DHG Ch 46

Humiliated, Yoonguk finally lowered his gaze. He felt a desperate urge to flee. If he hadn’t been replaying Kwon Heewoo’s delicate features in his mind, he would have abandoned all pretense and run.

“…Hey. Even if you’re the… owner of this place…”

Yoonguk, who had been forcing strength into his voice while ignoring the fear rising from the pit of his stomach, gradually hardened his expression.

It was because Jang Seungyung’s pheromones were radiating outwards. Pheromones that overpowered even other alphas were tightening around Yoonguk’s neck like a spiderweb ensnaring its prey. A choked sound escaped him involuntarily.

It was an unbelievable manipulation of pheromones, momentarily inflicting even physical pain. His voice, about to comment on Seungyung’s rudeness, trailed off. Yoonguk’s face contorted darkly.

“Come here.”

Ignoring him, Jang Seungyung spoke to Kwon Heewoo.

“Come here. While I’m asking nicely…. No, that’s not it.”

Jang Seungyung took a deep breath, hiding his simmering rage beneath a falsely benevolent smile.

“I take back what I just said. See, I’m nice? Come here?”

He made the offer, feigning gentleness. Meanwhile, he carefully controlled his pheromones so they wouldn’t reach Heewoo. He wanted to do this even though Heewoo was a beta and likely barely affected by pheromones.

But the “nice” Heewoo wasn’t even looking at Jang Seungyung.

His dark eyes in his pale face were fixed on someone else. The alpha whose complexion had turned deathly grey. Heewoo stared at him blindly and whispered,

“You said you wouldn’t… you said you wouldn’t send me anywhere….”

A desperate whisper laced with breathy sounds. The shape of his lips. The trembling of his eyes. His hand gripping Yoonguk’s clothes like a lifeline.

Because all of his attention was focused on Heewoo, Jang Seungyung clearly understood what he was saying, what he wanted. Too clearly.

Kwon Heewoo was relying on that alpha. A worthless, half-starved man who only had superficially pumped-up muscles from the gym to match his attire.

How the hell did he manage to seduce him?

Jang Seungyung gritted his teeth, nearly unleashing his violence on this alpha he’d never met before, the one who had seduced this innocent boy. It wasn’t because of the information Won Madam had given him on the way over: the alpha’s status as the only son of a three-term congressman and a real estate tycoon, the CEO of some company, a VIP client of the establishment, and so on.

He simply didn’t want to show that kind of behavior in front of Kwon Heewoo. That’s why he was suppressing his exploding anger. He barely managed to gather his patience. First…

He had to get Heewoo away.

He looked at Heewoo, clinging to the weak alpha’s back as if it were the last refuge from disaster. A wave of emotions flooded him again, anger rising to the top of his head. The veins in his temples and neck bulged, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and approached them.

“W-what are you doing…! My lawyer is in the next room, ugh…!”

The alpha, nauseated and suppressed by the pheromones, tried to block him clumsily, but Seungyung shoved him aside. He grabbed Kwon Heewoo. As he was pulling Heewoo away, his grip gentle on the slender wrist, Jang Seungyung paused.

Why is he so cold?

Kwon Heewoo’s body temperature was usually slightly higher than others, but it was different now. His skin was so cold that even the formless, seething anger seemed to subside.

And the shift in his emotions didn’t end there.

“No….”

Kwon Heewoo, his wrist caught, took a step back and said this.

“No.”

A faint but clear voice. Heewoo expressed his will. He, who had never properly expressed dislike before, was voicing his refusal. While struggling to free his wrist from Jang Seungyung’s grasp. While trying to hide behind the equally terrified Yoonguk.

The despair of being returned to Kim Jinhwan filled Heewoo’s mind. That was why, like an animal caught in a trap, he was terrified and persistently refusing and hiding.

Meanwhile, Jang Seungyung’s heart sank.

He realized that Heewoo had refused him for the first time. When he had dragged Heewoo in front of him, when he had touched him against his will, when Heewoo had avoided his kisses afterward, he had never directly said no. Now, Heewoo had truly said no.

Those words, heard for the first time, were incredibly shocking.

“…….”

Jang Seungyung struggled to maintain a friendly expression, but the futile attempt crumbled. An oppressive, sharp look kept surfacing. Even as he smiled, his breathing was uneven, and the veins in his neck stood out.

He grabbed Kwon Heewoo’s wrist again, who was avoiding him more than the first time they met and now wouldn’t even meet his eyes, his head hung low. He gently coaxed the resisting wrist, pulling it free without force. He bent his broad shoulders, lowered himself, and met Heewoo’s gaze.

