GCT 23

After the incident with Philip, Yohan barely spoke and could not sleep properly. Lear silently watched Yohan, who appeared unstable, and then called out to him as he sat picking at his food without eating properly.

“What is it, so suddenly?”

Lear handed a document to Yohan. Yohan, who was staring blankly at what Lear was offering, reluctantly reached out and took it. Then, Lear grinned and spoke about the document he had handed over.

“It’s all about your hyung.”

“Philip?”

At Yohan’s question, Lear gave a slight nod and continued speaking.

“He has a secret account in Liechtenstein, and there are traces of large sums being transferred to it starting three years ago.”

“A secret… account?”

Yohan glanced through the document Lear had given him. It was all data on Philip. Due to the timeframe, they had not been able to uncover things that Philip or Esprit had hidden away thoroughly, but this was still quite a good amount of information.

“Yeah. It doesn’t look like a doctor’s salary to anyone, so, well…. Seeing as O’Connell also had an account there, Esprit probably set it up for him.”

“So… he was doing this kind of crap behind the scenes even before he joined the company?”

“Yep. In terms of timing, it started three years ago. You could say it overlaps with the Eric Rosenberg incident….”

Yohan was dumbfounded. Letting out a hollow laugh, Yohan, who had been meticulously examining what Lear gave him, placed the papers he was holding on the table and said.

“How detestable.”

“Yohan?”

Seeing Lear call his name with a worried expression, Yohan let out a sigh.

“I’m fine. Liz, thanks to you, my head feels a bit clearer.”

“……”

“Three years ago was when Declan was showing off his power, and it was also when Candy was revived. Of course, my hyung probably isn’t the main culprit, but…. To be honest, I was a little flustered because I never imagined we’d get entangled like this.”

Although he spoke calmly to Lear, Yohan felt fucking awful. Rage surged within him, and at the same time, the thought that his hyung’s life might soon crumble before money felt like it should be satisfying, yet it left a bitter taste. Perhaps it was because he had seen the image of his own flesh and blood handing him a business card with a brazen face, a detestable look on his face.

“More importantly, Liz.”

“Yeah?”

Lear, who had been slowly scrutinizing Yohan’s expression, tilted his head at the sound of his name and stared at him.

“Can you print out the picture of Philip that was taken at O’Connell’s funeral?”

“That’s not difficult, but….”

“I think I have to screw Philip over first.”

It was not because he resented Philip. He was still his flesh and blood, so he was making the first move for his sake. If Philip could get his hands out of what he was doing with Esprit even a little sooner, his sentence could be reduced, and only then could his poor family escape from him and start a new life. Yohan heaved a deep sigh. He felt sick to his stomach.

Yohan took the photograph Lear had handed him and pondered for a long time. Then, with a resolved expression, he headed to Pasadena, where Philip’s house was located. It was to inform Philip’s family of his affair and to dig into the work he was doing. Yohan felt horrible for doing such a thing, but he did not have many options.

“Will you be okay?”

Lear, who had parked the car near Philip’s house, asked as he grabbed Yohan who was about to get out.

“What’s there to not be okay about?”

“Still.”

“I am worried I might get slapped for telling them something useless when they’re living well.”

“……”

“You know, despite how I look, my face is pretty decent.”

At Yohan’s joking demeanor and smirk, Lear sighed and said.

“Right, be careful not to get a scratch on my handsome darling’s face.”

“When you say it… it kind of sounds like you’re mocking me. I can’t even make a joke.”

“I’m always sincere with you. Just looking at your face gets me horny…. If you’re really that suspicious, want to touch Lear Junior?”

Yohan recoiled at the sight of Lear saying something so improper with a serious face.

“Are you crazy?”

“Thanks to you, I did get to fulfill one of my sex fantasies, but…. that alone isn’t enough. If it’s okay, shall we have a round in the car?”

“Could you please not say things like that so seriously?”

“Alright. For now, I’ll wait demurely in the car.”

“You should take an Uber or something. Really. Gosh.”

Yohan shook his head and unbuckled his seatbelt. Then, as he was about to get out of the car, Lear grabbed him once more.

“But really, are you sure you’re okay not going together?”

“It’s not like I’m a three-year-old kid. I’m even older than you, you know?”

