* * *
Six hours had passed since Jungin vanished.
The only thing Beomhyeon knew for certain was that Jungin was no longer by his side.
His patience frayed to its limits, Beomhyeon’s face was devoid of emotion.
Around him, his personal bodyguards bore bruises and swelling from his outbursts.
“I apologize, young master. We’ve requested permission from the museum to review the CCTV footage, but there are too many similar profiles, and the crowd was large. It will take more time.”
“How much more time do you need?”
Beomhyeon’s voice grew sharp as he raised his tone, his clenched jaw hard as stone.
Beside him, Jungseo, his expression equally grim, puffed on a cigarette, his eyes bloodshot.
“If we don’t find Jungin by tonight, you can all hand in your resignations. Do you think I’ll let this slide forever? How many times has this happened already? Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“I’m sorry.”
The head of security, hands clasped behind his back, bowed deeply, repeating his apologies.
The sky grew darker, and there was still no word from anyone—no ransom demands, no claims of having Jungin.
“Damn it.”
Beomhyeon’s clenched fist, already raw and bleeding, tightened further.
Anxiety gnawed at him as the image of Jungin’s frightened face swirled in his mind.
How scared must he be?
Was he crying alone somewhere?
Was he even alive?
These thoughts left Beomhyeon’s mind in chaos.
“I can’t wait any longer. Prepare the car—I’m going to Pyeonggwan-dong now.”
Just as he rose, Jungseo grabbed his wrist, shaking his head.
“It’s not your mother’s doing.”
In a low, suppressed voice, Jungseo showed Beomhyeon his phone screen.
“She doesn’t have the time for this right now.”
Turning up the volume, the screen displayed a breaking news report about a corruption scandal involving the Hyun Group.
The prosecution had issued search and seizure warrants for Madam Jang’s private studio and the Hyun Museum.
By now, she would be scrambling to contain the damage.
Even if she were capable of harming Jungin, she couldn’t spare the attention for it right now.
“Did Vice President Lee set this up?”
“Yes. Their side likely caught wind of the warrant much earlier than we did. Even if she had wanted to, there’s no way your mother orchestrated Jungin’s abduction in this chaos.”
The investigation revealed not only tax evasion and money laundering but also lobbying scandals, bribes hidden in artworks, and even contracted murders.
Hyun Group’s resources were surely being stretched to their limits just to contain the fallout.
“Then who the hell has Jungin?”
Neither of them had an answer.
Jungseo, frustrated to the point of madness, lit another cigarette, the pile of spent ones growing larger.
It was then that Jungjin and Jungwoo returned, having completed their tasks.
“Hyung. Any updates? What about Jungin’s location?”
“Hah…”
“Hyung!”
Jungseo let out a sigh, frustration evident as he yelled at Jungjin, who simply rubbed his face in silence.
Next to them, Jungwoo bit his lip hard before hesitantly speaking up.
“Jungin only had his phone with him. I think he might’ve left it in the taxi.”
“He left it in the taxi? Are you saying Jungin actually took a taxi?”
“The driver said that around noon, a student got in at the entrance of the National Museum of Korea. The student claimed they were being chased by loan sharks and offered 10,000 won to be taken as far as possible.”
Jungwoo, visibly shaken, paused mid-sentence as if he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth.
“So, you’re telling me Jungin ran away on his own?”
Beomhyeon’s expression twisted violently.
Fixing his gaze on the large CCTV screen in front of him, he spoke sharply.
“Wait a second.”
A brown cardigan—on a humid, sweltering day, it wasn’t something many would wear.
The odds of someone else wearing the same color were even slimmer.
Beomhyeon spotted someone in the corner of the screen holding the cardigan and pointed at the figure.
“Zoom in here.”
“Yes, sir!”
As the screen zoomed in, the familiar figure of Woohyun holding the cardigan filled the display.
Beomhyeon let out a low, bitter chuckle through gritted teeth.
