By Zephyria At the same time, Kwon Tae-hee laid a trap that the young Beta wouldn’t notice. Seo Jeong-won, driven to a dead end, was desperate enough to ask to be saved, foolish enough to walk into the place that would swallow him whole.
“……Pardon? What does that mean?”
“It means that if you’re continuously exposed to my Pheromone, there’s a chance you might develop as an Omega, Jeong-won. So, how about this?”
Seo Jeong-won flinched at the low voice. His gaze, wavering anxiously, couldn’t meet Kwon Tae-hee’s and wandered in the air.
“How about we try for about a year? I also have a situation where this kind of thing, getting a child in exchange for compensation, this extremely private matter, shouldn’t be known to the outside world.”
It’s also troublesome to bring in another Omega. Kwon Tae-hee, swallowing the unspoken words, wore a fabricated smile.
“I’ll give Jeong-won a periodic Pheromone shower, and if that leads to development… if that allows you to fulfill the contract, I’ll cover all the costs to maintain Seo Gyu-won’s respirator for as long as you want.”
“……What if I don’t develop?”
His dark eyes trembled. This was a proposal that should be rejected outright. This was clearly not a sensible thing to do.
A baby, development, both were topics he had never considered in his life. Besides, even if it wasn’t the case now, wasn’t this the man who had been his Hyung’s fiancé?
This was someone he couldn’t smoothly get past in any way. Yet, he was troubled, as if standing at a crossroads.
“Even if you don’t develop, I’ll do as you wish, Jeong-won. I’ll pay the price for your efforts. If you want Seo Gyu-won’s respirator maintained, I’ll do that, and if you want it removed… that too.”
“I don’t understand… why you’re making this offer to me.”
“I want this matter to be resolved as quietly as possible. As I said, it shouldn’t be known to the outside world, and… it’s not easy to find someone whose interests align.”
Someone whose interests align. In other words, someone who desperately wants something. Seo Jeong-won, who desperately wanted to maintain Seo Gyu-won’s respirator. Kwon Tae-hee’s smile softened.
“Seo Gyu-won was a dominant Omega. As Jeong-won knows, he developed after becoming an adult. You two are brothers. I’m betting on the possibility.”
“Still, that’s… it’s absurd. I’ll just… pretend I didn’t hear it. I’ll do whatever I can for Hyung.”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head. Development, it was impossible. An absurd proposal.
“I don’t know if that’s the choice for your Hyung, but it’s a pity.”
Kwon Tae-hee said with a look of regret as he rose from his seat. He didn’t try to persuade Seo Jeong-won or urge him to reconsider.
His last words were to contact him anytime if he needed help. He got up and left as if he had no more business here.
* * *
The season changed. It had been eight months since Seo Jeong-won had contacted him again. Quite a long time. He had thought it would take three or four months to meet again, but he had endured for more than half a year.
But, alas, it didn’t even take two months for his curiosity to fade.
“You look much worse for wear.”
“……Is that so?”
His face had become smaller, and his eyes, having weathered harsh storms, had deepened.
Was he even thinner than before? Even in the season when the heat was at its peak after the monsoon, his skin, so white it was almost pale, remained the same.
The arm revealed beneath the shabby short sleeve was slender. One might wonder if he even had any muscles. The small hands clasped on his thighs trembled. His nervousness was clearly evident.
His dry lips, with their rough surface clearly visible, twitched and then closed tightly. Seo Jeong-won rubbed his reddish eyes as if he had been crying and let out a deep sigh.
Every time he moved, he smelled of a light fabric softener and the scent of grass he had smelled in the flower shop. His beautiful face, marred by fatigue, still left an impression of being so lovely and pretty, even though it was worn. Enough to quickly revive forgotten emotions.
“……I’m sorry for contacting you so suddenly. You must be busy… I’m also grateful that you made time for me.”
After losing interest, he hadn’t been curious about Seo Jeong-won. He hadn’t even checked the documents related to him that he had been receiving periodically through the secretary’s office for a long time.
It was only after receiving the call that he would come that he became curious about how Seo Jeong-won had been doing.
After briefly summarizing the documents that had accumulated in the meantime, he learned that he was failing miserably every day. His life was even more impoverished than expected.
“How is Hyung? Has he gotten better?”
It was a question, but the tone was so dull that one could tell he wasn’t curious.
