The person who promised Cheon Jaekyung that if he backed down first, he would be allowed to stay by Lee Juwon’s side along with receiving treatment. And the person who tempted Han Taeseok, saying he would make Lee Juwon into an omega so that he could have him. That person was none other than Lee Hyeonseok.
As mentioned earlier, Lee Hyeonseok wanted to gather all three of them together in one place to monitor them. Cheon Jaekyung, who had fallen from grace, had no choice but to take Lee Hyeonseok’s hand. Han Taeseok also secretly wanted to turn Lee Juwon, who had been a beta, into an omega, so Lee Hyeonseok’s proposal was very tempting to him. Both of them had clear motivations for following Lee Hyeonseok’s words, even while having doubts.
Of course, it wasn’t that there were no issues. Cheon Jaekyung inwardly harbored feelings about having shown an unsightly appearance in front of Lee Juwon because of Lee Hyeonseok, and Han Taeseok remembered fighting with Lee Hyeonseok over Lee Juwon. However, in the end, if there was no other way to obtain Lee Juwon, believing him was the best option.
It was obvious that Lee Hyeonseok’s attitude of no longer showing interest in Lee Juwon and them also played a part in making their decision.
It was Han Taeseok who brought it up to Lee Juwon. From Han Taeseok’s perspective, Lee Juwon seemed to have feelings for those three people deep down, even while saying he didn’t like them, didn’t like them. Just looking at his upset attitude when seeing Lee Hyeonseok showing interest in Seo Jiwoo instead of Lee Juwon made that clear.
“Maybe Lee Hyeonseok is playing push-and-pull because you only say you don’t like him. If you show him that you’re getting along well with us, there will definitely be some kind of reaction,” and so on. Han Taeseok gently coaxed Lee Juwon with all kinds of sugar-coated words. Hiding his sinister intention to make Lee Juwon his by force while living together, with an attitude that he would do anything for him.
Lee Juwon knew Han Taeseok’s true intentions full well but deliberately pretended not to know. More precisely, he feigned hypocrisy, saying, “It’s not that I was thinking that way, it’s just that Seo Jiwoo is too much, I’m too worried about Jaekyung.” At Lee Juwon’s words that it seemed they had to help by Cheon Jaekyung’s side, Han Taeseok fell for him all over again and even offered honeyed words about getting through everything together.
Anyway, as a result, the three of them ended up living together according to Lee Hyeonseok’s plan.
Cheon Jaekyung and Han Taeseok continued their precarious cohabitation, repeatedly treating each other like they were invisible or scratching at each other’s nerves. Then one day, Lee Juwon ended up undergoing a trait change from beta to omega due to Han Taeseok’s pheromones.
Lee Juwon had wanted to manifest as an omega to match Han Taeseok who had manifested as an alpha, but seeing the reality where omegas were treated as little more than consumables or prostitutes, he had considered it fortunate that he had manifested as a beta. Because of that situation, he thought he would go crazy from self-loathing at suddenly manifesting as an omega and acting like an animal in heat.
The self-loathing didn’t last long. Rather, he was even satisfied with the thought of using this trait as bait to charm alphas. It could truly be said to be quite different thinking from most ordinary people.
Since only a very small minority remained unfazed after manifesting as an omega, Lee Juwon intended to pretend to be endlessly sad about his situation for now. If only Cheon Jaekyung hadn’t suddenly undergone a trait change to omega while the three of them were stuck together like animals during the entire heat cycle.
Cheon Jaekyung, who they thought was a beta, manifested as an omega. For Lee Juwon and Han Taeseok, it was something they hadn’t imagined at all, so they were flustered. Cheon Jaekyung spent his heat cycle alone. Fortunately, it was possible because it was around the time Lee Juwon’s heat cycle was ending. Since Lee Juwon hoped that Cheon Jaekyung wouldn’t mix bodies with anyone else, he was fully willing to be the top if Cheon Jaekyung was okay with it, but Cheon Jaekyung refused. Han Taeseok, who could have overpowered him, had no intention of mixing bodies with Cheon Jaekyung, so the two of them locked him in an empty room until his heat cycle ended.
