By Zephyria 
“I apologize. We couldn’t stop the vehicle because it had the Lotus Flower Palace insignia.”
“Lotus Flower Palace? It looks ordinary to me.”
The imperial family’s vehicles had different colored license plates. Sometimes, they were distinguished by the flags symbolizing the Taegeuk and the palace, but this car that had barged in didn’t seem to have any special features.
“There was definitely an insignia on the front windshield.”
The guard quickly made excuses. He knew how sensitive Joo Guk-won was right now, and he was trying so hard not to upset him that it was almost pitiful to watch.
“…Hyung, I think I know who it is.”
Joo Tae-hyun gently soothed Joo Guk-won, who had his arm around his shoulder and was even shading his eyes with his hand, as he stepped forward. The guard, who had been troubled, visibly relaxed, and he couldn’t help but smile slightly, forgetting the seriousness of the situation.
“Don’t tell me it’s Seo Baek-han?”
Joo Guk-won asked as if he had noticed something. Joo Tae-hyun hesitated for a moment, then just nodded. After all, who else would be close to the Lotus Flower Palace and well-known to Joo Tae-hyun besides him? It would be strange if he didn’t recognize him.
“Get rid of him.”
Before Joo Tae-hyun could even fully lift his nodding head, Joo Guk-won coldly ordered the guards. He didn’t even want to know how Seo Baek-han had gotten here or why he had come.
“Hyung, just a moment.”
“Tae-hyun.”
“I didn’t give Baek-han hyung any warning before the press conference. Of course, there was no consultation. I said I wanted a divorce on my own. So…”
Avoiding this situation today wouldn’t solve anything. Even after the divorce, Seo Baek-han would still be Seo Baek-han, and Joo Tae-hyun would still be Joo Tae-hyun, so they would inevitably run into each other. He couldn’t hide behind Hyung every time.
“I’ll handle it. It’s absurd that I’m asking for your help and then stepping up now, but…”
Joo Guk-won finally let his shoulders slump and shook his head.
“Baby, I told you not to talk like that.”
At the same time, the engine noise stopped. Joo Guk-won and Joo Tae-hyun’s gazes turned in that direction simultaneously.
Click, the sound of the car door opening echoed in the air. It probably wasn’t intentional, but Seo Baek-han always had good timing. He always appeared when people were most likely to pay attention to him, and this time was no exception.
“Hyung-nim.”
Seo Baek-han bowed his head with a faint smile.
“It’s been a while.”
His voice was calm, as if the attack and the press conference hadn’t happened.
“…Yes. It’s been a while.”
Joo Guk-won also replied with a lukewarm smile. His voice was also very gentle. However, Joo Tae-hyun knew very well that Joo Guk-won was only being polite because he didn’t want to give his disliked opponent even the smallest flaw to exploit. Compared to the old days when he had praised Seo Baek-han, saying he had high expectations for him, this was an icy response.
“Tae-hyun.”
Seo Baek-han turned to Joo Tae-hyun after giving Joo Guk-won another nod. With just that small gesture, the scent of fruit began to mingle in the air.
His Pheromone was pouring out towards him as if he had spilled perfume, but miraculously, he could breathe freely. It was a relief that he wasn’t being soaked front and back as if he was in Heat, but this wasn’t a good sign either. It meant that the baby inside him needed Seo Baek-han’s Pheromone.
“I’ll go inside first, Hyung.”
Joo Guk-won took a step towards the car, leaving behind the words that he didn’t need to worry about him and should take his time. As he turned away, he gave a signal with his eyes, and the guards’ formation changed instantly, ready to crush and pressure Seo Baek-han at any moment.
“Are you okay?”
Seo Baek-han seemed unfazed, even though he knew about the sharp hostility of everyone here. He was just calm, as if his only concern was Joo Tae-hyun.
“I heard you’re pregnant.”
“…More important than that…”
“My legal spouse is carrying my child, what could be more important than that?”
Seo Baek-han strode towards Joo Tae-hyun. The scent of peaches spread everywhere, following the swaying hem of his robe. Joo Tae-hyun unconsciously rubbed his arm several times because his whole body was tingling. His Pheromone was so clear and loud that it felt like a reflector that was emitting light, not just an intangible scent.
“I lied a lot to Hyung, like Hyung said.”
