Sinful

The twenty-nine-year-old guy, who had a scarf over his neck, appeared very pale and closed his mouth as he struggled with nausea he had been experiencing ever since coming off the plane. The exhausting trek he had made from Canada had left him with a hazy head and little vitality. His head was already spinning from the loudness and the people they could see walking by, not to mention how congested his ears felt.

He had a strong aversion to this aspect of large crowds like these. Kim Seo Jae searched in all directions for the person who had been missing from his view for fifteen minutes, while a trolley with two huge pieces of luggage and a purse was piled high, as if to indicate that Seo Jae's journey had not been a quick one.

Seo Jae had nausea again, feeling like he was about to vomit. This time, Seo Jae was forced to get up from his seat and hurry to the closest restroom he could locate. However, because his head felt highly dizzy, Jae knocked into someone and collapsed, landing on his knees.

The person who Jae struck yelled at him, "Hey, look where you are walking! You dumbass!" but Seo Jae didn't answer anything, his mouth full of vomit, instead choosing to become enraged and yell at him.

Seo Jae was having trouble getting up on his own, refusing help from the person, even though he had to crawl a little. Seo Jae eventually stood up and ran back into the bathroom, where he puked in the toilet. The person appeared sympathetic to Seo Jae's situation.

Some of the persons using the restroom were observed gulping down their saliva as they hurriedly left the facility after being sick to their stomachs at hearing Jae throw up.

Jae was left alone there. He attempted to vomit as best he could while in the restroom stall, but he could still feel it stuck in his throat. He vomited for around two minutes before resting against the toilet cubicle wall. Jae then took a nearby tissue, wiped his spit from his lips on his chin, and finished. He was vehicle sick or jet lag because his breathing was laborious and reasonably heavy. But that's precisely how Jae felt-his body was so frail that her knees quivered, and she couldn't even hold her weight to stand up. His brain was spinning.

"Jae! Are you in there, Jae? From the outside, someone yelled.

Jae, who was already worn out, could only use what little energy he had left to knock on the walls of the restroom cubicle when he heard someone calling out to him. As he was ready to exit the restroom, the man heard a series of light knocks coming from one of the stalls and hurried over to it. Unexpectedly, he noticed Seo Jae sitting on the ground with a pale face and shallow breathing. He quickly raised the body that was considerably smaller than himself and took Jae's body out of the bathroom.

The bespectacled guy carried Seo Jae's body out of the airport lobby and toward the parking lot, where a shiny metallic grey BMW was neatly parked with a driver who had opened the door to make it simpler for him to get Jae inside. It was as if the man didn't care about his bags in the waiting row as he continued to carry Jae's body there.

"I forgot my bag inside. Please, look after him for a little bit." The man spoke to the driver, who instantly took charge of Seo Jae and covered him with a blanket from the back trunk, hoping that the blanket's warmth would make Jae's pale face flush a little.

That man hurried back into the terminal with the trolley having his and Jae's two baggage in tow. The man approached Seo Jae again after the driver helped him place the bags and a handbag in the trunk. He wanted to ensure Seo Jae was okay and not hurt from tumbling out of the toilet.

The motorist inquired about their destination once the man had entered the vehicle. Do you want to go to the hospital, sir?"

"Yes, we're going to the hospital down the street." The man with the glasses answered without even glancing at the driver. His breathing cadence was erratic, and the vapor coming from his mouth seemed like it was burning, incredibly hot, much like his body temperature gradually rose as he gripped Jae's weak body very firmly.

"Yes, please, go to the hospital." The blanket covering Seo Jae's tiny body was tighter. At the same time, the man whispered, seemingly trying to prevent outside air from entering and disturbing the person he was cuddling. The metallic gray BMW passed the vehicles in front of it rather quickly. Even though it passed two passengers in front of it multiple times and was moving at approximately 80 km/h, they didn't voice any complaints because the only thing on the driver's mind was how to go to the hospital swiftly so that Seo Jae wouldn't suffer any further harm.

When the car left the airport and arrived at University Hospital's emergency room, it was around thirty minutes away. The spectacled man lifted Jae's body, bringing her into the emergency department. When they arrived, a nurse welcomed them and instructed the man to put Seo Jae to sleep on one of the beds. The nurse then inspected Seo Jae right away.

