A harmonious family breakfast.
More precisely, it used to be a harmonious family al. Just a few months ago, at least. Whether Ha Giyeon was present or not, they would dine together pleasantly. But ever since he stopped appearing at the breakfast table, they had begun to look visibly displeased.
They used to glare at Giyeon with contempt and disappointnt even when he was present—so to now act as though they missed him, it made no sense to Kang Jini.
And today, for the first ti, she had to witness what might have been the most awful breakfast atmosphere she’d ever seen—so dreadful it felt like the mood had crashed through the floor.
Kang Jini knew exactly why.
The mont they walked into the kitchen, their eyes fell on one empty seat. The one beside Ha Dohoon. Ha Giyeon’s seat.
The last ti he’d had a al at the table had been the morning before that family outing. After that, he had never returned to it.
Which was only natural. He’d already been eating early or skipping als entirely just to avoid overlapping with them—so what reason would he have to voluntarily show up? Especially now, with the allergy incident, things had only gotten worse.
It baffled Kang Jini that these people acted so hurt and confused now.
She had no desire to understand them.
They would never be able to grasp what kind of days Ha Giyeon had endured. Whatever they tried to do now would only feel burdenso and uncomfortable to him.
If only they had made the effort to face him just a little sooner, that empty seat at the large table wouldn’t have been empty at all.
Lee Mihyun shouldn’t have asked why he didn’t co ho last night. She should’ve contacted him herself. Even if calling felt awkward, she could have at least sent a text. Asked how he was feeling. Whose house he was staying at. Whether he’d be coming ho today.
To only ask others without doing anything herself—that wasn’t guilt. That was just evasion. Nothing more.
And if they weren’t willing to take action themselves, then their relationship with Ha Giyeon was already over.
The only reason Giyeon still lived in that house was because they were blood-related. Because he was still a minor. If it weren’t for that, Kang Jini firmly believed that he would have left the mont he beca an adult—without a shred of regret.
After the dreadful al ended and the house emptied out, she stepped out of the kitchen to begin cleaning—
Click. The front door opened.
Maybe a secretary had co by on an errand. Or maybe Ha Dohoon, who’d seed in a foul mood, had returned ho without going to school.
But to her surprise, it wasn’t either of them.
It was Ha Giyeon, who’d supposedly stayed the night at a friend’s place and gone to school from there.
“Haha, hello...”
He walked in awkwardly and greeted her. Kang Jini quickly smoothed over her surprised expression and greeted him with her usual calm smile.
“I was startled to see you at this hour, Giyeon. Did you forget sothing? Or need anything?”
“Ah... I’m not feeling well...”
Seeing his troubled expression and pale face, she imdiately realized he was truly unwell. It was rare for him to miss school. If he was skipping, it must be serious.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Yes. I’m just going to rest in my room.”
“Go on upstairs and rest, then. If you need anything, let know. If you haven’t contacted your teacher yet, I can call on your behalf.”
“Thank you.”
Giyeon bowed his head politely and headed up the stairs. Watching his retreating back, Kang Jini’s expression darkened. Even though it was his own ho, the way he had to speak as if he were imposing on soone—it pained her deeply.
He must have been feeling terrible, and yet he still acted that way. Maybe... he had already emotionally left this household.
***
Ha Giyeon had stayed out overnight.
Ha Dohoon had never felt such a chaotic, deranged emotional state before. How could he not co ho? No matter how late it got, he always ca back. But now, he’d spent the night at a friend’s house?
When he first heard it, Dohoon was so shocked that his mind froze completely. Why the hell would he sleep at soone else’s house when he had a perfectly fine ho of his own? Whose house was it, anyway? Since when did Ha Giyeon have friends? He’d even left school early—on top of that, he stayed over?
He was sick—he should’ve co ho and rested properly.
Dohoon imdiately called him. But no matter how many tis he tried, all he got ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was that stupid voicemail. And a few hours later, the ssage changed—the phone was now turned off.
That ant he’d seen Dohoon’s calls and deliberately ignored them.
His head felt like it was stuffed with hot coals, a burning pain spiking through. His vision blurred, shifting red and blue, like he was going to snap at any second.
Giyeon had said he didn’t have friends. Had begged him to stop already. And now he was saying he’d slept over at one’s house? Was he lying this whole ti?
Anger? Disappointnt? No—it was sothing closer to betrayal. No, betrayal wasn’t quite the right word either.
More accurately—it made him want to rip apart whatever bastard had slept beside Giyeon.
Who the hell did he think he was, daring to sleep beside his Giyeon?
