GCT 16

O’Connell’s funeral was held on a Saturday. He had found that out from Avon.

Since he could not go home anyway, Yohan thought he should go directly to O’Connell’s funeral home, check out the surroundings, and search her house.

Just as it was with Lucas Franco, it was an opportunity to find out how O’Connell was involved with Esprit or the law firm, or if there was something else. If he could manage to get something out of this, it might help with his and Lear’s situation.

So, Yohan had woken up at dawn and was on his way back to California, leaving Nevada behind. It was to stop by Lear’s house to borrow clothes to wear to the funeral. But when Lear kept making a displeased face, Yohan, unable to watch any longer, said a word.

“Did anyone ask you to come with me?”

“It’s just, a bit much. I wonder if you really have to go that far to dig into it.”

“Fucking coward.”

“The situation is already dangerous, so it’s better to be a little more careful with yourself.”

Lear sighed, clicked his tongue, and shook his head. At that, Yohan said a word.

“I may not have luck in other things, but my life is incredibly tenacious. So don’t jinx it by worrying about things like that.”

“I’m looking into the surrounding situation.”

He did not know if he was a friend or an acquaintance of Yohan, but Lear was gathering information by breaking into Esprit’s intranet and looking into people around O’Connell, starting with that punk Avon Catalini. In particular, Esprit had so many employees and so much data that it was taking longer than expected to look through it all. If it were a secret ledger, it would surely have been hidden away somewhere with stronger security.

Yohan, who had no way of knowing Lear’s thoughts, spoke with his own logic.

“Besides, you said it yourself. That Declan probably wouldn’t mess with me unless I made the first move.”

“But it could look like you’re making the first move.”

“But if we keep staying cooped up at home like this, you won’t get what you want. You have to poke at something to get a reaction, especially since you said that Tik-tik thing, whatever it is, is from the old days and you don’t know what it is.”

“TikTok.”

“Anyway!”

Yohan, who was not very familiar with computers, did not know what kids these days were up to. He had somehow managed to master Instagram, following the trends of the times, but he honestly did not even have the courage to install TikTok. However, through several years of life as an agent, Yohan had his own methods and had a good track record before Diane’s case occurred.

“You might not understand, but I have thoughts too, and my own way of doing things.”

“Are you sure you have thoughts?”

“What, you bastard? Are you trying to start a fight all of a sudden?”

Since Yohan had put it that way, Lear had no intention of stopping him any further. However, that did not mean he was going to send him to O’Connell’s funeral alone.

“Seeing you go around meeting other men wearing your boyfriend’s shirt, it seems like you have no thoughts at all.”

“What shirt?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“I don’t think I said anything I shouldn’t have, did I?”

“Why are you my boyfriend?”

“Honestly.”

Lear rubbed the back of his neck, then looked at Yohan and answered his question.

“Think about it.”

“I don’t really want to, but go on.”

“We sleep in the same bed.”

“……”

“We French kiss.”

“……”

“We have sex naked.”

“……”

“We spent the rut together.”

“……”

“If this isn’t a boyfriend, what is it?”

“…Roommate?”

At the sight of Yohan saying something so absurd, Lear raised an eyebrow and asked with a displeased face.

“Ah, so Yohan does all sorts of things with his roommate?”

“That’s why I don’t get a roommate. Because I do all sorts of things.”

Yohan, feeling embarrassed for no reason, turned his head sharply and looked out the car window. Lear did not speak to Yohan any further either. Instead, he looked at Yohan’s ears, which were stained bright red, and wondered if he had provoked him by saying something unnecessary. But now that he had said it, it was a series of situations where it would not be strange to call himself Yohan’s boyfriend.

“You really….”

“What, bastard.”

Yohan, who had also come to realize these facts anew, was flustered in many ways. However, he did not want to admit all of it right away.

It was because he thought that he had come this far simply by being swept away by the atmosphere and environment that were different from usual. Besides, Lear was someone who would leave someday. If they gathered evidence and went to trial, he would enter the witness protection program and receive a new identity under the protection of the USMS.

Yohan thought that by then, he too would go on to find a new life. As he had told Lear, he might get a rabbit-like child and a wife, or he might live a lonely life and die alone.

In any case, he no longer believed in the fiery love of his 20s, nor would he engage in it. Yohan was planning to forget about Lear and return to his original self the moment he got over everything related to Diane. Lear would probably be the same as him.

In the first place, betas suited betas, and alphas suited omegas. Others might think he was old-fashioned for thinking this way, but Yohan thought it was an unavoidable principle. Besides, there was no way a relationship like this could last long.

It was not that he had not considered that all of this might be the influence of growing up in a conservative family, but still, Yohan had decided on the end.

“Geez. Are you going to keep staring at me like that, making me uncomfortable?”

“It’s just that… I’m just being newly surprised by your values, Yohan. So you’re saying you do that sort of thing with your roommate?”

