GCT 43

As he felt Lear’s utterly messy kiss, Yohan reached out and grabbed the penis that had settled on his stomach and begun to stimulate him. It seemed better to just help him finish quickly and get up.

But at Yohan’s action, Lear flinched his body, then deliberately bit his tongue lightly as he pulled his lips away and spoke like a small child begging for candy.

“Can’t I put it in?”

“Will you please consider my age?”

“Just lie still. I’ll do everything.”

“That’s not it… ah!”

Bringing his hand between Yohan’s legs, Lear instantly pulled down the underwear Yohan was wearing and began to stimulate him. Maybe because of all the commotion yesterday, the inside was still soft.

At that moment, Yohan bucked his body, trying to push Lear away, but his sensitive body crumbled under the stimulation Lear gave him. Honestly, it was hard to resist. His vision turned white, and it felt like his head was going to explode.

“Hah… Le… Lear…”

“I came back home yesterday and got it all out, but I think I need to check if it was done properly.”

“Ugh, wait… ah… Stop with the… haah… bullshit.”

“Being proactive is good, but dogplay in the morning would be too much. It’s bad for your body.”

“You crazy, ah… Don’t pretend you’re worried about me. Heut.”

Before he knew it, Lear’s fingers, which had entered deep inside his stomach, started fumbling with the inner walls and spreading them open. Lear, who knew well where Yohan felt it, began to press down languidly on the stimulation points.

Yohan twisted his body against the unbearable sensation, tapping Lear with his feet.

Regardless, Lear kissed all over Yohan’s body, then lifted his head, met his eyes, and said.

“Are you okay? I did put some medicine on it.”

“You, does this look… eugh, okay to you right now?”

“It seems like you’re feeling it more than yesterday.”

Lear swiftly pulled out the hand that had been rummaging inside Yohan’s stomach and took out a condom from beside the bed.

“The one I packed for the trip. I found it while you were sleeping.”

“You…!”

“You have to work hard today too, so I’ll be careful.”

Yohan stared at Lear with a dumbfounded expression, then tried to lift his hips to get off the bed. In the meantime, Lear, who had put the condom on his own penis, grabbed Yohan’s thighs with both hands and spread them, pouring gel until his lower body was soaked and giving a smiling-eyed grin.

“You have to get off anyway.”

“I’ll go to the bathroom and take care of it myself.”

“You have a husband, why would you do something so pathetic all by yourself?”

Lear clicked his tongue as if he didn’t understand, then shifted his weight back onto Yohan and met his eyes. At first, Yohan struggled, kicking his feet and whining that it hurt as if he were annoyed, but as the penis slowly began to enter the hole, he froze and felt him.

“Eugh, eugh…”

Yohan’s body, which had not yet erased the memory of yesterday, trembled. Even so, Yohan’s insides, which diligently widened and tenaciously bit down on Lear’s member, were still hot.

Far from getting tired of it even after doing it several times, the sight of Yohan before him seemed more and more lovely, and Lear felt like he was about to lose his mind.

Lear let out a deep sigh and held onto Yohan more tightly. He moved slowly inside, pressing down on the pleasure points to make sure Yohan wouldn’t get hurt.

“Heueu, eut… ah….”

Inside Yohan, who was stretched to his limit, Lear began to slowly move his hips. Yohan lightly bit his lower lip, then reached out and hugged Lear. His breathing became ragged, and moans spilled through the gaps between his teeth. His toes curled on their own, and his eyelids trembled intensely.

His still-sensitive body, as soon as it accepted Lear, began to be steeped in pleasure. Every time Lear entered to the root, it felt like his organs were being pushed up so much they would pop out of his mouth.

“Honey, haah… are you okay?”

“It just… a little… ah….”

It felt like he would suffocate from the intense heat. Lear pressed his body even closer to Yohan’s. As soon as they were tightly embraced without any gaps, he could feel Yohan’s hard penis, damp with pre-ejaculate. Feeling their hot skin rub and stimulate each other with every movement, Lear brought his forehead to Yohan’s.

