VDN Ch 170

Through the phone, Min-chan’s puzzled voice came through. 

– Have you met Se-han yet?

“Not yet. He might still be on his way, so don’t worry too much. Min-chan, where did you and Se-han part ways?”

– At the playground in front of my house.

The playground in front of Min-chan’s house was a bit far from Seo-oh’s house. Min-chan added in a worried voice.

Se-han was really excited about having dinner with his Hyungs today. He said that Nam-woon Hyung’s runaways are finally over. At first, we were going to play at the playground some more and then go our separate ways, but I had to go to the academy. If you haven’t met Se-han yet, you might want to check Catchdoll.

“Catchdoll?”

– Yes. It’s a claw machine shop that opened recently near Samjeong Laundry. We stop by there every day just to look. Maybe he’s at Catchdoll.

After that, Seo-oh asked about what time he parted with Se-han and if he could provide the phone numbers of the friends they played with before ending the call.

It seemed like he should check out the store Min-chan mentioned and then head straight home. Since Se-han could lose track of time playing with just sand, he might have forgotten the meeting time while playing. But for some reason, Seo-oh felt uneasy. 

Why do I feel so strange? Is it because I haven’t heard from Nam-woon? 

It seemed better to postpone dinner until later. Seo-oh dialed home again while hurriedly moving his feet. 

***

“Young master, we’ve arrived.”

A shiny luxury sedan that looked as if it had been freshly released came to a stop at the entrance of the alley. The back passenger door opened, and long legs stepped out. The man, who immediately appeared displeased, surveyed the narrow alley in front of him. The middle-aged man who got out of the driver’s seat followed him and opened his mouth while observing the man’s expression.

“As you can see, the road is too narrow for the car to enter.”

“…Is this even Seoul?”

Hae-geon stared into the alley with a bewildered expression and slowly walked. The driver followed closely behind. Hae-geon gestured towards the car as if annoyed.

“Move the car. If another car tries to come through here, we’ll end up scraping the doors.”

“But the Chairman said that wherever you go, young master…”

“……”

The driver swallowed hard and bowed his head, meeting Hae-geon’s unblinking brown eyes. This was a clear warning that he would not repeat himself.

“…Understood. I’ll park the car and wait here.”

Hae-geon walked past the man without a word, his hands tucked into his pockets. He slowly made his way up the road, feeling the rough gravel and debris crunching under his shoes like an unpaved mountain path.

The neighborhood was very quiet, as if no one lived there. The gray, dull buildings gave off an eerie atmosphere, like an abandoned house. He was walking slowly, but he stopped in front of a dark supermarket.

[Today is the n3ighborhood outing, so the store is closed. The store will be op3n tomorrow.]

“What does it say?”

The handwriting was poor, and the incorrect spelling and grammar made Hae-geon raise one eyebrow. He stretched his neck and read it again, and it seemed to mean that the store was closed for a day because of the neighborhood outing. He took another glance at the store’s exterior, which looked like it was created thirty years ago and continued walking.

After passing several houses, he finally saw his destination. Like the other buildings he had seen on his way up, it was very old and shabby. In fact, it was a bit embarrassing to even call it a house. To him, it looked like they should tear it down and build a new structure immediately.

“Why does Nam-woon live in a place like this? He should just live in my house.”

Anyway, it’s strange… He muttered and kicked the old green gate with his foot. The door opened with a sharp hinge, revealing a small yard. As he stepped inside, he saw graffiti in the same font as the one on the supermarket door.

「TomatoTomatoTomatoTomatoTomatoTomatoTomatoTomatoTomatoTomato……」

Narrowing his eyes at the continuous writing, Hae-geon suddenly saw the face of an angry, tomato-like child flash through his mind. He walked past the tomato sprouts and towards the door. As he grabbed the handle and turned it, the door opened easily with a creak. He wondered for a moment whether they didn’t lock the door because they didn’t worry about thieves. His lips twisted as he looked at the room.

What a mess of a house.

The living room was very small, with nothing much to look around at. Judging by the one door, it seemed like the room over there was the bedroom. Hae-geon confidently stepped inside with his boots and forcefully opened the door wide.

“Fuck, this is the bathroom?”

Rarely flustered, he finally noticed three pillows and neatly folded blankets next to the wardrobe. As he rummaged through the plastic drawers, sink, refrigerator, and cabinet, a hollow laugh escaped his lips.

The report he had received previously about Seo-oh mentioned his residence, but he considered it unimportant information that he had overlooked. I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Why would Seok Nam-woon be associated with this dump?

Hae-geon’s expression darkened as he pondered for a moment. It wasn’t because the house was nice or comfortable to live in. Was it really because of one insignificant guy living here?

“This is disgusting…”

The reason he silently waited for Nam-woon to contact him was simple. Seok Nam-woon was already rolling over to him. It was clear that there were no good options other than himself. That’s why Hae-geon generously allowed Nam-woon to sort out his past connections and waited for him to come back.

