Unscented Trajectory - Chapter 32 - 32

He buried his nose in the shirt, which was dirty with dust and blood. His partner’s crazy sweet scent permeated the clothes.

He took a deep, deep breath in. An enchanting sweet scent filled his lungs.

His eyes began to blur in an instant. Tears quickly welled up in the corners of his eyes, dripping down on his clothes and flowing into the bloodstains that had hardened.

He held on to the bloodstained clothes that obviously belonged to his mate, and wept incessantly. The words his father said, ‘the decapitated corpse’ made it impossible for him to breathe.

He was the only one who knew that his partner had been decapitated. Up until now, his father, the people in the mansion, and the bodyguards all said that he was dead, but no one could tell how he died. Everyone just said that he had died. So he didn’t believe it any more. If they’d only confirmed that he was really dead and they’d not seen the body, they wouldn’t be able to figure out how he died.

But his father was affirming that he had been ‘decapitated’. In addition, the clothes that his mate was wearing at that time were also brought in front of his eyes. So he had to believe it. That his mate was really dead.

Joohyuk, who acknowledged the death of his partner, which he did not want to accept, crouched down and cried. In the narrow and dark room, until the day when all the scent left on the clothes scattered and disappeared, Joohyuk cried like a mad man.

There were too many holes in the information about his mate left in his head. All he remembered for sure was that he called him ‘Hyun’ and that he was only ten years old. Also, he had a strong and enchanting scent unlike any other Omega.

‘And those eyes…’

His face was blurry, but strangely, only his eyes were clearly remembered. The dark, black eyes that contained only him still glimmered in front of his eyes.

Joohyuk’s hand touched the glass of the  burial chamber. Joohyuk, who set his eyes on the nameless ashes inside, made a very sorry expression.

“I know I’m really selfish…”

His voice trembled slightly.

“But please let this slide.”

He had been so tired all this time. He was living with his breath stuck, but everything in the world was just annoying. His heart ached and his head hurt. As time passed, he missed the warmth of his dead partner.

Is that why?

He felt a warmth resembling his partner in the person closest to him. He was obviously a different person, he was someone who couldn’t be the same, but he kept paying attention to him.

It was a person he had never known before. He caught the assailant in a timely manner and stood out, and after that, he signed a huge contract to do anything to protect him. He became a good secretary and bodyguard and stayed by his side. No matter how harsh and promiscuous he was, he was just calm. Like a person who has no facial expressions.

Then, his expression broke out. From the moment he saw it, something inside Joohyuk began to movel. The mask-like expression collapsed and he was staring at the trembling eyes, and the eyes of his partner kept overlapping. Perhaps he unconsciously felt it, and he reached a climax that could not be reached through sex with other people so easily.

And without realizing it, he forced him to use the word ‘hyung’. When he, who was unable to say goodbye, called him ‘hyung’ with eyes similar to his mate, uncontrollable emotions flooded his eyes, and his eyes lit up. It was as if his mate was right in front of him. It felt as if the world, which had been cloudy as much as the smoke of his own cigarette, became clear in an instant.

He realized that it was irreversible.

The fact that if it were the shell of a man named Kwon Yihyeon, it could be enough as a substitute for his partner.

“… I’m sorry.”

What would he say to him, who projected a mate to another man because he missed him?

* * *

Four bodyguards followed Joohyuk to the executive office of Shinwoo Construction. Unlike usual, when Yihyeon was alone, the four strong bodyguards stuck together without any gaps, so no one could easily approach him, and it was a scary feeling. It was like someone who wanted to be completely cut off from the outside world.

When Joohyuk arrived at the executive office, he left the guards outside the door and immediately summoned the chief of staff. For that reason, the chief of staff, noticing the appearance of the bodyguards who seemed to be standing up close, went inside and closed the door. It was quite demeaning to see a dignified middle-aged man tense up in front of a man who was a lot younger than him, but it was only natural because Joohyuk didn’t have many good things every time he called.

Joohyuk took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth and opened his mouth.

“About Mr. Kwon Yihyeon.”

The chief of staff, who was nervous as he did not know what Joohyuk was going to say, raised his head at the sudden name. Joohyuk, who lit a cigarette and opened his mouth, put his elbow on the desk, put his chin on the back of his hand, and looked straight at the chief of staff.

“Is the report you posted at that time accurate?”

“What do you mean…”

The chief of staff looked at him, not understanding. If Joohyuk recently requested a report on Yihyeon, he was referring to various information close to his biography. And it was the same as the investigation before putting Yihyeon by Joohyuk’s side.

The chief of staff who remembered Yihyeon’s face quickly responded to his words.

“It is correct. As you can see, this investigation is no different from the previous one, is it?”

Joohyuk put on a doubtful expression. As the chief of staff said, the results of the investigation on Yihyeon were no different from before. There was nothing weird about it, it was perfect.

But there was only one thing that bothered him.

“There was no mention of a wound on the back of the neck in the report.”

“What? Was there anything like that?”

It was such a faint scar that even the chief of staff did not know. To the extent that Joohyuk has not been able to recognize it properly until now.

