Leeway

Chapter 4

Do-yoon came down with Martha. He was wearing denim shorts and a light blue round-neck shirt. He also brought with him a pen and a notebook.

At the dining table, Tae-sung sipped his cup of black coffee while Da-won was sitting on the opposite side table. Martha pushed a feathery touch on Do-yoon's back, closer to them as he stood on the left side of Tae-sung. 

He looked at Tae-sung, who stared nonchalantly at him. Do-yoon gazed at his lips. Waiting for him to say something. Tae-sung smirked at the tip of his cup. Da-won noticed the ecstasy that ran through Tae-sung's eyes. 

“Did you have a good night's sleep, Do-yoon ssi?” Tae-sung asked. 

Do-yoon’s naive reaction, he replied, “Ah, ah, yes." He fidgeted with his fingers on the end of his shirt. He sat on the chair, and Martha served him his breakfast. 

What the fuck? Da-won looked surprised. Did he bring an impaired recessive omega to his villa? He looked at Tae-sung with a stunned face. That's not the Lee Tae-sung I know. 

Then, Do-yoon looked at Da-won. He looked wary, and Da-won's eyes flinched. Fuck! He’s damn so pretty. His pulse raced as he sweltered between his legs. 

Tae-sung noticed Da-won's reaction upon seeing Do-yoon. He rested his left hand on the table and curved a smile. He said, “Eat, Do-yoon ssi.” 

Do-yoon followed what he said. It made Da-won puzzled over what Tae-sung was doing. Though Do-yoon felt a little uncomfortable, he took his pad and pen. He wrote something and showed it to Tae-sung. Da-won tried to take a peek, but he couldn't see. 

“Who is that man?”

Tae-sung laughed out loud. Do-yoon found it weird as he chewed his food well. Tae-sung looked at Da-won, and said, “Hey, sucker, introduce yourself.”

Sucker my ass. Da-won felt annoyed for a moment. He gave Do-yoon a good smile when he noticed the tattoo on his lower right arm as Da-won scratched the back of his head. 

“Ah, forgive my rudeness,” he said. “I’m Da-won, Tae-sung, upper hand.” He beamed with a smile. 

Do-yoon looked at Tae-sung in surprise. He swallowed his food, tried to clear his throat, and said, “You, Tae-sung?” He said again, “Y-your n-name is Tae-sung?” His dulcet voice gave an erotic feeling in Tae-sung's spine that he gulped in silence. 

Da-won released his wild tobacco pheromone. Tae-sung twitched his brows as he glared at him, and said, “What the fuck are you doing?” 

But to Da-won’s astonishment, Do-yoon couldn’t smell his pheromone. He shifted a pierced gaze at Tae-sung, “I’m just... checking, Boss,” he added, “Could he not smell your pheromone?” He asked.

Do-yoon was waiting for Tae-sung's reply. Self-effacing. He couldn’t hear a single word from their conversation. Yet he ate his food again and thought, What am I even hoping for? Looking down at his healthy food.

Tae-sung didn’t say a word, instead, he grinned back at Do-yoon, “Yes, Do-yoon ssi,” he added slowly, “So, call me Tae-sung from now on.” So Do-yoon could understand what he said.  

Do-yoon nodded as he agreed. But he was feeling a bit uneasy toward Da-won, who looked displeased. 

“What do you want to do today?” Tae-sung changed the heavy air in the dining table. “Do you want to go somewhere?” He asked in a tender tone and was eating his food.

“Ah, ah, can I?” Do-yoon looked at him. He finished his breakfast.

“Well, of course,” Tae-sung said, but his tone changed into a cold one. “Isn’t that why I untied the shackle in your foot?” With his fierce glance stung like a dagger in Do-yoon’s eyes. “You’re not planning to run away, are you?” 

Do-yoon's brow twitched. His right hand trembled underneath the table. He sensed that Tae-sung didn’t seem a good person to trust, like someone who wore a mask to cover his true colors. 

He didn’t look away and said in a composed tone, “No,” he paused. “I-I want to w-walk outside with M-martha. C-can I?” He stuttered as he swallowed from his throat. His aphasia. 

Tae-sung's expression turned placid. He said, “Sure, you can,” his lips curled into a grin. He added, “Whenever you wanted.” 

Da-won couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing in front of them. He noticed that Tae-sung had changed, not for the better. He became more possessive over time of the things within his grasp. He stole a glance at Do-yoon.  

I pity this boy. Is that why he was planning to make this innocent one his toy and later would throw him to the Dark Club after using him to his heart's content? 

Those unreasonable alphas will ruin this boy’s life to the brink. Da-won thought as he sipped his black coffee without sugar. No wonder he did that to his half-brother. 

He’s was a―fucking monster. 

Da-won looked speechless. But his brow flinched when Do-yoon's lonely gaze pricked his conscience.  

What the hell was that? His heart skipped a beat for a second. 

Tae-sung stood, and Do-yoon looked up to him. He tapped Do-yoon’s right shoulder and said, “Behave while I’m away, understood?” His selfish smile stunned Do-yoon’s eyes. 

He bowed his head down and replied. “Ah, yes,” and looked at him back, “Tae-sung n-nim.” He smiled warmly.

It flattered Tae-sung's emotions. But his smile looked apathetic toward Do-yoon. He said, “See you later, then,” and strolled toward the door. As Da-won followed him behind, leaving the villa. 

The traffic was smooth as they reached the central city of Gangnam. While in the car, Secretary Choi updates Tae-sung about the current state of the XY Group of Companies. 

