Ren slowly regained consciousness in his body. His muscles were still trembling, weak after the fall.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the man staring at him.
"You should stay on the ground for a moment…" he said in a deep voice.
Ren felt his heart race, so he stood up.
"I… I can walk," Ren replied, trying to sound brave.
The man took a step closer. Ren instinctively stepped back, but his back hit a tree trunk.
"Easy…" the man said.
His hand rested against the trunk, right next to Ren's head.
He wasn't touching him.
But he was very close.
Ren felt his breath catch.
"Back off… you do know I'm still a minor, right?"
The man lowered his eyes slightly.
"What are you even thinking about, huh?"
Ren clenched his teeth.
"That's none of your business."
"It is. I need to know what you think is going to happen."
The silence became heavy.
The man's gaze slowly moved down, noticing Ren's fast breathing, his tense hands, his exposed neck.
Ren swallowed.
"Then why are you looking at me like that…?"
The man leaned in a little closer.
"Because you're beautiful. I could almost—"
Ren's heart skipped a beat. That sentence reminded him of the tragedy of his previous life.
"Almost what? Get away from me! Leave me alone!"
"Then push me."
Ren raised his hands to push him away.
But the moment his palms touched the man's chest—
He felt how strong and solid he was compared to him. His own body was too fragile, too light. Ren had no chance of winning physically.
He quickly pulled his hands back.
The man gave a slight smile.
"That's what I thought."
Ren looked up, disturbed.
"No, that's not what you think. You disgust me."
His voice was louder now, full of forced confidence.
The man leaned close to his ear and murmured:
"You know… age doesn't make you a child if your mind is that of an adult."
"What do you want from me?!" Ren shouted.
The man replied:
"Don't act like you don't recognize me. Look me in the eyes."
Ren lifted his head and looked straight into his eyes. But what was the point? He truly didn't know him.
"No. I don't recognize some old pervert like you."
"There's no need to pretend And I'm not a pervert."
The man looked at him for a few seconds… then finally stepped back.
Air suddenly returned to Ren's lungs.
"You're still as weak as ever," he said calmly.
Ren frowned.
"Thanks. That's nice."
"I wasn't insulting you."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"You should never have come here alone."
Ren froze.
"…You know me?"
"Of course I know you."
A silence.
Then he added:
"I'm your brother. Stop pretending you don't know."
The world seemed to stop for a second.
Ren blinked.
"My… brother? That's impossible. I've always been an only chi—"
*Oh no… I forgot.*
The man nodded.
"What were you saying?"
Ren stepped back slightly.
Elijah's memories suddenly surfaced In addition to his own memories of what it was like to have a brother.
A brother. Cold. Distant. The family's favorite.
"You weren't supposed to be here. Why did you come to disgust me?!" Ren shouted.
His brother looked at him more seriously now.
"And you weren't supposed to leave the villa. And what do you mean disgust you? You're acting strange You weren't like this before "
His tone changed. More authoritative.
Ren lifted his chin despite his fear.
"I'm not a prisoner. Even if you don't like me, I can still have a life."
His brother stepped closer again, but without that strange tension from before.
"If you keep acting like this… you're going to hurt yourself. Stop being so stubborn. You can't even run for two seconds."
Ren clenched his fists.
"Ha! Since when do you care?"
His brother's expression darkened slightly.
"Since always. I know what you think about me, but I'm actually worried about you."
"Stop lying. Don't think I'll let you manipulate me. You're just trying to take advantage of me."
Ren didn't realize he was mixing his past life with Elijah's.
His brother replied:
"Who put such nonsense in your head? You're too young for this kind of talk."
"It's not nonsense. If you say you care about me, then tell me — what's my name?"
His brother stepped back, looked away, and said calmly:
"Why are you asking me? I'm not the one who gave birth to you."
SILENCES...