"R-really...?"
I was so shocked I dropped the pen in my hand.
I couldn’t help it.
"No. That can’t be..."
At the time, my little brother had just started first year of middle school.
Because of the paper Seolheon Baek was holding.
[20XX First Half — National Youth Secondary Sex Test Result]
[Name: Seolheon Baek]
[Result: Beta]
The lunatic top... a Beta?
"All signs said you’d be an Alpha... A-are you sure they did it right?"
Nod.
Stone-faced, he gave a stiff nod.
"H-Haram. Is it true?"
Prime Alphas, born with strong pheromones, are also good at sensing others’ pheromones.
So we dragged our Prime Alpha, who was at home ripping open a snack bag, and asked him to verify...
"Yeah. I don’t feel a single trace of pheromones. He’s just a Beta."
...So he says.
"Wow, that’s wild. When Geonho said I had Omega vibes, I was like, ‘get out of here,’ but now that he’s not an Alpha it feels weird, too. Isn’t he taller than most Alpha first-years?"
"Hyung."
Right then, Seolheon slammed the door in Haram Lee’s face and came straight over to me.
"Do I smell?"
"Smell? No... not really."
Unlike Haram, who made me short of breath just by coming near, Seolheon was the same as ever.
Meaning I still couldn’t feel any pheromones from him.
There was only that light, clean, pleasant hint I’d known since he was small—the faint scent that was just Seolheon.
"That’s a relief, right?"
"A r-relief? How?"
"That I’m a Beta."
Arms folded, Seolheon looked at me.
He’d been shooting up so fast that our eyes were nearly level now.
"If I were an Alpha, it’d be hard to live together. Even now you can’t be in the same room with Mom and Dad without meds, and if we have to ride in a car you try to go separately."
"Ah. Right. That’s true, but..."
"Hyung."
He unfolded his arms and let his gaze drop a little.
For some reason he looked a bit down, and I hesitated.
"Do you not like that I’m a Beta?"
"It’s n-not that. It’s just unexpected..."
"You said you like Betas."
"I mean, I did say that..."
But how is that a reason for you to become a Beta?!
I wanted to throw the question back at him as he pressed me, when memories from back then flicked by.
"No, if you think about it... did he have to be an Alpha?"
Haram Lee went against an Omega fate and became a Prime Alpha.
So there’s no reason to see Seolheon going against an Alpha fate and becoming a Beta as strange.
Even if Seolheon had grown up decent and kind, unlike the original, the fact that he’d be an Alpha still had me secretly worrying he might find some other Omega to replace the now-burly Haram and carry out violence in the name of love...
Those worries could be put in a coffin, nailed shut, and burned.
"Because Seolheon is a Beta!"
Now I just had to manage my half-useless Alpha with a pheromone allergy!
Still, the Beta I wanted so badly ended up being Seolheon—what kind of cosmic joke was that.
While I sorted through a head full of relief and jealousy, he said:
"Don’t get mixed up with people like Haram anymore."
"Huh? Why bring up Haram again?"
"You promised me. You’d be careful not to get into danger from pheromones."
We’d had a similar talk before.
"I’m a Beta. If anything happens, go with me. Not with Haram."
"You really... don’t like him."
He didn’t deny it. He clearly still had old resentment toward Haram—probably the ‘punching bag’ memories.
I swallowed a sigh and soothed him, talking slowly.
"Haram’s fine. He’s good at controlling his pheromones now, so it’s not that hard to be around him. So don’t freeze him out; try to get along..."
"Was that a lie?"
Seolheon lowered his voice.
Even before his voice changed it was low; now it was so deep it seemed to vibrate in the room.
"The promise you made me at the hospital. Was it a lie?"
His face had gotten serious, and I found myself stepping back without thinking.
Annoyed that I felt guilty for no reason, I forced a big laugh and patted his shoulder.
"You must’ve really been shaken then. You don’t have to worry that much. I’m being careful, just like I promised."
"But Haram’s a Prime—"
"Aren’t you being overprotective? I’m six years older than you. Since when does a middle schooler treat an adult like a kid brother?"
And my mental age isn’t six years older—it’s more like a dozen. I live carefully under my doctor’s and Baekil Pharma’s supervision; I don’t need a kid dictating my every move.
So I spoke more firmly on purpose. Like when I used to coach little Seolheon.
"Let’s leave it there. I told you not to bulldoze ahead on your own."
"And if... Hyung gets sick and collapses again?"
This brat. Is he doing the puppy eyes on purpose, knowing I’ll go soft?
In the end I sighed and waved a hand.
"I absolutely won’t. But if, by the tiniest chance, I do collapse and end up in the hospital again, then I’ll do whatever you say."
"..."
"That’s a real promise. Does that help you relax?"
"...Yeah."
He frowned a little, then gave a small nod. I thought the argument would run longer; that was a surprise.
