The living room was filled with an eerie silence.

Thump. Thump.

Left alone, Ha Joon just sat there, blankly closing and opening his eyes in repetition.

He knew he should be thinking, but he couldn’t even begin to figure out what he should think about.

It felt as if time and thoughts had come to a standstill.

After aimlessly staring into space for a while, his gaze landed on Hyun Seong’s room door.

[“What are you sorry for?”] [“Just leave.”] What was the problem? What did I do wrong?

A voice as warm as spring had turned into a frigid winter in an instant, and the belated chill seeped into his body.

[“Why are you handing over your duties to Si Woo?”] Ah… Could the problem be that I said I was handing over my duties?

Did I come off as too overbearing? Or did the expression on my face look like I was not welcoming Si Woo?

Even after racking his brain and repeatedly going over the past conversations, nothing seemed to provide a clear answer.

Just as the anxiety in his chest grew with the unanswered question…

The hand resting on his knee started to tremble faintly, and the tremor quickly traveled to his heart.

His heart started to beat irregularly, pounding loudly as if it was about to burst out of his chest, and eventually even his tightly clenched teeth started to tremble.

‘I should ask Ji Hoon one more time. Surely he won’t say he doesn’t know until the end.’
Just as he was about to stand up, thinking that Ji Hoon was the only one he could rely on right now…

Thump! An immense pain, as if his heart was constricting, hit him.

Ha Joon bent over, clutching the front of his shirt roughly.

[“Useless kid.”] Why all of a sudden…

A sharp voice that he had been trying to bury in his heart for the past 20 years suddenly echoed in his ears.

[“Why did you give birth to such a useless child and make others suffer! Take him to an orphanage or somewhere else right now!”] No. Stop. Stop.

Despite desperately covering his ears, the sharp voice continued to echo relentlessly.

An unwanted child. A child who made others suffer. A child who could be discarded at any moment.

As a child, he wanted to escape from those thoughts that tormented him every day.

So, from the moment he became Min Ha Joon, he always strived to be a useful child.

He never missed being the top student in school, and once he entered the company, he stayed up all night to achieve results.

Furthermore, he avoided unhealthy food in case Si Woo relapsed, and he never touched alcohol unless absolutely necessary.

…Despite all that. Despite everything.

Just when he thought he had become somewhat useful…

It shattered and broke as if to say that life was never his to begin with.

“Haah. Haah…”
He couldn’t breathe properly as if something from the past was blocking his throat.

“This isn’t… a hospital. It’s not…”
Was he so flustered that his mind had gone haywire?

The sudden pain that came to Ha Joon felt as if he had just stepped into a hospital.

‘I need to get out of here.’
The pain was intense, but Ha Joon, fearing that one of his family members might see him in this state, clutched his chest and hurriedly stepped towards the entrance.

Every step felt heavy as if sandbags were tied to his ankles.

“Are you in pain?”
The housemaid, who was clearing the dishes, heard Ha Joon’s ragged breathing and came out of the kitchen to approach him.

“Haah. Haah….”

Ha Joon was barely gasping for breath, his face pale without a hint of color, unable to even respond.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
The housemaid, not knowing what was happening, stomped her feet anxiously.

“Shouldn’t we go to the hospital? Oh my. What should we do. I need to call the chairman.”
Just as she was about to step away to ask for help, seeing Ha Joon swaying as if he could collapse at any moment.

Ha Joon quickly grabbed the housemaid’s wrist, struggling to part his lips while hiding his pain.

“I’m fine… Haah. Haah….”
“No, what’s fine about this? You can’t even stand properly.”
As she tried to shake off Ha Joon’s hand, he held on tighter as if he had no intention of letting go.

“I don’t want to worry you. Please. Please….”
“……”
The housemaid, struck by the desperation in his eyes, was unable to say or do anything.

“I’ll be fine once I get home and rest a bit. Don’t worry.”
With a voice that was almost a whisper, Ha Joon forced out the words, then dragged his unsteady steps out of the entrance.

“He doesn’t look well at all, should I really not say anything?”
With a worried expression, the housemaid watched Ha Joon’s retreating figure for a while before eventually heading back into the kitchen.

“I guess I shouldn’t have said I would join the company.”
Si Woo’s eyebrows drooped in a sullen manner.

He had merely expressed a desire to work in the same space as his brother, but now he felt uncomfortable, thinking that his words had unnecessarily caused discomfort for everyone.

“I never imagined that Ha Joon would feel this way.”
“Right. I didn’t think it would go this far either….”

With a heavy sigh, Ji Hoon’s voice flowed out, thick and tired.