FF Chapter 15

The name suggested it was a company involved in distribution and logistics. He remembered hearing rumors that JT Group was making large investments in these areas because they were becoming hot topics recently.

“Since they have plenty of money, might as well sell them some expensive liquor,” Choi Muhyeok said, casually tossing a clipboard onto the table.

“They’re actually having a gathering right now, and the results are looking good. Apparently, one person just returned from the U.S. and seems to be in a good mood. He even rang the Golden Bell. Oh! It’s the person you saw before coming into Freeze.”

Choi Muhyeok paused, cigarette in hand, and looked at Min Jiwon. Someone he saw before entering Freeze? As he raised an eyebrow and thought back, the image of a rude alpha swearing came to mind.

“That person has been appointed as Planning Director at JT Corporation, Mr. Lee Hyunjun.”

“Oh,” Choi Muhyeok muttered, not showing much reaction despite the news.

“Is that so?” he replied dryly, taking a drag from the cigarette filter he had placed in his mouth. As he exhaled, ash-gray smoke poured out. Through the dissipating smoke, Choi Muhyeok’s sharp, piercing gaze became evident, making Min Jiwon tense.

“I’m not interested in those people,” Choi Muhyeok said, taking another drag before snuffing out the cigarette in an ashtray. Watching the crushed, dying cigarette butt, Min Jiwon raised his head, only to find Choi Muhyeok standing right in front of him. He gulped nervously.

“Manage them well. Weren’t they people that President Min worked hard to attract?”

Choi Muhyeok walked past Min Jiwon and left the room.

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“If I get kicked out, Ji Yeonwoo will have to take responsibility,” Choi Muhyeok said over the phone as he stepped out of Freeze. The guards standing on either side of the entrance bowed, and he waved back before walking towards the back of the building. Smoking was prohibited inside and outside buildings these days, so he had to smoke in a secluded spot behind the building.

[You’ve seen my place, Managing Director. When you’re there, it feels full.]

A lazy smile crept across Choi Muhyeok’s lips as he slowly walked to the back of the building. Even through the phone, he could guess what expression Ji Yeonwoo must be making.

As he rounded the corner and reached the back, Ji Yeonwoo’s voice on the phone seemed to tremble slightly, almost as if shivering from the cold.

“You sound cold. Your voice is shaking,” Choi Muhyeok remarked.

[I stepped outside to take your call. A friend is visiting inside.]

Was this the friend who was the surgeon? He had many questions, but he didn’t want to keep Ji Yeonwoo standing outside in the cold.

“I see. Then go back inside. Don’t want to catch a cold.”

After a brief goodbye, an answer filled with reluctance came from the other end of the line.

[Yes, you take care getting home too, Managing Director.]

Choi Muhyeok rolled up his sleeve to check the time. He had thought about asking if they could meet today, but seeing that it was already close to 8 PM, he swallowed his words. He couldn’t say for certain when he would finish his work today, as he was there to oversee operations.

In the end, unable to ask anything, he hung up the phone and pulled out the cigarette he hadn’t smoked inside the room.

Tilting his face slightly, he lit it with a silver, gold-engraved Zippo lighter and blew smoke into the air. As he did, two men passed in front of him.

They also seemed to be there to smoke, as each held a cigarette. One of them emitted a strong pheromone—an omega’s. One was an alpha, and the other was an omega, it seemed. Watching them light their cigarettes and settle down in a corner, he noticed something.

“What on earth is Seo Jaehyuk thinking? I can’t believe he took back that loser. I just don’t get it.”

As Choi Muhyeok exhaled some smoke and was about to turn away, the explicit conversation between the alpha and omega drifted into his ears.

“Who knows? There must have been some lobbying. No way would they take back a subpar company like JT otherwise.”

“Did you see? He kept making calls. It felt like watching a stalker.”

“Honestly, that guy’s never known shame. By now, he’s probably blocked.”

It wasn’t pleasant to eavesdrop on others’ badmouthing, so he tried to ignore it and walk away.

“To be frank, would you want to answer? His life was wrecked after getting involved with that Lee Hyunjun guy.”

As he turned the corner, a familiar name caught his attention.

Lee Hyunjun?

Choi Muhyeok turned around, squinting as he looked at the faint outlines of the men beyond the corner.

He recalled seeing the alpha angrily swearing into his phone as he entered Club Freeze.

According to Min Jiwon, that alpha was Lee Hyunjun, Planning Director at JT Corporation.

Of course, it could just be a coincidence of the same name. But considering they had just mentioned JT in their conversation, it was highly likely that they were talking about the same Lee Hyunjun he knew.

He paused and leaned against the corner of the wall. It wasn’t exactly enjoyable to listen to people gossiping, but he wouldn’t turn down the chance to hear private information about a client that he wouldn’t easily get elsewhere.

“That crazy guy asked about him the moment he saw me. He wanted to know what Lee was up to. I felt like I was talking to a lunatic.”