Their eyes met and held only him. Lear let out a laugh and stroked Yohan’s hair once, then lightly bit his lower lip and pushed his tongue between the parted lips, giving a sweet kiss that could melt a person.

Pheromones poured out generously, and Lear felt a sense of satisfaction at the sight of Yohan being thoroughly steeped in his own scent.

“Eumm….”

As the leisurely back-and-forth movement began from deep inside his stomach, Yohan lightly bit Lear’s tongue, pulled his lips away, and scrunched his brow intensely.

“If we hadn’t gotten married… it would’ve been a huge problem.”

“Heut…. Eut.”

“Kk, who would have known… haah… that our bodies would be so compatible?”

Before their marriage, Yohan had girlfriends he had dated, but Lear was secretly proud of the fact that he was the only one who had rummaged inside Yohan like this and given him new sensations.

Well, from now on, Yohan would never mix his body with anyone other than him anyway.

Lear exhaled a deep breath, completely filling Yohan’s deep insides with his penis and rotating his hips. The squelching sound of bodily fluids and gel mixing filled the room.

He wondered if it was okay to be this stimulating so early in the morning, but he had no intention of stopping. Lear began to push Yohan, whom he held without any gaps.

As his pleasure points were mercilessly crushed and stimulated, Yohan felt it even more keenly than usual, and with a sensation different from yesterday’s, the urge to cum came quickly.

“Ahk, eugh… too… ah…!”

As Yohan threw his head back and exhaled, looking like he could pass out at any moment, Lear buried his nose in the nape of his neck and took in his scent.

It was the smell of Yohan that Lear loved. He wanted to hold Yohan like this and suffocate.

“Eut, eugh… slo, slow… haah… slowly….”

Not only that, he wanted to hold Y-han in a complete mess like this for the whole day so that no one could touch him.

But Lear calmed himself. It was only for a short time, but the period they had fought was harder than he’d thought. He wanted to be loved by Yohan. He didn’t want to see Yohan looking at him with resentful eyes. How his heart had ached. He wondered if Yohan knew how he felt.

“Just a little, just a little more…. Okay?”

Stroking Yohan’s back, Lear spoke as if to soothe him. Yohan shook his head back and forth, his lips parting to let out a moan.

“Eughk, eut… euk… oouk, eut….”

Yohan gagged and then rested his head on Lear’s shoulder. His head was spinning from the pain and pleasure that had taken over his whole body. Whether he knew it or not, Lear thrust relentlessly and fast, enough to make his body jolt.

The sound of their bodies rocking and their damp skin slapping together burrowed deeper into his ears. Yohan felt like something really bad was going to happen if this continued. It felt like flashes were not just bursting before his eyes, but that he could hear a warning siren.

But Lear did not stop. He rapidly stimulated Yohan’s pleasure points. It hurt to the point that his insides felt crushed and raw. In the midst of that, every nerve tingled.

Beneath Lear, Yohan squirmed, feeling him completely. They were even married, so why the hell were they having sex so desperately? What was he so anxious about again?

“Le, Lear… haah, eut. I’m going to, come…”

“Shit, honey. It’s so—, haah.”

It was so good it made him curse. Before long, Yohan was not just leaning on him but clinging to him, leaving bite marks on his body, and Lear showered him with kisses. Then, feeling the inner walls clench tight, Lear let out a moan and put strength into his hips, thrusting hard inside Yohan.

At that moment, Yohan’s hips seemed to shoot up, and the two men came at the same time.

Lear wiped away the semen Yohan had spilled on his stomach with his hand and pulled his body away. Then Yohan, his face flushed red, gasped for breath, then frowned and said.

“Pull… out….”

Though disappointed, Lear obediently listened to Yohan, removed the condom, and asked him in a gentle voice.

“Water?”

“Anything, give me anything.”

Just as Yohan, who had finally gotten Lear off him, was catching his breath, the phone rang. Yohan lifted his stiff back and grabbed his cell phone, which had started ringing next to the bed.

