DS 29

A sleek car, like a black panther, stopped in front of an upscale traditional Korean restaurant in Cheongdam-dong.

The driver’s door opened with a creak. A man in a dark blue suit stepped out onto the ground. He walked around the car’s aggressively protruding front end and opened the passenger door. A glamorous woman wearing sunglasses stepped out.

“You’re still slow with your hands.”

She shot at him sharply, like wasabi. She entered the restaurant, her sharp heels clicking against the floor.

Bang! Kang Pyeong-won pushed the door leisurely. The car shook as if it might collapse.

“I’ll show you to your seats.”

The woman lowered her sunglasses to the tip of her nose and winked at the employee with a smile.

“Yes, please do.”

“This way, please.”

They were led to the restaurant’s most exclusive VIP room, which normally had a three-month waiting list.

“I’ll prepare the pre-meal porridge…”

“Perverts always have such thick skin.”

The employee’s hand trembled while maintaining their usual gentle smile, like a picture frame.

“Like you.”

The woman’s scarlet lips split into a wide smile. Her deeply set eyes curved mysteriously.

“Haha, like me?”

The man laughed. Then, stroking his snakeskin belt with his large hand, he asked who else had such refined tastes as his. The soft surface wrapped around his fingertips. The slipping sensation felt ominous.

“Going around wearing cheap stuff like snake skin, how tacky.”

The woman crossed her legs sharply. Her leopard-print heel struck the table.

“I thought something was strange.”

The man raised his eyebrow at the sudden remark. This roundabout way of speaking was his specialty, but watching his opponent use the same tactics while time ticked away was indeed irritating.

“Please set everything down and leave.”

The man showed his hand to the employee who was anxiously reading the atmosphere. Relieved, the employee quietly closed the door and disappeared.

“How is it possible that you can’t find a few drug addicts in that countryside?”

Why such a long introduction today? The man stared at his blood relative with whom he exchanged no more than three words a year. His observing gaze narrowed.

“To think you were playing around with such a kid.”

“Haa,” the woman sighed. “Father’s about to collapse from stress, clutching his neck.”

She even clicked her tongue as if pitying him. Around this time, their father was supposed to gain a son-in-law from the Prosecutor General’s family. But with perfect timing, a drug incident occurred at one of Kang’s nightclubs. The in-laws-to-be suggested postponing the wedding date. They were a noble family for generations. Their intentions were crystal clear. Having the notorious Kang family as in-laws was already a blow to their pride, but omega heat inducers? That was truly scandalous.

However, their goal was still to produce a member of the National Assembly. Even if not noble, they needed substantial financial backing. Since no one had stronger financial resources than the Kang family, the marriage would happen eventually.

The heat inducer incident could be hushed up and covered, but the problem was the old man himself. Despite controlling all sorts of vulgar and dirty dealings, he was particularly strict about drug-related matters. His last beloved mistress had died suffering like a guinea fowl from drugs. That was the man’s cold assessment of his own mother.

“Blood is thicker than water, they say. Worrying about your half-wit blood relation while mentally unstable.”

A crack appeared on Kang Chang-hee’s face. Her peacock-like, beautiful features twisted strangely.

“…Mentally unstable? What do you mean…?”

The man frowned as if with pity. Then he lowered his voice as if sharing a secret.

“I hear you still can’t sleep at night without milk with drugs.”

“……”

Chang-hee pushed up her dark sunglasses and placed them on top of her head. Her long hair fell back, revealing both ears.

“Are you investigating me?”

The woman shot back sharply, as if dumbfounded. “Haha,” the man laughed, relaxing his eyes.

“Investigation? It’s just concern for my beloved sister.”

He leaned his upper body forward. His massive shoulders, as wide as the table, cast a large shadow.

“I thought you’d accumulated affection for me when you suggested dining together after so long. But you’ve brought an interesting talk.”

The man tapped one of the woman’s ears with the back of his hand. It was the slightly darker of the two.

“Always be careful with your hearing ear. You need to protect the remaining one.”