"What is her current temperature?" One of the nurses came over with a tray holding an IV tube, a needle, and many sterile cotton objects as soon as the patient asked one of the nurses, who were already busy doing this and that. "The patient's body temperature is roughly 38.8 P. 18 degrees. Very high. Will insert an IV."

"Please also attach an oxygen tube, as his breathing seems very heavy." The man named Yeon Jin said to the nurse.

"Y-yes," the nurse replied, nervous about the man's request.

The nurse nevertheless simultaneously inserted the IV and attached the oxygen. The two nurses who were present worked rapidly to treat Jae. One more nurse was even spotted rushing while carrying an ice-filled compress bag, which she then placed directly under Jae's head, hoping the combination of the compress and the infusion would quickly reduce Jae's fever.

The nurse interested in Seo Jae's medical history questioned, "Does the patient have any other previous illnesses?"

Before the man could respond, a doctor approached them and greeted the man by name. However, when the doctor saw their encounter in the hospital emergency room, he adopted a worried expression rather than a cheerful one.

"What are you doing here, Choi Yeon Jin?" Yeon Jin, a bespectacled guy, was shocked when the doctor asked him a question because a voice he didn't recognize called his name.

Yeon Jin tried to recall the doctor's identity as she stared at him for a while, but since she didn't know him, she could only nod and smile. The doctor asked once more, "What are you doing here?"

"We're sorry, are we ...?"

"Oh, my bad. Maybe you forgot about me, yet I still think of you. At the university, I was your senior. Go Bum Gyo here-I'm Bum Gyo." He said hello and introduced himself, but Yeon Jin was still perplexed. "You still have no memory of me? At the university, I was your senior. However, after receiving your degree, you moved to Canada.

"Hey Hyung, how are you?" Yeon Jin extended a welcome while bowing. Yeon Jin didn't want to ignore the person trying to greet him, even though he didn't recall much about the person in front of him. So, even if it needed to be clarified, he would try to remember.

"So, tell me, who is he?" Looking at Seo Jae, lying on the ground with a red face and an oxygen mask that appeared to be condensing from the heat of his body, Bum Gyo inquired Yeon Jin.

"He's my fiancé." Yeon Jin responded while turning to face Seo Jae, who was motionless on the bed. "He had a carcinoid tumor, which was diagnosed within the first year, but the tumor made it difficult for him to digest food in the years that followed. After three years of therapy, food changes, and two operations, he is doing much better, but occasionally his body seems to have undergone trauma that I am unable to comprehend; if he travels for an extended period, his body invariably reacts." Beum Gyo could only nod in understanding, as Yeon Jin said.

"So, you just got back from Canada?" guessed the doctor, making Yeon Jin nod this time. "It makes sense why he has terrible jet lag. I'll try to call a doctor to check on his stomach. Is he an omega? Dr. Bum Gyo made a point at Jae.

"A-ah, he's an omega.""Is he pregnant?" Bum Gyo re-asked.

"N-no. Not yet." Yeon Jin shook his head, the bespectacled man blushing visibly. Bum Gyo wanted to laugh but worked very hard to control himself.

"It's a good thing because pregnancy would just worsen his situation with that kind of condition. Please wait a moment." Bum Gyo repeated her statement as she turned around and strode over to the nurse's station. However, Yeon Jin shouted at Bum Gyo and halted his progress.

"Hyung, thank you," Yeon Jin again bowed and expressed gratitude for what his senior had attempted to accomplish in college. Yeon Jin moved to Seo Jae's side after Bum Gyo left, lovingly brushing Seo Jae's hair. The usually delicate hair, meanwhile, was now moist and matted from sweat.

Seo-U Pharmacy

Yeon-U Group, Company

South Korea

15:55

Choi Ha Joon. The name was written in gold ink on a black acrylic board, making it look shiny and fancy. The job title as CEO was written right below it.

"What about some things that the hospital in Incheon ordered? Did they say anything after everything got there?" Ha Joon asked as he looked at some papers on his desk.

"Not much, sir. Everything is fine, and they have tried all the machines and found that all the items work perfectly. I heard yesterday that the Heirol clinic, owned by the hospital's subsidiary, will also order the same machines for their medical equipment." The man in his fifties tried to explain.

