That same night, while Siyeon was agonizing over the contract, Beom Yisu was equally buried in a backlog of work. After the unplanned visit to Nakwon-dong and back-to-back external meetings that followed, he finally arrived home — only for the sound of dress shoes to come clicking up quickly behind him.
“Sir!”
He turned to find his personal secretary waiting nearby, a slim envelope tucked under his arm. At this late hour, the fact that he’d come all the way here in person meant the matter was that urgent. Sure enough, the secretary had chased him all the way to the front gate and pressed on without even catching his breath.
“I know you’re busy, but this needs your attention immediately.”
He’d already received some of it over the phone, so Beom Yisu had a rough idea of why the secretary had come.
“The Director Song embezzlement case.”
“Yes. It appears a portion of the shares Director Song held has been transferred over to Director Yun’s side.”
Beomyeong was a massive conglomerate, and its management succession had long been divided across multiple subsidiaries. Among them, Beom Yisu — direct grandson of the current Beomyeong Group chairman — served concurrently as CEO of both the semiconductor division and the medical foundation, both of which formed the core pillars of the enterprise.
With the flagship subsidiaries on stable footing, the next executive position being floated for him was the construction company. And that, alongside the matter of omega Hong Siyeon, had recently become one of the primary sources of his headaches.
“What’s Director Yun’s current share percentage?”
“Still under 10%, but…… if this keeps up, there’s a strong chance a rival faction will take shape.”
“Irritating.”
Brow furrowing at the unwelcome news, Beom Yisu stepped through the heavy iron gate with his secretary in tow.
Director Yun — currently wielding the vacant CEO position however he pleased, while holding a large stake in the construction company. In plain terms, Director Yun Seokwon, who had lately been competing with Beom Yisu for the position of next group CEO, was a member of his direct family.
More precisely, he could be defined as Beom Yisu’s paternal uncle. Why they had different surnames despite being direct family was a story with its own complicated history. What mattered more was that Director Yun had his eye on Beom Yisu’s seat, biding his time.
“Director Yun’s movements have been unusual lately. It would be wise to prepare countermeasures.”
It was a troubling report — that he seemed to be leaking details of Beom Yisu’s personal affairs to shareholders in what looked like an attempt to stir up trouble. At the secretary’s whispered words, Beom Yisu’s expression darkened. There was only one thing that could be called a personal matter.
Omega pheromone rejection disorder. A damnable condition — a fatal flaw for an alpha, the inability to tolerate omega pheromones.
The moment that vulnerability became public, it wouldn’t be a mere weakness — it would be a defect. In the conservative world of alpha-dominated succession disputes, it would be a fatal blemish on his record. If he didn’t solidify the line of succession in advance, that weakness would one day come back as a blade aimed straight at him.
Which was exactly why he couldn’t afford to delay any further. He needed to present the appearance of a harmonious family — and fast — to establish a veneer of stability and project a clean, complete image to the outside world. He’d already secured a strategic stake through an arranged marriage; all that remained now was the matter of an heir.
Despite the tangle of thoughts crowding his head, Beom Yisu accepted the envelope and spoke with practiced indifference.
“Then it needs to be dealt with before things go any further. Come in — let’s go over the embezzlement case in detail first.”
Nothing else aside, the construction company’s CEO seat was not something he could hand over. He paused at the entrance and tugged loose the necktie that had begun to feel suffocating.
Beom Yisu was lost in thought as he pushed open the front door — and from inside came a voice he hadn’t expected.
“You’re back? You’re late tonight.”
Half-open luggage and a few casually tossed shirts were scattered across the floor. Following the trail of strewn clothes inside, he found Chae Yuno lounging sideways on the sofa, waving at him with complete nonchalance.
What on earth was this.
They were legally married, yes — but Chae Yuno, with his packed entertainment schedule, kept his own place in the city. Even during breaks, his appearances at their supposed newlywed home could be counted on one hand. He’d drop by when needed, then leave once his business was done.
So no one had expected Chae Yuno to be here at this hour. As Beom Yisu stood there with a stiff expression, Chae Yuno’s gaze drifted naturally toward the secretary.
“Oh? Secretary Han is here too. How have you been?”
He’d thrown everyone off balance, then acted as though nothing was out of the ordinary. As Chae Yuno smiled lazily and greeted him, the secretary’s shoulders visibly stiffened. He managed an awkward smile in return.
“It’s been a while.”
“Come on, there you go being all formal again. You can drop the formalities with me.”
“Ha, how could I possibly, with someone in your position……”
“What does it matter, it’s not like you work for me. Right, hyung?”