But one, two days…kept passing and the call he was waiting for never came. Even Chairman Seok had no intentions of holding a private meeting with Jin Hae-geon.

Hae-geon, feeling something was wrong, hired people to further investigate Chairman Seok and Nam-woon. The investigation revealed the dirty side of Chairman Seok that Hae-geon didn’t want to know, while Nam-woon’s whereabouts remained a mystery.

It was strange that there were no traces of him, and just when Hae-geon began to suspect Chairman Seok, he received a report that Nam-woon had been found at the police station, right before he was about to confront the old man he didn’t want to see.

After briefly frowning at the familiar, annoying names in the report, Hae-geon set out to the garbage den himself to find his fiancé.

Hae-geon, who was looking around the room with sharp eyes, found a blue hat on the dresser and chuckled.

“Nam-woon’s head is so small. Cute.”

He spread his hand next to the hat to compare the size. He adjusted the hat to fit his head perfectly and pressed it down deeply. While fiddling with the hat and laughing, he opened the wardrobe drawer to find another trace of Nam-woon.

That’s when it happened. With a string of curses, three large men entered the room with their shoes on.

“Ah, you bastard, you finally showed up? Hey, you motherfucker! We Hyungs are busy, what the hell is this, making us wait?”

Hae-geon glanced at the unexpected intruders and then casually went back to rummaging through the wardrobe drawer as if nothing had happened. Ignoring them completely, one of the men with a mustache kicked over the trash can, spilling its contents all over the floor.

“You rude asshole! You don’t even look at someone while they’re talking to you? Is your dog brain too dumb to understand human speech or what?”

As the mustached man approached, about to lay his hands on Hae-geon’s broad shoulders, Hae-geon swiftly turned around. Bam! The man’s large face turned to the right with a loud noise. While the man was frozen from the sudden slap, Hae-geon brushed off his shoulder and frowned.

“Where do you think you’re putting your hand? You don’t even wash your hands after using the bathroom do you?”

He tore off a roll of tissues from the nearby roll and quickly wiped the hand that had touched the man’s cheek. The mustached man, taken aback by the unexpected hit, slowly raised his head and distorted his face like a demon.

“You fucking bastard…!”

With a loud curse, he lunged at Hae-geon. Hae-geon mercilessly threw a punch. Bam! With a rough impact sound, the man’s body slammed hard against the plastic drawer. Hae-geon approached him as he staggered and swung his fist again. The mustached face quickly became covered in blood.

The rest of the large men who were standing there with their mouths open at the unexpected sight slowly came to their senses and started moving their bodies in panic.

“Kwon Seo-oh, you son of a bitch!”

“Fuck, you’re dead today!”

Kwon Seo-oh? Before Hae-geon could react, a burly figure grabbed his body from behind. Even in the disadvantageous situation of his arms being held, Hae-geon’s onslaught did not stop. The mustached man, collapsed on the floor, only let out a strange groan of “Ugh, haah…”

Thud!

At that moment, a hammer-like fist struck Hae-geon’s abdomen. Grimacing slightly from the sharp pain, Hae-geon felt around with his hand. Something cold and smooth touched his fingertips. He grabbed it and swiftly swung it. Bang, bang! With a loud noise, he repeatedly struck the man’s bald head with the flower-patterned table.

“Ack!”

Hae-geon quickly grabbed the man by the collar, who was holding his neck with both hands. He clenched his teeth and let out a low voice.

“My fiancé disappeared, so I’m already pissed off. Why the hell are you acting like this, huh?”

Every time his words were interrupted, a terrible scream sounded through the room. Before long, even his pheromones were leaking out. The big guy who had been squeezing Hae-geon’s neck from behind bent over, unable to withstand the violent dominant alpha pheromones. Ugh, ugh! He vomited several times and quickly wiped the drool from his mouth and headed to the sink.

“You bastard! Just because…you’re a dominant a-alpha! Gasp, pant.“

The man suddenly held a small dagger in his hand. Hae-geon looked at the man with a serious expression and spoke.

“You’re too ugly. Unfortunately, I’m too disgusted to… go through with it.”

“Wha-what kind of bullshit is that!”

He charged, swinging the knife wildly. But he was quickly subdued by Hae-geon, who caught his wrist. Thinking he would suffer the same gruesome fate as his two companions before him, the man’s voice came out laced with fear.

“Sh-shit! I said I’d send you to your lover, so why are you acting like this!”

“Hm?”

Hae-geon tilted his head, staring intently at the man. His light-colored eyes were pretty like marbles, but the man facing them only felt a chill. A hint of madness seemed to linger in those eyes.

“You’re fucking that bastard Seok Nam-woon! I said I’d send you to your lover, so why are you beating me up… Shit, sniffle…”

“…Ah.”

Hae-geon’s eyes widened as if he’d realized something, and then he broke into a bright smile.