No Alphas Allowed - C107

#107

At the same time Suho was meeting with Hyun Yusoo, Taeyun was staring at his phone in his house. Secretary Lee Jinhyuk had gone out separately to gather information.

Taeyun paced around the living room, holding his phone ready to answer any call that might come.

“Senior has never been unreachable like this before.”

Something must have happened. But he couldn’t grasp what it was. Taeyun walked in circles, leaving his pheromones to fluctuate as his anxiety grew.

“There’s nothing good about making me this frustrated.”

Suho’s disappearance without a word seemed to have been a big shock to Taeyun, as his heart was still pounding. It felt like blood was rushing through his whole body, and his heart felt squeezed, making him incredibly uncomfortable.

Feeling a headache coming on, Taeyun pressed his temples. Though he knew getting worked up like this wouldn’t help, it was hard to calm down. Taeyun’s mood sharpened sensitively, without even the leisure to calmly reflect on his situation.

“If it’s because of that incident, contact me. I’ll explain everything…”

Recalling the conversation with Secretary Lee Jinhyuk at the cafe, the day he received information about the person suspected to be Suho’s parent, Taeyun chewed on his lip. His lip, torn from this, was already beading with blood.

“I won’t hide anything anymore, I’m telling you.”

Like last time, trying to do something behind Suho’s back had backfired like this. He had promised not to hide things anymore, but he had deceived Suho with the intention of helping him.

Guilt squeezed Taeyun’s mind even more strongly. With a severe headache that blurred his vision, Taeyun staggered and barely supported himself against the wall.

“Haa, haa…”

It felt like his breath had stopped for a moment… But that wasn’t all. Taeyun’s condition was worsening as he kept losing and regaining consciousness. Glancing at the mirror, his reflection looked unfamiliar. Even considering his shock and confusion at Suho’s disappearance, his condition wasn’t good at all.

Taeyun let out a hollow laugh as he ran his hand over his rough skin.

He must have gone mad, for sure.

***

At the sound of the doorbell, Taeyun rushed to the front door. Though it could be Secretary Lee Jinhyuk, he hoped more that it would be Suho.

Without asking who it was, Taeyun flung open the door wide. Seeing the man standing in front, he was momentarily disappointed, then quickly showed a puzzled look.

It was neither Suho nor Secretary Lee Jinhyuk.

Seeing Jeong Sehun, a completely unexpected figure, Taeyun let out the breath he had been holding.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

At the sharp response that didn’t hide anything, Jeong Sehun just smiled calmly. It was a composed reaction, as if he knew why Taeyun was acting this way.

“I couldn’t reach you, so I had no choice but to come like this.”

“You’ve acted quite rudely.”

To come directly to Taeyun’s home just because he couldn’t be reached. Moreover, since this was a place Suho frequented, he had been especially cautious about not revealing his personal information. Jeong Sehun not only blatantly revealed that he had investigated Taeyun, but he came in person and didn’t back down, as if intending to settle things.

Taeyun looked at Jeong Sehun with irritated eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. He had no time to talk with him now. Finding where Suho was took priority.

“Let’s meet again another time.”

Taeyun stepped back and suggested setting up an appointment later. That should be enough to appease Jeong Sehun, who hadn’t been in contact for a week. However, despite Taeyun’s promise, Jeong Sehun didn’t move, blocking his way. Rather, his subtle smile as he looked up at Taeyun, who was taller than him, was quite annoying.

“I need to meet with Taeyun-kun now.”

“Do I have to accommodate you just because you say so?”

“You should.”

Jeong Sehun’s ambiguous answer. Unable to wait any longer and intending to search for Suho himself, Taeyun came out with his back to the front door. Ignoring Jeong Sehun, Taeyun took big strides, but then slowed down, feeling something was off. Stopping, Taeyun half-turned to look at Jeong Sehun. Looking closely at Jeong Sehun, whom he hadn’t properly observed due to his urgency, his expression came into view.

As if it didn’t matter if Taeyun just left, Jeong Sehun was looking at him with confident eyes. Feeling uneasy about this, Taeyun turned towards Jeong Sehun.

“What is it?”

“This doesn’t seem like something to discuss here. Shall we talk inside?”

Jeong Sehun pointed with his eyes towards Taeyun’s house. His calm stubbornness, not opening his mouth until then, irritated Taeyun.