Though it was crafted so delicately that it wasn’t noticeable from the outside, it was actually a silicone ear. It felt eerily soft and squishy.

Their father had damaged one body part each from his two most precious treasures in this world. The man’s hand and the woman’s ear.

“You’re really insane. Are you trying to threaten me now?”

Kang Chang-hee’s scarlet lips twitched as if malfunctioning. The man wore a splitting smile on his face that resembled their father’s so strongly.

“Ah, I bought you a bag, take it.”

When the man pulled the door handle open with a swoosh, Bear was standing outside. He took the bag from him and threw it to Kang Chang-hee. She caught it and looked down at it, then screamed.

“Kang Pyeong-won, you bastard!”

It was a snakeskin bag. Before the pre-meal porridge could cool, the man strode out of the restaurant. The employees bowed one by one.

“Have a good day.”

By then, a red sports car had been parked in front of the restaurant. It had equally flashy gold rims on its wheels. The one sitting in the driver’s seat was the kid Chang-hee had been keeping around lately. His face was pale, and his eyes drooped gently. Seeing a face that reminded him of someone, the man internally cursed.

Despite being born from different wombs, their tastes were disgustingly similar, having received sperm from the same cock. The man snickered and briefly bit his lower lip with his molar before releasing it.

He walked steadily to the driver’s side. When he knocked on the window with his fist, it smoothly lowered. Large eyes looked up at him. The distinct omega scent wafted out.

“Yes?”

His shoulders tilted towards the man flirtatiously, and his voice was seductive. His clothes turned out to be leopard print fur. What an idiot. The man sneered internally. Seeing him dressed head to toe in Chang-hee’s taste irritated his eyes.

“Are you Chang-hee’s lover?”

When the man asked with a smile, he received an affirmative answer.

“I’m Chang-hee’s family, so I should give you some pocket money.”

The man reached inside his jacket and took out his wallet. He rolled up a million-won check with his business card and handed it over.

“Call if you need pocket money.”

The man turned away with a smirk. As soon as he turned around, the expression drained from his face like the tide. The fucking smell of an omega. He felt disgusted thinking it might have permeated his jacket.

As he walked away, his face reflected in the side mirror. What similarity? Picking up something like that – who was she to talk about anyone having tacky taste? Had she finally lost her mind? The man smashed the car’s side mirror with a thud. The car’s warning alarm went off frantically. From inside the car, the omega watched him with startled rabbit eyes.

Chang-hee ran out from the restaurant and, seeing the car, screamed in rage.

“Here’s something for the repair costs.”

The man grinned as he pulled off his snakeskin belt and casually hung it on the broken side mirror. Then he walked leisurely to his car.

“Get in, sir.”

Bear opened the back seat door. The man elegantly got in.

“Where shall I take you?”

The man looked up through the window. The clouds were particularly dark today. Naturally, rolling waves came to mind, and his thoughts drifted to Gyeryongpo, stuck in that rural corner.

“Gyeryongpo.”

He leaned back in his seat. With his eyes closed, he crossed his legs and placed his fingers on his thigh, and his thick middle finger twitched. His middle finger always ached before rain. However, as if it were a common occurrence, he calmly recalled when it had been cut off. He had told Eun-myeong it was cut off for meddling in business, but the truth couldn’t be any further.

What he had meddled with wasn’t business but his father’s taxidermied wild boar. This was when he was just a teen. The severed head mounted on the living room wall with dead eyes had bothered him so much. He didn’t know why those dead eyes reminded him of his birth mother. His father’s beautiful puppet who had chased after only one man her entire life. The man burned the boar’s carcass at dawn.

And that day, when his father discovered the living room wall with only shadowy soot remaining where the wild boar had been, he called the man and cut off his finger. For discipline, he said.

The man stretched leisurely, pulling his middle finger back and releasing it. Today, it felt particularly stiff and sensitive, and the filthy thought slowly crossed his mind that it would feel amazing to probe a hole with it.