“So, the Crown Prince ordered that heat cycle sensor be made by the company that developed that blood sugar thing… like electronic anklets for criminals?”
─ That’s what I heard.
That crazy bastard. Joo Tae-hyun pictured the Crown Prince’s face, which he had actually seen a few times.
Just a few months ago, he came to New York on a tour and gathered all sorts of people, including Korean students studying abroad, expats, and artists… Anyway, he was the kind of person who got cursed behind his back for gathering all those people.
Why can’t he come to his senses even at his age? If the Korean Empire’s imperial family is abolished, it’ll be because of that Crown Prince bastard. Joo Yun-woo’s usual rant felt more relevant today than ever.
“And there wasn’t any controversy?”
─ Since it all happened behind the scenes, there’s no official way to deal with it. They probably just shuffled some budget around. Besides, the public opinion on Switch (likely referring to a drug or substance) is still too bad in Korea…
That evening, after contacting his second Hyung to match the Korean time difference, he found out that the repercussions of the incident were much greater than he had thought. He was even embarrassed that it had been a year since it happened, and he was only hearing about it now.
Actually, Joo Yun-woo is much faster with this kind of news, but the youngest, who had said he would think about it carefully until this morning, decided to study abroad so shockingly quickly that he was still sulking, so communication had not been smooth recently. Well, what could he do? This was also his own fault for being so reckless with his mouth.
“But Hyung, why didn’t you tell me?”
─ Huh? Well…
“Kim Seung-jun? There’s no way our family would have stayed still after that bastard mentioned my name in front of people.”
─ Heo-eoeo, did you just say ‘Kim Seung-jun that bastard’? Our baby knows how to swear now? Well, yeah. The world is a tough place, you have to be able to curse at bad guys. Baby, you have to protect yourself-.
“Hyung.”
─ …Well, I thought our youngest would just get upset if he heard about this from far away.
“Still, it’s been 1… no. It’ll be almost 2 years since the new year. How can you tell me almost 2 years later? I’m the one involved.”
─ Yeah, sorry. But it’s all been resolved, so don’t worry. We just thought Baek-han would explain it to you. You guys contact each other often, right?
…Joo Tae-hyun didn’t have anything to say to that, so he just mumbled, “Still…”
─ By the way, time flies. Baek-han is already preparing for marriage.
“…Huh?”
─ Oh, it looks like Baek-han is going to start going on arranged dates. I heard they quietly mentioned it to a few families.
The fingertips of Joo Tae-hyun, who was holding the phone, turned white.
…It was something he had been prepared for someday. More than anything, it wasn’t something he could do anything about. In fact, even being this confused was presumptuous. He had no right or qualification to be.
“…Baek, if it’s Han Hyung’s age, it’s not strange to have a fiancé, usually.”
─ That’s true. But it was surprising that he was only looking for an Alpha.
“…Hyung is, an Alpha?”
─ Director Ahn called and cautiously asked if we had any other Alphas among our relatives. Did he not know that our relationship with the collateral family was completely broken?
What is this about? He’s not looking for a woman, he’s only looking for an Alpha? Seo Baek-han?
“Well, he might have just thought it was a rumor.”
─ That’s true. I wouldn’t believe it until I saw and heard it myself. Anyway, he was disappointed. He said he had been stressed about Baek-han’s marriage for a long time, even though he hadn’t shown it. He said that if Yun-woo was an Alpha, or if Tae-hyun you were a woman, Baek-han would have pushed for marriage on his own, and he was very sorry about it. The Director doesn’t mind men, but Baek-han only likes women.
…Ah.
Joo Tae-hyun then realized that he had been harboring a sliver of hope and smiled bitterly. He meant he was looking for a female Alpha. And I was…
─ Well, whatever Baek-han’s plan is, there’s no condition as good as our family’s… Especially our youngest! Our baby is the best groom material. So, youngest, don’t get married too soon. Got it?
“……”
─ Youngest, are you listening?
“Huh? Uh-huh. …The Wi-Fi is a bit spotty? I can hear you fine now, Hyung.”
Unfortunately, after that, all of Joo Sang-woo’s words echoed and scattered in his ears.