“Why are you so annoyingly asking useless questions from the early morning? In the first place, you don’t even like me that much. We just happened to hit it off and our bodies were a good match, so we had some fun.”

Even as Yohan said it, he wondered if he had gone too far, but when he thought about it, it was not wrong either. It was probably because he had gotten caught up in things and fell into an unknown world with a male alpha, experiencing things he normally would not, which was making his body and mind waver in many ways. The idea of him and Lear being in a serious relationship was ridiculous.

“That’s…!”

On the other hand, the moment Lear heard Yohan’s words, he felt his stomach turn over. The relationship between him and Yohan was not yet clear, and the same went for his feelings for him. But hearing that fact directly from Yohan made him feel strange. Whether it was a joke or not, he felt like he had to say something to him, but in that moment, he was at a loss for words. He had no choice but to admit that the hope that the countless jokes he had thrown at Yohan would no longer remain as jokes had started to grow.

“Anyway…. So just take it easy.”

Yohan, feeling as if Lear looked somewhat hurt by his words, spoke in a calmer voice. And feeling embarrassed for no reason, he avoided Lear’s gaze and looked out the car window.

Like that, until they crossed the Nevada state line and arrived in California, the two of them just stayed that way without saying a word. It felt strangely like they were having a silent battle of wills, which made the atmosphere very strange.

Yohan noticed that the car, which had been driving on the highway for a while, was not heading towards Calabasas or Bel Air. Yohan turned his head back to look at Lear and said.

“Hey, I said let’s go to your house. Why are we going towards Rodeo?”

Lear answered Yohan with an indifferent face.

“The clothes at my house won’t fit you anyway.”

“I’m only wearing them for one day, so I just need to throw on a shirt and a jacket with black pants.”

Yohan said, pointing to the black pants he was wearing today. At that, Lear clicked his tongue.

“I told you. I don’t like you appearing in front of other people wearing your boyfriend’s shir… no, your roommate’s shirt.”

In Lear’s opinion, his clothes were strangely large on Yohan’s body, making it perfect for perverted bastards to get turned on. He had already covered Yohan with his pheromones, but honestly, he was not reassured by that alone. Of course, he did not like that Yohan treated him like a mere dildo, but…. He could not just leave him be. Yohan, oblivious to Lear’s feelings, made a displeased face.

“What kind of bullshit is that. Are you going to be that petty? I’m saying I’ll wear it for one day and give it back… besides, there’s nothing I can buy on that street.”

“Why not. You have me.”

Yohan looked at Lear with a dumbfounded expression and said.

“What are you?”

At Yohan’s words, the phrases he had often thrown around as jokes, whether it was boyfriend or husband or whatever, simply would not come out of Lear’s mouth. However, he managed to hide his emotions and said.

“Roommate?”

Is he messing with me? Yohan frowned. At that, Lear grinned and continued.

“I’ll buy it for you. How about something with a <Pretty Woman> vibe?”

“Do you have money to spare?”

“Yeah. I have plenty to spare. That’s why they’re trying to throw everyone in jail. Because there’s nothing to lose.”

“You’re so unlucky. Really.”

“Has there ever been a time when I wasn’t unlucky?”

“Crazy bastard.”

Lear shrugged and then grabbed Yohan’s hand.

“What’s with this hand?”

“I’m holding it as a roommate.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Lear shook his head, gripping Yohan’s hand even tighter.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“……”

“I’m not kidding.”

“If you’re not kidding, then….”

As always, Lear cut Yohan off mid-sentence and started saying what he wanted to say.

“Oh, doesn’t this feel like a date? Ah, do roommates go on dates?”

“Da… what?”

He shouldn’t be blushing at this timing, but he couldn’t control his body temperature as he wished, and Yohan felt like he was going crazy. Just as he tried to pull his hand away from Lear, the car came to a stop.

“Wha, what!”

“Don’t we need to move quickly from the morning to make it to the funeral on time?”

As if he had planned everything before leaving, Lear boasted his leisureliness, saying he had already rented out the store so there was no need to feel pressured. Yohan, with a look of ‘what is this,’ was dragged by Lear into the store. It was a luxury brand store that rappers often bragged about.

‘Not even Jay-Z would shop like this.’

Yohan looked around, his eyes scanning the lavish store. He, who usually bought his clothes from Walmart or gas stations, could never have imagined shopping in a place like this.

“Why? Is there something you want?”

“Forget it. What….”

Out of pride, Yohan scoffed and said to forget it, but honestly, there were more than a few items that caught his eye. Lear, noticing the desire in Yohan’s eyes, casually picked up a watch in front of him, fastened it on his wrist, and said. Yohan was so flustered by his fluid and casual action that he couldn’t even point it out.

“Well then, since we don’t have time, let’s first get dressed in something suitable for the funeral. They should have your size.”

