IBS - Chapter 29

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I’ll give you the key, go wait in the car.”

“I don’t want to. I want to stay with you, Hyung… If I’m alone, I feel like those men will come get me again…”

I pressed closer to Han Jinheon, eyeing the men warily. He started walking, as if to say, 'how can you be so fearless about everything else, yet be afraid of them?' I stuck close behind him, moving when he moved.

Han Jinheon stopped in front of the dumbfounded doctor. The doctor seemed utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events caused by an Alpha. Not just the doctor, but most of the people there had bewildered expressions.

“I assume you’ve only done a blood draw at most. Are the results out?”

“We were just about to discuss the results…”

“Good. I’ll listen in. The hospital door is my fault, so I will compensate for it. I need to give you a contact number. Who should I give it to?”

“You can give it to me, and I’ll inform the design team.”

Among the bewildered people, the security guard, who was perhaps the most bewildered, interjected. Han Jinheon didn’t even look at him and asked me a favor. 

He had left his phone in the car, so he asked me to give Secretary Song's number instead. Then, he entered the consultation room with the doctor.

He’s not going to stop the bleeding, he’s going to listen to the results? Shouldn’t we just leave then? I want to get out of here right now.

After giving the guard Secretary Song’s number, I entered the office but couldn’t go any further, holding my breath. 

The sparks flying between Han Jinheon and Lee Geumyeong were no joke. The atmosphere was taut, though they were only looking at each other.

The first to speak was Han Jinheon, who casually pulled a tissue from the box on the table and wiped his hand.

“You’ve really gone and made me come rescue Han Sol.”

“Did Han Sol contact you? If I’d known you two were close enough for him to call you, I would have taken his phone away sooner. I underestimated your relationship.”

I’d like to let it slide, but I must correct you. I had no idea he had contacted me. I simply followed him because his movements were suspicious.”

“You followed him? How did you follow him? No, it doesn’t matter how you knew. Shouldn’t you have just stuck to your work? Since when did you care so much about your brother to play the role of a hero?”

“You only say things that are hurtful whenever we meet. I may not know anything about being a hero, but I have always cared about Han Sol, from the day you brought him into this house, Stepmother.”

"You only cared. You never treated him warmly as my son, did you? You were always trying to lecture him.”

“There you go again…”

Han Jinheon sat on the sofa and crossed his legs. He paused his indifferent replies and looked up at Lee Geumyeong. He looked utterly fed up.

“When are you going to change that pattern of trying to drive a wedge between us? It’s true I tried to teach him about the things he did wrong. Because no one else would. And since Han Sol himself wouldn’t listen, I had no choice but to keep telling him until he did, even if he hated it.”

“……”

"You should probably change that pattern now. Because he listens to my words better than anyone’s.”

Finishing his sentence, Han Jinheon looked at me. He hadn’t asked for a response, but I gave him a nod to show he was right.

He is right. I listen to Han Jinheon well.

Lee Geumyeong said no more. As if furious at being called out, she stared at Han Jinheon with an even colder gaze, then sat back down and told the doctor to continue his explanation.

Han Jinheon, with his unbloody hand, brushed back his messy bangs, his gaze lingering around the consultation room before settling back on me, who was standing alone. 

He nodded, telling me to sit beside him instead of standing. I immediately went to his side and whispered that I didn’t understand anything and just wanted to leave quickly.

“Just in case, I have to ask. You’re not planning on leaving me here too, are you, Hyung…?”

“You just said you listen to my words better than anyone’s. If you don’t listen, I’ll leave you here.”

“No. I’ll listen well, so don’t leave me. If I stay here…”

Forget the medicine, I’ll have to take pheromones from an Alpha who isn’t you. And I might have to have a relationship with another Alpha. 

I might be forced to, even if I don’t want to. They might say they’ll follow the patient’s wishes, but in the end, I feel like they’ll just do whatever they want.

Places like this are always like that. They act unethically and cover it up so no one ever knows. I’m scared.

I whispered into Han Jinheon’s ear, fiddling with his clothes, so no one else could hear, only him. This made me realize something profound.

“If I have no choice but to become an Omega… I want to manifest because of you, Hyung…”

This was both a tactic to make it impossible for him to leave me behind, and a cautiously revealed truth from my heart.

Han Jinheon might have simply come to pick up his troublesome little brother, but for me, it was different.

I was endlessly grateful and utterly smitten with the Alpha who had not only come to save me but had broken down a door, injuring his own hand in the process. I truly liked him. Really, I liked this man so much it was to the point where I wanted to pull out my heart and show it to him. 

