Chapter 5

The Mugyeol that Yi-seon knew had despised grilled cherry tomatoes ever since childhood. His excuse had been that they were unpleasantly squishy. Seeing that Mugyeol’s tastes had changed far less than his body had, Yi-seon chuckled. “If you’re not going to eat them, give them to me.”

Just like before.

Preferring vegetables over meat, Yi-seon had always eaten whatever greens Mugyeol disliked. Today, however, was different. Instead of surrendering the tomatoes, Mugyeol stabbed one with his fork and shoved it into his own mouth.

Mugyeol chewed the tomato with exaggerated determination while staring straight at Yi-seon, swallowed, and flashed a derisive smirk. Then, barely a few seconds later, he gulped down water in huge swallows. The irritation carved between his brows was almost impressive.

“You’re really trying hard…”

If you hate it that much, just don’t eat it.

His body might have grown, but his mental age is the exact same.

Yi-seon clicked his tongue, and Mugyeol’s scowl deepened.

Once the meal concluded, the adults moved indoors to view Chairman Yeon’s new art acquisitions. Only Yi-seon, Mugyeol, and Mugyeol’s twin half-brothers remained behind.

The moment Chairman Yeon left, Mugyeol collapsed into blatant indolence. Slouching back into his chair, he crossed one leg over the other and began carelessly popping grapes from his plate into his mouth. With one arm slung over the next chair as he ate grapes, he looked more like a delinquent than the polished heir from minutes earlier.

Mugyeol’s half-brother Yeon Hangyeol dabbed his mouth, tossed down his napkin, and spoke. “You don’t even greet your hyung anymore?”

“Did you ever bother accepting it when I did?”

“What?”

“If I greet you, you ignore it; if I don’t, you throw a fit. What, am I supposed to prepare a full royal protocol for you or something?”

“You little bastard!”

“My esteemed hyung-nim, did you enjoy a tranquil slumber through the night, and were your royal affairs without incident? In the fervent hope that your precious, noble person remains in supreme health today, this humble younger brother reverently offers his morning greetings. Please stay fucking healthy forever.”

As Mugyeol delivered the belated greeting with a smirk, Yeon Hangyeol’s face hardened at once. “Hey. You think everything is a joke, don’t you?” Glaring at Mugyeol, Yeon Hangyeol nudged the forearm of his twin, Yeon Seonggyeol, with his elbow and continued, “You saw it too, right? That bastard completely blew off Mom and Dad’s greetings earlier. We’re family, so he ought to greet them properly. Don’t you think?”

“Leave him alone. Grandfather only keeps him around out of pity, but he doesn’t know his place. What can you expect from a bastard who fears nothing just because he’s favored by Grandfather?”

“…I didn’t mean to take it that far.” Yeon Hangyeol vigorously rubbed the back of his neck before glaring at Mugyeol once more. “Hey, Yeon Mugyeol. How long do you think Grandfather is going to protect you? What are you gonna do later, huh? You think Dad will just sit by and let it slide?”

To that, Yeon Seonggyeol chimed in with another sneer, “I told you to leave him alone. He’s unwelcome everywhere, so this place is the only refuge he has left.”

“…No, well… Saying it like that is a bit…”

“Mugyeol-ah. If you’re so lonely, go track down the Omega father who abandoned you and left. Why cling so disgustingly to Grandfather’s side like a parasite?”

Yeon Seonggyeol knew exactly where Mugyeol was vulnerable. He knew the childhood wound that still haunted him, and he knew exactly how to press it.

Yet Mugyeol, the target of all that venom, barely seemed fazed. He munched on grapes as he listened and even capped it off by tossing one into the air and catching it in his mouth.

When Mugyeol caught a grape in his mouth on the second try, Yi-seon gave him a little clap, then got up, circled the table, and took the chair beside him.

“Hey. Your hyung sure talks a lot…” Yi-seon whispered, leaning toward Mugyeol. After watching the spiteful exchange between the estranged half brothers, he offered his candid assessment. “You haven’t said a single word, but those two have been making such a fuss this whole time… They seem really busy…”

His voice was quiet, but the garden was quieter still, and every word carried clearly to everyone present.

Mugyeol choked on his grape at Yi-seon’s remark and dissolved into sputtering coughs. He gulped down a glass of water, then burst out laughing.

“Ryu Yi-seon, are you actually out of your mind?”

Mugyeol laughed so hard he couldn’t stop for several moments. Yeon Seonggyeol glared at Yi-seon with an expression mingled with bafflement and rage.

