* * *
Director Choi raised an eyebrow at the perplexing scene before him.
The moment he spotted the rough grip on Wookyung’s hair and his blocked mouth and nose, his expression hardened in an instant.
“Take your hands off him. Now.”
Director Choi’s voice was cold as he swiftly grabbed the man holding Wookyung by the collar and yanked him away.
“What the hell—?! Let go, you bas— Ugh, kgh!”
The man tried to protest, his face contorting in anger as he opened his mouth.
But strangely, he couldn’t manage to get the words out properly and instead began choking and coughing violently.
That wasn’t the only odd reaction.
Another Alpha, who had been dragging along an unconscious Omega, suddenly staggered as if he’d been struck by something.
He barely managed to brace himself against the wall to keep from collapsing, yet he seemed incapable of doing anything else.
“Haa… haah… hngh…”
Still trying to steady his breath after being released, Wookyung took a moment to process the strange situation.
“What the…?”
He looked back and forth between the two drunken men and the Omega who had collapsed on the floor.
Just a few minutes ago, those bastards had been threatening him.
But now, they were trembling like helpless prey.
“Wookyung, are you alright?”
At the sound of his name, Wookyung finally turned to look atDirector Choi.
“Ah…”
Why was it? H
e felt like Director Choi was somehow different from usual.
His expression remained the same, yet his coffee-colored eyes seemed to flicker with something fierce.
More than that, there was an ominous aura emanating from his entire being.
“Ph—ugh, ph-phero…”
The drunk man, still gripped by Director Choi’s collar, buckled at the knees.
He gasped for air, his hands clutching desperately at his own throat.
Like someone drowning, unable to breathe.
“We’ll talk about the details later. For now, go inside and wait. I’ll take care of things here.”
Director Choi gestured with his chin toward the room he had stepped out of earlier.
Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Wookyung found himself unable to argue and obediently stood up to follow his instructions.
As he passed by, he heard his name again—
“Wookyung.”
Thinking Director Choi had something to say, he turned his head.
But Director Choi simply looked at him.
No, it felt more like he was assessing him, scanning him carefully.
“I’m not hurt. My scalp’s a little sore from having my hair yanked, but that’s about it.”
No cuts, no broken bones, not even a bruise.
He might have lost a few strands of hair, but that would grow back in time.
Wookyung had assumed Director Choi was checking him for injuries, so he answered readily, but Director Choi remained silent.
Meanwhile, for some reason, the two drunken Alphas were still sprawled on the floor, panting and unable to move.
Normally, Wookyung would have found that unsettling, but right now, his mind was too scrambled to properly register what was happening around him.
“Are you okay otherwise?”
“Otherwise?”
Director Choi had been quietly watching him before asking the question.
When Wookyung shook his head, meaning he had no other concerns, Director Choi let out a sigh.
“You don’t feel anything?”
“Huh?”
Feel what?
Wookyung stared blankly at him, completely lost.
Director Choi continued to gaze at him as if studying his reaction.
Then, his expression softened slightly.
“No, never mind. It’s better if you didn’t notice. Just go inside and rest. I’ll be there soon.”
What was that about?
No matter how much Wookyung thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to let it go.
His body felt heavy, his breath still uneven—it was clear that the recent events had taken a toll on him.
Director Choi was right.
Sitting down and catching his breath for a moment wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Director, just report those guys to the police.”
It was obvious they weren’t decent people.
If Director Choi tried to handle this alone and something went wrong, it could be dangerous.
Calling the police would be the smarter option.
“I will.”
Director Choi let out a small chuckle as he watched Wookyung insist on tying up loose ends even now.
With that, Wookyung finally turned and stepped into the room.
Only after entering did a question occur to him—why was Director Choi here in the first place?
The room was empty, with only traces left behind suggesting someone had been here earlier.
Two empty glasses, untouched snacks, and a half-finished bottle of whiskey caught Wookyung’s eye as he scanned the area.
Then, he noticed another door inside the room.
‘Is someone in there?’
