Chapter 14: The Domino Disaster

Trying to shake the thoughts from his head, another scene suddenly crossed Hae-jun’s mind.

The shoulders bathed in sunset.

The tips of hair dyed gold by the evening light.

Bae Si-hyeon stubbornly refusing to turn around.

Holding onto that fading image for a moment, he spoke impulsively.

“Secretary Kang.”

“Yes.”

After a brief hesitation, the man tossed out his words casually.

“For now… if that omega needs anything, support him with whatever he wants.”

“Suddenly?”

“…Yes.”

Buttoning his new jacket, Cha Hae-jun convinced himself it was nothing more than charity and erased Bae Si-hyeon from his thoughts.

He was merely a consumable he happened to be holding for a moment out of necessity.

That was exactly the value omegas held in his life.

Even now, there were plenty who fluttered around, openly flaunting that they were omegas and revealing their intentions without restraint. It was the same everywhere he went, nothing new.

Just because he happened to be a dominant alpha, because of that damned hereditary illness…

Grinding the thought between his teeth, Hae-jun walked away.

****

Si-hyeon crouched on the floor and gently placed a small block down.

He even breathed quietly, worried that the slightest puff of air might knock it over.

Because what Si-hyeon was doing right now was building dominoes.

The domino pieces filled the wide hospital room floor.

One tiny vibration felt like it could cause the entire structure to collapse at any moment.

‘Just a little more… just a little more… Only four more pieces. Please… nobody come in…!’

“…Then handle that matter yourself. What about the other board agenda items?”

With faint voices accompanying it, the hospital room door suddenly burst open.

The gust of air that followed was enough.

The domino line Si-hyeon had painstakingly arranged began collapsing.

“…No!”

“…?”

At the scream that sounded almost like a wail, Cha Hae-jun stopped in the doorway with a puzzled expression.

A crisp rattling sound echoed as the dominoes that had filled the floor began falling rapidly.

Si-hyeon ran forward too late.

But the lines had already split into two, then three directions, impossible to stop.

It all happened in an instant.

Unbelievable.

“Wow….”

Someone once said that if you wished desperately enough, the world would help you.

That was complete nonsense.

Si-hyeon clamped his half-open mouth shut.

If he didn’t, he might end up saying something truly vicious.

The silent hospital room filled only with the sound of Si-hyeon’s furious breathing.

“…You brainless… block-headed… idiot…”

He finally muttered the words through clenched teeth.

Fortunately, his voice was so quiet that it didn’t reach the doorway.

He should have known from the moment that man casually suggested throwing away the letter in his wallet.

Barely suppressing the anger boiling inside him, Si-hyeon crouched down again and tried to rebuild the dominoes.

But restoring the utterly collapsed pieces was a miracle not even a god could perform.

“Mr. Si-hyeon! What happened here?!”

A dramatic voice cut through the awkward silence.

Secretary Kang, who had been standing behind Cha Hae-jun, pushed past him and hurried inside.

Tiptoeing carefully, he quickly approached Si-hyeon.

Si-hyeon simply stared at him with wide eyes.

Why the hell is this guy acting like this?

Regardless, Secretary Kang diligently played his role.

“Oh dear! The dominoes collapsed due to a sudden natural disaster!”

Opening the door without warning could arguably count as a natural disaster.

It certainly was an unexpected misfortune.

“Oh my! To think you used the dominoes I gave you as a gift so diligently! I’m so happy!”

Placing emphasis on strange words, Secretary Kang clapped enthusiastically around Si-hyeon.

He had always expected his impatient boss would cause trouble someday.

He just hadn’t expected it to be today.

The domino set had been a gift from Kang to Si-hyeon, who spent all day bored in the hospital room.

If Si-hyeon poured his energy into something like this, he wouldn’t question the strange medical tests.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Si-hyeon seemed far more shocked about the domino collapse than about any suspicious tests.

At least his attention wasn’t on the tests.

“You almost completed the dominoes! They fell perfectly all at once! I’m glad we got to witness such a magnificent scene!”

“…No, actually…”

“My goodness! Mr. Si-hyeon! How did you come up with such an amazing domino design?!”