Seo Jeong-won was quickly consumed by the anxiety he had felt throughout his journey here.
“The nurses and the caregiver say that Hyung’s face has brightened. His hands are… warm. And… he looks healthier to me. He’s really getting better.”
A lie. The caregiver quit as soon as the caregiving fees started to be delayed. Besides, how much better could the complexion of a patient who was as good as dead get?
Nevertheless, Kwon Tae-hee listened calmly to the story about Seo Gyu-won in a metallic voice. He occasionally nodded as if agreeing.
“That’s a relief.”
“……”
“Did you come here to tell me good news?”
Seo Jeong-won’s expression hardened at the cold tone. He became anxious at Kwon Tae-hee’s action of checking the time while fiddling with his wrist.
He was afraid that he would be told to leave as soon as the business was over, so he was in a hurry.
“It’s not that, I mean, why I’m here, I’m…”
“I have a meeting in about 10 minutes. I don’t know when it will end, but if it’s urgent, do you want to wait? Or should we see each other later?”
Kwon Tae-hee rose from his seat. Watching him put on the jacket he had hung up, Seo Jeong-won also stood up and brought up the purpose of his visit.
“It’s urgent, it’s an urgent matter. So… that time, that proposal. I was wondering if the Pheromone… that’s still valid.”
His eyes, filled with deep longing, were filled with tears. If he were to coldly reject him a little more, he seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Didn’t you think it was too late to come all the way here?”
“……”
“I don’t think I can spend any more time on Seo Jeong-won right now. Wait or go back, do whatever is convenient for Jeong-won.”
Kwon Tae-hee tested Seo Jeong-won as if he were testing him. He nodded, looking up at him with eyes that seemed ready to cry at any moment. He said in a trembling voice that he would wait if that was okay.
“Okay, then. Wait here.”
Kwon Tae-hee, who left the office, moved with Chief Jung, who was waiting outside the door. He tentatively asked how he should see off the guest who remained in the executive director’s office.
“He says he’ll wait until the meeting is over.”
“Should I have some tea brought to him?”
“No, there’s no need for that. Chief Jung, just record the office CCTV.”
Kwon Tae-hee adjusted his tie as he got into the elevator he had called in advance. He repeatedly recalled the short conversation he had with Seo Jeong-won as he headed to the conference room.
With a face full of fear, he asked if that proposal was still valid.
He was as innocent as he looked and had a foolish side. If he had come within the two months when he still had curiosity and patience, it would have been finally, but not now.
There were plenty of alternatives to Seo Gyu-won in the world, but only Seo Jeong-won didn’t know that.
Kwon Tae-hee wanted to tame Seo Jeong-won and make him more desperate. Now that he had the knife, he was going to wield it as he pleased.
* * *
Seo Jeong-won, left alone in the empty office, kept recalling Kwon Tae-hee’s voice, saying that he seemed to be too late. He seemed to be right.
More than half a year had passed since he received that proposal. In the meantime, his financial situation worsened every day.
The bank had already taken out a loan to take over the flower shop, so they said that additional loans were not possible, and the only thing he could get help from was private financing.
It didn’t take three months to press the numbers written on the stickers scattered throughout the break room, the low stone walls of the hospital promenade, and the public restrooms.
He took out a loan from private financing using the flower shop as collateral. The interest rate far exceeded the legal interest rate, but there was no way to borrow money here.
He paid off the hospital bills with the money he received after deducting the upfront interest. Tens of millions of won, which he had never even touched in just a few months, disappeared like a lie.
In the end, the private loan he borrowed grew faster than a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain. The money that seemed to give him a breather actually suffocated him.
It was difficult to pay the monthly interest. The caregiver quit as soon as the caregiving fees started to be delayed.
“Ha……”
Hospital bills, bank loans, and private loans all started to be delayed. When neither the principal nor the interest was deposited on the scheduled date, the loan shark initially called politely.
It didn’t take a month for them to come to the flower shop. They broke everything. The title also changed from teacher to you fucking son of a bitch.
Later, they even subtly recommended organ trafficking. He had two kidneys, so he could live well enough even if he didn’t have one. They even insulted him by saying that if he was reluctant to sell his, he should take his Hyung’s and sell it.
‘It’s not like your Hyung is going to run a marathon anywhere. Would he even know if you took it?’