Since it wasn’t custom-made, the ready-to-wear clothes did fit, but thinking of the Hawaiian shirt he was currently wearing, the price difference was so drastic that it felt truly strange. Yohan seriously wondered if he should get a thick gold necklace to match and stole a glance at Lear. It felt like one of the famous scenes from <Pretty Woman>, just as Lear had said, and he got goosebumps.

“Please bring us a few outfits as pretty as my ‘roommate’.”

As if to show off, Lear delivered Richard Gere’s line. Yohan was horrified and said a word.

“Do you want to die?”

Lear winked at Yohan’s words, glanced over the clothes the manager had chosen, then picked one and said to Yohan.

“Stop being so grumpy, and just try on the clothes first. If it’s okay, let’s leave right away.”

“Gosh, since her highness the princess is bestowing her grace upon me, this humble subject must go and return without a word of complaint.”

Yohan said playfully, then took the clothes from Lear and went into the fitting room. It had been a while since he had worn a suit, the last time being when he went to meet Franco. In fact, if his clothes hadn’t been ruined back then, he wouldn’t have had to come all this way.

Still, thinking it would be good to wear things like this a lot when he could, Yohan started to put on the clothes.

‘It fits like a glove. Geez.’

He didn’t have good feelings towards his family, but what he was grateful to them for was his handsome face and body. Yohan looked at the mirror in the dressing room and smirked. The moment Yohan came out of the dressing room and went to see Lear waiting for him outside, he felt strangely weird.

‘It feels awkward to go out wearing clothes I don’t normally wear.’

Yohan  rubbed the back of his neck as he went outside. What made him feel even weirder amidst his already unsettled mood was the expression on Lear’s face, who had shot up like a groom seeing his bride in her dress for the first time at a wedding, staring intently at Yohan. Feeling embarrassed for no reason by his ardent gaze, Yohan smiled awkwardly and said.

“Hey, anyone would think the groom is making his entrance.”

“I’ve thought this before, but…. Why on earth do you insist on wearing that damned Hawaiian shirt so much?”

“This bastard….”

Yohan approached Lear and said with a pout.

“Hey, if I dressed like this every day, I’d get so tired from all the people hitting on me. Which means, it would only increase the number of your rivals.”

At Yohan’s playful words, Lear’s expression turned serious. He certainly thought the number of annoying guys would increase, but on the other hand, he thought that perhaps if he dressed him up so slickly, the number of people who openly hit on Yohan might decrease compared to now. However, at the same time, he also felt a reluctance to show off the handsome him to others.

“Li, Liz?”

“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Making a person feel awkward. Geez. I can’t say anything.”

At Yohan’s grumbling, Lear smirked, then received a black tie from the manager. And he strode over to Yohan and began to tie the tie for him with a gentle gaze and touch. Yohan felt himself getting nervous for some reason at his skillful hand movements and his breath coming closer.

He couldn’t understand why his heart was pounding over something like this when he was doing all sorts of things with the man in front of him.

“Wha, what.”

This time, Lear held Yohan’s shoulders and led him to the sofa in the back, then pushed him down to sit. As Yohan stared blankly at Lear with a bewildered face, this time he knelt on one knee and took off Yohan’s shoes, putting on dress shoes for him himself. Yohan’s face flushed with embarrassment. So he  started spouting more useless words.

“Is this… what Cinderella felt like?”

At Yohan’s words, Lear snorted, then met his eyes and said.

“You know that’s the number one animation you should never show your child if they’re an omega, right?”

“This bastard….”

Lear laughed as he stood up, then said to Yohan.

“Shall we go on a date then? Roommate?”

*

Although it was morning, the funeral home was crowded, as funeral homes always are. Yohan got out of the ordinary sedan that Lear had prepared in advance, dusted off his clothes, and unbuttoned his jacket. In front of him, he saw a crowd of people dressed all in black except for their shirts. At this point, it felt like he was attending a Grim Reaper6) meeting.

“It’s been a while.”

“What has?”

“A funeral.”

After all the funeral procedures were over, a memorial service would be held at O’Connell’s house. Though, it would probably just be about talking about O’Connell, eating food, and comforting the bereaved. Yohan frowned and stuck his hands in his pockets. And just as he was about to move, Lear suddenly grabbed him.

“Just take a look around here and come back. Don’t  talk to people unnecessarily.”

Lear looked Yohan up and down with a displeased face. Seeing Yohan in a place full of natural light, he looked too handsome. Lear imagined Yohan, who would attract women and men like a magnet sticking to iron, even if he was only slightly exposed. But Yohan, unaware of Lear’s feelings, brushed off his hand at his words and said.

“You complain whether I wear a suit or not. What the hell do you want me to do?”

“Want to go around naked?”

“……”

“Let’s do a trial run. The scope will be limited to inside the house for now.”

Yohan glared at Lear’s words, then averted his gaze as if he didn’t even want to deal with him, and subtly moved away from him. At that, Lear pouted slightly, put on his sunglasses, and followed Yohan. Yohan stopped walking, turned to look at Lear, and gestured for him to stay further away.

