MM 128

At just past 11 PM, Do-won leaned back from his desk, briefly sitting upright before running his hands over his face. He pressed his tired eyes with his warm palms a few times, letting out a long sigh.

“I want to go home quickly.”

Replaying thar sentence in his mind, Do-won let out a small smile. Had he felt this way before? As far as he could remember, he hadn’t.

“I need you to come quickly. I really… hmmm… want to be with you, but Team Leader insisted I leave, so that’s why I’m going.”

Of course, Do-won also wanted to work beside Yu-young, just like yesterday, but when he saw Yu-young yawning with red eyes while trying to act aloof, he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Lately, he’d been staying late at work, and having been kept awake all night at home, it was no surprise.

“You go home and rest, and I’ll be back quickly.”

“Really? You can’t stay past midnight. Your handsome face will get ruined.”

After saying such a cute line, Yu-young kept glancing back as he left the office. By around 9 PM, the team had left, including Yu-young, and at about ​visit our site​10 PM, Yoo and Kim, had also gone. Do-won continued working late alone.

In the past, staying past midnight had been natural, but with the promise he made to Yu-young, it was time to leave. He hurriedly threw on his coat and grabbed his bag. He had given Yu-young the car key earlier, so he planned to take a taxi home.

[I’m on my way now.]

[Wow! That’s great. Hurry up and come!]

The response came quickly after his message. When he got home, Yu-young would likely greet him with that cute, puppy-like face. A subtle smile spread across Do-won’s lips.

As he gathered his things and headed out of the office, his phone suddenly rang. Checking the screen, it was an unknown number. Receiving a call at this hour from an unknown number felt a little unsettling, but since he didn’t know who it was, he answered anyway.

“Yes, I’m speaking.”

-Do-won.

Hearing the calm voice, Do-won immediately recognized the caller, even though the number was unfamiliar. His face, which had been soft, stiffened in an instant.

“…Sun-hyung. Didn’t I tell you not to contact me?”

-I’m sorry, Do-won.

His cold words tried to cut the conversation off, but hearing Sun-hyung’s apology, Do-won was momentarily at a loss for words

-…I was wrong.

The voice was desperate, almost teary. Listening to Sun-hyung’s voice, Do-won quickly realized it wasn’t a drunken call.

After spending so many years together, he couldn’t mistake the tone. If this was a drunk dial, it wasn’t worth entertaining, but a sober person crying and apologizing on the phone was someone Do-won couldn’t just hang up on.

Without responding, Do-won let out a deep sigh, stepping out of the elevator as he moved his feet. Meanwhile, Sun-hyung’s voice continued on the other end.

-Do-won. I just want a chance to apologize. Could you… come down so we can talk?

“…What?”

I’m right outside your office.

Do-won’s steps froze. Right after he exited through the building’s first-floor door, Sun-hyung’s words rang true—there, standing in front of the building, was an all-too-familiar figure.

When Sun-hyung saw Do-won, he immediately hung up and approached. Close up, Sun-hyung’s face was a mess. His bloodshot eyes spoke of deep contemplation, but still, he managed to speak with an oddly calm demeanor.

“..Do-won. Like I said, I came to apologize.”

“…..”

“If you want, I’ll also apologize to Yu-young. Stealing the black box was all my fault. So…”

With a face that looked like it might break into tears Read onat any moment, Sun-hyung took a step closer and grabbed Do-won’s hand.

“…Let’s not end our friendship like this.”

“Ha… Sun-hyung.”

Where should he even begin? Overwhelmed, Do-won let out another deep sigh. However, it seemed that Sun-hyung found courage in not letting go of his hand and began to speak with even more earnestness.

“Do-won, we’re old friends. Our families are closely tied, too. You know the bond we’ve shared is not something you can just throw away so easily.”

“I know that, but why are you acting this way toward me?”

“I know. I’ve done everything wrong. So… please, give me a chance to apologize. I’m sincere.”

Seeing Do-won cut him off so coldly, Sun-hyung came even closer, his hand tightening around Do-won’s.

“I’ll return the black box. And don’t worry, I won’t [visit our site]bring up the marriage contract to your parents. You can tell them when it’s convenient for both of you.”

“…..”

“This is my sincere apology. If you still can’t believe me, there’s nothing more I can do, but this is the truth.”

Sun-hyung’s eyes finally gave way to tears, and they rolled down his cheeks. His shoulders trembled slightly. Watching him lower his head, Do-won let out a long sigh, unable to push away Sun-hyung’s hand.

“…I must have really lost it. I just… I think I was so jealous and angry because he, the omega—no, Yu-young, he easily stole you away… the one I had longed for for so long. So, I did something terrible. I know it was something I shouldn’t have done, no matter what….”

