CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54

~Fan Xiao ~

I froze the moment I saw him step into the doorway; the big guy with the gun, standing there like he owned my life, my soul, and probably my bank account too. And he looked pissed, which is always fun when you’re already panicking and holding your pregnant omega like a very heavy, very precious bag of gold.

"Alright," he said, voice low and dangerous but with that infuriating calm. "I can only let two of them go. You make your choice."

I blinked. Blinked again. Blinked a third time because I wasn’t sure my brain was actually working, or if I was hallucinating this terrifyingly stupid scenario.

"Oh, that’s just cute," I said, pointing at him like he’d done a magic trick instead of holding a gun. "You get to play ’Choose Your Favorite Omega.’ How thoughtful. Did someone clap for you or...?"

"Fan Xiao," Lee Know’s voice cracked, and my stomach turned into some kind of jelly factory. "Don’t..."

"Too late, baby. I’ve started screaming internally. And externally. Internally-external screaming. Multi-level screaming." I’m not as brave as I thought for an Alpha OMG.

Park Min muttered something that sounded like a curse in three languages .

"We want... both of them," I blurted out before thinking. "Lee Know and Yu Jin. Both. Now. Immediately. Please and thank you, Mr. Gunman, I’ll even throw in cookies if you let them go, but like... I can’t bake so just..."

The big guy just raised an eyebrow like I had suggested we all hop on one foot and sing the national anthem in pig Latin. "You must think this is a joke right? "

"What do you mean no?" I yelled. "You saw the mess we just made! We literally punched, kicked, and terrified three of your men into submission! Are you telling me, me! that you, gunman, the supposed brains of this operation, won’t let us rescue my omega because... why?

He didn’t answer, just let the silence stretch like it had nothing better to do, which was basically torture. Finally, he said, "Park Min must go with one if you."

I froze, because no, no, no. That was not a plan. That was a disaster with a side of vomit. "Excuse me?" I asked, voice trembling, my brain rapidly recalculating the disaster probability of this new twist.

"You heard me. Park Min goes. One of the omegas stays."

I felt every single vein in my body scream. "Are you insane? Do you understand the literal science of omega panic right now? Because Lee Know is pregnant. Pregnant! Do you know how catastrophic that is if he’s stressed? Catastrophic. And you’re telling me my baby will stay behind while Park Min walks out the door like this is a casual Sunday stroll?"

Park Min put a hand on my chest, stopping me from lunging at the guy. "I’m fine," he muttered. "I can handle this. Stop actually yelling the fuck is wrong with you. "

"No," I snapped. "You can’t handle this. Your omega is sitting on the floor right now, pretending he’s fine, but he’s terrified. Terrified! And you’re going to...." I gestured wildly at the gunman. "just walk out like we’re negotiating a sale? No, sir. No way."

"Fan Xiao," Park Min said quietly. "I don’t..."

"I don’t care what you don’t do, Park Min! You are not leaving without my omega. Period. Full stop. End of discussion. Don’t even start pretending you’re fine with this because I see the tiny sweat beads forming on your forehead. You’re stressed, I know it, and it’s contagious!"

"Fan," Lee Know whispered, voice trembling. "They... they’re forcing you..."

"I AM aware of their tactics, thank you very much, baby," I snapped, ignoring the little quiver in my heart. "And I’m about to flip the entire floor if they try something. So, you can either let both omegas go, or I start creating a very loud scene involving me, screaming, and probably very bad language that would make your mother weep."

The big guy shook his head slowly. "You’ll have to go home first. That’s the only way. The omegas stay."

my soul left my body for a second. My brain made that panicked "nope nope nope" sound that only exists in cartoon universes. "Excuse me? I...what? What does ’go home’ even mean? Like, drive back and come back later? Or is this one of those weird... sadistic game-show rules where you all just... lol, good luck?"

Yu Jin groaned from the floor. "Fan, relax. You’re making it worse."

"Making it worse?" I yelled. "HE IS HOLDING MY BABY HOSTAGE. That is, by definition, catastrophic and worse!"

Park Min tugged at my sleeve. "Maybe we should listen..."

"Nope," I interrupted, pointing dramatically at the gunman. "Not happening. Absolutely not. We are not going anywhere until those two omegas are safe. Do you understand me? Safe. Not in your... whatever dark lair you call an office of evil. SAFE."

The gunman just sighed, like the universe had decided he’d already lost patience.

I stared at him like he had personally insulted my entire family, my taste in snacks, and my very soul. Park Min looked equally unhappy, though slightly less... panicked-screaming mode than me.

Few seconds later we were thrown Outside the building. Just me and Park min. Outside the building, I paced like a caged, caffeinated raccoon. "Park Min, beg your mom. Beg her right now. PLEASE. Get her on the phone, get her to listen, do something, anything. I’m... I’m... I’m about to explode into tears and swearing at the same time."

"I’m only begging for my omega," he said flatly. "Why should I beg for you?"

I froze. "Excuse me?"

He crossed his arms, looking every bit the irritated child-teen-masquerading-as-an-adult. "Yeah. I’m not begging for you. Only my omega. Why would I do it for you? I don’t even know you "

I blinked, then blinked again, then felt my brain catch fire. "Do you... not get it? Do you not understand that the entire reason my omega got kidnapped was because of... because... because your mom wants something from me. She wants me as a hacker. That’s why they took my omega. That’s the reason. And if you don’t do something, we’re screwed, I helped you, we illegally hacked and by passed so many laws, don’t even think I’ll go down alone."

Park Min’s eyes narrowed. "She... wants you as a hacker? And... that has anything to do with me? You’re just... guessing, right?"