Just because people have everything doesn’t mean there’s a rule against them complaining about their lives. But shouldn’t they at least consider the position of the person listening?
To be precise, it wasn’t my position, but from Nam Heejae’s standpoint, it would be an infuriating and absurd statement. Some people aren’t born as alphas, so they disguise their pheromones with strong perfume, live in constant fear of having their trait discovered, and get looked down on by clueless bastards who use their trait as an excuse…
I recalled the image of Seo Jeongmin standing before me with an arrogant expression, as if he knew I was a beta. Whether someone’s an alpha or beta might seem irrelevant, but this was a world where people’s status was determined by those goddamn traits.
That’s why I couldn’t sympathize with Nam Heedo’s logic even more.
However, as his silence grew longer, I began to regret whether I’d crossed a line with my remarks.
It wasn’t that I regretted the content, but I wondered if there was really a need to snap back so precisely. If I’d just listened, we would’ve already moved on to a different topic by now.
And I didn’t want to fail to find out what exactly happened that summer day last year, not today either.
“I was too harsh…”
Just as I was about to blurt out an apology, Nam Heedo surprisingly softened his cold expression and smiled. He uncrossed his legs and slowly leaned his upper body forward.
At the closing distance, I instead pulled my upper body backward. The sofa backrest cushioned and embraced my back.
“What’s gotten into you, Nam Heejae?”
Looking closely, he was the spitting image of Chairman Nam. If you looked through photos of the Chairman in his youth, you’d probably find Nam Heedo there dressed in 1980s retro fashion.
Then couldn’t Nam Heedo just pretend to be Nam Heejae and take over the company? Why does Nam Heejae have to go through the difficulty of pretending to be an alpha and playing the role of the Chairman’s son?
If being an illegitimate child is the problem, couldn’t he just be properly registered in the family register? Even belatedly taking responsibility would align better with public sentiment than hiding a grown son.
As I was lost in other thoughts, Nam Heedo called for my attention.
“Hey, blockhead.”
At this point, “blockhead” seemed to be his pet name for calling Nam Heejae.
“It’s awkward because you used to whine about wanting to be an alpha while leeching off your friend’s back.”
Finally, the information I’d been wanting was revealing itself. The relationship between Baek Sahyun and Nam Heejae that was completely hidden in the novel. Along with that, the midsummer incident that happened between them.
“I might have chosen to become an alpha again even if I went back to being a fetus like you said, blockhead, but Sahyun wouldn’t. I guarantee it.”
“……”
“That guy did his absolute best to make you an alpha and to become a beta himself. He endured it even knowing that the person who makes a beta into an alpha through a pheromone shower loses their trait, and in severe cases, can even lose sexual function and become impotent.”
Gulp, dry saliva went down my throat. My heart beat chaotically. Baek Sahyun… the lunatic Baek Sahyun tried to make Nam Heejae into an alpha?
I needed a more detailed explanation. As my face stiffened, Nam Heedo recited:
“You know better than anyone when the alpha manifestation drug is most effective.”
The image of the pill bottle I’d found at Baek Sahyun’s villa flashed through my mind. The instructions for use, as well as the precautions. It said the effect becomes more powerful if you receive a pheromone shower from an alpha in rut.
At that moment, another memory pierced through my brain. What was stored together with the alpha manifestation drug… the rut inducer.
Just as things seemed about to make sense but didn’t quite, and only an ominous feeling endlessly rose up—
“First. The alpha showering you with pheromones must never have slept with an omega. An alpha who has been in close contact with the pheromones an omega emits during intercourse has their pheromones’ inherent power weakened.”
Nam Heedo provided detailed guidance.
“Such alphas aren’t common, so I understand that you used Sahyun as a lifeline. But with the second condition, you crossed the line.”
The second condition was one I also knew.
“You had to receive the pheromones of an alpha in rut, so you forcibly made that guy go into heat. Even going so far as to feed him an inducer. Your excuse when you got caught was a mess too. Because of your mental confusion symptoms, you couldn’t even apologize properly and tried to… assault Sahyun. To keep the rut going that way. You must have been worried he’d take a suppressant.”
Ah, goddammit! I didn’t know this kind of situation was hidden. I was flustered, but I still did my best to keep listening.
The apology text sent without even maintaining proper spelling… fuck. It really was worth sending after all. Nam Heejae, you damned bastard. Even if you wanted to be an alpha, how could you do that kind of thing to a friend!
“Then, hah. Hyung-nim.”
I said as I placed my palm on my heated head.
I understood why Baek Sahyun didn’t want to convey this situation with his own mouth. Even if it were me, I would never have wanted to say it with my own mouth. It would be torture in itself.
