To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 113: You break this old man’s heart

Thanks to Chin-hwa’s stubbornness, Kang-woo and Chin-hwa were behind in practice. They would have to practice a lot if they wanted to perfect their performance in a week.

Which meant they would also have to practice during weekdays.

"Hwa," Kang-woo called on their way to Chin-hwa’s family house. "Should I get a piano?"

"A piano?" Yun-tae exclaimed, surprised but Chin-hwa answered quite naturally.

"Yeah, I think that would be far more efficient. We can practice at your place during the evenings after school." Chin-hwa said and Yun-tae sank into his seat.

Ah, he often forgot that those two were bred and raised in rich families. Getting a piano out of nowhere must be natural.

"Do you want to watch us practice?" Chin-hwa asked Yun-tae but Yun-tae declined, saying,

"I’m worried I’ll get too excited and distract you guys. You’re on a countdown so I’ll give you your space."

"Then, will you be with my family while Kang-woo and I practice at his place?" Chin-hwa asked.

"Wait, I thought you’d have a piano at your house." Yun-tae said but Chin-hwa guiltily darted his eyes away.

"Well, I threw all the instruments out." He said and Yun-tae exclaimed in shock,

"What?!"

"I know, it’s shocking. Now that I think about it, I think my actions were quite foolish and childish." Chin-hwa said, rubbing his arms. "But at that time, I wanted to get rid of it all." He said, not going into specific details, but Kang-woo could tell what he wanted to get rid of.

So, he threw the instruments out because of him.

"Was it around the same time you stopped singing at Christmas?" Yun-tae asked and Chin-hwa nodded, faintly smiling.

"It’s hard to make happy Music while being sad, right? I just couldn’t do it and the instruments all had happy memories." He shook his head. "I’m just ruining the air right now so let’s not talk about that anymore."

Aside from the memories he kept in his room, he got rid of everything else that reminded him of Kang-woo.

Even the swing in the backyard was replaced because of him.

But what was the use when, after going through the house that no longer had memories of his best friend, he would return to his room filled with even warmer memories?

His head and heart were not in the right place. The decisions they both made couldn’t see eye to eye so he was conflicted most of the time and made too many irrational decisions.

But he was going to fix that.

"The instruments room was transformed into a guest room." Chin-hwa said. "So, I don’t think we can get another one there. For now, I’ll just practice at Kang-woo’s place."

"Well, it’s alright." Yun-tae said. "Your family is fun to be with, so you two can take your time practicing but don’t forget to come back for dinner."

They got to Chin-hwa’s house and the first one to rush out and embrace Chin-hwa was Woo-bin.

"My baby, you didn’t pick up the phone even once," he sobbed while rubbing his cheeks against Chin-hwa’s.

’Ah, I forgot to unmute Daddy’s calls so I missed them all.’ Chin-hwa thought. ’How do I get myself out of this now?’

"You break this old man’s heart," He sobbed.

"So, now you believe you’re old." Si-woo spoke from behind. "Quit hogging Hwa to yourself. Leave some for the rest of us." She said, pushing Woo-bin off.

’I’m technically a human being but what does that matter?’ Chin-hwa thought and sighed. "Sorry, I didn’t pick up. The school took a lot of my time." He said, refusing to say more like always.

"Well, it’s okay. I’m seeing you now," Woo-bin said while shoving his daughter aside but Si-woo was not ready to give up without a fight.

She snatched Chin-hwa and engulfed him in her arms.

"My little bro is as adorable as ever." She squeezed him tight.

Just when Chin-hwa was thinking he couldn’t get any more tighter hugs, Deok-ryu was there to prove him wrong.

"My baby Hwa," Deok-ryu yelled and was about to snatch Chin-hwa away when Hae-won arrived and cleared his throat.

"You should at least give Hwa a moment to breathe. This is one of the few times where he walks in on his two feet and not in someone’s arms, snoozing away." Hae-won said and they laughed.

Chin-hwa flushed. It was embarrassing hearing it out loud.

"It’s not like anyone ever gave me a choice," he pouted, sliding a bit of his hair behind his ear. "Anyway, mommy,"

"Yes, baby?" Hae-won answered softly, going to hug Chin-hwa tenderly, unlike the way the other rough hands in the house handled him.

Well, they were the only Omegas in the family and the rest were brutes.

"I’m going off to Kang-woo’s place to practice," he said, slowly breaking the hug. "We have a musical presentation next week."

