grabbed my hand and began to run at full speed, with Hyung and Hyun-wook following behind as our escort. As we ran for our lives and managed to get outside, a van screeched to a halt in front of us.
“Get in, quickly!”
Dad’s urgent voice came through the open window. In that manner, we barely managed to escape the palace and climb into the car. The car moved the instant we got in. As soon as I sat in the seat, I leaned my head back and exhaled a ragged breath. Why am I so exhausted when I didn’t even do anything? The people who fought for their lives to protect me are the ones who should be tired.
My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it thumping in my head. This was an unexpected attack. Whose doing was it? I had no idea why Joo Min-hyeok’s Imperial Guard had moved. After catching my breath for a moment, I looked around to see if everyone was safe.
Without a trace of exhaustion, Hyung moved to the passenger seat and remained tense, his gun loaded. Hyun-wook also stayed alert, moving to the very back seat to keep a watch on the situation outside. It was obvious they would follow immediately.
We had escaped safely, but the air was thick with tension. I could see the worry on Dad’s face. Seo-joo also breathed heavily while checking both windows. Only then did it sink in that we had escaped the palace. At least we’re out.
“Is everyone unhurt?”
When I asked in a cracked voice, Hyung looked back.
“This is nothing. I was just worried about you.”
“I didn’t even do anything… everyone suffered so much to protect me. I’m sorry. And Dad, thank you for coming. You must have been surprised.”
“I was. I was so shocked I don’t even remember how I got here. I don’t know what’s going on. As long as everyone is safe, that’s all that matters.”
I turned to look at Seo-joo’s face to see if he was okay. Meeting my eyes, Seo-joo beamed. It was the smile of the Seo-joo I knew. The cold, guarded appearance was gone, and I could see the smile of the younger brother I remembered.
“Seo-joo, what happened to you all of a sudden?”
“Was what you said earlier about having something to tell me related to Seo-joo, sir?”
As soon as I finished speaking, Hyun-wook asked Dad. I wasn’t the only one surprised by Seo-joo’s unexpected appearance. Hyun-wook had also been so shocked that he couldn’t focus on defense for a while. After glancing at Hyun-wook, Seo-joo hugged me tightly.
“I was sick a while ago, and my memories returned while I was bedridden. My body hadn’t recovered, so I couldn’t come out; I just gathered my strength and waited for the day Dad would visit me at the gym. That was yesterday. It was so sudden that Dad and I just kept crying when we met. Once I calmed down a bit, I got a call from Hyun-wook Hyung.”
“Wait, so as soon as your memories returned…”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m so upset. That you had to go through that, Hyung…”
Feeling Seo-joo’s warm skin and hearing his heartbeat as he hugged me and cried, I felt that this truly wasn’t a dream. Seo-joo had really remembered me.
“Once I remembered, everything made sense. I mean, my behavior.”
“Your behavior?”
“I was obsessed with exercise and health. I was obsessed to an absurd degree. Even among Alphas, I have an excessively healthy body, but I clung to it like a compulsion. Even with exercise, normally people wouldn’t even register at Hyun-wook Hyung’s gym, but I fought tooth and nail to get in.”
“You did?”
Listening to Seo-joo’s explanation, I felt a sudden pang of pity for him. I could gradually understand why he had been obsessed with exercise.
“I didn’t know why I was so obsessed. I’d snap out of it and find myself exercising, or snap out of it and find I’d become a black belt. It was as if I absolutely had to, and while I chased a strength I didn’t understand the reason for, my heart always felt empty. I wondered why I was like this… but now I know.”
My younger brother, who was now older and more robust than me, smiled brightly, saying he had found the reason. I felt proud of him yet heartbroken, so I smiled back through my tears. It felt as though the reason Seo-joo chased strength was because of me.
“I realized I did it to keep the promise I made to you, Hyung. I had no memories, but subconsciously, I struggled with all my might to keep it. I really kept my promise. In the last life, you devoted yourself to me, so this time, I’ll protect you.”
I worried if I had placed a heavy burden on Seo-joo. Because I had thought only of Seo-joo’s health in the previous life, I had focused everything on health. That’s why a healthy body was what we wanted most, yet I was still weak and frail.
“That’s right. Seo-joo was always a good, obedient brother, so I’m so grateful. Thank you so much for remembering me. I don’t want anything else now. Truly.”
Since it was a reunion I hadn’t even dared to hope for, nothing could be happier than this. However, while I was certainly happy, my heart felt heavy. It was so heavy that my chest felt tight. A dream I had longed for had come true, yet my heart only felt heavy.
“Hae-joo, Seo-joo. Dad is here, so don’t worry and just duck your heads!”
Dad’s sweet words instantly turned into a scream. No sooner had he told us to duck than a massive impact hit the car. Cars chasing us appeared everywhere, and soon we were on the verge of being surrounded.
“They caught up already. Fuck. I didn’t even get to catch up with you properly.”
Hyun-wook spat out a curse and gripped his gun tightly.
“But who the hell is trying to kill Hae-joo?”
“I don’t know. It’s not clear. Imperial Guard equipment was found on them, but their movements aren’t like soldiers at all. They don’t show the specific movements of trained soldiers.”
Hyung answered Dad’s irritable question, and I looked up, deeply shocked by his answer.
“Hyung! You’re saying those people aren’t soldiers?”
“Yeah. You can tell by looking. They’re definitely not soldiers. They seem like some well-trained private organization. Doesn’t look like gangsters… soldiers and gangsters swing their blades differently. So this time, break one of their arms or legs and bring them in. We need to know who they are.”
Whether it was the instinct of a soldier trained for a long time, his voice and gaze were not those of the Hyung I knew. I felt I could understand a bit of how Hyung had endured harsh training to become the youngest Brigadier General. If that were the case, it meant this might not be something Joo Min-hyeok ordered. And I truly hoped that was the case.