Lee Hyeonseok, leaning back in his black leather chair, flipped through a few pages of documents before carelessly tossing them onto the desk and muttering emotionlessly.
“How diligent they are.”
These were documents containing personal information on individuals targeting the research on mutual reactions between alphas and omegas—in other words, research on imprinting—that was currently being conducted. From people sent by his own family to other corporations and even the government.
Recently, Lee Hyeonseok had been extremely busy with both public and private matters. He lacked time to the point of wanting to throw away his position as successor. He couldn’t understand the siblings in his original world who fought like dogs to become the group’s heir. To put it crudely, he was fucking dirty busy.
This was because there were more people than expected trying to get their spoon in the research on trait manifesters, which now progressed slowly but smoothly even without Lee Hyeonseok. The fact that research had been conducted to change traits had somehow leaked and flowed to some people in the form of “I heard that…” rumors.
‘I heard the HW Group heir is conducting experiments to turn perfectly normal betas into omegas behind the scenes without consent.’
‘I heard it’s because he wants to keep his cherished mistress by his side.’
‘I heard he conducts all sorts of unethical research for genetic studies.’
‘Actually, I heard it’s to turn opponents who get in his way into omegas.’
‘Anyway, turning a perfectly normal beta into an omega—there’s truly no more novel murder method than that.’
As they say, birds hear words spoken during the day and mice hear words spoken at night—no matter how tightly you hide and conceal it, secrets are bound to leak. Not only were people trying to determine the truth of stories mixed with absurd falsehoods along with the truth, but there were industrial spies trying to steal research results, and even a government openly demanding or requesting to share research results under the pretense of public interest. The government, faced with continued refusals, had recently begun pressuring him with tax audits, claiming to investigate tax evasion charges.
That wasn’t all. He also had to deal with family members buttering up their words trying to secure a position somehow, or desperately trying to grasp Lee Hyeonseok’s weaknesses. The impulse to just cause a scene and then take off to some deserted island with only Seo Jiwoo grew stronger day by day.
If he hadn’t been relieving stress with Seo Jiwoo all along, Lee Hyeonseok might be standing in court by now. Fortunately, Lee Hyeonseok felt an inexplicable satisfaction just from Seo Jiwoo being inside the house. On top of that, when they mixed flesh, beyond fulfillment, even ecstasy welled up—that was exactly why Lee Hyeonseok went home without fail no matter how busy he was.
Lee Hyeonseok was sometimes confused by emotions he felt for the first time in his life, emotions even he couldn’t understand, but since he was doing well for now, he didn’t contemplate too deeply. Of course, whenever Seo Jiwoo showed off trying to look good, all sorts of crazy thoughts dominated his mind for a moment.
For example, things he’d never felt once in his life, like wanting to bite him because he was so cute, lovely, wanting to hug him like crazy. Lee Hyeonseok even seriously pondered whether he was really going insane. Again, ultimately, since there was nothing he disliked and he was doing well, he didn’t think about the reason for those feelings. Just as Seo Jiwoo waited for the end that would come someday, Lee Hyeonseok also just had to enjoy it until the end came someday.
In any case, Seo Jiwoo was obediently in Lee Hyeonseok’s arms. That alone was enough.
“Ugh…”
“Ah. President, he seems to be regaining consciousness.”
Lee Hyeonseok, who had been violating Seo Jiwoo in every way in his imagination to relieve stress, opened his eyes that he’d closed at the voice of the man calling him.
Cheon Jaekyung, whose clothes and body had not a single intact spot anywhere as if he’d been beaten up all over, lay collapsed on the pure white floor, his body twitching. Around Cheon Jaekyung stood several well-built men in jet-black suits.
If not for the black nameplate on the desk reading “HW Pharmaceuticals President Lee Hyeonseok,” it would have been a scene perfect to mistake for a gangster’s office. Lee Hyeonseok didn’t pay attention to Cheon Jaekyung even at the guard’s report. Rather, he resented the guard for stopping his imagination.
Just as Lee Hyeonseok was about to throw the crystal ashtray sitting on the desk to vent his anger, a text message that arrived saved the guard.
「Seo Jiwoo-nim attempted to go out. I said I would run errands for him instead, but he quickly gave up and went into his room. He didn’t particularly ask why going out was being blocked, but he doesn’t look to be in a good mood.」
The guard was saved, but the content of the text that simply listed facts without preamble was enough to make Lee Hyeonseok’s already bad mood become the worst. To think he’d been treating him well because he’d been acting obediently lately, yet he fearlessly thought about going out. Lee Hyeonseok sighed, thinking he’d been treating Seo Jiwoo too preciously, as if he were gold or jade, worried he’d fly away if blown on or break if gripped. If Seo Jiwoo knew, he would have earnestly begged him to please go see a psychiatrist.
Lee Hyeonseok wondered why Seo Jiwoo, who had been listening well, suddenly attempted to go out, whether there was some trigger, so he turned on the monitor screen and checked the CCTV installed in the house.
