The Curse and the Sanctuary

The Omega who gave birth to Choi Taegun spent her remaining days cursing the Alpha who violated her and the son she bore from her own womb before taking her own life.

On a biting winter night, Choi Taegun was huddled alone in a corner of a shantytown when he was taken in by a man who appeared, claiming to be his father, just before he could draw his last breath.

Choi Taegun, whose birth had not even been registered, was five years old at the time, and doctors unanimously stated that he had so many developmental issues that growing into a normal member of society might be difficult.

Nevertheless, the reason his father did not give up custody was that Choi Taegun belonged to the extremely rare category of Dominant Alphas.

He judged that even if the boy remained nothing more than a beast, he was worth keeping by his side even as a vegetable on a ventilator.

Fortunately, contrary to the initial concerns of the medical staff, Choi Taegun seemed to grow normally as the days passed.

Just by being provided with a cozy place to sleep and high-quality meals, his former bedraggled appearance faded, and he began to exude the elegance of a refined young noble.

Born with a quick mind and excellent learning abilities, he surpassed the average level for his age group in less than six months after starting private tutoring.

However, unlike his intellectual development, his scores on emotional and social development tests always hovered at the bottom.

The trauma of the past, which he ultimately could not overcome, caused periodic seizures that left him bedridden, and this year marked the second year of such agonizing nights.

When darkness fell, the desperate cries of a young beast echoed through the mansion almost every day.

The sleeping servants tossed and turned, shrugging their shoulders in fear.

There was a specific reason why all the employees were Betas, and it was because the young master of this mansion suffered from a severe phobia of Omegas.

Among them, Choi Taegun’s seizures were referred to as a curse.

His hatred and anger toward Omegas led to seizures where he would draw his own blood during the night, and by the next day, Choi Taegun would remember nothing.

Everyone in the mansion knew why the young master, who was supposed to enter elementary school the following year and showed academic achievement beyond his peers, was treated like a plague and kept in isolation rather than being taken to the main house, yet no one dared to speak of it.

It was an implicit rule within the mansion to remain silent about the fact that the sole heir of the Taeryung Group, which carried the destiny of humanity, was an obvious failure.

It was late spring of that year when Han Hyunwoo began frequenting the mansion.

The night before, the doctor who treated Choi Taegun’s new wounds reported his condition as usual and added a piece of advice.

The advice was that raising a pet like a dog or a cat would be good for his deficient emotions, but Choi Taegun’s father, Choi Museok, loathed furry animals.

So, Han Hyunwoo was brought in as an alternative to a pet.

It would have been much more convenient to bring in a lonely orphan with no relatives, but since this person would significantly influence Choi Taegun’s emotions and socialization, it was judged better to bring in a bright child who grew up without a shadow in a wealthy and harmonious family.

Among the four children considered, Han Hyunwoo, who was the same age as Choi Taegun, was selected.

He was the only son of an employee at the Taeryung Group’s holding company, coming from a family that had produced only Alphas for generations.

Han Hyunwoo also had a high probability of manifesting as an Alpha, or at least a Beta, so there was no better candidate to place beside Choi Taegun, who hated Omegas.

What pleased Choi Museok most was that Han Hyunwoo’s father was a subordinate who worked for his salary.

Since he was under his thumb, it was easy to handle any potential issues.

A sleek black sedan entered the luxury housing complex to pick up Han Hyunwoo.

Holding Han Hyunwoo’s small hand while greeting the driver, Han Hyunwoo’s father struggled to keep his smile from reaching his ears.

Choi Taegun.

The precious bloodline of the chairman that was surrounded by rumors but had never been seen by anyone.

He felt an indescribable thrill at the fact that his son would become the companion of the sole heir who would one day lead Taeryung.

For someone who had spent his entire life with the Taeryung Group, it was an unparalleled honor.

Han Hyunwoo visited Choi Taegun’s mansion at least three times a week, and up to five times.

There were even days when he stayed overnight.

Contrary to everyone’s fear that Choi Taegun might snap and show violence at any moment, his wariness toward Han Hyunwoo quickly began to take the form of affection and obsession rather than aggression.

On that day as well, the servants gave up when Han Hyunwoo shamelessly finished Choi Taegun’s portion of strawberry juice and acted cute, saying he wanted more.

After drinking three glasses of cold strawberry juice made with crushed ice, Han Hyunwoo ultimately could not go home because he got an upset stomach.

“…Taegun, I am hurting…”

Exhausted from going back and forth to the bathroom all night, Han Hyunwoo appeared with a limp gait, lifted one side of the blanket on the bed where Choi Taegun was lying, and crawled inside.

Choi Taegun stiffened in panic at the unfamiliar sensation of warm body heat wiggling into his arms.

