RACA 5

A question that came late. The room he stayed in was at the end of the corridor, so it wasn’t a place one would pass by by chance. On top of that, the space Pyo Jaebeom used was on the opposite side. As if he caught the suspicious gaze, Pyo Jaebeom tilted his head and asked crookedly.

“Why, do I bother you if I stand here?”

“No? How could I? Absolutely not?”

Eunsol waved his hands to deny it, then suddenly lifted his head. As expected, Pyo Jaebeom was smirking again. He must have been pouting his lips without realizing it.

“What is that face supposed to mean?”

He turned his eyes away, and a heard a breathy laugh. Only then did he realize Pyo Jaebeom was deliberately teasing him. He grumbled inwardly, then when he looked again, Pyo Jaebeom had already started walking without a word. Eunsol, leaning against the wall to calm his startled chest, unconsciously followed right behind him.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

The place Pyo Jaebeom headed toward was the front entrance. As expected, a sliding door closed behind his broad shoulders came into view.

“You cannot go out, so don’t even think about trying.”

“No…”

Ignoring him the whole time, only when he reached the door did Pyo Jaebeom glance back and lift the corner of his lips. Eunsol, who had no intention of going out, looked wronged.

“I’m not going out. Um… Boss, when are you coming back?”

He asked cautiously while gauging his reaction, and Pyo Jaebeom gave him an unreadable look.

What? It wasn’t a wrong question, so why?

He tried to retrace if he had made a mistake, when suddenly Pyo Jaebeom’s long arm reached toward him. Shocked by the sudden move, he closed his eyes. He braced for impact, but nothing came. When he carefully opened his eyelids, Pyo Jaebeom was staring at him with an expression that said he was ridiculous.

“Why did you close your eyes?”

“Uh, that, because your hand, hand came at me all of a sudden…?”

When a thick, muscular arm came at him, his eyes just shut on their own. It wasn’t like he was a boxer or a pitcher.

“This one is really funny.”

He mockingly laughed at him. At the same time, he pressed a finger on his forehead. Pushed by Pyo Jaebeom’s long index, Eunsol’s head tilted back, and he squinted his eyes without him realizing.

“Oh? What, are you dissatisfied?”

“What? No?”

“You are, though. Your eyes showed it.”

Meanwhile, his own lips were curling up. Eunsol protested inwardly, realized his slip, and hurriedly relaxed his face. Since earlier, his emotions kept showing on his face, which was torture. But even as he resumed his timid act, he didn’t realize he was keeping direct eye contact with Pyo Jaebeom.

“Why do you care when I come back?”

Watching him as if it was amusing, Pyo Jaebeom pulled his hand back and asked.

“What? No, that, because, since we live together, of course I would be curious.”

It’s normally like that when people live together? Just like how when going out or coming back, you naturally say I am off or I am back, telling the other when you will return is the natural thing. At least that was how Eunsol had lived.

“Hm…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“The more I look, the more I wonder if you are really timid or only pretending to be.”

Pyo Jaebeom’s face was strangely hard to read. He seemed entertained, but he also looked doubtful. That very line made Eunsol’s heart skip a beat.

“What?”

“Not that it matters.”

After rattling his nerves, Pyo Jaebeom turned away without hesitation.

“Since you don’t know when I will be back, don’t wait.”

He dropped the line indifferently, then passed through the inner door. Soon the front door clicked shut.

“Hah…”

Eunsol, who had been holding his breath till then, let out a long sigh, then rubbed at the spot on his forehead where Pyo Jaebeom’s finger had pressed.

“What was that just now?”

He really had a natural gift for jerking someone’s heart up and down. And in the end, he even said not to wait for him in case he might. Seriously. If he isn’t the prime example of a perfect groom candidate, then who is?

“Besides, what kind of gangster fashion is that?”

If he was a gangster, huh, he should have been in a flashy printed shirt with baggy pants, or at least a tailored black suit.

But the outfit Pyo Jaebeom wore just now didn’t look like a mob boss but more like a chaebol heir heading to a corporate office.

