By Zephyria 
After dropping off Nam-soo, Lee-eum headed to the prosecutor’s office and called his doctor, Yoo Seol-ah, while waiting for Jeong Dae-han. The medication had alleviated the symptoms, but if Nam-soo were an Alpha, he might have noticed the subtle changes.
【What brings you here at this hour?】
“Are you busy?”
【I’m having lunch. What about you?】
“Can I come see you briefly on Thursday?”
【Why? What’s wrong?】
“I feel strange. I’ll explain in detail when I get there.”
【Hmm… what should I do? I’m going on vacation the day after tomorrow.】
“Suddenly?”
【You know my Unni? She works at Sehwa Group. She has to go on a business trip to New York, and she got two plane tickets. Business class, no less. Plus, a five-star hotel is provided. I can’t possibly miss this great opportunity.】
Listening to Seol-ah’s excited voice, Lee-eum bit his lower lip.
“When are you coming back?”
【In a week. Is it urgent? Or do you want to come now?】
Lee-eum looked at the medicine in his hand with a troubled expression. He could probably endure it for about ten days. He had symptoms, but it was only for a brief moment, and he took the medicine, so he should be fine. He decided not to amplify his anxiety with unnecessary worries and told Seol-ah to see him after her trip.
【Just in case, should I ask a Sunbae I know to take care of you? Someone who keeps their mouth shut.】
“No, I have enough medicine. Nothing’s happened so far.”
After saying goodbye and ending the call, Lee-eum hid the medicine deep inside the car. Then, he looked outside and saw Jeong Dae-han walking towards him from afar. Upon spotting Lee-eum’s car, he quickened his pace.
“Sorry. Did you wait long? The Head of department was looking for me as I was about to leave.”
“No, I just got here myself.”
Jeong Dae-han sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. Lee-eum was inwardly nervous that the Alpha would notice his symptoms. But like any other Alpha, Jeong Dae-han didn’t notice anything.
“I contacted Yang Mok-hyung for the witness investigation, but he’s not answering at all. I’m sorry for taking up your time.”
“No, it’s okay. I happened to have some business in that area anyway.”
Lee-eum started the engine, and the car pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. Throughout the drive, Jeong Dae-han mentioned the details of his meeting with the perpetrator, Kim Sang-beom, and the fact that there were incomprehensible parts in his statement. Watching Jeong Dae-han, who even brought documents to explain in detail, Lee-eum couldn’t help but smile. Jeong Dae-han blinked his innocent eyes and looked at Lee-eum when he smiled.
“Why…? Is there… something wrong?”
“No. I just remembered something from the past.”
“Huh?”
“You once explained to me in quite detail about the impact of bees on the ecosystem. So, I thought you might become an entomologist. You were mostly sitting in the flower bed during breaks, looking for bugs.”
“Was I…? Well, I did a lot of foolish things when I was young….”
“Not at all. I thought it was cool. I didn’t have a dream back then. Or anything I particularly liked.”
Seeing Lee-eum speak wistfully, Jeong Dae-han looked surprised. Didn’t you want to become a police officer since you were young? His face seemed to be asking.
In fact, Lee-eum didn’t want to become a police officer. His father was always busy with work and was hard to see, and raising the children was entirely his mother’s responsibility. It was only after a long time that his mother confessed that she had a really hard time back then.
Lee-eum didn’t want his spouse to live the same life. At least he wanted to spend happy times with his family on the weekends. But somehow, the three siblings ended up following in their father’s footsteps.
Perhaps it was because he knew he was a half-baked Omega, not a Beta, that he had no regrets about giving up a close-knit family.
“Oh, do you remember Roh Seon-gyu? We were classmates.”
“Your friend who did sports? The scary-looking one….”
Lee-eum laughed out loud. Come to think of it, Choi Won-joon also said Roh Seon-gyu looked scary when he lost his memory. Choi Won-joon is no less intimidating when it comes to having a strong impression. I wonder what Seon-gyu would say if he knew that Choi Won-joon, whom he used to take care of like a child, was the President of Sehwa Construction.
As they shared stories about their childhood, the car arrived near Yang Mok-hyung’s house. His house, far from the village, was filled with the loud barking of dogs from afar.
“Is that it over there?”
“Yeah.”
Arriving at the entrance, Lee-eum looked around the yard and realized that the blue truck he had seen before was gone. He parked the car nearby and got out, entering with Jeong Dae-han alone, and the dogs barked fiercely.
The stench of manure and a fishy smell mixed together, assaulting their noses. After looking around the yard, he knocked on the door, but as expected, no one came out.
“It looks like he’s gone somewhere since the truck’s not here.”
