-86-
What should I do with this hyung? It was amazing how blindly he agreed to everything, nodding and saying, “You’re right. I’ll do as you say.”
“What if I say I want to get married when I’m your age?”
“…That’s fine too.”
“What are you saying? You should say, ‘You bad guy, stop it!’ at that point.”
“It’s really okay.”
Junjae nodded as if he could really wait even then, and Jeonggwan shook his head and laughed as if he couldn’t handle it. “To love me so much. It brings tears to my eyes,” Jeonggwan said jokingly. He expected Junjae to respond in kind, but after a long pause, Junjae said something unexpected.
“I… was originally recessive.”
And he began to tell his hidden story.
After manifesting as dominant in a hospital elevator at age 10, Junjae had only one thought: Ah, now I won’t have a hard time. Now I can watch cartoons freely like my brother, and eat cake as I please. Now father will like me too, just like my brother.
But why was it even harder? Even though he had become the true dominant his father had wished for, why couldn’t he receive praise no matter how well he did compared to other dominant children? Was his original recessive nature, as his father said, something that couldn’t be erased? But he studied better than his troublemaking brother, was bigger and taller, and listened to his father well. And despite being the dominant his father so desired, why was his father strict only with him while saying little to his brother? When severely depressed, he thought about wanting to die. Why was he born this way? He should have either been dominant from the start or remained recessive till the end. Why was only he suffering like this? Did others suffer like this too?
But by his late teens, he no longer questioned these things. He just accepted that this was how he had to live. Since he was born with status and power that others couldn’t enjoy, it was natural to have such restrictions.
“…So until my mid-twenties, I had nothing I wanted to eat or do. I lived exactly as my father told me to. So I couldn’t easily make decisions or judgments on my own unless there was a clear answer, and I was scolded by my father again for not being able to do even that when I would have to lead the company in the future. After that, he told me to do as I pleased… It wasn’t until I was over thirty that I improved enough to handle important tasks.”
Yet my life wasn’t entirely my own. It always felt like I was living someone else’s life.
But then, for the first time in my life, I encountered someone who did everything as they pleased, from appearance to behavior. Someone who had good pheromones but surrounded themselves with betas who couldn’t smell them, who ate several desserts at a banquet without caring about others’ eyes, who arrogantly ordered me to try cake, who threatened to go home if I didn’t eat dessert. A strange person who really didn’t care about others and did whatever they wanted. By my standards, they seemed quite crazy.
But should I call it vicarious satisfaction? To me, who always lived watching my father’s mood, that person seemed like a cartoon protagonist. It was ridiculous how obvious their tactics were, but even that made me feel good. It felt like that protagonist had chosen me. Like they had invited me into their world.
It felt like my life started from that moment. A life where I made choices following my heart entirely, without anyone telling me what to do. Pushing out the company’s first-floor cafe, leaving work without permission, ruining blind dates. These were things I couldn’t have imagined doing a few months ago. Of course, I pretended otherwise on the outside, but inside I was very anxious, wondering if this was really okay. But soon even that anxiety felt like nothing. I felt that even if my father cut me off from the company or told me to leave home because of this, it wouldn’t seem like a big deal. Of course, it would be a big deal, but I didn’t think I would regret it.
“So this can’t be expressed simply as love. It’s more like… Jeonggwan, you’re like a prince who came to rescue me, no, to save my life.”
Junjae, who had poured out his story calmly, examined Jeonggwan’s expression as he stared blankly up at him. Had he been too honest? Was it burdensome?
“…I thought you were the prince.”
“…Are you disappointed?”
“No. I like being the prince better.”
Contrary to Junjae’s worries, Jeonggwan smiled brightly. Then he wrapped his arms around Junjae’s neck. Honestly, he hadn’t known that he held such great meaning for Junjae, or that Junjae had been through such difficulties.
“But your father… Is it okay to say this?”
“…It’s okay.”
“He’s really bad. A true final boss villain.”
Junjae’s laughter resonated through Jeonggwan’s body. He had thought Jeonggwan would say something like “That’s too much,” but Jeonggwan’s words were spot on as usual. Yes, so the prince should defeat him. Junjae briefly kissed Jeonggwan’s cheek.