A bluish-gray jacket, black shirt, silk tie with square patterns, dark brown Oxford shoes, and a silver metal watch.

“Tch. If he is going to dress like that, he should do a photo shoot. Then I could at least collect it for myself.”

Eunsol clicked his tongue and rubbed his forehead. He glared at the front door, then tiptoed toward it. He pressed his ear to the door to check for sound, then out of curiosity grabbed the knob and pushed.

Beep.

With a brisk tone, the door that had opened about a finger’s width slammed shut again with a bang. Eunsol almost smashed his head and blinked rapidly in shock.

He thought he had just seen a rough-looking man who resembled a gangster standing in the crack.

“So it really is confinement.”

Eunsol realized it was more serious than expected and quickly stepped back. He did it so it wouldn’t look like he stayed at the door in an attempt to escape.

He was still anxious about having opened it earlier, but since no one had entered right away, it didn’t seem to be an urgent issue.

Maybe because the sudden event had startled him, his hunger had long since vanished. But staying on an empty stomach was only a loss for him.

Eunsol put his hand on his chest and exhaled once more, then turned his body toward the kitchen.

“Whatever it is, I still need to eat well.”

His grandmother used to say so. When people starve, they become irritable, lose energy, and keep thinking negatively. So first, they must fill their stomach well.

“Ah… I miss Grandma.”

He sniffled as his grandmother, who lived with him until he came up to Seoul, came to mind. When he lived with her, she always cared for him. But right after he became an adult, she passed away, and when he realized he was left alone in the world, he had cried so much.

“At least I didn’t suffer because of my parents.”

Though he had grown up in his maternal grandmother’s care since childhood, and after she passed away he became alone, it wasn’t like the omega protagonist in the drama who got sold off because of his father’s debt…

Wait, no? That is exactly my situation now!

The realization made goosebumps prickle on his skin.

“Where is the contract?”

Eunsol returned to the spot where he first faced Pyo Jaebeom when he came to the house.

“It’s still there.”

He didn’t need to look around. The contract Pyo Jaebeom had thrown at him to check was still on the table.

“Shhh–Haa!”

Eunsol inhaled and exhaled as he swept his eyes across the living room. He knew no one was there, but he still felt guilty. Only after confirming there was no sign of life did he stretch out his arm toward the paper.

“Shit…”

After rereading the contract, Eunsol covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes would not leave the words on the page.

“How could I have forgotten this completely?”

He slowly read the line out loud.

“The patient delegates physical control rights to A until B bears A’s child.”

Yes. He had completely failed to realize the core reason he was trapped here.

His ankle wasn’t the only thing he should have worried about.

The paper slipped from Eunsol’s hand.

“This is insane.”

He rubbed his face with both hands in agitation. Then he turned around the room, muttering to himself.

“This really makes no sense. Pregnancy? Me?”

He had lived twenty-seven years as a beta. He had seen with his own eyes the test results from his childhood, which clearly stated a 0% chance of manifestation. So why?

“No way…”

He suddenly recalled the original protagonist’s trait in the drama, then shook his head violently.

“No. No way. Absolutely not. Never.”

Denying the thought that came to mind, Eunsol ran to the entrance. He grabbed the doorknob and pushed it.

Thud. Thud.

But unlike earlier, when it had opened the slightest crack, this time it didn’t budge at all. He clenched his teeth and tried shoving with his shoulder, pressed his back and drove with his legs, but it was the same.

Bang! Bang bang! Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!

Finally, Eunsol began pounding the front door with his fist.

“Hey, out there! Call the Boss here! You brought the wrong person! Do you hear me?”

Bang! Bang bang bang! Bang bang!

He slammed noisily, but the door wouldn’t move. His fist throbbed in pain, and Eunsol grimaced and stopped. At that moment, he had no time to think about acting. Was that important now? He had to clear up the misunderstanding on the other side right away.

“Damn it, listen to me!”

He exhaled roughly, his body shaking. He glared at the unresponsive door, then turned around. He scanned the living room left and right, and when he didn’t find what he sought, he moved to another place.