DHG Ch 5

The smell of an alley drenched by a heavy downpour.

Only after realizing that the terrible nausea he felt in his dream was simply due to the sound of rain did the image of the past fade. Yes, it was all in the past. Kim Jinhwan couldn’t possibly be here.

His grandmother collapsing after a hit-and-run the following year, the overwhelming hospital bills, Kim Jinhwan’s reappearance, the loan agreement he presented, receiving the photos of his homeroom teacher being followed after he tried to persuade Heewoo to go to high school—it was all in the past. The flood of past memories receded like the tide.

The single room with the lights off was exactly the same as before he fell asleep. The humid and muggy air, the non-woven wardrobe with the broken zipper, the desk with a box propping up one of its legs. On top of it lay a convenience store bag at an angle. He had received it from Mingeon late in the evening.

Heewoo blankly looked around and checked the time. 4:00 AM. He had only slept for half an hour.

‘Stop being so dramatic. You’re so annoying.’

The image of Kim Jinhwan he saw in his dream kept coming back to him. If he fell asleep now, he was sure to have nightmares. He eventually forced his heavy body up.

Should I steal some medicine from somewhere? Heewoo waited for the dizziness to subside and sat down at his low desk.

He fiddled with a yellow winged puppy figurine like a talisman and spread out his study materials. Since sleep was out of the question, he intended to study even if it was just for a little while.

Since he had started working at the restaurant designated by Kim Jinhwan right after graduating middle school, Heewoo hadn’t even stepped foot inside a high school. Since then, he had been steadily preparing for the GED. The problem, if there was one, was that he hadn’t been able to even enter the examination hall once in the past four years.

He solved math problems from the workbook he had already reviewed several times, over and over again. His hand, writing down the answers and solutions only in his notebook, moved without hesitation. This was the method he adopted because he didn’t have money to buy new workbooks.

As he was concentrating, he shook his head, which was starting to feel dizzy again. Just as he lifted his head, wondering if it was raining again because of the strong scent that brushed past the tip of his nose…

He saw a dark shadow covering the window.

“…….”

Am I still half asleep?

The window, barred with metal grills under the pretense of protection but in reality to confine the debtors. A huge shadow covered it.

The imposing figure he had seen in his dream. Kind eyes above a malevolent face. Hands gripping the bars, drenched in blood for some unknown reason.

It was Kim Jinhwan. The real… Kim Jinhwan.

“Uh….”

Not even the gaudy neon sign lights could erase the ominous feeling. Heewoo, momentarily frozen by the surreal situation of Kim Jinhwan hanging onto his window, slowly backed away. A frantic alarm blared from the depths of his consciousness.

It wasn’t the smell of rain.

He hadn’t been mistaken. It was that man’s pheromones.

Some people described it as the fragrant scent of damp earth, but to Heewoo, it was just a pungent, fishy smell. He shuddered and straightened up. Just then, the man gripped the bars again. Bang! His palm, like a large lid, struck the metal bars repeatedly. The clinging raindrops poured down. The sound of the screen shaking vibrated in his eardrums.

“Open it,” Kim Jinhwan muttered, referring to the screen secured by a safety latch. While Heewoo was frozen, a grinding, vicious growl followed.

“I can’t go alone.”

“…….”

“Even if I fall into hell, I have to take something with me, don’t I?”

It sounded like he was determined to take Heewoo with him.

Heewoo’s cheek twitched. The moment their bloodshot eyes met again, he snapped out of his frozen state and recoiled from the fear. As if running from a nightmare, he frantically dashed out of the room.

✮⋆˙

It wasn’t a nightmare, but reality. Kim Jinhwan, his pheromones, the way he shook the security bars, the hallway engulfed in another commotion after he barely managed to escape, pushing through the panicked people… and the sudden appearance of Kang Manager.

It was all real.

“You little shit.” Kang Manager’s rough hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He had been caught.

The main hall, where he had been dragged down by Kang Manager, was a mess. Even though it was close to closing time, thugs were roaming around. It was a stark contrast to the usual pre-dawn scene. The bustling and threatening sight involuntarily reminded him of the day of the raid.

A few familiar employees looked at Heewoo with concern as he was being dragged away by his collar, but that was all. No one dared to intervene easily because of Kang Manager’s notoriously fiery temper. The thugs searching the rooms after ushering the guests out were equally indifferent. In short, Heewoo had to get out on his own.

“Let go of me…!”

Even though Kang Manager was an alpha, Heewoo was also considerably taller than average. Yet, he couldn’t easily shake him off. No, in fact, he was probably using less than half of his usual strength.

