“He can’t do this! He can’t do this to me!”

Nam Soon snarled. The lump in his throat and the tears that welled up in his eyes doubled teamed him, forcing him to double over.  He and Heung Soo had their share of issues, but it wasn’t enough for a divorce. Was it? The pain, uncertainty, and confusion running rampant throughout his chest smothered the irritation that simmered beneath the surface. That situation wasn’t his fault, he shook his head, the movement spurring a headache. It was Heung Soo’s fault for not telling him about the plan with the drug. If only he had been told something, anything, he wouldn’t have mouthed off at the conference. Heung Soo was being unreasonable and Nam Soon had half a mind to storm right back up the walkway and give the good for nothing Alpha a piece of his mind. The only question was, how was he going to get back into the house? Heung Soo confiscated his keys and he’s sure Heung Soo already notified the staff to not let him in the house. Maybe he could throw a chair through one of the large windows. That would definitely get him inside and get the attention of Heung Soo; however, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be carted off to jail. The situation wasn’t good.

Nam Soon stared into space his thoughts running a mile a minute. While his thoughts rummaged through all his options, it was stupid to think that his mind wouldn’t go back to the kiss. His long slender fingers ghosted over his lips. He had finally kissed Heung Soo, but it wasn’t the kiss he dreamed about. Even though they were contractually obligated to not lay a finger on each other, Nam Soon dreamed for the day that Heung Soo would embrace him, whisper the contract and then capture his lips in a fiery, impassioned kiss. With their chemistry record though,  he knew it would never happen. The kiss was the greatest thing he took from the situation, except that along with the stolen kiss a sense of guilt loomed over him. Heung Soo was right. Through all of his self-righteous talk about being an Omega in an Alpha world and never using his body to get anything in life, he ended up kissing Heung Soo as soon as he mentioned being homeless. , he was such a up and if Heung Soo ever took him back he would never hear the end of it. .

Nam Soon held his head in his hands and let out a sigh leaving him back at square one of pain, uncertainty, and confusion. What was he going to do? His thoughts finally started asking the right questions, but it was once again interrupted by a groan from the driver's side of the car. He forced himself to not react. He would prefer to not give Saki the satisfaction. He did, however, peek through his fingers and huff a reply to let his bodyguard know he was listening.

Saki clicked his tongue and let out an obnoxious sigh.

“Listen Baby Nam Soon, I would love to sit here and watch you have a mid-life crisis, but I got things to do and people to see. So, just tell me where it is you want to go and then you can get back to the disaster that is your life.”

Leave it to Saki to make him feel even tier than he already did. The salty water clinging to Nam Soon’s eyes quickly dried. It’s pretty difficult to wallow in self-pity and guilt when Saki is around ready to annoy him to death. This time though, he had enough.

“You know what? I don’t care. Just take me wherever. I’ll be fine.”

Nam Soon folded his arms, the last resort to keeping the heavy pangs of guilt and sadness at bay. He was completely alone now. He remembered feeling like this directly after leaving the gang, except back then, there wasn’t just guilt and sadness but a heavy determination to never turn back. This was entirely different. Sadness and guilt weren’t the only ones with a stake in his consciousness, regret had joined the party and it was here to stay.  

Saki continued, unhappy with the answer he received. He was tasked with keeping Nam Soon safe and he damn well would do his job until the end.

“Don’t you have any family or friends you can stay with?" Saki scrunched his features together, an awkward attempt to look sympathetic. That’s what people did when they wanted to show sympathy to someone right? They made their faces look sad?  “What about your cute little friend from the library? What was her name? Joo...Kan…” He thought in silence for a minute surprised by the lack of assistance he was receiving from Nam Soon on figuring out his friends' name. After a few seconds, Saki snapped his fingers, pointing at Nam Soon as if the answer was written on his forehead, “Kang Joo! That’s her name, Kang Joo. ...What about her?”

Nam Soon shook his head, tightening his grip on his duffel bag. He couldn’t ask that of her. Yeah, they were friends but that would be asking for way too much.

“I wouldn’t do that to Kang Joo. She shouldn’t have to burden herself with letting me stay with her. I have nothing. I have no other friends, no family to go back to. I’m alone.”

Saki really tried to keep a sympathetic face, but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t stand people like Nam Soon. Those who claimed to have no one but in reality they did. He hated those who refused, with their abundance of pride to let themselves ask for help and Nam Soon was the worst of the worst. He had to admit that he had done that a couple of times in his short lifespan, but that was because he actually had no one for a time - at least until he met Heung Soo. Even Heung Soo, who liked to think he was invincible asked for help but Nam Soon was even worse than his husband. The two deserved each other if he was being honest. He hoped they solved whatever issue they were having soon. Saki grabbed the steering wheel, his eyes no longer on the Omega but looking out of the windshield.

“So, you have nowhere you can go?” He questioned once more. Knowing Nam Soon,  he should have seen the bitter outburst coming.

“NO! I have nothing! No one! Nowhere to go! So like I said earlier,  just drop me off anywhere and I’ll figure something out.”

