RACA 86

“Damn it, Lee Daebak! Do you know what kind of humiliation I just went through because of you?”

President Kim shouted and threw his soaked shirt onto the floor. Lee Daebak knelt in front of him with his shoulders hunched, trembling.

It was after he had suffered disgrace from Pyo Jaebeom and returned. President Kim had immediately ordered his men to bring Lee Daebak, and they had dragged him in without delay.

But that didn’t restore the pride that had fallen to the ground. Rage still filled President Kim’s expression.

“I, I, I, what, what did I…”

“Don’t act clueless. Your omega son! Did you not know Pyo Jaebeom already took him?”

“N, no, that’s…”

Cold sweat trickled down Lee Daebak’s face as he stammered. Of course, he had suspected it. It started a few days ago when he had secretly gone to check on how Lee Eunseol was living.

Pyo Jaebeom had suddenly appeared, dragged him inside a building, and questioned him. The atmosphere between them had felt far from ordinary.

“What did you say to me before? That the two of them had nothing going on? You told me that even though you didn’t know a damn thing?”

“They, they, th, they’re, n, not, l, like, th, that!”

Lee Daebak still didn’t believe that Pyo Jaebeom really cared for Lee Eunseol. If Pyo Jaebeom really liked him, he wouldn’t have let it go when he learned that Lee Daebak worked for President Kim.

“Fuck, not like that? Do you know what kind of disgrace I just suffered because of that bastard?”

Lee Daebak, who had been staring at the dust on the floor, suddenly raised his head. His eyes met President Kim’s bare upper body.

The air around him felt dangerous, as if a punch could fly at any second, so Lee Daebak hurriedly lowered his head again. But the image of what he had seen earlier flashed in his mind.

President Kim had looked like a drenched rat. His neck was red, scraped by something, and it was obvious he had fought with someone.

‘Did they actually fight?’

Lee Daebak rolled his eyes from side to side, trying to piece together what might have happened. If that was the case, then it made sense that he was angry.

But he couldn’t understand what kind of argument could’ve gone that far.

“D, did you, maybe, go after Lee Eunseol?”

Hadn’t they agreed after their last meeting to wait and watch for a while? But if he had gone to see Lee Eunseol without saying a word, then that was a breach of contract.

“So what if I did? What’s wrong with checking carefully on something I’m about to buy?”

“N, no, I didn’t mean, i, it like, th, that…”

Even though the man had just called his son a product, Lee Daebak didn’t react and only tried desperately to twist the conversation in his favor.

“I mean, we still n, need to, p, persuade, h, him.”

“Persuade? What persuasion? Do you think that’ll work? Forget it. I don’t need it anymore, so get lost.”

“P, P, President!”

Get lost? Where to? If he was thrown out now, he wouldn’t just lose a place to stay, his life would be in danger. Lee Daebak crawled on his knees toward President Kim.

“You bastard!”

President Kim flinched and stepped back, but Lee Daebak, desperate, wouldn’t let go.

“What are you waiting for! Drag him out!”

As President Kim yelled, veins bulging on his neck, his men finally stepped in.

“Argh! Hey! Let go! Let me go!”

“Give me! G, give me one more chance!”

Even as they dragged him across the floor, Lee Daebak refused to release his grip. Then President Kim lost his balance and fell, and chaos erupted.

The men hurried to lift President Kim, while Lee Daebak clung to his legs like a drowning man.

“Argh! You bastard! Hey! Get off me! Pull him off, now!”

It was total mayhem. President Kim shouted and struggled, while Lee Daebak clung to his leg as if he was determined to drag him into the mud.

The men wrestled to separate them, and the fight ended only when one of them accidentally punched Lee Daebak on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

“Ha… ha… damn… this… crap…”

President Kim, who had rolled on the floor in disgrace, brushed his wet hair back irritably.

“Throw that trash out!”

And so, Lee Daebak’s shallow dream shattered, ending with him being thrown into a rainy street.

