Unlike general visitors, there was a separate parking lot inside the palace for invited guests, but it was quite a walk to get there.
“We have to walk all the way over there. And, I have to keep holding my brothers’ hands. Good.”
“Is it a little uncomfortable? Anything related to the palace is complicated, so the driver can’t wait right in front like at our hotel.”
“It’s okay. Nuna told me.”
Before coming to the palace, none of Joo Tae-hyun’s worries came true. Like tripping in front of the Empress, calling people by the wrong names, spilling food on his new clothes… things like that.
Of course, there were many minor mistakes with his pronunciation, but thanks to the person he unexpectedly met today, he completely forgot about those gloomy things.
“Is that so? By the way, how was the concert, my baby?”
“Umm… it was fun.”
“Oh, really?”
Perhaps it was just my vague longing for something I’d never had: taste and conviction.
Like a hatchling imprinting on the first thing it sees, maybe I’m just unconditionally pleased with Seo Baek-han’s words and actions because he approached me first. Seo Baek-han is the first person I’ve ever met who shares my Trait/Phenotype, and he’s also an Alpha.
And because of today’s meeting with him, a thin crack appeared in Joo Tae-hyun’s world. Even that small thing caused a huge shift in Joo Tae-hyun’s cozy greenhouse, which had never deviated by even 0.1 degrees.
I won’t deny that it’s a clumsy gesture made possible by the belief that my family will always be by my side, that they will always love me, no matter how I live my life. So, I want to step outside this comfortable and fluffy safety net that surrounds me.
“…Yeah, it was really fun. Hyung.”
Holding his brothers’ hands, he strolled through the lush green Changgyeonggung Palace at night. Smelling the fresh grass, Joo Tae-hyun secretly recalled the peach scent of the other Alpha he smelled for the first time today.
“Oh, our youngest!”
Even before the car was parked, a voice calling for him echoed loudly from the parking lot to the yard.
With a dazed expression, he got out of the car, and his whole family rushed towards Joo Tae-hyun. They couldn’t have all gotten off work at the same time… Could they have come down to the parking lot to wait for me?
“Let’s see. Oh, my, oh, my.”
The third brother, Joo Kyung-han, who hadn’t seen Joo Tae-hyun in his Tailcoat since he had an important golf meeting early in the morning, made a fuss as he carefully looked Joo Tae-hyun over. He grabbed his shoulders and turned him this way and that, then hugged him tightly and spun him around.
“When did our youngest grow up so much? When he was first born, he was only as big as my forearm.”
“Joo Kyung-han, move aside. Tae-hyun, how was it? Were people nice to you? No, are you tired? Let’s go inside first.”
“No, it was fun.”
“It was fun?”
The family’s voices, drawn out as they asked, sounded like a chorus, and Joo Tae-hyun laughed loudly, wondering what that was all about. But it quickly stopped as someone came to mind.
…Does my family treat me too much like a baby?
After hearing “Be careful, our baby” more than ten times on the stairs from the parking lot to the inside of the house, which weren’t even that steep or high, this boisterous welcome finally came to an end.
“…I’m full.”
After washing up and changing into comfortable clothes, he came out to the living room to find a table full of food again.
“Just eat a little, just a little.”
“How was the concert?”
Thanks to his brothers and Seo Baek-han taking turns putting snacks in his mouth, he already felt like he was going to burst. But when he saw the peaches on the plate, he thought of Seo Baek-han, and his hand unconsciously reached out.
When he poked it with a fork, the soft fruit weakly crumbled.
Hmm, Hyung didn’t feel like this.
He pretended to eat the peach and smelled it, but it was completely different from what he remembered.
This is definitely the real fruit, and it’s probably a variety that my parents carefully brought in for me. So why does it feel more artificial than Seo Baek-han’s pheromone scent? Seo Baek-han didn’t smell like fish. It wasn’t such a vague scent. It was like… ripe and about to burst under the scorching sun, something that makes your mouth water just imagining it?
