OMS 126
by Cherry#Side Story 1
Park Kyung-soo, having arrived at the cafe, wiped the sweat from his forehead. Spring seemed to be arriving, but the weather was already quite warm. He opened all the cafe doors to ventilate the space, and just then, an employee arrived for work.
“Boss. You’re here early?”
“Yeah. I went for a workout.”
“Is Hapkido fun?”
Kyung-soo smiled shyly and nodded. He had been learning Hapkido since winter through an acquaintance’s introduction, and contrary to his worries, his body adapted quickly. It was something he couldn’t have imagined when he was Lee Hee-soo. Back then, both his body and mind were weak, and he only waited for someone to help him.
In that regard, he felt sorry for his stepbrother, Park Dong-sik, who was living as Lee Hee-soo. Dong-sik told him not to worry since he was doing well, but guilt always lingered in a corner of his mind.
He was thinking about Dong-sik for a moment when, as if on cue, a message arrived from him. A gentle smile spread across Kyung-soo’s face as he checked the message. It was a picture of his nephews, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.
Kim Hyun and Kim Yul, who had been diagnosed as superior Alphas, started attending kindergarten this year. They looked incredibly cute in their uniforms, but Kim Yul had a blank expression, while Kim Hyun’s face was covered in mischief.
The employee, who had been watching, subtly approached him.
“What are you smiling at?”
Kyung-soo showed the employee the picture.
“They’ve grown a lot, right?”
“Those are your nephews who live in Seoul. Wow, they’re already going to kindergarten.”
“Yeah. They said they started this year.”
“Is your brother rich?”
“Huh?”
“Their outerwear and shoes are all designer brands.”
Ah, Kyung-soo had been so focused on the kids’ faces that he hadn’t even noticed their clothes and shoes.
“Be honest with me. Aren’t you super rich too, Boss? Like, your mom and dad are tycoons or something.”
Kyung-soo smiled bitterly and changed the subject, telling the employee to get to work. Mom and Dad… His father had been a member of the National Assembly, but he wasn’t a righteous man. His corruption was exposed, and he took his own life. And his mother… he didn’t even want to think about her. From a young age, she had only thought of using him.
According to Dong-sik, they had disappeared without a trace. Their house was auctioned off, and he couldn’t even get news of them. He had jokingly said that he would punish them himself, but had it come true as he said?
Was he no longer to tremble in fear? Could he forget the nightmarish days, even a little? He was caught up in old memories when the bell jingled, and the door opened.
Kyung-soo, who had been drying a cup, reflexively turned around.
“Welcome,”
His heart almost stopped.
“Are you open yet?”
“……”
As Kyung-soo froze, the employee hurriedly stepped forward. “Yes, we are. Please sit over there, and I’ll come to take your order.” The employee guided the two people who had just entered to a table, and Kyung-soo remained frozen, unable to move.
While he was spacing out, the employee approached him.
“Boss? Are you okay?”
“Huh…? Yeah…”
Belatedly regaining his senses, he saw Kim Tae-han sitting at a window seat with his companion, chatting amiably. His heart felt heavy, as if pressed down by a stone, and he felt strange. The last time he had seen him was six years ago…
In the meantime, the employee took their order and brought it over.
“Two Americanos. I’ll make them.”
“No… I’ll do it.”
As he turned to prepare the coffee, the employee came closer and lowered their voice.
“Do you know who that tall man is?”
Kyung-soo flinched in surprise.
“Huh?”
“He’s a famous film director. He retired a few years ago, Kim Tae-han. Don’t you know him, Boss?”
Kyung-soo shook his head from side to side like a broken robot. “I don’t really know him…”
“He’s the son of Daesan Group. They seem to be dating, right? Look. He’s comforting them while they’re crying.”
Kyung-soo glanced at them. As the employee said, Kim Tae-han had a somewhat troubled expression, and the person sitting in front of him was wiping away tears with their head bowed. Kim Tae-han took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to them, patting their shoulder.
He tried to ignore it, but his insides ached. In the meantime, the door burst open. He thought it was a customer, but their appearance was unusual. At a glance, they were three large and menacing men.
“Welcome…”
Kyung-soo sensed it. They weren’t here just to drink coffee. Their eyes went to the window, and as expected, they strode towards the window. The man at the front grabbed the Omega’s hair without warning.
“You fucking bitch!”
