By Zephyria 
“What the—! Kang Hyun-wook, what happened to your face? You’ve completely wasted away!”
I hadn’t been able to see Hyun-wook since the Han Hee-sung incident. Joo Min-hyeok had taken him away, claiming he needed to discipline him, and forbade anyone from asking how he was doing. On top of that, Joo Min-hyeok’s rut and my Heat overlapped, and several days had passed.
Hyun-wook came to visit today for the first time in a long while, and he looked so gaunt that I was shocked, dropping the cat plushie I was holding onto the floor. Setting the doll aside haphazardly, I was preoccupied with examining Hyun-wook’s face.
“Hey, what is this? Did you get hit somewhere?”
“No! Who would hit me? It’s absolutely not that. I just came to see you in secret because I thought you’d be curious.”
I couldn’t just take his word for it; I had to check for myself. There was no way he’d tell the truth if he had been beaten. I didn’t know what kind of punishment he was receiving to make him look this thin. Did they make him march? I slapped the arm of the resisting Hyun-wook and lifted his shirt to check his back, stomach, and legs.
Seeing as there were no bruises or wounds, it didn’t seem like he’d been beaten… but they might have starved him or kept him awake. I’d heard of such disciplinary measures in the past, but I wasn’t sure about now.
“I told you I’m fine, Palace Lord user. If we’re caught like this, it’ll only lead to unnecessary misunderstandings! Put my clothes down, quickly!”
“What kind of punishment are you getting? Did they starve you and keep you awake? Did they hit you? Huh? I’m sorry I couldn’t help. I’ll tell His Majesty…”
“Who would hit me? You’re talking crazy. I’m really fine. I am being disciplined, but it’s just because I’m doing something I’ve never done before, so it’s hard. Being an Emperor, I mean. Not just anyone can do that. Why on earth would anyone want to do something so grueling? There’s an insane amount of work! It’s not just a lot; it’s driving-me-crazy levels of a lot!”
Hyun-wook, letting out a scream that sounded more like a groan while claiming that being an Emperor wasn’t a job for a human, collapsed onto the sofa, clutching his hair.
“His Majesty is truly amazing. I genuinely respect him. He’s a genius. How does he handle all that? And that’s probably only a part of the work, right? I’m just amazed he even has time to sleep.”
“…What are you talking about? What do you mean? Why is His Majesty suddenly a genius? Huh? What does that have to do with you?”
“I… when His Majesty gives me documents, I draft the papers beside him. I’m not great with computers, so I spend the whole day typing while breaking into a cold sweat. I have to work like a maniac just to barely finish within the time limit.”
“What? Why are you doing that? If they’re documents His Majesty is reviewing, aren’t they state secrets?”
“Of course, I don’t touch the ones that absolutely cannot be leaked, but there are others. It’s complicated to explain. Anyway, I’m practically dying as I hammer away at the keyboard, using Excel and organizing documents by version to give to His Majesty. It’s so exhausting. It’s truly an intellectual punishment.”
The expression on his face, looking as if he were about to die, was truly pitiful. Was he going crazy because he’d spent his whole life doing physical labor and now had to look at text? He used to be good at studying… I heard the Imperial Martial Arts Academy required academic excellence too, but it seemed this kind of work was different.
“You’ve worked hard. Still, you used to live and breathe computers in the past.”
“That’s not enough. You have to be so fast at typing. I really admire the ancestors who wrote everything by hand. You have to type at a truly insane speed. Since it’s work His Majesty ordered, there’s nothing I can’t do. I just have to do it all.”
Joo Min-hyeok was certainly punishing him properly. Being stuck with the Emperor all day, not just any superior, must be agonizing. If I had known the position of his personal bodyguard was this heavy, I wouldn’t have picked Hyun-wook. I felt truly sorry.
“Then did he tell you not to come see me either?”
I cautiously asked how long the discipline would last. Even though I was curious, I’d been forbidden from mentioning Hyun-wook, so I had no choice but to endure it.
“He told me not to for the time being. He seems very cold, but he’s surprisingly compassionate. He said he’d let me go after putting me through the wringer for a bit. And I do have break times. I’ll come by for a short while. To tell you about Seo-joo, too.”
Ah, just for the time being? I wondered if Joo Min-hyeok had a softer side to his personality, and it seemed he intended to use him a bit before letting him go. That’s a relief. By the way, our Seo-joo. Lately, I’d been so enlightened by a new world with my husband that I’d briefly forgotten about my younger brother. I wonder if he’s doing well.
“Is Seo-joo doing well? Is he still coming to exercise? I miss him, but I can’t even bring up the idea of going out right now.”
“Let’s just stay quiet for a while. Or just bear with it until I come back. I’ll take some photos for you. Seo-joo is doing fine, but he caught a cold a few days ago, so he hasn’t been able to come to exercise.”