He didn’t seem to have the strength to even see who was calling, so Yohan squeezed his eyes shut and took a breath. Then, pretending to be as normal as possible, he answered the phone.

“Yes. Yohan Crawford speaking.”

—Sunbae, didn’t you get the call?

“Taeoh?”

Yohan slightly pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen. He hadn’t saved Taeoh’s number, so only the digits were displayed on the screen.

—Yes. Sunbae, don’t tell me you didn’t save my cell phone number?

When did he even give it to me? Yohan scratched his head and acted shamelessly.

“I did. I was just about to leave. I was a bit out of it. So why did you say you called?”

—Sunbae… an incident similar to the one at your house occurred in Calabasas.

“Calabasas?”

At Yohan’s words, Lear, who had brought water, stared intently at Yohan, asking what was wrong. Yohan shrugged his shoulders, got up from his spot, pushed Lear’s hand away, and continued to listen to Taeoh.

—Yes. To be precise, Senator Rattner’s house was almost blown up. Just like your house, sunbae.

“And?”

—They said a package was delivered this morning, but they were suspicious and reported it right away without opening it.

“And it turned out to be a bomb?”

—That’s right. The container is different, but according to the bomb squad, looking at the way it was made, they said it was an IED. For now… I think it would be best for you to come.

“Haah… Send me the address. I’ll be right there.”

After finishing the call with Taeoh, Yohan glanced at the clock and said to Lear.

“I think I need to head out right away.”

“Did a bomb go off or something?”

“Not that.”

“Then?”

“They said the Senator’s house almost got blown up. It might be related to our case, so I think it’d be good to stop by there first before going to meet Emily Lowen.”

Lear sighed and got up. It was annoying that his morning had been interrupted, but if it was a similar type of incident, he was fully prepared to help Yohan with all his heart. It also fueled his desire for revenge.

“You… why?”

“To shower with you.”

“Are you planning to follow me?”

“Of course. Just think of it as consulting. Besides, we have to meet Lowen anyway. Wouldn’t it be more convenient to travel together? Let’s have Agent Ju drive.”

“Wait, Lear.”

“Yeah?”

“Instead of that, let’s move separately and meet at Lowen’s house.”

“Why?”

Yohan shook his head back and forth and said.

“Because there’s no need for us to go together?”

“That’s so mean…. Why would you say that?”

“But, you haven’t received official authorization as a consultant, and it’s a little awkward…?”

“Are you embarrassed of me?”

Lear looked a little hurt. Honestly, his looks weren’t anything to be ashamed of anywhere he went, and unless someone had a peculiar taste, most people liked him. He knew this fact better than anyone and would use it if he could.

But now that Yohan, the husband he loved most in the world, kept pushing him away, his insides felt like they were turning over.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

He wanted to pin Yohan down right now and lock him in the room, but Lear held himself back. He didn’t want to fight with Yohan like yesterday. Besides, he didn’t want to be called things like ‘morbidly jealous’ or ‘petty’.

“Then why do you keep trying to get rid of me?”

“I just told you. It’s not official, and… Senator Rattner’s house will be full of people. Besides, you stand out too much.”

Even just standing still, his tall height naturally drew attention, and with a handsome face on top of that, he was bound to be imprinted in people’s minds. Yohan was not pleased with the idea of talk about Lear circulating within the FBI.

Of course, they were all good people, but he didn’t want to hear about his husband at work. He couldn’t go around telling everyone that the silver-haired guy they saw at the crime scene back then was his husband, so they should stop having useless thoughts.

“I don’t mind becoming your trophy husband.”

Lear was too accomplished to be defined merely as a trophy, but that wasn’t important to Yohan right now, so he raised an eyebrow and asked.

“You’re usually good at holding back, why are you suddenly acting like this again?”

Honestly, Lear had a lot to say. Before the house was blown up, Yohan mostly worked alone.

