PM Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“What the hell? That bastard!”

“Who the hell are you?!”

It was a situation that truly made Heeseong gasp.

The men who spotted him started charging at him with terrifying speed.

An alarm went off in his head.

If they caught him now, he was dead.

Heeseong forced strength into his trembling legs and shot up, running for his life.

Behind him, he heard a barrage of curses—bastard, son of a bitch, everything.

They were so close, it felt like they’d grab him at any moment.

Faster, faster.

He ran, half-tumbling forward, without even checking what was in front of him.

A quick glance back showed the gangsters chasing after him, eyes blazing.

He gasped, swallowing a scream, and kept running.

The moment he turned his head forward again, he slammed into something.

“Ugh!”

He staggered, nearly falling, and a firm grip caught his waist from behind.

Heeseong shook his head, trying to regain his senses.

When he looked up, the motel owner was standing in front of him.

Smoke drifted up from the cigarette in his mouth.

“Boss Pyo!”

“Perfect timing. Hand that bastard over, would you?”

The gangsters who had chased Heeseong brightened as they waved him over.

Heeseong froze, then shook his head frantically, staring at the man with desperate eyes.

His whole body trembled like a leaf.

The man, still holding Heeseong, slowly lifted his eyes from him to the gangsters.

His face was blank and bored, but the pressure he gave off was overwhelming.

“Why?”

“Ahem! That rat bastard. A rat.”

One of the gangsters, seemingly weighed down by the man’s presence, cleared his throat and started explaining carefully.

“He saw what we were doing. We need to make sure there are no loose ends.”

What he said was chilling.

Heeseong turned pale and shook violently.

The man frowned and glanced down at Heeseong.

His hand, clutching the man’s shirt like a lifeline, had turned white.

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, the man scolded softly.

“Told you to go somewhere else, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“I-I got lost… I-I didn’t see anything!”

Heeseong, clinging to him pathetically, shook his head.

His glasses had slipped down, but he couldn’t care less.

“Bullshit. You looked right at us!”

The gangster with a scar at the corner of his eye glared at Heeseong threateningly.

His expression looked like he’d already beaten someone half to death.

Another gangster beside him nodded.

“Even if he didn’t see, we’ve gotta take care of him. He heard us talking.”

Heeseong felt like he was about to stop breathing.

He wanted to run, but the man’s arm around him was so strong he couldn’t move an inch.

He couldn’t die like this.

The man glanced down at trembling Heeseong, who looked like a drenched puppy.

“I’ll take care of it. That works, right?”

The man said something completely unexpected.

Heeseong wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or not.

The man didn’t seem like a great option either.

But compared to the thugs who’d been chasing him like they meant to kill him, the man seemed slightly better… Sort of.

The younger gangster with the scar shouted in protest.

“No way!”

“Boss Pyo, you’re putting us in a tough spot here.”

Another gangster, who looked like a friendly next-door neighbor on the outside, spoke with a blank face.

That expressionless face alone was chilling.

The man looked at him and tilted his head slightly, smiling lazily.

“You don’t trust me with a guest, is that it?”

“No, no. Of course we trust you, Boss Pyo. But it’s only natural for us to be on edge if we don’t handle it right now. I hope you can see it from our side.”

The older gangster said it with a fake smile and a fake tone.

Standing there, Heeseong couldn’t help but be stunned at how they only cared about their own perspective, never about the person who had just been chased for his life.

But that feeling of outrage was so small compared to his fear, it quickly faded.

The man tightened his grip around Heeseong’s waist and paused for a moment.

Heeseong, watching anxiously, felt his nerves fray.

He wished the man would either let go or just speak already.

“Hmm… Then how about this? Basement level three, one-month unlimited.”

To Heeseong, it was complete gibberish.

But it seemed the gangsters understood, because the older one’s expression immediately changed.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally opened his mouth.

“Ahem. If you promise to handle it for sure, I guess that’s not bad… But is he really worth that much to you?”

In response to the gangster’s question, the man suddenly grabbed Heeseong’s ass and yanked him forward with a vicious grin.

Their lower bodies pressed together tightly, and Heeseong flinched.

“I’ve been bored lately.”

“Ah, so that’s what this is.”

A lewd grin spread across the gangster’s face.

He let out a laugh, then shook his head in disbelief.

Heeseong was so stunned he wondered if he’d misheard everything.

Gilsoo, the gangster Heeseong had described as looking like a friendly neighbor, gave Daesik a sleazy sneer.

These damn alphas never can keep it in their pants.

He’d thought things might be different since Pyo Daesik was a dominant alpha.