“When has Lee Hyunjun ever been sane? And that guy’s an alpha?”

“Still, he managed to snag a position this time, didn’t he? They say he’s now the Planning Director at JT Corporation.”

“How embarrassing. Planning Director? Please.”

“Exactly. They must have been desperate to give him such a lowly position. I bet the chairman’s had a massive headache over this.”

The two laughed carelessly as they continued to gossip.

Choi Muhyeok gave them a sideways glance, suppressing a smirk. JT might not be a full-fledged conglomerate, but it was still a powerful quasi-conglomerate. These were people who cared deeply about appearances, so hearing them talk so freely in public wasn’t something he expected.

“Seems like he’s more of a mess than I thought, huh? Not recognized by his family or friends. Oh, maybe even his friends are just for show.”

Choi Muhyeok pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket.

“Speaking of which, isn’t that family a disaster too? After ruining someone’s life, they still have the nerve to act shameless.”

“How badly did they push him that, even as a dominant omega, he ended up with a pheromone gland issue? Everyone was shocked back then. I heard his mother went berserk, demanding they save her child.”

“Put yourself in her shoes. Your child loses his pheromones and gets divorced—would you stay quiet?”

“Why did he develop a pheromone deficiency?”

“I don’t know. Everyone kept it hush-hush. Why bother digging into someone else’s family matters? But if there were no complaints after the divorce, wouldn’t that mean both sides were at fault?”

Choi Muhyeok, who had been about to light the cigarette in his mouth, froze. He squinted at the dimly lit alleyway ahead.

A dominant omega? Pheromone deficiency? Divorce?

Tilting his head slightly, Choi Muhyeok moved his gaze toward the corner, listening in on their conversation.

“What’s he up to these days? Do you know?”

“How would I know? Why are you so interested? Trying to make a move or something?”

“He did have a pretty face. Tch, his pheromones were quite something too.”

“Bastard. No conscience at all.”

As the alpha and omega finished their cigarettes and chuckled, they turned the corner of the building.

Feeling irritated, Choi Muhyeok decided he needed more drinks to wash away the annoyance. Just as they rounded the corner, the men froze in their tracks.

Choi Muhyeok, leaning against the wall, slowly straightened up. Though he hadn’t said a word, they couldn’t bring themselves to walk past him.

Standing in their way, Choi Muhyeok glared at them, his eyes fierce.

The alpha and omega, intimidated, backed away. Though invisible, the air was thick with the threatening pheromones of a dominant alpha emanating from Choi Muhyeok.

As he shot them a murderous look, the alpha and omega quickly glanced at each other and bolted back inside the club, terrified.

Left alone, Choi Muhyeok clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

Fragmented thoughts floated through his mind.

JT Trading’s director of planning, Lee Hyunjun, who was said to have ruined the life of an omega.

And that omega, who had lost his pheromones and failed to function properly, was a dominant omega.

Choi Muhyeok knew of another omega in a similar situation.

He wasn’t sure if that omega had been a dominant one, but he remembered that omega once told him he had lost his pheromones after an incident.

Furthermore, this omega had a severe trauma related to sex, stemming from a past encounter with an alpha.

It wasn’t unusual for an omega to develop a trauma from an alpha’s sexual obsession. But was it really common for an omega to lose their pheromones?

Unfortunately, Choi Muhyeok had never seen or heard of an omega losing their pheromones due to an accident.

Yet, another omega had apparently gone through the same rare experience?

As Choi Muhyeok pieced together these scattered thoughts, he let out a small sigh and stopped thinking.

How likely was it that Ji Yeonwoo was connected to Lee Hyunjun?

No matter how small the world was, could such a twisted connection even be possible?

Still as a stone, Choi Muhyeok rubbed his cheek with the tip of his tongue.

His phone buzzed in his hand. He lifted it and checked the screen.

— Ji Yeonwoo: Director, have you finished work?

Choi Muhyeok frowned as he stared at the message from Ji Yeonwoo. When the bright screen finally dimmed, he spun around abruptly.

A car key dangled from his hand.

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Ji Yeonwoo staggered into his house like a zombie. Collapsing onto the sofa, he lay motionless, as if he had turned to stone.

It had been such a hectic day. He spent the day handling flowers that couldn’t be sold, conditioning those that could, and attending to customers. His body felt like it wasn’t enough for all the work. Luckily, Eungyeom had come to help from the evening, making the work a little more manageable.

Ji Yeonwoo wanted to buy Eungyeom dinner, but, perhaps fortunately or unfortunately, he got a sudden call from his uncle, forcing him to head home.

He had already given up on having dinner. Maybe it’s different for others, but when Ji Yeonwoo’s body is exhausted, he can’t eat much. There was one exception, though.

The pasta Choi Muhyeok had made for him.

