By Zephyria 
Looking at the spot where Joo Min-hyeok had been, the events that had just unfolded felt like a dream. If it weren’t for the crumpled, torn door, I wouldn’t have believed it. To appear like a warning and then casually say, “Sleep well”? As I stared blankly at the tattered door, I felt my brother’s hand on my shoulder.
His right arm lightly wrapped around my shoulder, patting me. I wanted to check his expression, but he rested his forehead against my head, blocking my view of his face. For the first time in a while, he looked exhausted. For a moment, I panicked, wondering if Joo Min-hyeok had tormented him using pheromones. Fortunately, I couldn’t smell any of Joo Min-hyeok’s pheromones on him.
My brother just seemed like someone who had depleted all his energy. He had bared his claws menacingly toward the Emperor, the man he had served and revered his entire life, so his heart couldn’t be at peace. I turned around and hugged him tightly. My poor brother. He had lived his whole life in anxiety, tormented by our grandfather since childhood, and now his heart was bruised because of me.
“Brother. I’m sorry.”
I was sorry for everything. Everything to the point that the word “sorry” couldn’t possibly express it.
“What are you sorry for? Out of everything that has happened, there isn’t a single thing you did wrong. It’s because you’re too pure that the bugs are swarming you. You’re just a victim who’s been attacked from all sides.”
A victim. That applied to my brother as well. There were too many people targeting him, and he resisted. To protect me and to protect himself. Couldn’t they just leave us alone now? They could just forget about us. Please.
“The fact that I discharged from the military, and the fact that we’re staying on this island—none of that is your fault. This is all the fault of our foolish grandfather, and there was nothing we could do. This current state was the best we could manage. I have no regrets about this choice.”
The best choice we could make. Right. At that time, this was the most optimal choice available to us. I, too, had no regrets about that part. I only felt sorry that this capable Dominant Alpha was trapped on a secluded island, unable to pursue his dreams.
“Hae-joo. You need to keep your wits about you now. I think His Majesty has made up his mind. From years ago. From the moment you ran away. So, he will be even more persistent. Steel your heart. Make a choice that you won’t regret, without wavering. I will follow whatever choice you make.”
“…Yeah. I understand.”
I answered that I understood, but in truth, I didn’t know. What choice could I make that I wouldn’t regret? I didn’t want to choose anything regarding Joo Min-hyeok. I didn’t even want to think about him. From the lack of an Imperial Wedding to the absence of a designated Empress, and even the fact that the divorce hadn’t been finalized—it was all Joo Min-hyeok’s will. It was absurd; I didn’t know what he wanted from me.
Next time I see him, I’ll definitely ask. Why is he so obsessed with me? Joo Min-hyeok had never once told me his feelings. That’s why I don’t know what his true intentions are. I need to hear a valid reason for why he’s acting like this.
My brother gently pulled away from me and gestured toward Seo-joo. From his stern expression, I could tell. Seo-joo was about to get a lecture for kicking Joo Min-hyeok a moment ago. Because that was truly no ordinary matter.
“Seo-joo. I didn’t check if His Majesty had separate orders, so I don’t know, but it’s a fact that you were lucky.”
“…Lucky? You mean His Majesty just let it slide?”
“That’s part of it. Wherever His Majesty goes, his snipers follow him. I don’t know how many there are. They’re a group that moves in complete secrecy. They’re different from official soldiers or bodyguards.”
The Emperor’s snipers. I remembered Joo Min-hyeok once mentioning that he wanted to assign some to me as well. I had forgotten about that. As my brother said, they must have been watching around our house.
“Snipers?”
Seo-joo, turning slightly pale, muttered with a look of complete mental collapse. My brother, looking at Seo-joo with a complex expression, patted his shoulder.
“Yes. They almost certainly came along today. Since it was a direct attack on His Majesty, even if your life wasn’t taken, it was a situation where you could have easily been maimed. You’re only intact because there were clearly other orders, Seo-joo.”
Seo-joo nodded slowly as if he understood, his face turning white. He had acted that way because he didn’t know, but now that he did, he would be careful. Why did he become so hot-tempered?
“I completely understand that you have ill feelings toward His Majesty. But if something happens to you, Hae-joo, Father, and I will be devastated. Be exceptionally careful. You have to think about your family home in Seoul, too.”
My brother urged him while looking at the red marks on Seo-joo’s face and fist. Those were likely injuries sustained when Joo Min-hyeok pushed through the people stationed outside. Whenever they get entangled in things involving me and Joo Min-hyeok, they always end up getting hurt. I hated that. I wanted such things to never happen again.
“It seems His Majesty knows something about our relationship. It bothers me too much that he just let it pass. From an outside perspective, there are many strange things about our relationship. The islanders don’t know, so they overlook it, but if someone who knows even a little appears, they’ll ask what our relationship is.”
