LM 4

Siyul tried to break free from the man’s grip, twisting his shoulder and struggling while grabbing the man’s wrist, but it didn’t budge. It was like being shackled by a thick iron chain. The man seemed to have no intention of letting Siyul go until his business was done.

“Let me—”

Before Siyul could finish asking to be released, the man finally let go. Siyul tried to bolt but failed. This time, the man’s hand plunged into the front pocket of Siyul’s hoodie. Finding nothing, he moved to the pants pockets. Despite Siyul’s startled gasps and frozen state, the man thoroughly searched before withdrawing his hand.

Siyul stepped back. He thought if he could just throw himself into the crowd, he might escape. But the man crushed that hope by ruthlessly shoving his hand into Siyul’s back pocket. Siyul’s shoulders jerked and his eyes widened.

“W-w-what are you—”

Even though the pants covered him, it felt like the man’s hand was grabbing his bare skin. The heat was intense. The man glanced at Siyul, who was trembling as if he’d been violated, but showed no emotion as he pulled Siyul’s wallet from his back pocket.

He opened it, compared the ID to Siyul’s face, and removed each bill and card. After thoroughly examining even the worn corners of the wallet, he stuffed it back into Siyul’s hoodie pocket. However, he kept the ID between his fingers.

“Get this reissued.”

“Give it back!”

“This is punishment for lying. Didn’t you read ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ as a kid? You can’t lie to adults like that. If you get caught by a bad person, you could get seriously hurt.”

The man scolded in a deliberately stern voice. If it were anyone else, Siyul might have ignored it, but in front of this man, he could only shrink his shoulders inward. He looked like a puppy with its ears flattened against its head.

With a sharp flick, the man delivered a forehead flick to Siyul. For a moment, stars danced before his eyes. It felt like being hit full-speed by a fist-sized rock right in the center of his forehead. Siyul staggered, clutching his forehead with a groan.

“This is my business territory too, so try not to come here. I’m letting you off easy because you’re young.”

Just like he’d said about that other club last time, this one was his too. Siyul rubbed his throbbing forehead and looked up at the man. The man gave a mocking smirk and patted Siyul’s shoulder.

“But if I catch you a third time, I’ll really teach you a lesson.”

The low voice murmuring next to his ear was more ominous and terrifying than the Grim Reaper announcing it was time to go. Pale-faced, Siyul quickly turned his head to watch the direction the man had disappeared into. His large back had already melted into the shadows.

Even after the man and his companion were completely out of sight, Siyul stood frozen in place, clutching his forehead. He half-expected the man to return, grab him by the scruff, and drag him off to be stuffed into a barrel. His legs were tied with fear, and it wasn’t until someone bumped into his shoulder that he snapped out of his daze.

He nearly collapsed on the spot. Only now did his body start to tremble. Siyul rubbed his goosebump-covered arms.

I thought I was lucky, I thought I was lucky!

Today’s horoscope had lied to him. Feeling that this place was cursed, Siyul fled the club as fast as he could, forgetting all about the beer and everything else.

* * *

At first, Siyul didn’t care what kind of drugs he was distributing. All he had to do was leave it at the designated spot. He had no intention of getting deeply involved. Even though he was just a penniless orphan, he still wanted to live a decent life, do legal work, and eventually have a clever wife and a couple of adorable kids, becoming a respectable head of the family.

But as the jobs increased, he learned what he was handling. It was drugs, but not marijuana or hallucinogens. It was something unusual.

“They say it temporarily turns you into an Omega when you take it.”

Siyul’s eyes widened at Kwon Yuwon’s answer. While he didn’t know much about Omegas or Alphas, he knew it wasn’t something that could be changed by drugs. Wasn’t it supposed to manifest and be determined when the time came?

“Is that possible?”

“More accurately, it makes you feel like an Omega. Like you’re in heat.”

Yuwon sneered with disgust. He shook the salt packet lazily, his eyes filled with annoyance.

“When in heat, neither Alphas nor Betas even register. All you want is sex. In the past, drugs like GHB or aphrodisiacs were popular, but now this stuff is all the rage. They’re obsessed with reproduction.”

