111 – VCR

Did I hear that correctly? Did I mishear him? When I’m with Joo Min-hyeok, I often find myself doubting my own auditory abilities. He had been exaggerating things while drunk; could he be exaggerating his feelings now too? I couldn’t believe it, wondering if he had simply become confused after obsessing over me for the past few years for whatever reason.

Looking at me with slightly glazed eyes, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his gaze. I like you, I like you. They were words I had wanted to hear so badly, yet I felt nothing but doubt. Why is he doing this? I wondered what his ulterior motive was and what he needed from me this time.

I couldn’t trust that confession, and I was busy searching for a hidden intention on Joo Min-hyeok’s face. Perhaps the news that I might meet another Alpha had been a shock to him. After all, an Alpha’s obsession with their Omega usually transcends imagination.

Although we are in the process of divorcing, it is a fact that I was his Omega, and I understand a certain level of obsession. However, I cannot tolerate him throwing words like this around carelessly while drunk. Protecting my own mental health was a more urgent priority.

“I was upset. I was so upset that you mentioned another Alpha. But I’m sorry about the roses. I didn’t know you didn’t like them. I didn’t know that happened. I’m sorry for making you remember something that must have been painful.”

I received an unexpected apology from Joo Min-hyeok. Even his grandfather had never apologized to me. I felt a bit guilty that he was apologizing for not knowing something because I hadn’t told him. I know roses are beautiful. Who could look at their elegance and hate them? It was just that the painful memories accompanying the roses were agonizing.

“I also apologize for saying I was upset. I’m not upset at all. So, please, please don’t look at me with those eyes. I’m truly scared when you look at me like that.”

“Those eyes? What exactly am I doing with my eyes for you to call them ‘those eyes’?”

I was looking at him normally, so what was the problem now? If he was going to apologize, he should have just kept it to a clean apology.

“You’re looking at me so indifferently. Like I’m a complete stranger, like you don’t know me. Don’t look [Read on Read BL Novels]at me with those emotionless visit our siteclass="wm-strong" style="position:relative;display:inline;">[unauthorized copy]eyes, as if I’m just some other person. I’d rather you just keep being angry. This is too… it feels like we’re strangers.”

I didn’t know what to say to this. He’s dissatisfied if I’m angry, and dissatisfied if I’m not. I can’t exactly raise my voice and fight every time I see him. There are times for everything, but perhaps because of the alcohol, Joo Min-hyeok was currently in a very sensitive state.

And perhaps because I had been lying on the ground for too long, my back felt freezing and the weight of him pressing down on me felt heavy. Just as I wriggled my body to prepare to get up, an arm suddenly reached up toward the sky.

“Your Majesty, my apologies, but I shall touch your person for a moment.”

A familiar, welcoming voice sounded from above my head. Hyung? I wondered when Han-bin hyung had arrived as he looked down at us, slid his hands under Joo Min-hyeok’s armpits, and lifted him up. With Min-hyeok’s arm draped over his shoulder, hyung grabbed my hand with his other hand and pulled me up from the ground.

“Hyung, when did you get here?”

“I’ll take care of His Majesty, so you go inside now.”

“Huh? No, he’s drunk right now…”

Hyung, firmly supporting Min-hyeok’s body, glanced at me as he opened the back door of the car.

“That’s why I’m telling you to go inside. What if someone from another building sees this? Go. Don’t you realize you’re completely drenched in pheromones right now?”

Startled by hyung’s firm voice, I nodded slowly and checked on Joo Min-hyeok. Perhaps dizzy from being suddenly lifted, he covered his face with his hand, struggling unauthorized visit our sitecopyto regain his senses. I watched him for a moment before turning around and heading back to the house. The pheromones were already making the situation quite awkward.

∗   ∗   ∗

After carefully helping Min-hyeok into the car, Han-bin sat beside him and scanned the surroundings. Where did the attendants go? It was a good thing he was the one who saw the two of them rolling on the ground, otherwise, this would have caused a huge scandal. While Han-bin let out a short sigh and looked around, he felt Min-hyeok move.

Moving his head as if stretching, Min-hyeok leaned his head against the car. After checking Min-hyeok’s condition, Han-bin tried to step outside to find his people. They must be watching from somewhere, but what orders had he given that they wouldn’t budge?

“Our Brigadier General has good eyes…”

“Your Majesty?”

Surprised by Min-hyeok’s languid yet clear voice, Han-bin took his eyes off the window and looked back at him. Min-hyeok had one arm resting on his forehead, eyes closed with a look of fatigue. As evidenced by his unusual demeanor, he certainly seemed drunk, but his manner of speaking was clearly different from when he was with Hae-joo.

“I said I have good eyes. How did you see that?”

Looking at Min-hyeok, who was reprimanding him in a cracked voice, Han-bin spoke.

“There is a streetlight nearby, so I could see well. Were you not drunk? The way you were acting earlier…”

Anyone could see that he had been drunk. But now, he doubted if that was still the case.

