48
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere in the living room instantly shattered at Set’s sharp words. Set still looked displeased, and Seo Sung-won was barely managing to maintain a thin smile.
Yeon Ji-ho took a deep breath and stood up, saying,
“Um… that melon you brought looks delicious. I’ll go cut it.”
“Ji-ho. Be careful not to cut your hand with the knife.”
As Yeon Ji-ho slipped away, unable to bear the awkward atmosphere any longer, only Seo Sung-won and Set remained in the living room. From that moment, Set completely changed his attitude.
Until now, he had been pretending to be polite and kind in front of this person who appeared as Yeon Ji-ho’s friend. In truth, Set had been uncomfortable from the moment he encountered this stranger at the front gate.
To think that someone would approach Yeon Ji-ho, whom he thought had always been alone like himself.
Set had been desperately keeping his mouth shut until now, lest his base feelings be revealed. But not anymore. As the atmosphere around Set changed, Seo Sung-won tilted his head.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Hey, you. Set… was it?”
“Don’t use my name so casually.”
Being nice was enough when Yeon Ji-ho was around. As Set’s words carried a sting, the smile that had been barely hanging on Seo Sung-won’s lips disappeared.
“Ah… I was trying to be nice since you’re Ji-ho’s friend.”
Seo Sung-won suddenly leaned on the sofa armrest, relaxing his posture. He pressed his brow with a tired expression. Glancing at Set, who showed no reaction to his changed attitude, Seo Sung-won clicked his tongue briefly.
Set chuckled at that. The sound of laughter was quite audible in the quiet living room, causing Seo Sung-won to raise an eyebrow.
“What’s so funny?”
“Do we look like friends to you?”
“What?”
Set’s head tilted slightly. He spread his shoulders wide and looked at Seo Sung-won with a relaxed attitude, saying,
“I asked if we still look like friends to you. If so, there must be something wrong with those squinty eyes of yours.”
Although he said this with an apparently indifferent face, it wasn’t actually the case. Set’s heart was beating low. He and Ji-ho… aren’t friends. Didn’t he say so?
‘We can’t date properly with that kind of relationship, right?’
He hadn’t received a definitive answer since they hadn’t had time alone after that. But if they were talking about marriage in the future, the two of them weren’t just friends, right?
Even so, Set listened carefully for any sign of Yeon Ji-ho returning. Yeon Ji-ho seemed to still be busy cutting and arranging fruit in the kitchen.
“Then, if you two aren’t friends, what are you?”
“…What?”
“You’re a beta, aren’t you? It’s obvious just by looking. I can’t sense any pheromones at all.”
…Beta?
It was a term he vaguely remembered hearing. Alphas who could impregnate, omegas who could become pregnant, and betas who were neither.
Strictly speaking, Set was indeed a beta. In his world, there were only betas. He had never heard of men who could become pregnant or women who could impregnate others.
“What could a beta and an omega do… What, are you two dating?”
When Set didn’t answer, Seo Sung-won’s smile slid into place. He shrugged and said,
“Well, sure. Date all you want if you like.”
He regarded Set, whom he assumed to be a beta, as if he wasn’t competition. Although Set had been infamous in his own world, it was a rare experience for him to not be seen as a rival or object of envy due to his great abilities.
“I’m not that narrow-minded. I don’t care if he fools around with a beta or whatever before marriage. As long as he doesn’t get pregnant by some random alpha.”
Seo Sung-won smiled brightly and suddenly moved closer to Set. He patted Set’s shoulder and spoke in a whisper.
“Go ahead and have your fun. He’ll come back to me eventually anyway.”
Set’s expressionless face sank a little deeper. There were times when he felt like a strange outsider in this world where science had progressed instead of magic. This was one of those moments.
“Why are you so sure?”
“Huh? Well… of course.”
The sensation of all his common sense and experience being jumbled up. Seo Sung-won’s last words planted the flag of that sensation.
“Betas can’t impregnate omegas, right?”
A subtle sense of superiority could be felt in his voice. Seo Sung-won, not moving away from Set, continued speaking calmly.
“So play all you want. Look at Yeon Ji-ho, who else is there in these mountains besides you and me? I can’t come to this rural place from Seoul every day anyway, so it’s good for me if you keep him entertained.”