Tilting his head, he approached the door and pressed the switch beside it.
The lights flickered on, revealing a small adjoining space—either another room or a bathroom.
He opened the door.
As expected, inside was a bathroom, complete with a showerhead, sink, and toilet.
Wookyung walked up to the sink.
“Wow… I look like a mess.”
Seeing his own reflection in the mirror, he let out a groan.
The top button of his shirt was torn off, leaving it wide open, and his hair was an absolute disaster.
“No wonder he was looking at me like that.”
Now, he understood why Director Choi had been observing him so silently.
Taking a deep breath, he quickly turned on the faucet.
After smoothing down his tangled hair and adjusting his disheveled clothes, he heard a voice from outside.
“Wookyung.”
“Yeah, I’m here! Just a second—I’ll be right out.”
Checking his appearance one last time, he stepped out.
Director Choi’s gaze followed his movements.
His expression and aura seemed to have returned to normal.
That was a relief.
The way he had looked earlier—like an enraged predator—had felt a bit too dangerous.
“Ah…”
Thinking back, Wookyung suddenly realized what that feeling had been.
He had thought Director Choi was… threatening him.
That was the impression he had gotten earlier.
And then another realization struck him.
“Those guys—why were they completely helpless earlier? Was that because of you, Chief?”
Wookyung knew that among their kind, there were ways to overpower someone beyond just physical strength.
Experiencing it firsthand made it all the more surprising.
It also made him see Director Choi in a slightly different light.
“I overstepped. I apologize.”
Director Choi seemed to misunderstand the question and apologized instead.
Wookyung, startled, waved his hands.
“No, no! You were helping me. I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, I got out of this without getting seriously hurt.”
“Are you really okay?”
Wookyung, seeing Director Choi’s persistent concern, shrugged his shoulders as if to prove his point.
“See for yourself.”
Since he wasn’t affected by pheromones much, he probably hadn’t even realized how fiercely Director Choi had released his own.
Rather, it was Director Choi’s concern that felt more unexpected.
“What exactly happened?”
“I’m not too sure myself. I just happened to meet someone asking for help, listened to them for a bit, and got caught up in all this…”
“You mean that unconscious Omega? Looks like they were in the middle of a heat cycle.”
“Yeah. Those guys seemed to have forced it on them.”
Thinking about it again, it was terrifying.
If Director Choi hadn’t shown up in time, things could have gone very, very wrong.
“It’s a relief nothing worse happened. That could’ve been dangerous.”
“For both me and the Omega.”
At that, Director Choi fell silent for a moment.
Then, locking eyes with Wookyung, he spoke again.
“Still, I’m sorry. Seeing them lay hands on you… I lost my composure and acted more aggressively than I intended.”
He must have been talking about the pheromones.
‘Right… He’s a dominant Alpha.’
So, for Director Choi, this was the natural course of action—nothing surprising about it.
“Well, that’s something I can obviously do.”
“Wookyung.”
“Yes?”
Director Choi looked at him seriously.
From that gaze, Wookyung somehow had a sense of what he was about to say.
And he also realized that he shouldn’t hear it.
“I think of you as…”
“Oh, come on. Like I said, it’s not like I can even sense pheromones or anything. If anything, I just received your help, and that’s it. By the way, how did you handle those guys?”
Wookyung was well aware that he was blatantly changing the subject.
But what choice did he have?
Getting a confession here and now would be way too much to handle.
He was probably right in his guess.
Just looking at how Director Choi’s gaze settled into hesitation proved that much.
“Like you said, I reported them to the police and called in staff immediately to take care of it. So, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Director Choi must have understood why Wookyung was trying to change the topic.
The fact that he answered so readily made that clear.
That was a relief.
“But still, I’m glad you weren’t hurt. If you had been, I would have been furious.”
Why would you be angry?
“Wait, why would you be upset, Director?”
Wookyung ended up asking without thinking.
And as if he had been waiting for it, Director Choi answered immediately.
“Because you’re important to me.”
Ah, I knew this was coming!
* * *
Dummy.