By Zephyria 
“Boss! Could you wipe this up? How many times do I have to tell you!”
Ah… that damn bastard, seriously. As I was pouring coffee into a cup, my face crumpled at the unwelcome sound coming from behind me. That jerk had been calling me for a while now, telling me to wipe here, wipe the floor, something is stained here, and so on—picking every possible fight just to harass me.
“Ugh, Boss. Why is that rude brat still here? He’s been at it for two hours. Doesn’t he get bored?”
“He came here with his friends and seems to have found joy in bossing me around, so why would he be bored?”
“I’ll go this time. Our Boss is going to get sick. I need to give him a piece of my mind. That kid is Jin-su, the grandson of the Sora Sashimi restaurant owner, right? I heard he came to the island for university break. I’ll go tell him off.”
Why is his name Jin-su and not Jin-sang? They sound similar, so he might as well be called Jin-sang. I was firmly determined, but I stopped the employee who was about to go to him. It was obvious he’d just call for me again anyway, so there was no need to upset another person’s emotions.
“No. I’ll go. The customers have thinned out, so please take a break and catch your breath.”
After soothing the employee who was angry on my behalf, I left the kitchen and headed toward the table. I couldn’t ask an employee well over sixty to deal with a young, nuisance customer. Who knows what that rude brat might do to my precious employee… It had been truly difficult to hire staff.
Since this place is in the center of the island, although it’s small, government offices, companies, hospitals, and the market are clustered together. Because of that, there were quite a few customers looking for coffee before work or after meals. When customers flocked in during lunch hour, we were short-handed, but there were no people of an age suitable for part-time work nearby.
Seo-joo was here, but since he had days when he went to Seoul, I needed a resident employee. I had managed to find someone interested in cafe work with great difficulty, and I had been teaching them slowly and working together until now. Contrary to my worries, hiring the employee was a huge success. I was very satisfied with having hired her.
She possesses a level of proficiency and seasoned skill that people my age or younger lack, and because we share a common ground, customers feel comfortable visiting the place thanks to her. I’ve benefited from her in so many ways; I was even able to find a weekend part-timer through another acquaintance she introduced. Therefore, I couldn’t send this lucky charm of an employee to deal with such a hooligan.
It’s better that I, who have been through everything under the sun, go and clean up the mess. I must protect my precious employee at all costs. Despite how I look, I have a high tolerance for humiliation and a strong constitution. Being used, being betrayed, being beaten—I’ve experienced all these situations and reached the max level.
Dealing with a slippery brat who just needles you with words is a piece of cake. He’s someone who will disappear before March anyway, so I just need to deal with him with a vague smile and send him on his way. Why bother getting stressed? Smile, Cha Hae-joo. In the service industry, a smile is everything. As I approached him, he frowned and scanned me from head to toe.
“Boss. You’re too slow. Is this your first time running a business?”
Yeah. It is, so what?
“I can tell you’re a rookie just by looking. But if you do business like this, you won’t be able to build competitiveness anywhere. Huh? You seem to think you know everything just because business is okay on this cramped little island, but why don’t you go to the city and do some market research? Aren’t you around my age? Move your ass and visit some franchises. Now that you’ve wiped the spill, bring me a glass of water.”
Water? Why is this brat suddenly speaking informally? I shouldn’t fall for the provocation like an amateur, but it’s true that a young kid speaking informally is unpleasant. Letting the nuisance’s rambling flow in one ear and out the other, I put on a soulless smile.
“Thank you for the great suggestion. And as for the water, you can pour it yourself over there.”
Can’t you see the water dispenser next to the syrup? Great suggestion my foot; stop acting out and shut your mouth. You’ve barely left the island for Seoul. I found this young thing, who ignored people while pretending to know everything, utterly pathetic. Just a brat who’s too cocky… He probably wants to act important after getting a taste of Seoul.
“No, not that lemon water, I want you to pour me plain water.”
“You have to buy plain water separately. Ah… you spilled here too? Why are you spilling so much. Is there a hole in your chin?”
“……?”
Oops, the voice of my heart slipped out of my mouth. I mean, why is a grown adult dripping everywhere and calling me over so many times?
“What, what did you say?”
“I said you have to buy plain water separately.”
“Not that part, say what you said after that again.”
Seeing him ask back, he clearly heard it, so why ask again? Does he want to hear something unpleasant twice? Having finished wiping the table, I looked up and forced a beaming smile. Ah, self-employment is too hard. My mouth twitched from the forced smile.
“I heard it clearly with my own ears, so stop playing innocent and say it again. To a customer? A hole in my chin? Is this how you run a local business?”
See. You heard it well, yet you keep wanting to hear it again? You nuisance. My local business is doing just fine, thanks.
“I’m really pissed off right now, so give me your name and phone number. I can’t let this slide.”