The entire family stared at him, stunned. For a moment, he pursed his lips, trying to keep his eyes on his mother but then it started to get uncomfortable.

With their shocked gazes, he understood it well.

"You’re... Going to be on stage?" Hae-won asked, taking his hand to his mouth in surprise. "You’re going to do a performance?"

"Yes," Chin-hwa rubbed the back of his neck. "It’s the school festival just before Christmas, so..."

"Oh, Hwa," Hae-won hugged him, his eyes slightly tearing up. "I’m so glad."

Their reactions might seem extreme but it was normal given what they had to go through to get Chin-hwa back on his feet but never succeeded.

Chin-hwa stopped doing the things he used to do, hardly spoke about anything other than what was necessary, and his smile looked forced most at times.

But now, he said he was going to do a presentation. He was likely going to sing, let his beautiful voice fill the halls again, and... He was telling them about it.

Could there be anything more to make them more overjoyed?

"Are you okay, momma?" Deok-ryu asked, patting Hae-won’s back and Hae-won nodded, breaking the hug. Even Deok-ryu got emotional but he tried not to cry in front of them.

Woo-bin bit his lip, also fighting the urge to cry but he gave up and burst out,

"Oh my little Hwa, I’m so happy. I’m so glad. Really." He hugged Chin-hwa, pulling Hae-won into the hug as well. "Seeing a beautiful smile on your face brings nothing but happiness to me. I... I want to see you happy."

"And I am happy," Chin-hwa said. "So, stop overreacting and break it up already. I’m on a tight schedule as it is."

They finally calmed down and Chin-hwa turned to Yun-tae, smiling awkwardly.

"Sorry about that. I did think they would react similarly but not to that extent."

"Oh, no. It’s fine." Yun-tae said, his face beaming softly. "It was such a heart-warming sight, hehe."

"Oh, you’re here too kid. Sorry, I didn’t notice." Woo-bin said.

"It’s no problem," Yun-tae said and to his surprise, Woo-bin hugged him as well, sharing his warmth.

"Okay, who wants a snack?" Woo-bin asked, breaking the hug and patting Yun-tae’s head.

"Yun-tae will have it. Kang-woo and I need to start heading out." Chin-hwa said. "By the way, where’s...?"

"Business trip," Si-woo answered before Chin-hwa could finish his words. "You should probably call him on a video call when you have the chance."

"Alright, I will." Chin-hwa said, making Woo-bin’s wolf ears drop in disappointment.

"You wouldn’t even pick up my calls. I feel so sad."

Chin-hwa sighed and hurried back to him, kissed his cheek, and said,

"Don’t be a baby. I’m the only baby in this house, remember?" With that, he rushed towards the door, pulling Kang-woo with him.

If he didn’t leave that moment, he’d probably have trouble slipping out.

"Bye," Yun-tae waved and Chin-hwa nodded.

Once they were out the door, Chin-Hwa sighed and turned to Kang-woo, who was giggling.

"What?"

"You’re so adorable," Kang-woo said out of nowhere, causing Chin-hwa to flush. Where did why come from?

"Stop saying stuff like that and let’s go." He walked ahead of Kang-woo, hoping to calm himself since he was blushing so much from that simple compliment.

They finally got to Kang-woo’s family house but on their way to the front door, they started heading the loud commotion that was coming from the living room.

They could hear He-Nari whose tone was filled with dissatisfaction and anger.

"God, if you’re not going to let me inherit the company, then I warn you, I’ll burn it to the ground, so think carefully." Nari opened the door and saw Chin-hwa and Kang-woo, staring with a rather shocked expression on their faces.

He clicked his tongue and said,

"Hey, kiddos. I’m heading out." With that, he just walked away, heading for his car.

They both stood there, perplexed for a few minutes, and then turned to the house. Kang-woo walked in first Chin-hwa followed him.

They found Tae-won and Ga-ram sighing in disappointment and Tae-won looked angry.

The atmosphere was so tense that Chin-hwa was feeling quite uncomfortable.

’Just what is going on? I’ve never seen them argue.’ he thought, subconsciously clenching on Kang-woo’s coat.

And then all of a sudden, Kang-woo, who somewhat knew what the situation was, quickly spoke up firmly,

"When you retire, you should give your company to Hyung because I don’t plan on inheriting it."

Chin-hwa’s eyes shot open. Well, that was unexpected.