As an Omega who had to endure heat cycles regularly, Kwon Yuwon felt the world had gone mad. He was both angry and pitying those throwing their lives away for these crude synthetic drugs. While some people couldn’t live a normal life even if they wanted to, others were dabbling in drugs just to experience it, like nobles touring slums.

“They’re even advertising that if you take it regularly, you’ll permanently become an Omega. The idiots who buy or sell it are scrambling like they desperately want to ruin their lives.”

Siyul sat cross-legged, listening intently to Yuwon’s colorful tirade, before lowering his head and scooping some drugs onto a tiny teaspoon. They sat side by side in the cramped room, dividing the drug. Kwon Yuwon would bring over a packet, and they would split it into smaller bags, precisely measured by grams. Even a fraction over 1g was unacceptable, so Siyul moved with utmost caution as he weighed the drug.

“There really are a lot of crazy people in this world.”

Though he hadn’t lived a very long life, Siyul felt he had met the most intensely crazy person in his recent experience. He hadn’t interacted with him much yet, so he couldn’t definitively call him crazy, but his unforgettable appearance and piercing voice left a lasting impression. His personality seemed to be spun tighter than a ship’s rope, with more than a few screws loose.

Even to Siyul, who had barely interacted with him, the man’s twisted nature was clearly visible. Threats about filling stomachs with concrete, warnings about punishment, lying against lying to adults.

He was someone Siyul knew he should avoid at all costs. Staying far away from him was the smartest plan.

Remembering the touch on his shoulder, Siyul shuddered. His hand holding the spoon shook, causing some of the drug to spill onto the floor.

“No!”

Siyul sprawled on the floor, carefully scraping up the fallen powder with his fingertips. Wearing only a loose white tank top, his fair chest and pink n1pples were exposed. The n1pples were small with narrow areolas, a shape that might provoke an urge to touch.

Despite Siyul’s uncommonly fine skin for a Beta and n1pples that drew the eye even when one didn’t want to look, Yuwon paid no attention. He just meticulously sealed the salt packets and gathered them in one place.

It was then that Yuwon’s phone rang. Checking the name on the screen, Yuwon muttered a small curse before answering. His voice, unlike when cursing, was warm as he answered, “Yes, hyung.”

“Today? Yes, I have time… What? Bring Siyul too?”

Yuwon glanced at Siyul. Hearing his name unexpectedly, Siyul looked up at Yuwon. He pointed at himself, mouthing “Me?” silently.

“Why Siyul? Ah, you want to see him once…?”

The mumbling from the other end of the line diminished. Kwon Yuwon’s expression hardened as he lowered the volume. Siyul, hearing his name mentioned, stopped what he was doing and perked up his ears.

“No, hyung. That friend is busy today… What? You’ll adjust the time? Today is a bit… Ah, you must see him today?”

Kwon Yuwon, clearly trying to avoid setting up the meeting, winced as the person on the other end of the line pressed the issue. He clenched his phone as if to crush it and pressed his temples with his fingers, a look of impending headache on his face.

“…Yes, yes. I understand. Then we’ll come at 10 PM tonight.”

After repeatedly confirming that the other party had hung up, Kwon Yuwon cursed loudly, “Ah, fvck!” The thunderous shout made Siyul hastily put down the salt packet he had just finished.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“This pig bastard is being difficult. He keeps insisting on bringing you along even though I don’t want to show you to him. Says he must see the face of his business partner. Fvck, he already took your ID, photo, and family registry at the start, what more does he need to see?”

“It’s okay. Well, if he wants to see me that badly, I should at least show my face once.”

“We’re going to be out of this business soon, so what’s this about showing your face? It’s best not to see each other until we’re in our coffins. Ah shit, should I just cancel and say you’re sick?”

“Isn’t he the one we get the drvg from?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s just do as he says. What if he stops giving it to us because we refused?”

“Even so—”

Kwon Yuwon cut off his words and started biting his nails. Even with the lowered volume, in this cramped motel room, the other party’s voice wasn’t completely inaudible. It seemed there might be consequences if he didn’t bring Siyul along.

Having made up his mind, Siyul smiled brightly and patted Yuwon’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. Nothing will happen. If anything does, I’ll run away immediately. You know how fast I can run.”