“My name is ‘Boss’ and I don’t have a phone.”
It was while I was having a trivial argument with the brat. I felt a strange gaze from somewhere and instinctively turned my head. However, except for a few customers chatting, there was no one looking at me in the hall. That’s strange…? I definitely felt a gaze. I scanned the outside of the cafe with anxious eyes.
Lately, I’ve been feeling an inexplicable gaze more and more. I haven’t caught anyone actually looking at me, but it just felt that way. Am I being too sensitive?
Now that I’m slowly settling in, regaining my senses, and living my own life, I’m anxious that something else might happen. Perhaps because I’ve been through too much and my period of wandering was so long, I’m feeling everything sensitively. I carefully looked around my surroundings.
“You crazy brat, what the hell are you doing right now?”
While I was turning around to look at the back window, Seo-joo had entered, though I didn’t notice when. Without relaxing his menacing expression, Seo-joo passed me and strode toward the nuisance among his friends.
“Hey, why are you causing a scene here? You look like an Alpha, but do you not know what happens when you recklessly threaten an Omega, that’s why you’re acting like this?”
Pheromones leaked from Seo-joo’s body, his anger unconcealed. It was a unique pheromone scent, a mix of fragrant coffee and whiskey. A heavy and thick, typical Alpha pheromone, perhaps? It was a moment where I realized once again that Seo-joo is an Alpha.
Due to a pheromone imbalance, the only Alpha pheromones I can smell are those of my family. I could distinguish whose pheromones they were among Seo-joo, Dad, and Han-bin hyung. I remember being surprised when I first smelled Seo-joo’s pheromones a few days after escaping.
A pitch-black night. Seo-joo stood alone in a daze, facing the sea breeze, his thoughts unknown. He didn’t even seem to know his pheromones were leaking. I guessed he might have been thinking of Hyun-wook.
The pheromones leaking from Seo-joo then were surprisingly mature, and amazingly, I was not affected by them at all. Just like with Han-bin hyung’s pheromones, there was no reaction or change in my body. Even if they are Alphas or Omegas, one is not affected by the pheromones of blood-related family.
However, Seo-joo and I are genetically strangers here. We were blood brothers before the possession, but here, there is no blood relation. Yet, for some reason, my body didn’t react to the pheromones, just as if we were blood brothers. I can’t tell you how fortunate this is.
If I had been affected by Dad’s or Seo-joo’s pheromones and gone into heat, it would have been a total disaster. We were classified as strangers and lived in different environments as family members of different people. But seeing how we don’t react to each other’s pheromones, we are indeed undeniable family.
“F-first, can’t you do something about the pheromones? Let’s talk, let’s just talk.”
The nuisance, covering his nose and mouth, barely managed to speak. While I was feeling familial love through Seo-joo’s pheromones, the nuisance was complaining of pain. If the pheromones of a fellow Alpha are mixed with blatant loathing, they must feel extremely nauseating.
Though not a dominant, Seo-joo’s pheromones are quite strong. Even if he’s an Alpha, the nuisance probably couldn’t overpower Seo-joo. I lightly tugged on Seo-joo’s collar as a sign for him to start reeling in his pheromones. Since even I could feel them, the nuisance might actually die at this rate.
Understanding my intent, Seo-joo reluctantly withdrew his pheromones, grabbed the nuisance by the scruff of his neck threateningly, and dragged him toward the door. Then, as if throwing him away, he flung him outside and issued a ban from the cafe. The customers in the cafe seemed to have found the brat quite annoying as well, reacting with satisfaction. While I apologized to the customers for the commotion, Seo-joo came back inside, dusting off his hands.
“Sorry. I was indecisive, so you’re the one who suffered.”
“Suffered? Please. If he tries that shit with hyung one more time, I really won’t let it go.”
Seo-joo becomes sensitive the moment anyone even approaches me. The shock Seo-joo felt after hearing everything about what I went through and how I was treated in the palace was immense. He suffered so much that he was bedridden for days with stress. Since then, he has tried his best not to bring up the past. Even now, if I don’t change the subject quickly, the sensitive Seo-joo will worry a lot. With a bright expression, I pointed to the paper in Seo-joo’s hand.
“By the way, what’s that?”
“Ah, this? It got all crumpled because of that bastard. Didn’t hyung say before that you wanted to learn how to make desserts? A place like this opened up.”
Seo-joo handed over a flyer with a brightening face. What is this? A dessert class?
“If it’s a dessert class, does that mean learning baking and confectionery?”
“It’s not just learning; they say they send the baked goods to places connected with sponsors so you can generate income. I think an organization sponsors it. The application deadline and the required documents for applicants are written here.”
Oh, this is pretty good. Let’s see. No certification required. Health certificate, copy of resident registration, copy of bankbook, resident registration abstract. Nothing difficult. My eyes sparkled as I checked the required documents.