Love Born of Pity Chapter 87

I’ve already heard it in great detail, is there even more to talk about than this?

“By the way… I don’t know if I can ask this, but Seongho-ssi, are you an alpha?”

“Don’t I look like an alpha at first glance? I’m so manly. Tall, too.”

“Ah……”

“You’re a beta, hyung, so you probably can’t tell. People like us can tell right away.”

Kwon Jiho was worried his recently recovered eyes and ears would go bad again. A concern crept in about what would happen if Ha Seongho were to release his pheromones. Should he confess the truth? While he was contemplating, Ha Seongho’s mouth opened again.

“I’m a recessive in terms of dynamic, but my physique is like a dominant alpha. You have no idea how popular I am with omegas.”

“Your pheromones, then……”

“Since I’m recessive, they barely come out unless I’m in rut. It varies among recessives; some can’t control their pheromones and leak them everywhere, and some, like me, keep them under tight control.”

“That’s fascinating.”

It was a relief, especially since he had no suppressants. As he answered with a sense of relief, Ha Seongho became triumphant. The way he bragged, saying he wasn’t just any ordinary alpha, wasn’t off-putting. Is it because he’s young? Contrary to his large, bear-like build, he had a cute side.

Ha Seongho placed a cup of coffee, which he had meticulously stirred with a spoon that was overly small for his hand, in front of Kwon Jiho.

“Drink it slowly.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

“So good that if two people drink it, one could die—”

“……Please don’t die.”

Ha Seongho found Kwon Jiho, who had been reacting to his jokes about dying since earlier, both cute and heart-wrenching.

♬⋆.˚

A day without Kwon Jiho was something he just couldn’t get used to. For Do Yeonjae, the acts of falling asleep and waking up each day became more and more detestable. He hated checking the empty side of the bed every morning.

The number of days he went home dwindled. Sleep was limited to a few minutes of dozing at the company, and he used a residential hotel for everything like washing up or changing clothes. He consciously avoided the house where Kwon Jiho was absent.

“Ha……”

Kwon Jiho’s escape was a perfect fifty-fifty mix of success and failure. He had successfully left Do Yeonjae, but Do Yeonjae had found out where he was staying the very next day. From his perspective, it was lucky that he found Kwon Jiho in the first area they started searching.

A turbid breath escaped from between Do Yeonjae’s lips. Suho Island, was it? In the photos delivered every morning, Kwon Jiho was smiling. He seemed to be living a rather peaceful life on the small island. So nonchalantly, as if he couldn’t care less about Do Yeonjae’s insides rotting away. As if worries and cares had been someone else’s problem from the start.

Kwon Jiho spent most of his time with a bright-eyed young alpha. On the rare occasions he was alone, he would walk along the seashore or sit on the sand and gaze endlessly at the sea. Despite his brightened complexion, he looked a little thinner. The cheeks that had been softly filled out were getting sharper. It was more apparent when he placed the photo from the first day next to today’s.

The employee reported that he had bought a test from a pharmacy he visited after leaving the island, so he must have found out for sure that he was pregnant. Do Yeonjae didn’t know how he was enduring the morning sickness. From what he’d found out, an alpha’s pheromones were supposed to help, but that didn’t apply to Kwon Jiho. His pheromones had been poison to Kwon Jiho from the very beginning.

Do Yeonjae’s hand swept through his hair in annoyance. The employee, who had entered the island disguised as a photographer, had reported yesterday that Kwon Jiho had collapsed while dry-heaving. He lost his balance, staggered, and fell to the ground—and of all places, it was a rough cement floor, so he’d scraped his knees badly and bled a lot.

The report said that the young kid next to him had given Kwon Jiho a piggyback ride to the small house where he was staying. The thought that the kid did something he himself had never done once made his blood boil.

Breaking his upright posture, Do Yeonjae leaned his upper body back and looked at the sky outside the window. The young alpha who appeared in every photo was casual and unreserved in touching Kwon Jiho.

Each time, Kwon Jiho would smile shyly and avoid his touch. These fragmented moments captured in photos moved vividly in his mind.

It might just be that Kwon Jiho was accepting of it because he was a very affectionate and kind-hearted person by nature, but what if he had feelings for him?

