Suddenly, Cherry's phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen. A wave of nervous energy passed through him before he turned to J.

"J, I am going in the balcony to receive this call. My mother is calling me."

J nodded, barely looking up. “Ok.”

Cherry rushed toward the balcony, heart thudding with guilt as he picked up the phone.

"Jiyu?"

Jiyu’s voice came sharp and casual. “So, did you do anything as planned, huh?”

Cherry hesitated. “Do you think this plan of using his money gonna work?”

“Oh, come on,” Jiyu said with a scoff. “You’re his wife. He’ll give you money with no problem. Ask for a credit card or cash, at least have fun till you divorce him.”

Cherry sighed and leaned on the railing, eyes wandering ahead—and paused.

Right in front of him, laid out in full glory, was a shimmering beach. He never noticed before, but their apartment overlooked it perfectly. Waves curled in soft white foam, the breeze gently ruffling his hair.

“Hello… hello? You there?” Jiyu's voice snapped him back.

Cherry answered faintly, “Ya. I will try.”

He hung up and stood there, the sea wind brushing his face, salty and cold… and yet he didn’t feel right. A few hours passed just like that.

Then he stepped back inside.

His mind was a storm—conflicted, twisted with guilt, and pressured by Jiyu’s manipulation. Finally, gathering up his courage, he called Akira.

At the office, Akira’s phone vibrated on the desk. He glanced at the number with disinterest before answering flatly.

“Hello?”

Cherry's voice came through, hesitant. “Hello Akira.”

Akira narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“It’s me… Cherry.”

Akira didn’t look up from his documents. “Oh. Cherry. From where did you get my number?”

Cherry panicked. “Uhh… from J.”

Akira frowned slightly. That J...

“Ok. What is it? Make it short.”

Cherry gulped, fingers trembling. “I want some money, Akira.”

Still scanning documents, Akira replied without emotion, “Why?”

Cherry scrambled for an answer. “Uhm… I want to go to the hospital for check-up.”

“No worries,” Akira said with disinterest. “That hospital is ours. Go on and just tell them my name. Every treatment will be free.”

Cherry quickly added, “No. I’m going to another hospital. Not Happy Life… for my regular check-up.”

Akira’s voice stayed cold. “Then also do the same. There is no hospital which doesn’t run without my funds.”

Cherry was losing ground. He thought harder. “Okay then… I also want to go for shopping.”

Akira shrugged mentally. “Take J. He got a lot of money. Buy whatever you want.”

Cherry clenched his fists in frustration. “Can’t you just give me your money? At least a credit card.”

Akira’s voice went flat. “No.” Click.

The call ended.

---

Later that afternoon, Akira sat in a meeting room surrounded by managers when a wave of heat coursed through his body. The room was chilled with air conditioning, but he felt like he was burning from inside.

He gave a subtle nod to K, who approached silently.

“I guess my rut started. We need to go to the hospital. Call Yuke and get the car ready. I’ll be there after this meeting,” Akira whispered lowly.

K nodded with urgency. “Yes, boss.”

After the meeting, Akira rushed straight into the hospital and into Yuke’s cabin. Yuke was still in the emergency operation theatre, hands deep in surgery.

Akira waited, beads of sweat forming along his temples, breath coming heavier with each second.

Moments later, Yuke rushed into the cabin, removing his surgical gloves and gear swiftly. The scent, the heat—he knew instantly what was happening. Pheromones were already spreading across the room.

Yuke saw his brother slouched in the chair, panting.

He dashed to the drawer, pulling out a handful of injections.

“Roll up your sleeves,” he instructed.

Akira complied silently. His skin was slick with sweat, and Yuke injected him with the suppressors—one, then two… then a third.

Akira’s breath still came shallow, his shirt clinging to him. Yuke unbuttoned it to help with airflow but didn’t take it off completely.

He wiped the sweat from Akira’s face with a cool towel. “There. You’ll feel better now. Take a deep breath, brother.” He cranked the AC to its max setting, then sat down in the chair across from him.

Akira didn’t speak.

Instead, he got up and clung to Yuke like a lost child—his head resting on his younger brother’s shoulder, arms wrapping around his waist, as his chest rose and fell in ragged breaths.

Yuke, calm and patient, began to stroke his brother’s hair.

“Hmm. Brother, you should try releasing it instead of using suppressors again and again. It will weaken your body from the inside. And now you have an omega. Your wife. Why don’t you…”

Akira lifted his head slightly, his eyes still red and dazed. “Shut up.”

Yuke laughed softly. “Okay. But I have only ten minutes for hugging. After that, I have to go for rounds.”

