Chapter 13: A Difficult Man

“I’m really sorry… and thankful… anyway, that’s how it is. Just saying thank you doesn’t really mean much…”

Cha Hae-jun glanced sideways at Si-hyeon, who kept rambling apologies, and walked past the trash can.

“Uh, uh? CEO, um… I’m sorry, but… I still haven’t found the wallet yet…”

“Stop apologizing.”

At the firm words, Si-hyeon instinctively shrank a little before forcing a pale smile.

“Right… saying sorry over and over is kind of weird…”

Before Si-hyeon could add anything else, Hae-jun stopped near the spot where he had thrown the wallet earlier and gestured with his chin.

“Bae Si-hyeon.”

“…But I really am sorry… huh?”

Si-hyeon looked up just as Hae-jun began walking toward the alley exit.

He pointed with his fingertips at a small trash bin and stepped aside.

“There’s a wallet there. Looks suspicious enough. Check it.”

“Huh? Huh? Yes?”

“Check it.”

Leaving that behind, the man stretched his long legs and started walking back the way they had come.

He had gone about halfway when he smiled faintly at the voice that burst out behind him.

“Whoa, jackpot! Jackpot! Why is this here?! Jackpot! CEO! This! I found it! Wow, jackpot!”

Hearing Si-hyeon running while practically bouncing with excitement, Hae-jun slowed his pace slightly and turned his head in confusion.

The shouting had suddenly stopped.

He spotted Si-hyeon crouched in a corner and waited silently for a while.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“…Uh… yes! I’m coming!”

Si-hyeon stuffed something he had picked up into his pocket and ran over with a bright smile.

What he had just found was a five-cent coin that looked almost new.

It felt strangely out of place in the old, filthy alley, so he had simply been staring at it for a moment.

Putting the thought of the coin aside, Si-hyeon hurried after Hae-jun.

****

Once they fully exited the alley, Si-hyeon practically danced as he walked, repeating the word “jackpot” over and over.

“Jackpot! Can you believe it? Wow… I seriously thought I’d never find it. But then- bam! And you were the one who spotted it, CEO! That gave me chills. Do you secretly have some kind of lost-item radar or something?”

Chattering beside him, Si-hyeon opened the wallet and checked inside.

After a short sigh, he muttered,

“…No money.”

When Hae-jun had first retrieved the wallet, it had already been empty. The pickpocket had taken everything.

He had even asked Secretary Kang to double-check whether there were any cards or personal information left inside, but the answer had simply been, “Nothing.”

The wallet itself didn’t look expensive either.

Which made it hard to understand why Si-hyeon was celebrating with such ridiculous dancing.

As if answering that unspoken question, Si-hyeon began fiddling with his fingers.

From inside the wallet, he pulled out a small, tightly folded piece of paper.

But his face froze as if someone had struck him.

“Uh….”

The voice that slipped out between parted lips sounded strangely subdued.

Hae-jun felt tired just looking at him.

He had found what he was looking for, hadn’t he? Why start acting strange now?

Unaware of Hae-jun’s thoughts, Si-hyeon kept his head lowered and gently rubbed the edge of the paper.

“This… this is all wet.”

The paper was wrinkled as if it had been soaked and dried while still folded.

Moisture slowly gathered at the corners of Si-hyeon’s eyes as well.

“This… why… why is it wet? I even put it in a zipper bag so it wouldn’t get wet… then why…? Even the zipper bag is gone…”

Hae-jun hadn’t done anything to it.

Maybe the pickpocket had soaked it when rummaging through the wallet, or maybe disinfectant had gotten on it during cleaning.

In the first place, it was just a scrap of paper.

“Unless it’s important, just throw it away.”

At Hae-jun’s blunt words, Si-hyeon froze for a moment.

Standing there like a wind-up doll that had run out of tension, he didn’t even seem to breathe.

After a while, he suddenly lifted his head.

The face revealed this time was smiling.

“It’s not unimportant… but it’s not that important either. Let’s go! I should get back to the hospital and finish treatment. I need to recover quickly so I can go home.”

His voice clearly showed he wanted to change the subject.

Si-hyeon smiled and began walking energetically.

Watching his back for a moment, Hae-jun suddenly asked,

“Who gave it to you?”

Without turning around, Si-hyeon answered.

The faint gloom from earlier had vanished, replaced by a bright tone.

“My father. He passed away.”

