3 Paths to Love

Chapter 50

Taeyong held the edge of the counter as he poured the kettle into a mug, the leaves staining the water with a deep red. He closed his eyes and took a drawn-out sip, his racing heart finally settling.

As Seunghyeon padded into the kitchen, Taeyong turned around. "How is he?"

Seunghyeon side-eyed him before leaning against the island. "He's okay," he said and sighed. "His knee started bleeding so I had to patch him up again."

Taeyong jerked his head up. "What?"

"Woah, it's fine," Seunghyeon blurted out, holding his hands up.

Taeyong pressed his lips into a tight line and tightened his grip around his mug, eying Seunghyeon.

"He just fell, that's all," Seunghyeon continued. "You know how he is."

"I know," Taeyong breathed out. As he massaged his hand over his chest, pain radiated down his spine. Even when the baby rolled around and kicked and kept him up all night, nothing compared to a burden sitting on his chest. Especially one that came to my family.

"Hyung..." Seunghyeon stepped forward. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

Taeyong sucked in a shaky breath. He blinked a few times and stared into his mug. "I–" Taeyong lifted his head. "I don't think Insoo's a good influence."

Seunghyeon furrowed his brow. "What? Insoo?"

Taeyong nodded.

"But like, why?" Seunghyeon huffed out a chuckle. "Is it about today? I mean, I know Myungsuk got home late, but he's making friends through Insoo. Nerdy friends like them."

"I know," Taeyong said. "But Insoo is also an alpha, which is fine if that was the only thing. But he is also a Cheung."

Seunghyeon lowered his gaze. "Right." Running his fingers through his hair, Seunghyeon shrugged. "But he's not like them."

"Are you sure?"

"What?"

Taeyong gulped, his heart pounding in his chest. He set his mug down and crossed the kitchen. He opened one of the drawers and picked up the collar, walking back to Seunghyeon. "I found this in Myungsuk's room this morning," he said, placing the collar on the counter.

Seunghyeon's eyes widened as he gaped. "Is that...?"

"A heat-proof collar."

Seunghyeon continued to stare, gulping. "I mean, we got medical collars at his age too. Doesn't mean we've used them."

"I found it out of the box," Taeyong said. "In his heat bag."

The colour drained from Seunghyeon's face. "Oh."

"Yeah..."

The two fell silent as Seunghyeon face contorted, searching for answers. But after a minute, Seunghyeon tilted his head up, squeezing his eyes shut.

Taeyong stepped beside him and wrapped one arm around him as Seunghyeon dropped his head against his shoulder. "I know," Taeyong whispered and rubbed Seunghyeon's arm. "I know."

"Fuck," Seunghyeon breathed out and rubbed his hands over his eyes. "I would've never expected this from Insoo."

"Neither of us did," Taeyong said and shook his head. Even the most soft-spoken could have such intentions.

"I mean, sex is one thing, but"– Seunghyeon lifted his head up–"How did he convince Myungsuk to share his heat? If they just snuck around and did it, that's so dangerous."

Taeyong nodded, resting his hand below his belly. "I know." Closing his eyes, he tilted his head to the ceiling. "Without a heat contract, if anything happened to Myungsuk, he couldn't do anything about it." There were too many times when omegas would be forced to bond and couldn't take legal action because they didn't take the right steps beforehand.

The collar glared at them and Taeyong let out a heavy sigh. Even with a collar, Myungsuk could've been injured, or pregnant, or worse.

"Myungsuk would be careful though," Seunghyeon continued, gnawing his bottom lip. "But you need a family member for a witness, right?" Seunghyeon's eyes darted around as his scent darkened. "Do you think Dae–" Seunghyeon trailed off and averted his gaze.

"Do I think Daehyun knew about this?"

Seunghyeon hesitantly shrugged.

"I don't know," Taeyong said. His stomach twisted at the thought, but he pushed it away. "I don't think so. There's no way Daehyun would keep that from us. It's too big of a deal."

"Honestly, it would be better if he did know, at least."

Taeyong nodded and rubbed his stomach. Seunghyeon was right. If Daehyun did know, Taeyong could be mad for a few days, but at least he would have made sure Myungsuk was safe and doing what he wanted.

Seunghyeon dragged his hand over his face, sniffling. "Gods," he groaned. "I never thought Myungsuk would have to go through this." Seunghyeon took a deep breath. "Just what we needed," he spat out, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I know," Taeyong repeated, his own tears blurring his vision. He pulled Seunghyeon into a hug, holding him as close as the bump allowed.

"He knows this is a huge mistake''–Seunghyeon's voice cracked–"And Myungsuk actually went through with it. I can't believe Insoo is just like everyone else," Seunghyeon gritted his teeth as frustrated tears soaked Taeyong's shoulder. "And we didn't even notice."

Taeyong's heart shattered and he struggled to let out a sweeter, calming scent. "Don't worry. I'll fix this."

Seunghyeon sniffled. "How?"

"Just like how I get alphas to stop bothering you," Taeyong whispered. "I do it for you and I can do it for him," he added, forcing a weak smile.

As Seunghyeon tightened his grip and nodded, Taeyong nuzzled the side of his hair. "I'll fix this," he whispered as he fluttered his eyes closed, tears trailing down his cheeks. "I promise."