I was so surprised that I alternately looked at both their faces. The Chairman showed not a trace of agitation. Was he not paying attention to Baek Sahyun’s words? If so, that would be fortunate.
The Chairman asked me.
“Can you have a meal with me?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Should I sit at the same table as my son who smeared shit on the report?”
Hahaha. Light laughter circled through the air. I fumbled and glanced at Baek Sahyun. The bastard wasn’t giving me any attention at all. You crazy bastard. Please refuse on my behalf. I was desperately sending signals to his broad back when—
The Chairman approached and caressed my cheek.
“I know a good restaurant, thought we could go there. Your cheeks have been gaunt since morning, and it doesn’t look like Sahyun fed you anything either.”
White fingers gently stroked around my cheek. Unlike the tone full of worry and affection, the sensation touching my skin was cool and cold. When his gaze, filled with a strange satisfaction, began to sweep over every corner of my features, the gossip about the Baek family that Chae Eunwoo had told me about suddenly came to mind.
“That crazy family is infamous for looking for breeding stock. They want to make grandchildren but don’t want to let them get married. It’s not like they plan to keep them around for life either. I heard they even bought up all the trait transformation drugs on the market. To find poor betas or alphas and feed it to them.”
“They’re not looking for omegas, but trying to transform betas or alphas?”
“Yes. The Chairman there has severe omega-phobia. Plus there’s this rumor, you know. If someone who became an omega through trait transformation has a child, that person’s traits are never inherited and the child inherits the partner’s traits completely. Since Baek Sahyun is an incredibly dominant alpha, maybe they’re deliberately looking for breeding stock because of their desire to get such a grandchild?”
I had only thought of it as nonsense floating around, but one shouldn’t make rash assertions about worldly matters. If I fall for this coaxing and end up taking too much medicine and have Baek Sahyun’s child…, no! Baek Sahyun’s child!
Besides, I’d never even imagined that I would give birth to a child. I often thought I wanted to become a father, but…. Gulp. After swallowing with difficulty, I quickly bent at the waist.
“I’m sorry! I, uh, n-no men!”
After shouting as politely as possible, I ran toward the door without looking back. But just as I was about to flee at the speed of light—
“Urk, Baek Sahyun, wait!”
My nape was firmly grabbed by a strong grip. It was Baek Sahyun’s doing. In the end, I was brought back to my original position without being able to budge. It happened just 3 seconds after my escape attempt.
“His hearing isn’t good, so if you say that and leave, he won’t understand.”
Baek Sahyun, who had draped his arm around me like putting his arm around someone’s shoulders, whispered in my ear. Though it was a bit loud to call it a whisper, the Chairman shrugged as if he didn’t care about his son’s childishness.
“Uh, Chairman, I’m sorry. I just remembered somewhere I urgently need to go….”
I repeatedly bowed my head, apologizing for my earlier rudeness. Since my escape had failed, I had to hurry and explain. The Chairman’s glare was too piercing.
“You don’t need to worry about that thing about men.”
“Mm.”
“Well…, I recently got into a car accident, so sometimes I say nonsensical things.”
“Ah, dear me. What to do. Sometimes you say nonsensical things. That men won’t do. When the one thinking of giving rice cakes isn’t even thinking about it. Right, Sahyun-ah?”
The Chairman gave a businesslike response. It might have been his way of showing consideration toward a man young enough to be his son, but I wished he’d realize it only multiplied my embarrassment each time.
A brief silence followed. I fidgeted with both hands, waiting for an answer. The oblivious Baek Sahyun attempted to play around by intertwining his hand with my fingers. When I lightly struck his shoulder with my elbow, the bastard shamelessly backed off. The Chairman, who had been observing the process with interested eyes, let out a slight laugh and said,
“Haha. Liking women is nothing to apologize for. I like women too.”
“Pardon?”
“So…, the meal?”
“If not today, I’d like to eat together next time.”
The Chairman’s persistence once again fanned the flames of anxiety. What reason would the head of a corporation who wouldn’t have enough bodies even if he had ten, have to make a meal appointment with his son’s friend—moreover, a young person he had no particular acquaintance with?
Breeding stock. That word that gave me chills just hearing it must be the answer. When a successful person extends meaningless goodwill, it’s evidence their intentions are rotten.
However, showing refusal was a separate matter. Looking at the Chairman’s momentum, it seemed ordinary excuses wouldn’t work at all. If he truly harbored impure intentions as Chae Eunwoo said, then he’d dig through my entire schedule to secure an appointment.
“The rumors about that family are really terrible. The gossip must be the mild version for such talk to be going around.”
Chae Eunwoo’s warning floated before my eyes.
In *Excessively Brilliant* as well, Baek Sahyun’s unfortunate family circumstances seemed to be briefly mentioned. However, since it was an unhappy attribute the protagonist naturally possessed, it wasn’t heavily emphasized. It only functioned as a device to add plausibility to the bastard’s twisted personality.