“Ugh… uh…”

About ten minutes passed. Lee Daebak groaned, shook his head, and sat up. He looked around blankly, realized he was lying on the bare ground, and his face twisted with fury.

“T, those, s, sons of bitches!”

They had used him when he was useful, then discarded him the moment he wasn’t. The thought made his blood boil. But his anger soon turned toward Eunseol, who had ignored and disrespected him.

“Lee Eunseol, that bastard, I, I’ll make him, p, pay!”

Lee Daebak, consumed by rage, staggered as he rose. His face and body were covered in bruises and blood from the beating he had taken from President Kim’s men, and he started walking somewhere like a poisoned beast.

Behind him, a man followed at a slow pace.

•••

For once, Jaebeom was speechless. Not because he was dumbfounded, but because nothing came to mind on how he should respond in this situation.

But after only a few seconds of silence, Eunseol’s face turned downcast, so he couldn’t delay any longer.

“Yeah, I agree too.”

“Right? I thought so.”

Eunseol’s eyes lit up again. Maybe that look was the reason Jaebeom was growing weaker toward him. With that thought, Jaebeom nodded.

Yes, in that part, he agreed.

Now that they both understood each other’s feelings and had decided to date, they would need time to build emotions while going through their relationship step by step.

“Yes. But that can happen after marriage too, right?”

Right now, Jaebeom needed certainty. More precisely, he wanted to make it known to the world that Eunseol was the one who would stay with him from now on.

He had no intention of letting any opportunists like President Kim set their eyes on him again. So since Chairman Jang had brought up the subject, it was best to seal it properly.

“Is that too much for you?”

Eunseol shook his head.

“Then that means it’s fine?”

Jaebeom, once again, didn’t miss his chance and insisted for a certain answer. At that point, Eunseol couldn’t refuse anymore.

‘Is it? Would that really be okay?’

The moment he started asking himself that question, the matter had already slipped out of his hands, though he hadn’t realized it yet.

“Hmm, really? Then it seems settled.”

Chairman Jang, who had been quietly observing the atmosphere, joined the conversation at the right time.

“Let’s aim for the ceremony next month. How about that?”

“Ah…”

“That sounds good. Then I’ll leave the wedding hall and reception arrangements to you, Chairman.”

Jaebeom immediately began dividing up responsibilities.

“Then we should take care of the wedding rings and clothes first. How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. The schedule’s tight.”

Did this really have to be done so quickly? Whether Eunseol was shocked or not, the plan began moving forward at a rapid pace.

The next day, Jaebeom went to work in the morning and came home around lunchtime. After eating, he urged Eunseol to get ready to go out.

He had already told him beforehand when he left work, so Eunseol was prepared to go out.

But an unexpected obstacle appeared.

Meow. Meow.

Eunseol looked down with a troubled face. The large cat paced back and forth at his feet, making it almost impossible to take a single step.

“Jongjong, you’ll get hurt. Move over.”

Worried that he might step on it, Eunseol tried to coax the cat aside. But the furry creature only snuggled against his legs and brushed its tail against his calves, blocking his path even more.

“What’s wrong?”

“What should I do? Jongjong won’t let go of me.”

Jaebeom, who had stepped outside first and come back when Eunseol didn’t follow, raised his brows when he saw the troubled look on his face.

“I think it’s because I left it alone all day yesterday.”

The cat had been like that since the morning when Eunseol first checked on it. Since he hadn’t played with it all day and had only shown his face briefly at night, it must have felt lonely and sulky, following him nonstop.

Jaebeom looked at the cat. Behind him, Bulgom was waiting, ready to take the cat away the moment Jaebeom gave an order.

“What do you want to do?”

Normally, he would’ve told him to just remove it, but today it seemed better to follow Eunseol’s wish.

“Let’s take it with us.”

“Alright.”

As expected, Eunseol chose to bring it along, and Jaebeom nodded willingly.