Joohyuk tilted his head and looked at the chief of staff. He smiled awkwardly and spoke hastily.

“That… Couldn’t it have healed itself because the wound wasn’t that deep? It was an orphanage where everything was falling apart, so even if he was injured, he might have given first aid there rather than taking him to the hospital. If he got hurt while at MYS, there’s an infirmary inside too…”

“There is no need to guess. Bring the correct information.”

When he spoke coldly, the chief of staff looked startled and quickly bowed his head.

“I’m orry. Then, shall we use the same person again?”

“That’s okay. Get out.”

He said angrily and waved his hand to signify him to leave. The chief of staff looked at him, apologized once more, and left the office.

Joohyuk, who was left alone, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth as if it were a habit. Even the moment he lit the tip of the cigarette, Joohyuk was reminded of the scar on the back of Yihyeon’s neck.

He could have dismissed it as an insignificant scar, but for some reason it bothered him to pass it on like that. Even if it was faint, it must have been quite a big deal at the time, considering that the scar still remained and it was a vital point.

‘Strange.’

According to the information gathered by the chief of staff, he grew up quietly in an orphanage without any problems, and was not adopted on time, so he lived on his own after becoming an adult. After that, as Joohyuk knew he received security training at MYS and was put into practice a few years later.

Whether at the orphanage or working at MYS, there was no information about Yihyeon’s neck injury. Of course, if the wound was enough to leave a scar on the neck, it would have been treated at the hospital rather than the infirmary. However, he was said to have lived a healthy life without ever being hospitalized.

About halfway through the cigarette, Joohyuk picked up his cell phone and called somewhere. Soon the other party answered the phone and made a polite voice.

– What’s going on, Director?

Hearing the man’s voice, Joohyuk opened his mouth.

“I’m going to hire some people.”

* * *

Slap-!

The sound of flesh hitting flesh was heard.

At the sudden slap, Lee Sihoon realized that the woman’s hands were quite fiery. One cheek was burning, but without erasing his smile, he faced the woman in front of him.

“Did you say you’re sorry?”

The elegant woman with her hair neatly curled up raised her hand, clenching her teeth, unlike her. Her hand, wearing high-quality lace gloves, hit Sihoon’s red cheek once more. A slap echoed through the office.

The woman caught her breath and rolled her eyes.

“I… I warned you…”

The blood-stained woman’s eyes glared at Sihoon as if it was about to tear him apart. He felt the chill in her gaze, but he did not erase the smile on his face.

“I was surprised too. I didn’t know they would get things done that way.”

“You think that’s an excuse?! Didn’t he get a gunshot wound?!”

The woman’s shrill voice hit Sihoon’s ear. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

“It is disappointing. I told you before. Make sure he’ll not get hurt!”

“He jumped in on his own, what do I do, then?”

He was in a bad mood because he had been slapped twice, so he didn’t say anything. The angry woman looked down once more, bit her lip and clenched her hands.

“Whether to kill Lee Joohyuk or not, it is up to you. For helping you and looking after you, I asked you to take my brother safely. I emphasized that he should not be hurt.”

Sihoon shut his mouth at the cold words.

He thought that the woman would be a strong shield, so he decided to attack the person unlike before. Lee Joohyuk, who was a stumbling block, should have died this time. After he died, he should have returned Kwon Yihyeon to the woman with his own hands.

He learned that it was thanks to Kwon Yihyeon and that he had been shot instead of Lee Joohyuk. As expected, the woman who loved Kwon Yihyeon was just as angry as he was now.

He couldn’t lose the help of the woman he had so much to gain from. In Sihoon’s head, there was a clear picture of him and the dominant Omega Kwon Yihyeon standing next to him. It was thrilling to see himself becoming the official heir of the Shinwoo group and formally holding hands with a larger group. In order to make that dream come true, he had no choice but to succumb to the woman who now had the initiative.

“This time, we will proceed without mistakes. We will get rid of Joohyuk and bring your brother back safely.”

Even with Sihoon’s words, the woman’s worried face did not improve.

It would be heartbreaking to suffer near a human like Lee Joohyuk, but to protect him and get a gunshot wound. When she heard the news, her eyes opened wide and she almost fainted.

Her brother lost his smile because of someone.

Her brother’s life was messed up because of someone.

Even so, his foolishly good-natured younger brother was still laying down his life for him.

In her mind, she wanted to free her people and go straight to her younger brother. But those people will soon be found out by him. If he found out that she was moving, her younger brother would also mobilize his own people, and in the end, it will be more difficult to get him away from Lee Joohyuk.

The woman bit her lower lip.

‘It would be easier if the two were apart.’

Soon, she wished, the time would come when Yihyeon fell from Joohyuk’s side.

* * *

Knock knock-

He heard the knock in his sleep, and his eyes flashed open,  like a habit. At once, he got nervous.

“Time to eat.”

He slowly raised his upper body at the sound of a woman’s voice coming from outside. He felt a pain as if his left shoulder was going to fall out, but only his face was slightly distorted and he didn’t moan.