“What? Why? Alphas don’t usually get sick. Why is he sick?”
The news that Seo-joo was sick snapped me awake. Seo-joo is sick. To me, those words were like a trauma. I had been so happy that he was an Alpha, but a cold? Alphas rarely even catch colds, so I was worried about why he was sick. I was truly sick and tired of Seo-joo being ill.
“Alphas are human too. They all get sick once in a while. And when they do, they suffer through it intensely. My older brothers are Alphas, and when they catch the flu, wow, you have no idea how much they struggle.”
“…I’d rather you be the one sick. Given the situation, you should’ve just caught the cold too!”
“Wow, look at this crazy brat talk… That’s incredibly hurtful. His stamina is way better than mine! He’s an Alpha, so he said this was his first time ever catching a cold! It’s already heartbreaking enough that the soft kid became an Alpha, and now my friend is being heartless…”
“Hey! It’s not that, but if you were sick, you’d receive a bit less punishment from His Majesty. You’re acting out even when I’m being considerate. But why are you upset that Seo-joo became an Alpha? I like it. Since he’s an Alpha, our Seo-joo is healthy, and Alphas are treated well in many ways here.”
I didn’t understand why he was suddenly saying that after having felt so heartbroken watching Seo-joo always be frail and sick. Hyun-wook stared at me for a moment, his gaze lingering on my neck. Feeling awkward under his piercing stare, I touched my neck and looked back at him.
“What? What are you looking at?”
“…Seo-joo will look for an Omega too, right?”
“What?”
“Since Seo-joo is an Alpha, he’ll naturally meet an Omega. Like you and His Majesty. Because that’s naturally meant to be, like fate.”
Hyun-wook looked so sad as he spoke those bitter words. Realizing what he meant, I panicked and fell silent. In the previous life, Seo-joo died first, so they couldn’t be together, and in this life, since Hyun-wook is a Beta and Seo-joo is an Alpha, the probability of them meeting was lower.
Indeed, Alphas naturally seek out Omegas. There are Betas who meet Alphas, but most end with the Alpha leaving to find an Omega. So, even if the two hit it off and met, the one who would eventually be hurt would be the Beta, Hyun-wook. Just thinking about that made me feel stifled.
“It can’t be helped. Seo-joo doesn’t even remember me, so I’m just happy that we’ve met again. Now neither you nor Seo-joo have to search for each other or long for each other vaguely. It’s a relief that I know what environment he’s in and how he’s doing.”
“Hey, Kang Hyun-wook…”
“To me, it’s more meaningful that you and Seo-joo can face each other and live like this again. Let’s think about other things slowly.”
My nose tingled. I mustn’t cry. Seo-joo, who doesn’t remember us. Just thinking about that made my chest tighten, so how must Hyun-wook feel? Every time he sees Seo-joo, his heart must be melting away. It felt sorrowful all over again that Seo-joo didn’t remember us. I had only thought of myself this whole time.
“Don’t cry, you brat. I’ve gotta go now. And don’t worry. His Majesty treats me better than you’d think. Of course, not when we’re working. I’ll come by often during my breaks. Don’t worry about what I said about Seo-joo. I was just complaining.”
Hyun-wook stood up abruptly and left quickly, waving his hand before I could say anything. I stood up as well and followed him, watching his retreating figure for a moment. Then, I returned to the sofa.
Hugging the cat plushie that was lying face down beside me, I lay on the sofa and closed my eyes for a moment. What should I do about Seo-joo? I didn’t think it was necessarily good for Seo-joo to remember me again. But I couldn’t just stay still because of Hyun-wook. Should I just tell them to start over from scratch, even if it means I’m not remembered?
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. There’s no guarantee that Seo-joo’s heart will be the same as before. What if only Hyun-wook gets hurt… I don’t even know Joo Min-hyeok’s heart right now, so I can’t possibly know the heart of a Seo-joo who has no memories.”
I didn’t know the way to handle this.
∗ ∗ ∗
Even though it was still bright daylight outside, the space where Min-hyeok was was pitch black. It was a darkness so deep that if it weren’t for the light leaking from the phone on the wide desk, one wouldn’t even know the person sitting there was Min-hyeok.
And Min-hyeok’s expression as he stared intently at the phone was very rigid. His hand covering his lower face hid his mouth, and his eyes didn’t even blink. Min-hyeok’s hand moved toward the wireless earphone in his ear.
Tossing the earphone onto the desk, his gaze still refused to leave the phone. The screen of his phone was now filled with purple, and only the sound of rhythmic breathing could be heard through the earphones.
Hae-joo, wearing a purple shirt, had fallen asleep on the sofa while hugging the cat plushie to his chest. Min-hyeok, who had seen and heard everything from the moment Hae-joo played with the cat to the moment Hyun-wook came and went, sat still in that dark room for a long time.