Yang Mok-hyung was nowhere to be seen even after circling the house, and he didn’t answer when they called. Lee-eum noticed a rusty warehouse a little further away. It was quite a distance from the house, but as they got closer, they saw a heavy iron door blocking the entrance and a large padlock.
The outer walls of the warehouse were solid brick, and there were no windows or other ventilation facilities. Without thinking, he grabbed the padlock and shook it, and he heard something faintly from inside. He held his breath and put his ear to the door, and a strange smell flowed out through the gap. Jeong Dae-han, who was looking around on the other side, followed suit.
“Lee-eum-ah.”
Shh. After signaling him to be quiet, he focused his senses towards the inside. Was it his imagination? Thump, thump. He knocked on the door, but it was quiet.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought I heard a sound from inside.”
“Isn’t it a rat?”
“Maybe.”
After pondering for a moment, Lee-eum looked at the driveway and took out his wallet from his back pocket. Then, he pulled out two short wires from inside the wallet. Jeong Dae-han’s eyes widened as the unexpected objects appeared.
“What’s that?”
Lee-eum put the wires into the keyhole and fiddled with them, and Jeong Dae-han was so surprised that he couldn’t close his mouth.
“L, Lee-eum-ah?”
“Just turn a blind eye for once, Prosecutor.”
“No, still, if you go in without a warrant, and the door doesn’t open easily either, uh?”
Before Dae-han could stop him in his bewilderment, he heard a click. The corners of Lee-eum’s lips went up, and a troubled look was evident on Jeong Dae-han’s face.
“You know, Lee-eum-ah. Once the homeowner comes,”
“We can close it before he comes.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea no matter how I think about it.”
The heavy iron door creaked open, and a foul smell stung their noses. Dae-han frowned and turned his head, and Lee-eum covered his nose with the back of his arm. Looking inside, the warehouse was bigger than he thought. Amidst the clutter, there was a large basin next to the entrance, and a pile of unidentified black lumps was stacked up.
“What’s that?”
Lee-eum picked up a stick next to him and stirred it. Upon closer inspection, it was a collection of small animal carcasses. He didn’t know why they were stored here, but the smell was so bad that his nose was going numb.
Dae-han, unable to bear it, gagged several times. Both of them covered their noses and frowned as they looked around, and a large, heavy-looking cabinet caught their eye. Seeing it, Dae-han casually threw out a remark.
“In movies, secret rooms appear behind things like that.”
Lee-eum gestured for him to go try, and Dae-han laughed. He just meant it as a joke. But as if they had made a promise, they cleared away the clutter and went inside to push the cabinet. It didn’t budge.
“I knew it….”
They laughed at their absurd imagination, but they faintly heard a moan-like sound from inside. They both made eye contact at the same time and put their ears to the wall side by side.
“Is anyone inside?”
It was silent. Thump, thump. It was the same even when they hit the wall with their fists. They examined the structure of the cabinet and found something that looked like a latch on the opposite lower side. When they flipped it, the cabinet actually slid sideways.
With a heavy sound, the cabinet moved, and an entrance appeared before their eyes. As they stepped inside, they were speechless at the unexpected sight.
On one side, there was a blood-stained bathtub, and on the other side, a man was lying on the floor covered in blood, his wrists and ankles tightly bound, wearing only a thin slip. His mouth was taped shut, and he couldn’t even open his eyes properly, so Lee-eum and Dae-han checked the man’s condition first.
“Hey. Wake up. Hey!”
He barely opened his eyes and swallowed a moan, and tears streamed down his face. Was it a sense of relief that he was alive? Or was he still terrified? After confirming that he was conscious, Lee-eum took out his phone and contacted Nam-soo.
As he requested support and asked for an ambulance to be sent, there was a loud bang from behind. Lee-eum and Dae-han stood up and discovered that the door, which had been wide open until just now, was closed again.
“Damn it!”
They hurriedly ran out of the secret room and pushed the door, but it didn’t budge. They were so focused on the victim that they didn’t even know someone had come. Jeong Dae-han also came to his side, and Lee-eum shouted outside.
“Yang Mok-hyung! You better open this door! Do you know what you’re doing right now?”
There was no answer, and he kicked the door in anger, but it didn’t budge. Damn it! Looking around, he spotted an old shovel. Jeong Dae-han quickly brought the shovel and struck the door, but it remained unmoved. Eventually, the shovel and handle separated and rolled away.
He judged that it could be dangerous to delay any longer. Lee-eum contacted the nearby police box and asked them to dispatch immediately. Then, he pondered how to get out, and he heard something being poured on the roof.
At first, he thought they were pouring water, but soon he heard a crackling sound. Then, a hazy smoke trickled down like a mirage through the gaps in the roof. Jeong Dae-han’s expression hardened, and Lee-eum uttered a groan and a curse at the same time.
“Shit… we’re fucked.”