Seo Sung-won spoke these low-quality words with a friendly smile. As his slanderous talk became increasingly vulgar, Set stood up.
“But the first time was already taken by you… Huh? Where, aaagh!”
Set immediately grabbed Seo Sung-won’s head tightly. Thick veins bulged on his wrist, back of his hand, and forearm. As he gripped tight enough to cut off blood flow to the head, Seo Sung-won struggled to break free.
“Let go! Damn it, I said let go!”
But Set didn’t budge. As he was about to drag Seo Sung-won out the front door, Yeon Ji-ho, who had just finished preparing the fruit, came out holding a large plate in both hands.
“Uh… Where are you going?”
Set was standing with a stern expression, gripping Seo Sung-won’s head, while Seo Sung-won was half-lying on the floor trying to escape his grasp. Yeon Ji-ho hesitated, unsure how to interpret this scene.
“We’re going to have a talk.”
“…A talk? In that state?”
“Yes.”
It didn’t look like a state where they could have a normal conversation at all. Set, seemingly annoyed by Seo Sung-won’s constant resistance, finally grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him up.
This allowed Seo Sung-won to walk awkwardly. Before Yeon Ji-ho could stop them, Set reached the front door.
Even as Yeon Ji-ho tried to follow, Set sharply commanded,
“No need to follow, Ji-ho.”
“…What? But he’s my guest…”
“Your guest is my guest. He’s leaving now, so I’ll see him off.”
Before Yeon Ji-ho could respond, Set slammed the front door and went outside. Despite Seo Sung-won’s constant resistance, Set dragged him along without caring.
“Damn it, why is this beta bastard so strong! Do you know who I am?! Aagh!”
Seo Sung-won, who had initially been quiet out of embarrassment thinking Yeon Ji-ho was watching, started spewing curses at some point. Of course, Set’s hand didn’t budge at all. It was an unfamiliar experience for Seo Sung-won, who had never been overpowered in his life as a dominant alpha.
Finally reaching the main gate, Set tossed Seo Sung-won onto the dirt ground. Rather than deliberately throwing him down, he simply let go of the violently resisting Seo Sung-won. Suddenly rolling on the ground, Seo Sung-won glared up.
“You, I’m going to sue you for this. For assault!”
“Weren’t the words you spewed assault?”
“…What?”
The vile words he had poured out about Yeon Ji-ho. Set defined that as assault against Yeon Ji-ho. He had no intention whatsoever of letting Yeon Ji-ho hear those filthy words.
“I could have made it so you couldn’t walk out on your own two feet.”
“What, damn it, are you threatening me? I’ll record this and…”
“I could have killed you without anyone knowing you were even in this world.”
There was no inflection in Set’s voice. He spoke softly as if it were nothing.
“I’m showing you mercy right now.”
He could have acted like he did in his original world before meeting Yeon Ji-ho.
Set didn’t give much thought to killing someone, nor did he think much about it. If something bothered him, he could simply solve it by cutting it down with his sword. Not just Set, but all of Gorgon’s Beasts had lived that way.
Even shortly after meeting Ji-ho, Set hadn’t changed. When that Nam Jeong-hwan guy was bothering Yeon Ji-ho, he didn’t hesitate to dirty his hands.
But not anymore.
Set had decided to live together with Yeon Ji-ho in this land, standing on his own two feet. The other Gorgon’s Beasts, whom he hadn’t been able to save with his own hands, would also receive Yeon Ji-ho’s touch in turn.
To do that, he had to change. He had to solve problems according to the ways of this place, not through violence and killing. Set silently jerked his chin at Seo Sung-won, as if telling him to get lost.
Seo Sung-won’s expression changed, and he scrambled to his feet and ran away clumsily. As Set watched the retreating figure, someone approached him.
“…I can still take care of him if you want.”
“…”
“You know… I…”
As Shango spoke haltingly, Set turned his head. The murderous look in Shango’s eyes was sincere. If Set gave the order now, he would run after Seo Sung-won and kill him without hesitation.
That’s how they had always been.
“Not necessary.”
“…Your Excellency.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be together here?”
At those words, Shango’s head dropped. His clenched fists trembled. As if understanding Shango’s feelings, Set patted his shoulder and said,
“Nothing has changed.”
“…”
“We just have something to protect now.”
