Dirty Switch

It was a rather impulsive move, so Taehyun’s heart thudded for a different reason than when he had searched for Seo Baekhan earlier.
Well, there probably wouldn’t be much anyway. He was only twelve years old, and his only public appearance had been at the royal family–sponsored concert last night. That was it.
Oh, right. Since he was the first Alpha born into the DH family, maybe there’d be something related to that?

“…There really is nothing.”
Contrary to how tense he had felt, there wasn’t a single noteworthy article that popped up when he searched for “Joo Taehyun.” To be precise, there were plenty of articles about other people named Joo Taehyun—just not him.
Journalists, CEOs, police officers, soldiers, civil servants, restaurant owners…

There were so many Joo Taehyuns across various professions that it was hard to even find anything about himself. It wasn’t exactly an unusual name, but it wasn’t particularly common either. Other than that, he only came across a few ancient forum posts with bizarre titles like, “Hyungnims, plz recommend some eye-blinding items for baby Taehyun bbuing.”
Staring at the pitiful results for a moment, Taehyun clicked into the portal’s biography index page, skimming through to see where his name might be listed. He combed through the first page meticulously so he wouldn’t miss it… but it wasn’t there.
A note explained that the biography index didn’t rank people based on social status or wealth, but dynamically changed depending on how many people searched for and clicked on that person’s information.

So, if it took more than three pages to find his name… what did that say about his place in society?
Joo Taehyun
DH / Age 10
Family: Youngest of four sons and one daughter, born to DH Group Chairman Joo Ilwook and Archery Association Director Yoo Younghwa.
That single sentence was all that described him. Not even a grainy photo like the others had.

He hadn’t expected anything remotely close to what Seo Baekhan had. Out of curiosity, he tried searching a few of the kids he had met the night before. None had results as dismal as his. At the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) very least, they had a few brief articles about competitions they’d entered or awards they’d won.
A little while ago, he’d reassured himself by thinking, It’s fine—I’m still young. But now, that thought felt embarrassing. Maybe his parents had kept him out of the spotlight on purpose because he’d started public activities late… That crossed his mind for a second.
But that was just an excuse. Even if he’d stayed at home the whole time—if he had truly been remarkable—he would’ve shined somehow.

Like Seo Baekhan.
“…Haa.”
Joo Taehyun turned over and lay facing the back of the sofa. He must’ve grown again; already there wasn’t enough room to stretch out his legs.

Anyway, the only thing he could do for now was study hard and get into a good school.
Come to think of it, that’s exactly what Seo Baekhan had done. He studied hard, went to a prestigious university. Of course, he was probably smarter than most, so he’d had more chances to prove himself—and someone as sharp as him would never miss the right timing.
But then… what even counted as a “good” school? Would he learn more at an expensive private school? Or maybe he should study abroad. That’s probably the best way to broaden one’s horizons, right? Not that he was imagining it just because Seo Baekhan was going to the U.S. or anything. His parents had brought up studying abroad long before that...
“…What am I even thinking?”

Fiddling with his now warm phone for a while, Taehyun finally closed his eyes. Maybe because he’d been glued to a screen all morning—something he usually never did—his eyes felt unbearably dry.
He gently rubbed his hot eyelids with his fingertips, and before he knew it, he had dozed off.
He normally avoided naps, thinking it was a waste of the day. But last night, he’d barely slept while agonizing over whether or not to message Baekhan, and now, strangely, he felt sleepy.

A gentle voice kept calling his name, echoing faintly in his ears again and again, but his eyes refused to open. His whole body was heavy with drowsiness.
Someone passed by and draped a blanket over him. Someone else must have turned on the humidifier, worried about the dryness. Another must have adjusted the study’s thermostat to keep him warm. Even the lighting and curtain angles had been finely tuned so the soft, sleeping child wouldn’t be disturbed by light. It was the same kind of love and care he’d always known—familiar and tender.
Taehyun stirred faintly like a child wanting to whine, then quickly fell back into peaceful slumber.

Director Yoo Younghwa gazed down at her youngest son’s sleeping face and cautiously called out to him.
“Taehyun, baby?”
But wasn’t this nap going on for a bit too long?

Having just rushed home after a concerning message from the sitter—who said their precious youngest had been sleeping unusually long—Director Yoo was still catching her breath. Though more often addressed as “Director” than “Madam” due to her active role in the association, the moment she heard her child wasn’t feeling well, she dropped everything, loaded up work documents, and bolted from the office. Chairman Joo happened to be out on an inspection tour of the Suwon factories with their eldest, making him unreachable at the moment.
“He’s been asleep since one?”
“He definitely was by one, and even before that, he kept nodding off. He looked like he was sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake him, but… he’s never slept like this before…”

“Still, you could’ve tried waking him. He’s been out all day.”
“I figured maybe he was just tired after yesterday’s outing.”
“Well… yeah, that’s true…”

“Mom?”
“Yes, honey, I just got here.”
Joo Kyunghan and Joo Yoonwoo, who both said they only had morning lectures today, stood near their mother with worried expressions.

“Looks like our baby overdid it yesterday.”
“Yeah.”
Worried, Director Yoo gently brushed the sweat beading on her young son’s forehead. Was he too warm? He was wrapped tightly in a blanket and the heat was on, so it made sense. Still, better warm than cold...

“…Oh my.”
“What’s wrong, ma’am?”
“It’s Taehyun. His temperature feels…”

She’d meant to wake him gently, but the heat coming off him made her tilt her head. Strange. Children naturally run a little warmer, but this… didn’t feel normal. It felt more like a fever.
“…Wait, a fever?”
“Ma’am? What did you just—?”

“Call the physician! Right now! Get the primary physician!”
“Ma’am?”
As the memory of her child’s shallow, gasping breaths filled her mind, Director Yoo let out a sharp scream before she even realized it.

She didn’t have time to assess the situation or think logically—her mind was instantly overwhelmed by memories she had long sealed away.
She had nearly lost her three-year-old son to manifestation fever.
They had narrowly avoided tragedy, but she had still been forced to leave that tiny child alone in an isolation ward.

After waking up from a long, painful episode, their baby—too young to understand anything—had been left alone in that sterile hospital room without seeing any family for over three months. And yet he had never once cried or thrown a tantrum. He quietly received all his treatments like a brave little boy.
That tiny body, riddled with IV marks like cookie dough pricked all over… Her poor baby had suffered a pain he never should’ve known—because his parents hadn’t understood.
The nightmare came flooding back with brutal clarity, shattering Director Yoo’s composure.

“Mom? What’s wrong? What’s going on with Taehyun?”
“Kids, call your dad—your brothers—quickly… Taehyun, Taehyun is…!”
“Mom, calm down! What’s happening?!”

“Oppa, Taehyun’s breathing. He’s breathing, but… he’s warm. He’s got a bit of a fever!”
“A fever?!”
As the nanny supported the hyperventilating Director Yoo, Joo Kyunghan moved swiftly to contact the family physician and others. Joo Yoonwoo, her hands trembling, began administering what emergency aid she could.

It hadn’t even been ten years since Taehyun had collapsed with a high fever. Every member of the family could recite first-response protocols for pediatric fever and symptoms of manifestation fever in their sleep.
It took less than an hour before several heavy sedans came speeding toward the mansion in Pyeongchang-dong.