Turns out dominant alphas aren’t anything special either.

While Gilsoo clicked his tongue, the younger recruit, Dongwoo, scrunched his face in disgust.

“But still—”

“Hey, hey. Let it go. Just let Boss Pyo do his thing.”

“…Understood.”

Despite the reply, his face said he didn’t agree at all.

It was clear he wasn’t convinced.

As with all rookies, Dongwoo was clearly underestimating Daesik, the rural motel owner.

Typical clueless rookie.

Gilsoo had no intention of explaining Daesik to him.

There was no reason to, and no need.

The gangsters nonchalantly disappeared back into the mountain.

It was like they had a trail marked—there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in their steps.

Heeseong, watching them, briefly felt relieved, then tensed again.

He was still sweating cold.

What if the man really tried to do what he’d said to the gangsters?

Should he hit him in the groin and make a run for it?

Should he avoid the motel altogether since the man owned it?

But all his belongings were still inside.

His heat cycle was starting soon—what would he do then?

He still hadn’t even figured out who he was supposed to target for the gangsters…

“What’s your name?”

He was buried in worry when the man suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“Your name.”

For some reason, it felt dangerous to give it.

An alarm went off in his mind.

The man frowned slightly, catching on quickly.

“Don’t try to be clever.”

“Y-Yoon Heeseong.”

Heeseong, totally flustered, told the truth.

“Pretty name.”

Smiling smoothly, the man gently brushed back Heeseong’s messy hair.

“Don’t wander around. Go back inside.”

Heeseong blinked in confusion.

“Uh… you’re just letting me go?”

The man stared at him and gave a mischievous grin.

“Why? You want more? Should we?”

“N-no!”

Heeseong yelped and shook his head frantically.

His glasses went crooked from the motion.

While he fumbled to fix them, the man finally released his grip on Heeseong’s waist.

“That was the price for waking me up at dawn. There won’t be a second time.”

“Th-thank you.”

Heeseong bowed quickly and turned away, stumbling a little.

Just as he was about to walk off, the man called out from behind.

“Right side.”

Heeseong glanced back at the man one more time, then lowered his head again.

As he turned to the right—wham—he bumped into a tree.

“Ugh.”

He staggered, and laughter rang out from behind him.

Heeseong wanted to crawl into a hole.

His face flushed with heat, and his neck shrank down like a turtle’s.

So embarrassing.

He scrambled to adjust his glasses again and stepped forward—only for his arm to be grabbed.

“This way.”

“Th-thank you…”

Heeseong, hopeless with directions, didn’t refuse the man’s help.

He really didn’t want to get lost again and end up running into the gangsters.

The man smirked and threw a heavy arm over Heeseong’s shoulder.

“Bad with directions, huh?”

“Yeah…”

Heeseong shrank his neck as he nodded.

It was true—he was terrible with directions.

Not that he wanted to admit it.

With an arm slung over his shoulders, the man led Heeseong along at a slow pace.

“And you decided to go for a walk here?”

Heeseong had no defense for that.

He’d just come because he saw the mountain, but now it felt incredibly foolish.

“No fear, huh?”

The man burst out laughing like something was hilarious.

Not funny at all.

Heeseong rolled his eyes quietly in protest.

The man’s mocking laughter made Heeseong’s shoulders slump.

It’s not like I wanted things to turn out this way.

A quiet wave of frustration bubbled up.

Seeing his sulky expression, the man glanced at him and laughed again.

Heeseong pouted slightly.

Before he realized it, they had arrived behind the motel.

He hadn’t noticed how fast they were walking—it became all the more obvious he really was terrible with directions.

“Be more careful next time.”

“Okay…”

Heeseong bowed his head and hurried back to his room.

He had been so tense the whole time that his whole body ached.

He let out a deep sigh and collapsed onto the bed.

His heart was still pounding.

Still, it was a relief the man hadn’t done what he told the gangsters he would.

The man was clearly a gangster too, but he was strangely composed and precise in his actions.

Of course, that worked in Heeseong’s favor.

Staring off blankly, Heeseong suddenly remembered something the gangsters had said.

Could that man be the one they were talking about?

He could still hear their voices in his head.

“Just get rid of Pyo Daesik. Got it?”

“B-but how…”

“You’re an omega, aren’t you? Try seducing him or something. Who knows, maybe he’ll let you stab him first.”

Heeseong let out a dry breath.

Those men had used his brother’s life as leverage and made an absurd demand.

They cornered him, forced him to comply.

If he wanted to save his brother, he had no choice.

…Come to think of it, earlier the gangsters had called the man “Boss Pyo.”