Chapter 20

An omega arrogant and strong-willed enough to slap a man of Kwon Heeseong’s standing. He couldn’t even picture it.

But the next thing out of Seo Jiho’s mouth was enough to send Baek Hamin’s heart straight through the floor.

“Oh, and are you in touch with Yoon Mujin these days, by any chance?”

“…Mujin?”

Baek Hamin’s voice trembled faintly. He had been in contact with him recently. But Yoon Mujin, whom he had thought of as a friend for life, had left him with strange words and then gone silent.

Why?

They had been such close friends. Baek Hamin tipped his champagne glass with a bitter expression.

Maybe.

Maybe the problem was feelings. Yoon Mujin’s feelings—the ones Baek Hamin had been turning away from all this time. He had known what the man felt for him and how much he had suffered on his behalf, and he had pretended not to.

“Why? Did something happen to Mujin?”

“You really don’t know? Yoon Mujin quit boxing completely.”

“What?!”

Baek Hamin’s eyes went wide. He had never imagined the man would give up even the boxing he loved so much.

“The rumor’s already all over that scene. Apparently, he took off his gloves for good and disappeared. Everyone’s whispering that, with no prospects left, he’s probably out doing manual labor.”

Crash!

The champagne glass in Baek Hamin’s hand fell to the floor and shattered with a sharp report.

Even so, Baek Hamin heard nothing at all.

Mujin quit boxing?

That Mujin?

For Yoon Mujin, boxing was as good as his whole life. A man who had staked his existence on a pair of gloves and only truly breathed while he was in the ring.

The fact that he had abandoned all of it and disappeared stirred something far beyond a bad feeling in Baek Hamin.

An enormous guilt.

It’s because of me. Because I married Kang Taeon. He lost everything because I abandoned him.

Slipping out of the hall as though fleeing, Baek Hamin hid inside a bathroom stall and pulled out his phone with shaking hands.

Then he pressed Yoon Mujin’s number, still saved in his speed dial.

The number you have dialed is not in service…

Only a cold mechanical voice answered him.

He had gotten rid of the number itself.

Baek Hamin bit his lip, his eyes brimming with tears.

The dependable friend who had silently stood as a shield at his side whenever things became difficult.

A man foolishly kind enough to gladly tear pieces of himself away for Baek Hamin’s sake.

“Mujin…”

Baek Hamin wanted to help him right then and there.

He couldn’t let him go on like this.

For that, it felt as though he could do anything.

Because they were friends.

So that night, Baek Hamin decided to plead with Kang Taeon.

He sat quietly on the bed when Kang Taeon came over, fresh from the shower.

“Hamin, did something happen at the gathering earlier? Your complexion was terrible, and you haven’t eaten anything since.”

Kang Taeon gently stroked his cheek.

Baek Hamin took that large hand in both of his and looked up at him pitifully.

“Hyung. I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor? What is it? If it’s something you want, of course I’ll do it.”

“Mujin. Please find Yoon Mujin.”

The affection in Kang Taeon’s eyes froze cold.

Yoon Mujin.

An unpleasant name that stubbornly clung to one corner of his omega’s heart.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Kang Taeon spoke heavily.

“Why are you suddenly looking for him?”

“They say Mujin gave up boxing entirely and disappeared. I think it’s because of me, and it hurts so much. How hard and painful must it be for him, all alone? Hyung, I’m so anxious. What if Mujin gets some terrible idea in his head?”

Fat tears finally spilled from Baek Hamin’s eyes.

Tears shed for Yoon Mujin were more than enough to provoke Kang Taeon’s jealousy, but he couldn’t ignore his spouse when he was under such severe stress from his family’s harsh pressure.

Kang Taeon clicked his tongue bitterly and pulled Baek Hamin into his arms.

“All right. I’ll give the order to look for him. But once you’ve confirmed he’s safe, you let it go. Understood? Can you promise me that?”

“Yes. Thank you, hyung. Thank you so much.”

Once Kang Taeon’s order came down, enormous amounts of capital and manpower went into motion.

Finding Yoon Mujin’s whereabouts didn’t take long.

A few days later, Kang Taeon’s chief secretary came to the house carrying a thick document envelope.

“The CEO instructed me to hand this directly to you.”

Sitting on the living room sofa, Baek Hamin took the envelope with shaking hands.