“Yes!”
* * *
Of course, the final boss villain wasn’t easy to deal with. The next day, Jeonggwan was “kidnapped” by the villain on his way home from work. It wasn’t real kidnapping, of course, but he was led by the villain’s secretary in a very polite but pressuring manner that couldn’t be refused. Although sudden, it was a scenario he had expected to face at some point.
From the moment he stepped into the large mansion that anyone would recognize as a chaebol family’s main house, Jeonggwan felt a bit intimidated. He hesitated to step on the stone path leading up to the house, wondering if it was okay to walk on something so intricately carved, but the secretary walking ahead without hesitation made him feel embarrassed, as if it emphasized the difference between him and this place.
Entering through large double doors, then another set of doors, crossing a courtyard to reach the dining room. As a large and beautiful space unfolded, looking like it could give the feeling of dining in a high-end restaurant every day, Jeonggwan unconsciously exclaimed “Wow-” in admiration, but his jaw quickly clenched at the sight of two people sitting at the end of the long marble dining table.
“…Come and sit down.”
They were unmistakably Junjae’s parents. The woman who invited him to sit with an unexpectedly gentle voice was clearly Junjae’s mother. Her polite smile was identical to Junjae’s.
“…”
And there was Junjae’s father, who looked so much like Junjae it seemed like a copy-paste, exuding an air of sensitivity.
“Hello.”
While politely bowing to Junjae’s parents, Jeonggwan looked at Junjae’s father with curiosity. How could they look so alike? Won Youngjae had truly given birth to Won Youngjae. Wow-. Is this what they call a handsome middle-aged man?
“Jeonggwan… do you have any foods you don’t eat?”
“No, I eat everything well.”
“Then, Manager, please bring out the meal.”
So real chaebols really do have separate chefs or butlers in their homes. Feeling the difference in status once again, Jeonggwan slightly hunched his shoulders and pressed his lips together. It’s awkward enough meeting a friend’s parents, let alone a lover’s parents. Moreover, this sudden meeting today was obviously because of yesterday’s incident. The brothers had gotten into a fistfight because of him, so how angry must they be?
However, Jeonggwan tried to remain calm. It wasn’t his fault. Honestly, until yesterday afternoon, he had been scared and worried about Junjae’s parents. Thinking, “What if they offer me money to leave him?” But after hearing Junjae’s story yesterday and realizing how important he was to him, an inexplicable courage welled up. If they offered him money in the hundreds of millions of won, it would certainly be a temptation he couldn’t easily refuse, but just as Junjae had rushed 5 hours from Japan to protect him, he too felt a responsibility to protect Junjae. He was confident he could protect Junjae.
“I’ll cut to the chase. I’ll transfer a 12 billion won building in Cheongdam-dong to your name.”
“…Pardon?”
However, he hadn’t expected 12 billion won. He thought it would be 3 billion at most, but a 12 billion won building? Every hole in Jeonggwan’s face opened wide. He thought dramas had exaggerated with 3 billion, but 3 billion was actually peanuts. But even for a chaebol, 12 billion… Is this for real? Jeonggwan’s pupils shook.
“I hear Junjae awakened as a dominant thanks to you. 12 billion for one omega is a loss for us, but considering it’s thanks to your pheromones, we’ve generously included a confidentiality agreement.”
“…Excuse me?”
And what was that about? What do you mean he became dominant thanks to me?
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Junjae must have told you everything already. That he manifested as dominant at age 10 thanks to you.”
What, what does that mean? He said he manifested as dominant in a hospital elevator at 10, but he didn’t say it was because of me… Jeonggwan couldn’t understand a word coming out of Junjae’s father’s mouth.
“…He didn’t tell me.”
“…”
“…”
Silence spread across the table. Jeonggwan looked back and forth between Junjae’s parents with a puzzled expression. Junjae’s father looked at his wife as if asking what was going on, and Junjae’s mother just blinked with a dumbfounded expression. Then she cautiously asked Jeonggwan:
“…Junjae didn’t tell you?”
“…Tell me what?”
“The day Junjae… manifested as dominant was April 10th.”