Kyung-soo almost dropped the cup he was holding at the curse-filled shout. His heart pounded wildly. He had been exposed to violence since he was young, especially when Lee Hoon-jae cursed like that and harassed him with all sorts of insulting words.
Kim Tae-han jumped up and roughly pulled the man’s hand away. He shouted, asking what they were doing. Kyung-soo took a deep breath and gripped the cup tightly with his trembling hands.
Get a grip. You’re not Lee Hee-soo anymore. You’re Kim Kyung-soo. You’re not weak at all. No one can do anything bad to you.
As he clasped his trembling fingertips together, Kim Tae-han looked this way. When their eyes met, he sighed and coaxed the thugs to go outside first. As he passed the counter, Kim Tae-han gave Kyung-soo a faint smile.
“Sorry for the commotion.”
That idiot… This isn’t the time to say that. As the thugs followed behind, they kicked a chair, and the cafe was instantly turned into a mess. The employee watched the scene from the side, fidgeting anxiously.
“B-Boss. What should we do? Should we call the police?”
“……”
“Boss?”
Kyung-soo steeled himself and untied the apron around his waist.
“Call the police first.”
He hurriedly ran outside, only to find that they had vanished without a trace. Where did they go? He looked around, and the alley next door was noisy. Kyung-soo turned around the corner and stopped.
Kim Tae-han was fighting with the thugs, but no matter how well he could fight, there were three of them, and they were big. Outnumbered, Kim Tae-han fell to the ground, and at the same time, one of the thugs hit him in the stomach.
“You son of a bitch! You don’t even know your place, but you had to butt in! Is it good to steal another man’s wife? Is it good?”
The Omega cried and begged, saying that wasn’t the case, but the thug didn’t listen. Kyung-soo clenched both fists tightly. When Dong-sik first visited this place, he had given him money. He used that money to open the cafe, and he was told to learn a sport to protect himself, so he also learned boxing and judo. Although not at a professional level.
Kyung-soo gritted his teeth and ran towards the thugs.
“Stop it! You bad people!”
The thugs turned around, and Kyung-soo swung his fist at the biggest one in the front. Thwack, his jaw seemed to turn, and the thug fell backward. Even after hitting him, he was surprised and looked back and forth between his fist and the fallen thug.
I… why am I so strong?
While he was bewildered, another thug suddenly ran up and grabbed his collar. He struggled to get them to let go, but his shirt rolled up, and the thug flinched and stepped back. He frowned at the scar on Kyung-soo’s stomach.
The thugs must have known. That it was a knife wound.
Dong-sik had made the scar, but he couldn’t ask when or how he had gotten hurt. He was calm now, but at first, whenever he saw the scar, he felt sorry that his life must have been quite difficult.
While the thug was out of his mind, Kim Tae-han grabbed his ankle and knocked him down, then beat him up. Then, when another thug rushed to strangle Tae-han, Kyung-soo ran up and kicked him in the face.
In the midst of the back-and-forth situation, a siren suddenly sounded in the distance. “Fuck! I’ll get you guys! I won’t let this go!” The three thugs got up as if they had made a promise and ran away, and Kyung-soo, holding his startled heart, leaned against the wall and slumped down powerlessly.
Oh my god, I hit someone… a person…
He was almost half out of his mind when Kim Tae-han walked right up to him.
“Are you okay?”
Kim Tae-han, who asked with a worried expression, had blood streaming down his nose. “Ah, shit. How embarrassing.” He cursed and wiped the blood, and Kyung-soo, relieved, unknowingly burst into a small laugh. Seeing him laugh, Kim Tae-han’s face turned red, but Kyung-soo just thought he was in pain from being hit.
A little later, the police arrived and asked about the situation. While Kim Tae-han and the Omega were talking about them, Kyung-soo thought about whether to close for a few days. While the police were checking Kim Tae-han’s ID, the Omega who was with him approached Kyung-soo.
“I’m so sorry, Boss… I’ll compensate you for all the broken furniture. And thank you so much for helping me!”
“Ah, no. You must have been very surprised, so please take care of yourself…”
The Omega thanked him several times. They were young and pretty. The kind Kim Tae-han would like. He thought they looked good together. Kim Tae-han, who had finished talking to the police, came over this time.
When he brought up the compensation, he said it was okay, and when he told him to go and comfort his partner who seemed very surprised, he gave a strange smile and left, saying he would see him later. Kyung-soo, watching them drive away, turned around and forced a smile.
I’m glad. That he’s doing well…