Chapter 91: [LUCAS KIM]

It was really him.

Just a few feet away.

Eli’s world stopped moving. The air caught in his chest like broken glass.

It hadn’t even been that long since he last saw Lucas—not in his old body, not as Lucien—but right now it felt like months had passed.

And yet, here he was.

His little brother.

Eli’s body ached to close the distance, to crush Lucas into a hug so tight it would make up for all the nights he hadn’t been there.

But at the same time—his legs wanted to bolt. To flee before the fragile glass of this façade shattered completely.

Because the boy in front of him wasn’t the Lucas he remembered.

The once-bright, joyful kid—the one who used to bounce around the house with laughter that filled every corner—looked dulled now. Worn.

His shoulders hung lower, his eyes carried shadows too heavy for a fifteen-year-old to bear.

He hadn’t grown taller, not much bigger—but his aura had shifted. Hardened. Matured in ways Eli wished he hadn’t.

’Because he had to grow up. Because I wasn’t there.’

Because Lucien Kim was gone, and Lucas had been forced to step into his shoes.

Eli’s chest twisted so violently he thought he might choke.

’What do I say now? What do I do?’

It wasn’t just Lucas here.

Kairo stood beside him, sharp and unyielding, already suspicious. The system’s task was hovering over Eli’s head like a blade.

And now Lucas—his baby brother—was staring right at them.

And then—Lucas’s wide, baggy eyes snapped toward Kairo. His jaw dropped.

“You!”

He jabbed a finger right at him, his voice bursting through the corridor like a gunshot.

Eli flinched. His gaze darted to Kairo, whose eyebrow rose ever so slightly.

“You! I said I know you!” Lucas’s finger shook, trembling with excitement, exhaustion, and awe all at once.

Kairo’s voice dropped cold, flat as steel. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do!” Lucas shouted, louder this time, conviction lacing every syllable. “You’re Kairo! I know that stature, that voice, those eyes!”

The name hit the air like thunder, and Eli’s blood went ice-cold.

Oh.

Oh no.

This wasn’t good.

Lucas’s grin widened, boyish awe breaking through his weariness. “My brother is obsessed with you!!”

Eli nearly collapsed on the spot.

’Oh my god.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally facepalming so hard he wanted to dig himself a grave. ’Lucas, please, for the love of everything holy—stop talking.’

But Lucas didn’t stop. His excitement only swelled, feeding off the tension.

“Your brother?” Kairo’s tone sharpened, cutting clean through the noise. His dark eyes narrowed, weighing every word like a blade on a scale.

“Yes!” Lucas exclaimed, chest puffing up like he’d uncovered some grand secret. “My brother Lucien Kim! He’s your biggest fan! He has a big, big crush on you!”

The hallway went silent.

Eli’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. He felt the heat rush up his neck and burn his ears, mortification drowning him from head to toe.

’OH. MY. GOD.’

He wanted to grab Lucas—tackle him, throw him in a chokehold, shove him in a locker, something—anything to stop the stream of words spilling from his mouth.

But it was too late.

The damage was done.

And worst of all, Kairo now had a name. A name Eli could never afford for him to connect to this face.

Lucien Kim.

Eli’s lungs felt like they’d frozen solid. The sterile air of the hospital pressed heavy against his chest, each breath scraping like glass.

His gaze flicked sideways toward Kairo, bracing—waiting for the sharp dismissal, the cutting remark, the cold snub he knew was inevitable.

Because Kairo wasn’t the type to entertain this kind of talk.

He hated attention. Hated nonsense. His reputation as Korenea’s coldest S-Class wasn’t some exaggerated fan rumor—it was earned, and every inch of his towering frame radiated it.

But instead of brushing it off, Kairo’s voice came low, deliberate—measured in a way that made the back of Eli’s neck prickle.

“And where is this brother of yours that is a fan?”

The words dropped like a boulder into still water.

Lucas’s grin—bright, boyish, fragile—snapped like glass. His face froze, eyes wide for a fraction of a second before the light dimmed, extinguished as though Kairo had ripped the air out of his lungs.

His shoulders sagged, the spark in his voice gone.

“…He’s missing,” Lucas whispered, the words breaking apart as soon as they left him. His gaze fell to the floor, to the worn tips of his sneakers.

Eli’s throat closed so tight it hurt. His nails dug into his palms, hidden by the sleeves of his hoodie.

’Don’t react. Don’t…’

Kairo tilted his head, expression unreadable behind his mask, though his black eyes glinted like polished obsidian.

“Missing?” His tone was razor-flat, the weight of it pressing down on both of them. “What happened?”

Lucas’s fists clenched hard at his sides, knuckles blanching bone-white. His lips trembled but he bit them, refusing to let them quiver in front of these men.

“I… I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice hoarse, cracking. “They never told me anything. My parents just said… he disappeared. That’s it.”

The words echoed, heavy and broken.

Silence stretched. The sterile hallway buzzed with fluorescent lights, the faint shuffle of nurses somewhere far down the corridor. But here—where the three of them stood—it felt suffocating.

Lucas’s chest rose and fell unevenly, the grief written across his young face raw and unhidden.

And then Kairo’s voice cut through again.

“Maybe,” he said evenly, each syllable as unyielding as stone, “he just went away.”

Eli’s eyes snapped to him in disbelief, his pulse spiking. ’What is he saying?’

“What?!” Lucas’s voice cracked, rising sharp with anger. His head shot up, eyes burning. “No! My brother wouldn’t do that! He’s not—he’s not the kind of person who’d just leave!”

Kairo didn’t flinch. His expression didn’t soften. His words were blunt, merciless. “Older brothers can be complicated. And unstable. You can’t always trust them.”

Eli’s stomach dropped.

“You’re wrong!” Lucas barked, his face twisting, voice trembling with fury and grief. “You’re mean! Lucien was the best big brother ever!”

Eli’s chest seized. The tears he’d been holding back all this time surged, his throat burning with the force of them.

’Lucas…’

Kairo’s lips parted, another sharp reply already forming, but Eli’s body moved before he even thought.

“Stop,” Eli snapped, throwing himself between them, his hands braced out like a barrier. His heart hammered so violently it hurt.

Kairo’s black eyes narrowed at him, hard and unreadable.

Lucas blinked, confused, his small voice breaking as he asked, “…Who are you?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep