Cozy Obsession

Chapter 19

The one who sold off Seo Heemin—Director Park.

Ah. So that was it.

Heemin instinctively pieced together the sequence of events.

On his first day in this world—the same day Cha Iheon had beaten the members of Samho Manpower half to death—he must have learned about the auction process from Director Park.

Strictly speaking, Kwak Yoonseong wasn’t a direct target of Iheon’s revenge. His marriage to Seo Jaehan had been relatively recent, making him less directly responsible for what had happened.

And yet, Iheon had shown an obvious hostility toward him.

Now, Heemin understood why.

Cha Iheon, who had been thrown to the bottom of society and forced to crawl his way back up, intended to return those ten years of suffering to the Seo family in full.

He had become Yoon Dae-ho’s dog, grinding his knees raw against the floor, obeying every command without hesitation. If they told him to jump, he jumped. If they told him to die, he feigned death without question.

The last shred of dignity he had as a Prime Alpha had been discarded on a cold morning, ribs cracked, blood pooling beneath him as the sun rose over the pavement.

Whenever the memories of those years clung to him like a nightmare, he had gone to Seo Heemin’s home.

Standing in the dark, staring up at the lit windows, he had thought only of destroying the one inside.

He had never planned to let them live in peace.

His goal had been to make them suffer—to drive them to a point where they would beg for death.

But Seo Jaehan had died too easily, without even the chance to struggle.

And the Seo Heemin he had finally gotten his hands on had vanished, forcing him to waste an unnecessary fortune tracking him down.

His carefully planned revenge had been thrown into chaos—because of Kwak Yoonseong.

Now, as Iheon scrutinized him with doubt-filled eyes, Heemin broke into a nervous sweat.

He had to say something.

"T-That’s, um... I overheard it when I was kidnapped. They were injecting something into my arm and just... talking about it amongst themselves..."

He cautiously watched for a reaction.

This was the same man who had flown into a blind rage at the sight of needle marks on his arms.

At this rate, there was no way Iheon would leave Kwak Yoonseong alone.

Even if he wasn’t part of his original revenge plans.

Unlike his gentle-natured parents, Cha Iheon had an undeniable streak of cruelty in him.

Even though he wasn’t related to Yoon Dae-ho—the ruthless crime lord who had founded Wooshin Industries—he carried the same brand of viciousness in his veins.

Now that Iheon had marked Kwak Yoonseong as an enemy, it was only a matter of time before things escalated.

If that happened, Yoonseong would likely turn to Shin Seungbeom for support.

And if that happened...

Heemin would be caught in the middle.

He’d be nothing more than a shrimp crushed between warring whales.

No.

Absolutely not.

"That’s why I’m pretending. For revenge!"

Just as Iheon’s lips parted, Heemin panicked and blurted out his words in an exaggerated, urgent voice.

It was the only way to make sense of his oddly warm attitude toward Kwak Yoonseong.

"...Revenge?"

Now that he had entered this world, he wanted to lead it to a conclusion where no one got hurt.

Iheon's face remained as expressionless as ever. The only movement that had stopped was the hand that had been brushing against his lips—he neither responded nor reacted in any way.

After hesitating for a long while, Heemin reached for the glass of orange juice to soothe his parched throat. He was acutely aware of the direct gaze fixed on him as he swallowed the sweet liquid. Then, knock knock—a knock at the door broke the silence. It was the employee who had gone to retrieve the snacks.

"Come in."

"It's time, sir. We should head to the auditorium. I'll leave what I brought here."

The employee set down a fairly heavy-looking shopping bag beside the table. The exterior bore the symbol and logo of Shinwon Cement—the same deep green as Iheon's tie.

Heemin mentally thanked the employee for his impeccable timing. He had expected only a few small boxes, but the fact that they had brought a whole bag full of snacks made him even more grateful.

Feeling slightly reassured, Heemin followed Iheon out of the office. In the hallway, Kwak Yoonseong, who had been given a heads-up, stood waiting alongside Secretary Jung by the door.

"Shall we go?"

An employee lifted their wrist to check the time and began walking. Since all the employees were supposed to be gathered, Do Junyoung would be there as well.

Heemin debated whether he should hold Iheon's hand again, just as he had earlier. As he hesitated and subtly observed the right timing, Kwak Yoonseong suddenly linked arms with him, pressing close.

"I had them save two seats right in the center of the front row. Sit with me and watch together."

The sudden gesture left Heemin unable to completely suppress his discomfort. He forced an awkward smile.

"I'll just watch from the back. I don't even work here—wouldn't it be strange for me to sit in the front?"

"No one would dare say anything. Who in their right mind would? Who do you think you are, Heemin?"

He couldn't tell whether "who" referred to Seo Jae-han or Kwak Yoonseong himself, but either way, Heemin wasn't the child of either man.

With no appropriate response, he simply stared intently at Iheon's back. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Iheon suddenly halted mid-step and turned around.

"Seo Heemin."

"Huh? Ah, uh..."

Out of habit, Heemin instinctively responded with formal speech, then hurriedly corrected himself. It was such a clumsy act that he might as well have been downgraded from an A+ to a C-grade in acting. Feeling frustrated with himself, he shook his head.

Then, Iheon reached out his hand toward him.

"Walk beside me."

—Seo Heemin.

—Thought you had left me.

—Walk beside me.

The words struck him in a strange way.

It was eerily similar to something he had experienced in the past.

For a moment, the sharply dressed Iheon in his luxurious suit looked like the friend he had known in his school days, dressed in a uniform.

"What are you doing? Hurry up."

He blinked, and the image of the man with a scarred eyebrow was imprinted on his retinas.

"Ah..."

Heemin hesitated for a moment, debating which of the two—Do Junyoung or Kwak Yoonseong—he should deal with first.

Given Kwak Yoonseong’s personality, he would undoubtedly be furious. However, being disregarded by Iheon wouldn’t immediately push him into aligning with Shin Seungbeom. The timeline in the original story dictated that his plans to oust Iheon from the company would only begin between late spring and early summer—so for now, it was fine.

Giving a brief, apologetic glance at Kwak Yoonseong, Heemin carefully withdrew his arm. Then, he stepped forward and clasped Iheon's hand once more, just as he had earlier.

Iheon's fingers wove through his own, gripping tightly enough to almost feel constricting. The sensation of being bound by that grip sent an odd shiver through him, one that felt strangely good.

With their hands firmly intertwined, they entered the auditorium under the guidance of the staff. Inside, not only the employees from the headquarters but also the branch managers, factory heads, and other key executives were gathered.

Several people who recognized the former chairman’s son began murmuring among themselves.

It seemed that Iheon's plan—to make it clear who Heemin belonged to—was working perfectly.