#63
The Sari Police Station building came into view less than 10 minutes later, as it wasn’t far from the hospital. Perhaps due to the sudden raid by the men earlier, there were quite a few uniformed police officers and people presumed to be plainclothes officers gathered both inside and outside the station. Among them, Hayun was sitting on a bench placed in a corner.
Idam quickly got out of the sedan and approached. Taemin did the same.
Hayun was crouched on the bench with his knees up and feet planted firmly. It was truly pitiful. His shoes had disappeared somewhere, leaving him wearing only socks, and his outer clothing was gone, leaving him in just thin top and bottom. He looked markedly different from when he had left the motel earlier.
“Hayun…”
Idam called out to Hayun with a heavy heart. At the same time, Hayun stood up from the bench with eyes full of sorrow.
“Idam!”
He ran over barefoot and hugged Idam. His eyes were brimming with tears. Although it wasn’t clear exactly what had happened, it was a moment that felt extremely pitiful.
“Let’s move to a different location first.”
Taemin suggested, looking irritatedly at Idam and Hayun clinging to each other. He was also confused. He didn’t understand why seeing Idam embraced by another guy made him feel so angry. Taemin ended up grinding his molars hard.
* * *
The place they moved to was Taemin’s traditional Korean house. Despite it being dawn, the employees at the mansion greeted the three with wide-awake eyes. They immediately headed to the reception room.
Hayun sat in a single-person sofa, while Taemin and Idam took seats opposite him. On the table between them were warm chrysanthemum tea and wild strawberry jelly. However, in front of Taemin was a hot Americano. Even in this situation, one could sense his dedication to Americano.
Hayun took a sip of tea and then remained silent for a moment. It could have been a somewhat frustrating moment. But Idam, judging that he was organizing his thoughts, respected the silence and kept his own mouth shut. However, Taemin, seemingly displeased with Hayun’s attitude, roughly placed the cup he was holding on the table.
“Why aren’t you talking? Are you exercising your right to remain silent now?”
At Taemin’s sharp voice, even Idam shrank, his shoulders hunching.
“Ah… I was about to speak…”
Hayun, also seemingly tense from Taemin’s sensitive reaction, licked his lower lip with his tongue before turning to Idam. Then he began to explain in earnest.
“Idam. Actually, the 350 million won I was going to give you wasn’t severance pay from Pungjeobcho. It was part of the contract money that Kwon Gicheol offered me when he scouted me as a model.”
“What? Kwon Gicheol…”
As Idam started recalling his hazy memories, a familiar face gradually formed in his mind. He was a man who occasionally came to volunteer at the orphanage. Honestly, Idam was uncomfortable with that person.
He didn’t have a particularly good impression, and after learning about Idam’s pheromone disorder, he had made some harsh comments a few times. However, Idam never told or showed this to Hayun. Hayun followed him well, so it felt like unnecessary meddling, and Idam also judged that he had no right to interfere in their friendship.
“That person said he would give me exactly 500 million won. He said he was working as a director at Oreum Planning, and that I was worth that much. So I quit Pungjeobcho and was going to take Kwon Gicheol’s hand.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me this?”
If he had known beforehand, Idam might not have been able to stop Hayun, but he would have been suspicious. Hayun bowed his head deeply, as if regretting his judgment.
“You don’t like Kwon Gicheol very much, do you?”
“H-how did you know?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you avoiding that person? So I was going to tell you after I received the contract money and everything was clearly settled, to avoid any misunderstandings.”
“Ah…”
Taemin, who had been listening, glared at Hayun with cold eyes.
“Why were you trying to persuade Idam when you hadn’t even received the money yet?”
Considering the mental and physical trouble he had gone through because of this young omega, it felt like even mercilessly beating him with a real sword wouldn’t be enough.
“Th-that’s…”
Hayun’s lips trembled, but then his eyes hardened and he raised his head.
“To be honest, it was because I felt sorry for Idam. I wanted to help him get away from you, Ji Taemin, as soon as possible.”
“Ha.”
Taemin let out a sigh-like groan. This disgusting omega’s statement made him think various thoughts. Eventually, his gaze turned to Idam. His face, bewildered by Hayun’s statement, looked fair.
‘I don’t like being scared.’
‘I like kind people.’
Idam’s inner thoughts from earlier at the wedding hall circled in his head. It seemed that fairy had told Hayun various things about him. Moreover, he had rushed to Hayun’s house, so he must have appeared even rougher. That’s why this disgusting omega had made such a reckless decision to save Idam. This was certainly troublesome. It seemed he needed to definitely change his image. That’s the only way he could keep Yeo Idam by his side. Taemin pondered how to shape the direction he should take from now on.
Meanwhile, Idam spoke up.
“Then Hayun, what happened when you went out earlier?”
“Ah… that…”
Hayun hesitated for a moment, scratching his cheek with his index finger, then began to explain.