“You stand out too much. Go have a smoke nearby or something. Or play a game on your phone.”

“Even my father doesn’t nag me like that, honey.”

Lear made a dissatisfied face, but Yohan raised his middle finger and waved it once, then entered the funeral home alone. Yohan took a perfunctory look at O’Connell’s beautifully made-up, embalmed face, then stealthily started walking around and looking at the surroundings.

‘There are so damn many people.’

Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, he didn’t see any faces of people related to the organization. The only one who stood out was Lucas Franco, who was sniffling alone in a corner. Just as Yohan was staring intently at him, thinking that he had no choice but to sneak into O’Connell’s house and search her room, it happened.

The moment the sniffling Lucas Franco raised his head to take out a handkerchief with his heavily bandaged hand, Yohan, whose eyes met his, was startled by his surprised expression and was about to gesture for him to shut up and be quiet and look for Lear. But someone grabbed Yohan’s arm and pulled him.

Pushed into a corner, Yohan instantly twisted the arm of the guy who grabbed him, then threw his body against the wall with a thud. Just as he grabbed the back of the assailant’s neck and was about to ask for his identity in a low voice, it happened.

“Ow, that hurts!”

“Avon?”

Only then did Yohan let go and look at Avon with a defiant posture. Avon rubbed the arm that had been twisted by Yohan with his hand.

“You scared me. If you suddenly pull a person like that…!”

Although slightly annoyed, Yohan lowered his voice, not wanting to attract people’s attention, and Avon pouted.

“Usually, when people are surprised, they scream, not twist arms and throw people, don’t they?”

“I do.”

“This is why the police get a bad name.”

“I’m not a cop, you know?”

“Yes, yes. Agent-nim.”

At Avon’s words, Yohan scrunched up his face and clicked his tongue once, then looked around. As expected, there was no one passing by. Only then did Yohan let out a deep sigh and ask Avon.

“So, what did you get?”

“Isn’t it a bit much to say that as soon as you see me?”

“Then what?”

At Yohan’s words, Avon grumbled about him being a heartless person, then sighed and said.

“Nothing. The only people who came are relatives or close colleagues. Or maybe not everyone has arrived yet.”

“There are that many people?”

“I might have missed them…. What about you?”

“Nothing special for me either….”

At Avon’s words, Yohan ran a hand through his hair once. Avon said that it might be a lost cause here, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to move to another location.

Well, the place was quite large, and people weren’t gathered in one spot, which made it even more so.

Yohan thought it might not be a bad idea to pretend to be a colleague of O’Connell’s, go to her house, greet the family, and then sneak into the study to search the room. Just then, Avon suddenly asked Yohan about Lear.

“By the way, where’s your boyfriend?”

Just as Yohan was about to say that he wasn’t his boyfriend, he heard Lear’s voice from behind.

“Not a boyfriend, but a roommate, you see?”

Yohan turned his head with a dumbfounded expression and looked at Lear. Then Lear’s expression hardened as he spoke.

“What are you two doing in a place where people don’t even come and go?”

“When did you get here?”

“Are you changing the subject? Did you two do something secretive here?”

Avon looked back and forth between the two of them and asked Lear.

“Excuse me. Mr. Roommate. It’s none of your business what we do here, is it?”

Lear raised an eyebrow as if Avon’s words were very annoying and said.

“Well, our Yohan doesn’t have sex with anyone who isn’t his roommate. So that’s not likely to happen with you.”

“What….”

Lear emitted a murderous aura, telling Avon not to mess with him unnecessarily. Yohan, who had no way of knowing about that aggressive pheromone, simply said to Lear with a dumbfounded look.

“Hey, what are you talking about? That’s ridiculous…. Do you even know where we are?”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“First of all… considering the place, I’ll let it slide.”

Avon, who was caught between the bickering two and listening quietly, raised a hand slightly and asked Yohan.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Anyway, you two aren’t dating, right?”

Yohan clicked his tongue and said, a little agitated.

“What have you been listening to all this time?”

“Roommate? Really?”

“Well, it’s a little ambiguous…. Due to circumstances, I’m just rooming with him for the time being. Maybe because he was born with a vibranium spoon in his mouth, his house is ridiculously nice.”

At Yohan’s words, Avon nodded slightly and made a face as if he understood. He knew that Lear was Laura Crawford’s grandson, even though he didn’t often surface. He couldn’t figure out why he was sticking to Yohan, though.

“Then I have a chance too.”

At those words, Yohan and Lear simultaneously looked at Avon. Avon scratched his head as if embarrassed and said.

“Actually, I…. Yohan, I had given up because you were such a womanizer. You even only liked beta or omega women.”

Such a womanizer…. And even mentioning his sub-gender. Avon was saying things that would cause a big problem if others heard. However, Yohan was more concerned about his next words. Wondering what on earth Avon was talking about, Yohan scrunched up his face and stared at him.