“What can I do if you don’t want to?”

He forced a small smile, suppressing the myriad of emotions welling up inside him. What could he do even if Heewoo didn’t want to? He couldn’t send him back to that alpha bastard, or to anyone else for that matter.

“Am I sorry for upsetting you?”

Jang Seungyung, offering an apology that didn’t sound like one, reached out his hand. He tried to carefully pull Heewoo closer but realized it was impossible without holding him firmly, so he gave up.

Instead, he scooped Kwon Heewoo up into his arms. As he held the trembling body fully in his embrace, a suppressed sob, a soft “huh,” escaped from Heewoo’s lips.

At that faint whimper, the world seemed to momentarily go dark. Jang Seungyung, forgetting his resolute movements, stopped dead in his tracks.

Ah.

It felt like his heart was tearing apart.

“…Sir.”

It was Secretary Hwang’s voice. After standing frozen in the first pang of pain he had ever felt, Jang Seungyung managed to take a step at the call of his secretary’s quiet voice.

Secretary Hwang, sensing his boss’s intentions, opened the door. Heewoo, lifted into the air, was too exhausted to call out to Yoonguk anymore. Jang Seungyung, carrying him, regained his composure and strode forward without hesitation.

Yoonguk stood there, looking as if he’d fainted. Madam Won remained in the room to handle the aftermath.

Secretary Hwang followed his boss. They encountered several waiters on their way to the office, but the well-trained staff didn’t even glance at the sight of their boss carrying a kitchen worker.

They finally reached the third floor. Secretary Hwang quietly went ahead and opened the office door.

“Change all the CCTV in the guest rooms to ones that record sound.”

Jang Seungyung gave the order as soon as the door closed. His voice was rough, still laced with unresolved emotions.

Secretary Hwang stood at attention. There were hidden CCTV cameras installed in the rooms of this establishment by Kim Jinhwan. Even Madam Won hadn’t known about them. Jang Seungyung had discovered them while rummaging through all of Kim Jinhwan’s properties with a construction worker, searching for Taegang’s ledger.

Presumably, the ledger Kim Jinhwan had also included recordings from these CCTV cameras. However, based on what Jang Seungyung had confirmed with the construction worker, they didn’t record audio. His boss was ordering him to fix that.

“…That’s illegal.”

Secretary Hwang said. Jang Seungyung replied casually, as if it were nothing.

“Just add audio recording to the illegalities we’re already committing. It’s for personal use.”

“Understood. I just wanted to inform you that it’s illegal.”

“While we’re at it, replace all the room lights with chandeliers. Ones with good camera angles. Change the staff lounge lights too.”

“Yes, I’ll ask Madam Won. The budget might be tight-.”

“How can it be tight?”

Jang Seungyung cut him off sharply. Secretary Hwang wisely understood that he was supposed to use his boss’s personal card. The dissatisfaction he’d felt, thinking ‘Even if you’re rolling in money…,’ had long been suppressed by the terrifying glare that he was afraid to even dream about. Fearing the consequences, Secretary Hwang bowed appropriately and retreated.

Finally, they were alone in the office. Jang Seungyung, who had been carrying Kwon Heewoo on his shoulder until then, realized his hands were trembling.

With relief.

And with fear.

…He almost lost him.

He almost lost him. Compared to this, his hesitation about being rejected by Kwon Heewoo wasn’t even a blip on the radar of fear.

He could still hear Heewoo’s stifled sobs, but at least he hadn’t lost him. As he exhaled a sigh of relief, his bones aching, and placed Kwon Heewoo on the sofa, that’s when it happened.

“…….”

Jang Seungyung’s heart, already strained today, lurched again.

Perhaps because the part of his body pressed against Seungyung’s shoulder was sore, Kwon Heewoo unconsciously cradled his stomach, but his cheeks were truly drenched in tears.

What’s wrong with him?

His eyes are vacant.

Tears dripped steadily from his unfocused, round eyes. Jang Seungyung’s heart crumbled at the sight of that silently devastated face.

It was the first time he had seen Kwon Heewoo cry. He was beautiful, yes, but seeing him like this, crying endlessly as if his soul had been shattered, made Jang Seungyung’s heart ache as if it had been crushed.

“Heewoo.”

Calling his name, Jang Seungyung instinctively reached out, but Heewoo flinched back, and he couldn’t bring himself to touch him.

Then, a bigger shock hit him. He saw a familiar emotion in Kwon Heewoo’s eyes.

Unadulterated fear.

Heewoo was scared. He was looking at Seungyung as if he would hurt him. Why?