December Chapter 49

At first, Minah was taken aback by the sudden contact from her college friend. Her friend had been on leave for three years, so she only saw him once recently. But she knew why he hadn’t been back to school for three years, so she was willing to lend a hand.

– I have to get out of here.

Minah didn’t know why she could feel the sound of urgent breathing in the simple letters. So, she called a taxi to wherever he wanted and went out to the meeting place in advance because she was worried that her friend would be okay while she was on the way to Seoul. The taxi arrived at almost midnight, and the moment she saw her friend, the sleep that had been coming from exhaustion disappeared. Her friend’s face was completely messed up.

There was no need for a long explanation. Just one name from her friend’s mouth was enough. Cho Sungkyun. She was even more upset because her friend blurted out his name in such a mess. She wanted to hear more details, but her friend needed treatment urgently. As a good friend of hers, he wanted to go to the hospital and advised her to stay back since it was too late into the night for a woman to return home alone.

Minha knew why he caught her eyes while she was in college. Among Omegas, some rotten guys boasted that they were male with a unique trait, but this guy had never shown either a sense of superiority as a man or an inferiority complex as an Omega. But such a good friend fell into the trap of that bastard-like Alpha. By the time she returned home fuming with anger, it was well past 1 a.m. But she couldn’t go inside the warm house.

Someone was standing in front of her house. His tall stature and somewhat cool aura made her flinch and step back without realizing it. After meeting her friend, she felt anxious that the other person might have something to do with it. He slightly lowered his head to Minah, who was frozen and told him his business.

“I’m looking for Song Yeonwoo Sunbae.”

Minah was so surprised that she lost her words. Who is this? Could this be the person Cho Sungkyun sent? How on earth did he know that it was me who helped Yeonwoo? Since she was shocked, the time to pretend not to know why he was looking for Yeonwoo passed.

“Who are you?”

“Kim Shin. I’m his Hoobae. Where is Yeonwoo?”

“Yeonwoo…Why are you asking me? Rather, how did you know about me and come to visit me?”

He kept his voice low despite Mina’s sharp voice.

“You paid for the taxi that Yeonwoo Sunbae took.”

What? Minah got goosebumps again from her fear. But she held onto her phone tightly, trying not to show that she was scared. This was in front of the apartment, so if she screamed, someone would definitely come out. She shook her head, reassuring herself.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why you say that…Ah….”

Mina’s words couldn’t come out. She thought he was only taking a step forward, but in an instant, he was right in front of her. Even though he was tall, he moved his body quickly and silently like a cat. Minah, who was startled and stopped, tried to step back, but his hand reached her first and grabbed her shoulder.

It was like a shadow. The only thing that he caught was her shoulder, but it felt like her whole body was trapped in a shadow darker than the night. So even though he didn’t grab it too hard, goosebumps appeared all over her body. She strained her body to keep from shaking at the low, calm voice.

“Where is Yeonwoo Sunbae?”

“Hey, hey…I really don’t know…”

“I know that Yeonwoo Sunbae got hurt a lot because of Cho Sungkyun. I’m not trying to do anything bad. I just want to stay next to Sunbae.”

Unlike his voice, which felt cold, there was something suppressed in his eyes that sparkled like a hot flame. Funny enough, even though she didn’t know the other person very well, his words felt sincere. But if he was supposed to be by his side, why did Yeonwoo contact her and not him?

‘Sorry. I contacted you because I wasn’t really close with you. I don’t think anyone would think that I would ask you for help.’

This was the reason why Yeonwoo asked her for help. It felt like there was something bigger going on than just Cho Sungkyun. While Minah was thinking for a moment, the hand on her shoulder tightened. It wasn’t painful this time, but Minah didn’t know why she felt like she was being suffocated by the darkness. She took in a breath without realizing it.

‘Ugh.’

She could have taken his hand off by shaking her shoulder, but her body wouldn’t move. He took a half step closer and lowered his head so that she could barely breathe. The face that blocked her view was handsome, but to Minah, he just looked creepy, like a killer in a horror movie.

“Where is he?”

His voice was calm, which gave her even more goosebumps. Without realizing it, Minah’s mouth opened.

“Hospital…His arm was broken and his head was injured, so he went to the emergency room…”

As soon as he heard the answer, he released his hand and turned around. Minah urgently called him.

“Hey!”

Kim Shin turned around. Minah called him, but she was confused about what to say first. What are you going to do with Yeonwoo? Are you trying to take Yeonwoo to Cho Sungkyun? The worrying question was at the top, but strangely, something completely different suddenly rose to the top.

“Are you by any chance an awakened Alpha?”