“So….”

Setting Yohan aside, Avon tried to ignore Lear’s murderous aura and said.

“Ahem, hem. Well… the world is wide, and you never know what will happen. Right?”

“What on earth is this….”

Surrounded by two big men and hearing such nonsense, Yohan felt like he was losing his mind. Thinking he shouldn’t stay here any longer, Yohan took out his phone.

“What are you doing?”

At Lear’s question, Yohan sighed and said.

“Calling an Uber.”

“What?”

“Everyone knows the next location…. I think I need to cool my head a bit before we move.”

“What—.”

Yohan took a step back, then gave a thumbs-up and an awkward smile to the two alpha men who were staring at him with dumbfounded faces.

“Well then, I’ll be going first.”

Yohan, who had fled in a hurry before the two could catch him, quickly got into the Uber that had just arrived in front of the funeral home.

*

There was still a lot of time before people would gather at O’Connell’s house. Yohan first took an Uber to a familiar cafe and called Aisha.

“It’s a pain… what the hell?”

As soon as she entered the cafe, Aisha flinched and was flustered at the sight of Yohan. It was because of Yohan, who was all dressed up, when he usually wore a Hawaiian shirt.

“Did you come from a job interview or something?”

“I wish. I’ve been thinking lately, I don’t think this job is for me.”

“But it won’t be easy to change jobs at your age…. Still, your resume is quite impressive, so a special security or bodyguard position might be okay. Or, you could go into the mercenary business.”

Yohan made a dumbfounded expression at Aisha’s words.

“Do you really have to say such realistic things in such a serious voice?”

Aisha shrugged her shoulders and chuckled. Yohan let out a deep sigh, then went to get the coffee and cake he had ordered before she arrived and sat back down.

“Iced latte with oat milk and hazelnut syrup, right?”

“I wish you would come back quickly and do my coffee errands every day.”

Yohan took a long sip of his iced americano and snorted at Aisha’s words. Aisha glanced at her watch and asked Yohan.

“But, why did you suddenly call me? There’s no way you’d just buy me coffee.”

“Because you’re the only one who would come out right away if I called.”

“I’m busy, you know?”

“For a busy person to come all the way here. I’m so grateful I could cry.”

“Well, I can make that much time…. More importantly, why did you really call me?”

At Aisha’s words, Yohan hesitated for a moment. He  looked around once, then sighed and said.

“I’ve been having a lot of worries because of a friend lately.”

“You have friends?”

“……”

“Alright, alright. So what about your friend.”

Yohan averted his glare from Aisha, scratched his head, and said.

“So… that friend of mine keeps asking me for relationship advice, so I’m in a bit of a predicament right now. As you know, it’s been a long time since I broke up with my girlfriend.”

“Ah, was it Chelsea?”

“Yeah. Right. Chelsea….”

Yohan, with a bitter expression, met Aisha’s eyes. He flinched at her excited expression, took another sip of his americano, and continued.

“Anyway, back to my friend’s story…. He used to only date beta or omega women, but he seems to have slept with an alpha by accident.”

“Ah, your friend did?”

“Uh. Yeah. My friend.”

Anyone could tell he was talking about himself, but Aisha pretended not to know and listened to Yohan’s story.

“And then?”

“After that, they had a lot of contact, so they sometimes had physical contact, kissed, and joked around, and they got pretty close. But at some point, his heart started to pound and he started to feel strange at the things the guy said. But then again, it’s not something clear. Usually, that kind of thing is—.”

Aisha, who had been listening quietly to Yohan’s words, said a word.

“It’s love.”

Yohan was surprised by Aisha’s words, but he pretended not to be and hurriedly denied her words.

“No, that’s impossible. He mostly dated betas and occasionally met omegas. He’s a friend whose dream is to get married and have a normal family. But to suddenly fall in love with an alpha like that?”

“There’s no reason why an alpha and a beta can’t get married and have a family. What era are we living in…. Besides, who on earth still has a view of marriage stuck in the Regency7) era when they’re already doing everything except dating?”

“Come to think of it, that’s true… no, that’s not the problem.”

“What are you so worried about? Just cleanly admit your feelings. Confess, date for about three months, and then get married.”

“It’s so easy to say when it’s not your problem….”

“If you don’t like it after living together for a bit, then get a divorce.”

“Cold. Truly.”

“But doing that would be a waste of money. Well… divorce lawyers would probably like it. Or, ask your sister for a favor and get a discount. After all, studying law is all the same.”

At Aisha’s straightforward words, Yohan frowned and said.

“Let’s not involve family.”

Usually, one would say this to protect their precious family, but for Yohan, it was because he didn’t want to clash with his family.

“It’s just an expression. Or, don’t ever write about money in a prenuptial agreement. It’ll become a headache later. Oh, if the other person is rich, try to woo them well and get a sure thing. It wouldn’t be bad to live comfortably after getting a divorce and retiring. Honestly, a pension alone isn’t enough.”

