The car that sped up to the curb wasn't what Rin had expected.
He expected something dramatic, especially from the man who dragged him off of a bus and took his child after calling her an 'it' for at least thirty minutes.
Not a simple, dark car that only obsored light instead of reflecting it like a Lamborghini Urus, which fit the man under the surname 'Jang' much better than a Hyundai Sonata. Rin cleared his throat despite that as the driver of the car exited with a bow and a confused eyebrow at the pup gurgling in his boss' arms.
"Hop in, it's empty. And don't worry, I have somewhere for her to sit." The alpha softly spoke after cooing with Jiyeon for the entire walk to the parking garage.
"It better be in a car seat. I can't believe you. You're cruel." Rin spat as he watched the man roll his eyes, that white lanyard pulled from his pocket and held in his hands not as gentle as the way he held the newborn. It was amusing and frustrating at the same time. It made Rin want to gag and coo. The man shrugged. "Do you think I'm stupid, Rin-ah? I would never purposefully endanger a child even if you think I would." He asserted, his voice rather calm despite the subject.
Rin shrugged, arms crossed over his chest, sleeves rolling up. "I don't know what kind of demonic soul you can be, Jang. All I know is that I made a mistake a year ago and now I have to deal with this. You're gonna kill me, aren't you?" The man didn't reply.
He focused on settling Jiyeon into something in the backseat, something Rin could only assume and hope was a car seat. Rin's foot bounced as he tried to catch any bit he could see. He couldn't. The man was too broad and too tall for Rin to see over him.
Then the man turned back around, facing Rin with the collar of his dark shirt ruffled by Jiyeon's tight grip on it. Rin peered behind the smiling man holding up two thumbs and saw his perfect baby.. in a car seat. An expensive one. The one that Rin stared at while dreaming of what car he should get the night after she was born, the night he said he wanted to change everything but didn't have the courage to do so. She sat there unbothered, her tiny body relaxed in the chair, her eyes fluttering back to slumber after the gurgling time with Jang. A pink baby bottle was already in the car's cup holders.
It made something inside Rin burn like a campfire. Something hot and aggressive and jealous. Jealous of the privilege the man had. He could buy this ridiculously expensive car seat and put it in the right way, and strap her in the right way. Rin doubted that.
He stepped forward and shook the seat lightly. The man's eyes widened. He grabbed Rin's hand.
"Are you insane? She's tired, let her sleep." Jang fought. Rin's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and disgust. "Excuse you? I've raised this child on my own since she was an embryo. You have no right to tell me what do to do with my child."
The man jerked back. He pointed, one hand wrapped around Rin's much smaller wrist and the other poked his shoulder.
"You chose to do that. You chose to not even mail me the positive test. You chose to hide her from me without even telling me or trying anything. I have a right to know what to do with a child. A child that's been hidden from me her entire one month old life. I have a right to tell you when I think you're being insane. She's my child too, even if you can't fathom that. And I'm not a fucking moral-less killer. I have morals and I don't even fucking kill."
Rin snatched his hand away and looked down, quickly getting in the backseat beside Jiyeon. He slammed the door as the scent of sandalwood and whiskey flooded his sense. The tinted windows hid little from the inside. Rin mindlessly put his hand over the baby and watched as the man outside the c at calmly fixed his collar, his shoulders tense and his movements stiff.
Rin rocked the carrier once more. Jiyeon barely moved beside the twitch of her tiny fist. He hummed at that. She was strapped in properly and safely.. the car seat was safe and well maneuvered. Rin looked at the small pink bottle in the cup holder. He picked it up skeptically but there was nothing skeptical about it.
It was warm.. milk.
It made Rin's mind run wonders but he held back from anything positive. He knew what this man was capable of. He knew the men who feared this single guy. He couldn't trust a word out of his mouth or an action from his hands.
Rin cleared his throat as the alpha got into the car and started it silently.
"Just take me to Gangnam-gu. I have shit to do and you interrupted it."
The man didn't reply. He kept his eyes on the road as he pulled out haphazardly. His hand rested on the gearshift while the other tapped on the wheel almost maniacally.
"It can wait. We have other shit to talk about. And there's a blanket to the side of her seat, I noticed she was wearing a onesie. She might get cold with the AC." The man claimed annoyingly softly. Rin wanted to scream. But he didn't. He gripped his thigh and looked to the side. Yeah. There was a neatly folded, thick blanket with pink angels over cream colored fuzz. Rin cleared his throat.
"Why do you care, Jang? I know you're not some simple family man. My daughter won't be some soilder to your hierarchy of stupid crime that will only leave you alone and shriveled." He didn't mean to be harsh.
The man licked his lips plainly. "You're right, I'm not a family man. But I'm also not an omega who hid my child from her biological father—which ruins kids—because I was scared she'd be taken from me or at the least, I'd lose my job." He countered brutally. Rin glared at him. The alpha caught it and looked away.
"I'm not trying to hurt you, Rin. And I'd never act against my own child. I'm not like that so stop acting like that, please. It hurts me more than you'd like to believe." He confessed, clearing his throat. It didn't even sound like a confession, it sounded like a plea. A plea for something Rin would've begged for five years ago. Rin averted his eyes to his baby who slept easily despite the shuffling of the car movement.
