VDN Ch 79

“…No, it’s not like that. Hyung lives with me and I didn’t borrow money from him. I didn’t take out a loan either.”

“Really? You’re not lying to me because you think I’ll worry?”

Kwon Sang-moon, having repeated the same question several times, finally calmed himself with a sniffle as Seo-oh continuously denied it. Then he asked again carefully:

“Your pheromone insensitivity isn’t fully cured, right? You still can’t smell properly, can you, Seo-oh?”

“It’s not completely healed yet.”

Seo-oh quietly observed his father’s anxious and urgent face. The tone of his question was strange. It sounded as if he hoped Seo-oh’s condition wouldn’t improve.

“Dad, is it bad if I do get better?”

“…….”

Kwon Sang-moon avoided his gaze with a complicated expression. Once again, there was silence. Seo-oh pressed his father.

“Why are you acting like this? Just answer me!”

When Seo-oh raised his voice in frustration, Kwon Sang-moon swallowed hard and asked,

“Seo-oh, did Chairman Seok ever offer to pay for your medical expenses?”

“He did. But I refused immediately.”

“If your pheromone insensitivity does heal, promise me you’ll never let Chairman Seok find out. Understand?”

Chairman Seok was also aware that Seo-oh had a pheromone insensitivity. When Seo-oh manifested as a dominant alpha, Chairman Seok was pleased and began to take care of him more than his own son. However, it wasn’t long before Seo-oh started having trouble detecting pheromones, which greatly disappointed Chairman Seok. He even offered to cover all the medical expenses.

Seo-oh also knew that during the time his father worked as a driver under Chairman Seok, his father had accepted money from him and taken him to hospitals. Of course, his father didn’t know that Seo-oh knew about this.

“Why shouldn’t he find out?”

But Kwon Sang-moon remained silent, his lips tightly sealed. Eventually, Seo-oh changed his question.

“Just tell me what the hell Chairman Seok did!”

Kwon Sang-moon hesitated, then lowered his voice as if afraid someone might overhear.

“Chairman Seok is working on a trait transformation drug.”

“…What?”

Seo-oh already knew that Chairman Seok was obsessed with money, but he never imagined he would go so far as to tamper with genetic traits. How could someone change a person’s inherent traits?

Seo-oh was confused and asked,

“But what does that have to do with you? Are you saying Chairman Seok kidnapped you because of trait-altering drugs?”

“I was gathering evidence against him. I got caught while collecting proof to send that bastard to prison…”

Seo-oh was at a loss for words. He already knew that Chairman Seok was involved in illegal activities. If he had made money only through legal means, that would have been more surprising. However, he had no idea that these illegal activities were related to altering human traits. It was a topic he had never considered, and he couldn’t hide his shock.

At the same time, he felt a sense of doubt. How did his father know so much about this? And why was he trying to stop it himself?

Seo-oh couldn’t understand what his father was thinking. Overwhelmed by frustration and anger, he finally exploded.

“Why would you get involved in something like this, Dad!”

“If that bastard isn’t stopped soon, there will be serious consequences!”

“Then leave it to the police! Why are you doing this? Why are you putting yourself in such danger!”

“Do you even know what kind of man he is? That man is more evil than you can imagine! He thinks of nothing but exploiting and draining the people around him—like a demon! No. Anyway, I’m the one who had the closest watch on him. That’s why I had no choice…”

“Dad, what are you even saying…”

Seo-oh felt like he couldn’t breathe. It seemed like there was something he was missing, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. His father was usually indecisive and worried about everything. It was hard to believe he had jumped into something like this.

“So what happened to you? What did Chairman Seok do?”

“Nothing serious.”

“Nothing serious? Then why do you look like this?”

Seo-oh grabbed his father’s wrist, which was as thin as a winter branch. His father was an alpha. Although he was gentle and small in stature, unlike the typical image of an alpha, this fact remained unchanged.

Yet his father appeared more haggard than ever. He had lost not only weight but also muscle, looking like a sick person. Seo-oh felt his heart breaking.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he called out softly, “Dad.”

“But didn’t you realize it was me?”

Kwon Sang-moon looked at Seo-oh with a puzzled expression.

“When you were hiding under Hyung’s table at the club, couldn’t you smell my pheromones?”

“Oh, I was just so out of it at that moment.”

Even so, it didn’t make sense that his father couldn’t recognize his son’s pheromones. He didn’t have pheromone insensitivity like Seo-oh. Suddenly, Seo-oh’s expression turned grim.

“Tell me the truth. What happened?”

“…Seo-oh, listen carefully and don’t be shocked.”

Kwon Sang-moon avoided Seo-oh’s gaze and lowered his head.

“I’m not an Alpha anymore.”

“…What?”

***

Ding.

When he reached the first floor, the elevator door opened. As Seo-oh came out of the door, he recalled what he heard from his father earlier.

