Chapter 23

Kwon Heeseong thought it over. No matter how busy he was, he had to leave Yoon Mujin a warning before he went. That was why he went out of his way to stop by Mujin’s house.

“Hey. Something blew up at my company, and I have to go right now, so don’t try anything funny. Just stay put. Got it?”

Mujin answered with a snort. Heeseong stamped his feet impatiently before shouting loud enough for Jeong Iwon to hear.

“I’ve got an emergency, so I’m heading up to Seoul for a bit! I’ll be back soon, so don’t open the door for anybody! And I’ll be calling the whole time I’m up there, so you’d better pick up!”

Mujin’s house and Iwon’s were right next to each other, and Heeseong had spotted Iwon out in the yard on his way over. His voice would carry just fine.

Having shouted his warning, he dragged his reluctant feet toward the car parked nearby, climbed in, and hurried away.

Iwon clenched his jaw, an ominous feeling settling over him.

Why did something have to come up for Heeseong now of all times?

And the bad news didn’t stop with Heeseong.

Mujin’s phone rang next. After getting a new phone, he had given his number to only a few people close to him—the ones who had stubbornly stuck around. Wondering who could be calling, he answered.

It was the director of the gym where he used to train.

“What happened?”

He asked calmly, but a badly trembling voice came from the other end.

“Mujin! Insu—Insu’s hurt!”

“How did Insu get hurt?”

Lee Insu was a younger guy he knew, someone who had been chasing the same dream of becoming a boxer.

“That’s the thing! The kid’s supposed to be a boxer, and he goes and takes illegal cage fights and gets himself hurt. They’re saying his knee is completely ruined. I dragged him in and got him into surgery right away, but…”

The director’s voice trailed off.

He had lost his wife when he was young and had been on his own ever since. Insu had come out of Cheonsawon Orphanage, so there was nobody else to help him, either. On top of that, Mujin and Insu had been close back when Mujin trained at that gym. There had even been a time when Mujin thought that if he had a real younger brother, maybe this was what it would feel like.

Even knowing all that, Mujin hesitated for a moment.

But with Heeseong gone as well, surely nothing would happen just because he stepped away for a little while.

The village he was staying in was small and quiet, and most of its residents were elderly. They doted on Iwon, the first young person to come to the village in ages.

Every word of Mujin’s phone call carried to Iwon in the neighboring yard. After a brief hesitation, Mujin seemed to make up his mind and raised his voice.

“I’ll be back. I’ll keep my phone on at all times, so if anything happens, call me.”

With that, Mujin hurried out of the house. The bus that passed through the village only twice a day would be coming soon.

With both men gone, everything fell silent.

Every now and then, a cicada called from somewhere nearby, or a bird chirped in the distance. That was all.

“It’s lonely.”

The words slipped out before Iwon could stop them, startling him more than anyone.

He had come down here specifically to live a quiet life in the countryside by himself. And yet now that his two uninvited guests were gone, he felt lonely.

People really were fickle creatures.

He should have felt relieved, but strangely, it was as though a cold wind were blowing through one corner of his chest.

The silence didn’t even last an hour.

A car.

Iwon pricked up his ears, wondering if Heeseong had already returned.

But Grandpa Chilseong’s truck didn’t sound like that. That truck rattled so badly it seemed liable to fall apart on the spot.

The car stopped in front of the gate.

Iwon watched cautiously as someone pushed against it. The wooden bar was across the gate, so it didn’t open.

Not Heeseong.

Not Mujin, either. They both knew he had been barring the gate lately, so if they had something to say, they would have knocked first.

“Who is it?”

He asked, thinking it might be one of the village elders.

A cool voice answered.

“Kang Taeon.”

It was the name of a man who had absolutely no business being here.

Kang Taeon frowned slightly as he looked over the small house.

Jeong Iwon, who used to lose his mind over designer labels, lived here?

The whole thing felt almost impossible to believe.

But the voice coming from inside certainly wasn’t.

When he answered the question, silence fell.

Then came the sound of slow footsteps, followed by a face appearing through the opened gate.

“What are you doing here?”

The disrespect in his tone was plain as day.

More than that, the face Kang Taeon hadn’t seen in a long while felt both familiar and unfamiliar at once.

Iwon used to slather all sorts of things over it. Now it was completely bare. Pale and clear like that, it actually looked better than before.

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“I’m asking because I don’t.”

He was visibly frightened, yet he stubbornly refused to speak politely.

Even if Kang Taeon were to grant this piece of trash the status of an equal, he was still the older man. And yet Iwon was doggedly speaking to him as though they were on the same footing.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

There were too many eyes around to discuss things here.

