Intertwined: Two fates

48 - Is it True?

"Tae Hyung!"

"Tae oppa, there you are! We have been waiting for you!"

"Yeah, as the backer tonight, we can't start without you!"

Taehyung was amused by the entire team's enthusiasm and deep laughter rumbled from his chest. The female officers who saw this could not help but blush, intoxicated by the potent Alpha charm the man exuded. "You guys are so adorable," he said in a lightly teasing tone. Striding forward, he took a seat and rummaged into the plastic bag. "Come, come, let's eat!"

The whole group cheered and people busied around to share the food. The atmosphere was very lively and upbeat. As long as food was present, then they should be happy for a while and put all problems to the back of their mind. Only then would they have the energy to pull an all-nighter.

Taehyung slipped plastic gloves onto his hands and bit into the spicy crayfish, listening as the other members talked about the discovery of drug AX-03 in the body of tonight's murder victim. He appeared a tad distracted and then pretended to casually ask, "I have skimmed through the list of members on my way here. I noticed that... I haven't seen two people. Are they absent today?"

"Oh, are you talking about Lisa and Jimin?" The officer did not think anything was wrong with his question and dutifully answered him. "Lisa has a family emergency today as for Jimin..." he turned to the person beside him and elbowed him. Coincidentally, it was none other than Hoseok. "Hey, have you seen Jimin? He didn't become depressed after being scolded by Captain, did he?"

"Oh," Hoseok answered without looking up as he was too enamored by the spicy food. "He said that he would return in a while. It looks like he is sending Mr. Jeon off."

The officer turned to Taehyung again and showed a cheeky grin. "Hehe, Tae, it's actually good that you haven't met the two of them yet. I'm afraid you will be shocked because the two of them are an anomaly in our team. Do you know what their infamous title is around here?"

"What is it?" Taehyung leaned closer and showed a curious look.

"Double freezer!" The mischievous officer burst into laughter as soon as he blurted it out. He was laughing so hard that he continuously slapped on the table. "You will get it after you meet the two of them later on. Just remember not to get too close to them lest you will be frozen to death. They're simply a pair of walking ice cubes!"

"Oh?" Taehyung easily snapped his crayfish into two, the corner of his lips tilting up. "Walking ice cube, huh?"

He recalled the appearance of the omega he had just met a few short minutes ago. He had a delicate face, yet because of his frosty expression, it gave off a strong feeling of alienation. 'Do not approach' was practically written on his forehead in bold letters. And those dark blue eyes of his... they reminded Taehyung of the wild animals he had seen in the tropical forest, who was wary and cautious toward strangers and would not hesitate to pounce at the slightest provocation.

"I don't think we have met before," Jimin replied with a calm tone after he asked that question.

"We haven't?" Taehyung's brows raised in surprise. 'Then why are you hiding from me?' was what he did not say but both of them could hear nonetheless.

"Ha..." Jimin lowered his gaze and the corner of his lips tilted upward. "I'm very sorry but work has been very stressful for me nowadays. And then my Alpha came to visit me and I... just couldn't help myself. Of course, as a fellow Alpha, you will understand how possesive my Alpha is, won't you?"

"Tae, why are you smiling?"

"Hmm?" Taehyung raised his head, the train of his thoughts broken off. "Ah, no. It's just that... your team is full of interesting people. I am so excited to work with all of you."

His smile grew wider without him realizing. He had been on so many dangerous missions for the past decade that the accuracy of his sixth sense could not be underestimated. Even though Jimin's reason was flawless and his reaction betrayed nothing, Taehyung's instinct still told him that the omega was hiding something from him. He was too wary and acted as if... he was facing a great enemy.

Yes, that's right. Jimin's behavior was just like he was itching to get rid of Taehyung once and for all. And it was not a simple aversion of an omega toward alphas, it was specifically directed to Taehyung alone.

What was the reason, he wondered?

As of now, Taehyung could only make a haphazard guess as he really did not know Jimin well. He really did feel that Jimin looked familiar, but he just could not put a finger on it. He recalled that he had caught a glimpse of his Alpha before Jimin pulled him away. Tall, broad-shouldered with his inky long hair tied in a bun.

Long hair...

Taehyung's eyes deepened. He seldom saw long-haired men in Korea that he could not help but be reminded of some unpleasant memory.

"By the way, Tae," another officer piped in with a curious look. "Is it true that... Phantom is an omega?" Speaking of Phantom, everyone could not help but strain their ears to listen to him better.

Taehyung let out a brief chuckle. "It's so shocking, isn't it?"

"Of course! Goodness, who could have guessed that the formidable and tyrant Phantom is actually an omega?!"

Taehyung merely smiled at that. Nobody was more shocked than him. To think that he, a superior Alpha, could lose to an omega in the end... Phantom's appearance flashed through his mind again, for countless times in the past few years. It might as well be branded to the depth of his soul.

Extremely pale skin, light brown eyes, waist-length hair, manic eyes and the intense pheromones that smelled of poppy and metallic rust of blood...

It was the first time Taehyung learned that an omega's pheromones could smell so sweet yet deadly at the same time.

It was also the first time he learned that... an omega could be so strong that he could easily take down a superior alpha like himself.

Taehyung's eyes darkened as he carelessly tugged on his collar. Everytime he thought of Phantom, he would recall the pain of the katana digging into the flesh of his neck, drawing spurts after spurts of blood. The looming sense of death was accompanied by the omega's arrogant laugh, echoing again and again in his ears like a curse.

"That's right..." he showed a bloodthirsty grin. "Phantom is indeed an omega. There's no way I could be mistaken about it.."

----To be continued----

Wait, Phantom is an... what??? 👀

Hope you're enjoying all these twists and turns, but wait... there's still a lot more to come! 😎

A/N:- Expect regular updates from now on (for a while)~

Borahae 💜