Even after finishing the sentence, Si-hyeon never looked back.

Over his shoulders, the golden evening sunlight, brilliant just before sunset, spilled down completely.

Hae-jun stared at the boy walking ahead of him, then silently followed.

“…”

The two remained quiet the entire way back to the hospital.

At first, Si-hyeon was grateful for the silence.

But as time passed, it became awkward.

By now, shouldn’t something have been said? Usually some kind of condolence or polite phrase.

But nothing came from Hae-jun.

Eventually, Si-hyeon awkwardly spoke first.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“No.”

Shouldn’t something like “My condolences” come out here…?

“Really nothing? Seriously?”

“Must I?”

“CEO, how do you even survive in society with that personality? Did you attend some kind of training academy?”

“I was born this way.”

“Born with a personality that ba- I mean, that bad? Anyway, don’t you seriously have anything to say to me?”

Si-hyeon waited for the response.

Hae-jun stopped walking and spoke quietly to the boy who had hurried to catch up behind him.

“Am I speaking in a foreign language?”

“Huh?”

“I said I have nothing to say. And given my position, I don’t need to care about other people’s opinions. So drop it.”

Having said only what he wanted, Hae-jun turned and headed toward the main road.

It was impossible to predict him.

He could be considerate at times, yet when he spoke like that, his manners were unbelievably terrible.

Staring at the man’s broad back, Si-hyeon muttered,

“He must get cursed out a lot.”

Back at the factory, the foreman had been exactly that type.

Though the foreman usually dragged conversations into insults about people’s parents, which was at least a little different.

What was someone like that called again…?

Si-hyeon tried to remember what the team leader at work used to say, then gave up.

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t a compliment.

****

After settling Si-hyeon safely back into his hospital room, Hae-jun stepped out and immediately removed his jacket, throwing it straight into a trash can in the hallway.

He was too irritated to keep wearing it.

The filthy smell of that alley still seemed to cling to it.

“Bring me new clothes. Now.”

After contacting Secretary Kang, he opened his tablet and checked his schedule.

He suddenly felt like slapping his past self for thinking that going out with Bae Si-hyeon had been a good idea.

Just seeing the tightly stacked emails waiting for his approval made anger rise from deep inside him.

He roughly loosened his tie and shoved it into the trash can as well, then raked a hand through his hair.

If that kid weren’t a hyper-recessive omega…

The thought alone made his irritation spike.

He exhaled sharply and forced himself to calm down.

“Vice President, it’s me.”

It was Secretary Kang.

“Come in,” Hae-jun said, tearing open the buttons of his shirt with near-violent movements.

As the door opened, he held out a hand.

“Clothes.”

“Here.” Kang handed them over. “And… what were the results? Did you confirm whether he’s hyper-recessive?”

Secretary Kang was a beta.

Because of that, he was somewhat insensitive to the periodic suffering alphas and omegas experienced due to pheromones.

Around the time Kang began working, medication had been developed that allowed trait-holders to endure heat cycles.

Thanks to that, the alpha he served, Cha Hae-jun, had never caused major problems.

He simply took the medication according to schedule and rested quietly for about a week.

The only issue was that Hae-jun wasn’t an ordinary alpha.

He was a dominant alpha.

And the illness dominant alphas suffered from could not be solved with medicine.

That was why Kang had to watch the situation so carefully.

“More importantly, the meeting?”

“It’s fully prepared. You can proceed as scheduled.”

“Oh. And… yeah. He’s hyper-recessive. He detected even the slightest trace of pheromones. Of all people, that brat…”

Hae-jun clicked his tongue.

Secretary Kang remained silent.

He couldn’t really blame Hae-jun’s reaction.

Objectively speaking, it was natural for him to avoid omegas.

After all, the reason he was still only a vice president was precisely because of an omega.

“…Ha.”

A sigh escaped Hae-jun involuntarily as he rubbed his face.

Omega.

Dominant alpha.

Father.

Will.

Suicide.

As those words passed through his mind, another image briefly flickered.

The faintly reddened tips of Bae Si-hyeon’s fingers.

The letter his deceased father had given him.

The careful hands that couldn’t even touch the paper properly.

The forced smile while casually mentioning death.

To Hae-jun, it was difficult to understand.

Was that how people normally reacted to their fathers?

No matter how he thought about it, Bae Si-hyeon’s behavior did not fall into what one would call “normal.”