Baek-Hyun looked furiously at Min-Ji then turned to Hae-won. "And you, how dumb are you to believe everything she's saying?"
Hae-won simply stared silently.
"We were only doing this for your own good. He goes around saying you're his friend. He's ruining your image."
"So what if he goes around telling everyone that? We're friends. Is there a problem with that? Who gave you the right to fuss over my business?" Baek-Hyun halted at them and they ran away, leaving Min-Ji who thought she could sweet talk her way out of it since she was an Omega.
"I didn't mean it. I only want what's best for you." She sobbed but it all looked disgusting to Baek-Hyun and he glared.
"Get away while I'm still being nice." She flinched and ran away in tears.
"You… You said we were friends? Did you mean it?"
"This dummy. Weren't you the one who asked me to be your friend? You wanna back out now?" His words were harsh but somehow, it was comforting to Hae-won and he cried. "Hey, what's this?"
"I'm just so happy." He claimed, smiling over the tears.
Compared to how disgusted he was when he watched Min-Ji sob, this actually moved his heart.
"Dummy, you're supposed to laugh when you're happy." He said, hiding his blush by looking away. "Let's go. Can you stand?"
He tried to stand but he couldn't. The fear was too much for him.
"Here!" Baek-Hyun crouched down, showing his back. "Get on, I'll carry you home."
"No way. This will really ruin your image. How can you carry me?" He waved his hands frantically.
"Do I look like I care?"
He didn't care so there was no problem there, right?
'Am I being too selfish?' He thought and fiddled his thumb. "But I might be heavy."
"You? Tch, you're just a tiny beta. What heavy? Get on while I'm still being nice." He said and it touched him.
Baek-Hyun carried Hae-won like he weighed nothing and Hae-won made sure to wrap his hands tightly around his neck but not too tight.
"Seriously, what were you worrying about? You don't even weigh as much as my bag." Baek-Hyun teased and he buried his head in his back.
"I get it but I'm still older than you."
"Alright. I'll call you Hyung from now on. Let's not ruin the little self-esteem you have left, haha!"
'He laughed' Hae-won squeezed his arm lightly. "Really? You'll call me Hyung?"
"Of course. Hyung, you don't weigh a thing and you're too gullible. Don't let them bully you ever, alright?"
"Hm!"
Those were the happiest days Baek-Hyun could ever remember. The time spent with Hae-won was short but it was fulfilling.
Now, staring at his retreating figure, he couldn't help but ask himself,
"What went wrong?"
Hae-won dropped the plates with minor force but he was furious. That scumbag grabbed his ass and Baek-Hyun was trying to be the hero? He didn't ask for his help, did he?
"Newcomer, are you okay?" A senior colleague, Jin asked but Hae-won looked up at him with fiery eyes.
'It seems I won't be working here for as long as I thought.' He thought to himself and said to Jin. "Can't we just chase them out?"
"If we do that, our restaurant may get a bad review and business would become bad." Jin explained and he tsked.
"I don't have all the patience in the world." He said. "That guy, can I sue him?"
"Why?" Jin asked.
"That guy, he… " he paused. It didn't feel great telling someone that he got grabbed at the ass. "Nevermind."
The customers started getting up and Hae-won gave out a sigh of relief. But if this was what he would keep facing every day then he would definitely quit right away.
"I'd like ten cans of beer to go." Baek-Hyun ordered and Hae-won twisted his lips. What did he need ten canned beers for?
"I'm coming."
"Hey, director Baek-Hyun, won't you come with us to Karaoke?" A female worker asked but he shook his head.
"I'm not in the mood for Karaoke. You guys go ahead and leave me. I'll only ruin the mood for you." He said. "And also, don't stay up too late.it may be a weekend but having a nice goodnight sleep without problems is also important." He sounded considerate and they blushed.
"Thank you, director and good night. Have a safe trip home."
"Alright, you too."
He shifted his gaze from the female workers to Hae-won, who was working hard to clear the table.
Jin handed him the nylon of canned beer and he played the bills.
"Thank you. Come again." Jin said but secretly, Hae-won cursed.
'Never come back as long as I'm still here.' This was all he wanted but the moment he walked out of the restaurant, ready to head home, he found Baek-Hyun standing right at the corner, smoking.
It was as if he was waiting for someone.
"I'll just pretend like I can't see him." He said to himself but the moment he walked past him, he called out.
"Hey." He froze. "I was waiting for you." He said and Hae-won turned to him.
"And why is that?" He asked, clearly displeased. 'Seriously, I expected you to be home by now and sleeping or whatever you do in your room.'
"It's late. Let me take you home." Baek-Hyun offered and Hae-won turned to him.
"Thanks but I can just call a cab." He said and made to keep leaving but Baek-Hyun held onto his arm. "Hey."
"Don't be stubborn. You don't know how dangerous it gets at night." He said and Hae-won looked down at his hand, holding on to his own arm.
"It clearly is. Let go." He said but Baek-Hyun wouldn't. "What do you take me for? Do I look like I can't take care of myself?" He yanked his arm out of his grip and turned away. "Seriously, you should mind your own business."
"But what if you get robbed. You're just a tiny beta, you can't do anything if you get approached by some weird guys."
'Those words again.' Hae-won thought, feeling irked. "If I get robbed, it's my business. Stay away, you're creeping me out."
Seriously, what was wrong with Baek-Hyun? Acting like he was concerned about him when he was a jerk on another level.
An angry Hae-won walked into a back alley and then realised he took a wrong turn.
"Damn! I got so angry that I didn't pay attention to where I was going." He said to himself and made a turn when he encountered two guys.
They were betas and staring down at him with lustful eyes.
"Hey, get out of my way." He said but they just stared down at him with lust.
"Where do you want to go? Brother, those Alphas really have something good for them. Just look at this omega. He's so cute."
Once again, Hae-won was being mistaken for an Omega.
"Are you knuckle heads blind? Can't you see I'm a beta?" He flared at them.
"What? Who do you plan to deceive?"
This just got Hae-won more annoyed and immediately swiped out his ID card.
"Take a look, you morons." One of them took the card and scanned it.
"Hm, so what?"
"What?"
"You're pretty, that's all that matters. We can have fun with you and it'll still feel like we're doing it with an Omega." He licked his lips.
Hae-won stepped back. Her day just kept moving from one worse event to another and it just had to end with this?
'Please, just give me a break.'