Nam Soon didn’t dare bring his knees to his chest. The seats were leather and if Heung Soo found out - actually screw him. Nam Soon could do what he damn well pleased. If he wasn’t that guy's spouse then there was no problem if he ed up his car. He brought his legs to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees. Why was his life so ed up?

“Oh my God, you’re so pathetic,” Saki mumbled under his breath. “Alright, put your seatbelt on. We’re going.”

Nam Soon perked up, his head leaving the confines of his knees.

“Where are you taking me?”

Saki secured his seatbelt and put the car in drive.

“Don’t worry about where we’re going? Put your seatbelt on.  ...And get your ing feet off my seats. If I find a speck of dirt anywhere, I will personally use you as a sponge to clean it up.”

Nam Soon smirked and shrugged all the while quickly placing his feet back on the floor of the car. There was seriously a chance that Saki would follow through on his threat and even though they met several weeks ago he had a feeling that Saki was crazy enough to do it.

“Here you go, Big Mac, fries, and a sprite.”

  Saki placed a bright red tray in front of Nam Soon, whose eyes hadn’t left the table since they entered the establishment.

  “Really? McDonald's?” He spoke as he raised a brow.

   Saki sat in the opposite seat his own expression contorted into a sneer.

  “Is that condescension coming from a guy who not even three years ago was fishing his meals out of dumpsters?  Now you can’t eat McDonald's? Wow, you are crazy.” Nam Soon stared at the man his expression turning dark.

“What’s that’s supposed to mean? Huh? You don’t know anything about me.” Nam Soon spat. While the burger had looked tasty just the thought of what Saki was implying rendered his stomach unable to digest the greasy food. The other man, however, continued to devour his meal with gusto, as if he hadn’t suggested that he knew about Nam Soon’s past. Saki was entering into dangerous waters.

   “It means,” Saki said before taking another bite of his chicken sandwich and continuing, “you’re not as mysterious as you think you are. Baby Nam Soon.”

  Nam Soon scoffed taking hold of the sprite that had been given to him, “Who says I’m trying to be mysterious? You don’t know anything about me except for what Heung Soo told you and even he is limited. He can only know as much as his private investigator is able to tell him. So what, pray-tell am I keeping a mystery?” He took a long sip from his drink. His eyes full of interest and a smidge of terror. He took great care to make sure no one would be able to dig up his past. He may not have had all the resources Heung Soo had available, but he had his own ways and connections. Connections which he cut himself off from when he left the gang.

  “You’re right. I don’t know anything about you. I only know that you and your parents had a falling out when you were fifteen and you’ve never seen them since.”  That surely got Nam Soon’s attention. The amusement and interest that lit up his eyes drained and let him with a doe-eyed deer in the headlights look that Saki was thoroughly enjoying. Got him. “Yep, I know that sometime after you were picked up by a gang and helped in the kidnapping of Omegas. That must be where that self-righteous bull you like to talk comes from.  Guilt must be a mile high, taking your kind and delivering them to bastards who mistreat, , drug, and probably kill them.”

Saki’s voice was low but Nam Soon could hear every word. Every disgusting word that came out of that man’s mouth made his chest feel as if it were caving in and suffocating him. If he suffocated on the spot that would be better than having to relive all the wrongdoing he had been trying to right since he married Heung Soo.  His bottom lip trembled and he felt his whole body quaking. He didn’t want to hear this.

“Please stop,” he whimpered.

“An Omega that enslaved his own brothers and sisters.” The chuckle that left his throat wasn’t light hearted like normal.

“They forced me to do it. I would have ended up with the same fate.” The explanation was a weak one and just a touch untrue.  Saki completely ignored the reasoning and continued on with his silent but deadly rant.

A beta female walked by their booth, concern on full display in her eyes as she caught a glimpse of Nam Soon. She paused for a minute unsure if she should step in a confront the man or if she should find someone for help. The bodyguard wasn’t having any of it though. His eyes which had been clouded over with malice brightened and the sneer he had in place flipped into a warm smile. It caught the woman off guard.

“Hi Miss, is there anything we can help you with?” His words were dripping with sweet innocence. The woman quickly shook her head, not wishing to cause a problem if there really wasn’t one. She returned his smile with a small one of her own.

“No Sir, there’s no problem. It just seems that your mate is in distress. He looks uncomfortable.”

Saki slowly turned to Nam Soon. The man was shaking-violently- and his hands were balled into fists. The silent tears that streamed down his face created a small puddle on the table. Yep, that was a look of distress. The sweet smile morphed into concern.

“Oh Baby Nam Soon, are you okay? Do you need anything?” Nam Soon swallowed. He could practically hear the patronizing tone in Saki’s voice. The man already didn’t like him and he would be damned if he gave the smug Alpha the satisfaction of seeing him crack. He’d rather die. He still kept his gaze downward, targeting a loose thread on his cardigan. Slowly meeting Saki’s devilish grin, The bastard was toying with him and he was clearly enjoying it. After a beat, Nam Soon shook his head. He wasn’t going to lose this time. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he smiled.