He knew that even when Yohan was suddenly called in from above for a secret project and said he was going to Arizona or Washington, it was pretty much the same as working alone, so he had let it be.

Well, to be fair, it wasn’t that he hadn’t opposed it at all, but Yohan had promised to do whatever he wanted when he got back, so there was a part of him that had gritted his teeth and endured it.

But now, the situation had changed a lot.

Suddenly, Yohan had a partner. A muscular, younger Beta with whom Yohan could find a sense of kinship and common ground.

Honestly, you never know with people. There was no law that said you couldn’t fall for something that wasn’t your type, and it was possible for feelings to develop while working together.

Putting aside the issue of trust, Lear had experienced such a thing himself, so his stomach churned, and he couldn’t help but feel anxious. Besides, seeing him with his own eyes was grating, which made him even more annoyed. If he hadn’t known about Taeoh’s existence from the beginning, he wouldn’t have cared so much.

“Let’s not do that, let’s meet in front of Lowen’s house.”

At Yohan’s words, Lear roughly ran a hand through his hair. He stared intently at Yohan with a face full of conflict.

“You really seem to have a natural talent for driving people crazy.”

“Isn’t that why you married me?”

“Well… that’s true, but.”

“So, Lear, you be the one to endure it.”

Armed with shamelessness, Yohan spoke without hesitation.

“Besides, I thought you were a cool and wonderful husband who respected each other’s work…. Showing excessive obsession because you can’t trust me, that’s a bit… disappointing.”

Living flesh-to-flesh with Lear, Yohan had also figured out how to control him. Yohan thought that even Patrick, the father who gave birth to Lear, couldn’t handle Lear as well as he could, and he projected an air of being extremely disappointed towards Lear.

“Hah… really, you….”

“You?”

“…”

“I haven’t pushed you so hard that your feelings have grown cold, have I? Calling me ‘you’… that’s a bit of a shock….”

At Yohan’s words, Lear shook his head back and forth, then raised both hands and said.

“I lost. Yohan.”

“There’s no winning or losing between a married couple.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean. You have the face of a complete victor right now.”

Whether he was seriously sulking or not, at Lear’s uncharacteristic words, Yohan used his last resort.

“Honey, you know my heart. How much I love you. Honestly, I married someone like you, so if my eyes were to wander elsewhere, wouldn’t there be something wrong with my head?”

The corner of Lear’s mouth twitched slightly. But Lear held it in and said.

“If you keep this up, you’re not leaving this room.”

Seeing Lear soften slightly, Yohan pushed a little harder. It seemed if he just pushed a little more, he could leave Lear behind and go to the crime scene with a peaceful mind.

“If I do something useless, smash my head for me.”

“Why would I smash your head? I should smash the head of the guy who caught your eye, or gouge his eyes out.”

Only then did a slight smile appear on Lear’s lips. He said it like a joke, but it didn’t sound like a joke, so Yohan managed an awkward laugh.

“I’d be too scared of you to ever do something like that. Not that I ever plan to.”

“Don’t even imagine it.”

“Alright. I’ll never do it. In the time it would take to imagine that, I’d rather spend it admiring your face. Why would I do something so inefficient?”

“Right.”

“So, about that, honey….”

Seeing Yohan slyly bringing up the main topic again, even going as far as to consecutively use the word ‘honey,’ which he rarely did even when asked, Lear clicked his tongue and said.

“If you’re not going to suck me off right now, you’d better keep that pretty mouth shut and get going.”

“As expected, my husband is the best!”

Yohan wondered if he really had to go this far, but he gave a thumbs-up with both hands and praised Lear. In response, Lear clicked his tongue.

“Two hours, including travel time.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re even a little late… you know what happens, right?”

He could have given him a little more time. Yohan thought Lear was being petty.

‘Still, what can I do. The one who likes the other more has to endure. Lear, you bastard, I’ll let this slide because you’re cute.’

Yohan sighed slightly and nodded at Lear’s words.

“So, we have an agreement?”