Aisha said, looking at the watch on Yohan’s wrist. At her sparkling gaze, Yohan pulled down his sleeve and acted shamelessly, as if this whole story had nothing to do with him.

“What am I, a gold digger?”

Yohan said, momentarily forgetting that he was talking about a ‘friend’, but Aisha pretended not to notice.

“It’s just an expression.”

“Besides, it’s not something you can think about so simply. Starting with professional matters, and as you said, things like wealth, living environment, and values are different in many ways…. It’s a relationship with a visible end, so it won’t work out in the end.”

“How do you know without even trying? What on earth are you afraid of?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, your friend.”

“…Well. You’re right. I don’t know why he’s like that.”

“Let’s think simply. If dating isn’t for you, you can just meet as sex partners until you find someone decent, right?”

It was easier said than done, a truly difficult thing. Moreover, listening to Aisha’s words made his thoughts even more complicated. It felt like a waste to use Lear as a simple dildo, and he felt like he shouldn’t be thinking this way. But the worst part was himself, who was thinking and worrying about such things.

“Yohan.”

Aisha let out a deep sigh at the sight of Yohan sucking on his americano and said.

“Is that all? Or is there more?”

Aisha, sitting askew with her arms crossed, urged Yohan to speak up. Yohan stirred the cup, which now had nothing but ice left, with his straw and said.

“In the midst of that, a person he had only thought of as a friend suddenly confessed to him. He was a guy he had never felt any romantic feelings for, but suddenly. But the problem is, that guy is also an alpha and a man.”

“What, are you bragging about being popular right now?”

“Ah, no. Popularity, my ass. It’s just a headache. I mean, my friend. That’s what he said.”

“Ah, right. Your friend.”

At that moment, Yohan unknowingly let out a deep sigh. As if dealing with Lear wasn’t complicated enough, he had never dreamed that Avon would pull a fast one on him.

‘Giving up because I was a womanizer. Geez, what a joke. Anyone would think I’m Mick Jagger.’

Yohan’s hand gestures, stirring the cup with only ice left, became more agitated. Aisha clicked her tongue several times as if to criticize Yohan and said.

“You just have to enjoy things like that. Prime time doesn’t come easily, you know.”

What good was it if his love luck was a big hit. He just didn’t like that his potential partners were alpha guys bigger than him. At this age, he should be meeting someone he wanted to settle down with, but honestly, both Lear and Avon seemed far from that type.

Yohan rested his chin on his hand and sighed deeply. Aisha pouted and clicked her tongue at the sight of Yohan lost in happy thoughts, and said a word.

“By the way, your friend.”

“Hmm?”

“The person he’s been seeing lately… it’s not Drake, is it?”

“Why don’t you just ask if I’m meeting Kanye?”

“Is it Kanye?”

Yohan looked at Aisha with a dumbfounded expression as she asked if that’s why he was dressed so nicely today. At that, Aisha grinned and shrugged. Then she looked at her phone and said.

“Never mind then. More importantly, I have to go.”

Since he couldn’t hold Aisha back, Yohan sighed deeply and offered his hand. She gave Yohan a slight wink and hurriedly left the cafe, saying that her friend would be waiting.

Watching Aisha’s disappearing back, Yohan let out a deep sigh. For some reason, after listening to Aisha, he felt even more uncomfortable.

‘Just wasted money on coffee.’

Yohan soon took his phone out of his pocket. Looking at the screen, he saw that quite a bit of time had passed. And he tapped the screen and checked his messages. Normally, he would have been flooded with messages from Lear, but there were none. At that moment, he felt a strange sense of disappointment, and Yohan was dumbfounded by his own reaction.

“Is this a dream?”

Yohan ran a hand through his hair from back to front, sighed deeply, and stood up from his seat. Now that the short relationship counseling was over, it was time to get to real work.

---

O’Connell’s house was so crowded with people that anyone would have thought a lively party was being held in the middle of the day. Yohan was newly impressed by how diligently O’Connell had built up her connections in various fields over the years. And she had done a lot of bad things too.

First, Yohan looked around. He saw Lear standing at an angle with one hand in his pocket.

‘It’s love.’

As soon as he saw Lear’s face, Yohan approached him, recalling Aisha’s words. Love. That he liked Lear…. Yohan still thought it was ridiculous. If he had to say something good about the guy, would it be his face….

Yohan tried hard to hide his feelings and said to Lear.

“Where’s Avon?”

“Why are you looking for that bastard?”

“Don’t tell me you killed him?”

“I almost killed him, but I was afraid you two would set up house together if I got locked up, so I held back.”

Yohan had a dumbfounded expression on his face, but he found Lear cute for saying such things. It was because he looked as if he was jealous. It was probably a side effect of the relationship counseling with Aisha.

“Good job.”

