Good Night, Brother! - Chapter 5.2

With days of late nights and extreme sleep deprivation, Jeong Eun Hyun’s tangled thoughts made his head throb. He covered his face with both hands, massaging his temples with his fingertips. Seeing this, Jinseo anxiously interlocked his fingers on the table and spoke.

“Jeong Eun Hyun. Say something. Anything.”

“…”

“Curse me out if you want. Hit me if it’ll help…”

“Hah…”

To Jinseo, just as to Jeong Eun Hyun, it must have felt like a natural disaster. Eun Hyun stared blankly at the ice in his glass, melting and clinking softly as it shifted, before finally speaking.

“I… I understand why you did what you did that day.”

Jinseo’s gaze faltered at Eun Hyun’s words. His face tensed as he waited for what would come next.

“So, I’ll accept your apology.”

Jinseo’s plump lips, especially striking when he smiled, parted slightly. His eyes, tinged with cautious hope, seemed to urge Eun Hyun to say more.

Just then, Eun Hyun’s phone rang. Pulling it out from his suit jacket, Eun Hyun bit his lower lip in hesitation before answering.

“Hello?”

• • • • Hyung. Are you still at work?

“Uh… I’m about to leave.”

• • • • Where are you? I hear background music. You’re not at the office, are you?

If he mentioned being with Jinseo, it would undoubtedly cause chaos. His brother might even show up on the spot. Jeong Eun Hyun came up with a quick excuse.

“Ah, I stopped by a café to grab some coffee.”

• • • • Who are you with?

“Uh… I’m alone. Who else would I be with?”

• • • • Hyung, you sound different when you answer the phone around other people.

“…”

• • • • And it doesn’t sound like you’re with a coworker.

Faced with his brother’s nearly animal-like intuition, Jeong Eun Hyun found it hard to keep lying.

“Jinseo came to the office and said he wanted to apologize…”

• • • • Ah, so all this lying was to cover for Han Jinseo?

“…”

• • • • I’m coming over.

“No, Yihyeon. We’re about to part ways. Seriously, don’t come.”

• • • • Hah…

“Jung Yihyeon, please.”

• • • • Fine. But tell Han Jinseo this: I’ve imprinted with you, so you’re no longer available as an Omega. He should stop hanging around you.

With that, the call ended abruptly.

There was no way Jeong Eun Hyun could say something like that to Jinseo. No, he couldn’t say it to anyone. He let out a deep sigh, raised his tired eyes, and looked at Jinseo.

“Where was I?”

“You said you’d accept my apology.”

“Yes. Honestly, what happened that day… I’d rather we just bury it and move on.”

“…So, you’re forgiving me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

Jinseo’s brow furrowed slightly at Eun Hyun’s seemingly generous words.

“Then… are we going back to how things were? As friends…”

Jeong Eun Hyun thought of the decade-long friendship he shared with Jinseo and gave a sad smile.

“That’s not possible, Jinseo. How could we go back to how things were?”

On Jinseo’s face was an expression Eun Hyun had never seen in all their years of friendship.

For a long moment, Jinseo clenched and unclenched his fists on the table, his lips moving as if to speak, before he finally lowered his head.

Eun Hyun waited, giving Jinseo time to collect himself. The ice in their drinks melted entirely before Jinseo spoke again.

The two were eventually ushered out by a café staff member, reminding them of closing time. They walked side by side toward the subway station, blending into the crowd. While they often walked together in silence, today’s atmosphere was different.

At the central passageway of the station, where their paths diverged, Eun Hyun gave his final farewell.

“Han Jinseo. Take care.”

“…Yeah. You too.”

So this really is the end with Jinseo. There’s no such thing as a relationship that lasts forever. The belief that anything could be eternal was just an illusion.

Jeong Eun Hyun brushed away the intrusive thoughts as he turned to tap his transit card. Just then, Jinseo hurriedly crossed the passageway and called out to him in a louder-than-usual voice.

“Jeong Eun Hyun.”

“What is it?”

“Can I ask you one last thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“You’re not giving off any pheromones today… Did you imprint with someone?”

Jinseo’s sharp eyes, contrasting with the softness of his brown irises, held a mix of curiosity and genuine concern for his long-time friend. Eun Hyun etched the sight of those familiar eyes into his memory and replied with a faint smirk.

“No comment.”

With a monotonous beep, Jeong Eun Hyun passed through the turnstile.

Inside the subway, leaning against the trembling door, Eun Hyun let his thoughts drift to Han Jinseo.

Han Jinseo, the boy who became my classmate in seventh grade.

The one who said being a Beta made me easy to get along with.

The one who doodled on my textbooks from the seat next to mine.

The one who made math problems seem so simple.

The one who mixed soju and beer perfectly.

But above all those colorful memories, the image of Jinseo, overwhelmed with Alpha pheromones, pinning me down, was painted over in pitch black.

No matter how sorrowful his apology, there’s no going back to the way things were.

As he tapped the subway window with his finger, a bitter smile crept onto Jeong Eun Hyun’s lips at a sudden thought.

Jeong Eun Hyun.

Han Jinseo may not deserve this, but… he can’t have me anymore.

“And it’s okay for Jeong Yihyeon to act like that?”

“It’s not okay to fool around with a friend, but it’s fine with your brother?”

“Maybe the real lunatic isn’t Jeong Yihyeon. Maybe it’s me.”

Eun Hyun’s head throbbed. He couldn’t tell if the pain was from the overtime or the tangled mess of his thoughts.

On his way home from the subway station, his phone buzzed. It was his mother.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Eun Hyun. Are you off work?”

“I’m on my way home now.”

“You worked late again? Did you have dinner?”

Eun Hyun hadn’t eaten. Following Eun Sooah’s suggestion to skip dinner and finish work faster, he had powered through without a break.

“No, not yet.”

“It’s past 9 o’clock, and you haven’t eaten?”

“It’s been a busy day.”

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