While waiting for the traffic light to change, a black SUV seemed to approach from the direction of the intersection.
“Heeyeon-ssi.”
Shim Soocheon furrowed his brows and was just about to step on the accelerator.
“Team Leader, why is that—”
Crash!
Before Jung Heeyeon could finish speaking, a violent impact shook the car. Through the disoriented blur in his vision, he saw the black vehicle that had slammed into the passenger side. He gasped sharply for breath. The seatbelt pressed down on his chest so tightly that he couldn’t breathe. For a moment, it felt like his lungs had stopped—then came a fit of harsh, choking coughs.
Crash!
The car that had pulled back rammed into the passenger side once again. A ringing sound scrambled through his head.
“Team, Leader… Uhh…”
Jung Heeyeon blinked rapidly. His hand groped for something and landed on a squashed block of tofu and the soft fabric of a suit jacket.
“Cough, cough… hhhk, uh…”
Crash!
Yet the car made another impact into the passenger side. His head was tossed around, dizziness overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t do anything.
“Huuk, ugh…”
Then, the vehicle finally stopped ramming. Jung Heeyeon forced himself to raise his head and looked toward the driver’s seat. Shim Soocheon was leaning against a deployed airbag, his eyes closed, seemingly unconscious. Fear gripped him at the thought that the team leader might already be dead.
“Huhhhh… Team Leader Shim, Soocheon…”
Jung Heeyeon was barely able to unbuckle his seatbelt. Just as he stretched out his arm to shake Shim Soocheon awake, the car door flung open. Startled, he turned his head. There were two unfamiliar men looming over him.
“The hell? Shit, this isn’t Yeon Woobeom.”
“That’s definitely the car that came from that direction, and that guy is Shim Soocheon.”
The malevolence in the strangers’ voices made it hard for him to breathe. He looked up at them with dazed eyes. One of the men tilted his head and squinted.
“Hey, isn’t this Chairman Jung’s grandson?”
“This one?”
“I’m telling you, it is. He’s an even bigger prize than Yeon Woobeom.”
Beeeep—
That high-pitched ringing returned, scattering through his head. The sharp noise made it hard to make out any words. His stomach churned, and nausea immediately surged. Instinctively, he tried to back away, but one of the men suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Umph, let go!”
He struggled to resist, but it was futile. A powerless omega couldn’t stand against two grown men. It didn’t take long for him to be dragged out of the car. He wanted to check if Shim Soocheon was still alive, but his ankle throbbed so badly he couldn’t even get close.
“Let’s get you back home, young master.”
An arm reached from behind. With a sickly stench, something was suddenly pressed tightly over his nose and mouth.
His head was forcibly tilted back by the man standing behind him. The damp, overcast sky came into view.
Just as a cold snowflake landed on his eyelashes, his eyes fell shut.
***
“Cough.”
Even a shallow cough made every organ inside him ache. Whatever drug they had used to cover his mouth had been pretty strong, the horrid stench of it still lingered at the tip of his nose, as if he could taste it.
“Haa, haah…”
Jung Heeyeon desperately tried to breathe in, however, he couldn’t even exhale properly. The pressure on his chest from the seatbelt earlier made his ribs throb.
“Hnn…”
He barely managed to bring his body up. A familiar scene came into view. This was the place he once thought of as home. Jung Heeyeon finally grasped the situation he was in. On the way to see Director Yeon, the car had gotten into an accident, and now he had been dragged back behind these walls. It was obviously a deliberate accident.
Jung Heeyeon mentally replayed the words those unfamiliar men had spoken.
’The hell? Shit, this isn’t Yeon Woobeom.’
‘That’s definitely the car that came from that direction, and that guy is Shim Soocheon.’
He recalled the intersection where the crash happened. They had taken a different route to buy tofu. It had been an unplanned detour, and they just happened to end up on that road. Originally, the car carrying Director Yeon would’ve passed through there. That meant the crash wasn’t actually meant for Jung Heeyeon.
