Seoha's POV
Even the atmosphere of the hotel knows how to respond to this man.
"I asked a question" Kang Taesan asks his employee, his daughter's caregiver and the woman visibly trembles, hands squeezing her clothes as she opens and closes her mouth, looking for the words to say.
"S-she…um…that" she stutters and Taesan drops his eyes from her face to look at his daughter, I can't tell if he is ignoring me or if he hasn't noticed me, if I turn around and return home…will this end?
I watch awkwardly as the alpha picks up Sooin, his daughter, and kisses her on the cheek, he doesn't look any softer as he attends to her.
He is wearing a frown that creases his brows, and his hair is falling over his eyes, making him look darker…like a man that belongs on a throne with others on their knees around him.
My omega whines inside of me, submitting to the wordless dominance of the alpha.
From where I stand, unable to move or process the fact that I am again in danger, I hear him mutter something to his little daughter and she turns around in his arms to point at me.
My heart drops to the floor at the way his dark eyes sweep over my body, an unexplainable feeling, like fever runs through my body as our eyes meet. It's like two elements colliding; he is steady and sure while I am shivering from cold and fear, just about to pass out.
Sooin is smiling but her father isn't.
It lasts only for a few seconds but the heat in his eyes communicates generational threat, calling me by the title of my actions to him, a thief.
"Dad, let's go now" Sooin whines and he breaks his eye contact with me to look at her, "be patient Innah, dad needs to make one call" he says and she pouts, resting her body against him.
"Let's stay with daddy" the little girl says and her father's jaw ticks.
She must have referred to me as daddy again to him, the alpha takes two long strides and is in front of me, his scent wraps around me again.
Familiar, safe but still threatening as rain, smoke and wood swallows up the hotel smell around me, eating up the smell of expensive air freshener and the smell of other people.
"Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me" he says to me, his tone rich and deep, his words are polite, but I dare not look into his eyes, not when his wallet is still in my pocket like a stone and his name still on my mind.
"It's no problem…sir" I say, nodding my head slowly but keeping my gaze to the floor, it's no big deal, as long as I get to walk away.
"Minah, we will talk about this at home" Taesan says to his daughter's caregiver and the woman bows her head, she's in big trouble.
"Sir…children can be a bit unpredictable" I say without thinking and the alpha tilts his head.
"Is that so?" he asks, letting his lips stretch into an ingenuine smile, something dark and mocking.
'Seoha' my omega calls.
"I worked as a kindergartener…I-I know…" my words die out at the look on the man's face, the smile doesn't drop but his eyes flash red, his alpha surfacing briefly to remind me…this is not my place, Sooin is not my pup, Taesan is not my alpha.
"I'm sorry" I apologize quickly and the alpha nods.
"Dad, I'm hungry" Sooin says, still sad at her father's busyness as she presses her face into his strong neck, and the mentioning of that word reminds my body of its state.
I'm hungry too.
"Daddy, lets eat!" Sooin says, lifting her head to address me and unknowingly digging my grave deeper, Taesan doesn't react to me being called daddy by his daughter, he just stares at me as if he's analyzing me.
"Sooin-ah, thank you but I have to-"
"Join us for dinner, you'll pay…right?" Taesan cuts in and I blink, pay? Me?
"Kang Taesan-ssi-"
"Ah, I see, you have a black card, paying won't be difficult…will it?" the man asks and I shake my head, he knows that I looked at the card, the real fear is starting to settle in.
What have I gotten myself into?
"Dad, I want bibimbap" Sooin says and Taesan pats her back, "whatever you want princess" he says and looks at his employee.
The poor woman has been deathly silent and deathly pale since her boss promised her a talk at home.
"Get Sooin what she wants, three of you should eat well, it's going to be a long night" he says and the woman bows twice, body shaking.
"M-money, please sir" she whispers and Taesan returns his heavy heated gaze to me, "you will pay, won't you, daddy?" he asks and my cheeks burn at the humiliating intention behind his word.
"This hotel likes card, black ones to be specific, Innah, what's your birthday?" he asks, the tone he addresses all three of us with are same but different.
Cold and commanding to Minah, his employee.
Mocking and humiliating to me, his robber.
Deep and grounded to Sooin, his daughter.
"March four" Sooin says and beams at me, showing me her milk teeth, proud at the way she remembers her birthday.
"Good girl" Taesan says and kisses the side of her head before putting her down and she runs back to me, hugging me again.
"Zero three, zero four" Taesan says and puts his hands in his pocket, he looks at us.
"Go, eat, you have two hours and if you don't come back to me…" the alpha pauses and looks specifically at me.
"I will find you" he says.
Not a promise, not advice…it's a threat.