#106

＊＊＊

At the same time, Incheon Container Terminal.

“Heu, keu, uuu….”

A man dressed in black was crawling miserably across the floor. A pair of dress shoes, walking leisurely from behind, approached the crawling man and stepped on the back of his head as if to crush it. The man’s screams echoed through the container before gradually fading away.

Once the sound stopped completely, the man lifted his foot and wiped the sole of his shoe long across the floor. A long streak of dark red liquid remained where the sole had passed.

Kwon Ki-hyuk tucked the cigarette he had been holding between his fingers and took a deep drag of the filter. His cheek hollowed out before returning to its place along with a cloud of white smoke. There was no trace of light in his eyes as he stared into the void.

“Vice President. We found it.”

A voice called out from behind him.

“Bring it here.”

What the chief secretary handed to Ki-hyuk was shaped like an ordinary pen. Kwon Ki-hyuk let out a scoffing laugh.

“He did something this cute?”

Turning the pen-shaped object this way and that, Kwon Ki-hyuk pressed a small button at the tip. With a click, a small but clear voice flowed from inside the pen.

─Brother. You see, I hate it when my dear brother possesses things.

Click.

─This time, I’m going to have Kim In-jung write this as an article. I’ll tie in everything—the assault, sexual harassment, and power abuse controversies that were previously only rumors.

Click, click.

─Aaaagh! Vice President, Vice President! Please spare me! Please! I was wrong. I’ll never do it again!

─Shh…. I can’t concentrate, so be quiet….

─Swish— Thwack!

Kwon Ki-hyuk’s brow furrowed. There was no need to hear more; it was exactly what he had been looking for. Ki-hyuk snapped the ballpoint pen in half and threw it on the floor.

Three weeks ago, he had learned through his father-in-law that a special report would be aired on a certain broadcasting station.

Humiliatingly, Ki-hyuk had bowed his head to his father-in-law to ask him to block the report, and for three weeks, he had scoured the entire country to find this rat.

Had his father-in-law not owned a media outlet, he would have been completely blindsided.

“Fucking bastards….”

Thinking about it again made his blood boil. Kwon Ki-hyuk flicked away his cigarette and kicked Kim In-jung’s completely sprawled body until it became limp like a rag. Dull, chilling sounds of thuds echoed inside the container. Secretary Kim looked away, unable to watch any longer.

After venting his anger for a while, Kwon Ki-hyuk breathed heavily, loosened his tie, and asked.

“Are you sure there are no other copies besides this?”

“Yes, sir. Before coming to Incheon, we secured and checked everything—Kim In-jung’s laptop, phone, external hard drives, and even his online storage.”

The only thing that rat, who was worse than trash, had done right was his singular obsession with selling this recording for a high price; he had kept only the physical copy without making any backups.

However, the back of his head still felt stinging from being betrayed once. Carelessness was not an option.

“You can’t trust the actions of a rat. Dig deeper. Check who this bastard contacted over the last three weeks—no, even before that. There might be someone else who has a copy.”

“Understood.”

The chief secretary bowed his head and gestured toward Kim In-jung, who looked like nothing more than a large heap of rags, and asked.

“How shall we handle this?”

“Make sure no one can find him.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk took a new cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Lighting it with a lighter, he continued.

“If a missing person report is filed, create an exit record and handle it. The Philippines, or somewhere like that.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk took a couple of drags of the filter and stepped out of the container warehouse. Soon, the sound of the car waiting outside departing with Kwon Ki-hyuk inside was heard.

After Kwon Ki-hyuk’s car completely disappeared from sight, the chief secretary called in the laborers who had been waiting elsewhere.

The rough-looking men were each carrying bags of cement powder, water bottles, and long wooden poles. Finally, the last man entered, pushing a large drum.

The drum made a loud noise as it rolled into the container, sounding empty. It eventually stopped at the feet of the collapsed Kim In-jung.

It was a drum large enough for a person to fit into with room to spare.

＊＊＊

“What do you mean by that, Jung-hyun…? That we have to leave Myeong-jeong?”

His mother, dressed in a slip and cardigan, followed Jung-hyun, her face pale with shock.

Without answering her question, Jung-hyun went straight to his mother’s dressing room. He opened a large Boston bag embossed with a luxury logo pattern and began stuffing it with his mother’s jewelry, watches, and other expensive items as fast as he could grab them.

His mother, pale and frantic, finally managed to stop him by grabbing his arm.

“I told you earlier. We have to leave here right now.”

Jung-hyun pried Gwi-ran’s hand off and repeated the same words.

