By Zephyria 
【I know you’re keeping Park Eon-soo around, President. I know you’ll never admit it even if you die, so I’ll pretend I don’t know this time. Instead, please just confirm what you did with the other victims. Please. Otherwise, I’ll impound all of your vehicles and do a navigation forensics search.】
Sitting in the back seat of the bus, Lee-eum read the message he had sent to Choi Won-joon several times as he headed to meet his friends. He had expected him to brazenly deny it, but he hadn’t responded at all since then.
Impounding the vehicles and forensically examining the navigation system were purely false threats. After all, a warrant wouldn’t be issued. Choi Won-joon probably knew that too, so he would have scoffed at it as soon as he saw it.
He got off the bus near his destination, and even though the sun had set, the day was still sweltering. He received a message that his friends had already gone to a restaurant for the first round and moved to drink beer for the second.
After walking for about ten minutes, he arrived at the beer place, and he could see his friends through the window. One of them spotted Lee-eum and waved first, and Lee-eum opened the door and went inside, greeting his friends whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Wow, Kim Yi-eum, it’s been so long.”
“I’m going to forget your face. I heard you became a detective, are you catching all the criminals?”
“What, did you come alone? Do you have a Darling? Still no one?”
“How can a detective have a Darling when they’re so busy? Even existing Darlings would run away.”
Roh Seon-gyu gave an update on Lee-eum’s behalf, and everyone seemed to agree. His high school classmates, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, were the same as ever, and Lee-eum mingled among them with a somewhat relaxed heart. Some were Alphas and some were Omegas, but no one noticed that Lee-eum had developed from a Beta into an Omega.
“Why is Yoo Seol-ah late? She made such a fuss about being the first one here.”
“She suddenly had surgery scheduled.”
“Kim Yi-eum, you’ve been keeping in touch with Yoo Seol-ah, haven’t you?”
“What? Did you two hit it off? Then congratulations in advance.”
Even though he said that wasn’t the case, the atmosphere kept flowing in that direction. On top of that, Roh Seon-gyu joined in, saying that the two should date, and he would give 1 million won as a congratulatory gift. Lee-eum briefly considered how much he should tell Roh Seon-gyu about Choi Won-joon.
As he exchanged stories with his friends whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, time passed and he gradually became tipsy. Seon-gyu also drank more than usual today, so Lee-eum hurriedly stopped him, worried that he might have to carry him on his back.
“Drink in moderation. I’ll abandon you if you get drunk.”
“Just leave him. Hyung is just too upset.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Ji-yeon is seeing another guy. It hasn’t even been that long since we broke up. My heart is torn to shreds. And every resume I submit gets rejected. I have no face to show my parents. I wonder what’s the point of someone like me living.”
Seon-gyu reproached himself for not studying instead of just exercising. But it wasn’t like Seon-gyu wasn’t working at all. He was doing a lot of part-time jobs to make a living, but it seemed like it wasn’t enough for his parents.
“Oh, by the way, have you been in touch with that person?”
“Who?”
Roh Seon-gyu lowered his voice and whispered Choi Won-joon’s name. As if anyone was listening. Even if he said Choi Won-joon’s name loudly here, no one would think he was Choi Won-joon of Sehwa Construction. When he didn’t answer and hesitated, Seon-gyu seemed convinced that he wasn’t in contact anymore.
“What a waste. You should have taken a big cut back then. You took care of him so much.”
“Took care of him? I was just there for a while because he lost his memory.”
Just then, another friend came over, and the conversation was cut short.
“Kim Yi-eum, do you want to go on a blind date? My cousin is really pretty. She used to be a model.”
Roh Seon-gyu interjected.
“Hey. Why don’t you ask me?”
“Oh, she’s very picky about looks.”
“Then you should introduce her to me even more.”
The friend ignored him and once again recommended a blind date to Lee-eum. As soon as Lee-eum politely declined, another friend stepped in as if they had been waiting for it. Earlier, they were trying to set him up with Yoo Seol-ah, and now everyone was making a fuss about finding him a Darling. In the meantime, one of his friends looked outside and exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow, look at that car. There’s someone in this neighborhood who drives that car.”
“Huh? It’s parking here? What, is it the building owner?”
As everyone’s attention was focused outside, the driver’s seat door opened, and Lee-eum almost spat out his beer. He hurriedly wiped his mouth with a tissue, and Choi Won-joon was peering inside the store from the front. The noisy store suddenly fell silent for a moment before a burst of chatter began.
“Daebak. Look at his face. Is he a celebrity?”
“His physique is no joke. Wow, confess quickly. Whose Darling is he?”
“Crazy. He’s coming this way, he’s coming.”
Choi Won-joon walked to the entrance, and Lee-eum hurriedly got up from his seat, trying to find a place to hide. He was dizzy from the alcohol, and as he took a step to run to the restroom, Choi Won-joon came up and grabbed his arm.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“W-Who are you?”
