“Yes. He wanted us to come and greet you together, but something unexpected came up this morning, so……”
I came ahead of him. Before Seo Yi Kyung could finish, Han Ye Chan turned away and resumed his conversation with the person beside him. Perhaps the question had not been directed at Yi Kyung in the first place.
“……”
For a moment, Yi Kyung wondered what he was supposed to do. Butler Do, who had been watching from behind, looked equally uncertain.
This was an unfamiliar place and not an occasion where he could readily step forward. There were far too many people as well. Yet not one of them approached Yi Kyung. They merely stole glances at him and whispered from a distance.
He’s the second son of Woorim Construction.
Their standing hardly matches.
But he is that precious dominant omega.
Yi Kyung started walking. He spotted an unoccupied table beside the window, and Butler Do followed him with a bewildered expression.
His carefully tailored white suit creased as Yi Kyung sat down and stared at the tulips decorating the table. He then gestured toward the empty chair for Butler Do, but the butler held both hands out before him and declined.
Yi Kyung did not offer a second time. He thought he understood why Butler Do had refused. Scratching his forehead with one finger, he wished Seung Jae had at least told him that morning that this was a family banquet.
Then again, knowing in advance probably would not have changed anything.
He could finally feel what kind of world The World of Omega truly was: the authoritarian attitudes and beliefs of alphas blessed with superior genes, the numerous betas, and the omegas who, as a minority, could not help but feel intimidated.
“……Young Master. Young Master Yi Kyung.”
Lost in thought, Yi Kyung raised his head. Butler Do called to him in a lowered voice. When their eyes met, Yi Kyung’s gaze questioning, Butler Do pointed to the side.
“Director Han is here.”
Yi Kyung blinked. Countless people were mingling around the room, but the moment Seung Jae appeared, Yi Kyung could say with certainty that his eyes saw no one but the man in the dark suit.
Seung Jae advanced as though cleaving through the crowd. The commotion grew louder. Most of the people there approached him to offer their greetings. Drawn by the stir, Chairman Han Ye Chan turned away from his conversation. A pleased smile spread across his lips.
Han Seung Jae, however, was headed somewhere else.
“Director Han, where are you going? Chairman Han has been waiting for you.”
Butler Choi was visibly flustered, but Seung Jae did not stop. His long shadow fell over Yi Kyung’s pallid face.
“Why are you sitting here?”
Yi Kyung’s cheeks burned beneath twice as many stares as before. Han Ye Chan and everyone gathered around him were now looking at Seung Jae.
“W-Well, I think you should greet your father first……”
The end of Yi Kyung’s sentence nearly dissolved on his tongue. Everyone was staring directly at them. Even so, Seung Jae seemed to understand.
“……!”
Yi Kyung flinched when Seung Jae abruptly bent forward. As the distance between them vanished in an instant, the scent of white agarwood grew stronger. Yi Kyung had the illusion that their lips might touch. That was how quickly Seung Jae had leaned down.
Seung Jae extended a long arm and wrapped it around Yi Kyung’s waist. Yi Kyung’s strengthless legs were pulled upright, and he took a step under Seung Jae’s guidance.
His heart pounded. All his attention was fixed on the large hand resting against his back.
“I’m glad you came.”
Han Ye Chan smiled while looking at Yi Kyung. Yi Kyung knew, however, that his words were directed at Seung Jae.
The people’s behavior changed markedly from moments before. One of those who had been conversing at Han Ye Chan’s side rose from the sofa, clearly intending to surrender the seat to Seung Jae.
But Seung Jae paid none of them any attention. He was looking for someone else.
“You work so hard you don’t even take weekends off. You ought to let other people claim some of the credit once in a while.”
The people around Han Ye Chan laughed. Having finished his jovial remark, Han Ye Chan beckoned to them.
“Sit down.”
“!”
Yi Kyung’s eyes widened. The hand pressed to his back was propelling him forward. Behind him, someone sighed, “Oh dear.”
Yi Kyung cautiously looked up. Seung Jae’s face appeared even colder than it had that morning. His eyes remained fixed in one direction as he walked.
Yi Kyung slowly followed his gaze and saw Secretary Park standing there. Secretary Park inclined his head to Yi Kyung before addressing Seung Jae.
“She is upstairs.”
They climbed the staircase that branched to either side. Yi Kyung could do nothing but follow wherever Seung Jae led him.
Once they reached the top, however, Yi Kyung saw someone sitting on the terrace railing through the window. It was Yeon So Jeong, Han Seung Jae’s mother—the woman from the family portrait he had seen upon entering.