“Hey! Can’t you read the room right now? Do you think this is a situation you dare butt into?”

Yeon Seonggyeol stamped his foot, fuming that he had never liked Yi-seon, not even when they were kids.

Yi-seon loathed Mugyeol’s brothers every bit as much. The only reason he had intruded on another family’s domestic feud and played dumb was the abuse they kept hurling at Mugyeol—the same one-sided attacks they had subjected him to since childhood.

“Mugyeol-ah. If you’re so lonely, go track down the Omega father who abandoned you and left.”

The second he heard that piece of bullshit, fury welled up inside Yi-seon. Mugyeol might have looked nonchalant, but Yi-seon had clenched his fists beneath the table for him.

Whose fault was it that Mugyeol had grown up lonely, with no one to lean on? Why did he have to live without his Omega father in the first place?

Those two had no right to say such things to Mugyeol, especially when their own mother had carried on a long affair with his father and ultimately driven away the male Omega who gave birth to him.

Although Yi-seon had lost touch with Mugyeol while living in Jeju, he had occasionally heard news through his parents—including that Mugyeol had eventually left his father’s house to live alone at his grandfather’s estate.

With an unloving father, an unrelated stepmother, and twin half brothers who ostracized him, Mugyeol had never been able to put down roots. To Yi-seon, his move to his grandfather’s estate felt less like a choice than a dandelion seed finally coming to rest wherever the wind dropped it.

Having finally stopped laughing, Mugyeol slung an arm across the back of Yi-seon’s chair and leaned toward him. “You’re right. My hyungs always seem to have so much to say whenever they see me.”

“Still, dragging family into it to insult you crossed the line a bit… People might question their upbringing and moral character…”

Mugyeol burst out laughing again. Once he finally got himself under control, he brushed off his hands and stood. “Hey. Want to go see the dog?”

“Yeah. I like dogs.”

Eager to get Mugyeol away from there, Yi-seon scrambled up and bowed politely to the twins. Unlike some people, he had been taught proper manners.

“Goodbye, then.”

The twins offered no reply. Only their breathing grew noticeably ragged.

Leaving the garden behind, Yi-seon nudged Mugyeol’s ribs with his elbow.

“Those hyungs haven’t changed a bit, though. Still ganging up on people two-on-one,” he muttered as though speaking only to Mugyeol, though he made sure the twins could hear him too.

Naturally, that had been the intention all along.

Mugyeol strolled along with his hands in his pockets, looking remarkably cheerful. His brothers’ venomous jabs seemed to have rolled right off him; he was even humming under his breath.

Seeing him like that, Yi-seon felt rather proud of him.

The Mugyeol of the past had been different.

As a child, Mugyeol had been desperately lonely and hungry for his brothers’ love. With nowhere else to put that affection, he had clung to the twin half brothers who hated him, trying to earn even a scrap of warmth only to be made a fool of.

“Hyung… Hyung-ah… Take me with you too…”

He had been an innocent child who wanted the shelter of a family more than anything. Back then, Yi-seon had sometimes been the only one there to wipe the tears from Mugyeol’s lashes and pat his trembling back while he sobbed.

Recalling those now-faded memories, Yi-seon glanced at Mugyeol. Where had the little angel with sparkling jet-black eyes gone? In his place stood a towering, broad-shouldered youth. When they were little, Yi-seon had looked down at the crown of Mugyeol’s head. Now he had to crane his neck to look up at him, which left him faintly annoyed.

Mugyeol’s once pretty, delicate face had matured into that of a striking young man. He had not entirely lost his boyish freshness, but the sharper line of his brow and nose, his straight jaw, and his prominent Adam’s apple made him look suddenly, startlingly grown.

The former little angel called quietly into the open backyard, “Dool-dool!”

Woof! A large dog bounded out from the back garden. The elegant, muscular hound wagged its tail furiously, then folded its long legs and sat the instant Mugyeol gave the command. He was remarkably well trained.

“Is this the dog you mentioned earlier?”

“Yeah. Say hello, Dool-dool. This ugly hyung is hyung’s frie—…”

Mugyeol broke off mid-sentence and furrowed one brow, apparently unwilling to force out the words hyung’s friend even if it killed him. Yi-seon didn’t mind.

“Does he bite?”

“Yeah. Only pieces of shit.”

“I better watch out, then.”

Mugyeol let out a brief chuckle. Yi-seon held out an open palm until Dool-dool relaxed, then gently stroked the dog’s head. The fur was softer than expected. The handsome face of the dog looking up at him matched Mugyeol remarkably well.

