By Zephyria 
As if I were asking something obvious, there was not a shred of hesitation in Kwon Yi-kang’s answer to my question. As always, he was still confident.
“I don’t know. I’m not even confident about my own immediate future. I can’t be sure where I’ll be in a year—no, even a few months from now. I just… like being with you right now.”
Kwon Yi-kang, who had been listening silently, rubbed his face with his hand and then let out a small laugh. I had spoken quite seriously; why was he laughing? Did my words sound like a joke, or did he find me absurd?
“I’ll turn your uncertainty about the future into a certainty.”
“…What?”
“If it’s that serious and important, then fine—kill them, whoever they are. If you hate the idea of me doing it for you and insist on doing it with your own hands, then do it. Just tell me. You won’t be stupid enough to start a knife fight in the middle of a street crowded with people and surveillance cameras; you’ll find a way to do it away from prying eyes. I’ll handle the rest of the cleanup.”
I blinked, unable to process what I had just heard.
“I’ll clean up the evidence and the witnesses, and I’ll create an alibi for you. Nothing will ever link back to you, and even if evidence is found, it will disappear. No matter what means I use or what I do, nothing will happen to you.”
“Why are you like this? Don’t say things like that.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. No, you can’t. Prison? Don’t make me laugh. Even if I have to drag someone else in to serve the time in your place, you aren’t going.”
“That’s… that’s a bad thing.”
“Not the kind of thing someone planning to kill a person should be saying.”
That may be true, but you and I are different. For some reason, I felt sorrowful and frightened, and the rims of my eyes grew red.
“But you…”
“Then do you want to give up? Hunting down and killing that guy you don’t even know who is… are you going to give up?”
“…No.”
I shook my head stubbornly, my eyes filled with resolve. It felt as if tears would fall at any moment.
“Right, so do it. If it’s what you want, you have to do it. Even if you had just asked me to kill them for you, I would have. I’m not joking, Cha Soo-kyung. Look at me.”
Kwon Yi-kang gripped my chin and lifted my head, speaking each word clearly, as if chewing through them.
“You aren’t going anywhere. You will be by my side. I guarantee it.”
“Don’t do that. I don’t want you involved.”
“We’re already entangled. When you came into my arms, when you whispered that my pheromones smelled sweet, when you confessed that you liked me—we were already entangled. You can’t untie that even if you die. You can’t untie it until I die. So either kill me, or just stay entangled.”
Why on earth is he going this far? I don’t want to leave behind a lingering attachment like you. Does he think I’m joking? Does he think I’m just saying this to push him away? I’m so scared of what face you’ll make when you look at me after I actually kill someone. I’m afraid that I might lean on you, holding onto even a sliver of hope in your words.
Please, don’t make me weak.
∞ ∞ ∞
“Driver Choi, have you eaten?”
“Yes, I had something light earlier.”
“You should eat properly. You can’t just make do with things like bread or sandwiches.”
That’s just terrible. In a world with so much to eat, it’s too sad to settle for a piece of bread for a meal. It’s a hungry and heartbreaking affair.
Choi Jae-kyung simply smiled as he watched me make a fuss, as if I had just heard some shocking news. After ordering a cup of tea each and waiting, I placed a shopping bag in front of Choi Jae-kyung.
“…May I ask what this is?”
“You can just open it and see for yourself. It’s a coat for you, Driver Choi.”
“A coat?”
As Choi Jae-kyung stared blankly at the shopping bag, his gaze held a question as to why I was giving this to him.
“Last time, I lay right on your coat. I felt sorry, and also grateful… and I felt really bothered because I don’t think I thanked you properly.”
“It was nothing. You don’t need to worry about it. It was simply my job.”
“What do you mean ‘simply your job’? If it weren’t for you, Driver Choi, I would have been lying on the cold ground until my face went numb. I picked the coat out with Driver Lee. I don’t have much sense for these things, so I wasn’t sure. If you don’t like it, please blame Driver Lee.”
When I whimpered, “I didn’t pick it out, boo-hoo,” Choi Jae-kyung hurriedly stifled a burst of laughter. The atmosphere became considerably lighter. The floor of the private room we were sitting in was pleasantly warm, and the tea that had just arrived was warm and sweet, helping my body relax.
“Your work must be very tiring.”
“Not at all. Everyone treats me well, so I enjoy it.”
“I don’t believe that at all. From what I can see, my second brother isn’t the kind of person who makes others feel at ease. Being around him makes me feel intimidated and uncomfortable. I wonder if it’s because I have no memories.”
