Soo-Jin, a cool-looking beauty, was a recessive alpha with traits strong enough that she could easily pass for a dominant one.
“Soo-Jin, should I carry that for you?”
“It’s okay. After the boss saw you wobbling around with a laundry basket yesterday, she told us not to let you carry anything heavy. Said you’d trip and get hurt.”
At the estate, the physically stronger alphas mainly handled cleaning and room maintenance, while Jia, a beta, and Shin-Yeon, an omega, mostly took care of lighter work.
“And that bastard Sun-Ha’s walking around with his eyes peeled too, like he’s worried someone will make you do something hard.”
“Oh, no, it’s not like that.”
The one who had picked Shin-Yeon up, Sun-Ha, oversaw the stay as a whole and only dealt with alpha guests or the especially difficult ones.
At first, Shin-Yeon had wondered whether Sun-Ha might like him, but except at mealtimes, he hardly ran into him at all.
And when they did see each other during meals, Sun-Ha would just sit beside him and, without saying much, pile meat dishes onto his plate.
“I’m heading to the laundry room. Tell Jia to make my coffee strong.”
“Hot or iced?”
“I’ve got my dignity as an honorary die-for-iced-Americanos member. Tell her to load it with ice.”
After saying goodbye to Soo-Jin, who claimed she wouldn’t be satisfied in the dead of winter unless she could practically pour down an iced Americano cold enough to freeze her to death, Shin-Yeon headed for the management building.
“Jia, Soo-Jin wants a strong iced Americano with a ton of ice. Oh? Sun-Ha’s here too.”
When he stepped inside, Jia and Sun-Ha were standing at the front desk.
“Yeon, do you want something to drink too?”
“I… um.”
He was wavering between lemon tea and coffee when Sun-Ha spoke.
“There’s a station pickup reservation at Jeongeup Station right now. Want to come with me?”
“Can I?”
“It’s quieter than usual today, so it’s fine. Go out, eat something good while you’re at it.”
Jia, shooting Sun-Ha a knowing look and smiling—clearly aware he was volunteering for pickup on purpose just to spend time with Shin-Yeon—encouraged him.
“Uh… then maybe I will.”
“I’ll come get you in ten minutes, so go change.”
As Shin-Yeon brightened and hurried out of the management building, Sun-Ha, who had been looking at the monitor, followed him with his eyes through the window.
“You like Yeon that much?”
“I picked him up, so I’m looking after him.”
“There you go again, dodging. Try a little harder. Or is it because he’s a recessive omega?”
At Jia’s question, Sun-Ha said that wasn’t it, then narrowed his eyes with a slanted look.
“I’ll handle my own love life, so stop poking at it.”
“Oh, please. You like him, and you’re still acting prickly.”
The truth was, Sun-Ha had come to the management building instead of working in the office on purpose just so he could see Shin-Yeon, but he simply turned his head as if it meant nothing.
A little later, he jotted down the pickup guest’s phone number, threw on his coat, and left the management building for Shin-Yeon’s room.
There were separate staff quarters originally, but because Shin-Yeon was an omega, and because of safety and pheromone issues, they had let him keep staying in the single guest room he’d been using.
Not long after Sun-Ha started waiting outside, Shin-Yeon came out.
“If there’s anything you need while we’re out, buy it.”
“Okay.”
Sun-Ha glanced down at Shin-Yeon as he came over to his side, then took him by the wrist and led him to the guest pickup van.
He got Shin-Yeon into the passenger seat first, then climbed into the driver’s seat and headed toward the more built-up part of town.
The winter countryside felt a little desolate, but it had its own kind of charm.
Looking out the window, Shin-Yeon realized it had already been almost two weeks since he came to Jeongeup.
“Time’s going by faster than I thought…”
“That’s how it is when you’re busy. You don’t even notice the day passing. So, how’s the work? Manageable?”
“Yes. The work isn’t hard, and noona and the others help me a lot, so it hasn’t been too difficult. The owner takes good care of me too.”
Driving, Sun-Ha barely managed to smooth down the corners of his mouth, which had started to lift. Then he reached out toward Shin-Yeon, whose cheeks were red from the cold.
“Your cheeks are freezing. Cold?”
His hand brushed over Shin-Yeon’s soft, pliant cheek, and he turned up the heat a little more.
“Want to eat anything? Since we’re already out, let’s get something.”
“Uh… hamburgers?”
“Sure.”
As Sun-Ha looked at Shin-Yeon, whose face now showed clearly after cutting the bangs that used to cover his eyes, he remembered something the guests had said.
“How old is that staff member Yeon? He’s like a sweet little baby kitten. It makes me want to scoop him up.”
“I’m the one taking care of him, so no.”
The alpha guests in particular had shown interest in Shin-Yeon and openly expressed their attraction.
“That omega staff member is Yeon, right? Could I maybe get his number…? I’m not usually the type to ask for numbers, but…”
“You’re trying to get my boyfriend’s number right now?”
“Could you pass my card along to that omega staff member? He’s such a rare beauty, I’m interested.”
“It’s fine if you find my boyfriend appealing, but nothing beyond that.”
