Chapter 22: DIVORCE ERA

"ARE YOU feeling scared now, Sunbae-nim?" Oh. Admittedly, Garam felt a bit ’shookt’ after he heard from Oh Hyunju that Song Sihyuk was already back in Korea. Apparently. I should confirm it later. "It’s not too late to take back your challenge earlier, Sunbae-nim," Oh Hyunju said arrogantly. "I’ll let it slide since I don’t have anything against you, Sunbae-nim. In fact, I’m your fan, so—" "No, I’m not taking it back," Garam said, cutting off Oh Hyunju. The little bastard was pissing him off already. "I want to see how great your Song Sihyuk is for you to act this arrogantly. Let’s see if your Song Sihyuk is really who you make him out to be." Because if your Song Sihyuk is the same as my Song Sihyuk, one of us would die. And it wouldn’t be Garam. "Sunbae-nim, you’re trusting your sponsor too much," Oh Hyunju said, scoffing. "I don’t want to fight you, but you’re starting to annoy me, Sunbae-nim. How dare you question the power of my sponsor, even after I told you that the heir of SG Group has my back?" The little bastard raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers. "Maybe Sunbae-nim will understand if you get a taste of the power I’m talking about?" Oho? Two men dressed in black suits appeared behind Oh Hyunju, They are dressed like proper bodyguards, but they look like thugs. To be honest, the two "bodyguards" looked intimidating. Hence, Garam could understand why the staff members near them were turning a blind eye and pretending to be busy. Is this also how they ignore the people bullying our Eunsang? That pissed him off even more. "Sunbae-nim, I’ll accept it if you apologize now," Oh Hyunju said, smiling while pointing a finger at the ground. "But I want you on your knees." Pfft. Garam couldn’t help but let out a snort. "Hoobae-nim, are you filming a soap opera right now? Your words sounded like a line from a third-rate soap opera. You sounded cheap, you know?" Oh Hyunju’s face turned red as if he were embarrassed, especially after the staff members secretly listening to the ’drama’ snorted as if they were holding back their laughter. Heh. How dare these people enjoy the ’drama’ after ignoring a serious bullying case on the set? "Sunbae-nim, don’t say I didn’t warn you." Garam just shrugged nonchalantly, and there was a reason why he wasn’t afraid, even though Oh Hyunju’s bodyguards looked like thugs who wanted him dead. "Sir, please stay behind me." The ’reason’ he was talking about was none other than Shin Geon— the personal manager-slash-bodyguard that Song Sihyuk assigned to him five years ago. And Geon Hyung has never failed to protect me, not even once. Shin Geon was tall, but he was on the lean side. Hence, he looked smaller than the two thug-like bodyguards. However... "Argh!" The two thug-like bodyguards fell on their knees while holding their throats as if they couldn’t breathe. Oh, they must be Alphas then. Garam was a Beta, so he didn’t notice it immediately. Anyway, Shin Geon was a strong Alpha— his pheromones were also strong enough to bring weaker Alphas to their knees. Just like what’s happening right now. "Sir, how should I dispose of them?" Heh. Garam was delighted when Oh Hyunju flinched, obviously scared after his two thug-like bodyguards were crushed by Shin Geon’s pheromones alone. Heh. Where’s your sass now, kid? "Garam Hyung?" Hmm? Garam turned around and found Lee Eunsang looking at him worriedly. And Lee Eunsang was with Shin Junho, their team manager. Oh. Junho Hyung is Geon Hyung’s husband, and he’s an Omega. He probably noticed Geon Hyung’s pheromones. No wonder both Lee Eunsang and Shin Junho looked overly concerned. We should end it here. "Geon Hyung, this is enough," Garam said, and then he shot Oh Hyunju a cold look. "See you later, Hoobae-nim." *** "HYUNG, are you mad at me?" Haaah. To be honest, even if Garam was mad, he knew he couldn’t stay mad at Lee Eunsang while their maknae was giving him his best puppy-dog eyes. This brat knows my weakness. Anyway, Garam and Lee Eunsang were inside the big, fancy van that the company provided for them. Shin Geon and Shin Junho were outside, giving them privacy. We can’t go home yet because Lee Eunsang isn’t done filming yet— we actually only have half an hour to talk. "Why would I be mad at you, Eunsang-ah?" "Because I didn’t tell you that I was having a hard time," Lee Eunsang said, bowing his head. But he immediately raised his head as if he remembered something annoying. After all, his brows were furrowed. "Was it Finn who snitched?" Finn was only a few months older than Lee Eunsang. The two maknaes were born the same year, so they decided to drop the honorifics. "Does it matter who told me?" "I