"I knew I felt something wrong. These days, my gut has been telling me something's missing. Ever since you told me she's mine, the ache finally settled." The alpha started up again, his hold loosening on the wheel. He cleared his throat again, like he wanted to clear his entire throat works. "Don't ask how i got everything 'so fast', my sister has a son, he just turned three and I watch him more than I work. I keep extra supplies in my car, not the car I drive for work."
Rin's shoulders loosened. The words sounded foreign to him. Sister? He's capable of having family and taking care of children? And he's trusted to be around a child. Rin didn't want to believe it.
But, his glance averted to the floors of the sedan. Shoes. Tiny, kid shoes. Little Nike's as if this mysterious child Rin didn't want to believe needed to be expensive. Rin shook his head, clearing his throat.
"Who would trust you around a kid? Weren't you arrested for aggravated assault?" Rin accused, he held the car seat closer. The alpha took a huge breath. "I was. But you don't even know what it's about so why are you trying to make me sound evil? It's so forced, quit it." He reasoned, his voice a gentle wave of frustration and what sounded dangerously close to playful teasing. He shouldn't have said that. Or that way.
Rin's heart pulled strings, his head a new mess of stupid thoughts. He finally sighed.. and admitting something that'd only make him more of a victim. "I'm afraid of you and what you'd do to my kid."
The alpha's eye twitched as he took a turn. Not as harsh as he probably would if it was just him and Rin. "I just want to hang out with my child and the person who could've been my omega if they didn't walk out on me like I didn't know his schedule the next day." He murmured, voice rough and warm, like a softening blend of a sandstorm when calmed by rain. If it could be called 'calmed' and not a disastrous attempt to ruin what was already broken. The world. And now, Rin's stupid little world that he worked hard to protect was being violently attacked by a man with a hundred tattoos, piercings and no.. Rin wanted to say moral. But he was surely proven wrong.
"Why? Why do you even care? Why do you want to know her so bad."
"Because she's mine? Isn't that obvious."
"You don't want to know her for her or my personality, you just want something new to own."
"No, I'd like to spend time with my daughter. And you."
Rin didn't respond, he just stared out the window. The tint made everything darker than it actually was. His fingers shook against the baby's seat.
"Isn't that enough? Do I need to sign a formal document to just see her? I have a lawyer. I don't imagine you do, Rin."
Rin's fingers turned red from how tight he gripped.
"Don't threaten me with legal shit, asshole. I just don't want someone like you around my daughter. I want her raised properly."
The man scoffed. He pulled into an underground parking garage of a tall building.
"Someone like me? You had sex with someone like me. You weren't thinking about that—where you'd want a pup raised—when it happened, were you?"
Rin looked away, at the other cars in the dark place. "Where are we?"
The alpha turned off the car and stepped out before answering, his lingering presence left in the seat. The scent of him overwhelmed the car even if he wore a scent patch. The taste of whiskey cold in Rin's mouth.
Then, the back door swung open. Rin flinched at it lot, gripping the seat his daughter slept in comfortably. "Where are we? Answer me now." Rin demanded, he stared at the alpha. The alpha buttoned his shirt up a bit. "My place. Come on, we're gonna talk. And I have a place set up for Junhyun—my nephew—she can relax there while we talk."
Rin wanted to gag. He shook his head no. "No, take me to Gangnam-Gu, you bastard."
The alpha paused. Then he turned and sighed heavily, eyes closed. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his shoes. "Get out the car, Rin. I'm not taking you anywhere but inside."
Rin didn't move. Jiyeon gurgled awake.
"She can't be in a car too long, 20-30 minutes max. It's been 15. And she's probably hungry, I have formula upstairs." Jang stated. He turned, his cheeks red with frustration but his tone was level. Rin unclipped Jiyeon from the carrier and held her close. Her tiny fists did what could be described as fluttering as she screamed in Rin's ears. It didn't sound as loud as it felt. Rin tried.
He put her to his chest and did what he always did, wiped her face with his thumb and pat her head. It didn't work. If anything she screamed louder. The actual sound of a screaming child could be heard for once, not just breathless little gasps of choked sobs. Before Rin could do anything more, Jang grabbed her out of his hands gently and cradled her. He held her to his chest and she calmed instantly, gurgling softly as his head clasped over her tiny, hair-filled head tenderly.
"I hate you." Rin spat.
"Okay. You birthed my child, can't hate you."
Rin rolled his eyes as he stepped out. The alpha closed the door behind him before he could. The small act made something harsh and painfully good bang against his rib cage. "Thats manipulating."
"Maybe. I don't care, though. I just love her. She fits in my hands. Can't believe I missed this much."
Rin didn't respond.
Then the alpha cleared his throat. "Alright, let's go." His pierced lips orchestrated a smile so genuine and soft, it made Rin rethink his acting when he 'smiled.'
The man locked the doors and tightened his grip on Jiyeon as they walked away from the dark car and dark secrets.