* * *
“Siho.”
I turned my head toward the source of the familiar voice.
Unlike that morning, Kang Taeyun was wearing a suit.
He must have come from an important meeting, as his hair was neatly slicked back, and his expensive watch and polished shoes, along with his impeccable attire, felt strangely unfamiliar.
“…What brings you here?”
“Because you went in a long time ago and didn’t come out.”
“Then you should have called.”
“I considered it. But I had no choice but to come and check.”
I felt the unspoken words, ‘Because I don’t know what kind of trouble you might be getting into inside,’ accompanying his statement.
Behind his cold eyes, I saw Noh Gontak holding the door.
His face was completely crestfallen, which didn’t match his tough appearance.
Kang Taeyun smiled faintly and looked at Kim Seunghyun standing next to me.
Contrary to the meaning of his smile, the air around him grew heavy and thick.
“An Omega was here.”
That single sentence made Siho’s heart pound. For the first time, Kim Seunghyun, the main uke in the original story, and Kang Taeyun, one of the main Gong, had met.
Considering that I had planned to attach Kim Seunghyun to the Dukes and run away, this was a good development.
‘But why does my stomach feel so strange…?’
An inexplicable sense of discomfort arose in a corner of my chest, making my mood uneasy.
I lightly clenched my fist over the feeling, which was rooted in impure intentions.
“A closed studio. The smell of deodorizer, seemingly sprayed on purpose.”
Kang Taeyun slowly walked into the studio, looking around.
The sound of his heels clicking with every step was chilling enough to make my knees tremble.
“What were the two of you doing here? For two hours.”
His steps stopped where the bag of side dishes was placed on the table.
I saw his brow faintly twitch, as if the scent of an Alpha was lingering there.
In the heavy, naturally tense atmosphere, Kim Seunghyun stepped forward, as if to protect me.
“So what? Are you Seo Siho’s boyfriend or something?”
Since Kim Seunghyun had mentioned that his relationship with the three men was special, I had assumed he realized I was dating them.
The reason I hadn’t explicitly said we were dating was because I intended to put everything back in its place.
I regretted not giving him a heads-up, but Kim Seunghyun squeezed my wrist reassuringly.
“Kim Seunghyun, is it?”
Kang Taeyun’s voice dropped to a terrifying low, echoing in the studio.
Siho looked at him, startled by the unfamiliar bass tone, but Kang Taeyun’s gaze was fixed on my wrist.
Specifically, his focus was on Kim Seunghyun’s hand gripping my wrist.
“It seems you lack discretion.”
Kang Taeyun let out a light sneer and spoke drily.
“Then memorize this. That I am Seo Siho’s boyfriend.”
“…Boyfriend?”
“Yes, and the owner of his nape.”
“…”
“As an Omega, you wouldn’t be unaware, would you? The warning in the pheromone I rubbed on him.”
Kim Seunghyun put pressure on the wrist he held, overwhelmed by the heavy, viscous form of the pheromones.
Seeing Kim Seunghyun who wouldn’t let go, and me who was frozen, Kang Taeyun revealed a sharp gaze and murmured softly.
“You give your wrist away too easily, our Siho.”
At the murderous tone, Siho quickly pulled Kim Seunghyun’s hand away.
I felt that if they continued this standoff, the situation would escalate badly.
As I rubbed my seized wrist in fear, he slowly pulled up the corner of his mouth.
“You need to be careful. What if I break your friend’s fingers?”
“…”
“He seems to be an art major. We shouldn’t destroy a friend’s dream, should we, Siho?”
Siho wore a dazed expression at the warning, which was disguised as concern.
Just as he said, Kim Seunghyun was my friend.
The fact that even meeting a friend was unacceptable wasn’t entirely new, as I had felt the same from Yoo Joohwan and Moon Dowon.
However, I was slightly surprised that Kang Taeyun showed no visible reaction to Kim Seunghyun.
No, he was looking at him with the same hostility as the original Seo Siho would have.
As I stood there silently, Kang Taeyun nudged the vase on the shelf.
Crash—!
The sharp sound pierced my eardrums, and fragments of the vase, along with the liquid, splashed out.
It was a good thing it wasn’t aimed at a person; otherwise, someone might have been cut by the flying shards.
“Siho, it seems you don’t see how much I’m enduring.”
“…Huh? No, I do. I know.”
“You do? Then let’s go. Are you going to keep standing there?”
Kang Taeyun held out his hand as if nothing had happened.
