Lihan brought Haneul into his own apartment.
Haneul's steps were light, eyes wandering everywhere like a lost child.
He looked at the soft lights, the clean furniture, the windows showing the city lights beyond.
Lihan placed a glass of water and a folded shirt on the table.
"Drink this first," he said. His voice calm, though his eyes lingered on the Haneul longer than they should.
Haneul took the glass, both hands trembling slightly.
He didn't look scared of Lihan exactly more like he was scared of the world around him.
Every small sound made him flinch, even the clock ticking on the wall.
"You can wash up there,"
Lihan added, pointing toward the bathroom. "I'll wait outside."
The door closed. Lihan exhaled and leaned against the wall.
Something about that Omega didn't feel ordinary the way his eyes avoided meeting his, the way his voice was soft but carried a strange heaviness.
When the door opened again, Lihan turned and for a second, words failed him.
Haneul stood there wearing Lihan's oversized clothes.
The shirt slipped off one shoulder, the pants brushed the floor, and his damp hair stuck to his neck.
"You should eat something,"
Lihan said quietly, taking a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
Haneul nodded and followed him to the table.
He ate slowly, chewing small bites as if afraid of making noise.
Every few seconds, his eyes darted toward the door cautious, distant.
Lihan watched him.
A part of him wanted to speak; another wanted to just observe.
He was a Beta, trained to stay neutral but this Omega was pulling something unfamiliar out of him.
When Haneul dropped a bit of rice on his lip, Lihan reached forward without thinking and wiped it away with his thumb.
Haneul froze. Their eyes met Lihan's steady, Haneul's wide and uncertain.
Lihan pulled back, clearing his throat. "You're… not from around here, are you?"
Haneul looked down. "No."
Lihan took out his phone and showed him a picture a security image captured.
"Is this you?"
Haneul stared at it, then slowly nodded. "Yes."
Something flickered across his face fear. Not panic, not guilt, but something deep-rooted, old.
Lihan noticed how his breathing changed, how his fingers gripped the edge of his sleeve.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
Haneul's voice trembled. "Take me back…"
Lihan frowned. "Back where?"
Haneul's eyes glistened.
"To the Alpha. The one with the soil scent."
Lihan's hand tightened around his phone
Soil scent Taekyun's hidden secondary pheromone, a scent no one was supposed to recognize except his mother.
How could this fragile Omega know that?
He leaned forward slightly, tone turning careful. "Why?"
Haneul shook his head slowly, whispering,
"I just feel… safe around that scent."
Lihan's chest tightened. A part of him wanted to believe him another part whispered this is too strange.
He leaned back, trying to sound calm.
"Tell me how you ended up there, in Taekyun's residence."
"I was running," Haneul said softly.
"From Alphas. They were following me. I didn't know where else to go."
"How long were you running?"
Haneul looked up his eyes distant, almost haunted. "Since last week."
Lihan's brows furrowed.
"A whole week? Without being seen, without resting? That doesn't make sense."
Haneul's lips parted as if to answer, but no words came.
Lihan stepped closer, eyes narrowing slightly suspicion creeping in.
"Haneul," he said slowly,
"Have you ever met NeoPharm?"
The Omega blinked, confused.
"No…"
"You're sure? No one approached you, offered help, anything?"
"I don't know them,"
Haneul whispered. His hands were shaking now. The fear in his voice wasn't the fear of lying it was the fear of remembering.
Lihan's chest twisted. He wanted to believe him, but everything about this Omega his scent recognition, his sudden appearance, his fragile innocence felt like a puzzle piece that didn't belong.
"Who sent you here?"
Lihan asked quietly.
"I didn't come to hurt anyone,"
Haneul said, stepping back.
"Please, I just want to go home."
Before Lihan could respond, Haneul darted toward the door his small figure moving fast, too fast for his weak state.
The door swung open, and in a blink, he was gone.
"Haneul!" Lihan called out, rushing after him but by the time he reached the hallway, there was nothing left but the echo of fading footsteps.
(At Taekyun's residence)
In her room, little Haru sat by the window, her small hands pressed against the glass.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she whispered, "mongi"
Bora stood behind her, heart breaking.
Haru had never spoken before. Not once.
But now, she cried for a stranger.
Inside her innocent mind, a belief bloomed: the puppy she once loved, the one she prayed would turn into a person so he could stay with her forever maybe, just maybe, he had. Maybe Haneul was that puppy.
"Don't cry," Bora whispered, kneeling beside her. "He'll come back someday."
But Haru didn't stop. Her small hand touched the window again, eyes distant.
Meanwhile,
Taekyun sat in his office. His work lay forgotten.
The image of Haru crying wouldn't leave his mind. It felt too familiar like watching Harin cry again, years after her death.
And then there was that touch.
The way the Omega's hand had brushed his skin , warm like sunlight melting through ice.
Taekyun clenched his fist. It shouldn't matter. He was an Alpha who built walls even storms couldn't break.
But that one touch it still lingered, burning quietly inside his chest.
He looked at his hand again, frowning at himself.
"Why can't I forget?" he muttered.
Outside, the wind carried a faint scent one he didn't realize he was searching for.