Lately, Dojin felt like every day was a dream.
Not only had the hellish plagiarism dispute involving Yoonwoo been perfectly resolved, but his relationship with Yoonwoo, which he had yearned for so desperately, was also visibly deepening.
He could still clearly see Yoonwoo’s face that night at the amusement park, when he had said with a trembling voice, “Please wait for me.”
Although they weren’t officially a couple yet, Yoonwoo was definitely moving toward him—slowly, but steadily.
The evidence was everywhere: the dates Yoonwoo initiated that he couldn’t have imagined before, the warm affection that flickered in Yoonwoo’s eyes when he looked at him, and above all, the comfortable, softened atmosphere between them.
All these trivial changes were painting Dojin’s heart in shades of pink.
He was so happy and fluttery about these changes that he often found himself kicking his feet excitedly under the covers at night.
“Meow!”
Startled by Dojin’s restless kicking, Gaeul, who had been sleeping in a corner of the bed, let out a slightly annoyed cry.
“Oh, my Gaeul! Your brother was just too excited! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Dojin scooped Gaeul up and showered him with kisses until his fur was completely disheveled.
“This is all thanks to you, Gaeul! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten this close to the Chief! Right, Gaeul? Don’t you want to live with the Chief soon?”
When Gaeul let out a short “Meow,” Dojin interpreted it as an affirmation and danced around excitedly.
“See? You think so too, right? I want to start dating the Chief soon! I’ll cook delicious food for him every day, watch movies together, and at night… ahem.”
In his imagination, the future with Yoonwoo was shining more brilliantly than any firework.
Just as Dojin was lost in his own happy daydreams, his phone on the table rang loudly.
‘Caller ID Restricted.’
In an instant, his playful expression vanished, and tension clouded his face.
Who could it be?
“Hello?”
[….]
“Hello? Who is this?”
[Dojin… Dojin… right…?]
The voice coming through the phone was unfamiliar, yet strangely recognizable.
It was a thin, high-pitched male voice, sounding as if he were trembling with extreme fear.
[I’m… Lee Minjae…. Lee Minjae from Studio Yeon… You remember me, right?]
Lee Minjae. Dojin’s brow furrowed tightly at the name.
How dare that traitor call him?
He had heard that CEO Seoyeon was preparing to file a formal lawsuit against him.
Was he calling to beg for leniency?
If so, he should be begging Yoonwoo, not him.
Or was there some other scheme afoot?
His mind began to tangle in complexity.
“What is it? Keep it brief.”
Dojin’s voice turned cold.
[Please… please meet me! Actually, there’s… another mastermind behind the plagiarism incident! That person… is trying to kill me right now! And… I think they’re targeting Chief Seo Yoonwoo, too!]
Minjae’s voice was consumed by terror.
His desperate cry did not sound like mere acting.
Dojin was so shocked by his words that he jumped up from his seat.
“What do you mean! Targeting Yoonwoo?!”
[I’ll tell you the details when we meet! Please… please come to □□ Café by 10 PM tonight! You have to come alone! If you don’t…!]
Click. The call was unilaterally disconnected.
Dojin checked his watch. It was 9:30 PM.
It would be tight, but he could make it to the meeting spot.
Dojin fell into deep thought.
What kind of scheme was Lee Minjae pulling?
Normally, he would have ignored it, but he couldn’t possibly turn a blind eye to the claim that Yoonwoo was being targeted.
‘Surely, one Omega won’t be able to do anything to me.’
With that thought, Dojin gritted his teeth and grabbed his coat.
Before leaving the house, he made a quick call to Yoonwoo, but Yoonwoo didn’t answer.
He left a message: [Lee Minjae asked to see me urgently, so I’m going to □□ Café for a moment. I’ll call you right away if anything happens.]
He stepped out the door.
His footsteps were heavy, but there was no hesitation; he had to protect Yoonwoo.
After working overtime late into the night, Yoonwoo returned home and went straight to the bathroom to wash up, rubbing his stiff neck.
Fatigue seemed to melt away after a shower in warm water.
When he turned on his phone to check the time, he saw a missed call and a message from Dojin.
[Lee Minjae asked to see me urgently, so I’m going to □□ Café for a moment. I’ll call you right away if anything happens.]
‘Why would Lee Minjae want to see Dojin?’
