Scene: Arin's– Underground Lounge
POV: Arin
Arin didn't sleep.
He didn't need to—not when obsession burned hotter than exhaustion.
The surveillance stills were spread across the table like tarot cards. Each one a moment stolen: In-su leaving his school, standing at the crosswalk, sipping coffee alone in the rain. Always dignified. Always distant. Always unaware that someone was watching.
A dominant omega. Untouched.
A unicorn in a world full of mongrels.
And now, Lee Yohan's.
Arin laughed softly to himself, a sound without humor.
"Do you see this?" he asked, flicking a photo toward the man seated on the couch across from him. "Look at him. Look."
The man—su min, one of his lieutenants—didn't respond right away. Just stared at the photo of In-su: eyes narrowed against sunlight, mouth slightly open in mid-speech, chalk dust on his sleeve.
Innocent. Unmarked. And beautiful in a way everyone around him seemed to notice.
Arin ran a hand through his hair, disheveled from pacing. His shirt was unbuttoned halfway, sweat at the collar. His pupils were dilated—too much adrenaline, too many stimulants, or maybe just madness wearing a new face.
"He's pure," Arin muttered. "Not just physically. His scent profile's untouched. No heat markers. No bond traces. He's perfect. Do you know how rare that is?"
"He's not available,"su min said carefully.
Arin's smile curled at the edges. "Not yet."
There was a sharp pause.
"He's with Yohan,"Su min added.
"Oh, Yohan," Arin spat, crossing the room in two strides. He grabbed a glass and hurled it at the wall. It shattered, shards bouncing like confetti. "That arrogant, leash-snapping, power-drunk bastard doesn't deserve someone like that."
Silence again.
Arin's breathing slowed as he crouched by the scattered photos, fingers brushing over one of In-su sitting on the school steps, grading papers. A child's drawing peeking from the folder beside him.
"He teaches children," Arin said softly, like it was a secret. "Gives them things he never had. He's kind. You can see it."
He stood again, unsteady.
"I want him."
"You want leverage,"su min corrected. "You said he was just a way to break Yohan's focus—"
"No." Arin's voice dropped. "I want him."
The room went cold.
Su min didn't speak again.
Arin moved back to the table, picking up a new file. This one held maps, shift schedules, the hacked footage from school cameras. One still showed In-su turning sharply toward the van that had been tailing him. His eyes weren't afraid. .
Beautiful. Dangerous.
Arin touched the photo like it might warm under his hand.
"Send someone to his brother's apartment," he said. "Don't touch him. Just… make sure the message gets back."
"And if Yohan retaliates?"
Arin grinned. "Then we'll know we're getting close."
⸻
Scene: Yohan's estate – Later That Night
POV: Yohan
Yohan didn't pace. He didn't shake or curse.
He just stood at the kitchen island, phone pressed to his ear, eyes cold.
"They left a note?" he said flatly.
Jin's voice came sharp: "Pasted to the inside of the door. No forced entry. Just a message."
"What did it say?"
Jin hesitated. "So pure. Wonder what he sounds like when he begs."
A long silence.
Yohan closed his eyes, one hand gripping the edge of the counter hard enough to crack the marble.
"Did his brother see it?"
"No," Jin said quickly. "We intercepted. The apartment's locked down now."
Yohan hung up without another word.
In-su stepped into the room, barefoot, drying his hair with a towel. He froze the second he saw Yohan's face.
"What happened?"
Yohan didn't answer.
"Yohan."
Yohan looked at him then, and something inside In-su's chest twisted. Not because he was afraid—because he'd never seen this look before.
Fury, yes. But underneath it?
Dread.
"Tell me," In-su said.
Yohan reached out and pulled him close. Not roughly. Just… tightly. As if holding him was the only thing that made the moment real.
"They left a message," he said into In-su's hair. "Not to me. To you."
In-su stilled.
"What did it say?"
Yohan pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. He didn't repeat the words. He didn't have to.
In-su saw it written across his expression—violation, disgust, and something worse: helplessness.
"Arin," In-su whispered.
Yohan nodded once.
"Then we hit him back," In-su said, jaw tight.
"You're not going anywhere near him," Yohan snapped.
"I'm not fragile," In-su said.
"No, but you're rare. And rare things attract monsters."
Their breaths came hard and fast now, not from anger at each other—but at the world pressing in from all sides.
"I should've claimed you sooner," Yohan muttered. "I should've—"
"Claiming me wouldn't have stopped him," In-su cut in. "You said it yourself. This isn't about marks. It's about power."
Yohan stared at him.
"I'm not afraid ," In-su said. "Let him come. Let him try."
Yohan exhaled sharply. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Alright," he said. "We do this together."
In-su leaned in, voice low and furious. "He threatened my brother. My students. Me. He doesn't get to walk away from that."
Yohan's lips brushed the side of his head. "No. He doesn't."
__________
Arin's underground lounge – Same Night
Arin stood in front of a mirror, shirtless, tracing a jagged scar on his side. His reflection stared back at him, but he wasn't really seeing it.
He was seeing In-su—the way he moved, the flash of his eyes, the way he stood beside Yohan like he wasn't afraid of the fire, only waiting to walk through it.
Arin's fingers twitched.
He whispered to the empty room, almost reverently:
"I'm going to break you open. And you'll thank me for it, and I will enjoy it …..