“Does that mean Nam Heejae, no. Does it mean I assaulted Baek Sahyun and… took his virginity? As you said, my mind had problems at the time, so I’m not sure.”
Honestly, I asked thinking it couldn’t not be true, but Nam Heedo denied it immediately.
“If that happened, you wouldn’t be alive.”
Perhaps because he was bringing up an energy-draining story at dawn, he looked exhausted both mentally and physically.
“Sahyun is someone who feels disgust even if someone just makes a pass at him. I don’t know if it’s because he’s been blatantly seduced since he was young, but he despises people coming at him like that.”
“……”
“That’s probably why he became friends with you. You’re no slouch when it comes to omega hatred either.”
Now everything fit together. The attitude of Baek Sahyun in the original work, who acted peculiarly obstructive as if he were a love rival when Nam Heejae started showing interest in Chae Eunwoo.
That was, goddamn it. It wasn’t just an unfortunate accident that happened because the guy’s personality was severely psychotic compared to normal standards. From Baek Sahyun’s perspective, he was completely betrayed.
The incident of feeding him drugs to induce rut while whining about wanting to be an alpha was just last year, and instead of showing any signs of remorse, he’s off dating some pretty omega.
Even if I were Baek Sahyun, I would’ve felt betrayed thinking “what the fuck is this bastard doing with me now?” In this case, wouldn’t it clearly look like he wanted to become an alpha because he wanted to flirt with omegas?
Truly a situation where I couldn’t hold my head up. Nam Heedo stretched long as if he’d finished his role.
“From the looks of it, Sahyun didn’t tell you the exact details of that day.”
I don’t know about that. He might have actually explained it to the real Nam Heejae. Parts related to this were entirely omitted, so it wasn’t easy to gauge.
So from now on, there was only one thing I had to do. Fuck, quickly kneel before Baek Sahyun and prostrate myself in apology. While banging my forehead on the ground begging for forgiveness.
About eighty percent of me wanted to leave the room right away. Nam Heedo finally glanced at the door as if telling me to leave.
At the retreat order, I gave a folder-style bow like a soldier at attention, saying “Yes, hyung-nim! I’ll be going!” Then Nam Heedo countered with words that couldn’t help but make me break out in a cold sweat.
“I heard people go crazy if they take the alpha manifestation drug wrong—you must be that case.”
Startled, I hurriedly left the room before receiving more suspicion. I leaned against the door, caught my breath once, and headed to the living room where Baek Sahyun with his injured foot would be waiting. There was something I wanted to say as soon as I saw him.
Sahyun-ah, I’m sorry for everything? For treating you like a murderer who killed Nam Heejae the moment I first saw you? Wrong! Absolutely not. Such a shabby apology wouldn’t be enough to fully convey my sincerity.
“Sahyun-ah!”
When I faced Baek Sahyun sitting in a living room chair reading a book, a loud voice burst out involuntarily. He took out the earphones he was wearing.
I ran with all my might and knelt on both knees before Baek Sahyun. They weren’t expensive knees anyway, so I could beg for forgiveness until my hands became feet. I grabbed the hem of his pants.
“I’m sorry for misunderstanding. I… I thought you were just purely such a shitty person that you went around tormenting Nam Heejae.”
“……”
“If I’d known you made such a big sacrifice…”
“If you knew, what.”
Baek Sahyun suddenly responded sharply. The hand that pulled out and threw away the remaining earphone was rough.
“If you knew, you wouldn’t have spouted nonsense about me impregnating Chae Eunwoo or breaking his ankle?”
…No. I would have. That was an issue unrelated to Nam Heejae’s alpha-becoming project. In the original work, Baek Sahyun actually did impregnate Chae Eunwoo, broke his ankle, and confined him in his house. Baek Sahyun was a character who maintained obsessive obsession to prevent any social life during the prime of youth.
When I dragged out my answer, Baek Sahyun scoffed. But if you dared to look closely, it was also a self-deprecating laugh.
‘Does he feel like he suffered through hardships helping, only to have all the sweet parts sucked out and then get abandoned?’
Having difficultly inferred Baek Sahyun’s psychology, I gathered my courage and let it out.
Baek Sahyun definitely said he wanted to become a beta. That he didn’t want to be controlled by his trait.
“Sahyun-ah.”
Baek Sahyun looked down at me, still kneeling, with a cold gaze. Ah, what a perfect air conditioner. Just receiving Baek Sahyun’s glare, I felt like I could spend this whole summer coolly.
I courageously suggested:
“Since it’s come to this, let’s try that again.”
“What.”
“The plan where you become a beta and I become an alpha…”
That’s when it happened. Baek Sahyun struck my head with the thick book he was holding.
