Chapter 15: A Tangled Web

Thanks to an early start to his morning routine, he was able to take his child to kindergarten himself today.

“Hello, teacher.”

“Oh! Seolu’s father, it’s been a while since you’ve come!”

“Haha, yes.”

Has it been that long?

He had occasionally seen him off when he got on the school bus, but it seemed it had been a while since he had brought him to the kindergarten himself.

“Father, since you’re here, could we have a word if you have a moment?”

“Yes. About 10 minutes is fine.”

“That should be enough.”

He seemed to have gotten used to being called “father” now.

The first time he heard it, he had shuddered in shock.

Watching the child take out his toys and play, he followed the teacher to a colorfully decorated reception room.

He took a sip of the orange juice she offered him.

“Father, Seolu is an Alpha, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure how you’ll take this, but Seolu is very advanced for his age, perhaps because he’s an Alpha.”

“…”

“Because of that, Seolu seems to be very bored spending his time here. There’s such a big gap between him and children his age that he doesn’t seem to feel any interest at all.”

“…”

“When I watch him play with the other children, it’s almost like a big brother playing with babies. The other children love Seolu, but from his perspective, it’s probably a bit… burdensome.”

“…”

“Did you not know at all?”

The teacher seemed troubled as she looked at Noah’s extremely flustered face, as if it was a completely unexpected story.

To Noah, Seolu was just an angelic baby, but what he heard today was of a completely different nature.

A flustered Noah asked.

“Teacher. What should I do?”

The veteran kindergarten teacher, with 10 years of experience, looked at the youthful father with his anxious face.

Seeing the pretty face of the Omega, a rare sight in this neighborhood, made her want to help him somehow.

She had felt a similar emotion when she first took on Seolu.

He was so smart and mature that he didn’t require much attention, but that was precisely why he was a child who caught her eye.

“It would probably be more helpful for him to interact with similar children. To be honest, it doesn’t matter for a kindergarten, since it’s a concept of care, but if this continues, it will be like Seolu is taking care of the other children.”

“…”

“Even if he’s mature, he’s still a baby.”

He thanked the teacher for her advice and left the kindergarten to head to work.

The teacher’s words ultimately meant that it would be better for him to meet peers in a neighborhood where many special-secondary-gender people lived.

It was no exaggeration to say that this neighborhood, where Noah was born and raised, was only inhabited by Beta residents.

There wasn’t even a hospital that treated Omegas and Alphas, so Noah and Seolu had to travel to a hospital far away.

He had vaguely thought that it was inconvenient in many ways and that he might have to move when the child started school.

But he never thought that time would come so soon.

In front of him, Seolu was still acting like a baby, full of childishness, so he couldn’t have imagined he was so mature at kindergarten.

He himself was having a hard time adjusting to society, so he had hardly ever seen him with other children.

‘It’s impossible right now.’

His current salary barely covered their living expenses.

It was only possible because he hadn’t moved out and didn’t have to pay rent.

He wanted to work a second job, but he couldn’t even work as a server because of his pheromones, and his stamina had dropped after presenting as an Omega, so physically demanding part-time jobs with high daily wages were also difficult.

It had been a long time since he had wracked his brain so much on his way to work.

The midsummer morning sun beat down, feeling like it was burning his skin.

Beads of sweat formed on his white forehead, but he didn’t feel bad.

Summer should be like summer.

He preferred crazily hot and cold seasons to bland ones.

‘As if I’d lose.’

Making a silent vow that no one knew about, Noah wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He arrived at the office just in time for work and opened the door.

Even though he had started his morning early, by the time he stopped by the kindergarten and had a consultation with the teacher, it was almost time for work.

He walked quickly to his seat and glanced at the team leader’s office.

The door was open, but it seemed no one was there.

Relieved, he was preparing for work when he felt Assistant Manager Lee’s unusual gaze from the next desk.

“Haha, hello, Assistant Manager.”

Without even acknowledging his greeting, Assistant Manager Lee just stared in Noah’s direction with an ambiguous expression.

He thought it was because he had forgotten to greet him when he came in, but Lee’s gaze wasn’t on him, but on something else over there.

“Is… is there something?”

Assistant Manager Lee’s eyes rolled in a line and then stopped somewhere.

Only then did Noah realize there was a presence behind him and turned around.

Ah…

“Did you get home safely yesterday?”

“Uh… hello.”

The Alpha he absolutely had to avoid was standing right in front of him.

Seeing him in his office, not the hotel, the Alpha looked even more massive.

The office, which had been converted from an old detached house, was quite popular with the occasional clients.

He had heard it had even been featured in a few magazines as an office with a harmonious atmosphere.

