#26

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Two months ago, at Jung-hyun’s family home.

That day was a dinner to celebrate Jung-hyun’s 30th birthday and Ki-hyuk’s 35th birthday.

Coincidentally, the birthdays of the two half-brothers were only two days apart.

The family home in Seongbuk-dong was a mansion built by Kwon Deuk-jeong, the founding chairman of Myeong-jeong. It was a place where modern architecture and traditional hanok harmonized within high walls that resembled a fortress.

The area where his mother and father primarily lived was the modern building closest to the main gate; that building had undergone repeated expansions and remodeling since his grandfather’s generation, resulting in a long, L-shaped structure.

And at the head of the L-shaped building, at the back of the estate where the foothills of Bukaksan Mountain met, a single hanok stood apart.

It was where his grandfather had resided during his lifetime, and after his passing, it was used as a space for family meals or for receiving guests. This was because the view of Bukaksan from the open wooden veranda, the numaru, was exceptionally beautiful.

“If the weather were nice, it would be lovely to leave the doors to the numaru open. It’s so cloudy today.”

At his mother’s words, Jung-hyun looked outside through an octagonal window adorned with delicate decorations.

Because the Seongbuk-dong estate was located on high ground, spring arrived later there than elsewhere. Consequently, the trees in the garden and the slopes of Bukaksan were still bare. Even if the weather had been nice, it wouldn’t have been a pleasant sight.

His mother lamented this every year, wishing the fresh greenery and flowers would bloom on Bukaksan just a little sooner—even though that wouldn’t change the date of her sons’ birthdays.

Perhaps that was why, instead of the scenery of Bukaksan, a luxurious twelve-panel folding screen embroidered with landscape paintings on silk stood at the dining area.

It had been a long time since he had seen it since he was a child. His mother, who had been busy deciding the menu and decorating the room for today, must have brought it out on purpose.

Hadn’t she said it was a screen his grandfather gifted to his grandmother, who used to spend every night weeping in longing for her hometown?

His grandfather had always been proud of his grandmother, who passed away early. The reason was that she had given birth to three healthy sons, every single one of whom manifested as an Alpha.

While the hereditary succession of Alphas in chaebol families had been taken for granted since old times, the Myeong-jeong Group was particularly obsessed with Alpha worship.

Because of this, Kwon Myung-chul, the son of the founding chairman and Jung-hyun’s father, had been deeply troubled.

The Alpha manifestation rate for Ki-hyuk, the child born to his legal wife, was a mere 30%. Furthermore, Ki-hyuk showed no signs of manifestation even after passing the age of 18.

To follow Myeong-jeong’s principle that management rights could only be succeeded by an Alpha, Kwon Myung-chul needed a new child to carry on the lineage.

He had three more children. Except for Ki-hyuk, they were all born from extramarital affairs. Among them, the one with the highest Alpha manifestation rate was Jung-hyun.

After his legal wife died early in an unexpected accident, his father had sought out Jung-hyun’s mother as if he had been waiting for it. This happened when Jung-hyun was 15 and Ki-hyuk was 20.

“How is So-hyun doing? Her morning sickness should be winding down by now. It would have been nice if she came along today.”

Jeon So-hyun was the granddaughter of a media conglomerate, who had been married to Ki-hyuk for just over a year. Kwon Ki-hyuk replied in a calm tone while cutting his meat.

“So-hyun doesn’t like coming to Seongbuk-dong. She says the food here is a bit fishy.”

“Oh, really? If you had told me in advance, I would have mentioned it to Suncheon-daek. Or I could have called Chef Kim for the first time in a while.”

“She’s probably just making excuses because she doesn’t want to come. Don’t pay it any mind.”

“Why not? It’s not like I’ve forced her to live with the in-laws.”

“Please understand, Mother. Perhaps it’s because she’s young, but she lacks refinement.”

His mother glanced at his father, who was sitting in the seat of honor, and smiled awkwardly.

“Why are you being like this? She looks lovely in my eyes. I wasn’t like that when I was pregnant, but the new bride is so slender and beautiful.”

“That’s why I’m saying she’s only beautiful and vulgar.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk smiled, his snake-like eyes curving, as he placed a piece of rolled herring on his tongue.

“I take after Father; my taste in Omegas is similar.”

“…….”

His mother’s pupils trembled slightly. Jung-hyun quietly set his chopsticks down on the table. The grains of rice he had swallowed felt like sand, making his throat feel scratchy.

However, Jung-hyun did not scold his half-brother or defend his mother; he simply waited in silence. Eventually, his father spoke.

“Let’s eat in silence.”

“Yes, Father.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk grinned, showing his teeth, like a mischievous son acting cute.

It wasn’t behavior befitting a thirty-five-year-old man who was the vice president of a giant aviation company, but it was tacitly accepted within the Kwon family.

Jung-hyun’s half-brother had suddenly manifested as a recessive Alpha at the age of 21, long past the typical manifestation period. It was barely a year after Jung-hyun had entered Myeong-jeong.

Kwon Ki-hyuk never forgot that time. The humiliation and sorrow of that one year when he had been thoroughly excluded from this family, nearly losing everything he possessed to a half-brother five years his junior.

