“The man’s height extended about a handspan above Marvin’s, completely blocking his view. He hadn’t done anything, yet the pressure was overwhelming.
There could have been many reasons for it: the man held Marvin’s weakness in his grasp, or it was his social standing. Or maybe it was the animal instinct of an Omega confronted by a superior breeding partner.
Whatever it was, Marvin found himself at the very bottom of the food chain. All he could do was placate him, keep his mouth shut, and beg for mercy. Nothing too interesting to draw attention.
As always, prosecutors’ curiosity made life exhausting. Marvin decided to become as forgettable as possible, evaporating from the man’s memory at once.
“Yes, of course. I’ll make sure you’re well served. There’s still plenty of time before checkout—please, go in and rest. If you need anything, I’ll send someone up to your room. Would you like more cigarettes?”
Marvin shifted slightly to slip out of the man’s shadow under the pretense of work. But the man responded coolly.
“No need for cigarettes. I don’t enjoy them much.”
That hardly seemed fitting, coming from someone who’d struck up conversation just to borrow one.
“Then, may I offer you another drink? I can send the same whiskey you were having.”
He had that authority—Boss Yang would have offered even more. But again, the man just looked at Marvin with his hand in his pocket.
What did he want him to do?
Drunk on power, these people never made sense. Was he supposed to guess what he wanted next and present it?
Then Marvin felt something was off. A guest shouldn’t be wandering around at this hour. Two Omegas had gone in—had they finished so quickly?
Even if Chairman Yoon had called in extra hands, the one who’d hovered beside the man from the start was reputed to be top-tier—good-looking and excellent in bed. He’d booked months in advance, paid the cancellation fee himself, and still gone into the man’s room. He must have given his all. Why had he been dismissed?
“Did you perhaps not enjoy their service?” Marvin asked cautiously, getting straight to the point.
The man, as if amused by the question, rubbed his lips and chin and asked in return, “What—my hotel? Or the courtesans who entered my room tonight?”
Then he added, “Or this fucking backwater town?”
Marvin fell silent at the challenge in that offhand remark. He frowned for a moment, then met the man’s gaze again.
A wave of unease washed over him. Up close, there wasn’t a single rumple in the man’s clothing—he didn’t look like he’d ever undressed. Marvin’s expression hardened.
“So you didn’t use the services,” Marvin said.
“Clearly not. I was busy working, after all,” the man replied.
“What kind of work… kept you occupied this late?”
“This job never stops, day or night.”
He glanced at his wrist, checking his watch. Marvin realized it was well past one in the morning. The man seemed to be waiting for something.
Just then, Marvin’s phone buzzed—it wasn’t the man’s, but his own.
“Director! The police just showed up here—hold on. No, you can’t let them in!”
His staff’s urgent voice crackled through the line amid sounds of furniture toppling and people scrambling. A raid. Here? At dawn?
Something was wrong. Just last week, Boss Yang had dined with the local police chief. Even unseasoned officers would have called ahead.
Marvin’s gaze flicked back to the man. He must have heard the commotion too. Yet he showed no surprise—this was clearly his doing.
“It’s provincial,” the man said. “Service is better here than in Seoul. You get rooms even without a rut, and you can bring in non–trait individuals.”
“…”
Marvin closed his eyes briefly, then opened them. He really was having the worst luck. He craved a cigarette again. With the boss absent, he couldn’t figure out what to do.
What the hell was this man up to?
In a small town where tens of millions in cash changed hands, every local power broker—from city councilors to thugs—had a share. Stirring up trouble meant pissing off everyone involved.
Maybe it was just a show of force—a warning to keep Marvin cringing at his feet. He’d heard outsiders got cowed like that when they set up in the provinces. If so, the raid made perfect sense.
“I reported you because the service was too extreme. Looks like the police didn’t want to come until they heard who called it in.”
There was a trace of irritation in his mocking tone. At first, the police had apparently ignored the anonymous tip. But once he’d identified himself, they’d rushed over. Now they seemed unsure which orders to follow, so they were acting by the book.
This time it was Jin-yong calling. Marvin still stared at the man but held the phone to his ear.
“Hey.”
“Brother, where are you? The detectives are trying to storm the boss’s office—can we let them in?”
Marvin frowned. Were they really going to ransack the office? That was excessive. Meanwhile, the uproar at the hotel entrance grew, voices carrying all the way here. Guests who’d been lingering in the hall hurried out in alarm, spilling onto the street. What was this at one in the morning?
Marvin ended the call without a word. He lowered the phone and locked eyes with the man.
“Even so, this is going too far. It’ll be awkward for you later, too, Prosecutor.”
The man laughed without resistance.
“Worried about me? How touching.”
“And the pretext was….”
“Pretext? You think they needed a warrant?”
He looked incredulous—as if to say, why go to such lengths over a small tourist hotel?
“They haven’t even sent me to the prosecutors’ office yet. I simply suggested gathering evidence that you’d violated fixed rates. If you have complaints, take them to the police.”
At that moment, a detective came running over from the main gate.
“Are you Prosecutor Jang Jin-woo? Oh, right you are.”
Breathless, he panted, “Our captain ordered me to bring you in. Since you filed the report, we need a statement. Would you like to come now, or later?”
“Yes, let’s go together. Will processing take long?”
“Well, sir, with so many guests… We did detain the non–trait individual you mentioned. He had taken drugs.”
“Of course he did. Caught on site, his father’s going to be in trouble.”
He meant that even knowing the son was the Oseong county chief’s boy, he’d still press on. If he was going to be this brazen, he must have planned it from the start—including enjoying the hospitality. Crazy bastard.
“Detective, did you bring your car? Any alcohol test?”
“I haven’t been drinking. I’ll drive us to the station. Also, this man”—he nodded at Marvin—“seems to be the hall manager. Please handcuff him and bring him along; there’s a flight risk.”
With that, the man strolled off toward the parking lot, a faint smile playing at his lips.
Marvin stood frozen, feeling as if he’d been struck on the back of the head. Suddenly it made sense why the man had borrowed a cigarette he didn’t even like.
He’d wanted to pin Marvin down.
Unwittingly, Marvin had babbled about his heat—and given the man all the time he needed. A humorless chuckle escaped him.
Poor Kim Ma-bin’s days are numbered.
He could almost hear a mocking voice whispering.
“The handcuffs are just for show. Come with me.”
The detective cleared his throat and led Marvin toward the squad cars. Only then did Marvin remember he still hadn’t taken his suppressant. But there was nothing he could do now. It seemed today would take him as far as it had to go.