By Zephyria 
“So. That’s, it?”
“Hmm?”
Perhaps it was because he gritted his teeth. As his somewhat unclear pronunciation flowed out, Seo Baek-han tilted his head as if he hadn’t understood properly. Even that sight made Joo Tae-hyun’s insides boil. No, I don’t even want to use such elegant expressions anymore. Truly, Seo Baek-han had a knack for making people ‘pissed off’.
“In what way are things different, no, how are you trying to make them different? Hyung?”
As I glared at Seo Baek-han, my voice filled with indignation without my realizing it, he finally seemed flustered.
“I took a quick look, your gun handling is a mess, and that bastard Kim Seung-jun can’t even shoot properly, and even if a bullet were to lodge in my body, I figured I wouldn’t die because my imprinting partner is by my side… that’s why you acted so recklessly, isn’t it? No?”
“Tae-hyun.”
“That’s right. You made your own judgment, and you were convinced only your answer was correct……”
Seo Baek-han reached out with the hand whose sleeve was stained with blood, then quickly retracted it, as if realizing his mistake. His usual easygoing expression remained, but this was the first time I had seen him flustered like this. Though I wondered what importance that held in the current situation.
“You moved because you calculated that I wouldn’t collapse in front of you this time? Did you honestly think that kind of action was for my sake?”
“No, wait a moment. Tae-hyun, what I mean is-.”
“Yes, as always, you didn’t mean it ‘that way’, right? You’re still thinking only of yourself, only what’s convenient for you. What, how are you trying to change?”
Joo Tae-hyun felt like he had used up all his patience, holding back the curses that rose to his throat. He knew it wasn’t the time to vent his anger. He knew he had to be careful with even the smallest action because people were watching. He also knew that cooperating with the paramedics and police who were handling the situation came first. He knew all of it, but…
“…I should have told you sooner that it was okay to act like this.”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been looking into the distance, trying to suppress his anger, turned his head back towards Seo Baek-han. What?
“It’s much better to see.”
Did he not hear a word I said? Even though I was speaking earnestly, Seo Baek-han was spouting nonsensical remarks. He even seemed pleased at first glance.
“When I was stabbed, instead of praising you for doing a good job while directing the scene…”
Seo Baek-han, as if wanting to touch Joo Tae-hyun somehow, rubbed his blood-soaked hand on his pants several times, but soon gave up. Perhaps due to his rapid recovery, the clotting was also very fast, and thick scabs like chunks of rusted iron had already formed on the back of his hand and along his palm lines.
“It’s okay to get angry like this, to be upset… because that’s natural…”
‘I’m glad I married you,’ instead of making such an assessment in my head… Ah, no. Tae-hyun, did I tell you about this too? I think I did, given my temper, I probably said it as praise. But Tae-hyun.
“…Hyung?”
“…I, at that time.”
With a voice uncharacteristically mumbling, Seo Baek-han couldn’t finish what he was about to say and collapsed limply on the spot. Seo Baek-han’s large, elongated shadow, which had been flickering on the stage, also snapped in an instant. As if it were the prelude to an ominous omen.
“Hyung, Baek-han hyung!”
I barely managed to catch him before his head hit the ground, and the waiting paramedics rushed towards us.
“What is your relationship with the patient?”
“Huh?”
“Are you family, a friend… in any case, you are acquainted, right?”
The paramedic carefully examined Seo Baek-han’s body, asking for contact information for family or legal guardians if he was a friend, as surgery might be necessary.
“Oh, this patient seems to be a shifter? Is that right?”
“Ah, yes. He’s an Alpha.”
“Any other illnesses? Like diabetes, or high blood pressure?”
“No, none. No medication he takes separately… probably.”
That was true until I declared divorce and ran away to America, but now I wasn’t sure. Seo Baek-han had endured for months alone in a state of unilateral imprinting, without his imprinting partner. Hadn’t he been prescribed something more than just painkillers?
“For now, the bleeding… thankfully has stopped. Pulse and breathing are both normal. Eye reflex… okay. Ah, right. If you need to go to a hospital designated by the insurance company-.”
“No. Please take him to the largest hospital. And I think I need to accompany him. Is that okay?”
The paramedic said there would be no problem and asked me to quickly contact any guardian.
Unable to bring myself to say that, according to the Constitution of the Korean Empire, I was still this man’s legal spouse, Joo Tae-hyun silently got into the ambulance.
