By Zephyria 
Since when were we so affectionate that he changed his address to ‘our dear brother’? I don’t think some non-existent brotherly bond formed while I was away from home.
I stared at the eldest Hyung. The way he tried to hide his intimidation and acted arrogant to somehow gain the upper hand was like a frightened small dog barking loudly at a big dog.
If you think of it as a clash of egos between men or a power struggle between Alphas, it’s understandable, but I wondered what his ulterior motive was in calling Kwon Yi-kang just to pull this stunt.
“You said you’re on your way back from eating?”
“Yes, you called at a good time. Otherwise, you would have waited a long time.”
“That’s a relief. Then shall we have a drink?”
A bottle of liquor that was almost empty was already on the table. Did he drink that whole bottle alone? The thought occurred to me that his sprawled posture might not be intentional, but because he was drunk. No wonder the guy, who could barely speak a few words when he first saw Kwon Yi-kang, was now chatting away so well.
“Hey.”
The eldest Hyung turned his head and called someone. After shouting a couple more times because she didn’t hear, the woman who had opened the door came out of the room.
“Bring two glasses and one more bottle.”
“Who is she?”
“Just someone I know.”
“Does she live here?”
At my question, the eldest Hyung only laughed. If he provided a house for her to live in and she comes and goes as if it’s her own home, does that make her a lover? Since he’s married, should I call her a second?
“Does your wife know?”
“How naive.”
The woman approached lightly and sat next to the eldest Hyung, placing two glasses down. She poured the newly brought liquor into the glasses filled with ice. The transparent brown liquid filled the glasses, and the ice clinked.
“Why would a wife need to know about things like this? We’re both enjoying it. I bet that madam has quite a few men too.”
The woman laughed as she poured a drink into the eldest Hyung’s glass.
“That’s just how arranged marriages are.”
“You must have had an arranged marriage. You know a lot about it.”
“There’s a person who had an arranged marriage right next to me.”
The woman replied in a coquettish voice, hugging the eldest Hyung’s waist. I may have left home, but he’s still that guy’s brother; is it okay for the cheating partner to be this bold?
“Did you call us here to brag about this? Or did you call us to let us know that you can cheat freely if you have an arranged marriage?”
“I just called so we could talk comfortably. Why are you being so prickly? Drink.”
As I watched the eldest Hyung lift his glass as if making a toast and sip from it, I wondered what on earth the reason was for me to waste my precious time facing this face.
“You know Father is opposing your marriage, right?”
“Yes, that’s why I left home.”
“Unlike Father, I like our brother-in-law very much.”
“How much have you seen him to like him? You probably just like the background of the Hwang Seong Group.”
“The background is also a part of the person. It speaks for how that person grew up and how they became who they are.”
“Are you saying the children of Hosan Hospital are drug addicts or have second families because of their background? I didn’t realize Hosan was the problem.”
“That is a right one can enjoy thanks to their background.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard that there’s a separate right to cheat.”
He’s talking absolute nonsense. When I thought about how I had eaten an expensive meal and come all this way just to hear such fresh nonsense, I wanted to grab the big guy in front of me by the collar.
“Our dear brother is so emotional. Being honest is good, but it’s terrible for business. I think I’ll get along well with our brother-in-law. What do you think?”
“I’ll know once we’ve talked.”
Kwon Yi-kang pulled the glass in front of him, clinked glasses, and emptied two glasses in succession. The woman next to the eldest Hyung smiled with her eyes and poured liquor into the empty glasses again.
“…A Beta?”
Since I couldn’t feel any pheromones, and seeing how she sat comfortably against Kwon Yi-kang and how Kwon Yi-kang didn’t even give her a glance, I asked softly, and the woman smiled, her eyes curving.
Kwon Yi-kang had said he wasn’t attracted to Betas who felt like nothing, so I wondered if the eldest Hyung felt some kind of charm in Betas. It was hard to guess what kind of charm an Alpha could find that was great enough to surpass the pheromones of an Omega.
“There are rumors that the Chairman will step down soon. Father will take that position, and then naturally, I’ll become the hospital director. I plan to expand not only the hospital but also the business more than now. I’ll dispose of the provincial hospitals that aren’t making money and plan to build a new one in Incheon… Of course, I’ll have to handle the current expansion plans first.”
Hmm, I can hear the sound of someone drinking a bowl of wishful thinking.
The Chairman is stepping down? That old man? I don’t think he’ll step down from that position until he dies. Wouldn’t it be faster to just wait for him to die on the street or collapse from an illness? He’s not the kind of old geezer who would ever step down of his own accord, so where on earth did the eldest Hyung hear such things to be this expectant?
