I’d sworn it over and over since ten years ago, when my second run at life began.
Unlike my first life, where I worked myself to death, I would never wet my hands again—I'd coast through on unearned income and game life itself!
Why keep my grades in the school’s top ten even with a wealthy family?
Insurance, in case I couldn’t rely on Mom’s support.
Why did I bother running for student council president?
Because Kim Jaeuk jokingly threw my name in. Still, it helps the resume, so I’m doing the president gig without complaint, that’s all.
Anyway, I’m not asking to inherit the chaebol fortune.
I just want enough backing to buy one small commercial building in a lively shopping district. It doesn’t have to be prime gold like Gangnam…!
“For an important event like that, just take Seolheon. I’m fine not going.”
“Geonho…”
With that, finally, at long last—
I eliminated the root cause of every version of the novel.
The tragic male lead Lee Haram has evolved into a Prime Alpha,
Seolheon Baek has zero interest in Lee Haram,
and I, Geonho Baek, nailed it down that I have no intention of eyeing my brother’s bowl.
‘All clear!’
All that’s left is to enjoy a smooth-sailing life!
“You must be tired from work—want something sweet? Maybe the chocolates Haram brought as a gift…”
My chest felt completely unburdened.
Just as I was cheering inside—
“Geonho.”
Warmth wrapped around me.
“You don’t have to walk on eggshells.”
Mom gently pulled me into a hug.
“No matter what anyone says, you’re my son.”
“…”
“If you need anything, say so. I’ll help you to the end.”
At the voice brushing my ear, I was at a loss for words for a moment.
Ambition, the novel, the clutter that had filled my head—all of it vanished.
Only after a little while did I come back to myself and slowly nod.
“…Yes. Thank you, always, Mom.”
“I’m grateful to you too, Geonho. For becoming my son.”
Looking at that unadorned smile… you just know.
Mom and Dad. If it’s these people, they’ll grant even the most unreasonable demand I make.
And it isn’t only because of a debt owed to my birth mother, Lee Jiyoung.
‘Which is exactly why I can’t get tangled up with Baekil Group.’
So this sweetly foolish family can live in peace, I can’t leave even a single bud of trouble behind.
‘In the novel, Geonho Baek… made every disgraceful move to swallow the Group.’
I refused to walk that same road.
“Spanish chocolate’s good, huh?”
“It is.”
We each popped a piece of chocolate into our mouths.
In the awkward quiet, only the crisp crunching echoed, until Mom suddenly lifted her head and changed the subject.
“Oh, right. You said Haram bought these? I should have told you this too.”
“Told me what?”
“Please look out for Haram.”
“Haram? Uh, well, we get along, but…”
Why bring up Lee Haram out of the blue? Did she maybe notice that he and Seolheon don’t get along?
But what Mom said next was nothing I expected.
“Haram’s family might be taking on a lot of debt.”
“…Debt?”
“They might have to move far away soon. Haram’s probably having a hard time right now, so I want you to pay him extra attention.”
“…”
“Geonho?”
Thud.
I dropped the chocolate I was holding onto the table.
Lee Haram.
Debt.
Moving.
A familiar headache pulsed.
At the same time, a passage from the novel I’d forgotten surfaced.
It said Lee Haram and Uheon Baek were childhood friends, and that due to “certain circumstances,” Lee Haram moved away in middle school.
And…
[Back then, if only Baekil Group hadn’t cast my dad aside…]
A new line of dialogue surfaced.
[Maybe… my family wouldn’t have had to go first!]
Fuck.
How could I forget something this important again.
“Um, Mom.”
“What is it?”
“It’s sudden, but can I ask you a favor?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“I do want to attend the Baekil family gathering after all.”
“Hm?”
It wasn’t all clear yet.
Late evening.
On the top floor of a building with a panoramic view of Seoul’s nightscape—dark as the sky—
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
A man in a suit approached the central desk cautiously and spoke.
“Chairman Baek.”
“Very good mood.”
The man addressed as chairman was an old man with a sharp cast to his features.