don’t mind if it’s Jigu Hyung, but I’ll be pissed off if it’s Finn." Pfft. The rivalry between our two maknaes is really funny. "That’s not important right now, brat," Garam scolded Lee Eunsang, and then he gently flicked his forehead with his fingers. "So, why is that little bastard bullying you? What happened between you and Oh Hyunju?" Lee Eunsang hesitated at first, but he eventually spilled the beans: "Hyunju Hyung and I met at the acting class that I took a year ago, Garam Hyung. We were actually pretty close in the beginning. But everything changed when his previous sponsor took an interest in me. Hyunju Hyung accused me of seducing his sponsor." "What? That little bastard must be crazy, then. Why would he accuse you of something like that?" "Actually, his previous sponsor offered an indecent proposal to me, Hyung. It happened just a few weeks after you and Hanseo Hyung entered the military, Hyung." Garam clenched his jaw, annoyed. "Give me a name, Eunsang-ah." "It’s alright, Hyung. I didn’t accept the offer. Plus, Hyunju Hyung’s former sponsor wasn’t a persistent man— he gave up after I turned him down three times." Thrice? And that’s not being persistent in your book? Anyway, Garam just kept his mouth shut because their maknae wasn’t done explaining yet. "I heard Hyunju made a scene after he found out that his previous sponsor tried to sponsor me. Because of that incident, his previous sponsor dropped him." Oh. "Hyunju Hyung and I stopped contacting each other after that. So, I didn’t know what happened to him until he debuted in an idol group five months ago," Lee Eunsang continued with the story. "I was pretty shocked because I thought he wanted to be an actor." "He must have found a new sponsor then," Garam said, nodding. "That little bastard moves fast, huh?" "Yes, Hyung. Hyunju Hyung debuted just a month after we lost contact. His debut was a little successful because their song went viral for a short while." "How come they managed to steal our brand deals?" "Oh, they got big after their comeback. Then, the last song they released two months ago is still a hit even now, so they extended their promotions. Thanks to that, they caught the eyes of many brands." "And yet they came after our brand deals." Lee Eunsang bowed his head as if he were ashamed. "I’m sorry, Hyung..." "No, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong, Eunsang-ah," Garam said, patting the maknae’s back gently. "Plus, you’re the one who’s suffering the most because of that little bastard’s bullying." "I’m fine, Hyung." "You’re not fine, Eunsang-ah." Lee Eunsang lifted his head as if he wanted to show his determination. "Hyung, I love acting as much as I love performing on stage. I won’t let someone like Hyunju Hyung take my passion for acting away. Don’t worry about me— I can endure anything as long as I can continue acting." Aigoo. Lee Eunsang’s determination was admirable. However, Garam knew that determination alone wouldn’t help the kid overcome the problem alone. After all, he had experienced firsthand how it was like to be oppressed by people in power. We need divine intervention— and that would be me. "Alright— work hard, Eunsang-ah." Lee Eunsang beamed. "I knew Garam Hyung would understand me!" "Right. So, just continue working with those bastards with your head held high," Garam said, smiling. "This hyung will take care of the rest." *** GARAM had the dormitory all to himself that day because the other kids were working. He didn’t have work, but he was also busy that morning. And the reason? I was at the Family Court. Hence, he wasn’t surprised when he got a call from Jung Han— Song Sihyuk’s right-hand man— almost immediately. So, Sihyuk Hyung still refuses to talk to me? Hah. Garam picked up the call, annoyed. "So, you’re really back in Korea." "Garam-ssi, I received the email you sent—" "Yes, I filed for divorce." "Garam-ssi, please listen—" "I also sent a package to your old address," Garam said, cutting off Jung Han, who was obviously panicking on the other end of the line. "I sent my entire supply of the miracle pills to you— so, tell Sihyuk Hyung that I’ll stop taking them starting today." Those miracle pills were pills that could, apparently, turn him into an Omega. Song Sihyuk sent the first batch of miracle pills to Garam a month before he completely ghosted him. Then, despite the ghosting thing, supplies of the miracle pills would be sent to him regularly. And I had been taking them diligently to keep my end of the bargain. But Garam decided to stop it now. This is enough threat for Sihyuk Hyung, isn’t it? *** Please ADD <SECRETLY MARRIED TO A CHAEBOL ALPHA> to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>