When he opened the door, a well-dressed middle-aged woman was smiling brightly. As she approached the kitchen, he saw a splendid dining table that could be called a supreme feast.

Suddenly, the bodyguard who caught up with him took the chair out by hand. Yihyeon sat in that chair and looked around the table set only for him.

Recently, Yihyeonn could not leave the penthouse. It was because the doctor said that he must rest until the shoulder injury was completely healed.

Joohyuk left gim in the spacious penthouse and headed to the company with several other bodyguards. After that, the doctor came not long after, and treated the shoulder wound and connected the nutritional supplement Ringer. Then, like now, at lunchtime, the newly hired housekeeper would prepare a luxurious meal that was burdensome.

It was surprising that Joohyuk took care of every event like this, but Yihyeon decided not to put any meaning to it. If he gave it meaning, he expected something. If he expects it, his tattered heart won’t be able to hold it when it breaks.

‘No, even if it breaks anyway, there’s nothing more to be broken.’

He ridiculed himself.

When he raised a spoon with an expressionless face, the bodyguard standing behind him stood at the entrance to the kitchen with a little distance. He seemed to be taking caution for fear that Yihyeon would be uncomfortable eating. In the past, he was a bodyguard who didn’t care about him, but maybe Joohyuk had said something.

When he started eating, the housekeeper brought a cup of cool water and placed it close to Yihyeon. She smiled softly and took a few steps back.

While eating slowly, Yihyeon looked at the cup of cold water.

He couldn’t get the food properly inside, so he couldn’t eat much, so he picked up the cup. At the same time as he picked it up, he tapped the spot where the cup was placed with his pinky finger as if he was pushing it from the outside. It was covered with a bowl, and no one noticed it because it was so natural and fast.

A small thing under the cup fell on his knee. Yihyeon, who drank the water at once, picked up the small thing the size of a fingernail that fell on his knee and hid it skillfully in his sleeve. Then, when he got up from his seat, the bodyguard, who stood up straight with a distance, stood behind him as if it were natural.

On the way back to the room, the bodyguard kept chasing after him. Yihyeon glanced at him over his shoulder and went into his room and closed the door firmly.

As soon as he entered the room, he put his hand on the bottom of the drawer. Soon, an old folder phone the size of the palm of his hand was taken out. When he opened the phone and turned on the power, he saw a fairly old-fashioned screen.

With the phone in one hand, he rummaged through his sleeve with the other and pulled out something he had been secretly hiding. It was a small SD card that could be attached to a cell phone, which the housekeeper, who must have been placed by his own people, secretly tucked under the cup.

Yihyeon put the SD card into the phone and went in to find the folder. He clicked several pictures stored there and displayed them on the screen.

The pictures that appeared on the small screen were pictures of some documents. The screen was so small that he had to zoom in a few times, but he could easily figure out what kind of document and what was in it.

He carefully looked at each of the photos one by one and put the contents in his head. At the beginning of each document, the name ‘Shinwoo Hotel’ was included in all of them.

After scanning all the documents, he took out the SD card from his cell phone. Yihyeon, who approached the narrow window and opened all the screens, put the SD card on the window sill. Then he slammed it down with the edge of the old folder phone. A small cracking sound was heard, and the SD card hit by the mobile phone was shattered into several pieces.

He pushed the pieces of the SD card with the back of his hand and dropped it out of the window. Light pieces were mixed in the wind and slowly fell down far away.

When the pieces became invisible, he entered the phone’s keypad screen with his arms crossed and leaned on the window sill. He dialed the number directly on his cell phone, where no contacts were stored, and called somewhere.

– Did you check?

“Yes.”

He responded briefly to the man’s voice as soon as he answered the call.

He leaned against the window sill and looked out the window so that no sound could leak out. It felt strange to be in his room like this on a weekday in broad daylight. That was why he realized that he was separated from Joohyuk.

Joohyuk’s face popped up in his mind, and as if a habit, he worried about what might have happened to him. As soon as he thought of that, he frowned.

Was this because of the covenant?

He didn’t want to think about him as much as he did when he was alone.

He swept his ragged hair and turned his thoughts to another place. Because right now, there was something more important than Joohyuk.

“Certainly, it contains details that we missed. I think it was a good thing to hold hands with Lee Haejun.”

Yihyeon remembered Lee Haejun’s smiling face. As expected, he knew the details of the ‘Shinwoo Hotel’. He couldn’t say it was perfect because it was not the company he belonged to, but if Yihyeon’s people had tried to dig into it, they wouldn’t have been able to do it this much.

“Keep it organized so we can hit them anytime.”

-Do not worry.

Yihyeon glanced at the door over his shoulder. As he was speaking with the window open, he could not even hear the guards outside the door.

“What about those who were captured?”

-They are all hired for money, and there is no information about anyone who did business with them other than being a middle-aged man. It seems that his face was also covered with sunglasses and a mask, so it would be difficult to find out who it was.

Yihyeon remembered those who attacked them at the golf course building. Among them, Kim Seokwoon was particularly concerning.