“What do you mean, good job. More importantly, where were you and what were you doing?”

“Since you didn’t contact me, I thought you were spying on me. Was I wrong?”

“Am I a stalker?”

“Looking back at what you’ve done, don’t you think you’re worse than a stalker?”

“A stalker? That’s concern born from love.”

“Not concern, but a damn plague, more like.”

Lear snorted at Yohan’s words.

“You’re laughing?”

“Then, should I cry? Do you know how crappy I felt when you suddenly ran off and I was left alone with that damned bastard….”

“Honestly, in that situation, when a friend suddenly starts talking nonsense… how could I listen?”

Though he would never admit, even to his death, that he had just run away in a fluster and went to Aisha for relationship advice.

“And?”

At Lear’s look, which seemed to want more of an answer, Yohan scratched his cheek and said.

“That was my fault. I’m sorry.”

Lear’s eyes seemed to say, ‘Is that all?’, but Yohan just smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.

“Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.”

“……”

“I’m going to sneak into O’Connell’s room and see if there’s anything to salvage. In the meantime, you go say hello to O’Connell’s family and listen to what they have to say. Who knows. You might find an important clue. Besides, if they try to come into the room, you can buy some time.”

“You’re good at assigning such annoying tasks.”

Yohan lightly punched Lear’s chest with his fist and said.

“Whining is our honey’s specialty, isn’t it?”

When he imitated Lear’s usual way of speaking, Lear was slightly flustered. Yohan barely suppressed his laughter at Lear’s reaction and said, as if to soothe him.

“I’m counting on you then.”

Then, Yohan lightly patted Lear’s butt with his hand and strode towards O’Connell’s house across the way. Lear, unable to understand what Yohan had been up to during his absence to act like this towards him, just stood there for a long time, watching his back.

Oblivious to this, Yohan naturally entered O’Connell’s house, thinking that Lear would do a good job on his own. For a prosecutor to live in such a nice house, either her parents were originally well-off, or she had done a lot of bad things.

With an indifferent expression, Yohan picked up some of the easy-to-eat food that people had brought and wandered around the house, looking for O’Connell’s study, pretending to go to the bathroom.

“It’s Yohan, right?”

At the voice he hadn’t heard in a long time, Yohan flinched. He felt the urge to run away like he had done earlier from Lear and Avon, but at the same time, he couldn’t. It was because he hadn’t found O’Connell’s study yet.

First, Yohan took a deep breath, thinking he had misheard. Because a while ago, the only people he had seen that he knew were Lucas Franco and Avon. And there was no way they would know his real name.

‘I must have misheard. It can’t be. It’s not.’

Chanting a spell in his mind, Yohan slowly turned his body. As the saying goes, ‘what you fear will come to you,’ and that was exactly the case.

“Hyung?”

It was Yohan’s hyung, Phillip, whom he hadn’t seen in several years. Slightly shorter than Yohan, he was wearing glasses he hadn’t seen before. It also seemed like he had gained a little weight…. Although he hadn’t seen him for a long time, it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t recognize him.

“How have you been?”

After looking Yohan up and down once, he casually approached Yohan, offered a greeting, and extended his hand. Yohan didn’t take his brother’s hand, instead looking around once before speaking to him.

“I’m just the same as always.”

“For someone who says that, you look like you’ve struck it rich. Your complexion seems better too… isn’t that watch a bit much for a civil servant’s salary?”

The watch was something Lear had casually picked out and put on him at the luxury shop. Yohan, momentarily forgetting about the item, fiddled with the watch, smiled awkwardly, and said.

“It’s a fake.”

At the sight of Phillip smiling as if he finally understood, Yohan felt a strange churning in his stomach. He was looking down on him with a look that seemed to say, ‘Of course, that’s just like you.’ Well, he had always been like this since they were young. However, Yohan clenched and then relaxed his jaw slightly, pretending to be unfazed.

“More importantly, hyung… why are you here? For me, it’s a face I often see in court, but your field is different. What, were you involved in a medical malpractice suit or something?”

“A lawsuit…. We were in the same club in college.”

At the sight of his brother smiling and speaking as if to say that he, a doctor, was in a different league from him, Yohan dug in his ear and replied half-heartedly.

“Ah, really? I thought maybe you two had some reason to turn red-faced at each other in court.”

“Haha. You’re quite the joker.”

“I’m not joking.”

When Yohan said it with a straight face, Phillip’s expression also hardened slightly. And after a slight sigh, he said to Yohan.

“It’s been quite a while since I moved to a research position.”

“A research position?”

Although he wasn’t particularly interested in his brother, he seemed to have pride as a neurosurgeon, so he wondered what great achievement he was trying to accomplish by moving to a research position. Anyway, just as Yohan was about to brush off the matter of his brother’s career change and get back to what he was doing, it happened. Phillip took out his wallet from inside his jacket and, as if to show Yohan, handed him a business card.