“…I’m drunk. That’s why I did those things.”

Rubbing his face repeatedly with his palm, Min-hyeok tried to fully regain his senses. He had spent the whole day obsessing over what Hae-joo had said, drank several bottles of alcohol on an empty stomach, and ended up in this state. It was true that he had been drunk enough to not know how he had even arrived here.

When he rolled out of the car a moment ago, the impact of his body hitting the cold ground and the scent of Hae-joo’s pheromones had slowly brought him back to his senses. He knew very well what he was doing under the influence of alcohol, but he didn’t want to stop.

“You couldn’t have come alone; where are the others that no one comes out to check on Your Majesty while you are in such a state?”

When Han-bin spoke with a furrowed brow, almost as if daring to scold him, Min-hyeok let out a hollow laugh. This rigid man never changes. That was also one of the reasons he liked Han-bin.

“I told them not to come out until I called. I told them they wouldn’t know what might happen if they came out before then.”

The people on the other side were probably anxious. Seeing the Emperor drunk and acting out of character, they must have been pacing back and forth while watching.

“If Your Majesty shows that side of yourself, it will only make things difficult for Hae-joo. Please do not shake him up again.”

“He didn’t look shaken at all; he was just blunt. You always take your brother’s side.”

Min-hyeok clicked his tongue at Han-bin’s characteristic worry for his brother.

“You must drink in moderation. You’ve never been like this before. If you overdo it, you end up acting like you did earlier.”

“What about ‘like earlier’? Is it wrong to use the strength of alcohol to convey my feelings?”

The way he was slightly whining, unlike his usual self, suggested that he hadn’t fully recovered his senses. Han-bin, who had many worries, couldn’t stop nagging. Behavior like that not only compromised the Emperor’s dignity but could also lead to Hae-joo becoming a subject of gossip again, so restraint was necessary.

“That’s one thing, but you look exceptionally tired. Seoul and here aren’t exactly neighboring towns; it would be best to exercise restraint. Your Majesty, are you listening?”

Frustrated that Min-hyeok was only staring out the window where nothing could be seen in the darkness, Han-bin raised his voice. Although Min-hyeok nodded, anyone could tell he was just giving a perfunctory answer.

“You have a lot of work and frequent flights; if your health suffers, the people around you are the ones who suffer. I mean that if the Emperor travels too much, it becomes a nuisance to those around him. Aren’t the travel expenses all taxes? Not to mention the accumulated fatigue and the vulnerable environments where you don’t know what might happen…”

“…I get it. I said I get it.”

“Furthermore, Your Majesty’s recent attitude toward Hae-joo has been far from the dignity of an Emperor…”

“The dignity of an Emperor? What is that? It’s fine if I look pathetic and miserable. Those things don’t matter anymore.”

Because winning back Hae-joo’s heart was now more important than anything else, the conventional issues Han-bin mentioned were no longer important to him. He had discovered a gaze even more indifferent than the [visit our site]visit our site -->one that [visit our site]had coldly expressed anger. The moment he realized that, his heart sank.

It is a completely different problem when someone stops being angry and simply becomes uninterested. If even the feeling of hatred disappears, it’s truly the end for Min-hyeok. He would be cast aside by Hae-joo without a second chance.

It felt like a hint that he was no longer a person who mattered. Hae-joo would become even more indifferent, and Min-hyeok would no longer be Hae-joo’s person. A nobody. Yes. He would become a nobody.

Hae-joo would meet another Alpha, show them the smile he once showed him, whisper the things he once whispered to him, and give another Alpha the gaze filled with love. While watching him start a new life with another Alpha in utter despair, Min-hyeok would have to let Hae-joo go completely.

In that indifferent gaze and demeanor, Min-hyeok could face the reality of his situation head-on. Right now, he was in a state of emergency more than ever, and any sense of composure had long since vanished. Only a burning anxiety remained. He loved Hae-joo.

If Hae-joo truly left him, Min-hyeok wouldn’t be able to bear it. His chest tightened with a suffocating feeling, and Min-hyeok frowned. Just imagining it was agonizing and made him feel so sick he felt he might go crazy; what would he do if it actually became reality? How could he handle that?

He didn’t know what to do. Feeling that he might actually die if all this became reality, he clung to Hae-joo in desperation. He could do things like this as often as he wanted in the future. As he dwelled on things that hadn’t even happened yet, his vision darkened and a sharp pain flared in his solar plexus.

“Your Majesty? Your complexion is very poor.”

“This is nothing, ugh…”

“Your Majesty!”

Startled by Min-hyeok’s pale face and cold sweat, Han-bin shouted. [Read on Read BL Novels]Min-hyeok, clutching his stomach with a distorted face, looked to be in a serious condition. Having never seen him like this, Han-bin [visit our site]shouted in panic, and soon the car door opened to reveal bodyguards with expressions no different from Han-bin’s.