Running a hand through his hair, he tilted his head slightly and spoke with a cold smile.
“Ji Woohyun. The second son of Vice Chairman Jaewoo of Jaewoo Construction. Bring him to me immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You have 30 minutes. I’m running out of patience.”
The tense aura surrounding Beomhyeon was enough to make not only the Alpha bodyguards but even the Betas move quickly, avoiding his gaze.
Tracking Woohyun’s movements eventually led them to Jungin.
Disguised in glasses and a mask, Jungin had cleverly blended into a group of students and slipped out of the museum in a hurry.
By this point, it was clear that the taxi driver’s story was true.
Jungin hadn’t been kidnapped—he had run away on his own.
Less than 20 minutes after the group left the building, Woohyun was brought before Beomhyeon.
Rubbing his temples as if warding off a headache, Beomhyeon scrutinized Woohyun’s determined expression and became certain that Jungin’s disappearance was connected to him.
“Where is he?”
“…”
“Jungin. Where is he right now?”
“What are you talking about? Why are you asking me about Jungin?”
Beomhyeon’s jaw tightened, veins visibly surfacing on his neck as he grabbed Woohyun’s face, forcing him to look directly at him.
“You helped him, didn’t you? Start talking. From the beginning.”
A chilling fear gripped Woohyun, leaving him trembling and barely able to breathe.
Closing his eyes tightly, he stammered.
“Yes… Jungin must’ve asked for your help.”
Thankfully, Beomhyeon seemed to piece things together on his own, giving Woohyun a moment to catch his breath.
Just as he began to calm down, Beomhyeon’s voice rang out again.
“But you shouldn’t have done it. Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
“I-I’m sorry! Please, spare me…!”
“Then start talking. What was Jungin planning? What did he ask you to help him with? If you want you or your family to survive this intact, you’ll tell me everything. Every last detail.”
Collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath, Woohyun began to recount what Jungin had told him, his voice shaky and laced with tears.
“He just said… he wasn’t getting along with his mom and wanted to run away. That’s all! I only gave him an old phone and a few sets of clothes…”
Frantically, Woohyun pulled a cash envelope from his pocket and held it out to Beomhyeon, shaking his head.
“This too—I didn’t even want it! I’ll give it back, I swear…”
“Ha…”
What had Jungin been thinking?
Beomhyeon’s deep sigh filled the tense air, making Woohyun shrink back even more.
Sensing Beomhyeon’s frustration, Woohyun quickly added.
“H-he also asked for, um, suppressants…”
“Suppressants?”
Given that it hadn’t been long since Jungin’s last heat cycle, there was no reason for him to need suppressants.
Was he planning for a long escape?
“Ha… Don’t tell me…”
Pressing his fingers against his brow, Beomhyeon gestured for Mr. Yoon to take Woohyun away.
With a weary sigh, he finally spoke.
“It seems Jungin has figured out our plans.”
“…How?”
“A while ago, Jungin and I accidentally switched bags. My bag had a tablet in it… It’s possible he saw the files inside.”
It was his own negligence.
Running a frustrated hand through his hair, Beomhyeon’s expression grew darker as he spoke.
“For now, he doesn’t have a passport, and forging an ID would be difficult for him alone. He can’t have gone far yet. Based on the driver’s statement, we’re tracking his movements starting from Geumnyeong Station—”
Beomhyeon’s gaze locked onto Jungin’s phone screen, his eyes narrowing as a familiar name popped up.
He read the message, his lips curling into a bitter smile.
A wretched bastard was trying to blackmail Jungin, still oblivious to his place.
“Should we bring him in?”
Yoon, standing behind him, carefully asked, but Beomhyeon shook his head as he rose.
“No. I’ll handle this personally.”
His chilling tone and murderous gaze left no room for argument.
Those around him could only nod as Beomhyeon strode out, radiating a dangerous aura that promised violence.
Mr. Yoon quietly followed after him.
* * *
Goshhh
omgg…. what is happening