VDN Ch 126
by STAR“Fucking gangster bastards,” he spat out, curses.
“I never thought they’d come all the way to the wedding for revenge…..No, one of them couldn’t get inside. I got reports that he was in the parking lot before the ceremony started. How did this bastard get in? I told them to check IDs before letting anyone in, fuck …. I couldn’t even deal with him because he was with other members of the group.”
The man ruffled his hair furiously, as if he were about to explode. From what he heard, the man had a task related to Chairman Seok, but it seemed he had failed.
Should I dig deeper? Or should I just go back for today and aim for the next opportunity?
Nam-woon hesitated. Detective Jang had been relentlessly trying to capture Chairman Seok, but there seemed to be no results. He wasn’t sure if the nutritional supplement he had secretly taken contained any pheromones, and Kwon Sang-moon’s whereabouts remained unknown. Maybe this was an opportunity to find him.
However, there was too much that Nam-woon didn’t know to just rush in blindly. If he acted clumsily, it could raise suspicion from the other side, and right now, he was with Hae-geon’s family. He didn’t know what damage his actions alone would do to them.
For now, let’s just listen to the phone call and go back. It was at that moment that he made his decision.
Ding, the man’s voice was cut off by a single sound. Nam-woon bit his lip and looked down at the phone he was holding.
[Where did you go again?]
It was a message from Jin Hae-geon. Shit. Of all times, it had to be now.
He hadn’t even heard the entire phone conversation, nor had he obtained any meaningful information. If he backed off now, the chance to gather information wouldn’t come again. Letting out a short sigh, Nam-woon threw his shoes down to the floor, slipped his feet in, and trudged down the stairs. The Jonghwang Pharmaceutical’s son was so startled that he was stuck to the corner of the wall, unable to move. Nam-woon stood in a slouched posture with one hand in his pocket and asked,
“Having some trouble?”
“Ugh, no! I didn’t mean to do it on purpose… That guy tricked me, and I really didn’t know....”
As Nam-woon moved closer, the man struggled to back away, but there was nowhere to go. His face was completely frozen in fear.
“Is that how you handle things?”
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. But I genuinely tried! I searched everywhere for someone who didn’t have any issues. But I never thought that guy would lie for money!”
‘Someone who didn’t have any issues.’ Nam-woon silently put his hands into his pockets and looked down at the man. The man’s gaze shifted to Nam-woon’s pockets and began to tremble uncontrollably. He seemed suspicious, wondering if Nam-woon had hidden a knife in his pocket. The man was begging with both hands as if his palms were on fire.
“P-Please spare my life! You know, I’m also on the edge here. My in-laws would throw me out and demand a divorce at any moment. If it gets out that I’m a beta, our company, which I barely managed to get back on its feet with this marriage, will go under. Who do you think is the most desperate right now? I wouldn’t dare deceive the Chairman! I will find a dominant alpha, someone who won’t have any issues. Please, just go back today. Please…”
The man was on the verge of kneeling and begging at any moment.
Nam-woon pursed his lips. Chairman Seok is looking for a dominant alpha. His heart pounded at those words. He thought of a guy who’s been messing with his head these days. His stomach lurched with an unknown sense of anxiety.
“Another dominant alpha? Where are you going to find one, you bastard?”
After that, Nam-woon continued to press the man for more information, but the man just kept repeating like a parrot that he would look for a dominant alpha. Fortunately, he did not mention Seo-oh or anyone similar. It seemed impossible to obtain any more useful information from him.
Nam-woon slammed his fist hard against the wall right next to the man’s ear. Then, recalling the tone and actions of the gangsters he used to work with, he spoke ominously.
“Consider yourself lucky that I came today. It’s because I’m soft-hearted that I’m letting you off, if it were someone else, you wouldn’t be able to show that pretty face around anymore. Do you understand? You would have been smashed into the asphalt long ago.”
“Uh, huh, yes, yes…Thank you, really…”
“You know what will happen if you go around spreading words like now, right?”
As he said the last part, he pointed to the phone that was rolling on the ground, and the man nodded frantically, trembling.
“Yes, yes! I won’t even breathe until my next order, I’ll stay quiet…! Thank you!”
Nam-woon gave him another warning to keep his mouth shut and then quickly made his way back to the venue. His expression was darker than before.
***
As he headed toward the table, Hae-geon’s uncle spoke affectionately to Nam-woon, as if he had become accustomed to him.
“I’m thinking of ordering another bottle of wine. How about we have a glass of wine together, just the two of us? Do you prefer red wine or white wine?”
“I’m sorry, uncle. Something urgent came up, so I have to leave first.”
“Already?”
