(Inside restaurant)
The restaurant was quiet , lights warm and low over polished wood tables.
The scent of grilled meat, fresh herbs, and subtle spices mingled in the air.
Taekyun sat at the head of the table, his posture straight, calm, expression unreadable.
Lihan was on his right, already poking at his food, and Jina on his left, cheeks still slightly flushed from earlier excitement.
Jina picked at her food slowly, savoring every bite, glancing at Taekyun from time to time.
Lihan noticed. His eyes flicked toward Taekyun, seeing the Alpha calm but heavy, lost in thoughts that didn't reach this table.
He adjusted his chopsticks, stabbing a big piece of meat and swallowing quickly. Then another.
Faster. More efficient. He couldn't linger not when Taekyun looked this tired..... burdened.
Jina raised an eyebrow, pouting.
"Why Eating so fast,
were you starving or what?"
Lihan muttered under his breath,
"Better finish fast than waste time…"
Jina laughed,
"You always eat slowly then why now seem like you're running from someone. Relax, geonbae!"
Taekyun's eyes flicked toward them for half a second, then returned to his plate.
Nothing stirred in his voice, nothing in his face betrayed any reaction.
The tension between Lihan and Jina crackled quietly like old rivals at a game table.
Every glare, every sarcastic comment, every small bite carefully measured they kept roasting each other under the watchful, calm eyes of Taekyun.
Then Lihan's phone rang.
He muttered, excused himself, and stood. "I'll be back," he said, disappearing out the door.
Jina leaned slightly forward, lowering her voice.
"In the morning… I went to your residence.
I met Haru.
she seems…. weak.
Is everything…. okay with her?"
Taekyun paused, fork mid-air. He placed it down quietly, voice low, measured.
"She lost her puppy."
Jina blinked,
"Puppy? But Bora said she's… disturbed by it. And she said… someone appeared?"
Taekyun's lips pressed into a thin line. He looked at her, calm yet firm.
"Leave it."
Jina sighed softly, almost to herself.
"Please, take care of her."
Taekyun's throat tightened.
He gulped, nodding slightly, the single motion heavy with something unspoken.
Before he could respond further,
Lihan returned, sliding quietly into his seat. No words, no gestures just a nod toward Taekyun.
The Alpha returned it with a subtle lift of his brow, eyes still focused on the table.
Dinner ended .
The car ride back was silent at first.
Jina's condo came into view, lights casting soft patterns across her face as she leaned slightly forward.
When they drop her and the car started again back towards residence.
The atmosphere was stiff and quiet.
Lihan broke the silence from the driver's seat, glancing at Taekyun through the rearview mirror.
"Sir… that Omega. Full details. We got everything."
Taekyun's hand moved toward his phone slowly.
Lihan continued,
"I Sent it over. All of it."
Taekyun opened the message, reading every line carefully.
After a moment, he looked up, eyes sharp. "So… he's not from Neopharm."
"Yes," Lihan said, voice low but firm.
"But… the strange thing is his pheromones resemble that of Omega Jiwon."
Taekyun's jaw tightened. He stared through Lihan, eyes hard, anger simmering, but something else lingered there too something darker, deeper.
"Clarify it. Check it again. I want no mistakes," he said, voice cold, precise.
Lihan nodded.
"We did Confirmed, sir. He resembles Jiwon's pheromones.
The same Jiwon… who was with Harin in that car crashed"
Taekyun's mind went still, unsteady.
How… how was this possible?
A coincidence?
Or something orchestrated?
How could two people from a different world suddenly appear and intertwine with his life, with his family?
Were they threats or pawns?
Because of Jiwon… he had lost Harin.
And now… since Haneul appeared, he felt it too the fragile hold over his daughter slipping.
The little girl who had never spoken a full word in her life was crying now. Crying for him.
Taekyun's fingers clenched lightly on phone.
Lihan's eyes met his briefly in the mirror.
Silence settled over the car, thick and heavy, carrying more questions than answers.