Pity Tastes Worse Than Poison

“Move it aside.”

“…Yes.”

The owner of the chopsticks was Joo Taegang.

So he liked shrimp.

At a table that usually lacked seafood, he had been particularly focused on the squid and shrimp tempura.

Chairman Seong calmly chewed on the head of a shrimp tempura and spoke.

“I hear you’re the one who secretly stalked my Chanyeong.”

“Cough—!”

Cough, cough.

Joo Taegang ended up spitting out a few grains of rice from his mouth in an unsightly manner.

Unfortunately, Chae Yoonchan nearby became collateral damage.

“Hey! Joo Taegang! Clean that up!”

“…Sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”

“I know it wasn’t, just wipe it already!”

Chae Yoonchan, fuming, threw a tissue box at him.

As Joo Taegang hurriedly pulled out tissues and cleaned up, Chairman Seong’s attack continued, accompanied by the clatter of chopsticks.

“You used to complain about Chanyeong following you around, yet you go and do the exact same thing. Watching it all, I couldn’t help but laugh. Now that the roles are reversed, how does it feel?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t have done something like that. Then my Chanyeong could be eating in peace right now, couldn’t he?”

Indeed, the rice in my bowl had barely been touched.

It wasn’t because of him—I just felt like I might get indigestion—but I kept quiet.

Still, hearing that Joo Taegang had been here before irritated me.

“…Is that true?”

“It is. If you think back carefully, you might recall something feeling off.”

“Ah… when I was bringing Janggun home from the hospital, I did feel something unsettling.”

So that strange sensation I thought I had imagined—it was Joo Taegang.

I looked at Janggun happily munching his feed, surprised.

Not just my instincts, but even Janggun’s reaction—and the footprints—had revealed that they had come and gone.

“That must’ve been Alpha pheromones. To deliberately release them like that… what a strange kind of spy.”

Slurping down some beef seaweed soup, Chairman Seong continued to pressure Joo Taegang.

In the end, unable to withstand it, Joo Taegang retreated under the excuse of going to the bathroom.

“And you—the one who provided the information. The illegitimate son of the Yoo family, Yoo Iseo.”

The next target was Yoo Iseo.

Yoo Iseo simply kept eating with a composed expression, as if he knew nothing.

“Did I do that?”

Smiling brightly, he flatly denied digging into my background, skillfully picking out only the dishes he wanted.

That fox-like behavior alone made me uncomfortable.

“I don’t know how you handled things, but you didn’t leave behind a single trace. However, your stepmother—who dislikes you—passed the information to me.”

“…Ah.”

At the word “stepmother,” Yoo Iseo’s eyes changed instantly.

From a sly fox to a polar bear baring its teeth, ready to tear into prey.

A violent aura seeped out through his pheromones.

“So that woman talked.”

“You’re not even denying it?”

“If you heard it through my ‘stepmother,’ then you’ve already decided it’s true. No matter what I say, you’d believe it anyway.”

“So, are you saying you weren’t the one who tracked down Chanyeong?”

“I’ll decline to comment.”

‘That means it’s him.’

When people go silent at the worst moment, they’re usually guilty.

I glared at him and snatched away the chicken drumstick he had been reaching for.

“I was going to eat that.”

“I marked it first.”

There was plenty of chicken, but I had no intention of giving it to him.

If he was really the main culprit behind tracking me down, he didn’t deserve even a scrap.

‘If it weren’t for you, I’d be happily eating fried chicken and drinking beer alone… taking walks with Janggun every day.’

Even as I glared at him with resentment, Yoo Iseo remained unfazed.

He even winked at me, sending chills down my spine.

“You look lively. It suits you, Mr. Seong Chanyeong.”

Was that a provocation?

Even Chairman Seong bristled at that.

“Cut the nonsense, you illegitimate brat. I would never give my Chanyeong to someone like you.”

Wait—how did the conversation jump there?

Is this the sorrow of being seen as an Omega?

“Grandfather. Even if I die and come back to life, there will never be any talk of marriage between me and these Alpha bastards.”

“I know. But that one is looking at you that way!”

“That’s ridiculous! Seo Eunsu is right here!”

Even if he had become an Alpha, with that face and personality, couldn’t someone still fall for him?

“That one’s an Alpha! Do you think those guys would react to an Alpha?”

Anyone who supports Alpha×Alpha or Alpha×Beta couples would be outraged hearing that.

Love transcends everything.

‘Wait… why am I even arguing about this?’

This is exactly why I should’ve stayed away from my sister.

I’ve been infected.

“Excuse me? I believe you just referred to us as Alpha bastards.”

“Be quiet, Yoo Iseo.”

“It’s just your imagination. Don’t nitpick every little thing like that. It’s not very manly.”