“Darling. Bragging about being older is cute, but if you say that to other people, they’ll think you’re a jerk, so never do it. Got it?”

Yohan, looking incredulous, lightly tapped Lear’s chest with his hand and got out of the car. He strode to the front of Philip’s house, took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell with a tense expression. A moment later, Philip’s wife, Carolyn, opened the door and came out.

“Who….”

“Hello.”

“……”

“It’s Yohan. I don’t know if you’ve heard my name, but…. I’m Philip’s younger brother.”

Carolyn, who scanned Yohan as he spoke in an awkward voice, recalled hearing about Philip’s younger brother who had run away from home once. Moreover, although the man in front of her was taller and looked a bit more masculine than Philip, he resembled him so much that she could not deny he was her husband’s brother.

“If you’re looking for Philip… he’s on a business trip right now.”

“I know.”

“Pardon?”

“I wanted to talk with you, sister-in-law, rather than my hyung, so I came to visit so suddenly.”

“……”

“If it’s alright with you, would you be willing to offer me a cup of tea?”

At the sight of Yohan speaking with a wide smile, Carolyn seemed to hesitate for a moment before opening the door for him. Yohan gave Carolyn a slight bow. Yohan was able to successfully step inside Philip’s house, and he admired the warm interior that suited Carolyn. Seeing the family photos displayed everywhere made his heart ache. They depicted a respectable job, a home, and a harmonious family. However, Yohan comforted himself by thinking that this was better than everything falling apart later when the things Philip was doing were revealed.

“So…. Yohan, I didn’t expect to meet you so suddenly like this. Oh, my name is Carolyn.”

“Haha. I didn’t expect we’d meet like this either, but…. I’ve always felt sorry for not being able to attend the wedding. Not because of my hyung, of course.”

“It’s alright. Well, you must have had your reasons. I heard you had a younger brother. It’s just that Philip and my in-laws were reluctant to talk about Yohan….”

Carolyn’s easygoing personality made Yohan think she was far too good for Philip. Moreover, the thought that he would soon have to hurt her made him feel apologetic.

“Is that so? I didn’t realize they kept that quiet about it.”

“Actually, I did hear about Yohan from Philip recently. That you met at an acquaintance’s funeral….”

“Ah. Right. By any chance, were you also there then, Carolyn….”

“I did go with Philip, but he seemed preoccupied. He was talking to a stranger, so when I asked him about it later, he told me about Yohan.”

Yohan smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. At that, Carolyn also gave a slight smile and said in a gentle voice.

“Anyway, I’m working from home right now, so I can’t take a long break. I also have to pick up the kids in a little while. Is that okay?”

“I’m just glad you’re welcoming me like this when I showed up so unexpectedly.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Not at all…. By the way, the children….”

Carolyn took out her phone and showed him a picture right there. There were two boys who looked to be in elementary school. Yohan stared at the faces of his nephews, whom he was seeing for the first time, and thought it was a relief they resembled Carolyn.

“By the way, I haven’t heard much about you, Yohan. If it’s not too rude, may I ask what you do for a living….”

“I’m a public servant. My parents didn’t seem to like my path of doing things that stood out more than my siblings….”

“A public servant?”

Seeing Carolyn looking at him with a face that said she did not understand, Yohan scratched his head and said.

“Yes. Well… I do somewhat dangerous work. I was in the military at first, and…. now, after many twists and turns, I’m working as an FBI agent. I guess it wasn’t up to my parents’ standards. My hyung is a doctor and my noona is a lawyer, after all.”

At Yohan’s words, Carolyn’s eyes widened slightly. For someone like Carolyn, the most she would have experienced was probably getting a ticket from a traffic cop; she would have had no reason to meet an FBI agent. Yohan felt a little embarrassed and scratched the back of his head as he said.

“I do get told a lot that I don’t really have the feel of an FBI agent.”

“I see….”

Seeing as she did not deny it, it seemed Carolyn also thought he was far from being like the FBI, which made Yohan feel needlessly embarrassed. But thanks to that, Carolyn, who had been slightly avoiding Yohan’s gaze, met his eyes again and said.

“Anyway, you said you had something to tell me….”