Hearing what the older man named Han Qin Jeon had to say, Ha Joon, who had already finished reading all the files he had received, was eager to sign all of them. It was because we met all of the agreements. He would make enough money in this business when his company's regular customers came back and ordered regularly, as well as for the treatment services they offered as a package when buying medical equipment from their company. But Choi Ha Joon thought there were still some products that he needed to double-check to ensure that the quality of what they were going to send was in line with the process and was an excellent item to send to the customers.

"Preparing all the items could take them from our company. I'll check them over a bit. Also, including the eight-month machine maintenance bonus. Since they are already kind to us, let's give them more access and ease. Ha Joon explained as he grabbed the pen on the side of his laptop, which was open to show several open windows with files stacked together on one monitor screen. He quickly signed the file before leaving, leaving old man Qin Jeon in his room.

After Qin Jeon left him alone, Ha Joon tried to get back to some work that had been put off because of the talk and the file Qin Jeon wanted him to sign. Ha Joon's time could have been better, though. But just as he looked at his laptop screen, the phone on his desk rang, causing Ha Joon to answer it.

"Choi Ha Joon is here." He said hello to the person who called.

[ "You might have forgotten, but you have dinner tonight. I heard your brother just returned from Canada, so maybe you should see them." ] The man at the other end of the line said something which surprised Ha Joon a little but didn't bother him.

"Why should I give that any thought? Please let them come back if they want to. It has nothing to do with me."

[ "So you don't want to go see Kim Seo Jae?" ]

"Seo Jae?" Ha, Joon said the name uncomfortably, with his hands tightly clenched as if trying to get rid of his anger.

[ "Yes, I heard that Yeon Jin is back with Seo Jae this time, and they probably won't stay in Korea for too long. Are you sure you don't want to see them?" ] Again, the man said.

"How did Yeon Jin end up with that jerk again?"

[ "I'm not sure. You could ask directly about that," ] That man said it again and then put the phone down.

He was ignoring Ha Joon's apparent surprise, which could be seen on his face. But that doubt didn't last very long. After the other person hung up, Ha Joon, still angry, slammed the receiver. He was still holding onto the table, making a loud noise, until the receiver bounced off and fell to the floor.

"Kim Seo Jae, how dare you come back to Korea ...."

***

XX University Hospital

Jung-gu, Incheon,

Korea Selatan

20:55

Slowly, Jae opened his eyes and saw that he was in a large room with all the windows. He could see a beautiful view of the city's lights twinkling in the distance. Even though it was a normal scene, it made him feel nostalgic and happy. Jae looked around the room and saw he was the only one there. He had a needle in his left hand and two IV bags hung above his head.

He never thought that a long flight of more than eighteen hours would land him back in the hospital. Seo Jae sighed and shut his eyes again, reaching for something cold on the back of his head with one hand. It was a bag of half-melted ice.

Jae thought back to what happened at the airport before he lost consciousness. When Yeon Jin found him in a toilet stall, he couldn't remember anything and ended up in that place.

His temperature had gone down a little, and the nausea and dizziness he had earlier had gone away, so Jae took out the ice bag and put it on the nightstand. But just as Jae put the ice bag on the nightstand, the door to the room opened, and Yeon Jin came in with a plastic bag in his hand.

Yeon Jin ran over to Jae, who was trying to sit up, and asked, "Jae, are you awake?"

Yeon Jin quickly raised the head of the bed to the most comfortable position for Jae. He also moved the pillows so that they could support Jae's back so he could sit easily.

"I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble ...." Jae said as he looked at his fiancé, Yeon Jin, the guy with glasses.

When Yeon Jin heard that Jae was sorry, he just smiled. Again, he gently touched the top of Jae's head. "There's nothing else like that." He answered. "I bought pudding. Would you like some?" Yeon Jin smiled and held up the package she was holding.

"The doctor said you had a panic attack and should stay here until tomorrow morning. Are you okay?" Yeon Jin hoped Jae wouldn't be upset that they had to go to the hospital on their way back from Canada.

"Can I have bibimbap tomorrow?" Jae asked while smiling at Yeon Jin.

"Of course. After you leave the hospital, you can eat anything you want."

***

Choi family residence

Seoul, South Korea

21:30

"Where is he?!" asked Ha Joon as he took off his suit and gave it to the servant who opened the door when he got to the big, fancy house.