The uncle asked in surprise, and the aunt also seemed disappointed and tried to persuade Nam-woon to stay.
“Why are you leaving so early? Stay a little longer and chat.”
“I’d like to, but something came up suddenly. I’m sorry.”
Nam-woon apologized in a stiff voice. Then he stood up, looking at Hae-geon, who was grabbing his suit jacket.
“I’m leaving first. I’ll contact you later about the remaining amount…”
As he walked past him, his wrist was suddenly grabbed. Hae-geon held onto Nam-woon’s arm and looked at his relatives as he said,
“Then I’ll get going.”
“Hae-geon, are you leaving too?”
His uncle asked, and Hae-geon responded as if it were obvious.
“I need to give him a ride.”
The confident attitude made the uncle and his wife nod in agreement. The uncle was the first to extend his hand to Nam-woon.
“I had a great time today. Next time, we’ll arrange a proper gathering and have a meal together with Hae-geon.”
“What? Oh, yes. I enjoyed it too.”
Although he honestly had no intention of seeing them again, Nam-woon still shook the uncle’s hand without a word, as he was still pretending to be Hae-geon’s lover. From one side of the table, the gloomy voice of a child who had not yet reached puberty rang out. It was Jong-hoon who believed that Nam-woon was Rapper Seo.
“Hyung, why are you leaving already? I have so many questions to ask you.”
“Study hard. Oh, and write only good things in your notebook.”
As Nam-woon smiled and waved his hand, the child frowned and replied, “Okay….” Then, Nam-woon stepped out of the banquet hall and quickly said to Hae-geon as they went down to the lobby together,
“I did everything you asked me to do today. You can’t ask for a refund just because I came out a little earlier.”
As Nam-woon hurried toward the entrance, he suddenly paused. According to the son of Jonghwang Pharmaceutical, one of Chairman Seok’s subordinates was trying to enter the wedding venue. If he were a direct subordinate of Chairman Seok, he would likely know Nam-woon’s face. Although he had silenced him in advance, he was worried that the fact he had approached the son of Jonghwang Pharmaceutical might get out.
Is he still around here? He said that the man was spotted in the parking lot.
As he turned to look for another exit, Hae-geon blocked his path. Nam-woon furrowed his brow deeply.
“What? We’re done here.”
“I said I’d give you a ride.”
“Being with you is uncomfortable. Let’s just go our separate ways.”
“Nam-woon, do you think your acting was perfect today?”
“What?”
“With that shitty acting, you wouldn’t even earn 60,000 won. If you’re going to take 6 million won, shouldn’t you work for it?”
“……”
“What if my uncle calls on the way? I said I would give you a ride, so let’s do this properly.”
Hae-geon shot back unilaterally and started walking ahead. Oh, I’m sick and tired of that asshole. I’ll make sure I never get tangled up with him again. I’ll ask him to drop off me at a nearby station. Nam-woon reluctantly followed behind and shouted,
“I’m not going down to the parking lot! You going to have to drive the car up!”
However, instead of taking the elevator down to the underground parking lot, Hae-geon headed straight outside the venue. After making a phone call, a car pulled up in front of them a few minutes later. It was a different car from the one Nam-woon had arrived in that morning.
“This car is different from the morning one?”
“I had something to check out with that car.”
Hae-geon waved his hand after answering Nam-woon’s question in a nonchalant manner. The driver’s door opened and a man in a suit got out. He bowed his head slightly and stepped aside, and Hae-geon naturally got into the driver’s seat. Nam-woon, who was looking around at the changed car, also got into the passenger seat right away.
The car drove smoothly on the road. Nam-woon only fiddled with the phone in his hand. He wanted to call Seo-oh and Detective Jang quickly, but the situation didn’t allow for it, so he was anxious. He didn’t suspect Hae-geon, but talking on the phone in a space with him felt a bit uncomfortable. As he aimlessly scrolled through the phone app, Nam-woon eventually opened the messaging window and moved his fingers.
[Is everything okay?]
[?]
He stared at the screen, waiting for Seo-oh’s reply. Fortunately, he received a response fairly quickly today.
[Yeah. How about Hyung?]
[I’m fine, nothing special.]
[But I have a question to ask Hyung.]
Nam-woon was a little nervous at the sudden question.
[Is your favorite color pink?]
Nam-woon immediately moved his finger at the ridiculous question.
[Why?]
[Just curious.]
Nam-woon tried to figure out the intention behind Seo-oh’s question without responding. Then, two minutes later, another message came in.
[I’m just asking because I’m curious.]
Ah… It’s nothing special, but why are you so cute? Nam-woon lowered his head and covered his eyes with his palms. He felt his anxious mood improve a lot just from the simple conversation with Seo-oh.