The only unfortunate thing was that such an aristocratic-looking dog had been saddled with the name Dool-dool. Names like Rex or Ash would have suited him so much better. It felt akin to calling someone as handsome as Mugyeol by the name of Gwak Chunsam.

“Hello, Dool-dool-ie. Your name is quite unique, isn’t it? I don’t know who named you, but they really have zero sense. Right?”

“Grandfather gave him that name.”

“Well, two is definitely better than one. Actually, now that I hear it again, it’s kind of endearing.”

“That was a lie.”

“…”

“I named him.”

Mugyeol snickered, thoroughly pleased with himself.

Yi-seon glared at Mugyeol out of the corner of his eye.

You piece of shit…

He secretly wished Dool-dool, who supposedly only bit pieces of shit, would take a bite out of Mugyeol. Unfortunately, the dog showed no inclination to oblige.

“Want to throw it too?”

Mugyeol held out the ball Dool-dool had retrieved. Yi-seon took the green tennis ball and hurled it toward the back of the yard. Patter-patter. Dool-dool dashed off with gleaming eyes.

“The ball is damper than I thought.”

“It’d be weirder if it stayed dry when he chomps on it like this.”

Mugyeol suddenly lifted Yi-seon’s hand and clamped his teeth around it, playfully gnawing at the skin.

“Ah, shit, what the hell! Gross!”

Startled, Yi-seon flailed and stumbled backward. Mugyeol was laughing his head off at the very reaction he had caused. Yi-seon wiped the tooth-marked back of his hand against his clothes and shuddered.

“Is this fun for you?”

“Yeah. Your reactions are fucking hilarious.”

“Whatever.”

“Why are you the exact same as back then?”

“What is?”

When Mugyeol took a step closer, Yi-seon backed away two steps. Mugyeol didn’t advance any further, standing with his hands tucked into his pockets, swaying lazily.

“Same smart mouth. Same sneaky temper.”

“…”

The sudden mention of their past left Yi-seon at a loss for words.

He wanted to say, You’re the one who changed so much, but… the more he thought about it, the less true that seemed. Other than growing considerably taller and broader, his facial features were similar upon close inspection, and his stubbornness and temper had always been extraordinary.

Whenever his brothers excluded him, Mugyeol had wiped his tears in distress, but once he finished crying, he was the kind of kid who would take a plastic toy baseball bat with red-rimmed eyes and whack the back of their heads.

“You’re the exact same, Yeon Mugyeol.”

“Really? Guess you still remember, huh?”

“Yeah. Still no manners, still laughing like a lunatic at the weirdest things. Exactly the same.”

“Why you little bastard…”

Just as Mugyeol was about to stride over, Dool-dool charged right between them. Panting, Dool-dool dropped the ball with a plop and sank into a play bow, hindquarters raised and tail wagging furiously. The demand was unmistakable: throw it again.

Whoosh. As Mugyeol threw the ball once more, an ecstatic Dool-dool dashed after it. “Ryu Yi-seon. When you hear the name Dool-dool, does nothing come to mind?”

“Fried chicken?”

“Of course you’d say that.”

Mugyeol clicked his tongue in exasperation. Yi-seon bristled at being treated like a fool, but couldn’t retort any further. A voice calling for them echoed from behind.

“Mugyeol-ah! Yi-seon-ah! Chairman Yeon is calling for you!”

It was Yi-seon’s mother.

Without a word, they left the back garden, each trying to edge ahead of the other. Once Yi-seon realized they had somehow turned it into a race, he lengthened his stride, but Mugyeol’s much longer legs made him hard to overtake.

About five meters before reaching the front entrance, Yi-seon broke into a sprint and pulled the door open first. Behind him, Mugyeol came running up. “Ah, shit…”

A smile crept onto Yi-seon’s lips. The race had stirred up an old memory. Whenever they played in the garden or backyard and the housekeeper called them for snack time, they used to hold footraces just like this.

Come to think of it, he had talked a lot about their childhood with Mugyeol today.

“Running your mouth the same way. Having a subtle temper the exact same way.”

“Having zero manners, and bursting into laughter like a lunatic when something bizarre catches your humor. Identical.”

“…”

Their conversation had hardly been affectionate, but the fact that they could bring up the past at all felt significant.

Could we become friends again like this?

Truthfully, a faint glimmer of hope stirred inside him.

After all, the sole reason he had returned to Seoul instead of following his aunt from Jeju to France was Mugyeol.

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