Chapter 15: Dominant Alpha Logic

Chae Woo-seok merely nodded in greeting and followed Lee Ah-seong.

“Dad, what are you doing…?”

Back at their table, Woo-seok voiced his confusion. Lee Ah-seong’s behavior had been quite unlike his usual self.

“You saw him, right?”

“Who… him?”

“That omega. He’s the hottest name on the Gangnam scene these days. A cash-rich one.”

As Lee Ah-seong spoke, Woo-seok leaned back into his chair, his face twisted with displeasure. Having watched his son his entire life, Lee Ah-seong immediately sensed Woo-seok’s dissatisfaction and reached across the table to grasp his large hand.

“Take a good look, son. Hm? His face is decent enough, right? And he’s a dominant omega, you know.”

“I’m not thinking about marriage.”

“I’m not saying you have to get married and do nothing with your life. Just meet him once, okay?”

This wasn’t a lie meant to persuade. Lee Ah-seong truly meant it. Aside from marrying and producing a dominant alpha heir to carry on the line, he had no intention of putting any shackles on his son. Those shackles could be placed on the innocent-looking omega sitting over there instead.

Bringing a coveted dominant omega into the family as a son-in-law would more than make up for the recent humiliation. On top of that, readily liquid assets would give wings to Woo-seok’s future.

“I don’t know. Let’s just eat.”

Lee Ah-seong knew that despite his son’s indifferent attitude, he would eventually comply. After all, the entire family had witnessed firsthand what happened to a fool who mixed emotions into the business of marriage. His clever son wouldn’t make that mistake.

“Fine. We’ll talk later. Let’s order first- I’m hungry.”

As Lee Ah-seong scanned the menu, Woo-seok sent a message on his phone.

It was done, there was no need to stay any longer. He ordered him to go home.

When no reply came, Woo-seok sent several more messages, urging him.

Only after the food Woo-seok and Lee Ah-seong had ordered was placed on the table did Go Ha-jin finally stand up.

Judging by the rather noisy commotion from Han Seok-jun’s table, something seemed to have gone wrong between them. Only then did the two begin their meal in earnest, Lee Ah-seong and Woo-seok alike.

****

“W-What are you doing-! That hurts!”

As soon as they entered the house, Woo-seok grabbed Ha-jin by the wrist and yanked him along. The force was so brutal it felt like Ha-jin’s slender wrist might snap. Woo-seok practically threw him onto the sofa and stood over him.

“W-What’s wrong… all of a sudden…?”

Because of his secondary gender, Ha-jin wasn’t as sensitive to pheromones as other alphas or omegas. Even so, he could tell Woo-seok wasn’t normal right now.

The man charging in like an enraged bull, nearly breaking his wrist, didn’t look sane in the slightest. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Woo-seok even seemed like a giant looming over him.

“You said everything went well. Did something happen…?”

Without answering, Woo-seok shrugged off his unbuttoned jacket and tossed it aside. He yanked off his neatly tied tie and undid a few buttons of his shirt. Irritation clung to every movement. Watching him, Ha-jin felt a creeping anxiety that something had gone wrong.

“Why are you so bad at listening?”

That unrefined, raw emotion reached out and touched Ha-jin.

“This is really starting to piss me off.”

At the sensation of a large hand gripping the back of his neck, Ha-jin’s body went rigid. Maybe it was the low voice pouring down on him, or the eyes glaring at him like they wanted to tear him apart.

Either way, he felt like he might cry. Unaware, or uncaring, of Ha-jin’s state, Woo-seok bent forward, closing the distance.

“I-I’m sorry…!”

Ha-jin apologized reflexively. He tried to retreat, but the hand gripping his nape kept him trapped. It was absurd, but it felt like Woo-seok might open his mouth and devour him whole. Judging by his expression, it didn’t seem impossible.

“Maybe I need to rethink something.”

“…Rethink what?”

Even breathing started to feel difficult under Woo-seok’s heavy gaze.

“Marriage.”

“W-What? Why all of a sudden…?”

What on earth had happened? Woo-seok’s words didn’t sound like a joke. Ha-jin forced his flustered mind into overdrive. The real issue wasn’t marriage itself, but the possibility that he had lost his value to Woo-seok.

…Just thinking about it made him dizzy. Losing this luxurious life was one thin, —but he might even lose his life. He had seen far too many pitiful scammers meet their end after getting involved in this world. He had no intention of joining them yet.

“Then at least tell me why!”

Because of that resolve, Ha-jin’s mind was clearer than ever despite the unexpected topic.

“Tell me what happened. I’ll fix it.”

That confusion, in turn, bounced back to Woo-seok. His anger had been boiling nonstop on the way from dinner to Haj-in’s place. That was why he’d pinned him down on the sofa without asking for context.

“I’ll… do whatever it takes.”

