Chapter 1 – Manifestation
A mansion like a painting. Next to the splendid and majestic main gate, the garage shutter slowly rose.
However, the temperament of the car’s owner standing in front of the garage was far from leisurely. When the shutter was about halfway up, the low-profile car zoomed— inside. The screeching emergency brake was a bonus.
Unlike the rough driving style, the person stepping out of the driver’s seat appeared pure and innocent. Fair skin, thin double eyelids, a small and perky nose, and attractive lips with slightly upturned ends were harmoniously contained within a small face.
The legs stepping out of the driver’s seat, the long, slender fingers closing the car door. Overall, the lines were thin and delicate. The entire appearance exuded an elegant atmosphere.
He familiarly left the garage and crossed the spacious garden. He didn’t spare a single glance at the well-maintained garden trees or the neatly managed pond. His hurried steps, with no time to enjoy the surrounding scenery, only paused briefly when they reached the magnificent building.
Of course, it was only brief. After pressing his fingerprint to open the door, he entered the mansion and walked quickly once again.
Passing through a hallway hung with expensive decorations and paintings, a vast living room appeared. As he crossed through the antique space and turned left, voices began to be heard.
“By the way, what happened with that Ace who ran away? Did you catch him?”
“Catch what? It’s giving me a headache. This time he even ran off with a customer’s money.”
“Didn’t someone run away before too? Is it the same guy?”
“Yeah, he got caught quickly last time, but I guess this is what they call experience—this time he’s lasting longer.”
As he approached the dining room, the conversation became clearer. And when he finally stepped inside, all eyes focused on him.
“Young’s here!”
The large dining table in the room was already full of food. Around the abundant table sat his father, his noona, and his hyungs. Young had arrived last to this rare family gathering where everyone was present.
However, there was no reprimand.
“Hey, Young-ah, come sit down quickly.”
“We’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t even seen Young’s face. How long has it been?”
The faces of the family members, who had been conversing with expressionless looks, instantly brightened. They all looked at Young with affectionate eyes, busy welcoming him.
“Sorry. There was traffic.”
Young offered an apology as he sat between his father, who was seated at the head of the table, and his eldest noona.
“Hey, what are you sorry for? Who doesn’t know the roads are hell in the evening? You must have had a hard time getting here.”
“This isn’t even late. Father, the kid must be hungry, shall we start eating?”
Not a single person gracefully accepted the apology. His hyungs rushed to dismiss it. His father was the same. Nodding as if agreeing with his sons’ words, he casually brushed off Young’s tardiness, saying, “Since Young’s here too, let’s eat now.”
However, only his noona, the eldest daughter of this household, was different. She suddenly raised her eyes. Her abruptly questioning voice was sharp.
“But Young, what were you doing on your way here?”
“I said I was meeting Seong-jae.”
“Seong-jae is a beta, right?”
At the repeated question, the eyes of the family members, which had been dripping with honey, all turned cold. Sensing the interrogative atmosphere, Young exhaled deeply through his nose and replied as if spitting out, “That’s right. Do I need to bring you his trait examination certificate too?”
Only then did the family members’ frozen expressions thaw smoothly. His noona, who had thrown the question, also smiled broadly, saying, “You know that’s not what I meant. So, did you have fun?”
It was the fate of an omega who manifested in a household with only alphas. Even just being an omega would have been sufficiently difficult, but he was even the youngest on top of that. A late-born youngest omega with a 7-year age gap from the sibling right above him, and a 12-year gap from his eldest noona.
Thanks to that, he received a lot of love. As if he’d break if touched, as if he’d fly away in the wind. He really grew up receiving nothing but adoration. The affection was so excessive it led to overprotection, which occasionally became tiresome… but anyway, that’s how it was.
“Young likes this, right? You ate it well last time, so I specially asked the ahjumma to make it. Try it.”
His noona, who had been suspecting whether he might be meeting some rotten alpha, seemed quite embarrassed. This time she showed an extremely gentle attitude. She personally picked up a grilled deodeok root and placed it on Young’s rice bowl.