“Fuck……”

The crush that kid had on Kwon Jiho was all too obvious. It was only natural for an alpha to develop feelings for Kwon Jiho. Hadn’t he done the same? In fact, when he first saw Kwon Jiho, he had wanted to do more than just like him; he had wanted to win his favor.

Anxiety rose like water. He wanted to go to the island right this instant. Just the sight of the two of them walking closely together in the photo made his vision turn red with jealousy. They looked quite good standing side by side. His once-poor imagination grew lush branches. It became increasingly specific and horrifying.

It was then. The sound of a knock on the door made Do Yeonjae’s head turn. The only person who would visit was Chief Kim, so he had been sitting without turning his head, but a voice that should not be heard here pierced his ears.

“What in the world have you been doing?”

He stood up and confirmed the intruder. It was his grandfather, looking like a mountain tiger, followed by a flustered Chief Kim who bowed his head deeply as if to apologize.

“What’s this about, coming so suddenly without any notice?”

Do Yeonjae asked, tightening the loosely-worn necktie. He brushed off his shirt and headed toward the sofa. Do Seungtae was already seated in the seat of honor.

“You pathetic fool. You said you’d bring him soon and asked me to be nice to him if possible. Look at you now.”

“……”

“Bring him, my foot… Tsk, the rumors that he ran away are rampant all the way down to the South Sea.”

The sarcastic remark implied that he knew the whole situation.

“Do you think it’ll work if you just send people? I heard you’re just sitting here comfortably receiving reports. And why did that Director Kang get involved, anyway.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“A man who says he’ll take care of it is just sitting on his hands like this? The child carrying my great-grandchild in his belly! You left him in the boondocks, and you can still focus on your work? What will you do if the pregnant child gets into an accident, acting so complacently?”

“……”

“I heard he has a history of miscarriage, are you in your right mind? If it happened once, you should be treating him like glass the second time, and you just dropped him off there, what are you doing now? Your father puts so much care into dealing with Hyunsu, so how did you turn out like this? Who do you take after?”

Do Yeonjae squeezed his eyes shut at the nagging that poured out like a shout without a single pause. His head felt heavy from not being able to sleep properly for even an hour a day. The suppressants he took in anticipation of his upcoming rut had caused insomnia. His brain understood why an alpha with an imprinted mate would take suppressants, but his body did not.

“I’ll be going to see him soon.”

“I’m telling you to go now, right now! Is this a time for you to be leisurely reviewing documents!”

“Grandfather, you should just go. Even if you don’t get this angry, I’ll go get him soon.”

It seemed he had come out of sheer anxiety that something might happen to the baby in Kwon Jiho’s belly. It was obvious, as his desire to see his great-grandchild was greater than his interest in who his grandson married. And his anger seemed to have peaked at the fact that a pregnant person was left alone so far away.

Do Seungtae’s angry eyes landed on Do Yeonjae’s face. His forehead, which had been torn, was clean as if it had fully healed. A scar remained on the smooth skin, but it wasn’t very visible as it was at the hairline. Do Seungtae clicked his tongue—Tsk.

“What do you plan to do?”

“I… ha. I’ll take care of it, Grandfather. I will bring him back. Don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry… How on earth did a guy like that come from Hyunsu’s womb?”

Do Seungtae, after clicking his tongue, was about to say more but shook his head upon seeing the dark circles under his grandson’s eyes. He stood up from his seat and, murmuring lowly to bring him back soon, crossed the office.

“Get home safely, and next time, call me to the main house.”

At Do Yeonjae’s listless voice, Do Seungtae looked back. He had been briefed on the fact that his grandson had unilaterally imprinted, but his grandson’s complexion was far worse than he had expected, deepening his concern. What a fool.

If you like someone, you should treat them well and cherish them. How badly must you have treated him for him to run away? He had briefly heard about the self-harm incident that led to his hospitalization and what happened in the hospital room, but he couldn’t possibly know everything that had happened between the two.

He could only guess how badly his grandson, who wasn’t even affectionate towards him, must have treated that child. It would be great if Chief Kim would open his mouth properly. But whether it was fear of the aftermath or immense loyalty, his attempts at persuasion weren’t working.

“If he was the type to come back just because you weren’t sleeping or eating, he wouldn’t have run away in the first place.”

“……”

“I’m telling you to stop being pathetic, eat, and sleep. If you’re going to repent, do it after you bring him back.”

Having stated the cold reality, Do Seungtae roughly opened the office door and left.