Among the guests, rumors were already spreading that Shin-Yeon and Sun-Ha were dating.
Of course, Shin-Yeon had no idea.
Sun-Ha drove to a gourmet burger place that had opened recently near the train station.
He had left earlier than the pickup time on purpose so he could eat with Shin-Yeon at a relaxed pace, so they had plenty of time.
After parking, he got out from the driver’s seat, then draped an arm around Shin-Yeon’s shoulders as he climbed out of the passenger side.
“If any alphas come bothering you, tell them you have a boyfriend. It’s safer that way.”
At Sun-Ha’s words, Shin-Yeon gave an uncertain nod and went inside the burger place.
Taking in the delicious smell of hamburgers for the first time in a while, Shin-Yeon inhaled deeply and walked up to the kiosk to look over the menu.
“What are you having?”
Sun-Ha came up behind him and reached past him to select something from the menu board.
The feel of Sun-Ha’s arm brushing right past his face for a moment made Shin-Yeon tense for no reason, and he glanced at him nervously.
'This didn’t feel like it did with Executive Director Seo…'
With a nervous look, Shin-Yeon ordered the restaurant’s signature combo set, then hurriedly paid before Sun-Ha could do it again.
“I’m paying this time. I have money.”
'He’s like a plucky little cat.'
Sun-Ha stared at Shin-Yeon, who showed him his card with bright eyes, then nodded and said he’d enjoy the meal.
The two sat together at a table and waited for the food.
As they did, they looked up at the TV mounted on the wall.
The news was playing without sound, and while they watched the footage, Seo Kyo-Shin appeared on the screen walking out of Seolgang Group headquarters.
It was a report about Seolgang Group participating in a smart city construction project in the United Arab Emirates.
“…Huh?”
In a sleek black coat over a perfectly fitted suit as always, Seo Kyo-Shin looked thinner than usual, which made him seem sharper—more frightening.
Normally, he could sometimes give off a chilly feeling too, but he also had that languid edge and the sexy beauty distinctive to an extremely dominant alpha, which made him attractive.
Right now, though, the savage side of him felt stronger.
'He smiled so much when he was with me…'
Kyo-Shin, pale enough to look even more severe,seemed slightly unfocused somehow, like there was something wrong with the way his gaze was fixed.
Unable to tear his eyes away from the screen, Shin-Yeon unconsciously picked at his sleeve before lowering his head.
'He’s going to become my brother-in-law anyway.'
“Seo Kyo-Shin.”
“…Do you know him personally too, maybe? You looked like you recognized him.”
At Shin-Yeon’s question, Sun-Ha nodded.
“You know Seo Kyo-Shin too?”
“Yes, a little…”
At Shin-Yeon’s answer, Sun-Ha’s expression twisted. Letting out a sigh, he said,
“I’ve got an older brother and an older sister above me. I’m the youngest. My oldest brother knows Seo Kyo-Shin. He works at Seolgang Group as an executive director now, but originally, he wasn’t just a little crazy—he was crazy as hell. If you can help it, don’t get close to him.”
“…What?”
Thinking of how kind Kyo-Shin had been, even when teasing him, Shin-Yeon looked unconvinced.
Seeing how startled he was, Sun-Ha looked away and continued.
“Seo Kyo-Shin’s an extremely dominant alpha, and his violent streak was so bad he got sent overseas right after elementary school. My oldest brother went to school abroad and knew him from middle school on. He said he’d never met anyone that insane in his life.”
This was the story Sun-Ha said he’d heard from his older brother.
When Seo Kyo-Shin was fifteen and in middle school, he once stopped a mass shooting.
That day, after arriving late to school, Seo Kyo-Shin came face-to-face with a group plotting the attack, already holding guns.
Using the quick judgment of an extremely dominant alpha, the reckless nerve of a teenager, and outright aggression, Seo Kyo-Shin snatched the gun from the weakest-looking attacker first.
After smashing the stock into the terrorist’s head, he broke both legs and an arm, then stood there smiling.
The sheer brutality of him overwhelmed everyone.
Two of the terrorists, cowed by the force of that initial assault, dropped their guns and ran. The other two charged Kyo-Shin.
And in the process, a gun went off, which alerted the entire school to the chaos.
The students were evacuated immediately, and the police stormed in.
By the time teachers and officers arrived at the scene, it was nearly over.
Kyo-Shin had broken the limbs of the attackers who came at him and smashed their spines with the rifle stock hard enough to shatter it, leaving them crippled.
After removing the magazine from the gun and setting it far away, he even chased down the two who had fled, broke their necks and legs, and crushed both their arms too.
“He was praised for risking his life to save people and even got an award for it. The way he subdued them was brutal, but I guess it was still better than a shooting.”
“I mean… that sounds fair.”
Shin-Yeon answered awkwardly, instinctively taking Kyo-Shin’s side.
'This really feels like talking behind Executive Director Seo’s back.'
“I don’t know if it was justice, exactly. Maybe he just liked it—getting praised and recognized and even receiving an award for something he did for fun. I don’t know whether it counts as a positive change or not, but after that, he started having a target for his violence.”