Whether it was the straight soju hitting him or Yeo Mujin’s unblinking stare, he felt a laugh threatening to bubble up.
He’s definitely a naïve one, unlike our Young Master.
Gu Jongyeol shook his head instead of answering. Yeo Mujin seemed to catch that the small gesture was a refusal of his offer and quickly added,
“As you know, hyung, our Apparel Division is a bit different from the Construction Division.”
Well, that’s certainly true.
He was well aware of the Apparel Division’s reputation for refinement within KK Corporation.
Gu Jongyeol let Yeo Mujin’s words go in one ear and out the other as he poured himself a drink.
“The Apparel Division has a lot of betas and omegas.”
That’s also true.
Unlike the Construction Division, which was notorious as a pack of alphas reeking of masculine scent, the Apparel Division was crawling with betas and omegas. From what he’d heard, aside from the upper-level executives, the staff was mostly made up of betas and omegas.
Funny, really. Omegas — rare as they supposedly were in the world — had somehow all ended up either under the boots of the Construction Division alphas or crammed into the Apparel Division. What exactly is our company doing?
[Somehow, every time I come back from that building, I feel strangely restless. Like there’s a pleasant smell in the air. Maybe because there are so many omegas?]
[A pleasant smell?]
[Yes. Something that sort of stimulates the senses…… Oh, I’m sorry, hyung. You probably wouldn’t know what I mean. Excuse me.]
He recalled what Park Gangsu used to mutter whenever a joint meeting between the two divisions was held in the conference room of the Apparel Division, which faced the Construction Division — something about a nice smell drifting through.
The Apparel Division, huh.
If he were being completely honest, he’d be lying if he said Yeo Mujin’s words hadn’t caught his interest.
But……
Gu Jongyeol — who had gone from an ordinary beta to an omega — was genuinely, seriously contemplating resigning from KK Corporation.
But knowing Chairman Kang Hojun’s personality as he did, without a proper reason, he would never let Gu Jongyeol go.
And fuck, I can’t exactly announce that I’m an omega.
On top of that, this would be a betrayal.
No matter how much Ganghopa and Jinjupa cooperated to run the company together, there was still a power struggle between them.
Did he need reminding?
The brutal brawl that broke out at KK Corporation’s all-staff sports day two years ago.
Ugh.
Gu Jongyeol grimaced as he remembered the alpha subordinates who had come running to him, drenched in blood, begging him to please take revenge on the Apparel Division bastards.
“The welfare benefits are better than the Construction Division’s, too.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“There’s something called omega leave — it’s a policy created for employees whose heat cycles come in. You can take up to a week off per month citing that reason. And of course, your pay comes out normally.”
“Wow, that’s basically getting paid for nothing, isn’t it? Do they make up for it with overtime or something?”
“Of course not. They just hire more people instead. The Apparel Division has a lot of its own funds, after all.”
Yeo Mujin smiled gently. Gu Jongyeol gave a low hum through his nose.
Right. Didn’t they say the boss of the Apparel side is from a chaebol family?
He thought of Yeo Mujin’s father — CEO Yeo Daewon — who used to scatter ten-thousand-won bills wherever he went, claiming money was all he had to spare. The rumor that CEO Yeo was a scion of one of South Korea’s most prominent chaebol families had been circulating since back in the Jinjupa days.
Gu Jongyeol looked at Yeo Mujin, who offered him the job transfer one more time with a “What do you say, hyung. Will you come?”
Yeo Mujin’s eyes were bright, as if he was waiting for the answer with desperate earnestness. Under that burning gaze, Gu Jongyeol let out a small smile and spoke.
“It’s a tempting offer, I’ll admit — but even if I were to quit, a transfer would still be difficult. Even so, I’m grateful just for the thought, Mujin.”
Gu Jongyeol patted the shoulder of Yeo Mujin, who had gone quiet with disappointment at his answer.
Seriously, what a genuinely good guy.
24 hours before the incident.
The moment Gu Jongyeol heard that KK Corporation’s Chairman Kang Hojun had suddenly summoned him, he hurried straight to the chairman’s office.
Good timing, he thought.
Gu Jongyeol had something to tell Kang Hojun anyway, so he figured this was finally his chance to speak to the Chairman — who had been so endlessly busy lately that he’d barely been in Korea at all.
Hyung. I’ve gone and become a fucking omega.
Gu Jongyeol had been planning to make that dreadful confession to Kang Hojun — both his benefactor and his lifelong hyung. But……
“Chairman. Just now…… what did you say?”
He’d knocked on the door and stepped into the chairman’s office, where Kang Hojun had greeted him with a cheerful “Oh, Jongyeol?” — and then the words he’d casually thrown out next made Gu Jongyeol’s brow furrow.
Kang Hojun approached the flustered, bewildered Gu Jongyeol and nodded.
“I know. The sudden order must have caught you off guard. You have every right to be upset. If I were you, I’d have cursed up a storm too. Come on, don’t get worked up just yet — sit down, Jongyeol.”
Gu Jongyeol let himself be guided, Kang Hojun slinging an arm around his shoulders and steering him to the sofa. Kang Hojun settled him onto it, then spoke again.
“Jongyeol. My Jongyeol. The one I love more than my own worthless son.”
Kang Hojun let out a long, drawn-out sigh. When Gu Jongyeol fixed him with a stiff, stony look, Kang Hojun spoke.
“Lately…… I keep hearing things. That Yeonkyu, that insane bastard — do you know what he’s been up to?”
How could I not.
Following around after Kang Yeonkyu and cleaning up every outrageous thing he did was Gu Jongyeol’s job, after all.
Gu Jongyeol gave a nod, and Kang Hojun’s brow creased.
“That kid — he’s not human. He’s trash. Garbage.”
Kang Hojun spat the words out sharply. Gu Jongyeol honestly agreed. Kang Yeonkyu’s character had long since hit rock bottom and was drilling through the Earth’s mantle, heading straight for the core.
“Fuck. I don’t know how I raised a kid like that. Me, Kang Hojun — how did I end up with a bastard like that!”
“C-Chairman, it isn’t your fault. The way the Young Master turned out is entirely……”
“Right. It’s your fault.”
Gu Jongyeol felt the breath knock out of him at Kang Hojun’s suddenly shifting eyes. Kang Hojun let out a dry smile.
“At least on the surface, it’s our Jongyeol’s fault. Isn’t that right?”
Gu Jongyeol couldn’t find a response for a moment. Kang Hojun looked at the frozen Gu Jongyeol and squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
“Jongyeol. My Jongyeol, whom I care for deeply.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Chairman, my foot. Just call me hyung. You used to, back in the day.”
“……Yes, hyung.”
When Gu Jongyeol replied, Kang Hojun moved his lips again.
“Lately, you see…… I keep hearing things. That because Jongyeol couldn’t keep Yeonkyu in line, the little bastard grew up into the disaster he is. Causing trouble every single day — news about that kid reaches me constantly, and honestly, I’m furious too.”
“I have no excuse.”
“Right, I’d imagine so. So I’ve been thinking it over…… I want to try putting someone else on Yeonkyu.”
Gu Jongyeol’s eyes went wide. Kang Hojun smiled awkwardly, as if he understood Gu Jongyeol’s shock.
“I know Jongyeol has worked incredibly hard keeping that brat Yeonkyu in check all this time. I know all of it, even without you telling me. But what can I do. That kid keeps growing up into this waste of space, and when he eventually inherits the company, all the poor souls at KK are going to have to follow his orders. And if this company actually goes under because of that — what then? Do you know how much I’ve paid out in settlements to the omegas that Yeonkyu bastard has touched?”
How could I not know.