When he opened it, crisp paper documents spilled out, along with several photographs that looked as though someone had secretly taken them from a distance with a telephoto lens.

“What is this…?”

Picking up a photograph, Baek Hamin’s pupils began shaking as though an earthquake had struck.

The first photograph.

In front of the gate of a shabby country house, Yoon Mujin sat on an old wooden platform, keeping watch with sharp eyes, wary of someone.

Contrary to the gauntness Baek Hamin had expected, his build had grown even more solid, and there was a strange vitality in his expression.

And the second photograph.

“Kwon Heeseong…?”

Unbelievably, in front of that same country gate was Kwon Heeseong, locked in a vicious standoff with Yoon Mujin.

Why on earth were Yoon Mujin and Kwon Heeseong, who had no point of contact whatsoever, sitting side by side in front of this shabby country gate, growling at each other like cats and dogs?

Panting in confusion, he checked the third and final photograph.

And in that instant, his heart froze.

In the photograph, in the yard of a blue-roofed house, an omega sat on the edge of the veranda eating watermelon.

The identity of the person the two dominant alphas, Kwon Heeseong and Yoon Mujin, were circling and guarding so fiercely was—

“Jeong Iwon…?”

A trembling groan slipped from Baek Hamin’s lips.

Jeong Iwon.

The very person who, before Baek Hamin ended up with Kang Taeon, had driven his life into hell.

A terrible villain who had sneered at his recessive omega traits, mocked his poverty, and sent people to inflict all manner of harassment and cruelty on him without hesitation.

Why was a piece of trash like that with Yoon Mujin, his precious friend?

No.

Why is Mujin with someone like that?

His breathing grew ragged.

The terrible memories of weeping helplessly at Jeong Iwon’s mercy came rushing back with vivid clarity.

Jeong Iwon was cunning and vicious.

He was surely exploiting Yoon Mujin’s foolishly kind and guileless nature, using a man who had nowhere else to go like a slave.

And Kwon Heeseong was clearly being manipulated by Jeong Iwon’s cheap tricks as well.

Mujin’s problem is that he’s too kind. Getting tangled up with Jeong Iwon will only get him hurt and used all over again.

A strange emotion burned fiercely in Baek Hamin’s chest.

The fact that the Yoon Mujin he had left behind was, of all places, at the side of the man who had tormented him the most was something he simply could not accept.

I have to save him. I have to get Mujin away from Jeong Iwon. I can’t let my friend be ruined.

Completely overlooking the fact that his own intervention in Yoon Mujin’s life could itself become another form of violence, Baek Hamin clenched his fists and made up his mind.

He would rescue Yoon Mujin from Jeong Iwon’s grasp.

That was the last duty and obligation he owed him as a friend.

With the storm of the heat cycle finally past, peaceful daily life returned.

Around lunchtime, with the sun high overhead, the kitchen rang with the sound of a knife striking a cutting board, accompanied by the savory smell of grilling meat.

On the stove, a clear beef-and-radish soup simmered with radish cut into rough chunks. Beside it sat sweet bulgogi and glossy pork ribs piled into a mountain.

Beyond that were crisp cucumber kimchi, a thickly rolled omelet, well-seasoned spinach, bracken, and chamnamul.

Absorbed in cooking, Jeong Iwon wiped the sweat from his forehead before suddenly stopping.

Looking at the lavish spread of meat dishes and the more-than-double number of side dishes he normally prepared, he let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Good grief. Why am I laying out a spread like this?”

He lived alone.

Normally, he would cook rice in advance, add a stew or soup, and make do with side dishes prepared in one batch. When even that felt like too much effort, he would boil ramyeon.

And yet, at some point, the side dishes had started getting richer and richer.

“It’s all because those two eat so much.”

Apparently, trying to feed two strapping alphas had somehow brought things to this point.

And yet, he felt no resistance to it.

The reason was obvious.

Throughout that brutal heat cycle, the two of them had slept rough in front of his house and stayed awake all night.

They might have spent the whole time growling and bickering like children, but thanks to their foolish behavior, Jeong Iwon had gotten through his heat safely and without incident.

So gratitude had quietly crept into his heart.

Telling himself that he should at least help restore the strength of the two men who had suffered for days, he had been cooking almost as though under a spell.

Kwon Heeseong had bought the meat, of course, but Jeong Iwon was the one cooking it, anyway.