“When Tae-hyun and I entered Chundangji holding hands, I could feel everyone there staring only at our Tae-hyun…”
“And when Tae-hyun was standing next to us with his hands clasped while the adults were talking, his posture was so upright and he was so pretty…”
“Everyone praised him so much for being such a polite young man.”
“He’s tall and handsome, and even the Empress mentioned Tae-hyun several times.”
“Ah, and at the concert, Tae-hyun…”
Joo Guk-won and Joo Sang-woo were talking over each other as if they had witnessed the historical debut of a noble’s son. And it was exactly that. I was mortified, but my parents, third brother, and sister nodded as if it were natural. They even egged on the brothers, asking if that was all, and to tell them more compliments about our youngest. Joo Tae-hyun lowered his eyes and just squashed the edge of the innocent fruit.
“By the way, did anyone ask Tae-hyun about his Trait/Phenotype?”
“No. Since it was an imperial event, everyone was careful about what they said. Only people with that much sense attended.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“That’s why we took Tae-hyun there, considering those things. The future is the problem.”
“What problem? Nuna will be by his side, right?”
Joo Yoon-woo playfully pressed her cheek against Joo Tae-hyun’s cheek and shook her head lightly. She even groaned about how the baby smelled like a baby.
“Oh, by the way, my older brother and I had to leave urgently, and Baek-han came to help.”
“Seo Baek-han? Assemblyman Seo Hong-gyu’s son?”
“Yes. The Empress called me, and the ministers were looking for Sang-woo, so it was a relief.”
“Even though you didn’t ask him to?”
“Yes. He came and took care of Tae-hyun.”
“Oh, really…”
Chairman Joo, who usually didn’t show much emotion when talking about other people’s children, hesitated slightly for some reason.
“Hmm… Seo Baek-han, that kid… he has good potential, but how should I put it…”
“I know what you’re worried about. But he seemed concerned because he’s the same Alpha as our baby. He also seemed to introduce him to some friends of his age.”
“He said he introduced him mainly to Kyung-han and Yoon-woo’s friends, so there shouldn’t be any problems. And since Baek-han is also a Trait/Phenotype, he would have kept away any people who are hostile to Trait/Phenotypes.”
“Is that so? Then that’s a relief… I should call Director Ahn. You should contact Assemblyman Seo.”
“I should.”
The parents exchanged cautious glances. They seemed to be going through a confirmation process, wondering if Seo Baek-han was someone they could keep by their youngest’s side. This time, Joo Tae-hyun bravely raised his hand.
“That hyung is nice.”
“…Nice? Who? Seo Baek-han?”
The family’s eyes widened as if they had heard something unexpected.
“Well, he’s diligent…”
Even Joo Tae-hyun, who had been excited to talk about Seo Baek-han, hesitated for a moment. He could feel a slight resistance from his family, who were just looking at each other. What… is it?
“Ugh. I really don’t like Seo Baek-han.”
Thanks to Joo Yoon-woo’s playful intervention, the atmosphere returned to normal. Joo Tae-hyun even wondered if he had misread the atmosphere.
“He’s already gathering people around him at such a young age, he’s a master of politics.”
…He did say he wasn’t uninterested in politics, so isn’t that a good thing? Joo Tae-hyun swallowed the words that were lingering on his tongue.
“Yoon-woo, you need to learn some of that from Baek-han. What’s with that girly way of talking?”
“Whath’s with that girly way of talking~”
“Joo Yoon-woo!”
“Oh, it’s true. Why would I learn from that sly fox? Look, even our baby was completely fooled and says that hyung is nice.”
Thanks to his sister’s teasing, his parents raised their voices slightly, but in any case, the family’s tea time seemed to be ending as pleasantly as usual.
“Um, you know.”
“Hmm?”
It definitely would have, if it weren’t for Joo Tae-hyun’s bombshell declaration.
“I want to go to school too.”
“…Hmm?”
“Not just any school, a science high school? Or… anyway, a good school, a school that smart people go to.”