Until now, because our surnames were the same and we looked similar, our relationship hadn’t been questioned. However, if someone dug deeper, it was clear that our relationship was abrupt and strange to others. It would look odd for the brothers of the Grand Imperial Concubine, the grandson of the Chairman of the Shinsun Group, and the CEO of a top travel agency to live together. And Joo Min-hyeok’s behavior was definitely strange.
The way he looked surprised to see Seo-joo wasn’t the vigilance one shows toward a strange Alpha, but rather a feeling of, ‘Ah, so you’re the one I’ve heard about.’ He even remembered Seo-joo, recalling the part where I had compared him to a cat.
“He might have heard something from Hyun-wook. But I haven’t even been able to ask about how Hyun-wook and Hee-sung are doing.”
The surprise and fear of Joo Min-hyeok’s visit were tangled together, leaving my head in a chaotic muddle.
“Thinking about it now won’t give us an answer anyway. Everyone’s very shaken, so let’s just rest for today.”
As my brother said, worrying now wouldn’t provide an answer, but I felt stifled. I didn’t think I could possibly fall asleep today.
∗ ∗ ∗
I feel stifled. So stifled. It wasn’t because of Joo Min-hyeok’s visit, but because Seo-joo was hugging me tightly while sleeping. This huge guy pushed his way in, saying he was scared and wanted to sleep together, to the point where the bed felt like it was about to break. Was he scared by the talk of snipers?
Or did he belatedly fear the consequences of boldly throwing a punch? Whatever it was, since he came to me out of fear, I couldn’t push him away saying it was too cramped. Since the cause of his fear was me…
“Good grief, this guy is all size. He’s a child, a total child.”
“…That’s right. I’m still a kid. I’m three years younger than you, but I was born one year older here, so the family tree is all twisted.”
“Twisted, my foot.”
Seo-joo’s phrasing was funny, so I let out a giggle without realizing it.
“Brother. If Dad finds out about today, he’ll be really surprised, right?”
“He’ll be incredibly surprised. It’s a relief the door is all fixed.”
He’s good at acting like an older brother in front of people, but as soon as he comes home, he clings to me and looks for Dad. He’s exactly the same as when we were kids. Cute.
“It’s all because I suggested we read that book.”
Seo-joo, burying his face in the pillow, grumbled miserably.
“What do you mean?”
“Because I read that damn BL novel, we all ended up here. Did I think you’d become the Grand Imperial Concubine? Did I think the Emperor would be a guy like that! Because of me, you met the wrong man… I should have read something else.”
Ah, right. I had completely forgotten. This was inside the novel Seo-joo liked. It was like that at first. Now that this place had become my reality, I had forgotten.
“But Seo-joo, that’s also funny. Something else? It’s a good thing you at least like this genre. If it had been a mystery or horror, just thinking about it is terrifying. Like a zombie story.”
To change the mood, I listed genres that would have been terrible to be possessed into. Seo-joo seemed to agree, as he began to laugh, his shoulders shaking while his face remained buried in the pillow.
“Still, isn’t it a relief? I don’t know about others, but in the end, we all met like this. The principle of how it happened isn’t important anymore. What’s important is that we all met. That alone is a stroke of luck. Don’t you think?”
Since there was a time when he had no memories, I wondered if he felt the same as I did. Seo-joo snapped his head up and looked at me with a face that asked why I was asking something so obvious.
“Of course I do! Meeting Brother and Dad… and meeting Hyun-wook brother again felt like a dream. We’re not going to part ways now.”
“Aren’t you confused?”
I began to gently unravel the problem I had been keeping in my heart.
“Confused about what?”
“Remembering your past life… you were living well here. Our appearance could have been quite bewildering. I didn’t want to lose Han-bin brother, and I really wanted to live with you. I didn’t even want to think about a life without my brother. Because my family is so precious to me. I wondered if you felt the same… since you’re living apart from your family here because of me.”
Seo-joo turned his body to look at me. I, who had been lying flat, also turned on my side to face him.
“Our parents here are great. But strangely, I felt something like a wall. Not in a bad way, but, um, how should I explain it? Like they weren’t parents, but more like a kind aunt and uncle? Like it wasn’t a direct relationship, but a connection through someone else.”
An aunt and uncle… I think I know what he means.
“Of course, we got along very well. A moderately good relationship with a moderate sense of distance. I think they felt it too. It wasn’t a desperate, clinging relationship like ours. When I remembered Brother and Dad, I felt like I had finally found my family, and tears just poured out. My real family. The place where I belong.”
It was a relief. Selfishly, only after those words I wanted to hear came out of Seo-joo’s mouth could I finally feel at ease.
“We’ve met again. I’ve found stability. You were my support, and I missed you so much. Even though I had forgotten everything. I’ll obviously fulfill my duties to my family in Seoul, but I’m going to stay here. Beside Brother and Dad.”
I stroked the head of Seo-joo as he buried his face in my shoulder. It was a moment of small comfort in a tiring day.