While I bickered with Chairman Seong, Yoo Iseo muttered something, but we both ignored him completely.

“Chanyeong, you’re too naive. Why do you think these Alphas came all the way here?”

“Hmm… they said they had business with me. They kept asking if I was still sick.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say the embarrassing truth—that they came to figure out their complicated feelings toward me.

At my words, a shadow fell over Chairman Seong’s face.

“Sick… are you alright?”

‘What is this now?’

It wasn’t just them—Chairman Seong also believed I was ill.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t say that. When you had that seafood allergy reaction, why did you secretly leave the hospital without telling anyone? Do you know how worried I was?”

“That was… because I thought you disliked me. Seeing how warmly you treat me now, I realize it was all a misunderstanding.”

Director Kim had been right.

Back then, I had trusted no one and left the hospital, moving here immediately.

Meanwhile, Chairman Seong had been too guilty to even come find me.

‘Though I still would’ve moved anyway.’

Hearing this “you’re sick” narrative over and over, I felt the need to correct it.

I was sick of it.

“I’m really fine. I didn’t come here because I was ill. Like I said, I just wanted to be free.”

“Truly? Then this grandfather can rest easy without dragging you to the hospital?”

“It’s true. If you’re still worried, I’ll go get checked.”

Hearing my sincere words, Chairman Seong’s expression brightened—

—and then tears streamed down his face.

“…Grandfather?”

“Sniff… I thought… something terrible had happened to you… I was so…”

He cried openly while eating the food.

Honestly, it was almost comical.

“I told you I’m fine! Completely fine!”

“Yes… I failed to trust you. You changed so suddenly, I thought you might have some incurable illness.”

“…Then all this kindness… was it just pity because you thought I was sick?”

“How could you twist a grandfather’s concern for his ill grandson like that!”

His answer—practically an admission—made my chest ache.

It meant I wasn’t any different from the real Seong Chanyeong I had pitied.

‘Comparing myself to him all this time… how pathetic.’

Instead of guilt, embarrassment flooded in.

‘What was I even expecting?’

Memories of being sick were lonely.

No one expected anything from me.

They only hoped I wouldn’t get worse.

–Even if I recover… will I be able to achieve anything?

That thought always dragged me down.

Even if I recovered, I was still behind.

Lost time never came back.

I had grown into someone incomplete.

Just because I wore Seong Chanyeong’s body, I had grown arrogant.

If Chairman Seong’s kindness was merely pity, I didn’t want it.

“That’s not it. Even without this incident… I would have wanted to rebuild our relationship.”

“When would that have been?”

“….”

He couldn’t answer.

Watching him, I felt sad.

In the original story, Chairman Seong had always been indifferent.

If I hadn’t suddenly gone off to the countryside, he would never have tried to embrace Chanyeong.

“So everyone thought I only changed because I was about to die, didn’t they?”

“….”

“….”

No one answered.

The food in my mouth tasted like chewing stones.

‘I worked so hard on this…’

The way they treated me—no different from before I transmigrated—made tears well up.

No matter how hard I tried, I was still just a patient in their eyes.

Clack.

I set my spoon down loudly.

“…Thank you for the meal. I’ll head in first.”

Thankfully, I hadn’t eaten much.

Otherwise, I might’ve thrown it all up.

“Chanyeong!”

“Grandfather, your room is prepared. Please rest there. I’m tired—I’ll see you later.”

I ignored the voice calling after me.

‘So they kept seeking me out because they thought I was sick.’

They must’ve thought I was terminal.

Now I understood.

They had felt guilty and uneasy, so they stayed, trying to make up for it.

I should’ve driven them out sooner.

“Woof! Woof!”

Janggun followed after me.

Normally, I would’ve hugged him and kissed his forehead.

But I didn’t have the strength.

I went into my room, pulled the blanket over my head, and escaped into sleep.

“Whine…”

“Sorry, Janggun. I’m really tired… I don’t think I can sleep with you tonight.”

“Whine…”

Janggun curled up at my feet, refusing to leave.

‘What have I been doing…?’

I had deviated from the original story, but if it was all just because they thought I was dying—

then it felt meaningless.

The urge to throw up everything I’d eaten rose within me.

Eventually, I fell asleep in that heavy mood.

And in my dream, I saw something strange.

–Chanyeong, don’t die!

My mother’s desperate voice from childhood.

My father praying.

My siblings crying.

‘Is this… the past?’

I had faced death many times as a child.

Scenes like this should’ve felt familiar.

But—

‘…Huh?’

This time, something was different.

The figure lying on the bed, once blurred—wasn’t a child.

‘Isn’t that… me as an adult?’

A memory I didn’t recognize unfolded before me in the dream.