The door cracked open and bright green eyes appeared.
"Is the brother fight over?"
"...You smell. Get out."
"Smell?! I shower every day! I’m clean!"
Seolheon shoved Haram hard with his foot and walked out of my room.
I scratched my cheek, watching him obediently retreat to his own.
After that, he never brought up my condition again.
"Seolheon. We can eat now."
I flipped the racks of charcoal-grilled ribs with the tongs.
It had been a while since I’d eaten out with him, but...
"Hey, hey, look at them."
"Insane—are they actors?"
"No idea. One of them’s in a school uniform. Are they filming?"
"Gasp, they’re looking this way. Put your phone down!"
I could feel the stares burning into my back.
It’s nothing new, but I’m handsome as Geonho Baek. I made people line up even when I was a kid; now, in my mid-twenties, it’s peaked. Granted, I’d rather not dwell on how most of the line is Omega (male)...
"Excuse me, are you... by any chance a celebrity? You’re so handsome."
"Haha, no. Just a college student."
"Th-then the one next to you is..."
"My little brother."
"Gasp—y-your brother! You’re both so handsome! Um, do you have social media..."
"Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy your meal."
"Y-yes!"
These days I could handle passerby overinterest as naturally as breathing.
But there was no such thing as ‘natural’ when I was out with Seolheon. Imagine grilling meat to the sound of camera shutters popping every second.
Only after the restaurant staff finally scattered the crowd like film crew did my appetite come back.
"Sorry. I didn’t think it’d be this packed. We should’ve just ordered in at home."
"It’s fine. I wanted meat, too."
"Should I ask to switch to a private room?"
"Leave it. Too much fuss."
Seolheon, by contrast, popped fruit salad into his mouth and chewed with total calm, as if none of it bothered him.
All I could do was act laid-back... Maybe that’s the difference in caliber. Maybe true chaebol kids really are built different.
"By the way—how are the new classmates?"
"Good."
"Nobody giving you trouble? Tell me if there is."
"You picked the school. They’re all nice."
I kept sneaking looks at his face.
Still unreadable; that blank expression made it hard to tell what he felt.
Korea High is an elite school only for students who pass a tough entrance exam. At the same time, some students ‘apply’ with a donation through a so-called portfolio interview—the school of choice for gold spoons.
The Baek family patriarch had planned to slide him in by interview, but Seolheon simply passed the exam and took top rank. It happened in under a month after I’d asked if he wanted to try for Korea High.
"Any kids bringing up the Baek main house...?"
"No. I’ve never met them, so even if they talked about them I wouldn’t know."
I smiled casually while gripping the tongs tight so my hands wouldn’t shake.
"Hey, Seolheon."
"What?"
"You still don’t want to see anyone from Baekil?"
"No need."
No hesitation in his answer.
"Mom said there’s no reason to. I’m not interested."
He didn’t know the Baek clan. He didn’t want to.
As a character in the novel, Seolheon’s lack of ambition for power might be ‘good’ for Baek Geonho... but as me, his brother now, it worried me.
Top 0.03% on national practice exams. First in his year all through middle and high school.
Pushed to represent the school at a national essay competition and took the President’s Award.
A paper he tossed in as a routine assignment hit the bull’s-eye and got cited in a global finance journal, drawing attention from academia.
A third-generation chaebol with this kind of talent could easily go far inside Baekil Group, yet he had no interest in climbing. Not just a loss for the group—honestly a loss at the national economy level.
"At least drop by with Mom for the Chairman’s birthday this summer. Even if things are bad between your parents and your mother’s side, showing your face once might spark an unexpected connection."
"What about you?"
His eyes swung to me, and I quickly turned my head toward the grill.
"I’m good. Big gatherings don’t suit me. You know—pheromone allergy."
I tossed out the excuse and he shot back instantly.
"If you don’t go, I won’t either."
"Seolheon, still..."
"Here. Ah."
"Huh?"
Before I could react, he popped a lettuce wrap into my mouth.
Lettuce with sesame oil dip and salt—a simple combo. My favorite ratio.
"Good?"
"Mhm."
Watching me chew with my cheeks stuffed, he let out a small laugh, eye corners folding.
"Your cheeks are going to pop."
"..."
A warm March day, a smile like flower buds opening.
It bears repeating: Seolheon was painfully handsome.
Looking at that innocent, pretty smile made a sigh slip out.
"I should probably tell him soon..."
...No, I’ll do it next time. There’ll be another chance.
I fled reality and took a long drink of cold water.
"Welcome."
The elevator doors opened with a slow glide, and a man in a pitch-black suit came to meet me.
"The Chairman is waiting."
I gave the attendants a nod and walked down the hall toward the wide-open door at the end.
"You’re here, Geonho."
Inside stood a big man with not a single strand out of place in his slicked-back, silvered hair.
"My beloved grandson."
Chairman Baek Ildo of Baekil Group.