I’m Not Your Affair Partner!

The man’s name was originally supposed to be Yoo Si-Hyeon.

Had there not been a minor mishap during the process of registering his birth, that ordinary yet pleasant-sounding name would undoubtedly have been his.

However, his mother had always been unusually frail, and from the moment his father went alone to register his birth, the man’s life began rolling toward a point of no return.

Yoo Si-Ryeon.

Yes.

That was the name his father, cursed with terrible handwriting, had carelessly scrawled in the name field.

That unfortunate name became what the man would be called for the rest of his life.

And Yoo Si-Ryeon—the unfortunate man in question—had just opened his eyes inside a cramped storage room.

“…Ugh.”

The moment he woke up, an unfamiliar dull pain began throbbing around his solar plexus. Groaning, Si-Ryeon pressed one hand against his chest.

He was certain he had been on his way home from work just moments ago.

The ticking of a second hand grated on his ears. Lightly shaking his pounding head, Si-Ryeon looked up.

The round clock hanging on the wall showed that it was around two in the morning.

“…Where… am I?”

Whether from exhaustion or something else, his vision was blurry and the room seemed to spin. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep again, but considering his current situation, that clearly wasn’t an option.

Si-Ryeon lightly slapped his cheeks before slowly sitting up.

Fortunately, unlike his utterly exhausted body, his mind cleared quickly.

Wait. Let’s think.

Si-Ryeon had left the office at exactly 11:43 p.m. on Friday.

After eighteen straight days of grueling work, he had finally handed over the completed project. He had been dragging his limp, exhausted feet home like a wilted cabbage leaf.

After weeks of barely managing four hours of sleep a night, his mind had been in a haze. Even the real-life problems that had tormented him over the past several weeks had felt like distant troubles belonging to someone else.

Only one primal desire had occupied his thoughts:

‘I want to get home, wash up, and lie down as soon as possible.’

That was why Si-Ryeon hadn’t noticed the unfamiliar man standing at the entrance to the alley in his neighborhood.

Nor had he noticed that the man had been staring directly at him from the beginning.

“Mr. Yoo Si-Ryeon?”

Si-Ryeon finally became aware of the man’s presence when the voice descended from above his head.

It was rough and sinister, carrying such ferocity that the hairs on the back of his neck instinctively stood on end.

Si-Ryeon looked up.

A huge man, at least a full head taller than him, stood so close that their bodies nearly touched.

He wore a gaudy Hawaiian shirt that looked absurdly out of place on the silent street in the middle of the night. Dark tattoos showed beneath its short sleeves.

The man radiated such a menacing air that Si-Ryeon normally wouldn’t have dared exchange a single word with him.

Unfortunately—and quite fittingly for someone named Si-Ryeon—his mind had been too muddled to think properly.

And so, this was the answer he gave.

“…Who are you?”

At those words, a broad smile spread across the face hidden in the darkness.

“Found you.”

That chilling whisper was the last thing Si-Ryeon remembered.

“……”

Si-Ryeon pressed a hand against his forehead and sighed.

So…

It was probably safe to assume he had gotten caught up in some kind of crime.

But who in the world had kidnapped him?

‘I don’t think that lunatic downstairs would go so far as to hire someone… Is this about the debt after all?’

Yes. No matter how much he thought about it, the debt was the most plausible explanation.

One hundred and seventy million won.

He did happen to have around 170 million won in overdue bank debt after missing the repayment deadline.

His application to extend his rental deposit loan had been rejected, leaving him with an enormous debt that had practically fallen out of the sky.

Had the financial institution sent someone after him to collect the money?

Or had that garbage landlord, who had been unreachable for the past six months, hired someone to eliminate his troublesome tenant?

Neither possibility seemed particularly strange.

That amount of money was more than enough to make someone hurt another person.

Once he understood the situation, Si-Ryeon became astonishingly calm. He slowly surveyed the room.

Beyond his feet stood a firmly closed iron door.

Si-Ryeon rose to his feet. Fortunately, his kidnapper appeared to possess at least some common sense, because there was a mattress where Si-Ryeon had been lying.

His hands and feet weren’t tied, so he had no trouble moving his limbs. He cautiously approached the door, grabbed the handle, and shook it.

Rattle. Rattle.

The firmly shut door showed no sign of opening. Judging by the electronic lock attached to it, the door had likely been locked from the outside.

‘Well, of course. If it were that easy to escape, they wouldn’t have left the person they kidnapped alone.’

After reaching that rational conclusion, Si-Ryeon turned around and examined the room again.

There were no windows in the dark room, but he could make out a few miscellaneous pieces of furniture.

On the opposite wall, sixteen monitors were packed tightly together. A small desk and a single chair stood beneath them, while a white metal cabinet occupied one corner.

Si-Ryeon looked down at the blanket carelessly crumpled on one side of the mattress.

A room furnished with simple furniture, a mattress, and even a blanket.

