Chapter 93: The Man Who Turned Despair into Hope

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

He had asked so many times that Ha-jin had lost count. Three times? No, probably five. Even with the same question repeated over and over, Ha-jin answered without showing the slightest annoyance.

“I’m okay. The tea’s helping. I think I’m calming down.”

He couldn’t know what was going on inside Woo-seok’s head, but it felt like Woo-seok needed reassurance too. Maybe he kept asking because he needed to hear that Ha-jin was truly alright.

And every time Ha-jin answered that he was okay, he genuinely felt a little better.

Words had that kind of power.

Even when they weren’t completely true, repeating them could make them start to feel real.

Just like now.

After Ha-jin had showered, Woo-seok had made him a cup of warm tea. Neither of them had ever cared much about tea before, so they had never really sat down and shared it together.

But tonight, the fragrance filling his lungs and the warmth sliding down his throat felt more comforting than anything else.

“They lost him.”

Woo-seok hadn’t bothered naming the subject, but there was only one person he could have meant.

The omega serial killer.

Ha-jin answered as though he had expected it.

“I figured they would. Someone who’d gone as far as building an escape route wasn’t going to be easy to catch. Honestly, the impressive part is that you found him in the first place. How did you even track him down?”

“There’s very little money and manpower can’t do. But…”

Something was bothering him.

After confirming that Ha-jin was calm enough to talk about it, Woo-seok spoke again.

“The more I think about it, the easier it feels. A guy who left no trace for all this time suddenly moved that sloppily. Why?”

Now that he said it, Ha-jin realized it bothered him too.

Sure, with CCTV cameras all over the country, tracking a suspect from the point of disappearance might not have been impossible.

But until now, eighteen…

No, according to the killer himself, nineteen people had died without the police finding even a clue.

This time had been different.

From Ha-jin’s perspective, he had nearly died.

But objectively speaking, they had found him almost too easily.

The pursuit had been unusually straightforward.

And the murder had failed.

As far as they knew, none of the previous cases had ended in an attempted murder.

“I keep thinking about something too.”

Ha-jin remembered the conversation he had had with the killer while he was being held captive.

“What if there was a reason he had to move so quickly?”

“…A reason?”

“I’m not sure. But I know he didn’t target me by accident. He knew I was pregnant. He admitted the bracelet was his. That makes me think he’s someone close to us.”

“That can’t be right. How many alphas are even around us?”

Woo-seok denied it immediately, but the confusion on his face only deepened.

Ha-jin looked at him and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.

“Why did you come alone?”

“What?”

“I mean… if you’d told your father or Chairman Chae, wouldn’t this have been much easier? Even if they didn’t care about me, they would have mobilized everything they had to save their precious future grandchild.”

Woo-seok fell silent.

“But you only contacted the police. You didn’t tell your family. You came yourself.”

“…Honestly? You’re right. The bracelet bothered me too much. I couldn’t bring myself to trust just anyone.”

Ha-jin had been right.

Woo-seok had called the police commissioner instead of Chae Il-joo because he was convinced that someone close to them was either the killer or helping him.

It sounded cold.

Suspicious.

But even with family, Woo-seok couldn’t trust anyone completely.

Everyone had darkness inside them.

That didn’t mean he believed a member of his family was the killer.

“I figured as much. Honestly, I thought I wasn’t the real target.”

“…Me?”

“Either you… or the entire Chae family.”

The killer was someone very close to the Chae family.

And he wanted to destroy them.

As Ha-jin organized the pieces in his head, he glanced at Woo-seok.

Objectively speaking, didn’t he fit the evidence best?

Someone close enough to steal the bracelet.

Someone who had deceived both patriarchs with a fake marriage.

Someone who didn’t care about the company at all.

Their eyes met.

“…You’re not, right?”

Woo-seok knew exactly what that look meant.

Every piece of evidence seemed to keep circling back toward him.

“Do I have to prove it physically again?”

“Oh- right. Definitely not. Absolutely not!”