“What agreement is there between a married couple? Honey, are you going to keep making me feel upset?”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Speaking as if to soothe Lear, Yohan patted his butt, then grinned, grabbed his collar, pulled him in, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Of course, he still couldn’t understand why he had to go this far.

It was inconvenient without a car. Yohan was getting out of the taxi and stretching his stiff body when Taeoh greeted him.

“Where’s your husband, Mr. Crawford?”

Seeing that Lear, who was always stuck to Yohan’s side, was nowhere to be seen, Taeoh looked surprised.

“I left him behind. Besides, my partner is you, not my husband. Get a grip.”

“It might not be to the same extent as you, sunbae, but since this case came to me, I also think I need to see it through to the end.”

“And?”

“That’s that, and your husband, sunbae, is getting involved in the case in his own way….”

“Stop beating around the bush and just say it.”

“It feels like he doesn’t want to be away from you for even a second, sunbae.”

At Taeoh’s words, Yohan shook his head back and forth.

“That’s because my husband loves me too much.”

Hearing Yohan’s comment, Taeoh almost made a grim face without realizing it.

“Ah… yes.”

Feeling like he had asked an unnecessary question, Taeoh felt a slight regret.

“Anyway, why are you so interested in our married life?”

“That’s not it, sunbae, you were the one who—!”

“What about me? Do you like me?”

“What are you talking about? I like beta women, you know?”

Yohan looked at Taeoh with a pitiful expression and said.

“I used to be like that once.”

“Excuse me?”

“Besides, what’s wrong with me? Aren’t I decent enough?”

“Ugh, sunbae. I know you’re the type who’s popular with women, but… I don’t think this is it.”

At Taeoh’s deadpan response, Yohan made an expression as if to say that was too harsh.

“Hey, why would you go that far?”

“We have to be clear about this. Besides, I’m really not interested in your married life, sunbae, okay? I’m not curious at all. And it’s not just me, I bet everyone would be happy that your husband isn’t here.”

Yohan agreed to some extent with Taeoh’s words, but hearing Lear get criticized made him flare up.

“Hey, still, he’s a really smart and good person. Though he has no manners.”

“…”

“And I’m the only one who can talk smack about him, so will you refrain from such comments in the future?”

Taeoh wondered why they fought in a way that made everyone around them uncomfortable when they were so madly in love. While he thought he wanted to record Yohan’s statement right now and send it to Lear, he also found it somewhat marvelous.

“Sunbae, it’s just that… you’re really unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

A romantic, sure, but just looking at Yohan’s first impression, he seemed very far from marriage.

“You should try meeting someone like my husband. Well… it would be hard to meet someone like that Lear fellow, but if you did, you’d completely understand how I feel. He’s handsome, but also cute… Ugh, it’s hard to explain in words.”

At Yohan’s unabashed love for Lear, Taeoh laughed awkwardly, “Ahaha.” Seeing this, Yohan gave a small smirk and asked Taeoh as if to comfort him.

“So, you don’t have anyone you’re dating?”

“I don’t.”

“A young guy like you, how come….”

“You sound like an old Mister, sunbae.”

“I’m married, so I am an old Mister. So what.”

Taeoh shook his head back and forth, disgusted. He wondered why Yohan was acting like that when his face was so youthful. Regardless, Yohan tapped his watch with his finger and spoke.

“And I promised to meet him in front of Lowen’s house in two hours. So let’s get started, quickly.”

“That explains it…. So there was a reason your husband didn’t come, sunbae.”

“Didn’t you say you were glad he didn’t come?”

“That’s that. More importantly, sunbae, are you really okay? You’re okay, right?”

“About what?”

“Like, gaslighting, or maybe….”

“You wanna die?”

“I’m genuinely worried. I was even wondering if your husband planted a GPS in your body while you were sleeping, sunbae.”

Yohan smacked Taeoh on the back. To be honest, the possibility that Lear might secretly plant a GPS on him wasn’t entirely zero, but he had firmly warned him that he wouldn’t let it slide if that happened, so Yohan decided to trust him.