At some point, Lee Juwon became annoyed with Cheon Jaekyung, who was spouting all kinds of lewd words inside the room during his entire heat cycle. Not only was he pretending to have a hard time and be delicate, but he was already distracted thinking about getting Lee Hyeonseok back, and it wasn’t helpful. Meanwhile, Han Taeseok, thinking it was an opportunity, even subtly put Cheon Jaekyung down.
Whatever Han Taeseok’s intentions, since the Lee Juwon that Han Taeseok knew was a good kid, he covered for him by pretending to worry about Cheon Jaekyung, but honestly, his affection had completely dried up. As if that wasn’t enough, his personality had become strange to the point of even developing depression since being wronged by Seo Jiwoo. And now that he had manifested as an omega, all he could think about was cutting ties with him. However, if he did that, it was obvious that the image he had built up until now would be shattered. Lee Juwon decided to wait and see with Cheon Jaekyung for now.
Then something happened that really made Lee Juwon lose it. The day after the heat ended, Cheon Jaekyung disappeared. It was only natural that the anger he had been suppressing all this time burst out.
“Jaekyung-ah! Jaekyung-ah, where are you!”
“Juwon-ah, calm down!”
“How can I calm down? You know what Jaekyung’s condition is right now!”
As soon as Lee Juwon realized that Cheon Jaekyung had disappeared, he showed all the irritation he had and ransacked the room. Even though he knew of his absence, he couldn’t suppress his anger without calling Cheon Jaekyung’s name. Even when Han Taeseok tried to soothe Lee Juwon, who was calling Cheon Jaekyung’s name filled with anger, Lee Juwon showed no signs of calming down.
“Ha….”
“Juwon-ah, it’s okay. I told Executive Director Jeong to find him, so we’ll get a call soon.”
“Yeah….”
Lee Juwon, who had been fuming and searching through the house for a while, finally gave up and let out an annoyed sigh, then sat on the sofa. Han Taeseok hurried over to him and earnestly tried to soothe him, saying he had made contact, and Lee Juwon smiled with difficulty and tried hard to calm his angry heart.
“I’ll go get some water. Drink that and calm down.”
When Lee Juwon became calmer than at first, Han Taeseok said he would get some water and went to the kitchen. Finding that sight quite cute, he chuckled briefly before frowning again.
If things had gone as they should have, it wasn’t just Han Taeseok or Cheon Jaekyung, but Lee Hyeonseok should have been desperate for him too. However, Lee Hyeonseok suddenly started keeping Seo Jiwoo close to him as if he had become a different person and began distancing himself from him. Not only did he hate Lee Juwon’s whole situation, but he couldn’t even understand it. Just as Han Taeseok said, he wondered if he was doing this to provoke his jealousy because he had been too much of an iron wall and only rejected him. No, surely that must be it, and it absolutely had to be that way.
“Seo Jiwoo….”
Most people were tearing into Lee Hyeonseok, saying he had gotten himself a male lover, but some also said that he had gone crazy over Seo Jiwoo or that he was preparing a newlywed home… words that Lee Juwon didn’t want to hear. The funny thing was that Lee Hyeonseok knew all those rumors but wasn’t denying any of them.
For Lee Juwon, Lee Hyeonseok, Han Taeseok, and Cheon Jaekyung loving him was a kind of natural order. Yes, how could life flow easily all the time? Right now was just a temporary bump. Thinking so, Lee Juwon relaxed his frowning expression. In front of Han Taeseok, he still needed to remain like an innocent child.
“Here, drink this.”
“Thanks.”
Just then, Han Taeseok returned and handed him the water he had brought. Lee Juwon smiled gratefully. When Lee Juwon smiled beautifully on his pretty face, Han Taeseok blushed and stared at him in a daze.