The village elders, apparently intrigued by the unfamiliar face, had gradually gathered nearby and were openly watching him.

Iwon seemed to notice them, too, because he stepped back.

Only then did Kang Taeon enter the house.

The inside wasn’t much to look at, either.

So this was where he had ended up after being cast out by his family.

In a way, it was almost pitiful.

“So what do you want?”

“Speak politely.”

Iwon bit his lip before changing his tone.

“May I ask what you want?”

He had talked so boldly over the phone, yet here he was, easily frightened.

And before, he had always looked at Kang Taeon with that desperate hunger in his eyes.

Now there was none of it.

Iwon looked like a man who had erased every feeling he had ever held.

Fascinating.

Could a person really change this much?

The thought crossed Kang Taeon’s mind, but that wasn’t what mattered right now. So he skipped the preamble and went straight to the point.

Before, this was a man who would have grabbed onto him and squeezed out pathetic tears.

But now there wasn’t even a trace of affection for Kang Taeon in Iwon’s eyes.

There was only distaste—as though he were looking at a piece of filth that had inconvenienced him.

“I have an offer.”

“What kind of offer?”

Even the way he kept questioning him was something Kang Taeon had never seen before.

“Leave the country.”

Iwon blinked.

He was fairly certain he had heard something similar over the phone, but had the man actually meant it?

“I don’t care which country. If there’s somewhere you want to go, say so. I’ll provide the plane ticket and a place to stay.”

“No, hold on. Why do I have to leave the country?”

Kang Taeon looked him straight in the eye.

At the absurd offer, Iwon let out a laugh of pure disbelief.

“Because your presence makes my spouse uncomfortable.”

Kang Taeon said it coldly, without a moment’s hesitation or the slightest hint of apology.

“The only reason I haven’t touched you is because I assumed you couldn’t do anything anymore. But lately, the rats hanging around you have been putting stress on Hamin.”

Does this bastard have some kind of grudge against rodents?

Every time he opened his mouth, it was rats this and rats that. Iwon couldn’t understand why.

His brow furrowed at the insult.

The old Iwon would have trembled at a single look from Kang Taeon.

But he wasn’t that person anymore.

For one thing, the person inside this body had been completely replaced.

“Rats? That’s a little harsh.”

“Would you prefer dogs in heat?”

Kang Taeon brushed off his objection and slowly swept his gaze over the yard.

A second look changed nothing.

It was still a shabby, filthy little house.

“Strange. You used to grovel at my feet, and now you’re acting so sure of yourself. Don’t tell me you’ve gotten cocky because you think you’ve got those losers, Kwon Heeseong and Yoon Mujin, wrapped around your finger?”

Iwon’s body flinched and stiffened at the mocking question.

Kang Taeon caught it.

He sank his teeth into the weakness like a devil.

“Ah.”

A cold sneer spread across his lips.

“I doubted it, but if that’s how things are…”

Kang Taeon smiled strangely.

“I could bring both of them down with a wave of my hand. Should I?”

“You!”

Iwon ground his teeth and glared at him.

That was when Kang Taeon realized something.

If Iwon truly were using Mujin and Heeseong for some ulterior purpose, hearing that the two men he had gotten his hands on could be crushed so easily should have wounded his pride.

He should have been angry.

But this was different.

The anxious expression.

The restless posture.

Jeong Iwon was genuinely worried about those two.

“You. Have you actually given your heart to those two?”

Kang Taeon’s eyes narrowed.

“So the thought of me doing something to them worries you?”

“I have not.”

His heart dropped.

Iwon kept his expression composed, as though nothing was wrong, but cold sweat was seeping into his clenched fists.

Kang Taeon saw straight through those meager feelings he had for the two men.

“Jeong Iwon. Don’t misunderstand. Whatever you do with those two while hiding out here is none of my concern.”

His voice grew colder.

“But I won’t tolerate your existence getting on my spouse’s nerves. So take the last bit of goodwill I’m offering you, quietly, and get lost.”

Arrogant.

He spoke as though he were bestowing mercy upon him.

Iwon couldn’t take it anymore and shouted.

“No thanks. Why should I leave my own house just to cater to Baek Hamin’s feelings? I already told you I don’t need your goodwill. Get out. Now!”

Iwon pointed venomously toward the gate.

But Kang Taeon didn’t obey.

Instead, he stepped closer.

With his overwhelming build and the oppressive force of an alpha’s pheromones, he closed a fist around Iwon’s windpipe.