At his move to leave, Kim Seunghyun blocked his path and grabbed my wrist again.
“Where are you going? We planned to have dinner.”
“As expected, some people just don’t listen, even when spoken to.”
Kang Taeyun slightly lost his smile and firmly gripped Kim Seunghyun’s wrist.
He squeezed so hard that the blood stopped circulating in Kim Seunghyun’s fingers.
“Do you want to hurt your wrist, not just your fingers?”
“…Hnngh!”
“If not, are you truly hoping I’ll break it for you?”
Kang Taeyun asked Kim Seunghyun without the slightest trace of guilt.
Despite the look of pain on Kim Seunghyun’s face, Kang Taeyun’s expression remained unchanged.
He looked capable of crushing the bone into pieces at any moment.
Seeing his undisturbed composure, like a person incapable of feeling, Siho quickly grabbed the lapel of Kang Taeyun’s suit.
“Stop it. Stop it, Taeyun.”
“I told you I was holding back a lot.”
“…”
“It would have been better if you had just come quietly when I told you to go. Then this wouldn’t have happened.”
He released Kim Seunghyun’s hand as if it were something filthy.
He took a handkerchief from his inner pocket and wiped the area that had touched Kim Seunghyun.
“Our Siho, I guess we’ll have to restrict your outings for a while.”
“…”
“What if flies swarm around you?”
He dropped the handkerchief he had been using onto the floor. It was a deliberate act of discarding it right in front of us.
“If your friend doesn’t have two lives, you should behave. Even if it’s not me, there are others who will come looking for you.”
Kang Taeyun alluded to Yoo Joohwan and Moon Dowon. Siho blinked, his face full of thought.
Seeing Kang Taeyun’s reaction to Kim Seunghyun, I knew I had to give up the idea of trying to connect him with the three men.
As I started to walk toward Kang Taeyun, Kim Seunghyun flared up, his eyes widening.
“Boyfriend… that makes me angry. Just a boyfriend.”
Kim Seunghyun panted, his face bright red.
He was so angry that he didn’t forget to savagely kick the handkerchief on the floor.
“You’re a boyfriend, but I’m a friend. How long do you think you can stay by Siho’s side, as just a boyfriend? You’re someone who will break up soon.”
“…”
“I’m his friend. No matter how much you try to prevent us from meeting, unlike your relationship which has a set end, I can stay by his side. Siho said so himself. That your relationship wouldn’t last long.”
I was embarrassed that the subject of their argument was me.
Siho couldn’t hide his dilemma, seeing Kim Seunghyun provoked him without any sense of timing.
Kang Taeyun let out a light laugh, and my throat convulsed.
“Fine. Try to hold on well as a friend.”
Kang Taeyun easily dismissed the comment as if it wasn’t even worth responding to.
At the nearly scornful attitude, Kim Seunghyun pulled something out of his pocket.
It was the house key I had handed him before Kang Taeyun arrived.
“I wanted to sleep at your place today. Invite me next time. Here’s the key.”
“…”
“Next time, you’ll come to my place to say hello to my mother. Got it?”
Pretending to retreat, Kim Seunghyun tried to provoke Kang Taeyun.
But Kang Taeyun showed no particular reaction.
Instead, he maintained a relaxed expression, as if he found the attempt laughable.
“…I’m sorry, I’ll call you.”
Siho, with an exhausted look, reached out to take the key he offered.
I would have done so if Kang Taeyun hadn’t gently grabbed my wrist and given a look to Noh Gontak behind him.
Noh Gontak quickly rushed in and took the key from Kim Seunghyun’s hand.
It seemed to signify that contact with Kim Seunghyun was over.
“There won’t be a next time. My patience ends here, even for Siho’s friend.”
Kang Taeyun spoke only his own mind and led Siho out of the studio.
As we passed the door and climbed the stairs, Kang Taeyun remained silent.
The quiet atmosphere felt like walking into the eye of a storm, making Siho carefully watch his every move.
“The Chairman is calling for you.”
As we stepped outside, a middle-aged man standing in front of a car approached Kang Taeyun.
His troubled expression made it seem like Kang Taeyun had rushed out in the middle of a meeting.
Kang Taeyun ignored him and opened the passenger door.
“Get in.”
“Shouldn’t you go back?”
“It’s fine.”
Despite his words, the man next to him looked distressed.
As I hesitated, sensing the tension, Kang Taeyun told the man he would drive himself and dismissed him for the day.
The same applied to Noh Gontak, who was following behind.
“What are you doing? Get in.”
* * *
