“You can wear any of the clothes hanging here. The design is the same as what’s provided to the other omegas for fairness. Also, the clothes and shoes were custom-prepared for Seo Wooyeon-ssi, so you’re free to take them home after the Night of Sponsorship ends. We’ve roughly adjusted the sizes on our end, but if you need a different size, there’s a call button on the table—just press it to reach me. You don’t need to dial a number; it connects directly to me.”
The spacious room was decorated like a hotel. Inside the closet hung several outfits and two robes, with shoes placed below. Wooyeon picked up one of the three pairs of shoes to check the size. Somehow, they were prepared in exactly the right size for him. The table was simple but had notepaper, a fountain pen, and a desk lamp, with a telephone presumably for contacting her. Next to the table was a vanity with pheromone perfume and various cosmetics, though it was doubtful whether Wooyeon would even touch them.
“The servers, assists, and security guards—all staff members—are betas. If you urgently need anything, please ask anyone with this marking. Ah, the alphas will be wearing masks over their faces. It’s for anonymous sponsorship, so please understand.”
Anonymous sponsorship, my ass… Wooyeon almost burst out laughing, but he didn’t show it outwardly. They periodically engage in this filthy game while arrogantly hiding their faces, then slip away without a trace when it’s all over—that’s what they’re thinking.
“The bedroom is this way, and the bathroom is over here. You should know that the ‘Night of Sponsorship’ runs throughout tonight. Please vacate the lounge by 11 AM tomorrow morning. All food and drinks in the minibar are complimentary, so feel free to have them anytime. Do you have any other questions about using the lounge?”
“No.”
The pretext was that bedrooms and bathrooms were provided separately because the party runs until the next morning, but the organizers’ true intentions were obvious. Wooyeon felt nauseated by this hypocrisy from the alphas.
“When you check out, please leave the key on the desk, lock the lounge door, and leave.”
“Ah, um…”
The assist handed Wooyeon the key with a bright smile. Wooyeon stopped the assist who was about to leave after greeting him.
“I heard TH is announcing a new suppressant at this Night of Sponsorship.”
“Oh my, I completely forgot to explain that. I’m sorry.”
The assist flipped through a few pages in the binder she was holding and turned it toward Wooyeon. Inside were pictures of the package for TH’s new omega suppressant and its description.
“The new drug’s manufacturing was delayed a bit, so today’s announcement has actually been postponed. There was a brief briefing for the alphas this afternoon, but unfortunately, the welcome gift we planned to give to all attending omegas has fallen through.”
“What?”
A drug for omegas to take, and they held a briefing for alphas, not omegas. It was absurd, but Wooyeon had no energy left to be angry at this kind of world. More than that, if he couldn’t get that new drug, there’d be no reason for coming to this ridiculous party. Wooyeon thought of the one million won he’d promised Choi Seokwoo and sighed at the feeling of his blood running dry.
“Instead, we distributed samples to the alphas who attended this afternoon’s briefing. If you ask them about the new drug personally at the banquet hall, they’ll give you a sample.”
“…I understand.”
Whether it was unavoidably canceled or deliberate, Wooyeon was relieved that there was still a way to obtain the new drug, even as he felt annoyed by the absurdity of it all.
Soon the assist bowed respectfully and left the lounge, and Wooyeon sighed again, rubbing his cheek. In his other hand, he still held the lounge key the assist had given him. The key, with a 7 engraved inside a blue diamond, had an antique feel.
Wooyeon set the key down on the table and approached the closet. He could choose from several options, but thinking about all the omegas wearing similar clothes in the banquet hall below irritated him. The tops and bottoms were coordinated as sets, both hanging on a single hanger.
Wooyeon took off his padding and knit sweater, and without properly looking, pulled out one hanger and hung it over the chair. The outfit Wooyeon had pulled out was a white shirt with black slacks. It was something that wouldn’t look out of place in everyday life and was actually a style Wooyeon often wore, but the fabric and tailoring were luxurious compared to what he usually wore.
Flipping the tag at the back of the neck, he saw it was from a luxury brand everyone would recognize. Only then did Wooyeon understand why everyone wanted to be invited here.
