Even the boss of Geumsongpa who created Geumin Construction died of chronic illness two years ago, while Tae Hyeonseong, the boss of the Hyunho faction, still held powerful real authority in his hands.
As the thought occurred that the bastards in front of him might really be from Taehyun, tension incomparable to moments before welled up.
Who among Taehyun?
Since Taehyun had entered the legitimate world before Geumin, those who did this dirty work could be narrowed down to a specific few. Among them, if he had to pick the person he least wanted to run into…
“Long time no see. I think we’re acquainted. Right?”
Fuck, I’m screwed.
The moment the seated man rose and approached close enough to see his face, Changyu cursed inwardly.
Taehyun’s Tae Ganghyuk.
Tae Hyeonseong’s most faithful dog and exceptional hunter. Though he’d faced him just once, the memory from that time remained as a great shock to Changyu.
When you sat in the managing executive director’s seat, you usually played it safe. The more you had, the more people feared getting hurt or dying.
But Ganghyuk was different. Even with dozens of subordinates under him, he didn’t hide behind them.
Whether Taehyun or Geumin, even after rising to legitimacy, when they occasionally got messily entangled over territorial disputes or money, violent clashes occurred. Each time, Ganghyuk represented Taehyun.
Bastards who charged in wielding sashimi knives that could slice through a person’s belly like soft tofu—Ganghyuk beat them half to death with just his fists.
Every time a punch landed, everyone lost their senses. Back then, the hyung-nim Changyu served also got knocked unconscious after taking Ganghyuk’s fist to the face and lost three molars.
His cheekbone was crushed, so he used the money he’d saved up for plastic surgery. Changyu wisely backed away after seeing someone much stronger than himself get taken down helplessly.
Since others were also intimidated by Ganghyuk’s overwhelming force, Changyu’s actions didn’t stand out much.
“How is Chairman Kang doing? I heard it’s still quite noisy internally since the succession fight hasn’t been fully resolved.”
Unlike the tense Changyu, Ganghyuk’s face was calm. The corners of his eyes, sucking on the cigarette between his fingers until his cheeks hollowed, were languidly relaxed like a well-fed predator.
“…Having greetings in this state isn’t quite right, is it?”
Changyu spoke while gauging Ganghyuk’s mood. Cold sweat that had formed on his forehead ran down and seeped into his eyes. With one eye squinted, he looked up at Ganghyuk who was now standing in front of him.
“Sucheol-ah, untie him.”
“Yes.”
At Ganghyuk’s instruction, Sucheol who’d been standing beside him approached behind Changyu. Since Sucheol was as famous as Ganghyuk, Changyu gritted his teeth inconspicuously.
Though it was just untying his bound hands, his body tensed excessively. If he let his guard down even slightly, it felt like a blind blade would fly over and stab his belly.
Contrary to his worry, after untying Changyu’s hands, Sucheol went back to stand beside Ganghyuk. With his hands behind his back, when their eyes met, he even gave a grin.
The scar at the corner of his mouth distorted, which only greatly heightened Changyu’s tension.
Rubbing his wrists that remained bumpy with marks in the shape of the rope, Changyu surveyed his surroundings. The stuffy smell of long-accumulated dust pricked his nose.
The edges were still shrouded in darkness so he couldn’t see everything, but he glimpsed large boxes covered with vinyl.
Aside from the three people standing before him, no others were visible. On the opposite side from Sucheol stood Jaehyun.
Unlike Sucheol, Jaehyun played the role of Ganghyuk’s brain, so he could be subdued quickly enough, but the problem was Ganghyuk. Even if he somehow took down Sucheol, the thought that Ganghyuk alone would be impossible to match gave him a headache.
He felt he knew why Ganghyuk had dragged him to a place like this, which made him even more anxious. However, not knowing where the guys who’d been with him had gone while only he was here, his eyes just rolled around.
“Well then, do you feel like exchanging greetings now?”
Ganghyuk asked, gesturing at Changyu’s wrists. Changyu nodded and answered.
“The Chairman is well. But why did you kidnap me? We’re both in the same line of work—I think you’ve crossed the line a bit.”
His usually cocky tone also became docile in front of Ganghyuk. While trying his best not to touch Ganghyuk’s nerves, Changyu pointed out the current situation.
