Minjae tested Nayeon’s resolve. Look what happened when they messed with him without the determination to kill. Three teeth were knocked out, and his shoulder was ruined. Even with rehabilitation therapy, he’d been told it would be hard to use it like before, which made him grind his teeth until he escaped into drugs.
Through this incident, fear of Tae Ganghyuk had become deeply rooted in Minjae’s heart. Separately from being heated up and burning with hatred toward him, the nightmare of that day had taken over Minjae’s subconscious.
“I changed my mind after watching what happened to you, oppa. I’m going to turn him into an obedient dog. It would be a waste to kill him—I’ll lock him up in a back room and use him as a stud, and if you need him, just say so, oppa.”
“I’m not interested in alphas. Just hand over that omega when it’s done.”
“You really can’t resist when it comes to omegas. I’m crazy about handsome alphas.”
The two looked at each other with similar faces and laughed. Nayeon returned with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.
She poured the amber liquid into the glasses with a splash and handed one to Minjae. The glasses clinked together, making a clear sound.
Minjae lifted the glass and drank it all at once. A burning sensation followed the path of the strong liquid going down.
His eyes looking down at the empty glass glinted coldly. The desire for revenge that had been blurred by the drugs rippled and surged within them.
ლ
“Two bowls of soup here, please.”
“Yes, just a moment please.”
At the new order, Ian, who’d been wiping down a table where a customer had just left, called out loudly. Two days had passed since Ganghyuk left on his business trip.
During that time, Ian had been adapting well to daily life without Ganghyuk. Sometimes he’d fiddle with his phone unnecessarily when thoughts of Ganghyuk came to mind, but he wasn’t as anxious as before.
It was because he had faith that Ganghyuk would answer whenever he contacted him. Around lunchtime, Ganghyuk had even called him first.
He couldn’t talk long since it was a busy time with customers flooding in, but even that was enough to make the smile blooming on Ian’s face never fade.
He went into the kitchen and ladled the boiling broth into earthenware bowls. The milky white broth gave off an especially savory smell today.
“Two bowls of soup are ready.”
The customers who’d taken the table were unfamiliar faces. Two middle-aged men with solid builds wearing hiking clothes.
“The part-timer is young.”
“Thank you. We’ll enjoy it.”
Having heard such comments often, Ian just smiled at them without any particular response and returned to the kitchen. When he swept his eyes over the tables where the customers were sitting, the bowls containing fresh kimchi all had only seasoning left.
He was checking inside the container to see if there was enough fresh kimchi when he heard the customers’ conversation. Since the table where the two customers sat was closest to the kitchen, their voices were as loud as if they were having a conversation right next to him.
“What are you going to do with the compensation money? How much did they say? About 2 billion won?”
“Yeah, roughly that much. The building is so old, you know. What’s the point of being in Seoul? The land price isn’t like Seoul because it’s in the worst location.”
“Hey, still, 2 billion won is a lot. Is Taehyun really doing the construction?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s been decided for certain yet.”
“Still? Isn’t the work being processed too slowly?”
“Well, I’m not in a hurry, so it’s fine. But Sangsik hyung seemed eager to get the compensation money quickly. I think he’s got his eye on some land.”
Through the two people’s conversation, Ian learned that one of the customers owned an old tenement building in Hyoseong-dong.
Seeing the compensation money talk getting serious, it seemed the Hyoseong-dong redevelopment was really going to happen. He looked around the old shop.
Thinking that this building full of memories with his grandfather might soon disappear made his heart ache. Should he ask Ganghyuk? When they’ll tear down the building.
Since it was almost a foregone conclusion that Taehyun Construction had secured the contract rights, Ganghyuk would certainly know more about the redevelopment process than anyone else here.
Lost in thought while working, time flew by quickly. Before he knew it, it was time to close the shop. After seeing off the last customer, he flipped the sign that had been set to “open” to the other side.
After cleaning up the shop, his body felt heavy as a thousand pounds. His empty stomach even made a growling sound.
In a slightly gloomy mood at the thought of eating dinner alone again today, he locked up the shop and came out. A black sedan parked nearby blinked its headlights as if in greeting.
After bowing his head to the person who must be inside, Ian went up to the second floor. Just then, his pocket vibrated. He took out his phone to find a message from Ganghyuk.
「Make sure to eat dinner」
It was as if Ganghyuk’s voice was ringing in his ears. His mood instantly lifted. Grinning to himself, he unlocked the front door and went inside.
When he took a deep breath until his chest swelled, he could feel Ganghyuk’s pheromones very faintly. It had been worth deliberately keeping the door to Ganghyuk’s room open so he could sense Ganghyuk’s traces when he came home.
Though it wasn’t as good as having Ganghyuk right beside him, it made him feel much less alone. He grabbed some clothes from the room and came out after showering first.
The weather had become noticeably warmer. Morning and evening were still like winter, but midday was quite warm. He could clearly feel the temperature change even though he was mostly just inside the shop.
Above all, he could tell by looking at the clothes the customers visiting the shop wore. Most of today’s customers had worn light padding or put on thick tops with light hiking jackets.
Still, it was cold at night. Ian sniffled and turned up the boiler temperature. Since he’d turned it off when leaving for work in the morning, the inside of the house was chilly.
He took out another fluffy towel and rubbed his still water-laden hair. He sat on the sofa and turned on his phone screen.
He still hadn’t replied to Ganghyuk’s message. While pondering what to send, wanting to hear his voice, he pressed the call button.
He figured Ganghyuk would be done with his busy work by now. However, only the ringtone flowed from the phone for a long while.
Ian took the phone away from his ear as it switched to the voicemail message and bit his lips, then got up from his seat.
Though disappointed, he didn’t want to bother him since he might still be working. To turn his attention elsewhere, he put his phone on the living room table and headed to the kitchen.
He opened the refrigerator and took out ingredients to make a simple kimchi fried rice. The kimjang kimchi he’d received from Okjeong had fermented nicely in the refrigerator and tasted absolutely delicious.
He finely chopped ham, green onions, and onions and stir-fried them together with rice and kimchi. A spicy yet delicious smell filled the kitchen.
The completed portion looked like it could easily serve three people. Too lazy to wash dishes, he placed the frying pan directly on the table and ate from it.
Perhaps he’d added too much red pepper powder—it was spicier than expected, and by the time he finished eating, the area around his eyes had turned red. Knowing it would be more bothersome to do later, he immediately washed the dishes he’d used, brushed his teeth, then grabbed his phone and entered Ganghyuk’s room.
The blanket that had been stretched smooth without a single wrinkle when Ganghyuk stayed there was now wrinkled here and there, giving it a familiar feeling.
He sprawled out on top of it and lifted his phone in front of his face. He checked his phone with anticipation, but there was no contact from Ganghyuk.
“He must be really busy.”
It was already close to ten o’clock. Most people would have finished their day’s work and be lying in bed by now, but Ganghyuk still seemed to be working somehow.
Ian thought he was diligent too, working at the restaurant and moving busily from dawn until evening, but compared to Ganghyuk, he seemed like a man of leisure.
He wondered if this was how Ganghyuk had so much money—by working this hard. Ian rolled his body half a turn and tapped on his phone screen while lying on his stomach.
He was bored, having no one in particular to contact. Okjeong had left on a trip with her son and daughter-in-law the day Ganghyuk went on his business trip. It was a gift from her son, who felt sorry that his elderly mother opened the small shop every day.