“Kwon Gicheol said we should sign the contract, so we set up a meeting. At first, he said to meet at the Oreum Planning office, so I went there. I met Kwon Gicheol at the building entrance, but suddenly he said we should change the meeting place. So we moved to a nearby cafe. We talked there for a few hours, I put my seal on the contract, and he said he would transfer the contract money within two hours. So I planned how to use the money after giving you 350 million, Idam. But suddenly, Kwon Gicheol suggested a camera test. It was so sudden that I was flustered, but since we had already signed the contract and I was about to receive the money, I felt awkward refusing and followed him. It was some officetel, and there were about 3 or 4 men and a suspicious-looking camera there.”
“Oh no!”
“If it was a normal place, wouldn’t they shoot in a studio? Also, the equipment looked very shoddy. It seemed too strange, so I tried to refuse the shooting and leave, but they suddenly assaulted me.”
“What? Are you okay now? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
Worried, Idam quickly examined Hayun. Looking closely, blue bruises were visible on his neck and chest area.
“It’s not that bad.”
Hayun waved his hands and shook his head.
“Thinking I might die like this, I just ran away. I was so scared and confused that I just ran wherever my feet took me and ended up getting lost. Then I found an empty warehouse and hid there for a few hours. But I left my outer clothes behind. The motel key card where we were staying was in there. I thought Kwon Gicheol and the men might find the motel using that, so I tried to contact you, but my phone battery had died. So I had no choice but to borrow a power bank from some passing college students, barely charged it, and then contacted you.”
Hayun bowed his head deeply, looking like a criminal. His usually neat crown was now a mess of tangled hair.
“Idam, are you okay? Did Kwon Gicheol come looking for you?”
“No, it wasn’t Kwon Gicheol, but other men came looking.”
“Did they hit you anywhere?”
“No, I’m not hurt anywhere.”
Instead, Taemin had ended up injuring his right hand. Idam felt his heart grow heavy again as he looked at Taemin’s bandaged hand.
“I’m sorry, Idam. I didn’t know things would get this big.”
Gradually, Hayun’s shoulders began to shake.
“I guess I was too greedy… You could have been in big trouble too… I was really worried and scared. I was afraid I might lose you too.”
His voice was mixed with sobs. His cheeks were also getting wet. Idam quickly pulled out a few tissues and gave them to Hayun.
“It’s okay. I’m safe now, aren’t I?”
Wanting to lighten Hayun’s guilt even a little, Idam repeated words of reassurance.
“Hah…”
Hayun, wiping his eyes with the tissues Idam gave him, now had a calmer expression.
“Then Idam, what are you going to do now?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Are you going to stay here?”
Hayun’s gaze slowly turned towards Ji Taemin. His furrowed brow looked almost as if he was facing an insect. Taemin’s eyes also sharpened like blades, as if this Hayun was very irritating to him.
“Yeo Idam has a contract with me, so we need to stay together.”
At Taemin’s firm answer, Hayun looked indignant but seemed to have nothing to say. It was understandable. After all, he had said he would save Idam but instead had almost caused Idam great harm. Soon, he dropped his head as if surrendering.
“Yes… There’s no choice.”
“Hayun, what are you going to do now?”
Idam asked with a worried expression. Having quit Pungjeobcho and with all this happening, it seemed like normal life would be difficult for a while.
“For now, I’m thinking of running away.”
“What? Why?”
“Because Kwon Gicheol will surely keep chasing me.”
Hayun trembled slightly, like someone extremely terrified.
“That’s…”
Idam looked at Hayun, rolling his big eyes for a moment before suggesting an option.
“Then let’s go to the police station.”
At the same time, Taemin’s eyebrows furrowed sharply. With an expression that said this was unacceptable, he sighed.
“I’ll provide an apartment for you to stay in. The security is good, so there shouldn’t be any problems living there.”
“Why are you suddenly doing this?”
Hayun asked back, as if not understanding Taemin’s attitude. Taemin then pulled his upper body up straight, looking down at Hayun.
“Mr. Jang Hayun. Do you have anywhere else to go right now?”
“That’s…”
Hayun bit his lip without saying more. While Idam had at least tried to find his parents, Hayun really had no one around him.
“Instead, work as an office assistant at our company. We were planning to hire someone anyway. I’ll pay you a decent salary.”
“Yeah, Hayun. Just work at the CEO’s company.”
In fact, Idam had been quite concerned about Hayun doing potentially dangerous work like serving or prostitution at Pungjeobcho. Although Baekwol Corporation wasn’t exactly doing legal business either, it seemed much better.
“…”
Hayun remained silent instead of answering. He seemed unwilling but at a loss for what else to do. Honestly, Taemin didn’t want to show much kindness to the omega in front of him either. He rather wanted to drag Jang Hayun to Kwon Gicheol and hand him over. But he was acting now to win Idam’s favor.
He was showing his gentlemanly side by helping Idam’s cherished friend. This way, Idam wouldn’t think of running away again. Taemin decided to handle Idam in this manner from now on. He gently raised his calculating lips, took a sip of Americano, and continued speaking.
“And I’ll take care of Kwon Gicheol myself.”