“Yes, thank you. I am completely fine. I was just thinking of how much I love this man sitting next to me. “

Saki stopped mid-chew, his eyes wide and glued to Nam Soon who’s smile became impish and a split second. The little .

Hesitation wracked at the woman's body. She was tense and liable to call authorities if she felt Nam Soon was still in danger which would not be good for Saki or Heung Soo.

After what seemed like a half an hour of placating a protective Beta, and assuring her that everything was peachy keen, Saki heard the Omega out of the fast-food restaurant back to the car.

In all honesty, the Japanese man wanted to drive back Heung Soo’s house toss Nam Soon and his luggage out of his car and force them to make up, but based off what he witnessed earlier, that would not be happening. How unfortunate that his friend slash boss was an idiot and his chosen partner was an even bigger idiot. Unfortunate indeed.

The rest of the drive was silent, filled with tension that was so thick it would likely kill anyone that entered. Yet each combatant found the sickening silence a welcomed passenger. It gave Saki a much-needed breather from listening to the Omega he found to be lacking in many areas, and it gave Nam Soon time to think. All in all, it was wonderful time considering the drive was not filled with passive-aggressive comebacks and snarky comments.

Nam Soon watched glass buildings, and cars move past. He wondered if anyone else was dealing with a situation like his. ...No, he thought not. Most vehicles were filled with businessmen in a hurry to get to their next meeting, overworked Omegas in need of a break from their rowdy, disobedient children, and singles who were either looking for love or were on a date. In none of the other cars did he spot a person who was in anguish because their supposed husband kicked them out of the house or a person who seemed to be in anguish because in their early years they were a part of a -trafficking ring. Was it too late to wish for death? Death may have been too easy for his crimes. Maybe that’s what this was. Maybe all of this was karma for his actions and it had just been building up for years. Wow, even he had to admit that was a lot of bad-karma

Slowly, the surroundings began to change. Smooth pristine lots and roads became grotesque and horribly cracked with potholes, glass, and who knows what else sprawling across the asphalt. Well manicured trees and shrubbery went untamed, their wooden limbs stretching into the sky and dipping into the cracks of the roads. Nam Soon watched all of that scroll by with a learned wariness. While he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as the man meant to bodyguard him, he hoped that the guy knew what he was doing, because no matter how much he entertained the thought of ending it all and dying, he didn’t want to actually end up dead.

The car slipped into an abandoned looking parking lot and jerked to a stop. Saki let out a small groan, what happened once they made it into the building would determine whether Nam Soon would be safe or not and he really did not want the Omega anywhere near his apartment. He silently watched the Omega from the corner of his eye, nervous energy coming off his charge in droves. The sooner he got him into the building, the sooner he could relax.

“Get out, and bring your things.” He spoke, the curt directive pushing Nam Soon to tighten his grip on his belongings and slide out of the car.

Just like the second part of the car ride, the elevator ride was quiet and filled with tension, except the only difference was the fact that the building was disgusting.

“This building is the definition of hazardous. Please don’t tell me you’re forcing me to stay here?”

Saki chewed his cheek, anxiety taking over his calm demeanor. Heung Soo and his tantrums.

 “You’re the one who told me you have nowhere to go. I can either drop your on a random street corner or I can drop you off at a really good friend of mine.”

Nam Soon folded his arms and his brows knitted into a frown. He would sooner sleep on the street than stay in this building. His eyes caught the black and green color of mold and the elevator smelled like . Actually, he wouldn’t be surprised if someone did take a dump in the rectangular death trap. There was one thing he couldn’t understand about his situation.

“Heung Soo’s not going to divorce me, is he? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so adamant about helping me.”

The only response he received was a weak shrug before the elevator door dinged.  The actual floor was even worse than the elevator, or the lobby, or the porch. Mold and peeling paint decorated the inky walls and exposed piping leaked-hopefully water- onto the creaky wooden floorboards. Some rooms were vacant and their doors were propped open or there was no door at all in some cases. Nam Soon became progressively more concerned. Rat traps and roach traps were scattered across the floor and he hoped to God that he wouldn't see a dead rat. Shouting, crying, and shattering- what he assumed were dishes- seeped into the hall sending his flight or fight senses into overdrive.

Saki stopped at a surprisingly well-maintained door at the end of the hallway and knocked.

“My cupcake, please open up.”

My cupcake? What the hell? This better not be some weird greeting that Saki does with old friends.

“Saki I am so serious, just drop me off at a street corner and I will be fine.”

The man waved at Nam Soon signaling him to shut-up as he continued to knock.

“My sweet, sweet cupcake please open up.”

They must have stood there for five whole minutes with Saki spewing weird pet names before the tenant of the apartment decided to crack the door open-thanks to all the door chains- and Nam Soon had to admit he was completely caught off guard by the occupant.

“Gii,” the person drawled, “I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

“But Takumi, you’re so sweet. How could I not call you a cupcake?” Nam Soon looked thoroughly confused and Saki reveled in it. “Nam Soon, this is Takumi. You’ll be staying with him for a couple of days.”