“What kind of bullshit is that. And you know we can’t just keep wasting time here, even if it weren’t for my promise with Lear.”

“That’s true. Since we don’t know where Lowen might take off to.”

“The case is getting bigger and bigger.”

Yohan, clicking his tongue once, shoved his hands into his pants pockets and strode ahead first.

‘We’re already short-staffed… if the case gets this big, it’s going to be troublesome in many ways.’

To enter Senator Rattner’s house, which was crowded with neighborhood people and reporters, Yohan and Taeoh crossed the police line.

“So, have you found anything?”

The first person Yohan met was Agent Marisol Flores, who led the bomb squad. Yohan was already acquainted with her. She let out a deep sigh and gestured with her head to follow her.

“Is this it?”

The container was bigger than he thought.

“It’s a speaker, right?”

At Yohan’s question, Marisol nodded her head.

“It’s smaller than the one that blew up your house, but it was filled with all sorts of things. It was made by combining acid, nitrogen, sulfur, and phenol compounds20). It’s a device with 1.5 times the power of a TNT bomb. If it had gone off, something pretty terrible would have happened.”

It was a rather complex bomb even among IEDs.

“How did Senator Rattner figure it out?”

“He said the smell was strange, so he reported it right away. He’s a former Marine, so he said he saw a lot of them during his deployment. It’s a relief, if you can call it that. The casualties could have been huge.”

“Ah, if it’s phenol compounds, there is a distinctive smell.”

“Still, they didn’t install a motion sensor on the collapse circuit here.”

Taeoh, who was looking at the dismantled bomb beside them, asked Marisol.

“By the way, what do you mean the casualties could have been huge? Was there supposed to be a large gathering of people here?”

“Senator Rattner is an alpha raising his late-born son alone.”

“I know the story that he finally had a child, but his wife died without even getting to see the baby’s face properly. It’s pretty famous, isn’t it?”

“Right. But, because the kid was sick today… he decided to prepare for the charity party to support underprivileged omegas, which he’d been planning to hold recently, at home.”

“Ah, that’s really… fortunate.”

“It is. If it had gone off at the senator’s office… it would have been an even bigger mess than it is now.”

Taeoh sighed.

“Indeed, even now, like that… the Senator is giving an interview with such passion and sincerity.”

“Politicians. I think the bureau chief came in person and asked them to refrain from media coverage for the time being….”

“Maybe this is him refraining.”

Listening to Taeoh and Marisol’s conversation, Yohan sighed and then asked her.

“Is there anything else unusual besides that? The bomb materials seem subtly different from the ones at our house.”

Marisol picked something up.

“Ah, there is.”

At Marisol’s words, Yohan’s and Taeoh’s eyes lit up. Marisol held up one of the parts from the dismantled bomb.

“This is the device that remotely controlled the bomb, and it’s the same model as the one from yesterday.”

Yohan put on nitrile gloves on the spot, took the device Marisol handed him, and carefully held it up in his hand.

“I heard they dismantled the one found at your house and are looking into it, but it doesn’t seem to be easy.”

“It wasn’t damaged?”

“They did say it was an unusual case. Anyway, I’m a layman when it comes to computers…. In any case, I was told that they tried to crack the programming code and find out who made it, but it was difficult.”

At Marisol’s words, Yohan frowned.

“If the tech support side is struggling…. it would be impossible for the minds of gang members or hate group members, which means someone else is involved….”

“That’s something you’ll have to find out, Yohan, right?”

Yohan smiled awkwardly and looked at the device in his hand. If he entrusted it to Lear, they might be able to find something out.

Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust Aisha or her team members’ skills, but… if it was the work of the same culprit, there was no telling where the next terror attack would occur. He didn’t know who the mastermind planning and executing all of this was, but it was clear they weren’t the type to do it once or twice and stop.

“Well…”

Handing the device he was holding back to Marisol, Yohan sighed.