When things came to this, it was difficult for Young to reproach her for not trusting people. Moreover, given his history of nearly having his liver and gall bladder taken out by some rotten alpha, he had even less to say. He silently ate the grilled deodeok.
“It’s delicious.”
“Right? Noona contacted a mountain herb gatherer directly to get this deodeok. It’s good quality, so eat a lot, my baby.”
While Young was reconciling with his noona, his eldest hyung spoke up from across the table.
“Father, but what did you want to talk about? Since you specifically asked us all to gather, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary matter.”
At his words, their father’s spoon, which had been about to scoop soup, hesitated in midair. After a brief cough, their father completely put down his spoon and hastily drank some water.
He had been unusually quiet today. It certainly seemed there was a significant matter at hand. Sensing something unusual, his younger hyung jumped in urgently.
“What, Father, you don’t have some illness, do you?”
Despite his noona saying, “What kind of unlucky thing to say is that,” his younger hyung paid no mind.
“Or wait, don’t tell me you brought home some twenty-year-old new mother?”
Eventually, he only quieted down after receiving physical silencing from his eldest hyung.
After preparing for quite a while to speak, their father finally began with a preamble.
“Well, Joomyeong contacted us secretly. Asking if we’d like to work together.”
The reaction of the four siblings listening quietly was unanimous.
“You mean Joomyeong Group?”
“Why would Joomyeong?”
“What kind of work?”
“Huh?”
They all couldn’t hide their surprise.
And rightfully so. “Joomyeong” referred to the nation’s leading number one corporation, that very Joomyeong Group.
Smartphones that modern people carry everywhere, large and small home appliances in every house—all bore the Joomyeong logo. From department stores and large supermarkets to neighborhood convenience stores and hospitals, even securities and insurance companies—there wasn’t a place that wasn’t a Joomyeong affiliate. It was no exaggeration to say it was a prestigious company that dominated every aspect of Korean citizens’ daily lives.
On the other hand, what about Young’s family, Imoon Holdings? Though he had grown up affluent since childhood, they couldn’t compare to Joomyeong.
No, if competing in terms of wealth, they might have had some chance. But in every other aspect, they were no match.
The eldest daughter of the family, Lee Seon, worked in finance; the eldest son, Lee Hwan, operated a real estate development company; and the second son, Lee Chan, was a big player in the entertainment industry. Of course, that’s when putting it nicely. In reality, they were running a loan shark business, forced eviction and demolition services, and operating multiple clubs and room salons.
In short, it was essentially a gangster family. If you couldn’t repay money, if you wouldn’t vacate, if you caused a disturbance at a club, menacing people would invariably appear to handle the situation.
The same applied to businesses not directly managed by the Lee family brothers. It was a family so deeply rooted in the shadows that one could say no black money could flow without going through Imoon Holdings.
Yet the most legitimate of legitimate companies, Joomyeong Group, had specifically requested collaboration with Imoon Holdings, bypassing other major corporations. It was impossible to fathom the reason.
Their father waited for the four siblings’ enthusiastic reaction to subside before speaking again.
“It seems they need a partner to lend support regarding the next president position.”
However, somehow, a shadow fell over their father’s face despite receiving an offer from such a major corporation.
Even though he was someone who would be disappointed to be called second in ambition. Despite having drive second to none, someone who would snatch up any opportunity at the mere mention of the word—he was uncharacteristically hesitating.
How could the siblings, who had watched their father their entire lives, not notice his attitude? Those who had been pouring out questions just from hearing the name “Joomyeong” tactfully fell silent. Then, after a brief pause, came the main point.
“Setting aside all the various circumstances and speaking only of the conclusion.”
Ready,
“They want to marry our Young to their son.”
Start!
The siblings, who had been holding their breath waiting for the main point, erupted as if they’d been waiting for this.
“That’s ridiculous! Young isn’t some commodity—how can you marry him off like a transaction?”