“…They weren’t finished. There were four pieces left…”

In Si-hyeon’s open palm, four tiny blocks rolled around pitifully.

Secretary Kang instantly grabbed them, opened the window, and tossed them outside.

“Oh my! I forgot to mention! This domino set came with four extra pieces! That means you successfully completed the domino line and we witnessed the collapse together!”

Secretary Kang applauded dramatically.

Si-hyeon rolled his eyes awkwardly.

“Uh… yeah… sure…”

“Oh! And there’s good news! I’ve located a restoration specialist you asked about before!”

He was referring to restoring the letter that had dried while folded.

To be honest, it was an annoying task for Kang.

But since Hae-jun had mentioned it, he had looked into it.

Besides, it gave him a reason to return to Korea later, and maybe receive some praise.

It was a calculated move on Kang’s part.

Glancing briefly at Hae-jun, who was still standing at the entrance, Kang clapped again and respectfully extended both hands toward him.

“All of this was Vice President Cha’s instruction! He said he would support you in every way so you can recover quickly and have all your worries disappear!”

At those words, Si-hyeon turned to look at Hae-jun.

His gaze seemed to ask, Is that true?

Hae-jun instinctively looked toward Kang.

Just say yes quickly.

The insolent look clearly threatened: or I’ll grind you into dust.

Hae-jun had been about to ask coldly what nonsense he was pulling, but instead he simply nodded.

After all, he had said something similar.

“That’s right. I told him… to support whatever you need.”

The slightly awkward answer made Si-hyeon look between Kang, Hae-jun, and finally the domino pieces scattered across the floor.

After thinking for a while, he picked up one domino piece.

“There’s actually one thing I really need right now.”

“Please say it! Our Vice President can do absolutely anything for you!”

Standing close, Kang nudged Hae-jun in the side.

Kang was usually a competent secretary, quick-thinking and good at reading situations.

But right now he was going overboard.

Why promise ridiculous conditions just to coax Bae Si-hyeon?

Hae-jun usually understood Kang’s intentions well, but today’s behavior was baffling.

He gently pushed Kang’s shoulder aside and smiled faintly.

“Si-hyeon. What do you need?”

At the same time, he released his pheromones.

Si-hyeon’s body flinched slightly.

But that was all.

Lately, whenever Hae-jun met Si-hyeon, he would deliberately release pheromones.

Perhaps Si-hyeon had gotten used to them, he no longer frowned or held his breath like before.

He seemed aware of the pheromones but strangely never questioned them.

Normally people would ask.

Pushing that unnecessary thought aside, Hae-jun carefully watched Si-hyeon’s reaction.

A faint blush crept up Si-hyeon’s cheeks.

Hae-jun smiled with satisfaction at the omega’s response.

Yes, if he needed something, granting it once wouldn’t hurt.

“Go on,” he urged.

“…Well… um…”

Trying to hide his reddened face, Si-hyeon squeezed his thighs together nervously and muttered.

****

“Ah- wait, wait… my back hurts so much…”

“Endure it. If you can’t handle this much, what are you planning to do?”

“Ah- ugh… it really… hurts…”

“You have to endure it, Si-hyeon. You said you couldn’t set it up alone. If you’re so afraid of inserting it, should I do it for you?”

At the slow, gentle voice, Si-hyeon’s face twisted like he might cry.

It genuinely hurt like hell.

The hospital room floor was once again covered in domino pieces.

It was the result of three hours of concentrated effort.

Si-hyeon leaned halfway over the hospital bed, relying on the firm hand gripping his waist.

His stomach was pressed painfully against the mattress.

The domino piece in his hand trembled.

If he could just fit a few more pieces into the gap along the edge, it would finally be done.

Blood rushed to his face, making his vision spin, but it was too late to give up.

Si-hyeon placed the domino piece on the floor with a flushed face.

Right now, he desperately wished he could take back what he had said three hours earlier.

“Well… um… please help me rebuild the dominoes. I’ve been working on this since morning and finally almost finished. I can’t do it alone anymore.”

Why had he said something so unnecessary?

The only consolation was that when Si-hyeon did it alone, it had taken over five hours.

With three people working together, the time had been greatly reduced.