A sentence that didn’t fit the context and wasn’t very sophisticated popped out.
He couldn’t waste time.
He didn’t want to show that he was pleased with his Pheromone. It seemed that the lies he had built up like a fragile sandcastle had finally been exposed, and now his pregnancy had been revealed as well.
It was all okay. Everything would have been revealed anyway, since Seo Baek-han had made up his mind. He wouldn’t be able to hide the baby issue either.
However… the Imprinting.
He hoped that Seo Baek-han would never know that he had unilaterally Imprinted on him.
“I don’t know how much Hyung has found out, but… I don’t have a hobby of hooking up with Alphas.”
His hands and feet were all tingling.
He had been calm when he had mentioned the divorce in front of so many people, but now it finally hit him.
It was irreversible, it was really over.
“Hyung said he was thinking about going on a blind date with an Alpha, so I suddenly went crazy, but I lied because I was confident that I could be the best card for Hyung.”
Joo Tae-hyun let out a short sigh and continued slowly. He couldn’t read Seo Baek-han’s expression because he was looking down slightly, but he could definitely feel the sharp gaze pouring down on his face.
He was probably disappointed. And of course, he was angry…
“And, um. The Dirty Switch…”
“Tae-hyun.”
“…Yes?”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…”
“You fought off even Guk-won hyung, and that’s all you have to say to me?”
Seo Baek-han, standing with his legs slightly apart, even looked a little bored.
He hadn’t expected or wanted to hear this kind of story from him…
Joo Tae-hyun unconsciously let out a long sigh.
Again… did he have to guess what Hyung was thinking, even in this situation?
He had never really felt it before… but he seemed much more tired than he thought. All the processes of reading Seo Baek-han’s intentions and trying to find an answer that pleased him were suddenly so painful that he felt like he was suffocating.
In the meantime, Joo Tae-hyun had been forcibly breaking and twisting his insides to fit the standards that Seo Baek-han preferred. Even if the person named Joo Tae-hyun wore out and crumbled, he was just happy to see Seo Baek-han smile at him as if he was proud of him.
Of course, it wasn’t Seo Baek-han’s fault. He didn’t want to resent Hyung either. Why would he resent him? It was his fault for liking Seo Baek-han without permission. It was ridiculous to blame the other person when he had been acting foolishly to match his taste.
“Um, are you curious about the pregnancy? I guess so… From Hyung’s point of view, there’s probably no more absurd sound than that.”
He wasn’t asking Seo Baek-han to understand how he was feeling right now.
However, Joo Tae-hyun was… just tired.
“The baby… I haven’t thought about this issue deeply because I was also embarrassed, but I won’t make any unreasonable requests to Hyung. I’ll take care of it myself. So that it never harms Hyung…”
“The baby… Okay, let’s say that’s true.”
…Let’s say that’s true?
Joo Tae-hyun, who was only blinking in embarrassment, belatedly realized that his explanation of the situation was very insufficient. It was understandable that Seo Baek-han would be embarrassed.
“Well, I haven’t had a medical examination yet. Judging from what is presumed to be the very early stages, it probably happened the first… time we did it…”
“You’re so comfortable with everything.”
He was just swallowing his laughter, and it seemed like he had no intention of listening to anything he said.
“You can apologize for lying, and you can say you want a divorce because you’ve done everything you can with me. And the aftermath is over if you pass it on to other family members or me.”
“…Hyung.”
“Take care of it? How are you going to take care of it?”
Seo Baek-han lifted Joo Tae-hyun’s chin and fixed it firmly with just his thumb and forefinger.
“If you’re really pregnant. And if it’s really my child, you can’t divorce me.”
“Hyung.”
“Have you forgotten what your body is like? How long do you think you can maintain a pregnancy caused by a Pheromone imbalance without me?”
Joo Tae-hyun unconsciously covered his lower abdomen. All the negative emotions that were buried in his gaze towards him seemed like they would tear the baby in his belly to death right away.
“I don’t care whether you give birth to it or abort it. Even if you’re lying about being pregnant, you have to stay by my side. You don’t want to live with a broken body for the rest of your life, do you? Let’s try to save your life first. If you don’t want to see your family, who you can’t live without, shed tears of blood.”
“…”
“So I’ll take responsibility. I, the Hyung you love.”