"I hear you would do anything for the right price. If that's the case, then I would like to hire you. How much would you charge?"
Cold, blank eyes looked at the man in front of him. The customer quickly wiped his brow as he felt the tension in the air rise. Yet despite this, he kept his eyes on the masked helper in front of him.
Fenrir, the owner of this place, was looking at Mr. Yang with an unwavering look in his eyes.
Mr. Yang had first heard about this place from an acquaintance of his who swore that this place could get rid of all his problems. As long as he had money to spare, all his wishes would come true. That was the kind of place 'Happy Smile Business' was.
But now that he had finally stepped inside, he did not feel the same confidence his acquaintance's words had invoked inside him.
Neither the broken and mismatched interior nor the lean, masked beta in front of him seemed to hold Mr. Yang's attention.
'Tsk, that man is not even an Alpha, and he's supposed to be that 'mysterious helper' who will make my troubles go away? I feel like I'm being scammed already.'
Despite the growing voice of suspicion inside him, Mr. Yang put it all aside and focused on the man in front of him. Those eyes peeking out from the mask unnerved Mr. Yang, and in his hurry to quickly get away from this creepy and shabby office, he decided to repeat his question.
"A-Anyway, I need you to help me out. I will pay any price you want me to. As long as my task gets finished, I don't care how you do it either."
Mr. Yang promised.
The beta finally moved, and his hand reached toward Mr. Yang. It made him flinch, and he almost jumped from his seat.
But the hand reaching for him stopped at the last second and instead of touching him, it grabbed the empty cup in front of him. That cup was quickly replaced by a paper that looked like a contract.
"I understand. Please send me the details of your task and fill out this contract. Deposit 50% of the money upfront as well, and we'll have a deal."
The beta owner of the establishment told Mr. Yang, and his jaw dropped.
"5-50% initial deposit? Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much money that is-"
"I agree. 500k is a lot of money. But isn't the job associated with it equally dangerous? But if you would rather not pay, then I guess we cannot help it. I won't take this job. I hope you find another person to take this job soon."
The beta owner stood up, and Mr. Yang felt his heart skip a beat in fear.
He could not allow this deal to fall through. He had already tried all legal means and had been turned away. And as he was a poor person, he did not have enough money to get someone else. Otherwise, why would he have gotten a beta helper from such a run-down place?
Since things had come down to it, Mr. Yang decided to take the risk and fill out the form. He was ready to take out the promised money as well when he saw the beta read his form.
It was all calm one moment, but Mr. Yang suddenly felt like he could not breathe the next. There were no pheromones in the air (at least he could not feel any), but the air still felt suffocating.
"Did you not read through my rules? I don't take any jobs associated with the mafia-"
"I-I know. I read them. I read them all. I-I made sure the job is not related to 'The Den' or the mafia side. It is just a low-level thug gang. They have kidnapped my son and are asking for a lot of money. I-I have contacted more people to rescue my son, but I want to make sure there is a distraction…"
The pressure faded in an instant, and Mr. Yang took a deep breath. He looked at the beta in front of him with suspicious eyes.
Seeing how Mr. Yang was getting suspicious, the masked beta sighed and waved his hand.
"Fine. I have read through your case, and I am willing to help you. As soon as your money hits my bank, you can tell me where I need to go and what I need to do."
Fenrir finally concluded the deal, and Mr. Yang finally left the establishment. But before he left the room, he turned back one last time to ask the beta one last question.
"Before I go, just let me ask you one last question…are you sure you are not an Alpha? You don't look like one, but your aura…"
Those cold eyes frosted even more, and Mr. Yang finally got the message and left.
Only once he was alone again did Fenrir pull down his mask and take a deep breath. His deep eyes looked at the form left by Mr. Yang.
"Tsk, I promised myself that I would never take any jobs that would lead me to 'those' areas, but here I am…"
The 'beta' owner of the Happy Smile Business finally put his mask down, and a gentle face emerged from behind it.
Daniel Park, or better known in the trade as Fenrir, sighed and rubbed his forehead. The subtle Alpha scent in the air was starting to irritate him.
"Tsk, the suppressants must be getting ineffective. I will need to change to a new brand soon."
But that was a problem for his future self. For now, Fenrir had another task to do.
__________
Daniel Park looked at the address written in the message a few times to confirm whether he was in the right place or not. It was the same place that was written on the paper.
As Mr. Yang had promised, the bar Fenrir had been sent to was neither in any gang's territory nor a dangerous place if you knew your way around. It was just a place to drink and talk with different people.