Liam, looking like a child who had his candy taken away, was being held by his mother, the Director, and crying his eyes out. I finally noticed him.
Perhaps Liam had played a part in Kim Seung-jun’s sudden appearance. He acted as if he had never seen Kim Seung-jun before, but one could never be sure.
Joo Tae-hyun took out his phone from his pocket and called Doctor Woo. While listening to the call connect, all my attention was focused on Seo Baek-han.
“─ Young Master? Is something wrong?”
“Ah, Doctor. It’s just that…”
Joo Tae-hyun, leaning against the end of the ambulance, brushed back his messy bangs.
“Well, Baek-han hyung was shot. Ah, it didn’t penetrate. Yes, yes. That’s right.”
It was a situation similar to the attack that occurred at Pyongyang University, so much so that it brought back memories of that time. Even Seo Baek-han’s response wasn’t much different from then.
Yet why did so many things feel like they had changed?
After hearing Seo Baek-han say that it was much better to see me not acting like an ‘ideal spouse’, why did anger, sadness, hurt, and resentment… all those emotions keep gnawing at me, I couldn’t understand.
\ \ *
Doctor Woo, who had been summoned to the emergency room, examined Seo Baek-han’s vitals with a stern expression. He swallowed the urge to yell upon realizing it was a unilateral imprinting state and continued the examination, proving that, despite everything, he was indeed a good doctor.
“Tae-hyun, is he, hmm. Is he really completely fine?”
“Yes. His pheromones haven’t fully stabilized yet, but there are no problems. His imprinting levels are normal, meaning there’s no imprinting reaction from the Young Master’s side.”
In principle, it was absolutely forbidden for a medical professional not affiliated with the hospital to examine a patient, but this was America, where nothing was impossible in the face of money and power. Especially in the heart of the capital, where politicians gathered in droves.
Perhaps it was because it was a shooting incident at a party attended by many prominent local figures. Even without specific instructions from Seo Baek-han’s side, the hospital staff were already accommodating them.
“By the way, according to what the Young Master said, the Director injured his hand when you two were together. I heard there was no recovery reaction like today back then.”
“Ah, Tae-hyun remembered that?”
I thought he hadn’t paid any attention. Was he watching closely? Even though I knew it wasn’t a situation to be happy about, a smile involuntarily slipped out. Still, with some sense, Seo Baek-han, who tried to compose his expression, shifted his gaze towards Joo Tae-hyun’s knit sweater, which Doctor Woo had tossed over like charity.
It wasn’t enough to rely on just a scrap of clothing after being near Joo Tae-hyun, from whom pheromones flowed endlessly like an inexhaustible spring, but he reminded himself that even this was something to be grateful for.
“It’s impossible unless the Director has been causing wounds every time, just a moment.”
Doctor Woo’s brow furrowed severely as he pointed out a rather realistic possibility.
“Don’t tell me… did you really do that?”
“Umm, it wasn’t that, but there was no other way.”
“Are you saying that now! No, why did you do such a thing?”
He tried to brush it off, but Doctor Woo was adamant. His attitude was understandable. He must find someone who self-harms like this and lingers around Joo Tae-hyun repulsive.
“I wanted Tae-hyun to never know. Because he’s such a gentle and kind person, if he found out about the unilateral imprinting state, he would surely worry about me.”
“Then why did you do something so reckless! Last time you were stabbed, and this time you’re shot!”
“I couldn’t help it. How could I watch Tae-hyun get hurt?”
Because I didn’t want to see the person I loved bleeding in front of me. Because I wanted to suffer in his place.
“But looking back, no matter what choice I made, I would have ended up hurting Tae-hyun.”
“……”
“The Pyongyang University incident, this party… just anything.”
When I took a knife for Joo Tae-hyun. At the time, even in the urgent situation, I thought I was thorough and meticulous, acting with careful calculation. I felt reassured, thinking my strengths truly shone in situations like these.
But it was a misjudgment. It was all wrong. That was just a habitually used excuse. It was merely the realm of pure instinct, wanting to protect the person I loved.
“I didn’t know that the first failure of my life would become the greatest failure.”
He smiled bitterly, recalling the words Joo Tae-hyun had spat at him with desperation just before losing consciousness.
Doctor Woo just snorted, clearly displeased with Seo Baek-han’s state, and let out a long sigh.
“Director.”
“Yes?”
“May I dare to offer a piece of advice?”