* * *
“R-really……?”
I was so shocked that I dropped the pen I was holding onto the floor.
I had no choice but to drop it.
“No way. That can’t be……”
At that time. My younger brother who had become a first-year middle schooler.
It was because of the paper Baek Seolheon was holding.
[20XX First Half – National Youth Secondary Gender Test Results]
[Name: Baek Seolheon]
[Result: Beta]
The Male Lead…… a Beta?
“He was definitely supposed to have the destiny of becoming an Alpha…… A-are you sure the test was done properly?”
Nod.
The expressionless kid nodded stiffly.
“H-Haram. Is it really true?”
Dominant Alphas have strong innate pheromones, so their ability to detect others’ pheromones is also excellent.
That’s why I dragged over the dominant Alpha who had been tearing open snack bags at home and asked him to verify……
“Yeah. I don’t feel any pheromones at all. Totally just a Beta.”
……So he says.
“Wow, that’s interesting. When Gunho-hyung told me about my Omega destiny, I thought it was ridiculous, but now that he’s saying this kid isn’t an Alpha, it feels strange too. Isn’t he taller than most Alpha middle schoolers?”
“Hyung.”
At that moment, Baek Seolheon slammed the door shut right in front of Lee Haram, then came right up to my side.
“Do I smell?”
“Smell? No…… not really.”
Unlike Lee Haram, whose presence alone made it hard to breathe when he came near, Baek Seolheon remained the same.
It meant I still didn’t feel any pheromones.
At most, only a faint, refreshing and pleasant scent lingered. It was just Baek Seolheon’s body scent that I’d been smelling since childhood, nothing more.
“That’s good, right?”
“G-good? What is?”
“That I’m a Beta.”
Baek Seolheon looked at me with his arms crossed.
Because he was growing taller by the day, our eye levels were now roughly aligned.
“If I were an Alpha, it would’ve been hard to live together, right? Even now, you can’t be in the same space as Mom and Dad without medicine, and when you need to take a car, you usually go separately.”
“Ah, yeah. That’s true. But still……”
“Hyung.”
Baek Seolheon uncrossed his arms and lowered his gaze slightly.
He looked a bit gloomy somehow, so I felt self-conscious.
“Do you not like that I’m a Beta?”
“N-not that I don’t like it, it’s just unexpected……”
“You said you like Betas.”
“I did say that……”
But does that mean you had to become a Beta?!
Just as I wanted to ask back at this kid who was questioning me like he was pressing me, memories from the past flashed through my mind.
‘Wait, now that I think about it…… there’s no reason he had to be an Alpha either, right?’
Lee Haram became a dominant Alpha, going against his fate as a dominant Omega.
Then there’s no need to find it strange that Baek Seolheon became a Beta, going against his fate as an Alpha.
No matter how properly and kindly Baek Seolheon had grown unlike in the original novel, I’d actually been secretly worried that as long as he was an Alpha, he might find another Omega victim instead of the now-burly Lee Haram and commit violence in the name of love……
I can now put those worries in a coffin, nail it shut, and burn it.
‘Because Baek Seolheon is a Beta!’
Now I just need to do well as the half-wit Alpha with pheromone allergies!
But still, for the Beta I’d tried so hard and wished for to go to Baek Seolheon—what kind of trick of fate is this?
While I was organizing my confused head, mixed with relief and jealousy, Baek Seolheon spoke.
“Don’t get involved with guys like Lee Haram anymore.”
“Huh? Why are you bringing up Haram again?”
“You promised me. That you’d be careful not to get into dangerous situations with pheromones.”
We’d had a similar conversation before.
“I’m a Beta. If something comes up, go with me. Not Lee Haram.”
“You really…… don’t like Haram, do you?”
There was no denial. It was certain that Baek Seolheon still had lingering resentment toward Lee Haram—probably memories of being a punching bag.
I swallowed a sigh and continued speaking soothingly, step by step.
“Haram is fine. He’s also gotten skilled at controlling his pheromones now, so it’s not that hard being together. So don’t ignore him too much and get along……”
“Was it a lie?”
Baek Seolheon’s voice lowered.
His voice, which had been low even before puberty, was now so extremely low that it resonated throughout the room.
“The promise you made to me at the hospital. Was it a lie?”
At his serious expression, I unknowingly hesitated and stepped back.
For a moment, wondering why I should feel guilty, I deliberately laughed exaggeratedly and patted Seolheon’s shoulder.
“You must have been really scared back then. You don’t need to worry that much. I’m being careful enough as promised.”
“But Lee Haram is dominant……”
“Aren’t you being too overprotective? I’m 6 years older than you. Where does a middle schooler treat an adult like a little brother?”
Moreover, my mental age isn’t just 6 years, but several decades older. I’m living carefully enough under the supervision of my doctor and Baekil Pharmaceuticals, so there’s no reason to be controlled in every action by such a young kid.
So I spoke firmly on purpose. Like when I used to discipline young Seolheon.
“So let’s stop there. I told you not to push only your own thoughts.”
“What if…… you collapse sick again?”
That kid. He knows that when he looks at me with those watery eyes, my heart can’t help but soften, so he’s doing it on purpose.
Eventually, I let out a deep sigh, waved my hand dismissively, and said.
“I absolutely won’t get sick. Really, if by some chance I collapse again and end up hospitalized, then I’ll do whatever Seolheon tells me to.”
“……”
“This is a real promise. Does this put you a bit more at ease?”
“……Yeah.”
Baek Seolheon furrowed his brow for a moment, then nodded slightly. I thought the argument would go on longer, but it was unexpected.
The door gap widened and bright green eyes appeared.
“Are you done with your brotherly fight?”