Han Hyunwoo blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the darkness, slowly surveying Choi Taegun’s moonlit bedroom with curious eyes on this bright, full-moon night.

He had always wanted to come here, and having found the hallway empty, he had run into Choi Taegun’s room on impulse.

Despite being warned repeatedly since the day he arrived at the mansion never to go near the young master’s room, it was a dull room with nothing special.

‘And here I thought there would be a three-headed monster or something.’

“You cannot be here, you will get in trouble,” Choi Taegun whispered, looking down at Han Hyunwoo’s head in his arms.

“I do not want to, I am going to stay here,” Han Hyunwoo said, shaking his head and stretching out his arms to give Choi Taegun a big hug.

“…Go to your room.”

“Where is my room here? This is your house. I am sick, Taegun.”

“…….”

“I am sick, and if I am alone in the guest room, I will be too lonely. I want to be with you.”

“Huh?”

“Huh? Please?”

Whenever Han Hyunwoo rubbed his forehead against his chest, a warm and cozy scent like sun-dried cotton drifted up.

He did not dislike that smell.

Somehow, it made him feel at peace.

Eventually, Choi Taegun surrendered.

“Do whatever you want.”

“Hehe.”

Having achieved his goal, Han Hyunwoo released the arms he had wrapped around Choi Taegun.

Choi Taegun felt a brief sense of regret when Han Hyunwoo pulled away, but then a soft and ticklish warmth began to seep into his palm.

Interlocking their fingers tightly without a single gap, Han Hyunwoo suddenly raised their joined hands.

“Tada, interlaced fingers! Let’s sleep like this. So we won’t be lonely.”

There was no answer, but after confirming that Choi Taegun had closed his eyes with a somewhat softened expression, Han Hyunwoo moved his gaze back to their joined hands.

On Choi Taegun’s wrist, red scabs and blue bruises from needle marks were clearly visible under the moonlight.

Han Hyunwoo bit his lip.

Choi Taegun looked ten or twenty times more hurt and lonely than he did with his stomachache.

He wanted to stay by his side.

That was why he had sneaked into the room and acted stubbornly.

‘I will stay by your side. I will protect you so you won’t be lonely.’

When Han Hyunwoo looked up at the face of the sleeping Choi Taegun with those thoughts, he was startled.

This was because Choi Taegun, whom he thought was asleep, was staring down at him with clear eyes.

In that room where the only light was the dim moonlight seeping through the window, it was a mystery why Choi Taegun’s eyes were so vivid.

Inside Choi Taegun’s eyes, which were as black as a deep pond, a brilliant galaxy like something seen on TV was unfolding.

It felt as if time had stopped.

It felt as if only Choi Taegun and himself were floating like dust in the vast and dark universe.

In Choi Taegun’s clear eyes looking at him, his own face was reflected fully like a mirror.

It was a strange feeling.

‘Are you feeling the same way I am right now?’

‘If I disappear, will you be floating through this huge universe all alone?’

Suddenly, a piercing loneliness overtook Han Hyunwoo.

Seven-year-old Han Hyunwoo, who had not yet realized that the emotion was called solitude, just thought of Choi Taegun being left alone and felt like crying at the strange sensation in his nose.

“I will always be by your side.”

Han Hyunwoo unconsciously murmured that oath toward the galaxy in Choi Taegun’s eyes.

“I will always protect you from your side.”

After repeating the oath to the stars several times, heavy sleep began to descend on Han Hyunwoo’s eyelids.

The shadow of his eyelashes on his pale cheeks grew darker, and soon, his obsidian-like black eyes disappeared completely.

Choi Taegun, who was imprinting that sight into his retinas, could not take his eyes off Han Hyunwoo for a long time afterward.

Submerged in the faint sound of breathing, the comfortable scent, and the warm heat, this moment was incomparably cozy and peaceful.

‘I will always be by your side.’

The small voice of Han Hyunwoo whispering those words echoed in his ears repeatedly.

That night, Choi Taegun experienced for the first time in his life what peace felt like.

With Han Hyunwoo’s appearance, the atmosphere of the mansion, which had been like a thin sheet of ice, softened considerably.

He was a child with a natural sociability and brightness that attracted people.

When he wanted something, he knew how to beg adults with charming gestures, and his attitude toward the quiet and blunt Choi Taegun was consistently affectionate and kind.

Beside Han Hyunwoo, who possessed the delicacy and warmth typical of a well-loved child, Choi Taegun felt his heart flutter every day with emotions he was facing for the first time.

Like paints blooming in various colors when a brush touches the surface of water, Choi Taegun’s heart toward Han Hyunwoo wriggled with different colors every day—yellow on some days, light green on others.

The world that had been achromatic began to be colored vividly.

In Choi Taegun’s socialization, Han Hyunwoo’s existence exercised an absolute influence.

