𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚́𝐧 || 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥

Chapter 18

Seungcheol sat and stared at his coffee, hearing the low murmur of voices from upstairs. It wasn’t long before Junhui reappeared in the kitchen, a frown on his face. He sank into the seat opposite Seungcheol, took a sip of his now-cold coffee, and grimaced.

“How’s he doing?” Seungcheol asked.

“He’s scared and ashamed. Still adamant that bastard never touched him. In fact, he says there’s never been anyone, except you. Want to tell me what he means by that?”

Seungcheol could see the anger simmering under the surface, though Junhui was doing his best to keep a lid on it.

He took a breath, let it out slowly, and came clean.

“Those days you were working for Bahn, Jeonghan went into heat. I took care of him through it, shared it with him. We decided not to tell you, especially since we weren’t exactly in a relationship or anything. It seemed like it would make things awkward.”

“Awkward is one word for it,” Junhui agreed heavily.

“He’s up there crying and begging me not to fight you. He insists he wanted you with him for his heat. Says that you only agreed because he asked, and you didn’t do anything he didn’t want you to do.”

Seungcheol let out a long breath.

“That’s all true.”

“But he’s also saying, one hundred percent, that you are the only alpha he’s ever slept with. If he’s pregnant, it’s yours.”

With a groan, Seungcheol shook his head.

“You didn’t even know me two months ago. He’s got to be at least three months along. I can’t have fathered his baby.”

“He’s not lying, not about this. You should talk to him.”

“Okay, but I’m telling you now, it is impossible for this to have happened the way Jeonghan says it did.”

Junhui made a face, telegraphing his discomfort at their conversation.

“But if Jeonghan was already pregnant, would he have even gone into heat?”

Seungcheol hesitated. Most omegas didn’t have heats, and it wasn’t exactly something people talked openly about. “I don’t know. But he must have, otherwise we wouldn’t be in this situation. All I know for sure is that it’s not possible for me to be this baby’s father.”

Junhui crossed his arms and glared. “I don’t care what you think is possible. Jeonghan doesn’t lie—not to me, not about the things that matter.”

“Maybe you’re not asking the right questions. Did he tell you about the guys who cornered him out by the river? What about when you took him to the fight that time? Maybe something happened, and he’s scared to admit it?”

Junhui pushed to his feet as his hands curled into fists.

Seungcheol stayed where he was, his hands open, fingers splayed, hoping that would be enough to keep them from coming to blows.

“No one laid a finger on him when he was at the barn with me. I saw to that. And you saw to those other guys, from what Jeonghan told me.”

They were running out of explanations that made sense.

“Maybe he’s sick? Maybe there’s something else going on?”

“Maybe. I don’t know,” Junhui admitted, sinking back into his chair. He looked tired and a little stricken. “I should have been doing a better job as his brother. If I had, he’d have confided in me instead of running off like that.”