By Zephyria 
“Alright, everyone, give a round of applause to Detective Kim Yi-eum, who has brought honor to our Western Precinct!”
The usually stern Chief was beaming, a rare sight.
“Thirty kilograms of narcotics is the largest amount seized this year. Our Western Precinct has been mentioned in the news countless times. Even the Commissioner called me to praise us. I couldn’t be happier.”
Then, the Chief took out his personal card from his wallet and handed it to Team Leader Oh. He told him to make sure everyone’s stomachs were full, and everyone cheered and clapped. After the Chief left, the team members congratulated Lee-eum, saying he had worked hard.
However, Lee-eum’s smile wasn’t genuine, and he couldn’t be completely happy. Once the chaotic atmosphere had calmed down somewhat, Jeong Nam-su subtly asked what he was curious about.
“What happened? Did you resolve things amicably with Choi Won-joon?”
It wasn’t just Jeong Nam-su; most of them seemed curious. They had seen Lee-eum file a complaint and Choi Won-joon being taken away in an ambulance after being beaten by Lee-eum’s Noona in the police station parking lot, but the news portrayed the two as close friends, so it was understandable that they were puzzled.
Moreover, Lee-eum hadn’t withdrawn his complaint yet, and Choi Won-joon would have to go to the prosecutor’s office for questioning soon. If it went to court, his lawyer would definitely bring this up. As a result, even if Lee-eum wanted him to be punished to the fullest extent, it was less likely to happen.
Could Choi Won-joon have been aiming for this from the start?
“I’ll explain later. It’s more complicated than you think.”
Sighing, he was tidying up his desk when he received a call from his father in the countryside. He hadn’t even heard his voice yet, but his chest already felt tight. Lee-eum went outside the office to answer the call.
【It’s me.】
“Yes, go ahead…”
【I’m coming up this weekend, so don’t go anywhere and stay home.】
Lee-eum squeezed his eyes shut. Yesterday, Choi Won-joon had answered the phone and greeted him, saying something about his father, which had caused his father’s anger to flare up uncontrollably. How dare a gangster’s son be friends with his son, he had shouted, telling him to stay away immediately. The blame had also fallen on Lee-eum, and he had brought up the forgotten topic of marriage again, telling him to get married quickly if he wanted to live as he pleased.
“Don’t come… I’m busy. I have to go to work.”
【Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be staying at your place for a while, so keep that in mind.】
Lee-eum realized that the purpose was surveillance, and he could hear his mother scolding him from the side, asking why he was doing this and telling him to leave the boy alone. Then, his father roared.
【How can I just sit back and watch when the media is saying he’s friends with that damned seed! Or promise me you won’t see Choi Seung-gil’s youngest son again. Then I’ll let it slide this time.】
Lee-eum sighed quietly.
【You little bastard! Are you sighing in front of your father?】
“Father… I’m turning thirty the day after tomorrow. I can take care of myself. I won’t be seeing Choi Won-joon anymore… Don’t get angry, and don’t take it out on Mom. I’m sorry… I’m busy, so I’ll hang up.”
Lee-eum hung up the phone and pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Just then, the team members came out in a rush. Seeing the excitement on Team Leader Oh’s face, it seemed they were going straight to a barbecue restaurant. Nam-soo came over, linked arms with Lee-eum, and smiled.
“Thanks to you, Sunbae, we get to eat beef.”
“Happy?”
“Of course. Even if it’s the same oil, beef oil is different.”
Lee-eum tried to erase the conversation with his father from his mind and headed to the barbecue restaurant, chatting idly with Jeong Nam-su. When they arrived at the restaurant, the owner asked as if he was used to it, asking how many servings of pork rinds they wanted first. When Team Leader Oh confidently shouted for beef, everyone got excited and made a fuss. There was even someone who boldly declared that they would check the limit on the Chief’s card today.
They placed their order and were waiting when the room inside became noisy. The CEO put in the charcoal, and a little later, he appeared with reddish beef. Everyone exclaimed in admiration and began to grill the meat, which disappeared into people’s mouths like magic without even losing its blood.
“Wow, it melts, it melts.”
“Look at this marbling. It’s Korean beef, Korean beef.”
“I wonder if I’ll get a stomachache. I’m always eating pork rinds.”
Detective Yoon handed Jeong Nam-su a drink.
“While we’re at it, have our youngest make some Somaek and pass it around!”
“Yeah, Jeong Nam-su is the best at Somaek! You may not be able to catch criminals, but you’re good at making drinks.”
“Don’t say such hurtful things. I’ve been doing well lately.”
“Did you catch them? Detective Kim caught them.”
“Detective Kim is me, and I am Detective Kim!”
“You crazy bastard. You have no conscience. Your faces are different.”
While the Sunbae were laughing and chatting, Nam-soo expertly mixed Soju and beer and passed it around. Lee-eum also drank one after another, and before he knew it, he was tipsy. While he was talking to his colleagues, Detective Park called Lee-eum.
“The more I think about it, the more amazing Detective Kim is. How did you catch eight guys all by yourself? You didn’t even have a gun.”
“Detective Kim wasn’t alone. CEO Choi Won-joon was there.”
“Come on, Team Leader saw it in the parking lot that day. That guy went down in one hit.”
“That’s right. That’s right. Ugh, a man as big as a door fell with one punch from Kim Malk-eum.”
“That’s what they call a pretty but useless thing. Fashion muscles are useless. Muscles trained in real combat like ours are the real deal. Look, these are abs. Aren’t they amazing?”
Team Leader Oh, who was listening, asked with a puzzled expression.
