#105
“Hey, don’t open the door carelessly! It’ll be trouble.”
“Why? Don’t we need to clean?”
“Wait until the CEO says so.”
Contrary to concerns, the voices that followed were unfamiliar men. They seemed to be employees. The door closed again. Idam’s racing heart finally calmed down. He had just made up his mind to escape, and couldn’t ruin it already. Idam stretched and then checked his appearance as if finishing up.
For now, escaping through that exit door was the answer. But if security was tight as expected, there might be guards in front of the door. Extremely on edge, Idam stood by the door and listened. He could hear movements and voices.
Someone was definitely there. He guessed it was about two or three people.
If he went out now, he’d likely be caught and surrounded. He needed something to subdue them quickly… Idam pondered and noticed the bed. His round eyes filled with determination.
Idam grabbed the object on the bed and slightly opened the door.
“Hello.”
As expected, two guards with crew cuts were standing there.
“Where’s the CEO?”
He asked this question partly to gauge Taemin’s movements.
“The CEO left urgently on business.”
“Do you need anything, Mis-tress?”
They were mocking Idam, emphasizing “mistress.” His position, which had been like an illusion, had now completely crumbled. His heart ached, but escape came first, so he gathered his mental strength. Idam opened the door wide with hardened eyes. Simultaneously, he threw the object he was holding over them.
“Ugh, what’s this?”
“Damn this rag!”
What Idam had thrown was a blanket. Their vision suddenly blocked, they fumbled to remove the blanket. In that time, Idam slipped out. Screams erupted from the employees in the hallway at Idam’s appearance.
“Catch him! Catch him!”
As he reached the stairs, another guard was coming up. Because of this, he had to give up going down the stairs. Instead, he approached the stair railing and jumped from there.
“Ahhh!”
The female employees below screamed. They thought an accident might happen as Idam was falling from quite a height. But he landed perfectly. Then Idam’s gaze turned to the entrance. As expected, there were guards there too, making it impossible to leave.
He headed to the kitchen as planned. There was no one inside. It seemed all the employees had gone out due to the commotion. He quickly looked around. Perhaps because he had cooked here before, Idam could immediately find the cabinet Sujeong had mentioned.
“Hup.”
Idam pushed the cabinet to the side. Indeed, a door was revealed. He quickly grabbed the doorknob and opened it, feeling the outside air along with the smell of grass.
“It was true…”
Idam’s chest swelled with gratitude and relief towards Sujeong. But this sentiment was brief; he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Idam quickly ran towards the forest. Just then, the parking lot came into view and he saw a sedan. As he was about to pass by, he heard footsteps. It sounded like at least two people.
Unfortunately, the parking lot was an open field, and with only one car there, no other hiding places were visible. Idam broke into a cold sweat. At that moment, he noticed the sedan’s empty trunk was open. It was a somewhat risky choice, but now wasn’t the time to be picky. Idam quickly got inside and gently closed the trunk lid.
“If you leave now, you should be able to catch the private jet without any problems.”
“Understood.”
The voices of Secretary Kang and Im Hoyoung reached his ears. While it was fortunate it wasn’t Taemin, it wasn’t a situation to be relieved about.
“Dr. Im, what have you been looking at? Are you searching for someone?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Suddenly, the trunk door flew open. Im Hoyoung, holding a bag, made eye contact with Idam.
“Oh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Secretary Kang approached, puzzled by Im Hoyoung’s gasp. This was the moment when Idam’s escape plan, which had been going well until now, was about to be ruined.
But then.
“It’s nothing.”
Im Hoyoung placed his bag next to Idam and closed the trunk.
Huh? Idam blinked in surprise, his eyes wide.
“By the way, are there CCTV cameras in this parking lot?”
“Huh? Oh, there are, but I believe they’ve been out of order due to a short circuit recently. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I left my wristwatch in the car yesterday. But it’s gone.”
“What? How did it suddenly disappear? Was it expensive?”
“Not really…”
Im Hoyoung looked inside the car and then brightened up.
“Ah, it was behind the seat. I must have dropped it. Don’t worry about it.”
“I see. I’m glad you found it.”
Soon after, Secretary Kang left the parking lot, telling him to return carefully. Then the trunk opened again. Idam faced Im Hoyoung once more.
“I’ve been looking for you. I’m glad you came in here on your own.”
“What? For me?”
Why? He only had ominous thoughts.
“I, I won’t go back to the CEO now. So…”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“What?”
“Let’s go to Seoul together.”
Idam’s large pupils trembled.
* * *
“I know I’ll die if Taemin catches me. I have my reasons.”
Im Hoyoung said as he turned the steering wheel.
“…”
Idam looked at him cautiously.
He was bewildered by this sudden lifeline. He felt uneasy because he wasn’t close to Im Hoyoung. But now he had no other choice. He couldn’t keep wandering in the forest like yesterday. So he decided to take a chance on whether this choice was a rotten lifeline or not.
“What kind of circumstances do you have?”
“Well, that’s my personal matter, so it’s a bit difficult to explain.”
Seeing him draw a clear line, Idam didn’t press further.
“But I’m not the kind of person who would easily betray a friend of 30 years. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”
“Ah, so you were friends.”
Until now, Idam had never had a personal conversation with Im Hoyoung. So he didn’t know him deeply. Of course, seeing them talk informally, they seemed close, but he didn’t know they had been friends for this long.