‘This is right.’
Han Taeseok’s reaction was enough to satisfy Lee Juwon. As a reward, when he gently smiled with his eyes, Han Taeseok rushed at him with momentum to pounce on Lee Juwon, but it ended in failure due to the bell that rang just then.
“Who’s… Sorry, let me just take this call.”
“No, it’s okay. Take it here.”
It was Lee Juwon who stopped Han Taeseok, who was about to leave to take the call with curses. When Lee Juwon showed a stubborn attitude, even grabbing his arm, Han Taeseok had no choice but to press the call button right there.
“What is it?”
—We found Cheon Jaekyung-nim.
“Where is he now?”
This time, an irritated voice came from Han Taeseok. However, at the news that Executive Director Jeong conveyed, Lee Juwon and Han Taeseok’s eyes widened. Han Taeseok asked bluntly, with the feeling that Lee Juwon would be somewhat relieved now and at the same time feeling that he didn’t even want to see Cheon Jaekyung’s face.
—Well… he’s lying in the hospital.
“The hospital?”
At the word hospital, Lee Juwon was shocked and even raised his voice to ask. This was separate from the fact that he had recently lost affection for Cheon Jaekyung, because the treatment toward omegas in the world had gone too far. Recently, there was even a trend where alphas would coat an omega they wanted as a plaything with heat pheromones and pass them around to multiple alphas. The funny thing was that if an omega felt ashamed and miserable about their situation and hid, they hid, but alphas weren’t punished. Even if they bravely reported that an alpha had raped them, they weren’t punished if the alpha claimed that the omega had seduced them first.
This was because there were many alphas among high-ranking officials, and omegas usually had no real power even if they came from good families. The moment an alpha’s crime was acknowledged, there would be more than one or two people who would be implicated in a chain, so they conducted image-making according to the tastes of the power elite, making alphas objects of admiration and omegas sexually objectified.
In terms of ratio, there were more betas, but the problem was that everyone liked stimulating things, and in this world, no matter what efforts were made, omega human rights hit rock bottom. As if that were a given. It wasn’t something that could be changed by someone’s efforts.
“What on earth happened that Jaekyung is in the hospital?”
Executive Director Jeong briefly pondered whether he should answer Lee Juwon’s question or not, but since Han Taeseok would obviously ask anyway, he decided to continue speaking.
—Actually, it seems Jaekyung-nim heard the news that Lee Hyeonseok-nim and Seo Jiwoo-ssi were at the center and rushed over.
“What did you say?”
“Crazy bastard.”
At Executive Director Jeong’s answer, Lee Juwon’s flustered question and Han Taeseok’s exasperated curse burst out simultaneously. Unless he was out of his mind, how could he have thought to go outside the day after his heat ended? Lee Juwon and Han Taeseok even thought it was impressive that Cheon Jaekyung, who obviously couldn’t control his pheromones, had made it to the center without being raped.
—It seems Jaekyung-nim contacted Secretary Yoo Seonwoo directly.
“I thought he had cut ties?”
—Since Secretary Yoo is as good as Jaekyung-nim’s right-hand man, they apparently still contact each other from time to time.
Lee Juwon and Han Taeseok sighed simultaneously. They couldn’t understand at all what the person who was as good as his right-hand man was thinking when he took Cheon Jaekyung to the center. The two looked at each other briefly, then recalled the news that the person who went to the center was in the hospital and asked Executive Director Jeong again.
“So, he contacted him and went to the center, but why is he in the hospital?”
—It’s said that Jaekyung-nim caused a disturbance and got into a bit of a physical altercation with Lee Hyeonseok-nim. In the process, he was injured and was urgently transported to the hospital.
“Heo…!”
“Jaekyung-ah….”
In short, Cheon Jaekyung had gone to the center, raised hell, and got beaten up by Lee Hyeonseok. In the end, Han Taeseok couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. Lee Juwon lowered his head to avoid being caught with his expression crumbling and called Cheon Jaekyung’s name pitifully.
