Chapter 5 Part 1

Smooth, polished shoes stepped into the dim space. The man, with long strides, entered, his indifferent eyes scanning the surroundings.

People occasionally passing by instinctively made way, deterred by his chilling aura. When he stopped in the middle of the corridor, the men in black suits who had been following him surrounded him. At the same time, the door opened and Cheol-gu emerged. He was the owner of Club IN, forty-seven years old, and fond of wearing flashy shirts.

“What’s with all these men in suits all of a sudden?”

And brainless ones at that. Cheol-gu’s eyes gleamed sharply. A tense standoff ensued as he assessed whether they had appeared to cause trouble at the club.

“I brought them.”

The man, who had been indifferently surveying his surroundings, walked over and stood before Cheol-gu. At that, Cheol-gu’s expression immediately changed to one of familiarity, as if he had never frowned.

“Oh? It’s Young Master Chaeheon.”

“We’ll just take care of business and leave, so don’t worry if things get a bit noisy.”

Cheol-gu, feeling awkward at the man’s unilateral demand, touched a scar on his cheek.

“Young Master Chaeheon, don’t be like that…”

Just as Cheol-gu was about to assert himself in his own territory and call Chaeheon again, a black-clad arm shot out from behind Chaeheon and blocked Cheol-gu’s chest horizontally.

“What the—.”

As he was about to glare menacingly for being interrupted, Cheol-gu flinched. A man with a long scar across his neck was looking down at Cheol-gu, warning him with his eyes.

“Even so, if you tell me what’s going on, I might be able to help, mightn’t I?”

Chaeheon replied nonchalantly to Cheol-gu’s considerably softened question.

“We’re looking for someone.”

“Who is it? Just say the word, and I’ll have them presented before the Young Master immediately.”

“My uncle.”

At Chaeheon’s brief reply, Cheol-gu’s jaw dropped, and he retreated. It was a family feud. And an amateur like Cheol-gu would only suffer if he foolishly got involved in a family dispute involving a well-known corporation.

“Ah, I just remembered something I forgot. I’ll be leaving then, so you all have a good search, okay?”

Cheol-gu took a step back, as if to entirely remove himself from the situation. Chaeheon, having read his intention to absolutely not get involved, turned his back on him,

Even in the daytime, he was someone who, though not often smiling, would often wear a subtle, characteristic smile. But now, his face was chillingly grim. This was another side of Chaeheon that even Lee Jun had never seen. Staring into the darkness that had swallowed all his expressions, Chaeheon’s lips parted.

“Find him.”

At his command, the bodyguards dispersed in various directions and vanished. Left alone, Chaeheon half-heartedly pulled out his phone, which was vibrating in his pocket. Annoyance flickered in Chaeheon’s eyes as he checked the caller ID.

A troublesome caller.

[Did you catch him?]

“He’s hiding.”

[Who doesn’t know he’s hiding? Haven’t you found him yet?]

He disliked the woman’s incessant nagging; should he hang up? But unless she wouldn’t call again if he did, he decided to just get it over with.

Chaeheon had been dragged into the task of finding his uncle, who had disappeared with the draft of the double contract.

“I’m looking.”

[You must find him. If that contract comes to light, our group will take a significant hit.]

They say ‘the group,’ but in the end, it’s her own position that would be jeopardized.

He wondered why he had been dragged into this. The responsibility had fallen on him simply because he had been close to his uncle, which was incredibly annoying.

“Know that I wouldn’t have done this if it weren’t for Grandfather.”

Chaeheon, having unilaterally ended the call, carelessly shoved his phone into his pocket.

“Where on earth are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there. No time. Hurry up.”

Lee Jun, walking as led by his high school friend Park Dong-hu, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, looked around. Even on a Sunday evening, there were many people coming and going.

As they walked through the bustling downtown area filled with bars, Lee Jun continuously voiced his complaints.

“Where are we going, seriously? I’m busy.”

“Busy? You’re just busy with childcare, that’s all.”

Park Dong-hu scoffed, dismissing Lee Jun’s reason for being busy. Since it wasn’t entirely wrong, Lee Jun just pouted. With the semester starting and getting busier, he hadn’t been able to properly play with Hae Sol. He had planned to spend time with Hae Sol today, but then Park Dong-hu called. He had insisted Lee Jun come out, and even after they met, he wouldn’t say where they were going, acting entirely on his own whim.

“Hey, Park Dong-hu.”

Lee Jun called out to Park Dong-hu as he stopped walking. There was a limit to following him without even knowing why. As Lee Jun’s voice lowered, Park Dong-hu turned around.

“Where on earth are we going?”

“Ah, we’re here. This way.”

Park Dong-hu gestured with his chin towards an underground passage leading downwards. It was a narrow, worn-out passage, though covered with red velvet.

It was the kind of place that didn’t look good at first glance. Lee Jun, with an unwilling expression, lifted his head to look at the sign. On a sign as narrow as the passage, only ‘IN’ was neatly written. It was unclear if it was a title or a guide.

“I brought you here because I have someone to meet, and I thought you might enjoy it too.”

At Park Dong-hu’s suggestive words, Lee Jun frowned.

“Enjoy?”

“You haven’t been able to go out and have fun because of work, so it’s good to let loose for a day, you know? And this place just happens to be, well…”

“Hey!”

Lee Jun cut Park Dong-hu off mercilessly.

“Did I ask you to bring me to a place like this? Why are you doing things I didn’t ask you to?”

At Lee Jun’s displeased voice, Park Dong-hu hastily added.

“Here, it’s not strange at all for you or me to be Omegas. I heard there are many male Omegas too.”

Lee Jun sighed, covering his forehead. He had only revealed his secondary gender to this friend, whom he had known since high school, because he kept trying to set him up with women, but he never imagined he’d be brought to a place like this.

“Lee Jun. Just this once, let’s go. Okay? I’m not saying you should find a romance here, just enjoy yourself for a little while.”

“Tell me honestly. Is the real reason you came here just to have fun?”

“Well, I’m also here to meet someone I know, killing two birds with one stone.”

As expected, he hadn’t come entirely for Lee Jun’s sake. Knowing the reason, Lee Jun could think of nothing more to ask, so he remained silent. Park Dong-hu then seemed to gauge Lee Jun’s reaction before slowly putting one foot on the stairs.

“Hey, honestly, since we presented as Omegas, have we ever had a proper relationship?”