“What are fashion muscles?”
“It means that even if you have muscles, they can’t do their job properly. In other words, impotent. Muscle impotent.”
“Ah, is that what it means? Then Choi Won-joon is muscle impotent.”
Everyone laughed, and Lee-eum silently flipped the meat. If they had seen Choi Won-joon fight, they would never have said that. He was not only strong but also incredibly fast, making Lee-eum wonder why he had been getting beaten by him until now.
But Lee-eum didn’t bother to defend him. Why would he? In the meantime, the door inside slid open, and Team Leader Oh, who was sitting in the front, called out to someone with a delighted expression.
Lee-eum, who was raising his head, paused when he saw Jeong Dae-han.
“What brings you here, Prosecutor Jeong?”
“I came to have a company dinner with my colleagues.”
“Wow, your ears are red. You must have had a lot to drink.”
Jeong Dae-han smiled awkwardly, greeted them, and disappeared outside. Team Leader Oh, who was tipsy, suggested a toast, and everyone stood up and raised their glasses high. “To a safe tomorrow!” After shouting the slogan and emptying their glasses in one go, Lee-eum took his cigarettes and left the store.
He went to the smoking area and lit a cigarette when Jeong Dae-han, who had gone out earlier, passed by with two plastic bags in his hands. He noticed Lee-eum and hesitated before approaching him.
“Did you come out for a smoke?”
“Uh…”
“Are you okay?”
Lee-eum nodded instead of answering. He had filed a complaint against Choi Won-joon and even obtained a search warrant, causing such a commotion, but the media portrayed them as close friends. It was obvious that Jeong Dae-han would be dumbfounded.
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
Lee-eum recalled that he had made negative comments about Choi Won-joon. He must be disappointed in me. He could make excuses, but it was true that he had been swept away without being able to push him away harshly. He didn’t know if it was because of Choi Won-joon’s threats or because he felt guilty about Kim Ji-cheol’s case.
He didn’t have anything more to say, so he remained silent, and Jeong Dae-han brought a chair from afar and sat next to him. He took out a hangover cure from the black bag, opened the lid himself, and handed it to him.
“Here.”
“No, it’s okay. Give it to your colleagues.”
“I bought ours separately. This is for your team members.”
Jeong Dae-han handed Lee-eum one of the bags. Ah, so that’s why there were two. He had even taken care of ours. He was still so considerate. Lee-eum was grateful and sorry for what had happened before, so he just smiled. But then Jeong Dae-han said something completely unexpected.
“That day, you saw the picture in my wallet, right…?”
Lee-eum stammered in embarrassment.
“Uh? Uh. I did…”
“Sorry. You must have been embarrassed, but I ran away like an idiot.”
Jeong Dae-han lowered his head and fiddled with the handle of the bag in his hand.
“If I were you, I would have been embarrassed and upset…”
“It’s not like that. Actually, I misunderstood you.”
“Misunderstood?”
“Yeah… The day I met you at the National Forensic Service, I took a quick look and suspected you of being on drugs. I had seen something similar before. So, I should be the one apologizing.”
Jeong Dae-han’s eyes widened slightly before he burst out laughing. A scar appeared like a dimple when he laughed. It was a scar he had gotten when he had stood up for Lee-eum once. Protecting someone and secretly carrying their picture in his wallet…
People usually don’t call that friendship.
Ah, am I drunk? I’m imagining things that don’t make sense…
He shook his head to clear his mind when he heard a gentle voice.
“Lee-eum…”
“Yeah?”
“Actually, I used to like you when we were kids.”
“Uh? Uh… Well, that can happen. Between friends…”
Jeong Dae-han bit his lip. Whether it was because of the alcohol or for some other reason, not only his ears but also his neck and cheeks turned as red as if they were about to burst. An awkward silence fell, and Lee-eum couldn’t bear the heavy atmosphere, so he quietly got up from his seat.
“Let’s go in. People are waiting.”
How many steps had he taken?
“I still like you.”
Lee-eum stopped in his tracks and turned around with an awkward expression.
“You’re saying that as a friend, right?”
Even after asking, he knew it was a stupid question. If he were a friend, he wouldn’t have made that expression. Lee-eum thought about what to say in his head. Words that would not hurt him as much as possible and would make Jeong Dae-han understand.
“Dae-han. I’m a Beta. Not an Omega.”
“It doesn’t matter. Even if you were an Alpha, I would have liked you. You’re that cool, and…”
Jeong Dae-han avoided his gaze out of embarrassment, and Lee-eum couldn’t smile anymore. He decided that it would be better to make things clear for each other’s sake.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never thought of you as more than a friend.”
“I know… That your feelings aren’t the same as mine. I’m not asking for anything from you. I just wanted to confess. About my feelings. I feel relieved now that I’ve said it. I should have done this sooner…”
Jeong Dae-han raised his head and tried to smile.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, tell me. You can even use me.”
“There won’t be.”
“I know Choi Won-joon is using your weakness to manipulate you.”
Lee-eum’s heart sank, but he didn’t show it.
“I don’t know what your weakness is, but there might be a way for me, an Alpha, to help you.”
Suddenly, he became curious. What could Jeong Dae-han, an Alpha, do to help? Then, as if flowing naturally, he thought about Alpha’s pheromones. Even Betas could be marked by Alphas, and once marked, other Alphas would not easily approach them because of the pheromones. Seeing Lee-eum’s surprised expression, Jeong Dae-han drove the point home.
“If I mark you, Choi Won-joon won’t be able to act recklessly anymore.”