* * *
Once the box was set down, he gave an order.
“Take off your pants.”
As if accustomed to this, Woohee complied.
Jinwoo washed his hands thoroughly in the bathroom before returning.
“Spread for inspection.”
Even though he knew Woohee had been confined to the hospital room all day, Jinwoo never skipped this ritual.
Conditioning was everything.
He slid a finger into the omega’s tight hole, watching him bite his lip at the stretch.
“Ngh—”
Pleased, Jinwoo added a second finger, scissoring him open until slick coated his walls.
The hole relaxed, sucking his fingers in eagerly.
The omega’s catheter-fitted cock twitched slightly.
Jinwoo pulled out, licking the slick from his fingers with a soft ‘tsk.’
“Good. You haven’t taken anything but my cock.”
His tone was chastising, as if accusing Woohee of rolling around with other alphas.
But Woohee, raised entirely in the world Jinwoo crafted, didn’t protest—just pulled his patient pants back on.
Jinwoo unfolded a tray table and set the dessert box on it.
Woohee tore it open eagerly, gasping at the sight of the golden custard layered between crisp pastry, dotted with vanilla beans.
“Wow!”
His wide-eyed excitement—alternating between staring at the treat and Jinwoo’s face—was unbearably cute.
“Eat.”
“Thank you, Hyung. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yeah, Woohee.”
Woohee picked up a delicate slice of mille-feuille, its flaky layers stacked with cream.
He took a big bite, red palate and neat teeth flashing.
“Mmm! So good.”
Was it really that good?
With a shrug, Yeo Woohee devoured one piece like a fox hiding its prey, then picked up another with his fingers.
Yeo Jinwoo watched intently, not wanting to miss a single moment.
In the blink of an eye, Woohee polished off three pieces before glancing at him, seemingly satisfied.
Jinwoo finished the remaining dessert.
Lying on the bed, Woohee smiled, his eyes curving in contentment.
But lying down right after eating was bound to be bad for digestion.
Sitting on the hospital bed, Jinwoo placed Woohee on his lap, gently rubbing his back as if soothing a baby to prevent spit-up.
He gazed down at Woohee, who nestled against him with an expression so blissful he might as well have been a purring cat.
“Woohee, wanna go somewhere with me?”
“Where?”
“I’m on vacation. Let’s have some fun at the villa, just the two of us.”
“So suddenly?”
Woohee recalled the summer break of his third year in middle school when his family had taken him to their villa in Germany.
The mansion, straight out of a medieval film, housed attendants and maids who served them, addressing him as Honourable—as if he were the scion of some noble family.
Their days there had been peaceful, almost monotonous.
Every morning after breakfast, he’d stroll through the garden with Jinwoo.
The German villa seemed plucked from a photograph, its lush greenery perpetually dewed, pale pink-cream roses blooming in abundance.
The fragrance was intoxicating, butterflies fluttering around them fearlessly.
Jinwoo had stared at him then, as if entranced.
Remembering that electrifying gaze, Woohee readily agreed to the proposal.
After brushing his teeth, Woohee went to bed around nine.
With little to do in the hospital, he’d grown accustomed to sleeping early.
Jinwoo’s soothing pats on his back lulled him into slumber.
Once Woohee’s breathing steadied in sleep, Jinwoo lifted him effortlessly and carried him out of the ward, meeting the bodyguards stationed outside before heading to the parking lot.
He settled Woohee in the back seat and got in himself.
The pre-dawn roads were empty, the car speeding along—they’d reach their destination in two hours, as per the GPS.
But then, an unfamiliar vehicle began tailing them.
“What the—lose them.”
Mere speed wasn’t enough.
The driver weaved through sparse traffic, executing near-acrobatic maneuvers to shake the pursuers.
At a fork in the road, he feigned going straight before swerving left without signaling.
A near-collision later, the black cars vanished.
The driver glanced nervously at the rearview mirror, worried the jostling might’ve woken the young master.
Sure enough, Woohee stirred, blinking in confusion.
“Hyung, where are we going?”
“We’re going on that trip, remember?”
The driver’s palms grew slick with sweat, his grip on the wheel tightening.