As Jung Heeyeon finished grasping the situation, he checked the time. When he glanced at the watch strapped to his wrist, he realized it was just about time for Director Yeon to be released.
“They weren’t aiming for me, but the director…”
He muttered to himself, then began scanning his surroundings once again. It was unmistakably the house he had lived in for fifteen years. Though it had clearly been neglected recently—covered in dust and cold enough to make his entire body shiver—it was a place deeply familiar to him. This could only mean one thing. The person who had orchestrated this accident using those unfamiliar men was none other than Chairman Jung.
“Ah…”
Left completely alone, the omega checked his watch again. Thankfully, the watch was undamaged, due to the perpetrators’ car crashing into the passenger seat. Since it had a tracker, it wouldn’t be hard for his location to be found out. Jung Heeyeon did some mental math, calculating the time Director Yeon might arrive based on what Shim Soocheon had told him and the numbers on the clock’s face.
He would hold on until then, no matter what. Because Director Yeon would surely come for him.
“Team Leader Shim Soocheon…”
The thought of Shim Soocheon belatedly came to his mind. That was when Jung Heeyeon noticed how badly his hands were trembling. Was he okay? He didn’t recall seeing any blood. He thought he might have seen the team leader’s fingers twitching, but with his head spinning at the time, he couldn’t be certain.
Wiping away the tears streaming down his face with his sleeve, Jung Heeyeon tried to calm himself. The roads had been empty since it was early morning, but this was Seoul. Someone would have driven past and seen the wreck and surely they would have reported it. Then, Shim Soocheon must have been taken to the hospital.
But still, he felt selfish for checking his current situation first instead of worrying about the team leader.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…”
He muttered those words over and over, unsure whether he meant them for himself or someone else. Shim Soocheon was an alpha, and alphas were stronger than betas or omegas. So the team leader would be fine. He kept repeating that to himself, again and again.
Once he got out of this place he once called home—no, this hutch—he’d apologize and everything would be fine. He would tell the team leader that he was sorry for not worrying first.
”Cough, cough.“
The drug he’d inhaled must’ve been potent, his coughing wouldn’t stop. Jung Heeyeon staggered to his feet. If no one was in this home, he’d try to walk out himself.
“Why is it so quiet…”
He was certain Chairman Jung had planned the whole thing, and yet he couldn’t sense anyone nearby.
“Ugh.”
Jung Heeyeon’s gaze dropped to his ankle as he rose to his feet. It was the very ankle that had been deliberately weakened to prevent him from running away from an alpha. Whether it was due to Lee Yootae’s twisted efforts or Chairman Jung’s intentions, it had to be now, of all times, that the pain flared up. If Director Yeon were here, the man would have carried him. But right now, Jung Heeyeon was alone.
He bit down hard on his lower lip and began to limp forward, one step at a time. He couldn’t just sit there and wait, hoping that Director Yeon would come for him.
“You’re awake.”
His feeble attempt was swiftly crushed by a sharp, commanding voice. Jung Heeyeon blinked as he stared at the aged alpha entering the living room.
“You’re not greeting me. Is that how I taught you?”
Instead of bowing his head, Jung Heeyeon kept his lips tightly sealed. The old man clicked his tongue in disapproval and jerked his chin toward the sofa placed in the center of the room.
“Sit down. Let’s have a talk.”
Jung Heeyeon’s lips parted slightly, but in the end, he silently sat down across from Chairman Jung. No matter how old he was, Chairman Jung remained more vigorous than most alphas. Jung Heeyeon knew better than anyone how cruel those wrinkled hands could be. Trying to run would only end with him being caught. He didn’t want to provoke unnecessary anger.
If he made the old man angry, the beating would follow naturally. And if Director Yeon found out he had been hit, the man would be heartbroken.
Make me feel happy and supported by leaving a comment!