“Juwon-ah, it’s okay. I see. Which hospital is it?”
—I’ll send you the address now.
“Please also keep us updated on his condition.”
—Yes, I understand.
After hanging up with those words, Han Taeseok pulled Lee Juwon into an embrace. Seeing Lee Juwon’s trembling body, he mistook it as being due to worry because it was so absurd. Lee Juwon didn’t correct Han Taeseok’s misunderstanding and snuggled into him while starting to sniffle.
“Why, what’s wrong, Juwon-ah…!”
“…Go….”
“Hm?”
When the startled Han Taeseok patted and coaxed Lee Juwon, Juwon spoke in a sobbing voice, but because the pronunciation was slurred and hard to hear, Taeseok asked back. Lee Juwon paused for a moment, then appealed to Han Taeseok full of grief.
“Why is Hyeonseok like this….”
“Lee Hyeonseok?”
“Even though he’s rough, you guys got along well.”
“That’s….”
Han Taeseok couldn’t easily agree with Lee Juwon’s words. If it were up to him, he would have dealt with him long ago, but he just left him alone because Lee Juwon didn’t like it. Of course, Lee Juwon also knew this but pretended not to.
“I was worried that Hyeonseok might bully Seo Jiwoo, but actually, doesn’t Seo Jiwoo have other thoughts? Because to me….”
“What are you talking about? What did he say to you?”
“Gasp. N-no. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, what is it? Tell me.”
“I said it’s nothing.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to find that bastard right now.”
Lee Juwon briefly pretended to worry about Lee Hyeonseok or Cheon Jaekyung while pushing Seo Jiwoo as the culprit. Sure enough, Han Taeseok was surprised and interrogated Lee Juwon. Lee Juwon didn’t add words for a while and made excuses, then when he was about to get up from his seat and threaten him, he opened his mouth as if he had no choice.
“Last time when I got slapped by Hyeonseok, I said it wasn’t Seo Jiwoo’s fault, that it was just because I covered for him…. But now that I think about it, I think Seo Jiwoo incited Hyeonseok when I was talking with him.”
“Incited?”
“Yeah. Even in the nurse’s office, it would have been fine if he had just left quickly, but it’s strange that he stayed there.”
Han Taeseok didn’t quite understand Lee Juwon’s words, but since he said it was strange, somehow Seo Jiwoo seemed strange. Han Taeseok nodded and focused on Lee Juwon’s words.
“Also, Seo Jiwoo sometimes smiled as if he envied me or smiled in a scary way. It’s probably my imagination.”
“No, that bastard seemed like a nutcase. It’s probably not your imagination. He’s obviously envious of you, so seeing him wag his tail at Lee Hyeonseok and cling to him pathetically, he’s clearly a piece of trash.”
Although Seo Jiwoo had only appeared pathetic in front of Han Taeseok or had his collar grabbed, at Lee Juwon’s words, he instantly fell to being trash for no reason.
“No, he didn’t seem like that kind of kid. I don’t think Seo Jiwoo would be like that…. But if Seo Jiwoo is such a bad kid, I don’t think I can forgive him. Making Jaekyung like that. Deceiving Hyeonseok… *sob*…. H-how could he do that?”
“Don’t cry, Juwon-ah.”
When Lee Juwon pretended not to and confirmed Seo Jiwoo as trash, Han Taeseok pulled him tightly into his arms once again and soothed him.
“I’ll take care of that trash properly.”
The fact that Cheon Jaekyung had first ruined Seo Jiwoo’s college entrance exam had long since disappeared from Han Taeseok’s mind. In his mind remained only Seo Jiwoo, a trash-like male prostitute who was after money and power and who made the Lee Juwon he loved shed tears. He had to do something about the culprit who made his love feel upset. Lee Juwon sniffled and burrowed into Han Taeseok’s embrace. Just like that, he smiled with satisfaction without anyone knowing.