Desperation, that was the emotion shining in Ha-jin’s eyes. Woo-seok, unable to even explain to himself why he was angry, stayed silent and stared at Ha-jin. He knew exactly why he was furious. He just couldn’t understand that reason himself.

“You.”

“…Yes.”

Ha-jin’s quick wits were useful at times like this. The omega who’d been growing bolder lately now looked as docile as a lamb, as if he’d pretend to die if told to.

“If you disobey me one more time, the contract is really over.”

“Disobey… you?”

“If I tell you not to go, you don’t go. If I tell you to leave, you leave immediately.”

Woo-seok finished speaking and shut his mouth. Ha-jin didn’t respond, just stared at him as he glared back crookedly. What kind of nonsense was this?

“So… you’re acting like this because I got up a little late earlier?”

“A little? You already forgot I told you not to go there in the first place, and you ignored me?”

‘Haah…’

Once he heard the reason Woo-seok was angry, Ha-jin’s tension evaporated instantly. He couldn’t understand throwing a tantrum over something so ridiculous. It felt like a childish sulk.

“Seriously… this is driving me crazy.”

When Ha-jin slapped away the hand gripping his neck, it fell away surprisingly easily. Woo-seok was still venting his emotions, but he no longer felt as frightening as before.

“You broke your own unplanned rule too, didn’t you?”

“…What?”

“If you hadn’t stepped in today, I could’ve met Han Seok-jun’s parents. Rumors would’ve spread all over Gangnam. Your father would’ve been even more desperate.”

“That’s just your assumption. Do you even know what kind of bastard Han Seok-jun is? If things had gone wrong, you wouldn’t have gotten out of there safely today.”

He didn’t bother spelling out what would have followed. Han Seok-jun had been the host of the drug party that had rocked society. He’d slipped away unscathed, but that didn’t erase the truth.

He was on a completely different level from the alphas Ha-jin had dealt with before. If Woo-seok hadn’t intervened and ruined the mood, Ha-jin would have undoubtedly suffered something tonight.

“So what? You’re saying you showed up there with your father, knowing the risk?”

“…”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be even more dangerous to show your father that kind of scene?”

Faced with Ha-jin’s spot-on question, Woo-seok stepped back, widening the distance between them. Every word Ha-jin said was irritatingly correct.

“Don’t worry about that. It worked out.”

It had been risky. With bad luck, Lee Ah-seong might have dismissed Ha-jin as ‘cheap’ and lost interest entirely. Fortunately, thanks to the groundwork laid beforehand, he’d shown considerable interest.

“Right? I figured. If everything went well, why are you so angry?”

Ha-jin replied calmly, as if he’d expected this outcome.

“You’re not seriously throwing a fit just because I chatted a bit with Han Seok-jun, are you?”

His tone dripped with sarcasm.

“Ha.”

Woo-seok let out a hollow laugh, as if he’d never been angry at all. Ha-jin had omitted one key word, but Woo-seok wasn’t stupid enough to miss the meaning.

“Ha-jin.”

“Again-!”

Every time Woo-seok called him that, Ha-jin bristled. Woo-seok sometimes used it deliberately to tease him. Watching a faint flush bloom on Ha-jin’s cheeks again, Woo-seok cupped his face. His touch grew careful, as if Ha-jin might crumble with just a little force.

“You’re not asking if I was jealous, are you? I don’t feel such inferior emotions. Betas or omegas, hell, even ordinary alphas might. But not me.”

Right. Asking a dominant alpha if he felt jealous, what a joke.

“Remember this. Even if we get married, my orders are absolute. Your half-baked thoughts don’t matter.”

“…”

“If something like today happens again, the contract is void. Don’t forget that.”

…Half-baked thoughts. Objectively, it wasn’t wrong. Alphas were notoriously beastlike in judgment, and once his identity had been exposed, Ha-jin had already lost the battle of wits.

“Get ready. Don’t make any mistakes tomorrow.”

“…”

“Answer me.”

“…Okay.”

Woo-seok lightly rubbed Ha-jin’s cheek with his fingertips before grabbing his jacket. Ha-jin couldn’t protest his condescending, child-treating attitude. He was still the weaker party. Only after Woo-seok left did Ha-jin let out a heavy sigh.

“One day, I’m going to rip that bastard’s mouth apart myself…”

The anger he couldn’t express boiled over late. While searching for a cigarette, he spotted Woo-seok’s tie lying under the sofa. Staring at the navy silk tie, obviously an expensive one, Ha-jin flicked a lighter and burned the end.

“Just you wait until we’re married, bastard.”

Aside from everything else, he’d found one more reason to marry Woo-seok. After marriage, Woo-seok wouldn’t be able to act like this anymore. After all, they’d be accomplices in a sham marriage, bound by a secret they could never reveal.

Even after burning half the tie to ashes, Ha-jin couldn’t calm down. Woo-seok’s arrogance wasn’t new, yet today it felt especially infuriating.

Either way, his goal was now clearer than ever.

He had to win over Lee Ah-seong, no matter what.