But it was not a place where innocent white-collar workers gathered, either.
Daniel could already smell so many overpowering Alpha and Omega scents in the air. The mixture was making him nauseated. But because of his strong suppressants, he was able to brute-force his way inside.
His identity for today was a regular beta office worker who had come to this bar to drink his sorrow away. But he regretted his choice of coming here as soon as he entered the dimly lit establishment.
The brightly lit hall, Omega pheromones being suppressed by Alphas, and a lot of people talking-the scene in front of Daniel looked like it had come out of a gangster movie.
Alas, this was no movie, and Daniel could see some real gang members in here.
Memories surged inside his mind. Seeing the gang members reminded him of his own time in the Den. But unlike most people here who had joined willingly, Daniel never had a choice. Both he and his brother had been born in the mafia, and it was their fate to die in it as well…
'No, don't think about those depressing days. Just focus on what you are here to do. Remember, you are doing this for Joshua…'
Joshua, his younger brother and the most precious being in this world…Daniel needed to collect money for him.
Their parents had been part of the mafia, and as soon as they had given birth to Daniel, he had been sold to the mafia as part of their debt. His younger brother had not been any different, but at least they had each other…until the young master had come along.
Even at that young age, Daniel had been able to understand that Young Master Ivan was special. He gave off such a strong sense of superiority that there was never any question in anyone's mind that he would manifest as an Alpha…and he had.
And that was where Daniel's problem started…
Young Master Ivan and his brother were 'special' to each other. They always stuck together and were never apart from each other. And that made Daniel sure that his brother was 'special' as well.
But not in the same way Young Master Ivan was. His brother was fragile and beautiful, like an Omega, and that was the problem.
Neither the mafia world nor the Den was safe for an Omega. Daniel was sure that his brother would die…or worse, be marked against his will. Unfortunately, before that could happen, another tragedy took place, and Daniel…was forced out.
But at least Master Ren had given him one last chance to earn his and his brother's complete freedom. All Daniel had to do was repay the amount his parents got for him and his brother.
30 million…that was the price of their lives and what Daniel needed to earn. And today would be his first big break.
500k was a lot of money, and Daniel could not afford to mess this up.
Snapping himself out of his memories, Daniel finally stepped inside the bar and headed toward his target. The man he was supposed to distract was the leader of 'Sweet Magic,' an up-and-coming gang responsible for kidnapping Mr. Yang's son.
According to Mr. Yang, his son, Jackson Yang, was an innocent and hardworking student until he was kidnapped one day. His kidnappers had demanded 10 million from Mr. Yang in return for his son.
Mr. Yang had not told Daniel what he did, but from the way he dressed and this absurd request, it was clear to see that he was a rich businessman-or at least had connections to one. He could pay this money if he needed to. But he still wanted to ensure his son's safety first.
Family was a topic that Daniel understood well. After all, he was also someone who lost his rationality when it came to family and vowed to do whatever it took to ensure their safety.
So he quickly decided to approach his target and strike up a conversation. He slid into the seat beside the leader and waited to be noticed.
In a place where everyone dressed flashily to stand out, his subdued mannerisms and covered face were something that attracted attention. And soon, the leader found himself curious about the new face sitting beside him as well.
Daniel immediately felt curious pheromones trying to feel him out, but when he did not react, the leader quickly guessed that he was a beta and decided to take the bait.
"Hey, are you new here? You seem to be all alone as well. Well, what do you say? Want to be friends with me? I can show you a good time."
The leader sneered at Daniel, his eyes sizing him up and down in a teasing manner. Daniel maintained his cool, not responding to that clear provocation, but he made sure to show a little bit of interest as well.
"Oh-! You want to become 'friends' with a beta like me? I did not take you to be that type."
Daniel responded in a neutral but interested voice.
"Hey, don't put yourself down like that. You might not be an Omega, but you have a decent face and figure. Besides, being 'friends' with someone like you is also risk-free. What do I have to lose-"
The confident face in front of Daniel suddenly paled, and he stopped speaking. Daniel was about to ask him what was wrong, but he did not get a chance because an arm suddenly wrapped itself around his shoulder.
Suddenly, the whole room around Daniel seemed to freeze in shock, and everyone looked in his direction. It made him feel threatened as well, and he finally took a look at the intruder who was casually putting their arm around his shoulder.
His eyes met the familiar red, and Daniel tensed up. Thankfully, his mask and suppressants hid his real identity and helped him remain safe for now.
"B-Boss Ivan…what are you doing here?"