“It seems Lee Joon-Ho had taken the initiative to take a temporary leave of absence from work." Secretary Choi said. "Chairman Lee has decided to make Kim Ye-Joon act as the CEO while Lee Joon-Ho recovers.” He was scrolling down his tablet for Tae-sung's activity for the day. 

Tae-sung scoffed. He felt defeated. “Well, it seemed our overbearing father, who saw his sons as tools rather than humans, had softened." He added, "Only…to my afflicted half-brother.” With a spite in his throbbing eyes. 

“I could guess that your father couldn’t lose his son," Secretary Choi said. "Lee Joon-Ho was the one who kept the company growing ever since he stepped forward as the youngest CEO.” He added, looking indifferent while reading an email. 

“And here I am, his mentally ill son, who was disposable." Tae-sung sounded hateful. He was looking outside his tinted window, to his right. "Yet he crawled like a dog for us to do the dirty work for him." He crossed his arms and crossed his legs. He tilted his head to the left. He looked at the rearview mirror to Secretary Choi to see how angry he was. "Isn't he an incredible father with a bag of shitload in his hands, Secretary Choi?" 

Da-won and Secretary Choi were tongue-tied so as not to ruin his mood.  

Then Tae-sung surprised them with a weird laugh. “Hahaha, oh well, it’s time for me to shine, right?” But deep inside his heart…it was full of resentment. He sneered in an irate tone. “Should I act as a filial son or a rat that would taint their reputation even more?” 

They felt intimidated and bothered by Tae-sung's remarks. He released his ocean salt pheromone. His forced smile trembled Da-won’s ego. The moment he asked, “Da-won, should we play rock, scissors, paper?” His deranged smile brought chills to Da-won’s spine.

Secretary Choi shut his mouth. He didn't want to end up like Da-won.  

“Hey, Boss, what are you up to now? Huh.” Da-won said. He felt bothered and stared at Tae-sung’s crazy stare.

“If you win, I’ll go and see my lunatic father, and be a good... son,” said Tae-sung with his wicked smile, “But if I win,”

Fuck! I'm screwed. Da-won knows what is going to happen next. 

Meanwhile, Do-yoon was helping Martha clean around the house. The two guards were outside. They were strolling and making sure that everything was safe before the next shift arrived.  

Do-yoon noticed them as he dusted the furniture. Martha was vacuuming the floors. After a while, Martha tapped his back to stop and showed him the note. 

“Do you want to stroll outside?”

Do-yoon glistened with a cheerful smile. 

Martha wrote again and showed him. 

“Then, let’s take a walk after lunch.” 

“Let me prepare lunch, and you can watch something on TV while waiting.” 

Do-yoon agreed. 

He put the rug away and went to the living room. He took the remote, sat on the sofa, feeling at ease, and turned on the TV. He changed the channel 10 times until he found the TV series he was looking for. 

How long has it been since I’ve watched this series? 

It was a historical Korean drama about two identical men. Who switched and later fell in love with the tyrant king's queen. 

Do-yoon pondered for a moment. 

Ah, that’s when my classmates brought me to their home. We watched this family drama TV series, which I loved and enjoyed. 

Then his eyes turned gloomy. 

And that was also the last time I’d seen my friends. My father locked me up in the dark room. And I never went back to school ever again. Father dropped me out of school and told me to help his restaurant instead. 

He curled up his knees, touching his chin.

I wanted to go back to school. But I'm afraid Tae-sung would not want to either. 

Then, something bothered him. 

Now, thinking about it, he kept mentioning, when I turned 18. What’s that about? What's going to happen to me then? 

If I behave well, could I stay with him? 

His eyes shifted to the right, as it was almost lunchtime. Yet he was securing his hope for Tae-sung to accept him. He dreamed of living in peace and being happy. And if Tae-sung was with him, he might look forward to the borrowed time he could have with him. 

It’s my first time feeling this way. He looked melancholic. 

The weather was nice. The trees swayed side to side from the burst of wind. The bushwalks looked serene and nostalgic, and the trails were flat like a memory lane. 

A few birds chirped above the trees, and birds flew above the sky. Martha and Do-yoon were enjoying their walk while breathing fresh air to calm their minds. The backyard was massive. There were no gate piers. The gentle breeze touched their skin and it felt soothing like autumn was coming. Do-yoon looked glad. He could walk around like a free man anywhere with Martha as long as one of the guards followed them behind. 

They were looking above the cloudy blue sky with their warm smiles. Do-yoon closed his eyes and breathed the fresh air. 

I hope every day will be like this. 

The wind from the west blew the strands of his hair, and the rays of the sun shone upon his amber eyes. It turned into golden honey. 

Martha noticed the modest poise on Do-yoon's pretty face. It was mesmerizing in broad daylight. She wrote. Then she tapped Do-yoon’s right shoulder and showed him what she had written. 

“Your eyes are beautiful, Do-yoon.” 

“I hope you’ll find the happiness you’re looking for.” 

Do-yoon’s eyes were stunned, and his dewy gaze became more captivating. And he said, “T-thank you, Martha,” he smiled. 

His warm grin at Martha’s eyes looked candid with the greenery bushes in the background. They continued to walk at the far left end of the grove walkway. And Do-yoon noticed a little signage to his left that noted, “Little stream river ahead” 

When they were about to continue their walk in that direction, the guard stopped them.  

“I’m sorry, but you’re not allowed to go there.” The beta guard said in his casual suit. His tone sounded husky, and his eyes looked languid. A deep scar on his chin. And a tan complexion.    

Martha and Do-yoon looked at each other. 

Then―