It clearly felt like he hadn’t just come to find him.

It would be good to know clearly, but Jeong Sehun’s inner thoughts were like black ink, nothing visible. To look inside…

“Come in.”

Taeyun turned back and opened the front door. Then he strode in first without checking if Jeong Sehun was following.

Sitting on the sofa, Taeyun crossed his legs and looked up at Jeong Sehun. As he could see, there were no chairs opposite unless he sat next to him.

At Taeyun’s subtle pressure to just state his business and leave while standing, Jeong Sehun pulled a chair from the dining table and sat down.

“What business do you have that you wanted to meet me this badly? If it’s about that business, surely there’s a separate person in charge.”

“Ah, I’ve already met that person who’s only in charge in name. He just spouted useless words.”

Jeong Sehun implied that there must be someone else actually leading this project, not the team leader he met.

Taeyun smiled, maintaining eye contact with Jeong Sehun who was being aggressive towards him. As Jeong Sehun said, the team leader was just someone who delivered reports to him. From the beginning, Taeyun had started this project targeting Jeong Sehun.

Creating bait to draw in Jeong Sehun wasn’t difficult. It was just one of the items he had from before. While the goal was to bring down Jeong Sehun, Taeyun’s other role was to make this project successful as a side effect.

“Since you put it that way, I guess I can’t hide it anymore.”

“It seems you’re being properly pampered at Taeil. Seeing how they matched this scale of business at your age, their love for their child is impressive.”

As Taeyun didn’t bother hiding that he was in charge, Jeong Sehun spoke as if he had been waiting for this. It was no different from talking about parents who pat their young son’s bottom and tell him to buy whatever he wants at the department store.

Seeing how he spoke as if Taeil hadn’t considered at all the negative impact if it failed, that is. But Taeyun responded nonchalantly.

“It’s not pampering, it’s recognition. Anyway, I have no intention of failing this.”

Just that the partner growing together won’t be Michon, but another company.

Taeyun looked at Jeong Sehun as if telling him to reveal the cards he had brought. Though he was smiling calmly on the outside, inside he was about to get up several times to search for Suho.

Seeing Taeyun glance at the front door, Jeong Sehun secretly swallowed a smile. Thinking “Let’s see how long that arrogant attitude lasts”, Jeong Sehun took out a folded paper from his breast pocket.

Then he unfolded it himself and pushed it towards Taeyun.

“Take a look.”

“What is this?”

Jeong Sehun’s family register… Taeyun was about to laugh incredulously when a name caught his eye and he froze.

He thought Jeong Sehun wouldn’t have left it on official documents after bringing in Hyun Yusoo when his wife died. Moreover, hadn’t he completely cut off Suho?

Taeyun’s complex emotions, clearly shown on his face, didn’t escape Jeong Sehun’s gaze. This time, Jeong Sehun crossed his legs just as Taeyun had done and leaned back. It was an expression of confidence that he now held the upper hand in this deal.

Watching Taeyun’s gaze fix on one spot, Jeong Sehun leisurely opened the conversation.

“It seems you were already meeting with my other son. You talked only about the first son without knowing that.”

The reason Jeong Sehun had maintained a confident attitude towards Taeyun all along was revealed. Taeyun frowned deeply, failing to control his expression.

He had brought in Jeong Sehun thinking it was a 1% possibility, but to think he knew about Suho and his relationship.

“Did you investigate me? If so, that’s not very pleasant.”

“I know you don’t like it. However, this isn’t just Taeyun-kun’s problem. It’s clearly about my child, you see.”

Jeong Sehun subtly twisted his words. He didn’t investigate Kwon Taeyun, he just took interest in his child. And he happened to find out, so he didn’t do what Taeyun disliked.

No one would believe such words, but it was clear that Taeyun was now backed into a corner. Taeyun inhaled sharply as if he had been hit, then showed a look that seemed to say “surely not”. Having found out this much, had he come to see him with just this one document?

“By the way, you probably can’t reach my second son.”

As expected, Jeong Sehun accurately pinpointed Taeyun’s thoughts.

“My second son is meeting with my omega now, so there’s no need to worry.”

Second son, second son. How well he said such unpleasant words. It was incredibly shameless for someone who had raised a child without showing any interest. But regardless of what Taeyun thought, Jeong Sehun was just enjoying this situation.

“Well then, shall we talk about the business again?”