By Zephyria 
Nоthing hаppens bу сhancе. Do-hyun knеw thаt fасt аll tоo well.
—Тhе subsсriber yоu have dialеd is not аvailаble…
А meсhаniсal guidanсe vоice eсhoed through thе quiet living room. Тhe mаn hung uр immediately and diаled the samе numbеr оnсе more. Тhis time, thе fаmiliar voiсе flowed from the рhonе аgain.
—Thе subsсribеr уоu havе…
Сrash! With а violent sound, the phonе tumbled aсross the flоor. The sсreеn, which had bееn repаired not lоng agо, shаtterеd intо piесes, but thе mаn didn’t еven spаrе it a glаnсе. Сlutching his head irritably, the man bit his lip hard and curled his upper body inward.
‘I’m leaving.’
“Fuck…”
Where exactly did it all go wrong?
The man, Do-hyun, had been in this state ever since Woo-yeon left. The image of the receding back lingered before his eyes, and those wet pupils remained etched in his mind, unforgettable. The moment the collar he had held onto for the last time slipped from his fingertips—from that very moment, a corner of his heart began to warp.
‘I don’t know what you’re thinking, Seonbae.’
In a way, it was nothing more than poetic justice. Do-hyun had deceived him, remained silent, and eventually, everything had been discovered. If Woo-yeon were to rage like a wildfire, it was only right and fitting that Do-hyun be burned to ashes.
‘How do I know if this is also an act?’
But it shouldn’t have been like this. No matter what others said, those words should not have come out of Woo-yeon’s mouth. A lover cannot drive a dagger into the heart of someone whose face is so clearly wounded.
‘…I can’t trust you, Teacher.’
“Ha…”
His stomach twisted painfully. Do-hyun covered his face and gnawed on his lip. Where Woo-yeon had heard those things, why Driver Yoon had called at that specific timing. His uselessly sharp intuition grasped the entire situation in an instant.
‘I’ve decided to move back to my family home.’
It was probably Soo-hyang. No, it was definitely Soo-hyang. That Alpha, who always achieved whatever she wanted, had clearly pulled the strings again.
Do-hyun clenched his teeth, suppressing the urge to scream. His insides were boiling, but the arrow of his anger was not aimed there. His eyes, stained pitch black, turned toward the wretched state of the phone.
* * *
He had met Soo-hyang when he was roughly ten years old.
A small orphanage on the outskirts of Seoul. Do-hyun grew up there. He became an orphan at the age of eight, and before he could even realize he was alone, he became a nuisance. He was too old to be adopted but too young to fend for himself, so he was naturally branded as a ‘troublemaker.’
Therefore, Do-hyun developed a keen sense of reading people solely to survive. He desperately read the atmosphere and strove to be favored by the teachers.
The already established cliques tried to push him out, but that wasn’t a major obstacle either. It was the result of a mind sharper than his peers and a neat appearance. His tidy and docile looks were perfect for Do-hyun to act the part of the ‘good boy.’ Naturally, Do-hyun blended in among them with a bright smile.
Two years passed. Do-hyun turned ten, and by then, no suitable adoptive home had appeared. If time continued to flow and he grew older, he would have to find a part-time job and leave the orphanage.
‘Someone from Selection Group is coming.’
Then, rumors began to spread. That the orphanage was on a shortlist, that the Selection Foundation was looking for a place to sponsor, that ‘Ji Su-hyang’ was coming to pick out future talent.
It felt as if a ray of hope was shining down on a world that had been entirely achromatic.
Do-hyun knew what opportunity he had to seize. Just as when he first arrived at the orphanage, he knew he had to carve out his own path. He was only ten, but he wasn’t so young as to not know that.
‘Hyung, what is Selection Group?’
‘They are people who will help us.’
Soo-hyang visited the orphanage the week after Do-hyun had answered with a kind smile. Accompanied by a swarm of reporters and bodyguards, she looked like someone acting the part of a ‘kind-hearted chaebol’ to anyone watching. A kind of performance. A visit that was nothing more and nothing less than that. Do-hyun noticed it immediately.
‘This is Vice Chairman Ji Su-hyang.’
Most of the children were simply terrified of her. With eyes like a leopard and a gaze like a hawk, it was no wonder they were frightened. On top of that, she had a sharp aura that made it difficult to even approach her.
‘Now, you should greet her.’
‘Hello.’
Despite this, Do-hyun was the first to greet her with an innocent face. As he placed both hands on his stomach and bowed politely, Soo-hyang’s gaze landed on him. Do-hyun didn’t miss the chance and clearly stated his name.
‘I am Kim Do-hyun.’
Among the scruffy children, he alone looked polished. He was wearing the same worn-out clothes, but his expression was different.
‘Kim Do-hyun?’
For a considerable amount of time, Soo-hyang observed Do-hyun in silence. Even under a gaze that would intimidate most people, Do-hyun didn’t even blink.
After a short pause, the corners of Soo-hyang’s mouth curled up slightly.
‘Cute kid.’
It was a level of affection akin to feeding a stray cat. It didn’t mean he was actually cute, nor did it mean she felt a shred of pity. She had simply seen through his intentions and highly valued the cunningness of a child.