I took a sip of the tea and swallowed. They called it honey-pear tea, but I couldn’t taste the pear; it was just sweet enough to make my tongue curl.
“Driver Choi, how long have you been by my second brother’s side?”
“I’ve served him since before the second young master graduated from high school, so it’s been about thirteen years. Before that, I was on the hospital director’s secretary team before transferring.”
My parents passed away in an accident when I was six. Cha Dong-hu is thirty-two now. Fourteen years ago, he would have been eighteen. I wonder if it’s possible to cause an accident while driving at eighteen, but then again, he’s such a degenerate that it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d caused an accident at fifteen instead of eighteen.
If Choi Jae-kyung started being by Cha Dong-hu’s side thirteen years ago, it was a year after the accident. That means there’s a high probability that Choi Jae-kyung knows nothing. Things are getting complicated from the start.
“Father must have liked you, Driver Choi. But it’s total hard labor. If it were me, I wouldn’t have done it even if they paid me more. This is a secret, but I can’t stand being with my second brother for even a single day. Just being near him makes it hard to breathe. …I wonder if it’s because I’m an Omega, or if it’s because he feels strange to me since I have no memories.”
“No. It is not a problem with you, young master, so please do not think that. Besides, you seem much better now than you did before.”
“My second brother’s personality was even worse before?”
“No, I mean the youngest young master. Compared to before, you seem much more lively these days, you speak more, and you look better overall.”
“Oh, um. I have no memories because of the accident. Since I don’t know anything, I’m just running wild like a mudskipper.”
Just how intimidated must Cha Soo-kyung have lived for my current behavior—running wild like a brat—to be considered ‘better’? Poor, foolish Cha Soo-kyung. He must have lived a dead life, never even raising his voice.
“Still, Driver Choi, you’ve been with my second brother for a very long time. Like, together until death, or something. I think mine changed once after the accident. From another driver to the current one. I don’t know if it changed before that, though.”
“That is… because you are an Omega, young master, and the primary purpose is security. Those who serve me or the eldest young master tend to see and hear many private matters, block and resolve scandals, and manage things so that unnecessary rumors don’t leak. For those reasons, the hospital director likely chose someone who could stay by your side for a long time from the beginning.”
“I’m not exactly quiet in private either, though?”
“At your level, you are practically a model citizen. You don’t need to worry.”
So, that means for the one likely to cause trouble, they attached someone with a tight lip who could be used long-term to clean up the mess. Or perhaps they intended to clean up the Alpha child’s flaws so they wouldn’t become rumors, while simply not caring about the Omega child.
“Do my fathers know? …About the thing from last time.”
When I asked in a low voice, Choi Jae-kyung looked steadily at my face and gave me a soft smile.
“They likely haven’t heard anything about you, young master. So you don’t need to worry. I am the second young master’s attendant, after all. I have no obligation to report the youngest young master’s affairs.”
“Then what about the things my second brother does?”
Silence followed this question. In other words, it’s obvious they know the little brat goes around on drugs, but they don’t know about the time I accompanied him. He spoke with a nuance that he had intentionally omitted it, and I felt inexplicably tense at this unknown kindness.
“I came here today just in case you were worried, to tell you that there is nothing to worry about. The gift is too much, so I shall leave it here.”
“No. I just… I’m not particularly worried. I’m not trying to act bold or anything… I know I did something bad, but that doesn’t mean I think I should hide it. If you do something wrong, it’s only natural to be scolded and punished. So, I didn’t come here to ask you not to tell my fathers, Driver Choi, but… I wanted to say thank you for taking care of me last time.”
Just as the little brat ignores me, Choi Jae-kyung could have just ignored me too, yet he still looked after me. Even if he gets paid by my father, I thought he wouldn’t have given me a second glance while cleaning up after that brat, but surprisingly, he put up with my drug-induced rambling and watched over me until Kwon Yi-kang arrived.
“Thinking back, I was acting like I was drunk, and you put up with all of it. Driver Choi, you probably thought to yourself, ‘This job is filthy,’ didn’t you?”
“I did not.”
“A bunch of little shits who are so young, playing around so well. If it were me, I would’ve thought that, but our drivers are really kind.”
Choi Jae-kyung looked slightly flustered by the slang I spat out. Lee Kyung-jin has become somewhat accustomed to it lately, but apparently, it was unexpected for Choi Jae-kyung. I gave a sheepish, beaming smile.