He moved cautiously as he inspected his surroundings. The room was sparse and dark, but it wasn’t dirty or covered in dust. Someone clearly used this place.

Judging by the number of monitors mounted on the wall, it was probably a security room used to monitor CCTV footage.

After confirming that there was no refrigerator, Si-Ryeon rubbed a hand over his mouth.

A security room—presumably—with somewhere to sleep but nowhere to store food.

He still didn’t know how to escape, but perhaps this place wasn’t completely isolated in some remote area.

Just as that hopeful thought occurred to him—

Step. Step.

Slow, heavy footsteps approached from beyond the door.

Si-Ryeon’s spine stiffened.

A moment later, the lock beeped, and the iron door suddenly swung open.

“Oh.”

The figure obscured by the darkness let out a sound of surprise upon seeing Si-Ryeon standing there.

“Boss, this bastard’s awake!”

Along with the bright, almost frivolous voice, the room was suddenly flooded with light.

“…!”

White light poured into Si-Ryeon’s eyes, which had grown accustomed to the darkness. They immediately began to sting with pain, and he squeezed them shut.

Step. Step.

Two sets of footsteps entered the room.

“Wow. He looks like such a dazed idiot, so where did he learn to do something that rotten? Then again, one look at that pretty-boy face tells you everything. Have you been using that face to seduce other people’s omegas? You’re built like a damn anchovy, yet you still call yourself a man…”

“Kang Chan-Seung. You’re giving me a headache.”

The voice that had been babbling nonstop abruptly fell silent at the curt reprimand.

Si-Ryeon forced his stinging eyes open.

“Sleep well, Mr. Yoo Si-Ryeon?”

A rough, low voice descended from above his head.

Si-Ryeon looked up.

The menacing man he had encountered in the alley before losing consciousness stood in front of him.

As though he had been waiting for Si-Ryeon to open his eyes, the man calmly greeted him the moment their gazes met.

Si-Ryeon furrowed his brow.

“…How do you know my name?”

Both earlier and now, the man had addressed Si-Ryeon by name as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

But Si-Ryeon had never seen him before.

He could swear they had never even passed each other on the street. There was no way he would have failed to notice someone dressed like such a ridiculously old-fashioned gangster.

At Si-Ryeon’s response, the man’s eyebrows twitched ominously.

An ordinary person would have been shaken by the murderous pressure he exuded. No, most people would already have panicked upon realizing they had been kidnapped.

However, Si-Ryeon had never been particularly emotional to begin with.

On top of that, he had spent more than two weeks being worked to the bone.

Perhaps he should have been grateful for it. Si-Ryeon didn’t even have enough energy left to feel afraid.

“Would you look at this bastard? You’ve got some nerve.”

The man’s face twisted as he let out a disbelieving laugh.

The short young man standing behind him puffed out his chest in agreement and marched forward.

“Boss, should I just take care of this bastard? He should be on his knees begging, but this piece of shit doesn’t even know his place—”

“Stop making so much noise and get out.”

The man seized the young man by the back of his neck.

“Ghk!”

The young man froze before dejectedly lowering his shoulders and turning away.

“Make sure nothing happens outside.”

“Yes, sir! You can count on me!”

The young man answered energetically. Si-Ryeon glanced at him as he was ushered out, still pointing two fingers at his own eyes and then at Si-Ryeon in a silent gesture that said, I’m watching you.

Thud. Click. Clack.

The door closed, followed by the sound of the lock engaging.

Si-Ryeon looked up at the man, who still stood before him like an enormous boulder.

Now it truly was just the two of them.

“All right, then. Why don’t we have a real conversation?”

The man strode one step closer to Si-Ryeon.

“Have you given it any thought? Do you know why you were dragged all the way here?”

At first, the man’s voice sounded relaxed. But Si-Ryeon could clearly hear the barely concealed aggression beneath it.

Lowering his gaze, Si-Ryeon pressed his lips together.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one possible reason for his kidnapping.

“I’m sorry, but realistically, I can’t repay it immediately. I’m also a victim of fraud… If you could give me a little more time, I’ll find some way to get the money.”

Trying to remain as calm as possible, Si-Ryeon clutched the end of his sleeve.

He had never imagined that there would come a day when he would utter such clichéd lines.

Overcome with humiliation, he could only move his reluctant lips when the man’s vicious voice suddenly cut him off.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The man’s ferocious presence seemed to press down upon Si-Ryeon’s shoulders.

Si-Ryeon bit his lip and finally looked away from his politely folded hands.

The man took another step closer.

Then a large, solid hand seized Si-Ryeon by the collar.

“…!”

“Where is Chae Yoo-Jin?”

“Ghk—what?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

Bar­ing his white teeth, the man’s face twisted into a vicious expression. His icy glare was so sharp it seemed ready to pierce straight through Si-Ryeon’s forehead.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

The man tightened his grip.

“You’re the goddamn beta bastard who’s having an affair with my omega.”