It was because he was still half-captured by Kim Jinhwan. It was always like this. The fear of Kim Jinhwan turned him into a child. His strength, his heart, his mind. The nightmare he encountered again after a month instantly robbed him of his wits.

“I’m going to tell the head chef… the manager!”

He was dragged deep into the back of the establishment. He struggled and resisted belatedly, but strangely, Kang Manager didn’t react. Heewoo’s resistance, clutching even the empty liquor boxes stacked in the corner, caused them to crash to the floor, scattering shards of glass.

Finally, they reached a closed storage room at the back of the establishment. It was where they kept items not frequently used in the kitchen. Someone was already waiting in that space littered with large equipment, plumbing fixtures, hoses, and broken plastic chairs.

“You’re late.”

It was Kang, the athlete.

Following his twin brother’s order, Kang Manager threw Heewoo down. Heewoo tumbled onto the cold, damp cement floor. While Kang Manager blocked his escape route, Kang, the athlete, turned on a faucet that jutted out like a pump. Water gushed out from the end of the connected hose.

“Where’s the ledger?”

Heewoo looked up in bewilderment at Kang, the athlete, who was spouting nonsense. Kang, the athlete, was pale as if he had been chased by something.

“Where’s the ledger, I said!”

“What… what are you talking about?”

Just as he was scrambling to get up, a stream of ice-cold water was splashed onto his face. It was a sharp, powerful stream, enough to make him lose his balance for a moment. Kang, the athlete, cornered Heewoo, who was frantically waving his hands.

“Tell me. Where’s the ledger!” Kang, the athlete, shouted again. It was a strangely loud voice. As if he wanted someone to hear.

Then, his shouting expression suddenly changed. Taking advantage of a moment when the water stream luckily missed his head, Heewoo desperately gasped for air. His throat, having swallowed some water, hurt as if it were tearing, and he coughed. Then, he suddenly noticed the gaze falling upon him.

The remnants of Kim Jinhwan’s pheromones from earlier. Kang, the athlete, was staring at them with a dazed look.

“Wow… this fucking bastard….”

Out of nowhere, Kang, the athlete, started spewing curses. His usual gentle demeanor, unlike his brother, Kang Manager, was completely gone.

“Just a cum dumpster for Kim Jinhwan, a piece of shit who makes a living by whoring himself out…!”

Kang, the athlete, threw the hose and grabbed Heewoo by the scruff of his neck. His face was completely contorted.

‘Be careful. That guy is vicious.’ Facing the fiercely blazing eyes, Heewoo suddenly recalled the warning from his acquaintance who had left the establishment.

‘Never trust Kang, the athlete. He likes Kim Jinhwan.’

He let out a hollow laugh. At the same time, he also remembered the voice that had accused him in the CEO’s office at the end of August.

‘He’s Kim Jinhwan’s lover!’

The owner of that voice was also Kang, the athlete.

Kang, the athlete, had been tormenting Heewoo along with his twin brother under the pretext of Kang, the cook’s situation, but he hadn’t shown an ounce of anger towards Kim Jinhwan, the one who had actually harmed Kang, the cook.

It wasn’t even selective anger. He might as well be honest and say he’s crazy with jealousy. Well, the current situation, where Kang, the athlete, was revealing his true colors, was actually better. It was just as irrational, but at least it was consistent.

Noticing Heewoo’s mocking expression, Kang, the athlete’s face turned pale. He gritted his teeth and ordered his brother.

“Dunk this bastard.”

“…Jibin.”

“Just dunk him! Should I do it myself?” Kang, the athlete, urged sharply. Eventually, Kang Manager grabbed Heewoo by the scruff of his neck again. Heewoo struggled, scraping his body against the cement floor to try and escape, but it was no use. Heewoo felt a sharp sensation in his right hand. A sharp shard of glass, a little bigger than his thumb. He had hidden it when he knocked over the liquor boxes earlier.

Can I stab him? But he couldn’t bring himself to swing it as easily as he thought.

“Where’s the ledger, you bastard!”

With Kang, the athlete’s final scream, Heewoo was shoved face down into a basin full of water.

Water rushed into his open mouth. Heewoo, his head submerged in the cold water, thrashed with the desperation of a drowning man and finally managed to gasp for air. As he was catching his breath and desperately resisting the hands trying to drown him, to make matters worse, Kang Manager’s alpha pheromones surged, pouring over his back.

“Ugh…!” 

A painful groan escaped him. Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet seemed to give way. His stomach burned, and a formless lump of dizziness slammed into the back of his head.

I can’t take it anymore. The dark water rushed towards his face again. Just as he instinctively tightened his grip on the shard of glass…

Screech! A sudden sound of a door opening cut through the silence.