At Carolyn’s words, Yohan thought that the inevitable had finally come, and he spoke.

“Yes. I cannot tell you about the case I am investigating, but I felt it would not be right to hide what I have discovered from you, Carolyn. Of course, you may resent me for suddenly appearing and saying such things, but…. considering the future, I thought it would be best for you to know as soon as possible.”

Yohan just started rattling off words as they came to him. He felt like he had to do at least this much before telling Carolyn about Philip.

“What is it?”

Seeing Carolyn’s anxious expression, Yohan let out a soft sigh and took a crumpled photograph from his pants pocket. Carolyn’s expression hardened progressively as she received the photo Yohan handed her.

“I did not want to come to you for something like this.”

He could see Carolyn breaking down in real time right before his eyes.

“But, I feel that you are too good a person for Philip.”

“……”

“And I thought I had to tell you for the sake of my nephews as well.”

“Yohan….”

“It may seem like I’m overstepping, but my hyung is not that good of a person. I cannot give you the details, but evidence is surfacing one by one that he is not only involved in an affair but also in dangerous matters.”

He wanted to add that she should hurry up and divorce him and take a huge amount of alimony, but Yohan held his tongue for now. However, Carolyn seemed like a smart person, so she would immediately understand what he was saying.

“Wh-what….”

“As I mentioned earlier, it is still an ongoing investigation, so I cannot give you the specifics.”

Carolyn looked as if her world was collapsing. Just by looking at her face, he could tell that Philip had not been a bad man to his family.

“It’s hard to believe even after seeing it…. Haa…. He did something like… like this? Really? Philip?”

“I didn’t want to believe it either. That at Prosecutor O’Connell’s funeral, my hyung would be giving this kind of… comfort to the widow.”

At Yohan’s continuing words, Carolyn’s expression filled with even more despair. Yohan watched her in silence. He felt so sorry when he thought of Carolyn, who might have lived happily if she had known nothing. In a way, coming to Carolyn and stirring up her perfectly fine life was something he had deliberately done to get what he wanted.

“I’m sorry. For coming to you with something like this. But….”

“There is nothing to be sorry for. Philip is the one who did wrong, not you, Yohan.”

“Carolyn.”

“Haa…. But since when on earth has this been…. My mind is so cluttered and my heart feels like it’s going to explode. It’s so unbelievable.”

Yohan bit his lower lip slightly. He did not know what words of comfort to offer. Still, he had to do what needed to be done, so Yohan pointedly took his phone out of his pocket, waved it a little, and said to Carolyn.

“Carolyn, I’m sorry, but could I just take a call for a moment….”

Carolyn nodded with a dazed expression. But her gaze remained fixed on the photograph in her hand. Yohan left her like that and quietly got up from his seat, using the opportunity to head toward the inner part of the house. Fortunately, each room had a nameplate on the door. Thanks to Carolyn’s charming interior design sense, Yohan was able to find the study easily.

‘He hasn’t changed much, then or now.’

Looking at the position of the bookshelf and the desk, he was creeped out by Philip’s unchanging taste.

‘In that case, that habit must be the same too.’

Yohan knew better than anyone that Philip had a habit of writing in a notebook when he was engrossed in something or doing important work, whether it was studying or research since he was a child. The desk design was several times better than the one he used as a kid, but if that habit had not gone anywhere, he would have hidden the important things away in the bottom drawer of the desk.

‘Damn it.’

Sure enough, the bottom drawer of Philip’s desk was locked. Yohan glanced at his watch and picked up a paperclip from the desk.

“Just how many secrets does he have.”

Yohan, clicking his tongue, straightened the paperclip into a line. Then he inserted it into the keyhole and fiddled with it this way and that, and the drawer opened right away. The fortunate thing was that, unlike his tiresome personality, he had not installed high-tech security with expensive equipment. Then again, it was a house that did not look like it would have important items lying around for anyone to see.

“He hasn’t changed.”

He had not paid attention to Philip from a certain point on, so he did not know much about him, but he remembered his hyung who acted like an angelic son in front of their parents, only to bully him for no reason when no one was around. Yohan thought that perhaps Philip had been like that all along, not just when he was young, as he examined the notebook.

Inside, it was filled with formulas he did not understand, and Yohan quickly took pictures of the contents of the notebook with his camera.