“……You smell, so get lost.”
“Smell?! I shower every day! I’m clean!”
Baek Seolheon roughly pushed Lee Haram away with his foot and left my room.
I scratched my cheek while watching Baek Seolheon obediently withdraw and enter his own room.
After that, Baek Seolheon never brought up the topic of my condition again.
* * *
“Seolheon. You can eat it now.”
I flipped the galbi ribs cooking on the charcoal grill with tongs.
It had been a while since I’d eaten out with Seolheon, but……
“Hey, look at those people.”
“Crazy, isn’t he an actor?”
“I don’t know. One of them is in a school uniform. Are they really filming something?”
“Gasp, he’s looking this way. Put your phone down!”
The stares piercing my back were stinging.
It’s nothing new, but as ‘Baek Gunho,’ I’m handsome. My appearance, which made people line up even when I was young, has now reached its peak in my mid-20s. Of course, the fact that most of the people in line are Omegas (male)…… let’s not think about that.
“Excuse me, are you… a celebrity? You’re so handsome.”
“Haha. No. I’m just a college student.”
“Th-then, is the person next to you……”
“My younger brother.”
“Oh, your younger brother! You’re both so handsome! Ah, do you have SNS or anything……”
“Thank you for your kind words. Enjoy your meal.”
“Y-yes.”
Now I can handle excessive attention from passersby as naturally as breathing.
But even this was an exception when I went out with Seolheon. Imagine the taste of meat grilled while listening to camera sounds going off every second.
Only after the restaurant staff belatedly dispersed the crowd like filming site staff did my appetite return.
“Sorry. I didn’t know there would be this many people. Maybe we should’ve just ordered delivery at home.”
“It’s okay. I wanted to eat meat too.”
“Should I ask them to change us to a private room even now?”
“Forget it. Don’t bother.”
On the other hand, Baek Seolheon calmly put fruit salad in his mouth and chewed, as if he really didn’t care at all.
I’m barely acting like I’m relaxed…… Is that the difference in character? Real chaebol heirs really are different somehow.
“Now that I think of it. Are your new classmates okay?”
“Yeah.”
“There weren’t any kids bullying you, right? You have to tell me if there are.”
“It’s the school you chose for me, hyung. Everyone’s nice.”
I glanced at Seolheon’s face repeatedly.
He was still expressionless, so it was hard to gauge his inner thoughts.
Hanguk High School is a prestigious school that only students who pass a high-difficulty entrance exam can attend. On the other hand, it was also a school for the wealthy, where some students gave donations and received admission favors through something called ‘portfolio interviews.’
Chairman Baek Ildo had also planned to get Baek Seolheon in through an interview, but Seolheon casually passed the exam and took first place. It happened less than a month after I asked if he’d like to try going to Hanguk High.
“By any chance, the Baekil main family…… there weren’t any kids bringing that up, right?”
“No. I’ve never even met those people in the first place, so even if they talked about it, I wouldn’t know.”
While I smiled leisurely, I was desperately putting strength in my hand holding the tongs so it wouldn’t tremble.
“S-Seolheon.”
“Why?”
“The Baekil people, do you still have no desire to see them?”
“Not really.”
Baek Seolheon’s answer was without hesitation.
“Mom said there’s no need to meet them. I have no interest.”
Baek Seolheon doesn’t know the Baek family people. And he doesn’t try to know them either.
The fact that Baek Seolheon has no desire for power might be good for the novel character ‘Baek Gunho,’ but…… for the current me, as his older brother Baek Gunho, it was worrying.
Top 0.03% in national mock exams. Maintaining 1st place in the entire school throughout middle and high school.
Pushed forward as the school representative to compete in the National Essay Contest, he won the Presidential Award.
A thesis casually submitted as an assignment was mentioned even in global financial journals for its insight that hit the core, drawing attention from academia.
For such a talented third-generation chaebol, there’s ample possibility of great success within Baekil Group, yet he himself has no interest in advancement…… It’s a huge loss not only for the group but also for the national economy.
“This summer, at least visit with Mother for the Chairman’s birthday. Even if the relationship between your parents and your maternal family isn’t good, showing your face once might unexpectedly create connections.”
“What about you, hyung?”
Seolheon’s gaze suddenly turned this way, so I quickly turned my head toward the grill.
“I’m fine. I’m also reluctant about large gatherings due to my condition. You know, the pheromone allergy.”
As soon as I gave a suitable excuse, an immediate answer flew back.
“If you don’t go, I won’t go either.”
“Seolheon. Still……”
“Here, ah.”
“Ah?”
Before I could say “ah,” Seolheon put a ssam in my mouth.
A simple combination of lettuce with sesame oil sauce and salt. It was my favorite ratio.
“Is it good?”
“Mmhm.”
Baek Seolheon quietly watched me chewing the ssam that filled my mouth, then crinkled his eyes and let out a small laugh.
“Your cheeks are going to burst.”
“……”
On this warm March spring day, was this what a smile like a flower bud bursting looks like?
It’s nothing new, but Baek Seolheon is truly, truly so handsome.
Watching that innocent and beautiful smile, a sigh naturally escaped me.
‘I should tell him soon……’
……No, let’s just do it next time. There will be another chance.
I desperately escaped reality and gulped down cold water.
* * *
“You’ve arrived.”
The elevator door opened slowly, and a person in a pitch-black suit greeted me.
“The Chairman is waiting.”
I nodded lightly to the attendants in greeting, then moved my steps beyond the wide-open door at the end of the corridor.
“You’re here. Gunho.”
There was a large-framed man with graying hair slicked back without a single strand out of place.
“My beloved grandson.”
Chairman Baek Ildo was there.
