By Zephyria The car passed through the city center and climbed into a residential area lined with high walls. Seo Jeong-won’s eyes widened again at the scenery outside the car window.
While the opposite side was filled with buildings, this place felt like another world with high walls stacked neatly. It was all unfamiliar. Even a single brick looked expensive.
Kwon Tae-hee’s mansion was located at the highest point of the residential area. The car stopped only after reaching the very top.
It looked more like an art museum from an architecture magazine than a house. Behind the mansion was a mountain, and in front, high walls perfectly isolated it from the outside like a fortress.
“Shall we go in?”
Seo Jeong-won’s expression seemed a bit stiff with tension. Chief Jung, who had gotten out of the driver’s seat, opened the back door for Kwon Tae-hee.
Seo Jeong-won swallowed hard and opened the door with a trembling hand. As soon as he met Kwon Tae-hee, who was coming around the rear of the car, he awkwardly bowed his head.
“The basement is just a garage, so there’s nothing to see. You can use all the floors from the first to the third as you please, but you can’t go outside without permission.”
“…Ah, yes. I’ll be careful.”
Following Kwon Tae-hee up the stairs, a garden soon appeared. The green grass was damp.
Ah, Seo Jeong-won quietly murmured. Sprinklers were running, creating rainbows in every sunlit area.
Even if he wasn’t interested, it was a scenery he would have seen several times if he lived here. Besides, it was much prettier than what he saw in his flower garden.
“Take your time to look around. I heard there are quite a few fruit-bearing trees.”
Kwon Tae-hee led Seo Jeong-won without even glancing at the rainbows.
“Come in.”
He wondered if he should even call this a front door as it opened.
Seo Jeong-won felt ashamed of his old and worn-out appearance in a place that was too large and shiny to simply be a place to take off shoes and enter. Even his sneakers had worn-out heels. Was it okay to take them off?
“…Excuse me.”
As Seo Jeong-won examined the space, which was a little smaller than his own house, a pair of clean sneakers came into view. They were definitely not a size that Kwon Tae-hee could wear. He stared at them intently before neatly taking off his shoes in the corner.
Kwon Tae-hee, who had been observing Seo Jeong-won as he blushed all over, tilted his head.
Then, as soon as he detected the strong pheromones, his expression twisted. He had clearly told him to leave, but the scent was still strong, as if he was still in the house.
“The house is really big and nice, uh…?”
Seo Jeong-won, who had been admiring the paintings hung at regular intervals in the hallway, raised his head at the sound of someone in front of him.
He was about to greet the person without knowing who it was, but he stared at the man’s face so intently that it was almost rude. The man’s appearance was very familiar.
“Wow, I look a lot like you.”
A high-pitched, beautiful voice rang out. The man with a bright demeanor looked so similar to Seo Jeong-won that one might mistake them for brothers.
“…Ah.”
His eyes, filled with confusion, trembled slightly. Seo Jeong-won met the man’s gaze as he observed him, then averted his eyes and glanced up at Kwon Tae-hee.
“I’m Song Hae-seop. Nice to meet you.”
“…Hello. I’m Seo Jeong-won.”
“Tae-hee told me to leave by Friday. I wondered why, but it was because of you, or rather, Jeong-won. Are you perhaps here for the same purpose as me?”
Unlike his lighthearted words, he wasn’t smiling at all. He even seemed displeased.
“Pardon?”
“I was waiting to see who was coming that would make him kick me out of the house… I feel a bit strange. But Tae-hee, am I first, or is he first?”
Song Hae-seop asked with a gentle eye smile. Kwon Tae-hee erased even the annoyed expression he had been wearing and met his gaze. Then, he tilted his head as if he were tired and murmured in a low voice.
“Are we the type to ask such things when we buy something?”
At the emotionless voice, Song Hae-seop’s expression twisted.