The thought of being implicated in something criminal made him want to flee, but crossing Jinwoo was unthinkable.
Just as his face twisted in distress, a silver car cut in abruptly.
A minor collision jolted the vehicle, sending passengers lurching forward.
Woohee, who’d been resting on Jinwoo’s lap without a seatbelt, tumbled to the floor despite Jinwoo’s attempt to catch him.
“Hngk—”
Woohee rubbed his sore nose, startled to find blood on his palm.
Jinwoo’s expression darkened instantly.
“You fucking bastard, who drives like this?!”
He pulled brass knuckles from his suit pocket.
Woohee didn’t understand why he carried such a thing, but Jinwoo, now seething, slipped them on and stepped out.
The silver car’s driver emerged, bowing repeatedly.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
“‘Sorry’ fixes nothing! My omega’s hurt, bleeding because of you!”
Jinwoo struck the man’s face with the knuckles.
Horrified, Woohee rolled down the window.
“Hyung, stop! I’m fine, really!”
Jinwoo shook his bloodied fist, droplets scattering.
The driver crumpled to the ground, sobbing for mercy.
Woohee, sensing things were spiraling, opened the door—
“Huh?”
—only for a black van to screech to a halt, its door sliding open as hands yanked him inside.
Jinwoo lunged forward, but the fallen driver clung to his ankle like a leech.
“Let go, you fucking bastard!”
He stomped on the man’s hand ruthlessly, but the grip held.
The family driver sprinted to help, but no human could outrun a car.
“…The fuck? Did I just watch my treasure get stolen in broad daylight?”
Yeo Jinwoo staggered, unable to even stand properly, shaken by a mix of rage and fear over his loss.
He immediately summoned the guys he usually called on for rough work.
Then, he contacted the police and gave them the license plate number of the vehicle involved in the abduction.
He knew it would be faster to track down the kidnappers using legal traffic cameras installed across the roads, rather than relying on the shady private contractors operating in the shadows.
To make that happen, he didn’t hesitate to admit to the assault on the driver.
Yeo Jinwoo was investigated at the police station as a suspect caught in the act.
He quickly confessed to the charges and called his lawyer.
Since assault is a crime that doesn’t lead to prosecution if the victim doesn’t want to press charges, he aimed to reach a settlement and get the victim to express their unwillingness to pursue punishment.
He offered the driver a mouthful of cash to settle things.
The driver, with swollen eyelids and a flattened nose bridge, grinned idiotically.
Every time his mouth opened, his broken front teeth showed, but clearly, a hundred million won was worth smiling for.
Yeo Jinwoo shook the man’s hand as he stepped out of the police station—the same man he had beaten up.
“Do you need more money? Just tell me where you took my brother. I’ll give you twice what you’ve already got.”
The driver, who had been snarling like a mad dog, flinched at Yeo Jinwoo’s courteous offer.
Maybe he should’ve known—when money’s involved, even saints and sworn brothers will sell each other out.
After a moment’s hesitation, the driver grabbed his hand.
“Give me the money first.”
“Alright. I’ll transfer it to a laundered account.”
Yeo Jinwoo had someone bring a fake bank account with 200 million won in it.
But in reality, he had already transferred the money out, leaving the account balance at zero.
It was a trick—unless the guy tried to withdraw it, he wouldn’t know the account was empty.
The driver looked at the printed balance and silently celebrated, covering his mouth.
He looked thrilled. Too bad he didn’t know it was just his fare to the afterlife.
“Yeo Woohee was kidnapped by Kang Dohee, a Black Bear Gang executive. He said he was going to save his friend from you. I don’t know where they went.”
“Ah, I see. Thanks for letting me know.”
Even though Yeo Jinwoo dropped to informal speech, the driver was too dazzled by the fake account to care.
Jinwoo climbed into his car, wiped his bloodied knuckles with a handkerchief, and tucked them back into his suit jacket pocket.
That bastard Kang Dohee… He’d been a thorn in his side before, but now he really needed to die.
The driver left the station in the damaged car.
Yeo Jinwoo watched from the car window.
Black vehicles slipped into place, tailing him silently.
“Go.”
His car began to move as well. It was time to bring Yeo Woohee back.
* * *