Kim Shin responded by tilting his head to the side. Minah sighed and wrapped her hands around her sleepy neck.

“I don’t know what your relationship is with Yeonwoo, but it seems like Yeonwoo wasn’t only running away from Cho Sungkyun. Yeonwoo…”

Minah was cautious about whether she could say this to that person. He was a scary person who even strangled her to find out Yeonwoo’s whereabouts. But she just got the feeling that this person was not like Sungkyun Cho.

“He asked to borrow my cell phone, but later I found out that he had only searched for one thing. Awakened Alpha.”

“…”

“Now that you know where Yeonwoo is, I think you should give him some to spend by himself.”

Kim Shin slightly lowered his head, turned around, and walked away. When he was completely gone, Minah sat down on the floor, pressing her hand on her heart that could not calm down.

It was around 2 a.m. when the friend who brought Cho Sungkyun received a call from Kim Shin.

“Found him?”

[Yeah.]

It was a short answer, but the voice felt dark.

“Is his condition very bad?”

[I just confirmed that he was admitted to the hospital.]

“Huh? Have you not met him?”

He couldn’t understand why he ran around trying to find him but ended up turning away without seeing his face. It was something that was not like Kim Shin at all, but on the other hand, he thought it was very Kim Shin-like for someone he liked. He really likes this kid.

“So where are you?”

[Will arrive in 5 minutes.]

After answering, the phone was hung up. In 5 minutes. His friend broke the news to other friends who would be in the lounge.

It was late at night and dawn had come, but few people were returning home from the lounge. Everyone wanted to see Kim Shin, whose face it was difficult to see, but for a dominant Alpha with good stamina, dawn was not a particularly tiring time. But it was clear that most of them were annoyed.

Unlike them, Kangho did not feel annoyed at all. He had been unable to hide his nervousness ever since he came here and kept licking his dry lips. The inside of his mouth was burning, and he had probably had several drinks already, but he didn’t get drunk. Why doesn’t Cho Sungkyun answer the phone? Is Kim Shin really coming here? Where on earth did Song Yeonwoo go?

The whole plan was going wrong, but Kangho had no choice but to risk everything on one last move. He hoped Kim Shin would meet Cho Sungkyun on this stage, he created for himself and would have a wild ride. No matter how awakened the Alpha was, he couldn’t beat all the dominant Alphas present. Even the dominant Alphas wouldn’t stay still.

However, for this plan to succeed, Cho Sungkyun was essential. Could it be that he didn’t come here and went somewhere else? When Seunghan was feeling anxious and annoyed, he checked his phone and suddenly looked at Kangho. He was a guy who didn’t say anything, even though he was forcibly dragged here.

“What?”

When Kangho asked without hiding his irritation, Seunghan asked an unexpected question.

“Are you an only child?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Oh, just. It would have been nice to have a brother. Well, your father can make you a younger brother right now.”

“What nonsense are you talking about…”

Kangho’s words stopped due to the suddenly changed atmosphere inside. The people’s voices, which had been murmuring like waves, quickly quieted down. Everyone was looking at someone. Kangho also opened his eyes wide when he finally saw the person coming through the entrance. It was Kim Shin. But he wasn’t alone.

He walked to the center of the lounge, holding the man’s neck as if dragging someone who couldn’t walk properly. Everyone only looked at Kim Shin, but Kangho couldn’t take his eyes off the person Kim Shin caught…Sungkyun?

Thud!

Kim Shin lightly threw the person he brought in on the floor. When Cho Sungkyun fell to the floor, people took a good look at his face and frowned. The corners of his mouth were covered in blood. The entire front of his clothes was stained red from so much blood. Kim Shin left him on display and looked around.

“Kim Shin, the awakened Alpha.”

He briefly introduced himself and loosened his clenched hands over the fallen Cho Sungkyun. Then, small white things stained with red blood fell on Cho Sungkyun’s body. What was that? Everyone looked at him in confusion, but soon realized his identity through someone’s whisper.

“Aren’t those teeth?”

Several shocked people clicked their tongues and expressed their dissatisfaction. From the beginning, Kangho realized that it was Cho Sungkyun’s tooth and held his breath. It seemed that Kim Shin caught Sungkyun Cho first before he ran away. So you’re saying Kim Shin really knew everything? How far? An opportunity came for Kim Shin to run riot in front of the dominant Alphas as he wanted, but strangely, he found it difficult to shake off his fear.

“Hey, Kim Shin, what are you doing?”

One of the seniors asked, dissatisfied. Kim Shin glanced at him and raised the staff he was holding in his hand. Kangho immediately recognized that it was Cho Sungkyun’s cane. It was now obvious that Kim Shin would use violence against Cho Sungkyun in front of everyone. Even in fear, Kangho’s heart palpitated. Kim Shin moved his body without hesitation as expected. The cane, raised high, descended without hesitation towards Cho Sungkyun, who was sitting on the floor.