"Mr. Yeon Jin is still not at home. He called earlier to say he would stay out and not go home immediately. The helper answered with a sad face, and Ha Joon looked scared.

The servant tried to hide his fear and nervousness by clenching his hands behind the folds of the suit he was holding.

"What?!" The way the waitress explained it made Ha Joon angry. "How could he return to Korea without going home first and instead go to a hotel like that? It's sickening ...." Ha, Joon grumbled and bit hard on his bottom lip.

It was clear that the 33-year-old man was angry. Meanwhile, the servant kept her head down and dared not say anything else.

After a few times of grumbling and spitting in anger. Ha, Joon went straight up to the second floor, where his room was. Still, when he reached the top of the stairs, he saw an older woman holding a small child in knee-length white pajamas and a pastel blue stuffed rabbit holding a carrot. When she saw Ha Joon, she seemed to stop what she was doing and look at him.

"I didn't think you'd be back so quickly." The grandma said this as she looked at Ha Joon, who overlooked the three-year-old being led by the grandma.

The little girl's hair was straight and about shoulder length. She had gorgeous round eyes tanned like her skin and surrounded by very straight eyelashes. The little girl's lips were tightly clenched, and her bangs covered her temples and eyebrows, which didn't look too thick. The little girl's round cheeks were also pink, and her tightly clenched lips trembled. The little girl's tiny feet were bare.

They looked at each other for a short time. But in the next second, as if he were pulled back by reality, Ha Joon could take his eyes off the boy and look at the older woman, standing slightly bent over and trying to match her granny.

"Why don't you go to sleep, Grandma? Can you tell me what time it is?" Ha Joon asked, and the stress in his voice didn't go away. Even the man's good looks couldn't hide the angry look on his face.

As if she was scared, the three-year-old girl hid behind her grandmother's body, hugging her toy rabbit tightly and squeezing her grandmother's wrinkled hands very hard.

"Speak more quietly, you little nuts. Ha Neul is afraid." The grandmother tried to warn her great-granddaughter about how her attitude had changed.

"That child doesn't matter to me. Go to your room and sleep for a while. I know you've been in good shape for the past few months, but you're not getting any younger, so stop sleeping like this." Ha, Joon said, looking at the young girl named Ha Neul with an icy gaze, making Ha Neul even more frightened and downcast.

"Why don't you ever like your biological daughter? Will you be nice to Ha Neul?" the grandma asked in shock.

"Who is my daughter? Huh, I never got married and never had kids anymore."

"Don't make fun of me, Choi Ha Joon!" snapped the grandmother. Her eyebrows were knit together, and her face showed the woman, around 70, was angry. Choi Ha Joon, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much.

"If she were my daughter, I would know who she was born to, but I don't even know who her mother is, so don't expect me to love her anymore. She's nothing to me." Ha Joon's cold answer made Ha Neul's beautiful eyes glaze over, but he didn't cry.

"Go inside and get some rest. I don't want you to get sick because of that child." Ha, Joon said something before he left, walking down a hall and into a room where he was no longer seen.

Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul

South Korea

10:45

"Take a seat, and get some rest." Yeon Jin helped Jae sit on the couch facing the tall glass window. From there, Jae could see the garden in the backyard and the sun, which looked warm enough to last the rest of the morning.

"Thank you ...." Jae said with a smile.

Yeon Jin walked right into a room on the first floor after helping Jae sit down. He opened a cabinet, took a thin blanket from the bottom, and then walked back to the sofa, where Jae sat quietly.

"You don't have to do anything, so can you just sit here?" Jae hooked his fingers around Yeon Jin's as if forbidding the guy to leave. The man nodded, and Yeon Jin smiled.

"First, I'll make some tea, and then we'll just sit here throughout the day."

Yeon Jin quickly went to the kitchen to brew the cup of tea he had promised Jae. It was his first time back in Korea after so many years, but he had routinely asked a worker to clean the house, organise all the security issues, and check the facilities there. Because of this, the big two-storey house looked clean and neat, and even the fridge was fully stocked with fresh ingredients.

Yeon Jin was quite happy with the work of the person who took care of his house this time. Although not from a cleaning agency, the person was skilled in filling up the fridge in the place even though he only asked to put in some processed foods that he could eat himself.