‘There are a lot of formulas like the one Avon drew for me….’

He could see chemical formulas he did not recognize and a lot of hastily scribbled text. Among them, he could only make out the words ‘nervous system,’ but that was enough to know it was related to Candy. Thinking that this could be the decisive evidence linking Esprit and Candy, Yohan thought he should send these pictures to Lear, and at the same time, that he needed to contact Avon.

‘This should be enough.’

Yohan closed the notebook, returned it to its place, and went to the living room where Carolyn was. Carolyn was still sitting there with a shocked expression on her face.

“Carolyn. I’m sorry. The call took longer than I thought.”

At Yohan’s voice, Carolyn flinched and wiped the corners of her eyes once with the back of her hand before speaking.

“It’s fine.”

Carolyn’s voice was thick with moisture, but Yohan deliberately pretended not to notice.

“Um, I’m sorry, but… I think I have to get going now because of the case.”

“Ah….”

Carolyn shot up from her seat. Yohan spoke to Carolyn with a very apologetic look on his face.

“I’m truly sorry. I can’t help but wonder if I meddled unnecessarily.”

“You don’t need to be sorry.”

“Carolyn.”

“Really. I am a little worried about the future, but Philip has done something unforgivable to me and the children. I actually think it’s a relief that I found out like this thanks to you, Yohan, rather than finding out later.”

At the sight of Carolyn forcing a smile, Yohan gave a slight nod and headed towards the entrance. Then, before leaving the house, he looked at Carolyn one more time and said.

“Carolyn. Today’s matter, I mean. Could you please keep it a secret that I was here? If you feel you must tell him, I can’t stop you, but…. My hyung won’t be very happy if he finds out I came. Besides, he might make baseless claims later.”

It felt bad to be acting selfishly for his own sake, not Carolyn’s, until the very end.

“I understand.”

Yohan gave a faint, bitter smile to the nodding Carolyn, took one of his business cards out of his wallet, and handed it to her.

“If anything happens, please contact me.”

“Thank you. Yohan.”

“It’s nothing.”

Yohan parted ways with Carolyn and, with heavy steps, left Philip’s house and went to Lear, who was waiting for him.

Lear had a worried look on his face at the sight of Yohan’s thoroughly darkened expression.

“Are you okay? Did something happen? Your hyung shouldn’t have been there…. You didn’t actually get slapped, did you?”

Lear, mixing in a joke of his own, reached out, cupped Yohan’s face, and tried to check it over. Fortunately, there did not seem to be any injuries.

“I’m fine.”

Yohan grabbed Lear’s wrist, pushed his hand away, and continued to speak.

“It’s just… I feel bad for using Carolyn, who did nothing wrong.”

“……”

“Thanks to that, I was able to peek at Philip’s notebook, but….”

Lear, with a look of understanding, offered words of comfort.

“Yohan, you… no, we may have used Carolyn, if you want to call it that, but…. that was something Carolyn was bound to find out someday. No matter how many wrongs O’Connell committed, it was the day of her funeral. And people who were there to mourn her were in her house.”

“That’s true.”

“Do you think he could live like that forever, brazenly committing such an indecent act with the widow in the very place where Carolyn was?”

“……”

“He would have been caught someday. Carolyn might be having a hard time right now, but for her sake, it’s better to know sooner rather than later. Besides, even if that weren’t the case, if Philip created the recipe for Candy…. You know what I mean, right?”

Yohan nodded at Lear’s words. He was right. It was a family that was bound to fall apart someday. Moreover, if the family fell apart later because of his involvement with Declan, it would not end with a simple divorce. The lives of the entire family could have been in danger. So, what he did today might have been the right thing to do for Carolyn and his nephews, considering the future. Nevertheless, he could not help but feel uneasy in a corner of his heart.

“Carolyn said something similar.”

“Still, I guess you can’t help feeling uneasy about it.”

“Well… yeah. I guess time will take care of it. More importantly, Liz. Will you kiss me?”

Lear was slightly taken aback by Yohan’s words, but instead of a kiss, he reached out and stroked his hair. At that, Yohan swatted Lear’s arm away, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him closer. In an instant, Yohan pushed his tongue between Lear’s slightly parted lips, invading the inside of his mouth with a hot breath.