After changing even his worn-out sneakers for dress shoes, Wooyeon looked at himself reflected in the full-length mirror. It was a very familiar appearance, yet also felt like a completely different person. He looked somewhat shabby compared to the flashy clothes, so he thought about fixing his hair before going out, but gave up, thinking he didn’t really know how to do it properly anyway.
He had no desire to gain anything here besides the new drug in the first place. Knowing his pheromones were weak, almost like a beta’s, he briefly glanced at the pheromone perfume on the vanity, but that was all.
After locking the lounge door with the key and looking around, a security guard standing at the end of the hallway gestured for Wooyeon toward the stairs.
As he descended the stairs with their ornately carved railings, a vast banquet hall spread out before his eyes. Being inside it gave him a different feeling than viewing it from the hallway above.
Multiple dazzling chandeliers hung from the extremely high ceiling, and intricately carved ice sculptures were positioned here and there, decorating the banquet hall.
Young, handsome omegas wearing the same or similar clothes as Wooyeon were smiling, and beside them stood alphas wearing half-masks covering only the upper part of their faces, dressed in gorgeous dresses and suits. They were acting dignified on the surface, but whether they had no intention of hiding it or rather wanted to ensnare with pheromones… Wooyeon’s head hurt from the pheromones being emitted by everyone, alphas and omegas alike.
“Does this contain alcohol?”
When Wooyeon asked a server passing by with several cocktails, the server answered yes. Wooyeon hesitated about whether to take a cocktail or not, but eventually picked one up. The transparent pink liquid went down his throat like juice without any bitter taste. And at that moment, the lighting in the banquet hall slowly dimmed, gradually lowering the illumination.
Soon a spotlight came on above a high platform in the center of the banquet hall, and everyone’s gaze moved in that direction. The sound of conversations gradually ceased.
“We’d like to thank all the sponsors who came to the ‘Night of Sponsorship.’ At the TH Scholarship Foundation, celebrating its 17th anniversary this year, we’ve held gatherings at every ‘Night of Sponsorship’ to introduce artists from the TH Scholarship Foundation and the Gifted Center. And like previous ‘Nights of Sponsorship,’ we’re truly delighted to introduce someone very difficult to bring here.”
Though it had no bitter taste, was there really alcohol in it? Wooyeon felt dizzy as he seemed to be getting drunk. Wooyeon sipped the gradually emptying cocktail glass while blankly staring at the platform flooded with light.
“Winner of 2nd place at the Pamier Concours, world-renowned pianist Lee Seoha-gun.”
Amidst the pouring applause, Wooyeon stopped breathing for a moment and looked at the platform. It was his half-brother, whom he’d only seen occasionally on TV or in internet articles.
Wooyeon set down the empty cocktail glass on the table and slowly walked closer to the platform. Unlike the others dressed awkwardly in identical or similar clothes, Seoha was properly dressed in a suit and styled by a professional’s touch, shining so brightly it was dazzling. Though they shared only half their blood, they were said to look quite alike since childhood, yet he felt so different.
I heard he’s a dominant omega…
Along with the surrounding murmurs, Wooyeon reached the spot closest to the platform. The Seoha that Wooyeon knew was definitely a recessive alpha. How did a recessive alpha become known as a dominant omega? Wooyeon’s puzzled gaze kept following Seoha, but Seoha seemed unaware.
Lee Seoha, after greeting from the center of the platform, soon sat at the grand piano that had been placed on the platform. After the first note that seemed to overwhelm the audience, Seoha’s fingers danced across the keys as if gliding.
Wooyeon stood still with an entranced expression, watching Seoha. It was the first time since they’d parted in childhood. Actually facing him like this.
After the rather long piece ended, Seoha’s face was full of smiles as he stood and bowed. Thank goodness. Thinking that he seemed to be doing well, the sense of debt in Wooyeon’s heart seemed to fade a little. Wooyeon had always been tormented by guilt for taking his mother away from Seoha when they were young. Moreover, the biological father who had taken custody of Seoha wasn’t a proper human being…
Wooyeon temporarily forgot his purpose for coming to the Night of Sponsorship and became absorbed in Seoha’s performance again. The next piece, which felt too short, ended with a beautiful melody that was even regrettable.
