To Fall In Love Again [JEONGKYU FF]

Chapter 63 - The End

JeongWoo shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Junkyu's steady gaze made his nerves spike. He had been avoiding this conversation for weeks—avoiding talk of that terrifying day, of Lee Ann, of Haruto, and everything else in between. Junkyu seemed content with their present life and their pups, and JeongWoo feared that dredging up the past would send the omega retreating back into his protective dreamland.

But now that Junkyu had brought it up first, there was no escape. He still owed Junkyu the truth; his version of the story.

"I'm sorry, Sugar," he said carefully. "For lying to you."

Instead of anger or disappointment, Junkyu smiled. "You must have had your reasons."

"Yes." The word came instantly, JeongWoo seizing on that smile as permission to finally come clean. The omega seemed to be in a good mood, willing to listen.

Junkyu looked down at baby Haru, gently rocking the milk-drowsy boy toward sleep. "Tell me," he said softly, careful not to disturb Haru's journey to dreams.

And so JeongWoo confessed everything.

The alpha explained how he'd discovered the true nature of his friendship with Haruto, how his memories of the deceased alpha had been completely erased, and how even now he couldn't remember anything beyond what he'd read in the reports about himself and Haruto. But those reports, those recorded text exchanges, had been enough to convince him that Haruto had indeed been his close friend.

"Through those texts, I found out I was the one who sent him to my father the day before his plane crashed." JeongWoo's head hung low with the weight of guilt.

"He's asleep. Can you help me move him to the crib?" Junkyu asked. His calm demeanor remained unchanged, as if JeongWoo were telling a story about strangers rather than someone he knew and deeply cherished.

"Oh, right." JeongWoo startled slightly at the request, then carefully lifted Haru from Junkyu's arms and carried him to his crib beside Junhee's.

Instead of returning to his chair, the high-level alpha lingered by the cribs, spreading his pheromones around them—blanketing all three pups with the comfort and safety that only a father could provide.

"I would still be blind to it all if it weren't for Travis," he continued, his gaze fixed on the sleeping babies. "If Travis hadn't come to my birthday party, if my friends hadn't mistaken him for Haruto, I never would have known I'd had a friend named Haruto at all."

"I'm sorry, Junkyu. I'm sorry I stole your life. I'm sorry I robbed you of the future you could have had with him." His voice grew heavier, and through their bond, Junkyu could feel the sincerity behind every apology. "The first time you brought me to his grave, I could see how much you loved him, and I..." His throat constricted. "I unknowingly, stupidly, disgustingly thought only of myself. I thought only about how I'd finally gotten a chance to make you mine. I didn't mourn with you when you cried. I was celebrating inside. I—"

JeongWoo paused and stepped away from the cribs, afraid his shifting emotions would taint his pheromones and disturb the pups.

"I celebrated his death." The words fell like stones. His chest clenched painfully.

Junkyu simply listened. No questions, no interruptions. He let JeongWoo confess at his own pace.

The alpha moved to the window, as if the view outside might ease the crushing weight in his chest. Spring was approaching; bright sunlight had begun to warm the frozen trees, creating puddles of melted ice beneath their branches.

"I wanted my father to admit he'd murdered Haruto. I wanted him to apologize to you, to Travis, to their family. I told myself it was about justice, but Goddess knows I was just being a coward." JeongWoo's reflection stared back at him from the glass. "I couldn't face you without having someone else to blame. I was trying to hide behind my father, hoping you'd overlook my part in it all. Hoping you wouldn't blame me or hate me once he received his punishment." He let out a bitter laugh. "I'm such a coward I can't even bring myself to visit his grave and ask for his forgiveness."