DOTH Volume 3 Chapter 9.5

“Bastard?”

The young alpha’s voice contained an ambiguous breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.

“You should watch your words, Chairman Jung. I thought I made it clear—you’re not in a position to appraise me.”

The casual, amusement-tinged remark made Chairman Jung seethe, but he struggled to maintain his composure. The man was right—he was no longer in a position to evaluate the alpha before him. Appraising was an act reserved for those in power, a way to measure the worth of those beneath them.

And unfortunately, Chairman Jung was not in such a position anymore. He was nothing more than a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. Swallowing bitterness, the old man stared at the younger alpha lounging in front of him, his posture lazy and unbothered. Then, faintly—he caught a whiff of pheromones. The composure he had tried to keep on his face twisted into something monstrous.

“That pheromone.”

It was common knowledge that Director Yeon did not release his pheromones. Naturally, that was expected because Chairman Jung himself had ensured it. He had long since forgotten what the man’s pheromones smelled like, but he was certain of one thing—the faint trace he was detecting now was not Director Yeon’s.

It was far too sweet to be his. It smelled like the scent of flowers blooming in early summer.

“It’s a familiar scent.”

Chairman Jung immediately recognized the subtle traces belonging to the grandson he had raised for years.

“Familiar?”

Director Yeon repeated the word with a crooked smile, as if he found it distasteful. He had been aware for a while that Jung Heeyeon’s pheromones had clung to him. It had overflowed the moment the omega gave him a peck when saying goodbye earlier.

He could have covered the scent if he wanted to. But he had deliberately chosen not to. He couldn’t deny that he was curious about Chairman Jung’s reaction. But more than that, it was the instinctive possessive urge of an alpha, laid bare for all to see.

“Well, I suppose you would be familiar with it. The baby doesn’t seem to know how to control his pheromones.”

Director Yeon smiled smoothly as he watched the old man stiffen. Chairman Jung, shaking with rage, was quite a sight to behold.

“You didn’t touch him, did you?”

“Haha.”

Chairman Jung didn’t seem to be concerned about a man in his thirties shamelessly taking advantage of his much younger grandson. No, his worry was entirely about something else—the pheromones that had been forcefully built up for his first heat, and the other alpha who wanted those pheromones. Director Yeon squinted slightly, his gaze narrowing into something razor-thin.

“Isn’t that a little rich coming from someone who tried to sell him off to a washed-up old alpha?”

“How dare you insolent—!”

Director Yeon cut him off effortlessly.

“Who someone sleeps with should be up to them. Saying that heat makes it okay is the kind of bullshit only piece of shit rapists would say. I imagine it’d be a bit of a problem if rumors started going around that the head of Sunha Group raped an omega.”

Just as the old man was about to spring to his feet, unable to contain his rage, a knock at the door interrupted their exchange.

“Come in.”

At Director Yeon’s short command, the door immediately swung open.

It was Kim Chulwoo who stepped inside. The large water bottle in his hand looked pitifully small and insignificant in his massive grip. Offering only a bottle of water to a guest—Director Yeon chuckled at his secretary’s selection.

“Director. Do you need anything else?”

“You may leave.”

The old man’s gaze visibly followed Kim Chulwoo. But Kim Chulwoo didn’t even glance at Chairman Jung as he turned his back. He looked like he was barely restraining himself from killing the man on the spot. Sensing the sharp, veiled hostility, the old man’s aged body tensed up. It was almost pathetic how hard he tried to hide it. Director Yeon waited until Kim Chulwoo had fully left the office before speaking again.

“If you were going to get this scared, you shouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

His tone was too light to be considered mocking.

“You’re acting like a mutt curling up in front of a tiger.”

Whether it was age dulling his judgment or an excess of caution that brought him here to confirm Jung Heeyeon’s presence, Director Yeon couldn’t be sure. Perhaps the old man had come with some shifty, hidden agenda. But whatever Chairman Jung’s intentions were, they were nothing more than a trivial nuisance to Director Yeon—hardly worth sparing a thought.