Lear, feigning submission to Yohan’s sudden action, soon seized the momentum and devoured him, tangling their tongues together in a relentless kiss. In the end, it was Yohan who pushed Lear’s chest first, breaking them apart.

“You started it first, you know?”

“Are you a dementor?”

“Look. It seems like the sad feelings have already disappeared, as if I sucked your very soul out, my darling.”

“Now I want to cry because of you.”

Yohan roughly wiped his saliva-drenched lips with his sleeve and glared at Lear. At that, Lear burst out laughing and this time slyly reached his hand toward Yohan’s pants. Yohan slapped his hand away and said.

“Wanna die?”

“I was just trying to make you forget completely.”

“Forget it. Just look at what I took pictures of.”

Yohan took out his phone and showed Lear the pictures he had taken of Philip’s notebook.

“Ever since he was a kid, Philip would always scribble in a notebook when he was using his head.”

“That’s how kids with bad heads always study.”

“What are you talking about?”

Yohan, calling him a jerk, hit Lear once and said.

“You’re the abnormal one.”

“Well, it’s true I am a bit crazy.”

“You admit it?”

“Of course. Right now, in my head, there’s you, Yohan, and….”

“Stop.”

“I haven’t even started yet?”

“It feels like you’re about to say something dirty.”

“I might have said something pretty, you know.”

At Lear’s words, Yohan made a dumbfounded face.

“You?”

“No way, were you imagining something so dirty that it can’t even be recycled? I would never share you with another person, Yohan. The very thought of a threesome is disgusting.”

“What are you talking about? Stop with the dirty talk and just hurry up and look.”

At Yohan’s words, Lear finally shifted his gaze to his phone and flicked through the pictures.

“It’s full of chemical formulas.”

“Yeah. You said you graduated from engineering school, do you know about this stuff?”

“My major wasn’t chemistry.”

“Aren’t geniuses supposed to be good at everything?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not a genius. If I had to categorize myself, I’d be a fool who only knows Yohan….”

At the sight of Lear speaking with a sigh, Yohan clicked his tongue and snatched back his phone that he was holding.

“Crazy bastard.”

He thought the guy had become more serious lately, but he was wrong. Yohan was flabbergasted by Lear, who seemed to be losing his mind more and more.

“By the way, it looks like a few things have been added to the basic formula for Candy in the pictures you took.”

“Are you sure it’s Candy?”

“I’ll have to look into it in detail. Of course, even if chemistry isn’t my major, circumstantially, it has to be at least Candy. Flanco said so too.”

“That’s true. Besides, O’Connell probably died from a modified version of Candy too. That’s why I’m going to ask Flanco.”

“What do you take my connections for?”

“Weren’t you a social misfit? You still live at your dad’s house.”

“Well, it’s true that I only know my darling.”

“Don’t just hear what you want to hear and say what you want to say.”

Yohan let out a deep sigh. Then he looked at the pictures he had taken on his phone again. Just looking at the chemical formulas that made his eyes spin, he could not understand why the scene of Philip’s affair came to mind. Perhaps because the case had taken an unexpected turn, he kept having strange delusions.

Yohan got goosebumps at the thought that perhaps the person who had O’Connell killed by feeding him Candy was not someone from Shadow, but maybe it was a contract killing resulting from a love affair.

‘No matter how much Philip has changed, he’s not the type of person with the guts to commit a contract killing.’

Of course, the fact that his hyung, who had always been timid and obedient except for what he did to Yohan himself when they were young, had changed enough to commit such a shameless act while having a lovely family, was unbelievable in itself.

‘Whatever it is, that Philip guy is not in his right mind. They say to beware of still water and silent people….’

Yohan clicked his tongue once.

“Yohan, you don’t need to blame yourself like that.”

“Who said I’m blaming myself? It’s just, well…. I feel uneasy. Come to think of it, Mrs. O’Connell also went on a trip to Malibu with her family.”

“To say that, she was having way too much fun with a stripper.”

“For a guy who did that at a funeral, that kind of garbage behavior is nothing.”

Lear scoffed. He was not wrong. Yohan let out a deep sigh, looked at the phone in his hand one more time, and then asked Lear, who was starting the car.