“……”

“I’m serious. Eavesdropping on your conversation and threatening you, I know it was a huge mistake. I’ll apologize in the way you want. If it’s uncomfortable, I won’t show up in front of Yu-young again. So…”

Sun-hyung continued speaking with a pitiful expression, tears falling steadily.

“So… I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

“……”

“Do-won…”

Weakly, Sun-hyung took Do-won’s hand and spoke, glancing around.

“…Um… Can’t we talk in the car for now? It’d be awkward if someone sees us…”

“……”

“I’m not asking you to go anywhere with me. Just… listen to me for five minutes in the car, and I won’t bother you anymore.”

It was late, but there were plenty of bars in the alley next to the office, and a convenience store right nearby. That meant there were still some people passing by, and it wouldn’t be good if they caught anyone’s attention. Pressing his throbbing head with his fingers, Do-won glanced around the empty car. It didn’t seem like anything bad would happen just because he was in the car with Sun-hyung.

As soon as they both got into Sun-hyung’s car, Do-won frowned. What was that smell? There was [Read on]a strong scent in the car, something like a fragrance. Had his air freshener preferences changed since the last time?

Thinking that, Do-won casually checked his watch. He had agreed to leave before midnight, so he planned to listen for five minutes and then leave. After sitting in the passenger seat, Sun-hyung started rummaging through his bag, looking for something.

“Hold on. I brought the black box memory chip for you… Where did I put it? Ah, here it is.”

After searching the bottom of the bag a few times with slow, deliberate movements, Sun-hyung finally pulled out a small memory chip and handed it to Do-won. Do-won took it without a change in expression, but then he frowned and asked.

“…What’s that smell?”

It was hard to endure, even though it had only been a moment. Did car air fresheners even smell this strong? The strange scent was growing more intense, and it was making him feel nauseous. Yet, Sun-hyung casually answered.

“It’s a new air freshener I bought. Is the smell that bad?”

“It’s too strong.”

It wasn’t objectively a bad smell, but it was concentrated enough to give him a headache. Do-won frowned and asked for some ventilation. Sun-hyung obediently started the car and rolled down the window. A cold winter breeze rushed into the car.

‘…What’s going on?’

Something still felt off. Even after rolling down the window for ventilation, the strange smell didn’t seem to dissipate, and it felt like it was suffocating him. He instinctively realized that this wasn’t just a regular air freshener or perfume. It was more like a dangerous chemical vapor.

‘Damn…!’

It was a dangerous situation. As soon as he reached for the door handle, a sharp pain spread along his neck.

“…Ugh!”

With a short groan, Do-won winced. Sun-hyung, who had moved closer, pressed the plunger of a syringe into his neck, injecting something rapidly while smiling eerily.

“You brought this upon yourself. There’s a limit to ignoring someone’s feelings. So this is your fault, Choi Do-won.”

Do-won barely managed to turn his head, his eyes filled with betrayal as he glared unauthorized copyat Sun-hyung, as if he wanted to kill him right then. He wanted to reach out and rip the syringe out of his neck, open the door, and escape.

But his body refused to move. No, it was moving, but it was being paralyzed much faster than he could react. Do-won realized he would be dragged away by Sun-hyung unless he did something. Despite the awful situation, he knew he had to accept it and find a way to solve it.

Clenching his teeth, Do-won gave up on resisting and reached with all his might for the car door handle. When Sun-hyung tried to stop him, Do-won managed to open the door with a loud click. He used the last of his strength to throw himself out of the car.

His body crashed onto the pavement, stiff and unable to move, but that wasn’t his main goal. Panting heavily, Do-won struggled to keep his eyelids open. With great effort, he slid his hand into his pocket, curling his body to conceal his movement.

“Do-won, where do you think you’re going in that condition? You’re not going to escape.”

Seeing his movement, Sun-hyung seemed to think Do-won was trying to flee. He looked down at him with an arrogant expression, sneering, and gestured with his chin toward a shadowy building behind them.

At that moment, two men who had been hiding in the shadows quickly approached, lifting Do-won’s limp body and returning him to the passenger seat. Their polite and gentle manner made it seem more like they were helping a drunk person than kidnapping someone.

“Don’t struggle. Just take a nice nap.”

Sun-hyung said cheerfully, grinning as he looked at Do-won, who was covered in cold sweat and gritting his teeth. With his strength completely ​stolen content​drained, Do-won couldn’t even lift a finger.

‘Damn it, this idiot…’

No matter how many curses he mentally threw at Sun-hyung, his eyelids continued to lower helplessly. He couldn’t stop it. Yu-young was waiting for him. He had promised to be back before midnight…

Please, let him notice the signal I sent. Please, don’t be too shocked. With his last desperate wish, Do-won closed his eyes.