CHAPTER 53: KIET, FACE WET WITH TEARS II.

"...Kiet?"

When Le An held the omega who had collapsed into his arms tightly, Theo, who had already seized the omega’s arm and was ready to throw him aside, let go hesitantly and called out. "Le An?"

Unlike Le An, Theo couldn’t recall this omega right away.

As Le An gripped Kiet’s nearly collapsing body and helped him stand on his feet, his eyes were fixed on the figure emerging from the room.

That figure’s eyes were also fixed on him. It was clear that Kiet had been running from this alpha, and in the pheromones still lingering in the air, Le An could sense clear traces of fear.

As the alpha stepped toward Le An, the cold and leisurely look on his face from the moment he had exited the room didn’t change at all. "Treasure, what a pleasure to see you," the alpha said.

"..." Le An felt Kiet trembling even harder upon hearing the alpha’s voice. "May I ask what happened?" Le An fixed his gaze on the alpha with the same cold expression, while the alpha’s eyes focused on Kiet’s back.

"So, you know Kiet, which means you’ve used his services before," the alpha said, the faint hint of humanity on his face fading completely, replaced by a chilling smile. "I didn’t think you’d bother with omegas this cheap, but if we’re talking about Kiet, then you can guess what this is about," the alpha continued. "He doesn’t do his job properly."

Just as Le An was about to open his mouth, the alpha took another step forward and, in a more aggressive tone, asked, "Or is it that he does his job properly when he’s with you? Does he open his legs especially for you because you’re-"

"I don’t have that kind of relationship with Kiet," Le An said, not allowing the repulsive sentence to be completed. The alpha didn’t believe him; he had been looking at Le An from the start as if he were a rival alpha competing for an omega.

Holding Kiet’s small and frail body almost as if carrying him, Le An truly did look like an alpha. When he thought there wasn’t an ounce of strength left in his body, the sight of Kiet’s tear-soaked face filled him with a kind of strength, an instinct to protect.

Perhaps it was the effort born from still being able to hold the warm body of someone asking for help, after so many people had been harmed -directly or indirectly- because of him.

If Kiet were asking for help, he would give it. Le An pressed Kiet’s head gently against his chest and stroked his hair, never taking his eyes off the alpha as he did so. At the same time, the alpha took another step forward, his gaze fixed now on Le An’s hand.

This alpha was likely even younger than Le An. Despite his broad frame, his face bore the expression of a spoiled young master, irritated and unappeased.

Le An stood tall, the body that had trembled earlier now perfectly steady, and parted his lips. "It’s not a pleasant phrase, but since Kiet doesn’t do his job with you, it means he doesn’t have that kind of relationship with you," Le An said.

At that moment, Kiet seemed to snap out of the haze of fear and began to mumble. "I-I don’t want to, I-hng, I don’t want to..."

As Kiet’s tears stung his heart, Le An broke eye contact with the alpha for a brief moment and asked with sincere concern, "He said he doesn’t want to. Why did you insist so much?"

The alpha’s face tensed when he saw Le An’s face evolve into something that didn’t even acknowledge him as a rival alpha. "Please hand Kiet over, Treasure," he said coldly. "The thing in your arms is supposed to serve me at this hour."

In that moment, Le An not only failed to resolve the matter with words, but began to fear what might happen to Kiet once they left this place. Theo and Tracker, having stayed silent throughout the exchange, were now simply waiting to hear Le An’s next words.

Le An lowered his head and looked at Kiet’s curly hair. It smelled of cigarettes. On his neck, near the nape, there were clear finger marks. What kind of relationship did he have with this alpha? If he said he didn’t want it, was it right to intervene?

"Kiet," Le An tightened his hold and touched his shoulder to make him look up. Kiet lifted his head.

"Do you want to go with him?"

Kiet’s pupils shrank rapidly, and he began sobbing again, shaking his head violently. Just as Le An was about to raise his head and send the alpha back to his room, the alpha acted first, this time roaring:

"He belongs to me during this time slot! He’ll serve me and receive more than what he gives-"

"Watch your tone," Theo took a step forward, his voice low but deadly clear. "You’re crossing a line."

The young alpha immediately fell silent, his face turning cold again as if confronted by another threat. Still, some foolish bravado must have stirred in him; he stepped toward Theo and laughed. "Hah, line? Do you know who I am?"

Theo smiled too, stepping even closer to the alpha, who was shorter than him. "Of course I do. You’re the person currently disrespecting Treasure," he said, the smile vanishing by the end of the sentence.

The alpha glanced once more at Kiet. From any angle, Theo appeared to be the most powerful alpha present; he did not seem like someone to challenge.

Still, his gaze lingered on Kiet, like a stubborn child wanting his toy. As he mulled it over, faint moans and obscene sounds -bodies clashing- began to seep out from the room behind them, the door still ajar.

With each thump, each creak, and the cries of an omega nearly weeping, Le An tightened his hold on Kiet and locked eyes with the alpha. "Return to your room," he said, short and sharp like a command.

The alpha turned as if to face him again, and Theo shoved him back with one hand. The alpha yelled, "You’ll give Kiet back! I rented him! Call the staff, now!"

As several employees exited to fetch someone, they paused in shock when they saw Le An. Moments later, the sounds from inside the room ceased, and a man, one known across the country, appeared at the threshold, his belt loosened, his face flushed with rage.

"Silas! You worthless brat who can’t even keep an omega in check, what the hell is go-"

The country’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs fell silent as if he had swallowed his tongue when he saw Le An, and his hands immediately went to fasten his belt. "Oh my god, Treasure! You’re here too!"

