"Exactly, Mom. You didn't raise me." Hiro's voice was glacial, his expression serious.
Izack blinked, his gaze darting from the middle-aged lazy to Hiro, unsure whether the mother and son were joking. His own parents often said things that could be misunderstood by others.
Is it the same case here or?…
He pondered.
Yulia laughed, looping her arm through Izack's.
"Ignore him. He says things like this out of nowhere. Come inside."
Though confused, Izack followed her. He didn't dare look back. Not when he knew that Hiro didn't want him here.
Hiro groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Why does she have to do this…? Hopefully Jin is at the park or something and he leaves before—"
And he had jinxed it.
"DADDYYYYY!" Jin's voice came stronger than ever. Perhaps even someone who was wearing headphones would have heard him from a distance.
The little boy came running toward them, arms wide open, going for a hug.
Yulia and Izack froze, just like Hiro, who now stood in front of them.
Jin leapt onto his father, smiling brightly.
"I missed you!"
Izack instinctively reached out to catch him, but Jin's speed was too fast.
"AHH!" Hiro cried out, his hand flying to his back as they both hit the ground.
Hiro lay there, rubbing the spot that throbbed from the fall. His son quickly scrambled to his feet and held out a small hand.
"Jin," Hiro frowned.
The child stiffened, looking up at him.
"S-Sorry," he whispered, tears already welling in his eyes.
"Don't scold him. It's your fault for not visiting him for months. Kids tend to get excited," Yulia sighed, gently patting the boy's head.
Hiro's gaze shifted to Izack, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"And you. Why are you standing there with your arm out like that?"
"I-I was trying to catch you but—"
"Catch me?" Hiro scoffed. "You should have done a better job then. I still fell."
The alpha swallowed hard, blinking. He must have misheard, right? Or had the child really just called Hiro "Daddy"?
He has a son?…
Then that meant there had to be someone in his life. A partner.
How?
Izack had never heard a single rumour about that. Not once.
After hesitating for a whole minute, debating whether to ask or not, he finally asked, "Y-You have a son? I thought you were single?…"
Hiro froze, breath caught in his throat.
For a split second, his mind went blank—not because the truth had slipped out, but because it had slipped out like this. Unplanned. Uncontrolled. In front of the worst possible witness.
Fuck.
He cursed, clenching his jaw.
This wasn't supposed to happen. Jin's existence should have remained a secret. The child shouldn't have been seen by anyone—especially not by someone from the industry.
Hiro had spent years keeping his son out of sight, out of reach, protecting him from the very exposure that ruined lives. Not even Felix knew about him.
And now… Everything was unravelling.
Not because he had been careless, but because he had been too distracted. Exhausted. Angry. Still reeling from Felix and the mess of last night. He had let his guard down for a single moment.
That was all it took.
His teeth sank into his lower lip until he tasted blood, grounding himself.
Yulia let out a sharp breath.
"Come in first."
Hiro said nothing, looking up at his mother.
Izack stepped closer and extended a hand to help him up. Hiro ignored it, pushing himself to his feet instead. He refused the help—not out of pride, but because he couldn't afford to look shaken.
Or maybe it was his pride.
Still, he simply couldn't take help from this new actor. Not when everything he had built to protect Jin was already cracking because of him.
He had faced countless problems with Felix in the past. He had never made mistakes like this before. So why did it feel as though everything was shattering now, with him standing there, unable to hold it all together?
✻✻✻
"So… um—"
"Have this." Hiro placed a piece of meat onto Izack's plate.
The alpha stared at his plate, now piled with vegetables and meat. The moment he had entered the house, he had been guided straight to the dining room. Hiro had said they hadn't had breakfast yet, and his mother had immediately begun setting the table with the help of the maid already in the kitchen.
"I was wondering—"
"Oh, have this. It's good." Hiro placed another piece of carrot onto his plate.
Izack's eye twitched, unsure how to react. For the past few minutes, every time he opened his mouth, another piece of food had appeared in front of him, cutting him off before he could finish.
"Mr. Leroy," Izack finally said, meeting Hiro's gaze. His voice was firm. There was no more room on the plate—unless Hiro wanted the food to slide off and fall onto the table or the floor.
"Yes?" Hiro forced a grin.
Is he this clueless? If I stop him from speaking, doesn't that just mean I don't want to talk about it?
Hiro could only wonder how he managed to enter the entertainment industry. People here would swallow someone as clueless as in a moment. Or perhaps it was thanks to his background.
If I remember correctly, his father is the owner of some entertainment companies. Maybe that's why he made it so far otherwise...
He nodded in agreement with his conclusion.
Sitting beside Izack, Yulia glanced at her son, shaking her head in disapproval. She couldn't understand why he had brought this man here if he had no intention of revealing anything about Jin.
"This child…"
Izack glanced at the boy sitting beside the beta, his bright dark brown eyes glowing under the sunlight streaming through the large windows of the dining hall.
"What of me?" Jin asked, his gaze sharp and steady.
His father rarely visited him to begin with. And now there was a stranger taking up all the time that should have been his. It was simply intolerable.
"Who is he to you?" Izack asked, pointing at Hiro. At least a child wouldn't lie or interrupt him like Hiro.