In the original novel, her father, Yeon Joo An, was a towering figure in politics. His negotiating skills were said to be second to none. He was portrayed as a broad-minded, outgoing man who valued those close to him, but it seemed his daughter had not been included among them. The youngest of two sons and one daughter, she had been made by her father to enter an arranged marriage with a man she did not love.
Han Seung Jae opened the door. The U-shaped terrace overlooked the landscape behind the mansion. It was strikingly quiet compared to the first floor. As though sensing their presence, Yeon So Jeong turned her head, her hair swept into an elegant updo.
Her face had been somber only moments before, but she rose to her feet. The dress exposing her slender shoulders fluttered around her.
“Welcome.”
Meeting her eyes, Yi Kyung forced his frozen lips to move.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“But I’ve met you before. At the wedding.”
Yeon So Jeong smiled gently. Yi Kyung smiled back, his lifted cheeks trembling faintly. Of course. “Seo Yi Kyung” had held a wedding attended by the elders of both families. He had forgotten.
She took hold of Yi Kyung’s arm through the white fabric of his suit.
“You don’t need to be so nervous. Have you greeted your father?”
The words that followed were directed at Seung Jae. She looked up at him.
“If you haven’t, let’s go downstairs together. He’s been waiting for you since yesterday.”
Han Seung Jae’s eyes narrowed. Yi Kyung instinctively felt a red alert flare to life inside his mind.
Han Ye Chan had been seated conspicuously in the center of the room. There was no conceivable way Seung Jae had failed to see him. The banquet was clearly being held for Han Ye Chan, yet Seung Jae’s mother was up here alone. It was understandable that he would show his displeasure.
Yi Kyung quickly spoke up.
“We just saw him.”
Yeon So Jeong slowly turned her head.
“Did you?”
She held Yi Kyung’s gaze with gentle affection, her clear eyes shimmering. That alone sent small pangs through one corner of his heart. How did it feel for an omega to watch their alpha embrace others?
Outwardly, Han Ye Chan and her father, Yeon Joo An, appeared to get along splendidly, as though they saw eye to eye. The reality was different. Conflicts repeatedly arose because Yeon Joo An tried to argue everyone around to his way of thinking and pushed ahead with his own wishes for all to see.
Yeon Joo An’s political longevity was sustained by Myungjun Group’s inexhaustible funds, yet he still favored his two biological sons over his son-in-law. As the rift between the two men gradually widened, perhaps it was only natural that the marriage between Yeon Joo An’s daughter, Yeon So Jeong, and Han Ye Chan had deteriorated as well.
“Everyone must be waiting.”
When Yeon So Jeong began walking, the scent of lavender drifted from her. It was warm and pleasant.
When Yeon So Jeong and Han Seung Jae appeared on the first floor, Han Ye Chan rose from the sofa where he had been sitting imperiously. He took her hand and guided her with tender affection.
“Congratulations on your marriage.”
“Ah, yes. Thank y—”
Before Yi Kyung could finish, their attention had already moved to Han Seung Jae. The congratulations seemed to have been nothing more than a courtesy uttered in passing.
People soon crowded around Yi Kyung as well—or, more precisely, they were approaching Han Seung Jae. Even so, Butler Do was forced back one step at a time until he ended up standing far behind them.
Before long, a man who appeared to be a relative approached Seung Jae and spoke.
“There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to ask of you.”
“You chose the wrong day.”
Seung Jae left him no opening whatsoever. He was unfailingly decisive in every matter, even when dealing with close relatives. There was not a trace of sentimentality to be found in him.
The man glanced at Yi Kyung and spoke awkwardly.
“That was inconsiderate of me. I’ll contact Secretary Park later, so let’s meet somewhere else.”
After the man disappeared, a greeting rang clearly through the surrounding clamor.
“Have you been well?”
Yi Kyung hurriedly turned his head, then looked away from the person passing by. The greeting had not been meant for him.
“……”
It was difficult to find anywhere appropriate to rest his eyes. After a brief hesitation, Yi Kyung picked up a glass from the table. Red wine rippled with the movement of his fingers.
Dressed in his white suit, Yi Kyung straightened his back and lowered his eyes as he breathed in the wine’s aroma and took a sip. Even the way he slowly moved the glass afterward was graceful. In contrast to the disorderly crowd around him, the space surrounding Yi Kyung seemed almost like a different world.
His lips were stained red, presumably by the wine he had just tasted. The color made them look fuller and more alluring.
It also brought greater attention to the paleness of his skin. Yi Kyung’s complexion was so translucent that one could almost see through it, while his fine eyebrows and delicately arranged features drew the eye.
Yi Kyung suddenly met Han Seung Jae’s gaze and smiled.
At the same moment, a faint crease appeared between Seung Jae’s brows.