Once, when Ha-jin had suspected Woo-seok of being the killer, Woo-seok had joked that there was no way Ha-jin could kiss a murderer.

Now, sitting beside him, Ha-jin felt nothing but peace.

How could he possibly believe this man was a serial killer?

It had only been a joke.

And maybe he had wanted a little more certainty.

“An alpha… and someone close to us…”

Woo-seok sat in silence, seriously running through possible suspects.

Ha-jin’s mouth itched with words he wanted to say.

He hesitated.

But he had never been good at keeping things to himself.

“Um…”

Just as he started to speak…

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

Woo-seok stood.

“Dr. Kim must be here. Stay put.”

As he walked toward the front door, Ha-jin took a slow breath.

‘Think first. Don’t say something reckless.’

“So I guess business is going well these days?”

The moment the examination ended, Woo-seok’s sharp voice cut through the room.

Dr. Kim Oh-yeon’s heart nearly stopped.

He wasn’t usually this timid.

But this was Chae Woo-seok speaking.

“What?”

“You call this a proper examination? Can’t you see these?”

Woo-seok grabbed Ha-jin’s wrist and thrust it directly in front of the doctor’s face.

The rough movement looked more likely to dislocate Ha-jin’s shoulder than anything else.

“It’s just a superficial abrasion. It’ll heal on its own…”

“Superficial? This? What, does his wrist have to be cut off before it counts?”

Thankfully, Ha-jin wasn’t the only one who thought Woo-seok was being ridiculous.

Judging by the way Ha-jin’s face was turning bright red beside them, at least someone else found this embarrassing.

“I’m fine. He’s always like this.”

Never mind.

The one trying to stop him was somehow even more irritating.

‘Maybe I should wrap both wrists in bandages for a week.’

They said married couples started to resemble each other.

These two were equally impossible.

“…Still, I recommend resting somewhere quiet for a few days. Somewhere you feel comfortable.”

They had already explained the kidnapping.

Dr. Kim was involved enough that he would have found out eventually anyway.

They had omitted the part about the killer’s identity.

He was genuinely worried.

People weren’t always what they looked like.

Strong-looking people were often surprisingly fragile.

Ha-jin seemed calm now.

But something like this could become a lifelong trauma.

“If you need one, I can introduce you to a psychiatrist.”

“I do.”

“…What?”

Kim blinked.

He hadn’t expected Ha-jin to accept the suggestion so easily.

He had meant it sincerely.

But these two were never this cooperative.

“I need the doctor. And the place to rest.”

“…Why are you asking me?”

Something about this conversation was deeply wrong.

Kim looked at Woo-seok for help.

Woo-seok looked equally confused.

Ha-jin hesitated only briefly.

Lying about this too felt wrong.

But survival came first.

“Officially… I’m pregnant.”

“…That’s…”

Understanding hit Kim all at once.

He let out a long sigh.

‘You manipulative little fox. So much for worrying.’

Ha-jin looked not only fine, but somehow even more composed than usual.

He was starting to become genuinely irritating.

“Right. That actually works. Let’s say you miscarried. Then you can stay in the hospital for a few days.”

“Let’s do that.”

Even Woo-seok agreed immediately.

The truth was, both of them had been worried.

They had managed to fake the pregnancy.

But what came afterward?

His stomach would eventually have to grow.

He would need morning sickness.

His heat cycle might suddenly occur.

No matter how good his acting was, the anxiety would never end.

He had never even been pregnant before.

He was trying to deceive people who had experienced childbirth themselves.

This solved everything.

Of course, it created a new problem.

But that wasn’t a conversation they were going to have in front of Dr. Kim.

“…Come to the hospital after midnight.”

Kim sounded utterly defeated.

“Why midnight?”

“Because it’s dramatic. Which sounds more believable? Walking into the hospital in broad daylight? Or being carried in during the middle of the night? If we’re going to lie, we should do it properly.”

Ha-jin and Woo-seok looked at each other.

Their eyes said the same thing.

‘This guy might actually have talent for fraud.’

Educated people really were the best con artists.

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