Akira didn't move.

Yuke smiled, still playing with Akira’s hair strands between his fingers. His voice dropped to a nostalgic whisper.

“Brother.”

Akira murmured, “Hm.”

“Remember when we both got kidnapped when I was 10, and you were 11 years old…”

Flashback,

Both thin. Frail. Just like brothers should be.

The world hadn’t been kind, and it was about to get crueler.

Inside a dark, damp warehouse, their small bodies lay unconscious on the ground.

Hands tied. Legs bound.

No light. No sound—except the cruel laughter of those who had taken them.

The kidnappers’ boss paced slowly near the corner, his cigar glowing in the shadows.

“Now that we got Leo’s sons,” he muttered, “he will be in our control. Hahaha…”

Suddenly—

Yuke stirred.

Eyes fluttering open, breath shallow, heart pounding.

One of the men nearby noticed.

“Boss, look. The beauty is awake.”

The boss looked up from his cigar, smoke coiling around his face. “Hmm.”

The man—his name was Kalf—walked over to Yuke, eyes glinting. He bent down, fingers brushing over Yuke’s pale cheek, then his neck.

“Boss… I think he’s an omega. What do you say?”

The boss frowned. “What? I heard Leo had both sons as alphas.”

“Oh, but look at him,” Kalf sneered. “So pale. So thin. Silver hair… blue eyes… and scared.”

He laughed darkly. “He’s definitely an omega. Let me check.”

The boss sighed, exhaling smoke. “Come on, Kalf. He’s just a child. We need revenge on his dad, not him.”

“But boss… just a little won’t hurt.”

Yuke trembled, his body frozen in terror.

Tears rolled down his cheeks. “No… no…”

The boss waved his hand lazily. “Go ahead, then.”

Kalf’s hand reached toward Yuke again—

—but before he could touch him—

“AAAGHH!”

Kalf screamed, clutching his hand. Blood ran down from a deep gash.

“My hand!! It’s cut!”

Not severed. But deep. Sharp. A clean slice.

Yuke opened his eyes.

And standing in front of him—

Was Akira.

Eyes blazing. Arms free.

A blade held between his teeth.

His ropes lay sliced behind him.

The boss jumped from his chair, startled. “Did you not tie him up?!”

“We did, boss!” the men cried.

The boss smirked. “Interesting… now that seems like Leo’s child.”

Akira spat the blade out into his hand, calm and composed.

Then, quick as lightning, he threw the blade toward Yuke.

Yuke caught it, hands trembling. While the men were distracted, he used it to cut himself free.

Akira’s voice rang sharp:

“If you were real men… you’d have only kidnapped me. Not a child.”

Laughter exploded in the warehouse.

“Haha! Look who’s talking! What will you do, huh?”

Akira smirked coldly. “Who said I’ll do anything?”

He turned his head slightly and shouted—

“GUARD UNCLE!”

Suddenly—

The door burst open.

An entire army of guards in black suits flooded in, guns aimed and ready.

They opened fire.

Bullets rained across the room. One by one, the kidnappers fell. Screams. Blood. Chaos.

But Kalf had hidden.

And as the world burned around him, he saw his chance.

Blade in hand, he lunged—straight toward Yuke.

But Akira saw it first.

He threw himself between them—and the knife sank into his stomach.

Yuke screamed.

The guards didn’t hesitate—hundreds of bullets riddled Kalf into silence.

Akira collapsed.

—

He was rushed to the hospital.

He remained unconscious for two whole months.

Yuke and Mr. Astra visited every single day.

---

(Narration in Elder Yuke’s voice):

“I used to cry a lot… because of me, my brother ended up in the hospital…

What were those days…”

—

A younger Yuke sat beside Akira’s hospital bed.

“Mom, will brother be okay?” he whispered, eyes full of tears.

Mr. Astra smiled gently, patting his head.

“Of course, baby. Your brother is strong. And the doctor here… he’s very experienced.”

“Really?” Yuke’s eyes lit up. “Are doctors this powerful, Mom?”

Mr. Astra nodded. “Yes, dear. Doctors are like angels from God. They can protect… even bring back the dead.”

Yuke’s eyes shined with determination. “Then I want to be a doctor… and treat my brother.”

---

Back to Present

Still leaning into his brother, Akira’s face calm against Yuke’s shoulder, Yuke whispered softly:

“Brother… do you still have that mark? The scar on your stomach?”

His fingers gently brushed Akira’s shirt, lifting it just slightly.

“Ahh. Here it is.”