So, even if I become an Omega, I will receive pheromones from the Alpha I like. I don’t want any other Alpha. The thought of anyone but Han Jinheon filled me with revulsion.

Han Jinheon looked at me steadily for a moment before shifting his gaze to the doctor. The doctor, who had been nervously watching first Lee Geumyeong and then Han Jinheon, fixed his eyes on me and stated the results.

“The ratio is split evenly between Beta and Omega. In conclusion, you are indeed unmanifested. Will you be admitting him as you mentioned on the phone?”

The doctor’s eyes shone, eager to secure a patient, but no one answered.

Even with Han Jinheon beside me, I felt a lonely terror, as if I were the only one in this space. It was because of Lee Geumyeong. She turned her head very slowly to look at me. 

It would have been less frightening if she had cursed me or hit my back, asking how I could have deceived her, but she just stared at me, her face hard, her eyes filled with betrayal.

Unable to bear her cold gaze, I pressed closer to Han Jinheon. Then I ducked my head behind his back. It was a godsend that Han Jinheon was here. If he hadn't arrived just in time, I really would have been screwed.

***

Before returning home, Han Jinheon had to listen to Han Sol’s self-deprecating laments.

He beat his chest, lamenting that he couldn’t drive for Han Jinheon because he didn’t have a license, and then muttered that there was no human more useless than him. 

Then he vowed to the heavens that he would get his license in the near future, before hopping into the passenger seat. Han Jinheon, ignoring all this, had already gotten into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Though the bleeding in his right hand had stopped, a dull pain remained. It seemed okay to move it as long as he didn’t overdo it, but he couldn’t stand to listen to any more of Han Sol’s frantic worrying. He rested his right hand gently on the gear shift.

Driving with his left hand was perfectly feasible, but just in case, he drove slowly. It was then that Han Sol, who had been checking his phone, tilted his head and asked.

“Hyung, you still haven’t read my message? You really didn’t know I contacted you? How did you know I was here?”

“Location tracker.”

Right, he must have seen the location tracker.

“I mean, how did you know I was dragged from the house? Does the location tracker tell you that too? Do you get an alarm when I move? Or did you just happen to see it while you were checking during work? Is that it?”

Han Sol sometimes dug in with the same sharpness as his mother, Lee Geumyeong. He wasn’t slow to notice things.

"It’s pretty addictive. It used to be fun tracking your location.”

“Is it boring now?”

“Rather than boring, I’m getting used to the stability of you always being in the same place, and the peace that comes with it.”

Han Jinheon murmured nonchalantly, recalling the moment he had realized Han Sol’s location was not the mansion but some remote place. It was a striking coincidence that he had seen Han Sol’s location change before he received any contact.

It had been during a meeting that was set to continue until just before lunch. Bored, he had checked the location out of habit and, feeling something was suspicious about Han Sol being on the outskirts of Seoul instead of in the city. 

He then had Song Secretary take his place. The moment he left the conference room, he turned on the navigation synced with the tracker and set off immediately.

After driving for a while, he arrived at a hospital that supposedly confined unmanifested individuals and forced them to manifest. It was called a hospital, but among manifested individuals, it was practically a detention center. 

He didn’t even need to check the mansion’s CCTV to understand the situation. There was no way Han Sol would come here willingly. It was Lee Geum-yeong. He didn’t know how she found out Han Sol was unmanifested, but things had become troublesome.

When he tried to enter the hospital, the doors were locked. The people inside ignored him even when he told them to open up. They seemed skilled at it, implying this wasn’t their first time. 

Thinking just as I expected, Han Jinheon lightly shook the door to gauge its durability, then scanned his surroundings. 

Realizing there was nothing to throw, he wondered what might be in the car’s trunk. It would be nice to have a golf club or something, but it was obvious there would be nothing.

There was no other way. Han Jinheon tried to talk to them one more time to open the door, but as soon as he was ignored, he threw a punch. 

With things like this, it wasn't about hitting multiple times but landing one clean blow and then using his elbow to smash it.

There were no Alphas to be wary of. The foolish Betas, seemingly unaware that he would break the door, just stared blankly without trying to stop him.

Thinking it looked like he was putting on a one-man show of strength, Han Jinheon was inside the hospital after just a few attempts. After that, Han Sol had run to him with a tearful face, and he had heard the unsurprising result that he was, indeed, unmanifested.

Lee Geumyeong, overcome with a sense of betrayal that he hadn't told her, had glared daggers at Han Sol before leaving, grinding her teeth. 

Han Sol, in turn, had clung to him, muttering that he must not be left behind, refusing to let go, saying he was scared to death.

And now, that same kid was smiling nonstop, as if something wonderful had happened. It seems all his tension has melted away.​