As Choi Taegun watched Han Hyunwoo’s every move, the behavioral patterns within the normal range defined by society gradually became clear in his mind.

Not long after Han Hyunwoo entered the mansion, the doctor’s visits decreased from three times a week to once a week, and the scores on the evaluation sheet measuring Choi Taegun’s social skills rose dramatically.

The moment when the label of abnormal would fall off was right in front of him.

Abnormal.

The reason he had to receive psychological counseling every day, have his skin pierced by needles, and swallow handfuls of bitter pills.

Choi Taegun knew that the cause was the hatred lurking deep in his heart.

He was the first person to see the new scars carved on his body every morning.

On days when blood gushed from haphazardly torn wounds, his fingernails were always a mess with torn flesh and red blood.

With Han Hyunwoo’s appearance, the frequency of such cursed nights began to decrease noticeably.

It was thanks to the fact that colorful emotions filled his heart, which had been filled only with hatred, one by one.

However, not all of those emotions were warm and cozy.

Choi Taegun often felt something gritty and unpleasant, like sand mixed in rice, blending into his feelings for Han Hyunwoo.

Whenever he saw Han Hyunwoo enjoying himself while telling stories about friends he did not know well, he felt his heart racing with an emotion as black and violent as the hatred lurking inside him.

A terrible possessiveness that surpassed jealousy and inferiority began to swell like a dam on the verge of overflowing, threatening to swallow him.

He wanted to monopolize him.

He did not want to share even a shred of Han Hyunwoo’s warmth with others.

However, he did not make the mistake of showing this outwardly.

The shrewd Choi Taegun realized what purpose Han Hyunwoo served in entering this mansion.

He had to enter the circle drawn by society, the circle where Han Hyunwoo belonged.

He knew that proving Han Hyunwoo’s utility was the only way to keep Han Hyunwoo by his side.

To do that, he must not let himself be swept away by these emotions that were consuming him.

Whenever waves of black and sticky emotions rose toward Han Hyunwoo, Choi Taegun interrogated and judged himself like an official questioning a prisoner.

He accepted only what could be understood through his brain and excluded what could not.

By the time he became accustomed to sorting and tailoring his emotions, the two of them entered elementary school together.

Choi Taegun, who had finally succeeded in stepping into the circle where Han Hyunwoo belonged, drew another red circle around Han Hyunwoo’s feet.

It had the exact opposite meaning of the previous circle.

A circle that must never be invaded.

As long as he did not cross this boundary surrounding Han Hyunwoo, he would not be caught in a whirlwind of uncontrollable emotions.

The hatred toward Omegas was enough of an out-of-control emotion to shake him.

Although it had become rare due to Han Hyunwoo’s appearance, unfortunately, he had not completely escaped the shadow of the curse.

The curse that bound Choi Taegun’s body was still waiting for an opportunity to swallow his young soul.

Such cursed nights continued until he was in the upper grades of school, and each time, Han Hyunwoo stayed by Choi Taegun’s side as he hovered between life and death with high fevers and self-harm.

Holding Choi Taegun’s hands tightly as he clawed at his own skin with horrifying screams, Han Hyunwoo cried and prayed all night long.

“I hate Omegas. I hate them so much.”

“Please punish the Omega who made Taegun like this.”

The hatred transferred from Choi Taegun seeped into Han Hyunwoo without a sound, like a contagious disease.

As much as Choi Taegun loathed Omegas, Han Hyunwoo’s gaze toward them was filled with just as much hatred.

Even in his blurred consciousness, Han Hyunwoo felt his heart breaking at Choi Taegun’s gestures as he desperately held his hand.

“Taegun, even if I manifest as an Alpha, I will never mate with an Omega.”

“Let the two of us be together forever.”

When he whispered that into his ear, he could feel Choi Taegun’s seizures subsiding like magic.

The hands they held were hot.

Han Hyunwoo’s nose tingled as he looked down at Choi Taegun, who was clutching him with all his might like a lifeline.

Choi Taegun was not the only one spending days with a racing heart as emotions began to sprout.

Just as a duckling that has just hatched follows the first being it sees as its mother, Han Hyunwoo’s feelings for Choi Taegun were the same.

Seeing Choi Taegun open up only to him and rely only on him, Han Hyunwoo felt a sense of responsibility and mission, along with a stronger sense of his own value than ever before.

So Han Hyunwoo also vowed to open up only to Choi Taegun.

He did not form deep relationships with anyone other than Choi Taegun.

He believed that was loyalty to each other.

Without even realizing it, just like Han Hyunwoo’s existence was to Choi Taegun, Choi Taegun’s existence began to take on the same meaning for Han Hyunwoo.

No one expected that the decades they spent seeking peace in their own world as each other’s only person would later return as a complete disaster.