It had to be so scumbag who’d word his way in and seduced him.
In that case, he—
“—has to rein him in, as his older brother.”
Ever since Giyeon collapsed in that restaurant, Dohoon had developed a fixation. A dark, unshakable instinct: that he had to protect him.
Because Giyeon was stupidly trusting, Dohoon had to be the one to protect him.
He tried to think of who this friend might be. But he knew absolutely nothing about Giyeon’s relationships. At that mont, he truly regretted it—regretted ignoring him back in middle school, regretted not staying by his side and chasing away the pests.
If he had, this overnight stay would never have happened.
In the end, Dohoon spent the night wide awake.
He was determined to confront Giyeon as soon as he arrived at school. He barely touched breakfast and left the house right away.
Arriving early, he found Giyeon’s desk empty. He waited until after horoom and then checked the classroom again. Still no sign of him. He grabbed a random student and asked:
“Where’s Ha Giyeon?”
“Oh... Giyeon’s out sick again today...”
At that, a surge of heat rushed through his body.
As if spending the night at soone else’s place wasn’t enough—now he wasn’t even coming to school. What the hell was he doing? Who the hell was he hanging around with?
Grabbing his pounding head, Dohoon left school.
He was going to tear through Giyeon’s room if he had to. He had to find out who that bastard was.
Yes, he knew it was sothing that would make Giyeon angry—violating his privacy, tearing through his things. But right now, Dohoon’s head was filled with only one thought:
Find Ha Giyeon.
It was basically a case of going to school just to turn around and go ho.
He stord through the front door and stomped toward Giyeon’s room, his heavy steps pounding the floor. He stopped in front of the door without the slightest hesitation—and flung it open.
“...!!”
What he saw: Ha Giyeon, seated on the bed and talking with Kang Jini. Both looked up in shock. Giyeon’s eyes went wide as he stared at him, and Kang Jini looked just as startled.
“What are you doing ho at this hour...?”
“You—!”
Dohoon stord toward him and seized both his shoulders.
Giyeon winced from the sudden grip, pain flashing across his face. But before he could say a word, Dohoon was already pressing in:
“Where’d you sleep last night? Who was it? You don’t even have friends!”
“Agh—wait, hang on—!”
“Dohoon!”
“Answer !”
Dohoon shook him hard, uncaring whether it hurt. Then, with one last shove, he threw him off.
That was when Dohoon snapped back to reality.
Giyeon had hit the wall. Blood sprayed.
Only then did he take in the scene: the IV stand knocked over on the floor. The blood-sared needle that had been ripped out. Giyeon, clutching his hand, biting his lip to hold back the pain.
That look—fighting to suppress agony—suddenly reminded Dohoon of when Giyeon had collapsed in that restaurant.
He reached toward him.
“......!”
But then, Giyeon’s expression changed.
The pain-twisted face contorted further—with fear, with terror.
It was the sa face he’d made when Dohoon had once choked him.
As that mory ca rushing back, Dohoon felt like he had to explain himself. What he couldn’t say back then—he had to say now. That he hadn’t ant it. That he hadn’t wanted to hurt him.
“I never wanted to—”
But just as he opened his mouth—
“What do you think you’re doing.”
A cold voice cut in, and soone stepped into the room.
Lee Mihyun.
Her face went rigid as she took in the bloodied bed, the floor, the toppled IV stand, and Ha Giyeon sitting there, clutching his bleeding hand.
“Use this to stop the bleeding. Dr. Choi’s on the way.”
Panting, Kang Jini returned with a towel and pressed it firmly against Giyeon’s hand.
Mihyun looked down at them both, then turned to Dohoon.
“Leave. Now.”
“But I—”
“Didn’t you hear say get out?!”
Her voice rose sharply. It was the first ti either Kang Jini or Ha Giyeon had heard her shout like that. Both froze, staring in disbelief.
Giyeon thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. There was no way Mihyun could look that angry.
Dohoon said nothing, his lips pressed shut, and left the room.
Mihyun took over from Kang Jini, pressing the towel against the bleeding hand herself.
“I’ll take care of this. Please go let Dr. Choi in when he arrives.”
“...Yes.”
Still shaken, Kang Jini stepped out as instructed. Giyeon, anwhile, glanced nervously at Mihyun’s expression as she tended to his hand.
Why is she ho at this hour...?
As if Dohoon wasn’t enough—now Mihyun, too. Was she ho because of work?
Gripping the towel, Mihyun opened and closed her mouth several tis, then finally asked:
“...What happened?”
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