“Let’s have lunch together sometime.”

Yohan took Phillip’s business card and shifted his gaze. When he saw the ‘Esprit’ company logo on it, he felt his heart drop. In that moment, Yohan clenched the business card tightly and frowned.

‘Of all the places to work….’

Yohan opened his mouth, trying his best not to show his feelings.

“This place is….”

“It’s a pretty good company in the field of pain management. The salary is much higher than when I was at the hospital, and I have more free time.”

At the sight of Phillip boasting about his achievements, so proud of what he had accomplished, Yohan spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone.

“A talented doctor is truly something else, isn’t he?”

Of all the places to work, Esprit. It wasn’t the only pharmaceutical company, and of all the many companies in California, of all places, Esprit. Yohan didn’t show it to his brother, but he felt his stomach turning over. Even worse, the place he met him was O’Connell’s house, which made him feel uneasy in many ways. Yohan hoped that Phillip wasn’t involved in anything related to Declan. No matter how much he disliked him, he couldn’t help that they were blood relatives.

“Anyway, it was nice to see you.”

He wanted to say that they should just pretend not to know each other if they happened to meet, but as an adult, Yohan held it in and put Phillip’s business card in his pocket. And he smiled awkwardly and said.

“I have company and I also need to go to the bathroom.”

“Ah. Right.”

“Well then, live well. Though, it seems you’re already living well.”

Yohan gave a cursory greeting to Phillip and pretended to go to the bathroom first. He had no idea where the study was hidden. With an anxious face, Yohan gnawed on his lower lip and began to check the rooms in O’Connell’s house one by one. It was when he had opened about three doors.

Suddenly, with a clattering sound, he saw the back of someone going out the window.

‘Fuck, what kind of day is it today?!’

Starting from the morning until now, his luck for the day had been the worst. It wasn’t just that he was unlucky; it felt like he had held a funeral for the concept of luck itself. Yohan seriously wondered if he should go see a psychic. There was no way this could happen unless he was possessed by an evil spirit. First, he had to catch the bastard who ran out the window.

Yohan drew his gun, which he always kept tucked in his waistband, and went out the window to chase the person of indeterminate gender. He didn’t know who the bastard was, but it was clear that they were there for the same reason as him, rummaging through O’Connell’s desk.

‘Damn it!’

Gritting his teeth, Yohan messed up the well-manicured backyard and leaped over the fence. And he ran straight for about two blocks from O’Connell’s house, chasing the bastard who turned a corner, running like crazy. Just then, he heard the sound of a motorcycle.

Yohan was terrified, gritted his teeth, and increased his running speed, sprinting towards the direction of the sound, but the motorcycle was already disappearing far away.

“Haa… shit, what… was that the same person from last time?”

Panting, Yohan watched the motorcycle getting further away. And he tucked his gun back into his waistband and organized his thoughts.

‘Is it just my imagination? It seems like the person who shot Heinz….’

Yohan looked around. It didn’t seem like there were any proper CCTVs around. Besides, even if he did secure CCTV footage, the person was dressed in black from head to toe, so their gender or race couldn’t be determined, and it was unlikely that a facial recognition system would produce any proper results.

‘I’ll just have to hope the bastard didn’t find anything important. But why did the person who killed Heinz show up again? Who the hell are they….’

As if they were some kind of Black Widow, even Yohan, whose speed and route-running skills were not bad enough to play wide receiver, had a hard time keeping up with their running. They were a professional.

“Just… wasted my energy.”

Yohan started to move again, hoping that the bastard hadn’t found anything of significance on O’Connell’s desk. It was because he had to go back to O’Connell’s house and search the study again.

“Haa….”

With a deep sigh, Yohan trudged back towards O’Connell’s house. And just before he leaped over the fence and re-entered her study, someone aimed a gun at Yohan from behind.

‘I’m really possessed by an evil spirit.’

Yohan bit his lower lip and raised both hands. Then, from behind, he heard a laugh and a familiar voice.

“Kitty. What are you doing here?”

Even without turning around, Yohan knew who was talking to him. It was Glenn Kouri.

‘Why is this bastard… suddenly popping up. Haa, I’m fucked.’

Yohan raised both hands and said with an awkward laugh.

“Kouri, what are you doing here? Aren’t you busy with business lately?”

“Even if I’m busy, I have to do what I have to do. A famous person has passed away, so I have to pay my respects to the family.”

“Ah, really? But don’t you think it’s a bit much to aim a gun at a colleague in a place like this?”

Glenn let out a chuckle.

“That depends on the circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

“We can’t keep doing this here, so it would be better to move to another location and talk things over.”

No sooner had Glenn’s words ended than his men not only took Yohan’s gun but also rummaged through his pockets, taking his phone and wallet.

“If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t act like a petty thief.”

“Go ahead. Babble as you please while you still can.”

And with those words, Glenn struck the back of Yohan’s head with the grip of the pistol in his hand.