Chapter 56

Clack.

With a conflicted expression, Yu-gyeom loosened his necktie.

“Are you all right, Team Leader?” Sun-woo asked tentatively.

Yu-gyeom and Sun-woo were currently away on a business trip outside the capital. They had traveled down for a meeting with an actress represented by his management agency. Telling Rian about the business trip hadn’t merely been an excuse blurted out in a fit of pique.

“Mi-ae’s film shooting schedule has dragged on for so long, and with how they shoot season by season, she seems especially high-strung,” Sun-woo offered soothingly.

“Yes, I know,” Yu-gyeom replied curtly.

Carefully reading Yu-gyeom’s mood, Sun-woo spoke up on behalf of Mi-ae. The purpose of this trip was to persuade her regarding her next project. Because her current shoot had dragged on for an agonizing stretch, she had possessed no window of time to travel up to Seoul.

Even so, coordinating Mi-ae’s schedule had proved an uphill battle.

“How about heading back to the hotel to get some rest first, and then meeting her again over dinner?” Sun-woo suggested.

Sun-woo attached a special significance to today’s business trip. While Yu-gyeom was a superior Sun-woo looked up to, he was also an Alpha whom anyone would covet.

Traveling alone with Yu-gyeom—the thought alone had set Sun-woo’s heart racing since yesterday, keeping him awake through the night. Yet Yu-gyeom’s countenance had been grim ever since they departed. He had remained as sharp and prickly as shattered glass.

Yu-gyeom seemed to deliberate for a moment over the suggestion to return to the hotel, then slipped his jacket on over his shoulders.

“I’m heading straight back to Seoul,” Yu-gyeom stated flatly.

“…What?” Sun-woo breathed in disbelief.

Sun-woo stared back at him in utter astonishment.

“If Mi-ae won’t commit, we’ll need to consider our backup options,” Yu-gyeom said evenly. “With investors on the line, we can’t push the timeline back any further.”

Sun-woo fidgeted nervously, desperate to keep him. “B-But still… you should at least rest a little before going. Since we came all the way down here, turning around immediately is a bit…”

Beyond the cafe window, the wide expanse of the South Sea shimmered beneath the dazzling spring sunlight. Sun-woo had fantasized about taking Yu-gyeom to a local pub tonight for a beer and strolling down the sandy beach together. Yet now he was suddenly talking about going back…

Oblivious to or uncaring of the crushing disappointment filling Sun-woo, Yu-gyeom picked up his car keys.

“We didn’t come down here to play, Sun-woo,” Yu-gyeom pointed out coolly.

“That may be true, but…” Sun-woo trailed off helplessly.

“The room is already booked, so get some fresh air while you’re here,” Yu-gyeom said, sliding a card across the table. “Use this card to treat yourself to something nice.”

“Are you really going to leave just like this, Team Leader?” Sun-woo asked plaintively.

Sun-woo took the proffered corporate card with a mournful expression. It wasn’t as though Yu-gyeom hadn’t struggled internally. From the moment Kwon Rian announced he was going away on a trip with friends, Yu-gyeom’s stomach had churned so violently that rational thought proved impossible.

That was why Yu-gyeom had risen at the crack of dawn this morning and set out on this business trip without saying goodbye to Rian. Yet during the entire drive down, Kwon Rian had completely monopolized his mind.

The fact that that damned Kim Taeju and those friends had induced this change in Kwon Rian irritated him beyond endurance. Because his nerves had been frayed to a razor’s edge, he had bungled this meeting as well.

Yu-gyeom had never lacked the professional skill to coordinate an actor’s schedule. Matters he would normally have resolved with effortless ease had fallen apart into total dissatisfaction.

Wasting more time here in this state offered no benefit whatsoever. Yu-gyeom’s mind was already consumed by a single obsession—how to drag Kwon Rian back from outside his field of vision.

“I’m heading out,” Yu-gyeom announced.

Yu-gyeom turned away resolutely. Sun-woo reached out a hand to catch Yu-gyeom’s arm, but the elder man was already striding toward the cafe door without a single glance back.

Damn it, this sucks.

Venting his bitter frustration to the empty air, Sun-woo sank heavily back into his chair, utterly alone.

* * *

Night had fallen. Driving up from Namhae, the sun had dipped below the horizon before Yu-gyeom even realized it. He had been too impatient to wait around for a flight, believing that a long drive would help clear his cluttered head.

After roughly two hours of relentless driving, Yu-gyeom pulled into a highway rest stop, bought a cup of coffee, and took out his phone.

“Impressive,” Yu-gyeom scoffed under his breath.

You’ve certainly grown up, Kwon Rian. The delicate younger brother who used to be too terrified to do anything without Yu-gyeom had not only torn free of his grasp, but was now cutting off all contact without remorse.

Yu-gyeom felt just as unsettled by his own actions. He had never imagined the day would come when he could spend an entire day without reaching out to Kwon Rian even once.

Yet if asked whether he could leave things this way, the answer was an emphatic no. Who else would keep Kwon Rian in check if not me? I have to bring Rian back. You can’t survive without me, Kwon Rian. You belong in the palm of my hand, living only inside the castle I built for you.

My Rian.

Yu-gyeom dialed Rian’s number. There was no answer. He redialed repeatedly, but only the automated recording stating the subscriber could not be reached answered his efforts.

As if possessed by a demon, Yu-gyeom gripped his phone and dialed Rian again and again. Relentlessly, until it hit the twenty-eighth attempt.

Cold sweat soaked through Yu-gyeom’s clothes. His heart hammered so violently against his ribs it felt ready to burst. Dizziness swirled behind his eyes, clouding his senses. At this rate, continuing to drive felt like an invitation for disaster.

Huh? That wouldn’t be half bad either.

Wouldn’t Kwon Rian come running back immediately, then?

Yu-gyeom knew with absolute certainty that the moment Rian learned something had happened to him, the boy would come running back in tears. This petty rebellion was merely childish defiance; the very roots of Kwon Rian’s existence were anchored firmly to Yu-gyeom.

From the moment Rian manifested as an Omega, Yu-gyeom had personally clothed him, tucked him into bed, and washed his body. Those tender routines had permeated them both until they became unbreakable habits.

Because Yu-gyeom had touched him every day without missing a single moment, Rian had already been conditioned completely to his touch.

“Haa…” Yu-gyeom let out a ragged breath.

Once his thoughts reached that conclusion, the fact that Rian wasn’t answering his calls suddenly ceased to matter. As though he had unlocked the ultimate solution, Yu-gyeom threw his coffee cup into the trash bin and walked toward his car.

Rain began to fall without warning.

It was a good omen. After all, wasn’t this the perfect weather for an accident?

Yu-gyeom sped along the expressway. By the time he neared the outskirts of Seoul, he had run the simulation through his head countless times, calculating that sustaining a minor injury was entirely acceptable. If it was to reclaim Rian once and for all, any price was worth paying.

Yu-gyeom recalled that fateful car accident long ago, when he had ridden alongside his adoptive parents—Rian’s birth parents. While for Kwon Rian that day had inflicted a horrific trauma that would haunt him for the rest of his life, for Yu-gyeom it had been a blessed turning point that delivered Rian entirely into his hands.

Screeech!

It happened just as he crossed into the Seoul tollgate. Yu-gyeom abruptly yanked the steering wheel to the side. The crash unfolded in the blink of an eye.

Even if he lost the use of an arm for a while, it didn’t matter. This was the sole method that would naturally and infallibly compel Rian to rush to his side tonight.

Crash!