No matter how powerful Ganghyuk was, treating him this way would cause various talk behind their backs. Geumin would never overlook this either. Especially since the current chairman had inherited his father’s inferiority complex toward Taehyun wholesale.
The reason they’d forced their way into this Hyoseong-dong redevelopment was all to prevent Taehyun from growing bigger.
They knew Taehyun had been salivating over Hyoseong-dong since way back, but this time, to break Taehyun’s momentum while creating a foothold for Geumin to grow bigger, they were moving with quite serious stakes.
“It seems like your side crossed the line first.”
“…Hyoseong-dong hasn’t even broken ground yet. Isn’t choosing the final project implementer up to the union members? Everyone should have the freedom to choose which company is most beneficial for them.”
As he spoke, Changyul puffed out his chest. He hadn’t done anything that violated the law while proceeding with this matter.
He knew pressure would come from Taehyun’s side soon. He just hadn’t anticipated that Taehyun would be the first to use illegal methods.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Ganghyuk smiled faintly as if Changyul’s efforts were admirable. Even to another man’s eyes, his ferociously handsome face made Changyul’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
“Then…?”
If it wasn’t about the redevelopment, what reason could there be to kidnap him? With even the cause becoming a mystery, he grew more frightened.
He hadn’t personally wronged Ganghyuk either. Changyul was quite a power player within Geumin, but at best, he was only at the level of going around meeting union members one by one to get their consent forms.
To be on a similar level to Ganghyuk, one would need to be at least a director even at Geumin. Like the hyung-nim he served, for instance. Could there have been some incident between his hyung-nim and Ganghyuk that he didn’t know about?
As all sorts of thoughts overwhelmed his mind and his complexion turned pale, Ganghyuk gestured to Sucheol with his eyes.
“Ahem.”
Sucheol, who cleared his throat, lifted up Changyul’s right hand. Surprised, Changyul tried to pull his arm away but couldn’t overcome Sucheol’s strength.
Changyul tried to get up from his seat, but both his ankles were still tied to the chair legs, only making creaking, squeaking sounds.
“I’m talking about the hand that groped a child’s ass. Does it really need to stay attached to your arm?”
“Wh… what?”
At Ganghyuk’s incomprehensible words, Changyul asked back blankly. A child’s ass? Why is ass coming up here?
Then he suddenly remembered what happened yesterday. He’d stopped by a shabby soup restaurant to eat. But there was a beauty at the soup restaurant who made his eyes go wide. A young male omega who clearly looked young at that.
He seemed perfect to strip and devour, so he gave him some light harassment. In fact, he’d planned to go to the soup restaurant today too, to properly sweet-talk him, slip him some money, and take him to a motel.
Seeing how he was working part-time at a soup restaurant, his situation seemed quite desperate. He figured if he slipped him a few yellow bills, he’d pretend to be unable to resist and follow along. He naturally also planned to add some threats if he didn’t listen.
‘Be careful when you’re in Hyoseong-dong. Tae Ganghyuk goes in and out of there frequently, like he smeared honey all over it.’
He also recalled the warning his hyung-nim had casually given when Changyul decided to take on this job.
Hyoseong-dong redevelopment. A young omega. And Ganghyuk, a Dominant alpha.
When he put together the words that had been separate, a picture that hadn’t been visible unfolded before his eyes.
“Don’t tell me that omega is Executive Director Tae’s side piece?”
He asked, hoping desperately that it wasn’t true. His voice trembled at the end without him realizing it. Alphas usually go crazy over omegas, but Ganghyuk hadn’t had any notable romantic rumors so far.
“Wow, your way of speaking is so cheap.”
The reaction came from Sucheol first. Sucheol glared at Changyul with eyes as black as Go stones, pressuring him.
“Side piece, my ass. Does our hyung-nim look like someone who’d roll around with a kid?”
At Sucheol’s hypersensitive reaction, Ganghyuk’s eyebrows twitched. It was true. He’d thought about it himself, but hearing it from his subordinate’s lips made him feel quite unpleasant.
“Sucheol-ah, mouth.”
With a few words, Ganghyuk stopped Sucheol, who was about to shoot at Changyul like a machine gun. Sucheol, who discovered Ganghyuk’s expressionless face, flinched his shoulders and rolled his lips inward. His philtrum, where short chin hair sprouted like chestnut burrs, stretched long.