“I guess… such things aren’t that important. That’s how these relationships are. But if you were going to bring in another person, you should have told me in advance, shouldn’t you?”
He spoke as if anything was fine, but he couldn’t hide the slight disappointment.
Song Hae-seop moved his gaze and stared intently at Seo Jeong-won. He bit his lip tightly and turned his head with an expression that seemed somewhat resentful.
At that moment, a monotone voice rang out softly.
“Whether I buy one or two.”
“…”
“What ego does an object bought with money have? If you understand, then leave.”
At the cold rebuke, Song Hae-seop lowered his gaze sharply. The hand holding the strap of his bag trembled pitifully.
“…I’ll go.”
Kwon Tae-hee put his arm around Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder, who was standing frozen. He urged him to go inside, passing by Song Hae-seop, who was standing there pathetically like the tragic hero of a drama.
Before they had even made it through the long hallway, the front door slammed shut.
“Are you curious about who he is?”
Kwon Tae-hee asked as he sat Seo Jeong-won on the sofa in the living room that soon appeared. He sat on the edge of the table instead of next to him, making eye contact briefly.
His black eyes trembled as if there was an earthquake. His hazel eyes slowly and carefully took in Seo Jeong-won’s appearance.
He did resemble him a bit, just like Song Hae-seop had said. Kwon Tae-hee hadn’t realized it until he saw them side by side.
He now understood why he had repeatedly received and sent back Omegas from the agency, saying he wanted a calm atmosphere when asked if he had an ideal type or desired appearance.
“…General manager?”
He didn’t like something about every Omega they sent. He had only wanted a quiet and still feeling, but they all seemed pathetic and impoverished.
When he said he would change agencies, they begged him to check one last Omega, and Song Hae-seop was delivered.
He was somewhat lacking in a calm atmosphere, but he was also the best of the Omegas they had sent.
He was concerned that his traits were recessive, but he completed the contract, thinking it would be okay as long as there were no problems with getting pregnant.
“Why… why are you doing this?”
His white skin, dark brown eyes, red lips as if he had applied something, and slender figure all reminded him of someone.
A face that he didn’t remember clearly flickered in his mind, but at the time, he couldn’t easily recall who it was.
“Seo Jeong-won.”
Then today, after seeing Seo Jeong-won and Song Hae-seop side by side, he finally realized what he had wanted so much.
“You remember me saying that you weren’t my best option, right?”
It had been about six months since Song Hae-seop had started coming here. Despite being a recessive Omega, his pheromones were strong, so he had expected it to be easy for him to get pregnant. However, even when he took heat-inducing drugs, he didn’t go into heat.
Even a pheromone shower only made him excited. It was like wet firewood that wouldn’t catch fire.
Considering his traits as a recessive Omega, it was a natural result, but he had been secretly wondering if he should change people.
Because the object he had bought with money wasn’t functioning properly. But even that was too much of a hassle, so he was just going to wait and see a little longer.
“…Is he someone I need to know?”
Jet-black hair and eyes, skin so white and transparent that bluish blood vessels could be seen, reddish lips, and a body with soft lines.
Looking at Seo Jeong-won, there was nothing that reminded him of Song Hae-seop.
Was this the difference between real and fake? He hoped the child would resemble Seo Jeong-won. The absurd desire to have a child from a Beta became excessive.
“General manager?”
“No. There’s no need.”
At the low reply, Seo Jeong-won nodded slightly. He had realized when Song Hae-seop asked if he was here for the same purpose. That Kwon Tae-hee’s best option was him.
He wondered if that person got pregnant first, what would happen to the debt that his Hyung had repaid on his behalf, such an absurd and shameless thing. But he wasn’t sure if he could ask, so he changed the subject.
“…The potted plant. I think I should put it up and water it. Is there a place with moderate shade and coolness instead of a sunny spot? It’s an air-purifying plant, so it’s good to put it where you spend a lot of time.”
“Then the bedroom would be good.”