Chapter 157: The Kang taunting
Taesan’s POV
I tug on my tie as I step into my office with my cane.
My chest doesn’t feel the same, not after two rounds of work out, not even after three showers.
The endless working out and walking around woke the pains in my leg again, reminding me that I am still human.
My grandfather’s words kept replaying in my head.
It’s loud enough that my entire system is starting to fall under and my alpha has gone into retreat, mourning the irrelevant information.
Maybe I shouldn’t have left Seoha’s side, spending the night with the omega made it all go away, but being alone brings it all back.
I don’t give a fuck if Sooin isn’t my blood, I don’t care if he is lying or not, all I know is that she’s mine.
I fall into my seat, grunting as the leather chair dips lower than it should, reminding me that I need to get it changed soon.
My fingers dance around the edges of the file I should be working on.
The omega fashion line, the new step I am daring to take.
The last time I dared to take a step outside of expectations laid out for me was after my mother’s death...the birth of Mountain Atelier.
As I open the first page, I feel a rush of fear through my mating bond, and I sit up immediately.
No. no. no.
Seoha feels scared and sad at the same time.
It’s too early for that man I call a grandfather to retaliate, it’s too soon, fuck, I’m unprepared for it!
My hand reaches for my phone, immediately unlocking it and rushing out of the office.
"What now?" Junho asks, sounding more rude than he is supposed to be these days, but right now is not the time.
"Find Seoha right now" I order, grabbing my cane harder as the pain in my leg starts to intensify with how fast I’m moving.
"He’s with me" Junho says.
"What?" I stop right in front of the elevator, heart racing and fist clenched around the silver head of my cane.
"He’s with me...uh...they didn’t tell you?" he asks, sounding like he’s confused about something.
Tell me what?
"Is he okay?" I ask, dismissing whatever it is they are supposed to tell me.
"He’s okay Taesan" Junho says in a more serious voice.
"Good" I say, pressing my head against the cool elevator door, taking a breath of relief to ease the clenching in my chest.
Fuck, I was really irrational last night, I shouldn’t have gone after that bastard.
"Come to work Junho, in the next hour, station guards around Seoha and around Sooin’s school" I say in a more calm tone.
"Yes captain" Junho responds before he ends the call.
’Omega is okay?’ my alpha, who has been silent all morning, asks and I huff.
I return to my office, and I sink in my seat, looking through the file while waiting.
My teeth keep worrying my bottom lip, and my head keeps spinning with calculations.
And just as I am about to start working, my phone rings and I see my grandfather’s name on the screen.
I watch it ring till it stops, and then it starts to ring again, displaying that caller’s id like it’s mocking me.
"My grandson, the great mountain" he says as soon as I accept the call.
"What do you want?" I growl into the phone, already too tense for his bullshit.
"No ’hello, how are you?’ you must really hate me" he laughs, sounding like a scorned old man, and not the psychotic maniac he is.
"What do you want?" I repeat the question through my clenched teeth.
We have no pleasantries to exchange.
"I need money boy, you nearly bit my damn ear off last night" he says and like Pavlov response, I feel the taste of his blood in my mouth at the mention of last night.
Is this what he is calling me to do?
I am taken back to that captain’s headspace.
The part of me that has been under lock and key for a while, the part of me that lives off severing body parts.
"I didn’t know you had it in you, huh" he says and I can’t speak.
My teeth are locked together like a rabid animal, my whole body is tight with tension, anger and pure irritation.
"The Kang beast is in you, isn’t it?" I can hear him smiling, I can see him tapping the end of his cane to the floor.
"Just like your grandfather, you just needed a little push didn’t you, son?" he asks and I snap.
I fucking snap without care of where I am.
"I am not your son; I am not like you!" I roar, swiping everything off the table in rage.
"Oh, but you are, my ear is proof" he keeps talking and I keep seeing red, jaw aching from how hard I’m clenching it.
What does he want huh?
Does he want me to spill his blood on the street?
Does he want to bury an organless body next to grandma’s grave?
"I will kill you, I will really kill you this time I promise" I snarl into the phone, dropping my voice to deliver that promise.
"Of course, the tiger versus the lion, ah...how is the pup? The...bastard Kang?" he asks and I lose it.
"Shut it!"
"Taesan!" Junho bursts into the office, grabbing the phone from me and throwing it to the wall.
"Junho, I-" I hear myself shout, I don’t have anything to say, I just need to act before he does.
"You will not let him bait you, damn it Taesan!" Junho yells at me.
Bait me? He’s trying to bait me?
Fuck I know that, but what does it matter? I will end his life and live the rest of my life peacefully.
"Junho" I growl his name and he shakes his head, eyes dark as he talks me out of it.
"Don’t you see? He’s trying to force your hand to destroy everything" my righthand man says and I start to breathe unevenly.
My red unseeing eyes scan my surroundings.
Everything is on the floor.
The documents and papers holding my plans for the future, the laptop containing PowerPoints and digital file...all on the floor.
The man made me destroy months of hard work in a second, am I really like him? Will I be like him?
"Don’t think about anything, hell, you know he plays mind games like this" Junho says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"You know what? don’t work today" he says and I grab my hair roughly, feeling the coarse strands between my fingers.
"He’s going to come for me" I say.
"Yes, he will" Junho agrees with me, he knows how it is.
"I have to be ready, that man is beast, Junho" I say, letting my arms drop to my side, I don’t even know when I got to my feet.
My leg is starting to throb dully, but I stay standing.
"Yes, lord Kang is a beast, but you’re human, and humans always win over beasts" he says, placing his hand on my shoulders.
"Go home, I will handle business for the day" he adds and I sigh, still enraged but more in control.
What will I do without a man like Junho by my side? I’m glad I didn’t lose him when grandfather tried to ruin our relationship.
I bow my head to him in gratitude before leaving the thrashed office with my cane.
As I walk down the hallway, I see multiple staff turning their eyes away, avoiding me and acting busy.
It has always been this way; we don’t see Kang Taesan, we don’t know what is happening to him, he pays us and we leave.
’Only omega looked’ my alpha says and I pause mid-step.
Only Seoha dared to look at me, only he has seen through me, and even with the threats...he still stays.
Fuck...I am lucky to have him as mine.
I get into the car that is already waiting to take me home.
The driver doesn’t talk as he drives me down the smooth road, skillfully avoiding potential delays and getting me to my destination in time.
Once I arrive at home, as always, a maid rushes to take my shoes off my feet wordlessly.
"Welcome master Kang" she greets when she’s done and I walk past her without responding.
I just need to lay down, rest my head and get in a better headspace before Sooin returns.
Fuck, I’d hate for her to see me this way.
I climb up the stairs, gripping the railing for support, and using the cane as a grounding force.
I need to smoke, I need to see something burn to ashes, something to sate this urge for control.
But instead of going to my room, I go into Seoha’s former room, hoping to catch a whiff of his lingering vanilla scent on the bedsheet or on the pillowcase.
As I push the door open, my body freezes at the door...I must be seeing things, because there is no way in hell that he’s here.
"Alpha" he whispers and my body surges forward, gravitating towards him immediately.