He pretended not to know and sent a signal with his eyes, begging him not to talk to him and leave. But if he listened well, he wouldn’t be Choi Won-joon.
“Who else? Your Darling.”
At that moment, his friends’ mouths dropped open, and Lee-eum squeezed his eyes shut. If he pretended not to know any longer, he would be the only fool, so he tried to take Choi Won-joon out, but Roh Seon-gyu, who was next to him, suddenly stuck his face in.
“Excuse me… aren’t you President Choi Won-joon of Sehwa Construction? Am I right?”
That was the signal, and everyone recognized Choi Won-joon and added a word each.
“Wow, that’s right. There was an article about you and Lee-eum being close, was it real?”
“What, Kim Yi-eum! You were hiding it from us? You sly fox!”
Lee-eum felt his head spinning. In the midst of all this, he saw Roh Seon-gyu’s expression, and his eyes were sparkling with a scheming look.
“What, Kim Yi-eum? You pretended not to be, but you were in contact with Hyung? Hyung, do you remember me? We met a few times before!”
Roh Seon-gyu called him Hyung in a friendly manner, and everyone made a fuss, asking if Seon-gyu knew him too. It was a relief that most of them seemed to think of him as a close Hyung, but he was nervous about what Choi Won-joon might say if they stayed any longer. He felt dizzy and touched his forehead, and Choi Won-joon’s hands naturally went up to Lee-eum’s shoulders.
“I’ll pay here, and I’ve booked a fancy place for the third round. My secretary will be here soon. Lee-eum seems very tired, so I’ll take him first today. I’ll formally greet you then. Is that okay?”
Everyone was focused on the fact that the bill was settled and that they could go to a fancy place for the third round, so they cheered, and Lee-eum hurriedly grabbed his phone and wallet and ran out with Choi Won-joon as if fleeing. As he got into his car, dozens of eyes inside flew over and landed on him. After getting in the car, Lee-eum looked at Choi Won-joon with a dumbfounded expression.
“Please, just get out of here quickly.”
“Don’t worry. You can’t see through the tint anyway.”
Ah, he belatedly felt relieved and relaxed, but Choi Won-joon’s face appeared in front of him.
“Did you drink a lot?”
Choi Won-joon gently fastened his seatbelt and rubbed his flushed cheeks with the back of his hand, trying to cool him down.
“How did you know to come here? Did you put someone on me again?”
He looked around, but he didn’t see anyone suspicious.
“Your friend said it was a gathering where Darlings were also attending. But you didn’t say a word?”
Lee-eum was taken aback and subtly avoided his gaze. Yoo Seol-ah, that girl, must have told him.
“Get some sleep. I’ll take you home.”
The car started, and his friends’ gazes followed him until he was out of sight. The group chat will be noisy tomorrow morning. The night scenery passed quickly outside the window, and Lee-eum closed his eyes, trying to calm his churning stomach.
But he couldn’t fall asleep, and his mind was becoming clearer and clearer, unlike before. Come to think of it, he still hadn’t heard back about the message he sent during the day. He opened his eyes and looked at Choi Won-joon. His features felt more prominent and distinct at night. If he just kept his mouth shut, he would have a truly wonderful face, he realized.
“I told you to sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
“Have you thought about it?”
“About what.”
“What I said during the day.”
“…….”
“Do you know when it’s the hardest for me as a detective, President?”
“When is it?”
“When I feel powerless.”
As the car stopped for a moment, Won-joon turned his head and stared at Lee-eum.
“When I know but can’t do anything.”
Lee-eum’s eyes were different from usual, perhaps because of the alcohol. He looked languid, and he also looked desperate, so Choi Won-joon unusually shut his mouth. Perhaps because it wasn’t the reaction he had expected, Lee-eum avoided his gaze and looked out the window.
“Never mind. Forget it if you don’t want to.”
The light changed, and the car started driving again before stopping on the side of the road. Choi Won-joon took out a cigarette and went outside. After finishing one, he sat in the driver’s seat and unusually hesitated for a moment.
“Promise me. Promise you won’t kick me out even if I tell you the truth.”
Silence flowed between the two, and Lee-eum sensed to some extent that Choi Won-joon would grant his request. On the other hand, it was difficult to completely avoid the feeling of self-reproach that a police officer shouldn’t be doing this.
The conclusion had already been reached. Some might say it was cowardly, but if he couldn’t put Choi Won-joon in jail, he would try to appease him and make him a better person. And he even thought that it would be better for everyone to keep him by his side and prevent him from committing crimes rather than letting him go.
In the meantime, a message arrived. Lee-eum’s eyes widened slightly as he checked the message. What is this? Choi Won-joon leaned in with a dumbfounded laugh. What is it? When he showed him the screen, Choi Won-joon laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
In the photo, the two fathers, who were like enemies, were fast asleep, completely unaware of the world.