“This is a heavy burden. This attempt was a dud, but… who’s in charge here?”

“Ah, that’s Agent Sharma over there.”

Yohan turned his head in the direction Marisol was pointing. It was his ex-girlfriend from his academy days, Kiron Sharma, who had gotten on his nerves in various ways. She was an unusual one who had been working at Goldman Sachs, quit, and became an FBI agent out of a sense of justice.

“Why is Kiron Sharma…?”

Yohan blinked his eyes, unable to believe it.

“She seemed to be hoping you’d come.”

“Is the FBI that short on people? Why is someone who was on the white-collar crime team here? No, that’s not it…. Was she demoted?”

He had heard that amidst the uproar of President Callaway’s political scandal, they were working people to the bone due to a lack of manpower. But he couldn’t understand why a talent like Sharma wasn’t in Washington and had come all the way here. Come to think of it, Taeoh’s sudden assignment here was also quite suspicious.

“How would I know. Ask her yourself.”

“Ah, yes. Anyway, I’ll go talk to Sharma. If anything unusual comes up, please contact me right away.”

Marisol nodded her head. After bidding Marisol farewell, Yohan walked toward where Sharma was with a slightly stiff expression. Taeoh, who was watching him from the side, couldn’t hold back and asked Yohan.

“What’s the relationship between you two?”

“What will you do if you know?”

“It just seems like… you have a special relationship.”

“I thought you were a bear, but I guess you’re not an FBI agent for nothing.”

Yohan, clicking his tongue, glanced at Taeoh and then looked at Sharma, who was talking with her colleague in the distance.

“She’s a girlfriend I dated for a bit when I was at the academy.”

“A girlfriend?”

“My current husband is a very unusual case in my life; originally, I only dated beta women and omega women.”

“People’s lives… are really something you never know.”

Yohan also agreed with Taeoh’s words.

“I think so too.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Yohan stopped walking, suddenly grabbed Taeoh, and said.

“How do I look?”

“You look cool.”

“There’s no soul in that.”

“You won’t get hurt if I’m honest, right?”

“What do you take me for… go ahead.”

“You look a little… tired.”

“What?”

“You said you wouldn’t get hurt.”

“I’m not hurt. I’m just… a little annoyed.”

Damn Lear. After what happened yesterday, being pestered at night on top of it, it was only natural that his face showed fatigue. Yohan ruffled his hair messily and clicked his tongue. Taeoh wondered why he was acting like that, but he understood to some extent.

Even if there were no feelings left now, it was human nature to want to show that you’re living well when you meet someone from your past.

“I don’t know. Let’s go, for now. We don’t have time.”

Yohan lightly tapped Taeoh’s shoulder and, managing his expression, strode up to Sharma.

“Long time no see, Kiki.”

“Yohan?”

Taeoh thought that if Yohan’s husband had seen this scene, he would have freaked out. To call her ‘Kiki’ in such an affectionate voice. Well, even if there were no feelings left now, there would still be past memories, so it made sense, but…. Taeoh swept his chest in relief at the fact that Lear was not there.

“It’s been a while.”

“It has. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve at least called.”

“Well, we were both busy… more importantly, I didn’t know you’d be working here. When on earth did you come to L.A.?”

At Yohan’s question, Sharma smiled slightly and said.

“This morning.”

“This morning?”

“I don’t know if I should call this a demotion…. It’s probably because I have a relative on President Callaway’s side…. Once things are sorted out, I’ll probably go back to Washington too.”

“Ah, really?”

He knew vaguely that Sharma’s family was quite well-off, but he wondered if a relative was involved to the extent of being in President Callaway’s scandal.

“Since something like this happened at the senator’s house, I think they sent me amidst the manpower shortage, but… honestly, I don’t know. It’s not my area of expertise either.”

“Well, you were always good at everything. Isn’t this kind of thing nothing to you?”

Yohan laughed awkwardly once and looked at the agent beside her. Then, Sharma, taking the hint, introduced them.