“Are we going straight to Calabasas? Or Bel Air?”

“Why?”

“I’m feeling unsettled, so let’s go get a cheeseburger.”

“Yohan…. darling….”

Lear looked at Yohan with a moved expression. At that burdensome gaze, Yohan pressed himself closer to the door and said.

“You’re not going?”

“More than that… darling. Are you asking me on a date right now?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well…. How much you must want to eat a hamburger with the person you like.”

No longer wanting to even reply, Yohan clicked his tongue and nudged Lear, telling him to just drive properly. At that, Lear started heaping praise, saying he knew a delicious hamburger place. Yohan, intending to tease the slightly excited Lear, cut him off.

“Forget it, it’s a hassle, so let’s go to McDonald’s. Through the drive-thru you like.”

“Yohan, didn’t you hear me just a moment ago? I said it’s a famous spot.”

Yohan said he knew it was a famous spot and repeated that they should go to McDonald’s, but Lear had no intention of listening to Yohan. It was because he wanted to feed Yohan a very delicious burger.

Of course, Yohan also had no intention of picking a fight with Lear’s actions any longer, so he did not say anything else. Instead, he sent a text to Avon with the phone in his hand.

Let’s meet

As soon as Yohan sent the text, Avon replied immediately.

Avon Catalini
A date? 😀

At Avon’s text, Yohan could not figure out where it had all gone wrong. How he had ended up in a fate where he was entangled with men, Alphas at that, and had to listen to their bullshit.

From the morning, Yohan left the house using the excuse that he was meeting Aisha to Lear.

In truth, he was going to meet Avon, but he did not bother telling Lear. He felt it would be tiring in many ways. Setting aside the fact that Avon was originally Yohan’s informant, there was also the incident where Avon had confessed to him last time.

Despite appearing cool, Lear had a subtly possessive personality, so Yohan had managed to shake him off when he said he would follow and barely came to meet Avon alone. He already felt drained. It was because he had been looking around the entire way, wondering if Lear was following him.

“Yohan!”

As soon as he entered the meeting place, Avon greeted him cheerfully and called his name. Yohan gave him a small wave and sat down in the seat across from him. As it happened, it was a restaurant that Diane often dragged him to, saying she missed the food her family made.

“It’s been a while, Avon.”

“Huh? Oh, oh. It has.”

For a moment, Avon was flustered by the scent of Lear’s pheromones he sensed on Yohan. He had no intention of telling Yohan, but Avon thought that Lear was a really persistent bastard. He knew they were sleeping together, but knowing Yohan’s personality, if he had come here alone, it was obvious he had not told Lear he was going to meet him, so the strong scent of Lear’s pheromones on his body was dumbfounding. Just how jealous could he be?

“I didn’t expect to call you like this.”

Avon said, coughing a couple of times.

“Same here. For you to ask me on a date, Yohan. Oh, I ordered the food in advance.”

“Let me say it again, this is not a date.”

When Yohan spoke with a serious expression, Avon clutched his chest and said it hurt his feelings.

“That’s so mean, Yohan. No matter what, you didn’t have to cut me off so bluntly.”

“Of course, I think your courage is amazing. And the fact that you gave me those feelings….”

“This is bitter. I feel like crying. Me.”

“Do your crying at home. I’ll get straight to the point.”

“I’m already sad, and you’re going right into it like this?”

“I’m busy.”

“I ordered jambalaya? How about we talk after we eat?”

“That’s delicious. But I know very well that the food here comes out late. So can you just shut up and take a look?”

Remembering that Avon, like Diane, was from Louisiana, Yohan somehow felt the neighborhood was particularly small. However, if he just stayed soaked in nostalgia like this, he felt like they would really just eat and part ways, so Yohan took out his phone. At that, Avon pouted.

“Yohan, aren’t you being too business-like?”

“It’s about not wasting unnecessary time. Besides, when you’re eating, isn’t it better to focus on the food?”

“Well, I guess that would create a date-like atmosphere.”

“Cut it out.”

Yohan could not understand if all the Alpha men around him had personalities like this.

“Alright. I’ll cut it out.”

At Yohan’s progressively hardening expression, Avon smiled again as if admitting defeat.

