Caelen entered the convenience store and the old man (Uncle Shu) commented as soon as he watched him enter, "You are back, you didn't come for days. I thought you quit."
"I wouldn't dare to." Caelen walked into the stockroom to get the uniform and came to the counter.
"Where were you?" Uncle Shu asked.
"I was feeling unwell, so I rested at home for a few days."
"I told you to..."
"To find an Alpha to take care of you. But honestly Uncle Shu I would be the one taking care of him instead. I don't want to increase my workload."
"Then why not just marry a billionaire Alpha? With your looks, it would be easy to do so," Uncle Shu took a sip of coffee.
A part timer walked to the counter after arranging the new products.
"Hi Caelen, are you feeling better now?" the part timer said.
"Hi Miral yeah, hanging on." Caelen arranged the things on the counter.
"Man, you made me work overtime," Miral complained, leaning against the counter. "I told Uncle Shu to choose another part timer but he wouldn't listen."
"Man! You are cruel," Caelen exclaimed.
"Isn't he?" Uncle Shu added.
"Gosh, I was suffering alone. Moreover you have to be more cold to survive in this world," Miral replied shamelessly.
Caelen and Uncle Shu shook their heads simultaneously.
"You have a good resume, why not try again to apply somewhere?" Miral mentioned all of a sudden.
"Tsk. Who would hire an omega?" Caelen smirked. "Just look at me, anyone could guess at first glance that I am an omega."
Uncle Shu sighed.
"Exactly, you look too weak. Start exercising and build up some muscles. Don't go around looking all weak," Miral said before walking back to moving the boxes.
"Well, I agree with him. You are actually pretty tall. If you build up some muscles, you will look pretty strong," Uncle Shu added.
"But Betas are not this attractive," Caelen opened the book to study.
"Not all. You should at least give it a try."
"Alright, I will think about it."
A short memory of his father flashed through his head.
"Loren, heard you got kicked out again?" his neighbour asked.
"They say I am too weak for the labour work."
"Those bastards. Then why not offer desk jobs to omegas? Isn't that discrimination?"
"What can we do?" Loren chuckled awkwardly.
Caelen's eyes got wet. In his childhood, he never understood what his father went through just to survive and raise him. But now that he was in the same situation, he felt guilty towards his father every day. Only if his father didn't get pregnant with Caelen!
Soren walked out of his room early in the morning to avoid breakfast with the family, the must have tradition in his house.
"Going out? Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Moren who was doing exercise in the garden, asked.
"Doing exercises at this hour! Gosh, man of the manners," Soren mumbled without replying and settled in the car he ordered to prepare earlier.
Moren looked at the car moving away.
"He is taking solo acting classes," his mother's voice startled Moren, and he flinched.
"How do you know that?" Moren was met with silence at his question and threw another question, "Are you tailing him?"
Moren walked closer to his mother, "Mom, please, can't you just leave him alone?"
"You have everything for being a leader except this one," Silla narrowed her eyes. "You are too kind." She retreated back into the house.
Soren entered the front door past dinner. His long legs strided over the exquisite carpet. He opened Moren's room door with a loud bang, at which Moren, who was going through documents at his desk, turned around, but soon Soren's hands clawed his throat, making him struggle to breathe.
"Cough, cough..."
"Why did you hand over the CCTV to the police?" Soren snarled.
"I... thought... they... might find... him," Soren's harsh grip made it difficult to speak.
"Don't mess in my matters, you fucking bastard," Soren yelled at the top of his lungs and pushed Moren away. Moren fell down the chair and gasped for air, coughing.
"Cough, cough, cough."
"You want to leave a criminal record on his resume?" Soren turned around to walk away.
"Brother," Moren begged, "you seemed desperate to look for him. I thought they might find him easily. That's all, believe me. You could have settled down the matter personally later."
Soren turned around to glare at him, "Yeah, fucking bastard, they almost put him on the wanted list. Thankfully, the picture quality wasn't good enough. You almost ruined his life."
Soren bent to look at Moren, who was on the floor. "I told you to mind your own business."
Soren walked away, leaving Moren trembling. Although he was always harsh towards Moren, he never got physical. Soren's grip left red scars on Moren's neck.
Soren was staring at the locket in his hand, leaning back on the chair. He was wrapped in a nightgown, his hair still dripping because he had just taken a shower. He heard a soft knock but ignored it.
He tattled to Father, coward!
The door clicked open, and Moren walked in.
"How dare you crawl in here!" Soren growled.
"You are right, I didn't calculate all the possibilities," Moren stood at a distance today and didn't walk closer. "But believe me, I was just trying to help you. It's just I never saw you invested in something like that. I am really sorry."
"Now get out if you are done talking."
"Then rest well," Moren walked out, and Soren turned back to look at the locket.
Soren got up late, and it was time to have breakfast when he walked out. He settled down and quickly tried to empty his bowl.
Thane noticed the red scars on Moren's neck, "What happened to your neck?"
Soren continued eating without paying attention. But Moren's reply froze him.
"Computer cord got tangled around my neck. I almost died. I was trying to fix the computer. Oh, that reminds me, Mother, could you call a technician? My computer isn't working properly."
"Next time, don't touch anything. Just call someone to fix it," Thane instructed.
Soren glared at Moren before getting up and walking away. He was about to get into the car, but a voice behind him stopped him.
"Soren!" It was Silla.
Moren turned around to look at the approaching Silla.
"Chairman might believe what Moren said, but I don't, because I know he is not that stupid to be tangled in a cord." Her eyes were red like a flaring sun as she looked at Soren. She moved her mouth close to his ears, "You think I can't get rid of you just because you are a prime alpha?"
She backed down, "Well you are mistaken. I just want to be hated by Moren."
"Exactly, you are just a weak mother," Soren spat, putting pressure on each word and got into the car.
Silla looked at the car drifting away and clutched her fists.
"Brothers fight always, don't take it seriously," Moren's voice startled her. "Mom, don't blame brother for every trivial thing." Moren glanced at his vehicle arriving and walked away.
Soren rubbed his finger against his temple. I got the CCTV footage, but hope they don't have a copy.
He leaned back. I am trying my best for things to fade away. I even joined activities so that I won't think about you, but I still keep thinking about you. My chest tightens, and it's so suffocating sometimes when I think that I might not be able to find you.
He looked out of the window. Did you move away already?
His eyes were met with the countless vehicles, but Caelen's face was the only thing he remembered. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
Caelen was always disguised in the university, and he tried his best not to stay in university after the classes. He couldn't let his guard down, as recently another private investigator was holding his portrait in front of the university gate. Although the portrait looked different, it had important points noted that could get him in trouble. Thanks to the green lens, he looked different, and the mask covered the rest of his face.
Soren was proven innocent, but no one was interested in his innocence. The fact that he slept with a fan was true, and that made netizens and his fans furious. The only way to solve it was to wait for things to fade away on its own.