Le An, unable to hide his shock, stared at the deputy minister, unable to muster a smile.

The minister smoothed down his hair with a palm, grasped his son’s shoulders tightly, and managed a strained smile, trying to take control of the situation with unmistakable authority. He looked at Kiet.

"Ah... I hope Silas didn’t disrespect you. That omega, the one you’re holding—Silas is a bit obsessed with him. You understand-"

"Dad, what are you-"

"Silence, son," the deputy said, squeezing his son’s arms tightly. "However, if the omega is unwilling, of course, he may go. Poor thing must’ve been scared, Silas is a dominant alpha, after all," the deputy said.

Then, with a dismissive wave, he gestured toward Kiet and simultaneously shoved his son back into the room. "Let him go, Treasure. It’s no problem at all, we’ll just get the services of another omega!"

As Le An stared at the deputy’s vacant expression, he slowly let go of Kiet. While Kiet shook his head in distress, Le An gently squeezed his shoulder and let go.

He turned his gaze to one of the staff members who had rushed over in a panic. "Could you bring this omega a glass of water, please?" he asked with a smile, then turned that same smile toward the deputy and approached the door, bowing slightly.

"Forgive me for disrupting your private time." Without glancing inside, Le An kept his eyes on the minister’s now frantically darting gaze as he extended a hand. "I would’ve preferred to meet under better circumstances, sir, but I’m still glad to see you," Le An said. "I hope your son hasn’t misunderstood me."

The minister pressed his damp palm eagerly into Le An’s and responded with great fervor. "Ah, never! Silas is young; if he disrespected you, I’m the one who should be ashamed. I’ll be expecting you at the ministry building someday, Treasure!"

Le An pulled his hand back and watched as the minister returned to the room with an absurd grin. When the door closed behind him, the hallway fell completely silent. Le An stared at the door for a moment, then wiped the hand he had just shaken on his pants.

At that moment, Kiet collapsed from the release of tension. Le An took the glass of water the staff member had brought and knelt beside him.

He held the glass to Kiet’s trembling lips. Kiet, his face crimson from crying, his eyes wide with terror, was still far from being okay. "Kiet, are you alright?"

"M-my name..." Kiet pushed the glass away and hugged Le An again. "You remembered my name, hnngh, hic, T-Treasure."

As Le An returned the hug, he asked, "What happened? Did he hurt you?"

Before Kiet could respond, the staff member interjected. "Dear Treasure, regarding our service rules, our employees aren’t allowed to engage with guests in the corridor like this-"

Le An turned his gaze toward the staff member and interrupted. "Why?"

"B-because..." The female staff member hesitated. "Th-those are the rules, sir. Unless it’s a private room-"

"Then, do you have an available room?" Le An asked promptly, but Theo cut in. "Le An."

Le An looked into Theo’s warning-filled eyes. Theo didn’t want him involved in this. In that moment, Le An remembered the alpha he had asked to trust him, and the moment he lost him, when that trust was left unanswered.

Kneeling to cradle Kiet, his body suddenly felt as if all strength had drained from it.

If he booked a private room, the deputy minister would find out. But if he claimed he’d received a service from an omega, who could object? Hadn’t he already signaled to the minister that he wouldn’t pursue this matter any further?

Le An looked down at Kiet again, who still clung to him as if his life depended on it. This time, Kiet was also looking up at him, amidst his terror, with a surprised expression. Le An didn’t dwell on that surprise and instead asked with concern, "Will you be alright?"

As the surprise on Kiet’s face gave way once more to terror, he leaned close to Le An’s ear. At the same time, the staff member called his name from behind. "Kiet, don’t."

Her voice wasn’t a threat; rather, it held concern that whatever Kiet was about to say wouldn’t be a good idea.

Kiet hesitated, clutched Le An tightly, and still whispered into his ear the thing that had terrified him.

"They- they sell and traffic omegas. And sometimes... they kill them!" Kiet was about to cry again when the staff member lunged forward to pull him away. "Please, Kiet!"

Kiet continued, nearly delirious. "Me, me, and the one inside- there’s a drug! After you take it, you’ll go along with a-anything. And they call that consent, Treasure, please! Please help me, I’m next!"

"Kiet-!"

"Sis, that’s Treasure!" Kiet turned and yelled. The two of them were siblings. Upon hearing this, Le An’s arms froze around Kiet.

Both Kiet and his sister were crying. She pulled Kiet up and stood. "T-Treasure, please... please don’t take what Kiet said seriously. He’s... just confused. He was scared! Please- don’t tell anyone..."

Just as Le An tightened his hold on Kiet, he felt Kiet slipping something into his hand. Something small, crumpled, and sweat-stained. A paper. Le An hid it in his palm and looked only at Kiet’s sister. "I won’t."

The girl nodded in response, but it was clear that Treasure’s words hadn’t eased her mind. As the two siblings began to walk down the corridor, Le An took a step forward and parted his lips.

With Tracker here, everything would eventually reach Mr. Qui’s ears. From between Le An’s lips came a single word- helpless, but full of fury. "Kiet!"

Kiet turned to look at him.

Le An couldn’t say anything else. He just- just looked into Kiet’s eyes.

Kiet turned back around and disappeared with his sister at the end of the corridor. "We won’t tell anyone about this," Le An said, eyes still forward. Then he turned to Tracker. "I assume you’ll include it in your report, of course, but as Kiet’s sister requested, don’t let it spread further."

Tracker nodded easily in agreement. His eyes were forward, too. Theo’s eyes, on the other hand, were on Le An’s expression.

As Le An watched Kiet’s still trembling back, he was on the verge of crying from rage.