#59
Soon after, the door fell off like a sheet of paper, and black shadows burst in. They were men dressed in old-fashioned suits. Anyone could see they were gangsters.
“So this is where it was?”
“Gasp!”
Idam backed away in shock, assuming these were Taemin’s employees coming to catch him. However, they were all unfamiliar faces. But Idam hadn’t met all of Taemin’s employees, and these could be people he didn’t remember. He wondered why Taemin was suddenly acting so forcefully after calmly accepting the contract termination earlier in the day.
Feeling betrayed, Idam’s resentment towards Taemin grew. He even thought Taemin was a coward. If this was his plan, why had he willingly returned Idam’s belongings?
“Are you Jang Hayun’s friend?”
“What?”
This was strange. There was no reason for Taemin’s subordinates to ask if he was Jang Hayun’s friend. If anything, it should be the opposite. Idam began to realize his assumptions were wrong.
“W-who are you people?”
“You don’t need to know that. Kid, you need to come with us. That bastard Jang Hayun ran away, so we have to take you instead.”
“What?”
What was this about? Why were they saying Hayun had run away? Idam felt like he’d been struck by lightning out of a clear sky. His head throbbed, unable to understand the situation.
The man then reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a knife. It had a serrated edge, looking extremely vicious. Idam’s face instantly turned pale.
While it was a relief these weren’t Taemin’s men, he might be seriously injured or killed right now. Filled with tension, Idam’s mind was consumed with the thought of escape.
Idam slowly backed away until his head hit the window behind him. This was the only escape route in the current situation. Idam hurriedly opened the window and looked down.
Thanks to the streetlights and nearby signs, he could see the surroundings. It wasn’t too high, being on the second floor, and there was a truck loaded with bedding below. Would it be safe to fall there? But with his life in immediate danger, this was no time to fear falling.
Idam gritted his teeth. He quickly climbed onto the windowsill and jumped towards the truck. His thin body flew through the air and landed safely on the truck. Idam immediately crawled out of the wave-like bedding and got off the truck.
“Quickly catch him!”
The men’s deep shouts echoed through the motel. At the same time, windows in other rooms began to open one by one. The noise had disturbed other guests, who were poking their heads out to see what was happening. Idam left the chaos behind and ran frantically away from the motel.
“Huh?”
The front window of a sedan parked in front of the motel opened with a zipping sound. Inside was a man with shortly cropped hair looking out. He was bewildered to see Idam’s small head running away. He quickly took out his phone that had been charging and made a call.
“Hello? Secretary Kang. Things are going strangely here. Yeo Idam just jumped out of a window and is running away?”
[Suddenly?]
“Yes. Is climbing out of windows his hobby or something? He’s not a monkey.”
[Shut up and track him quickly]
“Ah… Understood. But…”
The man looked dejectedly at the alley where Idam had disappeared, seeming anxious.
“He’s already out of sight. He’s incredibly fast.”
[Do you want to die today? Just chase him!]
“Y-yes, sir!”
The man hastily started the car and began driving, guessing the route Idam might have taken.
* * *
Idam ran with all his might. The late-night streets were completely devoid of people. This was likely because the motel was located in an alley. Even the full moon in the sky felt cold.
As he emerged from the alley, he saw the café where he had talked with Taemin earlier that day. It was closed now, but he could see the table where he had sat face-to-face with Taemin. Idam felt an inexplicable emotion, and his heart ached. But he pushed down the surging feelings and immediately headed for the police station across the street. Fortunately, the lights were on there. He quickly opened the door and went inside. But there was no one there.
“What’s going on? Why is no one here?”
He wondered why the supposed guardians of the people were absent. He paced anxiously, feeling a burning sensation inside and tears welling up. Taemin’s face flashed in his mind again. He didn’t understand why he kept wanting to see Taemin. Idam shook his head, rejecting this inappropriate longing.
“What are you doing here, damn it.”
The men had caught up. They seemed unafraid of the police station, acting as if it were their home turf.
“Yeo Idam, just come with us. It’ll be easier that way.”
The youngest-looking man among the group stepped forward. Idam’s face turned even paler.
“It’s me, Ahn Juhan.”
He was a superior alpha who had lived with Idam during their orphanage days. They had been on good terms when young, but after Idam manifested as an extremely heat-sensitive omega with a pheromone disorder, Juhan had manipulated betas to bully him. He had also been the main instigator of the assault on Idam on that rainy night. As a result, Idam’s fear of thunder was largely due to Ahn Juhan. He never expected to encounter him in this situation, as misfortunes seemed to come in clusters.
“It’s been a while?”
“…”
“Just go with the bosses. It’ll be better for you too.”
Unless he was a fool, there was no way Idam would listen to this. Ignoring Ahn Juhan’s words, Idam was looking around the police station for an escape route when-
“W-who are you people?”
The door opened and two uniformed police officers entered. The men’s attention immediately turned to the police.