“Oh, right. I should introduce you first. This is my partner, Agent Brown.”

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Yohan Crawford.”

Yohan offered a handshake to Agent Brown and introduced Taeoh, who was next to him. At that moment, Sharma, who had noticed Yohan’s wedding ring, asked.

“You’re… married?”

“Ah, this.”

Yohan looked down at the ring on his fourth finger. For some reason, Lear’s face overlapped with it. What kind of expression would he make if he found out he met his ex-girlfriend? Yohan imagined him with his eyes burning with jealousy and thought that sight might be a little cute. Though he also thought he himself wasn’t in his right mind for having such thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m married. You’ll be surprised when you see my husband.”

“Husband?”

At Sharma’s bewildered expression, as if she had misheard something, Yohan nodded his head in understanding and replied.

“Yeah, husband.”

“You… were interested in men? No, you… I mean….”

Seeing Sharma stutter in surprise, Yohan made an embarrassed face.

“Tell me about it. But, you really never know with life. I never dreamed I would marry tha— no, my current husband.”

At Yohan’s strangely shy expression, Sharma got a little annoyed.

“You know your expression is really infuriating, right? And in front of me, no less…. Don’t tell me you were testing things out on me back then?”

“No. I was sincere with you back then. You know that.”

“Right…”

Yohan had been a boyfriend who, despite seeming playful, was affectionate and took good care of her. The fact that he, who had been subtly popular among beta women, was walking such an unexpected path was still unbelievable.

“If you hadn’t gone to Washington, do you think things would have been different?”

Sharma scoffed at Yohan’s words.

“Still, you probably wouldn’t have married me. You seemed sort of distant from the idea of marriage.”

“Everyone says that.”

Yohan, scratching his head, fiddled with the ring on his hand for no reason.

“Anyway, that’s what happened. More importantly… I heard a bit about the bomb from Agent Marisol, but is there anything else?”

Seeing Yohan finally move past personal matters and ask about the case, Sharma sighed.

“According to Senator Rattner, there are people who are dissatisfied with his support for underprivileged omegas.”

“There are always those guys steeped in inferiority complexes, even though they don’t contribute a thing themselves,” Taeoh interjected.

“Has Senator Rattner ever been attacked by a hate group?”

“He said there has never been anything violent. At most, it was things like posting malicious comments from the corner of their rooms, or sending DMs or messages full of profanity on social media.”

Yohan listened quietly to Sharma’s words and then spoke.

“There are more than one or two things that feel fishy…. but they’re not entirely without a common thread. It seems that both the case we’re handling and the case here were targeting alphas. An alpha who helps omegas, and an alpha married to a beta.”

“In Senator Rattner’s case, the terrorist inclination is deep, but it’s a bit unsettling that the other side isn’t like that at all… could they be growing and evolving through a transitional period?”

“The bomb didn’t go off this time, but the materials themselves have also advanced. Of course, that is if it’s the work of the same culprit.”

Sighing, Yohan looked around once and then asked Sharma.

“What about the CCTV?”

Instead of Sharma, her partner, Brown, answered.

“According to Senator Rattner, most of the CCTV cameras in the house are decoys installed for privacy, and the only real one is the one on the main gate.”

Yohan pointed to the CCTV camera installed on the house across the street and said.

“Have you checked that one?”

“I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll check it right away.”

Brown said thanks and moved away first. Seeing that, Sharma lightly tapped Yohan on the back.

“I’ll check it and let you know right away.”

“Thanks. More importantly, I heard that phenol compounds were used in the bomb. If someone made it, wouldn’t a report have come in?”

“The Tripwire program?”

“There must be a buyer. They definitely wouldn’t be able to buy a small amount.”

“That’s likely true.”

“I think it would be good to look into the suppliers and find them….”

“I get the feeling they’re carrying this out quite systematically.”

“Right. That’s exactly what I was thinking. I have a feeling that something bigger than we thought might be involved. The direction of the investigation feels strangely like it’s following a predetermined path.”