“I’ll contact you again later. Let’s have a meal together, the three of us. Woohyun is very shy around strangers.”
While I was hesitating, Baek Sahyun made the first move. The bastard gently fixed my gaping jaw. The Chairman opened his eyes wide as if genuinely surprised.
“Ah, Sahyun, you’re going to arrange it?”
“That’s what I mean.”
As if deeply moved by the fact that his son readily stepped forward, a deep smile spread across the Chairman’s face. Truly, he was an incomprehensible person.
In the end, three of us came out to the entrance to see him off. Baek Sahyun, Baek Sahyun’s mother, and Baek Sahyun’s housekeeper. I bowed 90 degrees and hurriedly walked out toward the garden.
However, it didn’t take long to notice the shadow following behind and the toe of shoes appearing in succession.
“You can’t just sneak off alone. I need to be let out too, Woohyun-ah.”
Baek Sahyun stopped me. The shameless bastard was good at grabbing people.
“Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“As you said, I’m of unknown identity and have a difficult personality. You know that. Also, what was it…, as you know, I have some confusion symptoms, and I’m not in a normal state to begin with. I’m in the situation of having entered another person’s body, not my own.”
“That’s true.”
“And, honestly, I’m flustered right now, you know? Why did you bring up my real name in front of the Chairman?”
Moreover, he didn’t seem very interested in the fact that I was called by a different name. He was so overly calm that I was rather puzzled.
Baek Sahyun explained clearly.
“Because there’s no need to hide it. I already explained everything in the report.”
“R-report?”
I wondered if that report he said he smeared shit on was referring to this. His low, calm voice continued.
“He was trying to drag you in, so I just took action.”
“What do you mean drag me in, and how?”
“Do you want to know?”
No. I didn’t want to know. Because one major piece of information flashed through my mind. The breeding stock gossip Chae Eunwoo had told me about. Recalling it, I made him understand that if my genes were involved, he’d have to give up on intelligent and handsome descendants.
“Listen carefully. I have very, very poor math skills. I can do basic arithmetic quickly, but I can’t solve any high-level problems at all. It’s the IT age these days, isn’t it? Ah, and I’m also bad at Korean. I don’t understand what people say well either. You know?”
“My ears hurt. Shut up.”
“Right! I’m also bad at cleaning ears. I don’t notice well when people are hurting either? I’m not detail-oriented.”
My appeal of shortcomings continued uninterrupted until the bastard put me in his car and dropped me off at Nam Heejae’s hotel. Just as I was about to tell him my fifty-sixth flaw, Baek Sahyun buried his head against the steering wheel and muttered in a cold atmosphere.
“Woohyun-ah. You’re being loud.”
“Sorry. It’s annoying, right? But yeah. I’m fucking loud. Loud and frivolous and all that.”
Though I felt sorry for Baek Sahyun roughly running his hand through his hair as if fed up, I couldn’t stop my gaping mouth’s solo performance. No matter what, I didn’t want to become a chaebol family’s breeding stock.
That was non-negotiable even if they offered me billions. Aside from everything else, creating life is something that should be done carefully. Mutual consent must be guaranteed.
“Before I came here, I was a thirty-year-old bachelor. Why would a man with all four limbs intact be a bachelor? Bad head, no abilities, no gentlemanly manners. There’s a reason people don’t choose someone. My genes should end here. That’s right.”
“…You, right now, that body is you—”
“O-of course the shell is Nam Heejae. But seeing how I still can’t properly understand the basics of my major subjects, in the end, wouldn’t it be my genes that are transmitted? Besides, what if Nam Heejae returns while you’re doing this?”
Even I couldn’t grasp the core of what I was saying. My only small hope was that Baek Sahyun would understand the desperation contained in my words. Then Baek Sahyun said,
“When did you hate being pitied, look at this. You’re tormenting yourself again on your own. You’re appealing to be pitied, right? Asking to be looked upon favorably because you’re such a deficient bastard.”
“……”
“What do you want me to do about it? Huh?”
Baek Sahyun, who had been leaning back in his seat, asked accusingly.
The bastard’s nerves were on edge. He was so sensitive that he didn’t even seem to care about the assumption that Nam Heejae might return. The bastard seemed preoccupied only with me. His continuously spat out voice was full of fatigue.
“Just go up and rest for now. I’ll contact you again later.”
“……”
“Turn your head this way. I’ll finish marking you with pheromones before you go. You have to pretend to be an alpha, don’t you?”
Baek Sahyun pulled the back of my head and buried his nose near my neck. The bastard inhaled deeply and then exhaled again. The thick breath gently wandered around the area between my collarbone and nape.
The sight of him closing his eyes tightly and pouring out his breath was very careful and also devoted.