A few months later, an article was published. It was news that the Selection Foundation had acquired an orphanage. Do-hyun became ‘Ji Su-hyang’s sponsored child,’ and in the year he turned fourteen, he manifested as an Alpha.
Of all things, he was a rare ‘dominant Alpha.’ Furthermore, in an under-managed orphanage, there was no one suitable to teach him how to control his pheromones. To make matters worse, the pheromones of several people tangled together in a small room were far too lethal for a dominant type like Do-hyun.
Do-hyun suppressed his pheromones as if his life depended on it. To avoid being kicked out of the orphanage and to prevent unnecessary accidents, he always kept his five senses on high alert. He never forgot to hurriedly leave the area the moment someone else’s pheromones touched him.
Soo-hyang, who happened to visit the orphanage, wore an unreadable expression while watching Do-hyun. Then, with that same cool face, she spoke.
‘There are people who want to adopt you.’
It was the moment his life changed entirely. For this one moment, Do-hyun had endured each day fiercely. Naturally, nodding his head was effortless.
The Beta couple who adopted Do-hyun were wealthy and kind people. Although there was a younger sibling four years his junior, it wasn’t hard to get close. Having been the eldest in the orphanage, Do-hyun easily won over a ten-year-old elementary student.
One year, two years, and then three. Throughout middle school, Do-hyun acted the part of a wonderful son as a member of the family. He entered a foreign language high school to meet his parents’ expectations, and his relationship with his younger sister was harmonious. He contacted Soo-hyang occasionally, but replies were rare.
And so, in the fourth year. On the day seventeen-year-old Do-hyun was walking home with a report card filled only with ‘1s,’ he overheard a conversation in front of the master bedroom where his parents were that he should not have heard.
‘…In exchange for bringing Do-hyun in…’
‘This time, from Selection…’
The fragmented voices buzzed in his ears. The opportunity for adoption that had come by chance, a certain contract hidden behind it, and a bit of flattery. Finally, a distance that could never be closed.
‘The child is kind, but sometimes it feels like an act…’
Nothing happens by chance. The peace he had barely maintained began to crack thinly.
Do-hyun, who had stood in place for a long time, only came to his senses after they opened the door and came out. His parents, unable to hide their surprise, asked Do-hyun.
‘…Did you hear everything?’
However, Do-hyun was used to not revealing his inner thoughts. From a very young age until now, he had not easily shown his emotions to others. It was a habit created by his environment, and there was no need to fix it.
‘No, what were you talking about?’
He couldn’t forget the look of relief on their faces. The way they patted his shoulder, telling him it was nothing amidst the precarious tension.
Do-hyun smiled kindly and bragged about his satisfying report card.
Even after that, Do-hyun treated his parents as if nothing had happened. He studied as usual and helped his sibling with their studies whenever he had time. Then, whenever an inexplicable feeling of suffocation erupted, he would secretly take out a cigarette and smoke.
‘I’m telling you, this guy is a total fake.’
Around that time, the friends he dated briefly showed great interest in the model student Do-hyun. They seemed to find it fascinating that the perfect student at school hung out with them behind the scenes. While some were attracted to his neat and handsome appearance, others openly hit on him, asking to sleep with him just once.
‘Hey, want to get a tattoo if you lose the bet?’
The tattoo was something one of them was learning as a hobby. Do-hyun had no intention of accepting, but on that particular day, everything felt tedious. The friend insisted on playing rock-paper-scissors, and Do-hyun threw out a fist without even looking at him.
‘What do you want? No drawings, I can only do lettering.’
‘Just do whatever you want.’
‘Eh, really? Really whatever I want?’
Issues like it staying on his body for life or his parents seeing it weren’t important. Offering his back and telling them to do it in an invisible area was the only sincerity Do-hyun showed.
The phrase engraved on his back was ‘Habeo a magnus mentula.’ It was crude Latin run through a translator. Do-hyun was angry when he found out the meaning later, but the friend slyly replied that it wasn’t entirely wrong.
In a way, it was all just childish rebellion. He craved attention amidst the precariousness of not knowing when he would be caught, and eventually, he stopped, exhausted by his own cowardice. A tattoo remained on his body and he couldn’t quit smoking, but he was fortunate not to have committed delinquencies beyond the level of ‘deviation.’
After that, the contact from Soo-hyang came around the time the first spring of his twenties was passing. Do-hyun got into a prestigious university with effortless grades, and his parents bought him an apartment and a car as an acceptance gift. Around the same time, he heard news that the contract between Selection Group and his parents’ company had been successfully signed.
‘It’s been a while. Is university treating you well?’
‘It’s been over two months since I entered, and you’re only asking now. Surely you didn’t call me just to ask how I’m doing?’
Do-hyun sat upright, but contrary to his posture, he gave a cheeky response. Soo-hyang did not point out his rudeness and dismissed the secretary with a glance.
Click. As soon as the door closed, a low voice flowed out.
‘I heard that since you were in the orphanage, you took good care of the younger children. It seems you still get along well with your sibling.’
It was an abrupt topic, but Do-hyun calmly met her gaze. The eyes that always looked like a predator’s were unusually devoid of venom. Soo-hyang frowned slightly and continued slowly.
‘My child… is the same age as your sibling.’