“Your dad knows a good detective. Through him, I sometimes hear about you and Se-han… I’m very grateful to him. I’ve passed on enough evidence to him to catch that bastard Chairman Seok. So don’t worry.”

When I told him that we don’t need evidence, we don’t need any of this, we just need to pack up and run away, his father was furious. Don’t you realize what kind of a bastard Chairman Seok is? he said angrily.

“Seo-oh, Chairman Seok won’t touch you. If you go to school, go to the hospital, and live as if nothing is wrong, he’ll never touch you. But if he catches even a whiff that I’m back, he’ll start watching you first. So pretend you don’t know anything—go home and live normally. Understand?”

Go back home and live your life as usual. It sounded ridiculous.

However, his father repeatedly reminded him to think of Se-han, who would be left alone if anything happened to Seo-oh. Therefore, he had to maintain a normal life to protect his younger brother from harm.

One fortunate thing that came out of this was that Hyung had nothing to do with Chairman Seok affairs. When asked if Nam-woon knew about this, his father hesitated, saying, “I’m not sure…”The sense of relief that his Hyung, who had hidden his father between his legs, probably didn’t know about this was a big relief.

But his father warned him to be cautious of the Seok family. Even if they pretended to be unaware on the outside, they might be plotting something behind the scenes or planning to stab him in the back.

In any case, Hyung had protected his father. Seo-oh felt deeply relieved about that fact.

Even though he was told to go straight home, he felt it would be better to stay a little longer. As he headed towards the parking lot to tell Nam-woon to go ahead, he found some Umpyeong employees standing in front of his car.

“Why are you out here?”

“I don’t know. We were told to stay out.”

Seo-oh passed them and opened the car door.

“Hyung, I’m staying here. Stay at your place tonight…”

Seo-oh’s expression hardened as he spoke. The car was filled with a sweet and savory smell. It was similar to the smell of baking bread. Nam-woon, who had been lying down with his eyes closed, opened his eyes slightly at Seo-oh’s voice.

“Oh, you’re here? Are you going to stay with your dad today?”

A faint blush spread across his face as he spoke. There was heat that could not be hidden as he slowly exhaled. Seo-oh straightened his bent back as he felt the sweet smell wafting up to his nose. He asked, looking at the Umpyeong employees.

“Are you all beta?”

“So what if I am? Why ask something like that, asshole.”

At the sudden question, the Umpyeong underling shot a defiant look. The Umpyeong employees were indeed betas, but their traits and beliefs were separate issues. Could Seo-oh really entrust Nam-woon with them?

Seo-oh couldn’t help but recall the erotic sight of Nam-woon, unable to contain his excitement, rubbing his penis while on top of him. If he were to be in the car with other men in that state… Naturally, the image of Nam-woon sitting on the Umpyeong employees and rubbing himself filled his mind. Since he has unique tastes, he might even welcome the presence of two men.

Seo-oh lowered his gaze. Now that he sees it, the Umpyeong employee’s fingers are quite long.

Those fingers could push into his Hyung’s insides.

Seo-oh glared at the Umpyeong employee’s face as if he was going to kill them. The Umpyeong employee widened his eyes and said, “Why, what!” Seo-oh said in a fierce tone.

“You guys take a taxi.”

“What?”

“I will take Hyung home.”

“No, it’s my car…! And you should stay here!”

“I’ll come back.”

“Hey, let us ride too!”

Ignoring the protests of Mr. Umpyeong and his employee, Seo-oh got into the driver’s seat. Then, with a rough gesture, he started the engine.

“What about Mr. Umpyeong?”

Nam-woon’s questioning voice came from behind, but he didn’t answer.

Meanwhile, Nam-woon covered his mouth with his hand to stop himself from gasping. He was so busy hiding his body’s changes that he didn’t even think about the possibility of Seo-oh seeing him through the rear-view mirror.

The entire car was filled with Seo-oh’s scent. As he looked down, he noticed the bulging front of his pants catch his eyes. Ha. He was worried about this, so he had asked the Umpyeong employees to take him. But Seo-oh, who he thought would have stayed in the apartment, ended up taking on this role.

As he shifted slightly, he felt his wet underwear. He wanted to check if it was soaked all the way to the back like last time, but he desperately suppressed the urge and opened his mouth.

“…Let’s play some music.”

The silence was overwhelming. Maybe the sound of his rough breathing would reach Seo-oh’s ears. But no matter how long he waited, he couldn’t hear the sound of music.

“Hey, Kwon Seo-oh.”

“I don’t feel like listening to music.”

“What…”

Why is he like that? Nam-woon hesitated to say something and closed his mouth again. Whether it was his imagination or not, the scent seemed even stronger than before. Nam-woon closed his eyes tightly against the overpowering fragrance, which seemed to tickle his whole body.