Yoonwoo frowned. An ominous feeling crept over him.
Lee Minjae was a person capable of anything.
Yoonwoo immediately dialed Dojin, but only the ringing tone followed; he didn’t pick up.
He called again, but this time, he only heard a cold voice message: [The phone is turned off….] It had been ringing just a moment ago.
Yoonwoo was engulfed in an inexplicable sense of dread.
He dialed Minjae’s number immediately.
Minjae didn’t answer either.
But Yoonwoo didn’t give up; he kept calling.
After dozens of times listening to the ringing tone with an anxious heart, finally, with a click, someone picked up.
“Minjae? Is Dojin there? Where are you now!”
Yoonwoo asked urgently, but there was no answer from the other side.
Only rough, irregular breathing faintly leaked through.
It sounded like the breathing of a terrified beast.
Yoonwoo’s heart began to pound with anxiety. Just as he was about to speak again:
[Han Jiwon….]
The moment Minjae uttered those words, trembling and weeping in terror, the call was cut off.
The fear and despair contained in those short words sent shivers down Yoonwoo’s spine.
Extreme anxiety, as if his heart were sinking to the bottom of his stomach, overwhelmed him.
What terrible thing was happening to Dojin, to Minjae, and perhaps even to himself?
In a state of panic, Yoonwoo decided his next move almost instinctively.
Han Jiwon. He intuited that those three syllables were at the center of the entire incident.
And one person came to mind—the only person who held the key to solving this situation related to Han Jiwon: Cha Joowon.
With trembling hands, Yoonwoo managed to find Joowon’s number in his contacts and hit the call button.
‘Please, please pick up.’
[…Hello?]
After a few rings, Joowon’s voice, which sounded blocked, came through.
Yoonwoo let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
[…Yoonwoo? Yoonwoo? What’s wrong at this hour?]
Joowon’s voice was clearly flustered. Yoonwoo asked urgently.
“By any chance… are you with Han Jiwon?”
[…No. We’ve been living apart lately. Why? What’s going on? Why is your voice shaking like that?]
Worry was etched into Joowon’s voice.
Yoonwoo explained the situation, his voice continuing to tremble.
“Dojin… Dojin went to meet Lee Minjae… but I can’t reach him. His phone is turned off… so I called Minjae… and he said Han Jiwon’s name and the call cut off. Joowon, do you… do you know anything? I think something happened to Dojin…!”
After hearing Yoonwoo’s urgent explanation, Joowon was silent for a moment.
His mind began to race. Han Jiwon, Lee Minjae, and Kim Dojin.
What connection could there be between these three?
He intuitively realized that Han Jiwon had once again committed something more terrible than he could have imagined.
“Yoonwoo, stay calm and listen to me. I’ll look into exactly what’s happening right now, so you don’t do anything and just wait. Okay? I’ll find Dojin as soon as possible and let you know.”
Joowon’s voice was surprisingly calm and firm.
He spoke softly, as if trying to reassure Yoonwoo, but a sense of determination could be felt underneath.
[…Yes. I understand.]
Yoonwoo’s voice was faint.
“I’ll call you back. Try not to worry too much.”
With those words, Joowon ended the call.
As soon as the call with Yoonwoo ended, Joowon called Jiwon immediately.
As if he had been waiting, the call connected at once.
[You wouldn’t pick up when I called, but now that Seo Yoonwoo says a word, you call me immediately, Hyung?]
Joowon could hear Jiwon’s vile sneer on the other end of the line.
His voice was as cold and cunning as a snake.
Joowon didn’t even feel it was worth responding to his sarcasm.
He asked straight to the point in a hardened voice.
“What did you do to Kim Dojin?”
[Kim Dojin? Ah, are you talking about that handsome Alpha? Well… why should I tell you that, Hyung?]
Joowon said, laughing creepily.
His laughter was a mix of madness and cruelty.
[My life has been ruined because of Seo Yoonwoo, so isn’t it only fair that I ruin something of his too?]
Joowon felt the blood in his entire body turn cold at his words.
His guess was right. Jiwon had truly committed an irreversible act.
[Oh, and tell Seo Yoonwoo clearly. That Kim Dojin you cherished so much… is no longer yours. Forever.]
With those final words, Jiwon unilaterally cut off the call.