Actually, I thought Seo Baek-han wouldn’t get married, honestly, didn’t his girlfriend keep changing? But seeing that he’s only looking for an Alpha, it seems like Baek-han might be trying to pass a Switch (likely referring to a drug or substance) related bill by using his marriage as bait, Seo Baek-han is the kind of guy who would do that…
─ Anyway, I think there’s a reason why Seo Baek-han is insisting on a female Alpha.
“…Yeah, that could be it.”
According to the clue left by his second Hyung, who was in a good mood after having a long chat with his youngest after a long time, Seo Baek-han suddenly wants to marry an Alpha.
And there seems to be a reason why he insists on ‘Alpha’ as his marriage partner.
Finally, Ahn Yeseon (Director) admitted that there was no condition as good as his.
…Of course, the biggest problem is still that I’m a man.
But if we interpret it differently, if there is an advantage that can overcome gender… Perhaps, in a situation where only conditions matter, there might be a possibility.
Most people think the capital of the United States is New York, but the people who live in Washington have pride in their city.
They live in the place that commands the vast United States, and even the entire world. The White House, the congressional offices, and the press center, even in the midst of a hectic life with no clear boundary between commuting to work and not, they stubbornly endure with a pride that borders on vanity.
And absurdly, that was also the case for the criminals who lived in the shadows of the city. They also had a sense of pride and self-esteem that criminals in other areas didn’t have.
The fact that I’m skilled enough to be this active in a relatively safe and quiet neighborhood, that I maintain manners and trade according to certain rules instead of picking fights with random passersby… Well, it was that kind of dogshit criminal philosophy that couldn’t be used for anything.
Thomas was one of those criminals.
He had been distributing drugs in Washington for about four years.
Before that, he had wandered around Jersey City and New York, chased out by territorial gangs, and ended up in a random area. He started working as a delivery driver to make a living, and that’s when he came into contact with drugs by chance.
Marijuana is legal in the United States. In some cases, you can order through a delivery app as long as you can verify the orderer’s ID when delivering.
Using such a system, retailers like Thomas were popping up little by little.
If you write a code in the request, they would add the drug the customer is looking for. This drug must be paid for in cash, of course, but at least the minimum order amount is paid for through the app, so you can say that they are living a little more legitimately than before, even paying some taxes.
“Let’s see…”
Today’s additional order for Thomas, a tax-paying, diligent criminal, was ‘Switch (likely referring to a drug or substance)’.
Switch (likely referring to a drug or substance) is also a legal drug in Washington. No, it can’t even be called a drug. It’s just something you take when you want to have sex with other Trait/Phenotype people, like… one of the sexual products like a condom.
However, after interpreting the code entered by the orderer, it turned out that what he wanted was not the usual Switch (likely referring to a drug or substance), but the kind commonly called ‘dirty’.
The amount ordered is quite staggering… But the dirty that Thomas brought in today is weak, barely straddling the border between legal and illegal, so it probably won’t satisfy the orderer. Judging by the fact that he’s ordering this much dirty at once, he must be a perverted Alpha who’s crazy about anal sex, and he won’t be satisfied with this level of efficacy.
Thomas thought it was a waste and used the function in the delivery app to request a chat with the orderer.
〈
Chat
☰
Hey. Thanks for your order. But the ‘handmade dark chocolate’ you requested is currently out of stock.
But if you want, strawberry-milk chocolate can be delivered.
✓
The check mark at the bottom disappeared, so it seems like he read it right away, but the orderer didn’t respond.
He glanced at the nickname and it seemed like he was Asian. It’s clear that he’s Korean.
Even if Koreans use a pseudonym, they usually use their surnames like Kim, Park, or Lee, so it’s easy to distinguish them. This isn’t just Thomas’s prejudice, even the Korean gangs he knows act like it’s a big deal if they use surnames like Xiao or Nakamura.
He waited for a while, but there was no response from the perverted Alpha Korean who was crazy about anal sex.
“Aigo, what a waste. The cost of the goods, the delivery fee, the tip…”
Just as he was about to leave a message saying that he would manage his inventory well next time and asking him to order again, the chat window flashed.
〈
Chat
☰
Okay. Send me that instead.
✓
You can bring everything you have.
✓
Don’t worry about the price, as much as you want.
✓