Foodstuffs such as veggies, fish and meat, and some processed foods such as sausages, spam and nuggets. In the bottom drawer, some baked buns and snacks could be warmed up, including a box of mochi and a few packets of egg custard.

Since it was impossible to let them drink tea without filling their stomachs, Yeon Jin finally took out the mochi in the fridge and two puddings to join their tea time. After brewing the tea, Yeon Jin returned to the living room where Jae was quietly sitting and looking blankly at the open window that showed the view of the backyard full of trees and the fish pond that Yeon Jin herself didn't know if there were still fish in the pond or not.

"Wait too long?" Yeon Jin asked, startled at Jae.

Jae shook his head and grinned. I still didn't think I'd be going back to Korea, but when I did, an IV needle was waiting for me.

"It was a lengthy trip. It's normal for you to feel uneasy; if I hadn't been more cautious, I would have felt the same way. Yeon Jin gave Jae a cup of tea that he had brewed.

"Hee~ Does that imply that I'm a careless person?" Jae objected, but eventually, a chuckle escaped his mouth. But ever since I 'got it,' I've lost more and more of my self-control. Everything needs to be more organized now, so I must bother you.

When Yeon Jin heard the query aimed at him, he was ready to drink some tea. He focused his attention on Jae's face, which in his opinion, always had a gorgeous look. Jae always had a beautiful appearance, whether it was pale or fresh. Yeon Jin tried to smile back at the question, put the teacup in his, and then closely hugged Jae.

"Nobody needs to apologize or bother anyone here. I love you." Yeon Jin muttered, hoping Jae would change his perspective.

Jae remained silent in response. While gazing into the teacup that reflected his face, he just grinned a little. After that, the two of them stopped talking. Yeon Jin was still waiting for him while Jae, who had just withdrawn his IV needle this morning, went back to sleep while enjoying the gently rising sunlight.

When noon finally arrived, the doorbell rang. As if the visitor didn't want to wait any longer, they continued to ring the bell till a noise was made, which startled Jae, who had been napping.

"Who is that ...?" He questioned in shock.

"I don't know. I'll take a look first." Yeon Jin let go of Jae's embrace and visited the person unexpectedly, dropping by his house without calling or acting casually.

Yeon Jin was annoyed by the person outside who kept pressing the doorbell, and he wanted to reprimand them. However, when he looked through the one-way CCTV monitor he had mounted on the front fence, Yeon Jin was shocked to see Choi Ha Joon doing it with an irate expression and audible swearing.

[ "I know you two inside. Just open the door?" ]

When Yeon Jin heard that, he sneered, turned on two-way communication, and enquired what his brother desired.

"What do you want?" Yeon Jin spoke throught the two-way communication device to the door bell.

[ "Just open the door!" ] Ha Joon started feel annoyed. However, Yeon Jin didn't care about his brother anger at all.

"You better stop ringing the doorbell, or I'll contact the police to get you out of here because Jae is sleeping."

Yeon Jin warned him, but Ha Joon laughed because his brother's warn.

[ "A police? When you finally return after all these years of being apart, do you intend to lock me up? For that scumbag?!" ]

Ha Joon continued to use foul language. Yeon Jin once again snorted. But just as he was going to answer his younger brother's curse, Jae appeared behind him and patted him on the back while shaking his head.

"Until he gets what he wants, he won't leave." Ha Joon continued ringing the doorbell to get them to open it, so Jae and he spoke up.

Jae gave him a stern look that contrasted with the outside clamor. He was given a blank stare. His fragile body, which appeared even thinner since the last time he remembered, was now covered by the light blanket he had previously used to cover Seo Jae's legs.

"He won't be someone who will remain silent with simply a threat, so please open the door." Jae repeated his statement as he turned around and returned to the house.

Jae gave him a stern look, his expressionless eyes standing out against the commotion outside. His weak body, which had gotten thinner since the last time he remembered, was now covered by the small blanket that he had used in the past to cover Seo Jae's legs.

"He won't be someone who will remain silent with simply a threat, so please just open the door." Jae repeated his statement as he turned around and returned to the house.

Jae was correct, though it made him uncomfortable and irritated. Ha Joon is not the type to give up before achieving his goals, so what does his brother want that he must visit him at home and cause a fuss? Who knows.