“How about it? Don’t you think we’d make good partners in many ways?”
“…That could be the case.”
Kwon Yi-kang, who had been rolling the empty glass with his hand, gave a short laugh and nodded.
“I’m in favor of you marrying Soo-kyung. Father is being stubborn now, but from what I see, Soo-kyung isn’t the type to just quietly give in. Soo-kyung’s father doesn’t seem to particularly oppose it either. How long can our father hold out alone?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the stupid things he was spouting. Judging by the way he spoke, it was clear that the eldest brother knew absolutely nothing about the family’s past that the Alpha father was hiding. If he did, he would have known that this marriage wasn’t something that could be achieved simply by stubbornness.
Marriage isn’t decided by a majority vote, yet he spoke as if the wedding would proceed just because he agreed to it.
There’s a limit to how ridiculously a powerless brat can act. What, if he agrees, does he think something will fall into his lap from Kwon Yi-kang? I laughed at the nonsense; his ulterior motives were transparent.
“So, is that why you called me here? To say you agree with the marriage?”
“I’m saying let’s build a good relationship. Our fathers’ era is over. Whatever happened in the past, no matter how bad the relationship was, that’s their problem. It’s our generation that will lead the family now. With me and my brother-in-law, we can lead the family to be even greater, and if we help each other, we’ll prosper even more.”
A greedy brat. Now that the younger one is dead, he must feel like Hosan Hospital is completely his. He was now spouting things he would never have dared to say out loud before, as if it were only natural.
While there was a high possibility that Hosan would pass from Father to the eldest brother, it was another matter entirely to go around bragging about it. The eldest brother had a strong conviction that no matter what happened, it would eventually be his.
He was a man who had been cautious even when there was a younger brother who lacked personality, character, and ability. Put another way, it meant I wasn’t even in his sight. I didn’t have much ambition myself, but it felt different to have that confirmed by the eldest.
Should I just take it for myself? It’s not something I can have just by wanting it, but seeing him like this, it was obvious how much he’d act out once he became the hospital director, and the thought made me feel twisted.
“Can you say that in front of Father?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if you can tell Father that you agree with our marriage. Can you tell Father to let us get married?”
“Persuading Father is your job. I don’t know what got him in a bad mood, but you have to resolve that for Father to agree.”
“What a joke. You have no intention of helping; you’re just agreeing with words.”
“I’m saying that, unlike Father, I agree with your marriage.”
“Hyung. …Does your agreement even matter? Conversely, if you opposed it, would we have been unable to marry even if Father agreed? Whether you agree or oppose, it has nothing to do with our marriage. Your opinion isn’t important at all.”
“What?”
“Anyone can say nice things. You’re not helping with a single thing. You don’t have the courage to say a word to Father, yet you want to pick up the crumbs?”
Don’t make me laugh. I have no intention of dropping any crumbs. I like breadcrumbs if they fall, but it’s a different story if they’re crumbs I dropped myself. I wasn’t generous enough to share anything with someone dreaming of unearned income. Especially if that person was a member of the Cha family.
“Isn’t that a bit too much of a thief’s mentality? I’m quite disappointed if you called me here just to say something like that.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back against the sofa. A sneering expression was a bonus. On top of that, I leaned my head on Kwon Yi-kang’s shoulder and smiled; as if he could read my mind, Kwon Yi-kang pulled me closer and hugged me.
The eldest brother’s face distorted. His lips twitched as if he were about to snap, but his glistening eyes only scanned us in our close embrace.
I didn’t know whether to applaud the eldest brother’s patience for suppressing his anger even in this situation, or his effort to somehow steer the situation toward his own benefit.
“That’s quite a leap. I simply wish for my only remaining sibling to marry someone they like and live happily.”
“I’ll become happy, and while we’re at it, maybe you’ll become a bit happy too. Right?”
Kwon Yi-kang let out a small laugh at my persistence in twisting his words. To him, this situation must have looked like a comedy.
As the only child of the Chairman of Hwang Seong Group, had he really never encountered a parasite like this? How many people must have clung to him with the intent to get something? Even after meeting me several times, he was a man who couldn’t shake such suspicions. The eldest brother’s inner thoughts must have been transparent to Kwon Yi-kang.
How ridiculous it must be.
If I were truly a member of the Cha family, I would have been too ashamed to show my face, but fortunately, I was Min Jae-hee wearing Cha Soo-kyung’s skin, so I was thick-skinned. Moreover, I could laugh at the Cha family together with Kwon Yi-kang.