Falling for the Omega Idol

Chapter 258: JEJU ACTIVITY (VII)

HANEUL took a spoonful of the seafood stew and blew on it before eating. The broth was hot and a little salty, with a strong seafood taste. There were chunks of crab, shrimp, and clams in the bowl, along with soft tofu and sliced vegetables. The spice was mild but enough to add some heat. He mixed some rice into the broth and took a bite. It was simple food, but after the long hike, it tasted better than anything he’d had in weeks. He reached for another spoonful without even thinking.

"Do you want soda?" Jeon Hyunsik asked suddenly.

Haneul looked up from his food and noticed the question wasn’t directed at him specifically. It seemed like he was asking everyone at the table. That was fine by Haneul. He didn’t care one way or the other, as long as he didn’t have to talk to him directly.

Before anyone could answer, one of the staff members spoke up from the other table. "We can get drinks for everyone if you’d like," he said. "Just let us know what you want."

"I’m done with my food, and you’re all still eating, so I’ll get them myself," Jeon Hyunsik said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "I was planning to go to the restroom, anyway." He scanned both tables. "What drinks do you all want, and does anyone else want anything?"

Haneul worked hard to keep any suspicion from showing on his face. Why was Jeon Hyunsik suddenly being so helpful? He glanced down at the other’s empty plate. At least that part was true. He really had finished eating.

"Just iced tea for me," Eunwoo said with a polite smile.

Since Eunwoo didn’t seem to have any issue telling Jeon Hyunsik his order, Haneul decided to do the same.

"Same for me," he said.

That way, if Jeon Hyunsik planned to put something in the drinks, he wouldn’t know which glass to target. Unless he handed Haneul the drink personally, which would make his intentions obvious. Haneul caught himself and inwardly groaned. Yep. He was officially in full paranoid mode.

"I want Milkis," Suho said between bites of his abalone. "Any flavor’s fine."

The people on the other table also gave Jeon Hyunsik their chosen drinks.

"Then I’ll just have a waiter bring the drinks," Jeon Hyunsik said, already heading for the door.

Haneul nearly raised an eyebrow at that. If a waiter was bringing the drinks, then Jeon Hyunsik wouldn’t have a chance to mess with them. That thought made Haneul realize just how paranoid he’d become. Why had his first instinct been to assume Jeon Hyunsik would try to tamper with his drink? If he was thinking clearly, he would’ve remembered that no one in their right mind would pull something like that with cameras around.

Even if the two cameras would be here and Jeon Hyunsik wouldn’t be filmed while ordering the drinks. Haneul shook his head. There he went again. Being paranoid. He pushed the thought aside and went back to his meal.

A few minutes later, a waiter entered the room carrying two trays stacked with drinks. He set a can of Milkis and a can of Diet Coke on their table, along with two glasses of iced tea. The other four drinks went on the staff’s table.

Haneul reached for one of the iced teas and took a small sip. It tasted like regular lemon iced tea, nothing strange. He took another sip before setting it down and going back to his meal.

After a while, Jeon Hyunsik returned. He sat back down, popped open his can of Diet Coke, and took a long drink. When he lowered the can, his eyes landed on the half finished iced tea in front of Haneul. He smiled. Something about that smile made Haneul stop mid bite. His heart pounded hard in his chest. He looked down at the glass and decided he wouldn’t touch it again.

Surely, he wouldn’t dare. He wasn’t so deranged as to do something like that, was he?

Right?

***

After lunch, they split up again to look for the next clue. But no matter how hard Haneul tried to focus, his mind kept wandering. He kept checking in on himself, trying to see if anything felt off. So far, nothing seemed wrong. His body felt normal. Still, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in his chest.

Was he just being paranoid again? Was he reading too much into that smile? Maybe Jeon Hyunsik was only trying to make him nervous on purpose. At least, that was what Haneul hoped. Because if his guess was right, then what had he put in his drink? And what effect would it have on him?

He wanted to tell one of the staff, but what would he say? That he thought Jeon Hyunsik might have drugged him? He couldn’t make an accusation like that with no proof. If he was wrong, it would ruin his own credibility, especially since this kind of claim could destroy someone’s reputation. So what else could he do?

Haneul took a deep breath. He would just focus on the task at hand for now. If anything felt off, he would go straight to one of the staff and ask them to take him to a hospital. Then they could run tests and find out for sure whether or not he’d been drugged.

And if the results came back positive, then he would point straight at Jeon Hyunsik. Because then his accusation wouldn’t be baseless. The program could launch an investigation. Surely, something would turn up in the end.

There’s no way he would let Jeon Hyunsik off if he really did something. Drugging someone wasn’t just crossing the line, it was leaping over it by a mile. That wasn’t something he could ignore or brush aside like he’d been doing with all the staring and unwanted attention. That was already bordering on criminal. No, it was criminal.

Haneul just hoped he was wrong. That all of this was nothing more than his imagination running wild. Because he had no clue just what kind of effect any drug would have in this Omega body.