But the office’s concept, which at a glance seemed to show the free-spirited atmosphere of a design company, was only satisfying to the team leader and was actually very inefficient to work in.

With an Alpha of superior physique standing in such a space, the office looked small and shabby.

The low ceiling felt extremely oppressive.

“Noah-ssi, you met him yesterday, right? This is Director Lee Hanjoo and Team Leader Kim Moonho from the Jade Hotel, who we’ll be working with. Daehoon-ssi, come and say hello too.”

“Hello, Noah-ssi. I was worried about you yesterday. You left so suddenly.”

Only then did Noah’s eyes register the PR team leader with the glasses, the team leader, and the design team leader in order.

Thankfully, it seemed they had won the contract.

They greeted each other in turn, and Noah took the opportunity to leave while the design team staff were greeting them.

The signs of his pheromones starting to leak were beginning to show.

Since he hadn’t taken his suppressants, it was better to get away from the situation.

It seemed they were here for a meeting, so he could just leave when they went into the conference room.

He went into the restroom, closed the toilet lid, and sat down to concentrate on calming himself.

The power of his pheromones, which would usually subside if he quickly got away from an Alpha he suddenly encountered, seemed to be useless in front of this Alpha.

His heart was pounding, and his skin was tingling.

As he sat there, waiting to calm down, the door suddenly clanked open, and he heard the sound of dress shoes on the tiles.

The slow, heavy footsteps were different from those of someone looking for a restroom to relieve themselves.

Even though he couldn’t see outside, Noah knew instantly who had come in.

A chilling sensation once again crept over his calming body.

“Are you in here?”

“…”

Is he looking for me?

Why?

Noah couldn’t understand it.

He had definitely received help at the hotel, but the man must have known he was openly avoiding Alphas.

Ah, is he looking for an apology or a thank you?

Seeing as he followed me all the way to the restroom, he seems to be unusually persistent.

So this is what Alphas are like.

Noah sighed in resignation, flushed the unused toilet, and came out.

The man was indeed not there to use the restroom, but was standing guard in front of the door.

A hesitant Noah opened his mouth.

“Ahem, um, it seems my pheromones just leak out when I meet you, Director. I’m sorry. I was rude yesterday too. And thank you, and…”

“…”

“Anyway, thank you…”

His body and mind were uncomfortable with the other person, so his words came out in a jumble.

Even as he spoke, he wasn’t sure if he was saying the right things.

“Of course.”

“What?”

“It may be sudden… but let’s have dinner tonight. There’s something I must talk to you about.”

“I don’t want to, I mean, I can’t today.”

“…Then when can you?”

“Can I text you?”

“As soon as possible. Let’s meet tomorrow, if possible. It doesn’t have to be a meal.”

“Yes. Then… please, leave quickly.”

“…”

Before he could even wonder why this man wanted to have dinner with him, his pheromones started to leak.

It was troublesome.

He wanted to send him away quickly, but he was strangely persistent.

He heard the sound of departing footsteps, then they stopped abruptly.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

“…”

“Do you know someone named Lee Seungho?”

“Lee Seungho, Seungho?”

“Yes, Lee Seungho of the DN Group. What is your relationship with him?”

He had heard that Seungho was the son of some chaebol family, but he didn’t know it was DN.

So he was the son of a more prestigious family than he thought.

Then the mother he saw yesterday was the wife of the DN chairman.

Now that he thought about it, she did exude an air of elegance.

He must have not been interested in Seungho, so he had just let it go in one ear and out the other.

“Are you dating?”

“What? What kind of bullsh*t is that? Ah! No… I’m sorry. That’s not it, but how do you know Seungho?”

“He’s my younger brother. …Then please contact me.”

With those words, the man opened the door and left.

Noah’s mind was in turmoil as he staggered back to his seat.

Seungho’s older brother, and a “superior” from a client company, had asked him if he was dating Seungho.

And he had replied, “What kind of bullsh*t is that?”

It wasn’t something you would say to a friend’s older brother or a superior.

Of course, he wasn’t ashamed of calling bullsh*t bullsh*t, but he might not like his family being denied.

Ah, maybe he thought I was dating Seungho and disapproved.

Is that why he wants to meet?

A situation where he gives me an envelope of money and says, “Stay away from my brother”?

No matter how he thought about it, it was clear that he had to apologize.

The Director must have been very displeased with his behavior at the hotel as well.

He had to explain his situation and ask for his understanding, but he didn’t have the confidence to do it in person.

The bigger problem was that his suppressants didn’t work on that man.

He would have to have a consultation with his doctor at his upcoming check-up and then decide to meet.

For tomorrow, he could just say he wasn’t feeling well.