Past sixty, but at a glance you could mistake him for a youthful middle-ager—the kind of terrifying baby face that defied age.
Only a few white strands showed his years.
“Never mind Yeonhee—at last I get to see that face in person.”
He flicked two photos from his hand onto the desk.
“The bloodline of that impudent brat.”
One photo was of a beautiful woman with black hair and gray eyes,
the other of a tall boy who was the spitting image of her.
Geonho Baek.
“Okay, okay! Quiet! You’re not elementary kids anymore—are you going to keep yapping?”
When the young teacher rapped the chalkboard hard with a 50-centimeter steel ruler, the students finally shut their mouths.
He let out a deep sigh and turned his head toward the sliding door.
“Come in.”
Rattle—
The door opened, and a student in uniform walked in.
Even the kid whispering to his seatmate fell silent and fixed his gaze to the front of the room.
“He enrolled late because he was abroad. Be nice and get along.”
Step, step.
With each step, golden hair caught the lights.
Long lashes. Green eyes beneath.
Yet the features were not only foreign—there was an Eastern, enigmatic balance to them.
Standing before the board, the boy smiled with his eyes, facing forward.
“Hi. I’m Lee Haram.”
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“Fuck, he’s stupid handsome!”
Despite the teacher’s warning, Class 1-3 exploded into cheers and screams.
“Ugh, I’m bored. Want to play soccer?”
“You go. I’m busy.”
As I dug into my laptop, Kim Jaeuk got curious.
“What are you so busy with, huh?”
“There’s something.”
“Let’s see… by quarter? Market cap? Investment withdrawal… what, are you doing stocks now?”
“Not that.”
“The haves are the worst. If you score a quick win, you’re buying, got it?”
“Got what.”
We were trading our usual worthless banter when—
“Kyaaaa!”
A shriek rang out from far down the hall.
“What the…?”
I looked out past the classroom windows.
Something was approaching from the end of the corridor.
A giant mass with a golden knob poking out on top.
“What is that? A dumpling?”
It wasn’t dumpling-like.
It was a massive crowd surrounding a tall blond boy.
“Hyuuung! Is Geonho Hyung here?!”
The door burst open and the first-years poured in.
Freshmen barged into the third-years’ domain with muddy shoes, but no one thought to scold them.
They were too busy admiring Lee Haram’s looks.
“Wow! It’s really Geonho Hyung! Hi!”
“Haram? Why are you…?”
“Ah—right, I shouldn’t get too close!”
A heavy wave of pheromones pressed over my whole body again.
Thank goodness the weather was nice and the windows were wide open. It was more bearable than when I’d been in a sealed room.
“Guys, sorry! I’m going to go talk with Geonho Hyung—wait for me in class, okay?”
“Haram, you know the president?”
“Yeah. We’re super deep, you know?”
Both the first-years and the third-years froze.
Did he mean “close” and misspeak it as “deep”? But his Korean was way too fluent for that.
“Wait, you were the president, Hyung?! Why didn’t you tell me!”
“Haram, your uniform… that’s this school’s…”
“How is it? Does it suit me?”
“Why did you come to Sanok Middle School?”
“Obviously, I followed Hyung!”
At how unusually close we looked, every onlooker held their breath.
“You never said anything about this.”
“Surprise~”
“…I’ve got a lot to say. If you have business, message me. Why come all the way here.”
“Whyyy! I wanted to see your face at school!”
Putting on the cutes, Haram suddenly slipped into a glum tone.
“I’m lonely, Hyung… Now that I’m a Prime Alpha, you can’t hang out with me anymore, right.”
Hang out? The two of us?
At his words, eyes shining with moisture, everyone’s attention locked on him.
“You won’t even hug me anymore…”
Hug?
“If only I’d been a Beta—or at least even just an Omega…”
Omega?
With bombs going off one after another, no one even dared to breathe.
“H-hey. Geonho Baek.”
Kim Jaeuk suddenly poked my side.
“If you had a foreign boyfriend, you could’ve told me.”
“…”
“I’m open-minded, I respect Alpha-Alpha love, too—oof.”
I drove a right hook into his solar plexus.