That day had been just as tiring, but somehow, he had finished the entire plate of pasta Choi Muhyeok made. It was a strange and unusual experience, unlike anything he had felt before.

Lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, Ji Yeonwoo sighed, thinking about the flowers that had wilted due to his carelessness.

Among the unsellable flowers was a batch of pink calla lilies he had recently purchased. Calla lilies, with their beautiful appearance and fitting flower meaning for confessions, were often used in wedding bouquets. The meaning of five calla lilies was “No other woman compares to you,” while a bouquet of them meant “You are my luck.”

They were also Ji Yeonwoo’s favorite flowers, so he had splurged on them. Less than a week later, they had all wilted. It was a shame, but it was his fault, so there was no one else to blame.

“Or maybe… the Director shares a little responsibility?”

After all, it was the Director who stopped him from going to work.”

Lying on the couch and fiddling with his phone, Ji Yeonwoo scrolled through his call history. It was simple, consisting mostly of a few reservation orders, calls with Seo Eungyeom, and Choi Muhyeok. Among these, the most frequent caller recently was undoubtedly Choi Muhyeok.

Perhaps today was the day they’d communicated the least in a while. They usually called and messaged each other several times a day, but today there had only been one call.

“Has he left work?”

Muttering to himself, Ji Yeonwoo recalled the conversation from earlier. Choi Muhyeok had said he wasn’t at the office, but it didn’t seem like an ordinary place. Judging by the loud music and the chatter of people in the background, it was clear he was somewhere unusual.

Still, thinking of how carefully Choi Muhyeok had chosen his words to explain, it was obvious he had been in a place difficult to talk about or easy to misunderstand.

Pouting slightly, Ji Yeonwoo opened the message window while still lying down.

— Director, have you left work yet?

After writing and erasing the message several times, Ji Yeonwoo finally hit send. Surprisingly, the message was marked as read almost instantly.

What could he be thinking? Holding his phone in both hands, Ji Yeonwoo stared at the screen, but no new message appeared.

It was strange. Since the message had been marked as read, it meant Choi Muhyeok had seen it, so why wasn’t there a reply?

Oh, maybe the preview window in his pocket had been accidentally pressed?

Otherwise, how could it be marked as read so quickly? If Choi Muhyeok had been in the messaging window, surely he would have responded with at least a few words.

Clutching the phone tightly, Ji Yeonwoo stared at it intently.

But even after one minute, five minutes, and then ten minutes, there was no change on the screen.

“Wow, he must be really busy today.”

Feeling a little down, Ji Yeonwoo slowly got up, gathered some clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

He deliberately didn’t soak in the bathtub, opting for a shower instead. If he fell asleep in the bath, it could be dangerous. It was also one of the reasons he hadn’t taken a bath since developing pheromone deficiency.

After showering, Ji Yeonwoo emerged into the living room, drying his wet hair with a towel.

— Bzzzz.

The sound of vibrations echoed through the living room. It wasn’t a single buzz, but several, indicating an incoming call.

With the towel still draped over his head, a smile spread across Ji Yeonwoo’s face. There were only a handful of people who would call at this hour. Since one of them was out on a date, it narrowed it down to just one.

He quickly grabbed his phone from the sofa table. Just as he was about to press the answer button, his hand hesitated.

“Huh?”

It was an unknown number. The excitement he had felt, thinking it was Choi Muhyeok, quickly turned into disappointment.

“Who on earth is calling at this hour?”

Grumbling, Ji Yeonwoo answered the call.

“Hello, this is Ji Yeonwoo.”

[It’s hard to hear your voice.]

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes widened upon hearing the voice on the other end of the phone.

Did I hear that right? This voice…

“Hello? Who…?”

[Did you forget me already?]

“…!”

The moment he heard the voice again, Ji Yeonwoo’s face went pale.

Memories tend to leave clearer impressions of bad things rather than good ones. It’s nature’s way of helping you recall unpleasant memories later to protect yourself.

In this sense, Ji Yeonwoo recognized this voice all too well.

It was a voice he never wanted to remember,

A voice he never wanted to face again,

The voice of the person who had left a terrible scar on Ji Yeonwoo’s life.

[I’m surprised. I thought you’d remember me immediately.]

As if to confirm his worst fear, the voice continued over the phone.

“…!”

Startled, Ji Yeonwoo dropped the phone and staggered backward.

With a thud, the phone hit the floor and bounced once before landing again, its screen now cracked.

[Hello? Ji Yeonwoo, are you listening?]

The voice continued to echo in the now quiet living room through the broken phone. Ji Yeonwoo, still backing away, bumped into a chair at the dining table, but his eyes remained fixed on the phone, his face drained of all color.

How could he ever forget that voice?

All the bad things in Ji Yeonwoo’s memory started with the person behind that voice, so there was no way he could forget.

“Why… why is he…?”

A shiver ran through Ji Yeonwoo’s entire body as realization dawned.