“It seems like our secretary thought this was all Chairman Jung deserved. Have some water, at least. Judging by the way you keep swallowing, your throat must be parched.”

“I’m good.”

At the firm refusal, Director Yeon gave a nonchalant shrug.

“So. Did you come all the way here to ask for Jung Heeyeon back? That’s too bad—I don’t plan on returning him. And I doubt the baby would want to go either.”

“He’s engaged to President Kang Seohyo. It won’t do you any good to fall out with Sunha Group.”

Despite the dramatic threat, Director Yeon merely twitched a toe. So this was why the old man, who should’ve stayed in hiding, came crawling back. It was all too obvious.

“Falling out with Sunha wouldn’t hurt me—it would hurt you.”

“What did you just say?”

“You need to remember that your backing isn’t Sunha Group—it’s President Kang. If you get tangled up with me, it’s Sunha who’s going to be in trouble. Shall we stir up the hornet’s nest a bit?”

Chairman Jung’s deal over Jung Heeyeon had been struck with Kang Seohyo, the heir to Sunha—not with the group itself. While the chairman of Sunha was indeed pushing for Kang Seohyo, he would never want to escalate things to the point of provoking Director Yeon.

“Looks like President Kang decided to pay less by not getting involved directly. Now that Jung Heeyeon’s ended up in my hands, things must’ve gotten a bit messy on your end too, right? I guess that’s why you came all the way to my company, unable to tell heaven from earth.”

“…”

“Oh, unless you came to see if I’d already touched the baby?”

Director Yeon let out a quiet scoff. It was just like the old man, selling people off like goods, possessed by his greed for money. He must’ve been so blinded by money that he came here without thinking things through. Clearly, he thought Director Yeon would yield easily.

“I came because I don’t want things to blow up.”

Chairman Jung finally spoke, albeit a beat too late.

“This could’ve ended quietly, but you—you ruined everything.”

”Ended quietly, huh?”

Director Yeon reached toward the water bottle Kim Chulwoo had left behind. As he leaned forward, Chairman Jung noticeably stiffened. Director Yeon chuckled as he picked up the bottle. It was a moment that laid bare exactly why he hadn’t gotten rid of the old man yet. Chairman Jung flinched at every meaningless move he made.

“Ending this quietly… Would that be easier than just dealing with you right here, Chairman?”

With a simple flick, the bottle cap snapped open with a sharp crack. Chairman Jung jolted. It wasn’t just the sound of a cap twisting off—it sounded like a neck snapping.

“Don’t be boring.”

“Boring?”

“Why do you think I’ve let you live this long?”

Director Yeon slowly slid the opened bottle of water across the table toward Chairman Jung.

“If you want to try pressuring me through Sunha, be my guest.”

“Do you want to live with regrets? If someone like you, who used to grovel from the bottom, made it this far, shouldn’t you know how to be satisfied?”

That wasn’t something a man who’d tried to sell his own bloodline could say. Didn’t he realize how ridiculous he sounded acting like that? Director Yeon gave a lazy smile and tapped the bottle that Chairman Jung still hadn’t taken.

“What’s there for a bastard from the bottom to be scared of?”

The water bottle tipped over, spilling its contents. Water poured off the table and drenched the old man’s polished shoes.

–

“We’ve confirmed his movements. Looks like he’s trying to contact President Kang.”

“Keep someone on him.”

“Understood. …It seems he really thinks we’re easy. I didn’t expect him to come here and ask us to return Jung Heeyeon-ssi.”

Kim Chulwoo rubbed the crease between his brows and added more.

“He must still see me as that dumb kid from back then.”

A cold smirk briefly appeared at the corner of Director Yeon’s mouth. Running a hand through his hair, he spat out a short curse.

“Been a while since I felt this fucking pissed.”

Chairman Jung, completely overwhelmed, fled the company in a hurry. What showed on his aged face was nothing short of a blunder—his mistake in underestimating Director Yeon.

And yet, the foul mood refused to leave. It couldn’t be helped. Memories from his crappy younger days had surfaced—an all-too-familiar feeling that came with facing something disgusting.

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