Idam felt relieved for a moment, thinking he was saved, but it was short-lived. The burly men quickly overpowered the police and began assaulting them. Seeing the police, whom he had trusted, become helpless so quickly filled Idam with a strong sense of futility.
At this moment, Taemin’s face flashed in Idam’s mind again. He wondered why this kept happening. Swallowing his confused emotions, he faced reality. The men were focused on beating the police officers, their attention on Idam low.
Idam quickly took advantage of this, spotted a back door inside the police station, and bolted through it.
He ran and ran. The streets were eerily empty. Idam felt abandoned and alone. A deep sense of loneliness pierced his lungs. His eyes welled up with sadness. With tears blurring his vision, it became increasingly difficult to run.
“Haa… hic.”
Idam stopped. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and looked behind him. The men didn’t seem to be following yet. But it was only a matter of time. As his stamina was depleting, he needed a place to hide. Just then, he saw a large abandoned building in front of him. It looked like something out of a horror movie, which made him uneasy. He thought about looking for somewhere else.
But then, he heard loud footsteps. It seemed the men were chasing him again. Anxious, Idam looked for other hiding places but couldn’t see any except the abandoned building. Finally, reluctantly, he entered the building.
Thankfully, the streetlights allowed him to see the interior dimly. It was very dusty, likely long abandoned, with no trace of people anywhere. It was so eerie it felt like ghosts might appear. The white curtains hanging looked almost like women in funeral clothes.
Frightened, Idam considered leaving. But the footsteps behind him grew louder, forcing him to go deeper inside.
He opened a large door at the very back and entered. He saw an arched ceiling with chairs arranged below. At first, he thought it was a church, but there was no cross, and the arrangement of chairs and other furniture made him realize it was a wedding hall. Dusty flower decorations could be seen here and there.
Idam went to the very back, looking for a place to hide. The parents’ seats were covered with cloth, which looked good for hiding underneath. Idam crawled on all fours under the chairs and curled up. The tears wouldn’t stop. No matter how many times he wiped them away with the back of his hand, they kept pouring out.
Where had Hayun gone? How had he gotten involved with such gangsters? Was it because of his own 350 million won debt?
Moreover, encountering an unwelcome orphanage acquaintance made his heart shrink even more. He sighed involuntarily, feeling a burning sensation inside.
Bzzt, bzzt
That’s when Idam felt a vibration on his body. Startled, he raised his head and bumped it against the bottom of the chair.
“Ugh!”
As if his head wasn’t bad enough already, now he was hitting it again. Idam rubbed his crown, trying to regain his senses. Only then did he realize the source of the vibration was the phone in his pants pocket.
Idam quickly shoved his hand into his pocket and took out the phone. He wondered if it might be Hayun contacting him. But the incoming number wasn’t saved, though he knew who it was. It was Taemin. He didn’t understand why Taemin was calling at this moment. But for some reason, he also felt glad, which confused him. The call ended during this time. He felt a strong sense of regret and was about to press the call button to call back when-
He heard the sound of the door opening.
“Damn it, where did he go?”
The men chasing him had followed him here. Idam’s heart sank as if it had fallen off a cliff. He quickly curled his body into a ball. His heart began to race. The sound of footsteps grew louder. Idam clasped his hands as if in prayer.
Thump thump thump thump – the sound of his fear-soaked heart rang clearly in Idam’s ears. But gradually, the sound of footsteps began to fade.
Had they left?
His legs were cramped from being bent, and the lack of blood flow was causing pins and needles. It was difficult to stretch his legs. He wanted to get out right away. But still feeling uneasy, he decided to wait just a little longer before leaving. After a few minutes passed, Idam couldn’t bear it anymore. He was about to gently lift the cloth covering the chair and crawl out on his arms when his heart sank. There were shoes right in front of his face.
“Coming out?”
The men were looking at Idam with chilling smiles.
“Gasp!”
Startled, Idam’s pheromones, which he had been controlling, began to leak out strongly from his body. At the same time, the men groaned and collapsed in an instant. It seemed they were all alphas. Some were even vomiting.
“W-what is this… Ugh… Why are the pheromones like this?”
“Damn… You still have that fucking pheromone. Shit.”
Ahn Juhan, who had fallen, also turned pale at Idam’s pheromones.
After only encountering Taemin, who found his pheromones sweet, it had been a while since Idam had witnessed this kind of reaction. While it was an opportunity to escape, it also felt bitter. It was like confirming his own position.
In fact, simply exposing his pheromones was enough to subdue these men. He didn’t need to run away forcefully. But he didn’t want to do that. For alphas and omegas, pheromones give each other strength, express emotions, and form bonds. He didn’t want to use these romantic pheromones as a weapon. He just wanted to interact normally with others like everyone else.
‘It’s my first time feeling an omega’s pheromones this sweet.’
Taemin’s voice echoed in his head. And Idam finally realized: when he was with Taemin, he could at least be a normal omega.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