“So. Yohan, what did you call me for? Weren’t you living happily with your roommate?”

At Avon’s question, Yohan immediately handed him his phone.

“I had a chance to peek at an Esprit researcher’s notebook.”

“Really? Which researcher?”

“Don’t ask too deeply, just take a look. I asked to meet you because I thought you would know what this means.”

Yohan could not bring himself to say that the person who wrote these formulas was his own flesh and blood and showed the pictures to Avon. Avon flicked through the pictures Yohan had taken. Avon’s expression gradually hardened. Observing him, Yohan stated his own thoughts.

“I think it’s the Candy recipe. I think it could be evidence that Esprit made Candy.”

“Yeah. Just like you said, most of it is the Candy recipe.”

“If it’s ‘most of it,’ does that mean some of it isn’t?”

Although he did not know much about chemistry, the formulas did not look vastly different when he looked at them. It was because he thought that just like adding nitrogen to carbon makes methamphetamine, all sorts of things were attached to the basic chemical formula for Candy. Besides, all the hastily scribbled text seemed to be saying similar things.

“Right.”

“I’ve heard enough about the modified versions of Candy that have been going around lately. I heard the Candy that O’Connell took was like that too.”

“That must be it. The formulas you see here basically follow the chemical structure of Candy.”

Avon said as he handed the phone back to Yohan.

“Although my major was related to chemistry, it’s been a long time since I graduated…. I’m not that deeply versed in it, but I’ve learned a lot of things while investigating this case.”

“But?”

“If you look at the last page, not only did they partially modify horamydone, but also….”

“Perchlorate?”

“That’s right. Yohan, you’ve already heard something about it too?”

Yohan let out a soft sigh and drank some water.

“I found out on the day Rosenberg died. I heard perchlorate is used a lot in things like bombs or fireworks. They say it’s a toxic substance that causes cancer when it enters the body. I’m thinking it might be to increase the effects of Candy.”

“But, it’s not just for that reason. I mean….”

As Avon was speaking, a shadow suddenly fell over Yohan’s head. Yohan stopped talking and looked up with a surprised expression. Then he saw Lear’s completely stiff face.

“You scared me!”

“What are you doing?”

Yohan was slightly flustered by Lear’s furious voice. He had never cheated on anyone before, but his heart was pounding so hard that he wondered if this was what it felt like to be caught cheating.

“What, what do you mean what am I doing!”

“Didn’t you say you were meeting… a colleague?”

“Technically, Avon is a colleague too. Since he’s my informant. You know what his job is too.”

“I know. All too well.”

Lear said sarcastically. Yohan first asked Lear, who had followed him.

“More importantly, why are you here? Did you stalk me again?”

At Yohan’s accusatory question, Lear clicked his tongue and looked at Avon with a very displeased expression. Avon swallowed hard at Lear’s murderous pheromones that felt like they were choking him. Even for another Alpha, he was a really difficult man to handle.

“Hey, don’t say anything to Yohan. Besides, I… was talking about the case you guys are investigating.”

“What?”

“Probably because he doubts your abilities, Crawford.”

Yohan was appalled at Avon’s words. He could not understand why he would bother bringing up such a useless thing and turn someone’s stomach upside down.

“Hey, you, what are you, why do you say things in such a misleading way? When did I ever!”

“You came to ask me a favor because you were curious about what was in the notebook too.”

“That’s true, but….”

“Things your roommate can’t tell you. I can tell you.”

Yohan wanted to tell him not to go that far. He wanted to make an excuse, that was not an excuse, to Avon that even though Lear seemed that way, he was a real genius when it came to computers. But then, Lear suddenly grabbed Yohan’s arm and pulled him to his feet. Yohan had no choice but to stand up awkwardly. And really, he felt self-conscious in this murderous atmosphere. This was not some love triangle fight…. He wondered what was happening in this small restaurant.

“Hey, let go of this. First, calm down….”

Just as he was wishing Lear would just say something, he started to feel people’s eyes turning towards them.

“Is something the matter?”

The gazes of Yohan, Lear, and Avon all turned to the voice that had suddenly cut in. At that moment, Yohan’s eyes went wide.

“Kelita?”

“Yohan?”