Fwick!

“Ugh!”

Cho Sungkyun groaned with his toothless mouth and tried to run away by crawling forward. However, Kim Shin pressed his leg with his foot and struck his staff repeatedly.

Thud!Thud! Thud!

The sound of the cane swinging was somewhat creepy, like the sound of the wind pushing a body off a cliff. The sound of the cane hitting flesh was so vivid that it made his spine tingle, even though he wasn’t being hit. However, Kim Shin, who did it, was expressionless and did not make any sound, just inflicting violence as if it was no big deal.

That was the reason why everyone froze, unable to come forward even after seeing the sudden violence. It was clearly a person who got hit, but Kim Shin hit the other person like an insect. For the first time in their lives, they felt the great fear of violence in which people were not treated as human beings. When Cho Sungkyun’s body, which had been rebelling, went limp and blood began to bleed every time he was hit by the cane, someone eventually shouted.

“Hey, stop! Are you crazy? Are you planning to beat that person to death here?”

Kim Shin stopped beating him and turned his head. The person who made eye contact with him was shocked and his expression hardened, making the shouting seem meaningless. Kim Shin looked at him and answered briefly.

“You’re right.”

Well, what is correct? The person who screamed frowned and tried to step forward, but someone nearby grabbed his arm and stopped him. A small voice telling him not to go forward reached Kangho’s ears. Kangho bit his lip. Kim Shin was running wild as he wanted, but it was very quiet. So no one took action against that fear. Fortunately, it was Kim Shin’s answer.

“I will beat him to death.”

He waved his wand again.

Thud! Thud!

With the successive strikes of the cane, people now knew that he was serious. The situation was too serious just to watch. This time, several Sunbae stepped forward at the same time.

“Hey, stop.”

“Do you want to kill people?!”

One of these people glanced down at Cho Sungkyun. He was horrified to think that the motionless thing might actually be dead. But what was even creepier was Kim Shin. He answered calmly.

“This person touched my partner. So I’m going to kill him.”

“Ha! What? Are you crazy?”

However, someone quickly grabbed the stunned Sunbae from behind. They whispered something serious to him. Then the Sunbae who came forward looked at Kim Shin with a shocked expression and stepped back. Kangho was quite dissatisfied with the current situation because he believed that the atmosphere would turn around if just a few more people came forward.

What on earth did the person who stopped him say? If these many people come together, they could easily suppress Kim Shin. Was it because they were afraid of the awakened Alpha? Kangho was about to take a step out of nervousness but stopped when he heard a small chuckle. Kim Shin’s friend, who was standing nearby, was laughing. He looked right at himself. “What is it?” he asked as he turned around in a bad mood.

“You want to come forward? Try.”

“You are Kim Shin’s friend. Are you going to just wait and see? “Why are you bragging like that when he’s going to kill someone?”

Kangho asked in a low voice, almost like a whisper, and his friend’s laughter grew wider. Even Seunghan next to him burst into laughter. Are they crazy? Seunghan muttered into Kangho’s puzzled ear.

“Ah, you’re thinking like an Alpha.”

It was a familiar word. He was sure he had that before. It was probably in the club room. When Kangho said that Kim Shin’s weakness was the awakened Omega, they laughed at him for saying that. Kangho gritted his teeth and asked.

“Fuck, what the hell are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, Seunghan smiled and pointed forward with his chin. Kim Shin was about to raise his cane again when one of his Sunbae came forward and asked him in a shocked voice.

“you… … Are you really going to kill him? Are you going to kill each person who touches your Omega?”

“It won’t be a problem. It’s legally possible.”

Kim Shin’s answer instantly made most people look like they were covered in ice water. The most shocked person was, of course, Kangho. What, what are you talking about? Why is that possible by law? How is it possible to kill a dominant Alpha…

At that moment, Kangho saw Kim Shin’s friends laughing at him. At the same time, the words he said flashed to the center of his mind like the right answer that suddenly occurred to him. Thinking like an Alpha. Kangho had lived his entire life as a dominant Alpha and had never once thought of himself as the underdog. He was a dominant alpha so he could treat Betas and Omegas carelessly, and no matter what he did, he would not be punished due to his status as a dominant Alpha and his pheromone shield.

Of course, he was a dominant Alpha and he never even thought that he would become a victim. But with this Alpha mentality, he overlooked one thing. Someone had a stronger presence than the dominant Alpha. Awakened Alpha. In front of the awakened Alpha, he was just like a Beta or Omega.