Nominally, it was CCTV installed for his home and security, and for Seo Jiwoo’s safety. Lee Hyeonseok would look at it whenever he was bored or had time. He looked at Seo Jiwoo through the CCTV at every opportunity, to the point where rumors circulated behind his back that Lee Hyeonseok’s new hobby was “watching CCTV.”
Seo Jiwoo, who had failed at going out, was lying on their bed. Lee Hyeonseok, who had been about to give him a good scolding, saw Seo Jiwoo lying on the bed in the room the two shared, the bed he had personally chosen and bought, and vividly felt his mood, which had fallen to the ground, not only recover but even improve.
“Ha, really…”
The emotion even he couldn’t define kept surging without stopping, making it difficult to control. He eventually muttered while looking at the CCTV and held his forehead.
The guards couldn’t understand their superior who suddenly let out an empty laugh while looking at the monitor, muttered, and then suddenly sat holding his forehead. On one hand, they worried about who dared touch their superior’s mood, which would immediately result in fists or kicks flying if even slightly twisted, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. Lee Hyeonseok’s absurd voice was tinged with laughter.
The guards couldn’t see because Lee Hyeonseok had his head lowered, Cheon Jaekyung was too busy looking after himself while collapsed on the floor, and Lee Hyeonseok couldn’t see his own face himself. For different reasons, no one in that room could know that Lee Hyeonseok’s lips were raised satisfactorily as he grinned foolishly.
Lee Hyeonseok, having calmed his mind to some extent, raised his head again. He played the recorded video from morning until now at 1.5x speed next to the live screen, then changed it to normal speed when the sleeping Seo Jiwoo’s body twitched.
Seo Jiwoo struggled to get up from his spot only an hour after Lee Hyeonseok went to work. At first, Seo Jiwoo sat lost in thought with a face where drowsiness hadn’t yet disappeared, but only after a long while did life begin to dwell in his eyes.
After being pretty like a doll for two weeks, he finally looked like a living person.
Lee Hyeonseok’s mood was fine even as Seo Jiwoo carefully searched through the wardrobe to put on going-out clothes. Rather, he was thinking about shopping, thinking it wouldn’t be bad to play by changing Seo Jiwoo’s clothes. Lee Hyeonseok’s mood worsened after seeing Seo Jiwoo, fully dressed in going-out clothes, heading toward the front door.
Where does an omega think he’s going, fearlessly trying to wander outside?
After confirming that Seo Jiwoo, who returned to his room without much resistance when the guards blocked him, lay down on the bed, Lee Hyeonseok ended the recorded video and turned his eyes to the live screen. Seo Jiwoo was pondering for a long while, holding his phone.
He couldn’t tell who he was trying to contact, pondering like that while holding a phone that could only text and call, but his mood had definitely worsened. Nevertheless, Lee Hyeonseok, still having no intention of knowing the reason for his emotions, was only pondering whether he should put Seo Jiwoo’s original phone back in his hands.
If he held a phone with internet capability, he would surely be able to see how much omegas were despised and discriminated against in society, but he didn’t want him to confirm reality and become depressed or cry for no reason. Though it hadn’t even been a year since the gender called omega appeared in society, as his secretary said, current society was too harsh on omegas, to the point where nine out of ten attempted suicide.
Crying on the bed looked good, but anything else was disgusting to see. Lee Hyeonseok was the type who, when seeing someone whining and crying, would rather persuade them with his fists until they shut their mouth and stopped their tears. He truly couldn’t be anything but trash.
Lee Hyeonseok thought Seo Jiwoo was wise, seeing him cut off SNS and others first to protect his mental health, saying he’d been in society a bit. But that was only because various timings happened to be good at the time—the atmosphere, the college entrance exam, the doctor’s words, psychological anxiety, and so on. As time passed, he would quickly seek them out again. Lee Hyeonseok was aware of that flow of thinking too.
In any case, Seo Jiwoo only knew information about traits and didn’t know the personal circumstances regarding trait manifesters in detail, so he acted like this now—otherwise, he might have already searched for a knife. After brief contemplation, Lee Hyeonseok decided to postpone returning the phone to Seo Jiwoo.
Having finished thinking, he called Seo Jiwoo, who was struggling while only holding the 2G phone.
“…What nerve.”
Despite holding the phone in his hand, Seo Jiwoo didn’t answer the call. Not only that, he even furrowed his brow, openly showing he didn’t want to answer. The guards began to tense at signs that Lee Hyeonseok, who had seemed in a good mood until just now, was about to get annoyed. If they made even the slightest mistake now, they didn’t know what would happen to them using that as an excuse.
—…Hello?
When the call connected just before it was about to disconnect, Lee Hyeonseok’s thoughts stopped briefly at Seo Jiwoo’s awkward voice, tense with nervousness. He had intended to upset Jiwoo’s mood as much as his own mood was upset, as soon as Seo Jiwoo answered the phone. However, Jiwoo’s voice flowing from the speaker was different. Come to think of it, this was the first time he’d called him. The voice heard through the receiver was more raw and unfamiliar.
Lee Hyeonseok, momentarily flustered by an unknown emotion welling up, ended up getting angry.
“Fuck, you weren’t answering so much I thought you were dead, but you’re alive.”