“Taemin’s father and my father were friends. So we naturally became close.”
“I see…”
Unexpectedly, Idam learned about Taemin’s connections.
“Taemin has a solid wall. So it’s not easy to overcome that emotional barrier. Even I still don’t know what he’s thinking sometimes.”
“Oh, really?”
“But recently, I’m glad I can clearly understand one thing about Taemin’s inner thoughts.”
Im Hoyoung smiled and looked at Idam meaningfully. However, Idam couldn’t relate at all. Rather, he was constantly confused because he couldn’t understand Taemin’s heart.
“Yeo Idam-ssi. Do you feel nauseous?”
“What? No.”
“Is everything else okay?”
Although his abdomen felt a bit sore and tingly, it wasn’t serious, so he said he was fine. He didn’t understand why Im Hoyoung was suddenly checking on his condition.
“Well, the situation might be difficult, but try to stay as relaxed as possible.”
“Yes…”
He seemed to understand Idam’s situation as well.
“Eat well and get plenty of rest.”
“Yes…”
“That’s good for the baby’s health too.”
“Yes… That’s… What?”
Idam looked at Im Hoyoung with a dumbfounded expression.
“What baby?”
Not believing what he heard, he asked again. Im Hoyoung touched his nose and became serious.
“We’ll need to do tests at the hospital to be sure, but it seems like you’re pregnant.”
“Who… Who is?”
“You, Yeo Idam-ssi.”
Idam felt like the truth he had believed in until now was crumbling.
“How… How can I be pregnant?”
He asked again in a hoarse voice, unable to believe it.
“Extremely potent omegas are infertile. So this is my first case too, making it difficult to define clearly, but I suspect it’s a mutation. By the way, what are your parents’ types?”
“I believe they’re both betas.”
“Hmm? That’s interesting. Is that why?”
“I know you’re a capable doctor, but you must be mistaken…”
“I thought it was a misdiagnosis at first too, but the symptoms are exactly those of pregnancy. I’m over 90% certain.”
Idam was shocked.
‘Yes. Don’t you want to have a baby that looks like us?’
‘Actually, the gift I prepared is a ‘baby’.’
Taemin’s voice, whispered when he was intoxicated during his rut cycle, echoed in his mind.
Could it be that the CEO knew I could get pregnant?
No. He couldn’t remember that night now. It must have been nonsense spewed by his excited brain.
Idam felt like his head would explode, learning such a significant fact when he was already troubled.
“Then… Does the CEO know about my pregnancy too?”
Since Im Hoyoung said they were friends, he could naturally assume the information would flow.
“No. I thought the person who’s pregnant should know first, so I didn’t tell him.”
Im Hoyoung lied without hesitation. Normally, he should have told Taemin first, but things had gotten complicated. However, he couldn’t keep hiding it from Idam, the expectant mother.
“But with Taemin’s father and grandfather around, it will be difficult for that baby to come into the world.”
“What? Ah…”
Although it was a fact he already knew, his heart ached. Tears welled up even though he tried not to cry. Of course, they wouldn’t welcome his child, who was nothing more than a treatment for rejection syndrome. And the same went for Taemin.
“Doctor… Please don’t tell the CEO about my pregnancy. I’ll… I’ll tell him later myself.”
“Ah, alright.”
Im Hoyoung reluctantly agreed, judging from Idam’s reaction that he wouldn’t easily tell Taemin, and deciding it wasn’t his place to interfere further. And although he had become a dangerous courier because of Rickdi’s threat, seeing the young man wiping away tears made him uncomfortable. It made him think of his two daughters at home.
How would Ji Taemin overcome this obstacle in the future? When he learns about Idam’s pregnancy, it’s obvious his father and grandfather will go berserk.
He sighed with a heavy heart. Soon, the car arrived at the airfield.
* * *
A heavy atmosphere pressed down on the living room of the villa.
“So… Su-Suddenly, that omega burst out of the room. And then…”
The guard explained, trembling. But his appearance was terrible. Bruises had bloomed all over his face, and a knife was stuck in his leg, bleeding profusely. The other guards were in similar states. It was all Taemin’s doing. Secretary Kang was able to avoid the bloody purge only because he was with Taemin.
“Ha…”
Taemin furrowed his brow and grabbed his head. He didn’t expect Idam to run away while he was briefly on a video call with a business partner. They were searching every corner of the island following Idam’s escape route, but there was no news.
“Um… CEO.”
Amidst the gloomy atmosphere, an employee with a crew cut approached breathlessly and held out a tablet.
“This was caught on the parking lot CCTV.”
“What? Wasn’t the CCTV there broken?”
Secretary Kang was surprised.
“It was fixed yesterday.”
“I didn’t know.”
He felt embarrassed for giving Im Hoyoung incorrect information about the CCTV’s operation when he had said he lost his wristwatch earlier. He shifted his gaze to the tablet. His eyes widened simultaneously.
“CEO, isn’t this the mistress?”
Taemin looked at the screen, puzzled. It showed Idam getting out of the sedan’s trunk and getting into the passenger seat with Im Hoyoung’s support.
An aggressive fire lit up in Taemin’s eyes.
“Ha… Im Hoyoung, you fucking bastard…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