Fwick!

My heart sank to the floor like a heavyweight. The place was filled with fear. I didn’t know, I really didn’t know. I had no idea that the position of Awakening Alpha was so firmly codified. Because awakened alphas are so rare. Because it was almost like a nonexistent entity. But murder is also acceptable?

Just as he, the dominant Alpha, raped countless people and beat them to death without ever being punished, the awakened Alpha can do the same to another dominant Alpha?… Even killing someone?! Kangho now stepped back with a pale face. At that time, he heard Sunbae’s question again.

“But why are you doing this here, just to show off?”

Kim Shin looked down at Cho Sungkyun, who was motionless.

“He is a dominant Alpha, right?”

He raised his eyes and slowly scanned the people in the room.

“Same as you lot.”

No one could not understand the warning his words gave. If you touch my awakened Omega, you too can die by my hands at any time. His gaze finally landed on Kangho. He looked straight at Kangho and asked.

“Isn’t that right, Joo Kangho?”

It was dawn when Kim Shin returned to the hospital where Yeonwoo was admitted. As he hurriedly got out of the car, the security guard guarding the hospital approached him with a puzzled look on his face.

“We caught him trying to sneak out from behind the hospital. He told me not to touch him, so we couldn’t touch his body, but he was very quick. You should go quickly…”

Kim Shin did not listen to everything he said and ran to a small garden-like area behind the hospital. Although the visibility was not bright, it was easy to find the destination by hearing someone shouting.

“Song Yeonwoo! We just want to protect you…”

As the bodyguard’s urgent voice ended, the person he was looking for appeared in Kim Shin’s field of vision. Yeonwoo was in a confrontation with two other bodyguards. But Kim Shin couldn’t call him right away. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the pale face of wariness and fear. A feeling of pity and guilt that he had never felt before clutched his heart mercilessly.

The agony of being slashed by a knife was seen in Yeonwoo’s wounded visage, eyes, and shaking movements. So when he noticed Yeonwoo, he didn’t dare to approach and instead came to a halt. Instead, he was noticed by him. The same anxiety that was directed toward the security guard was present in the eyes that opened in surprise at the sight of Kim Shin..

He had hoped that he would be happy to see him. No, he wanted him to be relieved. Even though he knew the damage he had suffered, his selfish greed arose. He wished he was special in any situation. However, for Yeonwoo, who was beaten badly and escaped from the dead on his own, he was not that kind of person yet.

So he wanted to immediately reach out and grab him. He wanted to lock him in a desolate place and let him live his whole life knowing only him and seeing only him. A trashy thought that he shouldn’t do in this situation hit him like a temptation. However, he saw Yeonwoo’s wide eyes shaking when he met him. He felt like it was because his selfish desires were discovered, and he came to his senses as if he had been hit with cold water.

“Go.”

After giving orders to the bodyguards, he moved slowly so as not to startle Yeonwoo and stood in front of him. But the closer he got, the further Yeonwoo stepped back. Since there was only an eight-lane road behind Yeonwoo, Kim Shin had no choice but to stop. He clenched his fists, barely resisting the urge to hold out his hands.

“Yeonwoo Sunbae.”

When Yeonwoo’s name was called, Yeonwoo’s eyes shook, but soon became firm. Before Kim Shin could speak, he spoke first.

“Sorry.”

Kim Shin tried to approach but stopped at his apology. Yeonwoo took a step back and repeated his apology.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were an awakened Alpha. I, uh, don’t know how I awakened you… Sorry. I really didn’t know that I had become your weak point. Sorry.”

Kim Shin swallowed something hot and closed his eyes. No, I need to say something. Yeonwoo started running across the eight-lane road.

* * *

He said the pills had painkillers. I didn’t know if it was because of that, but I fell into a deep, unconscious sleep, even if it was just for a moment. The bed that supported my body instantly turned into water and everything was dark, as if I was diving far below. Before I opened my eyes, I was submerged in the deep sea, not even knowing if I was breathing.

I woke up because of a hand gently shaking him. It was really just a light touch, but I woke up in a fit as if I had been struck by lightning. A flash of lightning tore the darkness to pieces, revealing fear. I need to run away!

“Ha!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you surprised?”

Only then could I properly see the dark room after hearing a friendly voice? The nurse who touched me was standing with an apologetic face. I was almost curled up at the end of the bed and let out a quiet breath that had stopped. As I began to breathe, a thumping sound rang in my ears, as if my heart had stopped and then moved.

Even though I had definitely escaped from Cho Sungkyun’s house, the tension of having to run still lingered in every muscle. I clearly recognized the nurse in front of me, but I couldn’t relax my body.

“What, what happened…”