Only the clinking of cutlery echoed quietly in the wide hall.

Occasionally, his father asked his brother about business, and Ki-hyuk’s responses were the only things that intermittently filled the silence.

His mother, her face pale and frozen, occasionally moistened her throat with wine. Jung-hyun was concerned about her state, but there was nothing he could do in this setting.

He was no different from that landscape screen. An ornament meticulously dressed and cleaned by his mother for the ‘ideal family meal’ she desired. An ornament could not possibly have a right to speak.

The uncomfortable dinner was interrupted by a knock.

While the family’s hands paused, the sliding door opened with a rattle. Two men in suits entered.

“You are….”

A vertical crease formed between his father’s brows.

The man with white hair and round horn-rimmed glasses was the late grandfather’s personal lawyer and his secretary.

“Excuse me for interrupting your meal. I will now disclose the will of the late Chairman Kwon Deuk-jeong.”

At those words, the family members’ gazes intertwined.

To be precise, it was the gazes of the three people excluding Jung-hyun. Jung-hyun quietly wiped his mouth with the napkin on his lap.

He wasn’t curious about the sudden visit, nor did he feel any interest in it. He was simply slightly glad that the food he had been forcing himself to swallow had stopped.

“What is the meaning of this all of a sudden? Wasn’t the disclosure of the will completed immediately after his passing?”

“There is a remaining will. Please understand that we could not inform you in advance as it was left on the premise that it be disclosed only after certain conditions were met.”

“What on earth….”

Ki-hyuk let out a scoff.

“What are these conditions? Surely it’s not just the four of us having dinner.”

“The condition for the disclosure of the will was a gathering of the President, the Madam, and the Vice President, after Mr. Kwon Jung-hyun reached his 30th birthday without manifesting as an Alpha. You got half of it right.”

“……Kwon Jung-hyun?”

“My goodness….”

Only after Ki-hyuk frowned and his mother let out an exclamation did Jung-hyun realize belatedly that his name had been called.

As he looked at Lawyer Kim with slightly widened eyes, the lawyer, with a blunt expression, opened the envelope handed to him by his secretary.

“This will concerns the succession of management rights to Kwon Jung-hyun.”

He heard Kwon Ki-hyuk burst into a hollow laugh.

“To this end, the next one year is designated as the succession training period, and Kwon Jung-hyun is granted a position of Director or higher and the corresponding authority. After one year, the management rights shall be divided equally with Kwon Ki-hyuk according to legal procedures.”

“Ha…. Senile old man. He stabs us in the back even after death.”

“Ki-hyuk, watch your mouth. Lawyer Kim, what is all this? Jung-hyun has a separate role; why a position now?”

“If the will is not implemented, all management rights of the businesses held by the President will be transferred to your younger brothers.”

A rare expression of displeasure appeared on the face of his father, who always maintained a poker face.

Father, Kwon Myung-chul, had two younger brothers with whom he had fought a fierce battle for succession.

Although they now each inherited different family businesses and adhered to a pact not to interfere in each other’s affairs, they had originally been on such bad terms that they had shed blood.

From his father’s perspective, with his biological son, an Alpha, alive and well, he would not want to hand over the business he had built to his thorn-in-the-side brothers.

Kwon Ki-hyuk felt the same. Ki-hyuk slammed the table with his fist and growled.

“Kwon Jung-hyun is a Beta. You’re telling me to share Myeong-jeong with a Beta brat? Is that really what it says? If that was the case, he should have done it when I was 18, when I failed to manifest!”

“Ki-hyuk.”

“As mentioned, this succession is conditional upon Mr. Jung-hyun manifesting as an Alpha before his 31st birthday.”

At Lawyer Kim’s words, Ki-hyuk laughed out loud.

“Right, that’s exactly like my grandfather.”

“Manifestation? Did Father think Jung-hyun would manifest as an Alpha?”

“That is correct. The late Chairman Kwon Deuk-jeong was concerned that Mr. Jung-hyun might also manifest late, just as he himself had manifested at age 30.”

“Hah….”

The air in the dining room stirred, but Jung-hyun, the person in question, did nothing more than slightly knit and then relax the space between his eyebrows.

Common sense dictated that this was impossible. Trait manifestation typically occurs between the ages of 13 and 18. Even cases that were slightly late, like his half-brother’s, were extremely rare.

His grandfather must have been mistaken about something. Manifesting at 30. Since it happened in an era when medicine was not advanced, he must have simply discovered his trait late due to some error.

That’s why it was inevitable for it to feel strange.

Did he really leave such a will because he thought Jung-hyun would manifest? Was it a needless worry to think that succession might not be the actual goal?

“Then what happens if my little brother doesn’t manifest by then?”

Kwon Ki-hyuk asked, perhaps thinking the same thing.

Lawyer Kim nodded and replied in a businesslike manner.

“If he fails to manifest by the day of his 31st birthday, Mr. Jung-hyun must contribute to Myeong-jeong in another way. Regarding that method, the Chairman stated in the will that he must enter an arranged marriage as a son-in-law to a family of vice-ministerial rank or an equivalent status.”

27 – Puck Drop