Akira flinched but didn’t stop him—he simply turned his face away, eyes distant.

Yuke smiled sadly. “You always protected me…”

He paused, breath catching in his throat.

“I remember… one more time… when I was in high school…”

Flashback – The Father's Order

In the grand living room of Leo’s mansion, tension crackled like thunder in the air.

Mr. Leo stood tall in front of his younger son, furious and commanding.

“You will take care of the company!” he roared. “Start working on the business meets and planning. Get it, Yuke?!”

Yuke’s voice trembled, eyes wide with unshed tears. “But Dad… I want to be a doctor… I don’t want to be a businessman. I don’t like this work!”

Leo’s hand raised in anger—

Then stopped midair.

His jaw clenched. “Don’t make me a bad father, Yuke. And listen well—there is no doctor in the house of a mafia. Never.”

Yuke stood trembling, looking helplessly at his mother, Mr. Astra.

But she remained silent… head down. No one dared interfere.

Then—

A calm voice echoed from the hallway.

“I’ll take care of the company.”

All heads turned.

There stood Akira, leaning casually in the doorway, hands in his pockets, unreadable expression on his face.

Leo’s eyes narrowed. “You? You’re already handling the underworld. Now the company too? Do you think this is child’s play?!”

Akira walked in slowly, stopping beside Yuke.

Without a word, he pulled Yuke into a gentle hug.

His hand rested on Yuke’s trembling head.

“Don’t worry, Yuke. As long as your big brother is alive—no one can lay a finger on you.”

Yuke’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“And don’t worry about this old man,” Akira added, glancing at Leo with a smirk. “I’ll handle him. You just focus on your studies. When you become a doctor… promise me, you’ll treat me first.”

Yuke sniffled and nodded, smiling weakly. “Promise.”

Akira turned fully to face their father, meeting his eyes with icy confidence.

“Listen, old man. I’ll do everything you ask—run the business, manage the meetings, take care of your empire. But don’t you dare disturb my brother again. Or I swear, I’ll forget you were ever my father.”

Leo flinched slightly, anger rising. “You brat… I’ll kill you!”

Akira’s smirk grew sharper. “In your dreams, old man.”

He threw an arm protectively around Yuke’s shoulders.

“See you later,” he added with a wink. “We’re going out.”

Leo trembled in fury. “These spoiled brats…”

Mr. Astra, silent all this time, finally spoke with a gentle smile.

“Honey… calm down. Let them be. You did what you wanted in your youth—let them have a little fun too. Akira said he’d take care of things. I trust my babies.”

Leo let out a long sigh. “Tch. I still don’t trust that brat Akira… but if you say so, I’ll hold back.”

---

Back to Present – Hospital Room

Yuke laughed softly, still hugging Akira. “So, brother… you remember any of that, hmm?”

Akira groaned, turning his face away. “You and your degree talk… blah blah. I wanted to rest, but your chatter never stops.”

Yuke pouted. “Oh really? Hmph! Fine. I won’t talk.”

Akira straightened up, looking at the clock. “10.”

“Huh? What?”

“Clock. It’s already 10 minutes. Don’t you have to go for your round?”

Yuke’s eyes widened. “Ah—right! I totally forgot!”

He stood up quickly, grabbing his stethoscope. Then he bent down, pressed a kiss to Akira’s cheek, and winked.

“Okay then. See you later, brother~”

Akira rolled his eyes. “Eww. That idiot just came out of surgery and kissed my face… I’m certain some mentally unstable person gave him that degree.”

He stood up, buttoning his shirt, preparing to leave—when—

Raindrops.

Tapping against the window.

The clouds above the city had broken. Rain poured heavily.

Akira looked out. “It’s raining…”

K rushed inside with an umbrella. “Boss! It’s raining hard—the car’s ready.”

Akira nodded. “Hmm.”

They walked together in the downpour. The city blurred under the curtain of water.

Akira stepped into the car.

“Take me to the love hotel,” he said.

“Yes, boss.”

At Love Hotel – Late Night

The room was dim and quiet, the only sound was the rain tapping against the windows—

and inside, soft moans and heavy breaths filled the air.

His breath was heavy against his neck, their bodies moving in rhythm with the thunder outside.

“Akira…” the omega whispered, barely able to keep up."Ah... Akira, I love you so much," the omega gasped, voice trembling with desire.

Akira hovered over them, sweat trickling down his temple, his expression unreadable.

Eyes sharp. Movements deep. Silent.

"Hmm," he muttered, low and detached—like he was somewhere far, far away.

To the omega, it was passion.

To Akira, it was just release.

---