Seoha's POV
I stand at the door with my hands behind my back like I've always seen in movies.
It has been only thirty minutes since Kang Taesan went into the room for his meeting with whoever the stranger is, and I'm already tired.
My body is tired, but my mind isn't, I can't stop thinking of how he smelled differently when he came back out of the house.
His hair was still styled perfectly, and his composure was still perfect but his shirt rumpled and his pants rumpled with a bulge that I'm sure I shouldn't have seen.
I really can't stop thinking about him needing that omega.
'No condom' his words echoes in my head and I wince as my omega whimpers at the thought, I think I'm approaching heat, and it's coming sooner than it should this time around.
"Seoha-ssi?" a harsh feminine voice calls my name and I look up to find Yuki coming towards me with a straight face, "what are you doing here?" she asks and I look behind me at the door.
"Taesan-ssi asked me to stand here" I say quietly and she surges forwards so fast that I flinch.
"Fuck, did you hear anything?" she asks, grabbing my shoulder aggressively and I wince in pain at the way her long nails dig into my skin.
"N-no" I stutter, gasping at her as she growls at me.
"Are you sure?" she asks and the door opens.
Taesan burst out of the room with his cane, brushing past us without looking back, two men that I haven't seen before immediately rushes to him and Yuki lets go of me to join them.
"…the shop in two hours…get the body bags…" I hear parts of Taesan's words and I look away immediately.
I look into the room he just came out from and I find an old man sitting at the head of the table with a smirk on his face, he looks unbothered, satisfied even and the uncanny resemblance between him and Taesan scares me.
Is he the founder of this fashion house?
"Seoha" Yuki calls my name, and it attracts Taesan's attention, the alpha's aura is different from this morning. He looks angry, but it feels colder…cold enough to make me wonder what happened in that room.
"Get him out of here" he says and Yuki drags me away.
"Look, make sure you stay out of Jaehyun's way today, the last thing you would want to do is annoy him in this state" she says to me and I nod, shaking from how tense the entire building is.
Is it all because of that one old man? Who is he? What is Mountain Atelier even about? Why is Yuki holding a gun too?
"Look, I know you're new to all these, but you'll really be safer if you don't know anything, do you understand me?" she asks and I frown, "I don't understand"
"Don't try to, you'll regret it. Again, stay out of the way" she warns one more time and leaves me.
The man from the secret room comes out with his guards behind him, and he walks past me before he pauses.
"Hmm, you're new" he says without looking back and I rush forward to bow to him in greeting.
"Yes sir, hello" I say.
He doesn't move his eyes, but I can feel his eyes scanning me, like he's examining me behind those glasses with eyes more deadly than Taesan's.
"When did you join the clan?"
"C-clan? Yesterday?" I stutter and he tilts his head, "name" he says.
"Shin Seoha" I whisper my name and he mouth opens slightly, he takes off the glasses and looks at me, "interesting" he says with a smile.
"Welcome to the family, Shin" he says before walking away from me without waiting for my response.
Once he's gone my heart race returns to normal and I wipe my wet palm on my pants, this place feels like it's more than just a brand…it feels dangerous.
"Seoha isn't it?" the beta I've seen with Taesan most of the time asks, coming from behind me, "yes" I respond quickly.
"I'm Junho" he introduces himself and stretched his hand for me, I take the hand and he shakes it firmly.
"You lack strength, your hand is soft" he says with a murmur that sounds more curious than mocking and I can't help but blush. Of course I lack strength, I've never had reason to use violence or force in my life.
"I'm not familiar with…these" I say and he smiles gently.
"That's going to be bad if you will work as a bodyguard for a man like Taesan, you need strength in every way" he says and I nod, "I'll work on it sir" I say and the man's warm eyes soften as he looks at me.
Can he tell that I'm eager to pay my debt in full and get out?
"Don't be too worried, I'm sure you'll do just fine" he says, and I bow to him, "no need for formalities, we are friends from now on" he says and his eyes flickers to the door that the old man just walked out of.
"Don't speak to anyone…especially that man, okay?" he says in a soft voice and I nod.
He leaves me with a polite bow of his head, and I continue to walk around aimlessly, needing to follow Yuki's order, stay out of the way.
The hall I walk down has mannequins lined up to display beautiful designs that haven't been released yet.
Each design is prettier than the last and I start to imagine myself wearing the clothes, posing for the camera…I'm within the walls of the place housing my dreams but I have to only dream of making it out of here alive, what an irony.
I stare longingly at a design that is the perfect blend of masculinity and femininity, something that society rejects for people like me.
The cut of the cloth calls me, and I step forward to look at it better…it's so pretty.
"Seoha?" a familiar voice that I never want to hear again calls and I turn around to find Daeshin standing there with his suitcase, the brown one I bought for him with my inheritance money.
He looks so handsome it hurts to look at him, his brown hair is styled in the same way that made me fall in love with him and his suit is perfectly ironed, I used to be the one to iron his clothes.
"Hey" he says softly and as he takes the first step towards me, I turn around and start to speed walk in the opposite direction, eyes blurring with tears.
Hey? To the person he ruined?
"Seoha-ya?" he calls after me, but my legs keep moving me even when my omega is whining for a whiff of the alpha's scent we once doused ourselves in.
My legs carry me down the hall and it begins to feel like my body is chasing something, I keep following the pull till I end up bumping into a door and my body falls into the room.
Instead of falling to the floor, my body is held by the same alpha that I fell into when I ran from Daeshin that night.
And once again, I'm in Taesan's hold, but this time it's different.
The alpha growls as his eyes flash with intense hate for me.
"You're just begging for it aren't you?" he growls.