“I can’t stay at Myeong-jeong any longer. You know that too, Mother.”

“What…?”

“It’s a shame you can’t take the paintings, but with this many jewels and watches, you should be able to buy a few small paintings again. So hurry and pack the clothes and shoes you like.”

It was just as Jung-hyun picked up the crocodile leather bag his mother often used.

His mother, Gwi-ran, blocked Jung-hyun’s path and shouted in a hushed voice.

“Jung-hyun…! You have to explain to me properly why you’re doing this…!”

Jung-hyun took his mother’s hand and slowly spoke.

“Mother, it was very hard for me to watch your neurosis and panic attacks get worse. I felt like it was all because of me.”

As he spoke, Jung-hyun looked into his mother’s eyes.

“But it wasn’t because of me; it was because of something you were harboring within yourself.”

“…….”

“You’ve been suffering all this time because you were afraid Father would find out about how you deceived him to bring me into this family.”

His mother’s gaze flickered like a candle in the wind.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“…Jung-hyun.”

His mother and father were nothing more and nothing less than a show-window couple. From the beginning, the father had brought the mother into Myeong-jeong because he needed a ‘child who would become an Alpha,’ and now he kept her there because he needed ‘Kwon Ki-hyuk’s shadow.’

So, what would happen if the father found out what the mother had done?

Even if he kept Jung-hyun, who still had some use, at Myeong-jeong, the father would never forgive the mother for deceiving him to enter the family.

There was no way the mother didn’t know that. That must be why she had desperately hidden it until her nerves were worn thin.

He felt truly sorry for her. He realized she had looked down on and trampled others, wanting to prove her status, all because of the very reason that was eating her away.

And on the other hand, he felt relieved. It was a sense of liberation coming from the fact that his mother’s neurosis wasn’t because of him.

Jung-hyun held her trembling hand.

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ve prepared a place. Just stay there for a while. Then I’ll settle everything.”

If his mother’s long-term illness had developed because she was at Myeong-jeong, then the only way to save her was to leave Myeong-jeong. Jung-hyun was certain of this.

A person with nerves as sensitive as his mother’s could not possibly live in constant fear of when her secret would be discovered.

Moreover, he had now manifested as an Omega. If his father began to suspect his second son, who had become an Omega just by being exposed to some pheromones, it would only be a matter of time before he uncovered the mother’s secret.

In that case, it would be better to be kicked out of Myeong-jeong due to his own fault. For that, the breakup with Kyung Seung-hee was perfect.

Then, at least his mother’s honor could be preserved. She was a person who had lived her entire life to become the mistress of Myeong-jeong. If he inflicted such humiliation on his already fragile mother, she might completely lose her will to live.

Jung-hyun was truly pushed to his limit. The only goal remaining in his mind was that he had to protect his small and weak mother.

“Let’s live together, just the two of us, like we used to, Mom.”

Jung-hyun whispered to his mother.

“Now I can afford to give you good clothes and good food with my own strength. So let’s leave this wretched place together.”

His mother shook her head slightly as if she couldn’t believe it and spoke.

“Why on earth are you doing this…? I told you that if you just did as I said, there would be no problem. You just had to do that….”

“……”

“You don’t tell me….”

His mother narrowed her eyes and cupped Jung-hyun’s face with both hands.

“You didn’t get the surgery…?”

Jung-hyun simply looked down at her. His mother’s face began to distort.

“Huh…? Is that it…?”

Just as Jung-hyun opened his mouth halfway to say something, the sound of thumping footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Startled, his mother grabbed Jung-hyun’s hand and led him into the massive dressing room. She hurriedly opened a closet door.

“Ju-Jung-hyun. Hide, quickly, hurry.”

But the door flew open first.

The master of Myeong-jeong, Kwon Myung-chul, who had not lost his imposing presence despite his middle age, glared with menacing eyes at Gwi-ran and Jung-hyun standing inside the dressing room. His mother’s shoulders were trembling violently.

Without hesitation, Myung-chul strode toward the two of them.

“Ho-Honey…. J-Just a moment….”

His mother blocked his path. However, his mother’s body, gaunt from long-term neurosis, was easily pushed to the floor with a single exertion of strength from the father.

Standing before Jung-hyun in two steps, Myung-chul slapped Jung-hyun across the cheek.

“Are you out of your mind!”

With a loud crack, Jung-hyun’s body lurched violently. A small scream escaped his mother’s lips.

“How dare you demand a breakup?! With the son of Vice Minister Kyung Seung-taek?!”

107 – PUCK DROP