The two called each other’s names with surprised faces. To meet Kelita here of all places. He remembered the time he came back home after sleeping with Lear for the first time. He had run into Kelita then too and it was embarrassing and awkward in various ways, and to think he would meet her like this today as well. Yohan once again thought that this neighborhood was really small. Yohan tried his best to act nonchalant and spoke smoothly.

“Haha. Kelita. To think I’d meet you here.”

“I know, right. More importantly….”

Kelita looked back and forth between Lear, who was holding onto Yohan, and Avon. She could not figure out what on earth Yohan was doing, surrounded by Alphas.

“Everything’s alright, right?”

Lear, whose eyes met Kelita’s for a moment, looked at her with an expression that said he was annoyed to death. He was already pissed off that Yohan had met Avon without telling him, and now it was a woman. Lear let out a soft sigh and asked Yohan.

“What, you know her?”

“She’s a friend.”

Yohan, thinking this was his chance, shook off Lear’s hand. Kelita, who was watching this, looked at Yohan with a worried expression.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. We were talking about Star Wars with my friends and it turned into a debate…. It’s nothing.”

“If you say so, I’ll take your word for it, but…. it’s a bit unexpected.”

Kelita looked at the Alphas around Yohan again. It was because the men, who did not look like they would debate about Star Wars in a restaurant, were having a testosterone-fueled standoff. In an apocalyptic world, it would not have been strange if they had started biting and tearing at each other right then and there.

Yohan, being a Beta, did not seem to know, but one man was drenched in pheromones, and she felt like she had sensed them when she saw him sometime before. Just as Kelita was wondering if she should tell Yohan this fact.

“Anyway, I’m really fine, so don’t worry.”

Yohan blocked Lear, who was about to add another word, with his body and spoke to Kelita in a kind voice.

“But, Yohan…. Before too….”

“Haha. Kelita. It’s not something you need to worry about. It’s more like, we were having a slightly heated discussion. By the way, how long have you been here?”

At Yohan, who had naturally turned his feet, Kelita felt uneasy but answered for now.

“I just got here. My family happened to be craving the food here.”

“You knew about this place too?”

“The jambalaya here is famous. Diane liked it too.”

“Haha. That’s right.”

Yohan laughed awkwardly at Kelita bringing up Diane so unexpectedly. And he remembered the food he had with Kelita after Diane’s funeral. Come to think of it, the food they ate then was also jambalaya. It was one of Diane’s favorite foods.

“Anyway… you came with your family, I feel like I’m interrupting.”

“No. What do you mean, interrupting? My unnie would probably prefer it if I wasn’t next to her. Look, she’s on her phone over there.”

Yohan looked in the direction Kelita was vaguely pointing with her finger. At the end of his gaze was a woman sitting at a table, staring intently at her phone.

‘She looks so familiar….’

He had never seen Kelita’s unnie before, but she looked familiar somehow. The moment he concluded that it might be because she resembled Kelita, Yohan made eye contact with Kelita’s unnie, who had been fiddling with her phone. Flustered by the unexpected event, Yohan unknowingly widened his eyes and flinched, and his gaze naturally went to her wrist, as she was wearing a sleeveless shirt.

‘A scorpion?!’

Although she was a bit far away, the restaurant was not large, and with the perfect vision his doctor had restored a few years ago, he could clearly make out what the tattoo on her wrist was. Moreover, too many things overlapped to be a coincidence. Starting from the tattoo, to her height which was similar to his, and even her skin color…. At that moment, Kelita’s unnie shot up from her seat and suddenly started to leave the restaurant. Her actions were natural, but Yohan felt like he could not let her go. His gut was telling him that she was the ‘hitman’ he had been looking for.

“Yohan!”

As if possessed by a ghost, Yohan pushed away all the people surrounding him and ran outside. He thought he heard Lear’s voice calling him for a moment, but he did not have the time to worry about that now.

Kelita’s unnie, who had naturally left the restaurant as soon as she made eye contact with Yohan, was now running like mad and started to enter an alley. As soon as she reached a deserted place, she suddenly pulled a gun from her pants, from under her clothes, and started pulling the trigger wildly at Yohan. Yohan hid his body behind a trash can and pulled out his own gun from his hip.

‘Damn it!’