Chae Yuno directed the question toward Beom Yisu, who had by now shrugged off his coat. But Beom Yisu, rather than answering, went straight for the more fundamental question.
“What are you doing here.”
“Does there have to be a reason? This is my home too.”
“Stop talking nonsense. If you have something to do, handle it quietly and get out quickly. Secretary Han and I still have work to finish.”
It was essentially an order to leave. Less like someone welcoming family and more like the cold indifference one might show an unannounced visitor. Chae Yuno seemed used to it — he showed no reaction — but the secretary, caught in the middle, wore an increasingly uncomfortable expression and clutched the envelope a little tighter.
“We’re still technically a married couple, you know. That stings a little. What exactly are you two planning to do together at this hour?”
“When did you start caring so much about company business?”
“I’m not talking about company business. Don’t bring other men into our newlywed home.”
“Say something that makes sense. My patience has limits.”
Sure enough, Chae Yuno had openly made the secretary the subject of his complaint. It was nothing more than a pointed nudge telling the man to excuse himself — but the secretary, with no way of knowing that, let out an awkward laugh. He’d somehow become a foreign object driving a wedge between a newlywed couple.
The Director Yun matter was important, certainly, but the secretary had absolutely no desire to be wedged between his employer and his spouse.
“Sir! The summary is on the first page, and the detailed materials are filed separately. Please review it and give me your instructions.”
The secretary was aware that the two had married as part of a strategic alliance, but the finer details of what lay beneath that were another matter entirely. Who could say — even two alphas might find some common ground if they happened to suit each other.
Perhaps he’d decided that staying any longer meant getting tangled up in an unnecessary undercurrent. The secretary set down the documents and quietly made his exit.
He’d been loyal enough to come running at this late hour — but he had no obligation to weather the strange atmosphere brewing in his employer’s private home.
“Then I’ll take my leave for the night.”
“Bye-bye — take care, Secretary Han.”
Click.
Even the sound of the door closing was careful. The two of them were left alone in the living room. Beom Yisu stood holding the documents, brow furrowed.
“What was that about.”
“I felt bad for him. Working this late under a tyrant of a boss — I freed him. I’m basically his savior. He should be thanking me.”
He knew Chae Yuno had always done as he pleased, but given the weight of the situation, the flimsy excuse he was offering made him look particularly pathetic tonight.
Beom Yisu shot him a withering look, but Chae Yuno ignored it entirely and opened his mouth again.
“Actually, I heard something interesting. So I came by to check.”
The excuse of stopping in to pack for an overseas shoot was nothing more than a surface-level cover. There was a separate reason he’d come all the way here and waited for Beom Yisu.
Nakwon-dong.
Hong Siyeon.
The omega with a 100% compatibility rate with Beom Yisu.
“Hyung, you found him in the end, didn’t you?”
“You already knew when you came. Why bother asking.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? If it’s a surrogate matter, it concerns both of us.”
At the blunt reply, Chae Yuno pulled himself upright from his half-sprawled position. At Chae Yuno’s words hitting the mark, something shifted subtly in Beom Yisu’s eyes.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet. Since nothing is decided, I simply minimized unnecessary dispersal of information.”
“Unnecessary?”
A short echo — and then Chae Yuno’s lips curved slowly.
“If you’re planning to have a child without telling me, that’s a little unfair. It’ll go into my family registry too, in the end.”
Since they were legally married, any child born through a surrogate would be on record as belonging to both of them.
Which meant that even if Beom Yisu unilaterally wanted a child, he couldn’t register a surrogate-born child as his own without Chae Yuno’s consent. If he insisted on going ahead despite objections, that child would be born illegitimate — or alternatively, he and Chae Yuno would have to divorce.
But divorce from Chae Yuno carried significant risk for Beom Yisu at this point. There were multiple projects that had grown quickly with Chaeseong Group’s support, which meant it was in his best interest to maintain their current arrangement.
Of course, Chae Yuno would equally have no desire to dissolve this marriage — so a compromise needed to be found.
“What I proposed to him is that he carry a child to be registered under an alpha couple’s family name.”
“And what if I said I don’t want that omega?”
“You’re not unaware that in matters of succession, compatibility rate takes precedence over your consent. And besides — you like that omega yourself. Is there actually a reason you’d object?”
As if he didn’t already have enough to deal with, having Chae Yuno grate on his nerves on top of everything else made Beom Yisu’s expression twist. But as he brought up the succession terms Chae Yuno had agreed to at the time of their arranged marriage, Chae Yuno refused to back down and pressed on.
“I do like him. That’s exactly why it bothers me to see him used like this.”
“Like this?”
“You’re planning to use that omega to produce a child and then throw him away, aren’t you, hyung?”