Yeon Jin obeyed Jae's instructions and opened the gate to greet his brother. He assumed the greeting was pleasant, but he responded with a scowl and a disapproving look.

"How did you find me here, exactly?" Yeon Jin asked.

"Where else than this house would you go? Other than the main residence, the house that will serve as your dowry with that blasted omega." Ha Joon said with a smile. His words sounded like an insult, making Yeon Jin feel uneasy.

Yeon Jin's eyes grew droopy. He was about to be entirely overcome by anger, which would then explode and obliterate everything in his path. He nevertheless made an effort to suppress his rage and maintain his composure.

"When I heard you had returned to Korea, I expected you to come to the main house and apologize to me, but you chose to come here instead," Ha Joon replied to his brother's words.

"I already told Grandma I'd be here the day after tomorrow when I called. Didn't you know?

"Why did Grandma tell me that? What does your phone do after that?" Ha Joon cursed once more. Yeon Jin, who was hoping to avoid responding to all of Ha Joon's unpleasant words, could only sigh.

"Why you didn't ask to me?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Just let me know what you need. I hope there isn't a disagreement here, but if you want me to visit the Core house, I'll do it the day after tomorrow, exactly like I instructed Grandma too." Yeon Jin wanted to have this talk finished right away.

Ha Joon showed signs of anger by displaying a flat face, a cold glance, and a hissing voice. I'm not too fond of it when you disregard me.

"When did I start ignoring you? You talk too quickly and without fully knowing what you are saying."

"Whoa, what do you mean? Obviously, you do."

Ha Joon's eyes were bulging with what appeared to be crimson veins as he peered at Yeon Jin, who was remaining calm. Ha Joon's gaze seemed to want to eat his brother.

"You should leave if you have no business being here. There are numerous methods to discuss something, so let's end today because I need to prepare lunch for us. If it's business-related, we can talk about it via email." Yeon Jin murmured as he attempted to close the door, oblivious to his brother's.

However, Ha Joon held the door and continued to give his brother a commanding look before Yeon Jin shut the gate.

"That nasty Omega has brainwashed you." Ha Joon hisses. He looked so disgusted with what his brother was doing only when Ha Joon wished for something else for himself to hear. Yeon Jin said the opposite.

"I've remained the same. Everything, including the kind of love you'll never experience in your entire life, was taught to me by Jae."

Yeon Jin quickly turned around after saying that and shutting the gate, oblivious to Ha Joon, who was still complaining and occasionally kicking the door.

From outside Ha Joon kept shouting repeatedly that Yeon Jin would regret choosing Kim Seo Jae for his life, but Yeon Jin realised that right now, the other person who had taken care of him isn't anyone including Ha Joon, but Seo Jae.

***

"Shit!" Joon Ha stated.

He had no idea Yeon Jin's words would incite him to such a level of rage. After more than two years of his brother and Seo Jae staying away from Korea and treating him like a fool, they finally came back and continued treating him like this. Like trash.

He drove a long way to get there just to be treated like an idiot who should be expelled. They are not brothers. Shouldn't they treat each other well if the brothers want to maintain their relationship and be decent? But why did his brother treat him that way and put all the pressure on him? He found it wholly intolerable.

Ha Joon got into his car. Slamming the door so hard that his voice probably sounded firm in the wholly deserted housing complex.

He looked towards the second floor of Yeon Jin's house, visible from his position. From the second floor's balcony, he saw a figure standing sideways, wearing a thin blanket on his shoulder, and the figure's gaze looked empty as if it had no spirit of life or even emotion.

And Ha Joon was sure that it was Seo Jae. Realising that Seo Jae was living comfortably in that house made Ha Joon upset about it.

Jae turned around and faced the window, but their gazes didn't meet. Seo Jae immediately turned around when his brother, Yeon Jin, approached Jae, embraced the man and walked away from the window.

Ha Joon could only grumble while hitting the steering wheel. However, venting all his anger just because of that scene was unpleasant for him. Not wanting to get too wrapped up in such uncomfortable feelings, Ha Joon left Yeon Jin's house after his brother said they would come to the main house the day after tomorrow. Maybe he could hear for himself the reason why his brother chose to spend the rest of his life with an omega like Kim Seo Jae.