Chapter 3: Beyond Turning Back

“Chaewoo hyung, are you leaving now? The manager said you should have some cookies.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just head out.”

By the time work ended, he was completely drained.
Having neither the energy nor the appetite to eat anything, Chaewoo immediately packed his things.

“Then take this. I saved all the sandwiches that were made incorrectly earlier.”

Jaeyeol, who usually worked the same shift, held out a heavy bag.

Jaeyeol was also a student at Yeonseo University, just like Chaewoo.
Even though they were in different departments, they shared many commonalities because they went to the same school, making him an easy person to be around.

“No, it’s oka…..”

Chaewoo’s voice trailed off as he tried to refuse out of habit.

“Hyung, what did you say?”

As his situation worsened, a strange habit had formed.
It had become difficult for him to readily accept things when others offered them without any ulterior motive.

In the past, he would have accepted without a second thought, but now, he first worried whether the other person was pitying him.

However, regardless of whether the other person felt sorry for him or not, in a situation like this, he had to take whatever could serve as a meal.

It wasn’t as if pride would put food on the table.

“Nothing. I’ll enjoy them.”

After taking off the green apron and hat from around his neck, Chaewoo grabbed his bag.
Sales had been similar to usual, but there were many unusual customers today, making him even more exhausted.

Furthermore, whenever he saw a customer with a young child, his stomach churned as old memories surfaced.

It was an exceptionally difficult day.
He thought of his parents, and he thought of the uncle he saw earlier today.

When he was young, his uncle never let special days like Chaewoo’s birthday, Children’s Day, or Christmas pass by.
He always found out exactly what Chaewoo wanted most and gave it to him as a gift.

When his father was busy with business or his mother, who was a music professor, couldn’t attend school events, his uncle always took their place.

Chaewoo even ran the relay race in his fourth-grade sports day with his uncle.

The photo of them proudly wearing the first-place medals around their necks still sat on his desk.

He could vividly recall his uncle’s voice as he cheered and hoisted Chaewoo up in the air, rejoicing as if it were his own achievement, and the scenery of that day when dry leaves scattered in the wind.

He knew his uncle cherished him as much as his parents did.

Perhaps that was why he regretted his actions today, turning his back and ignoring his uncle calling his name.

There was no way his uncle didn’t know that being a Reset Partner was problematic in many ways and not exactly a good thing.

The fact that he brought it up anyway meant that the situation had been driven to the absolute worst.

And perhaps, the conditions might not have been that bad.
He should have listened to the details before turning away.

“Sigh.”

On the way back to his studio apartment, after much hesitation, Chaewoo called his uncle.

—”Hello? Chaewoo. Is something wrong?”

“Uncle. How do I do that?”

—”Do what?”

“What you mentioned earlier.”

—”…….”

A moment of silence followed.
The sound of metal clashing at a construction site echoed quite clearly through the receiver.

—”That… just… forget about it, Chaewoo. I misspoke. I’m sorry.”

His voice lacked strength, sounding like a deflated balloon.

Chaewoo felt a surge of emotion.

“I’m not calling to argue; I’m calling to seriously consider it. How do I do it?”

It couldn’t have been a small amount of money, which is why his uncle was tempted.

Given his uncle’s past connections, there were quite a few people who might spend a fortune on something like this. Or perhaps he had been introduced to someone.

—”What are you talking about? I told you to just forget it. Don’t worry about it, and just focus on your graduation…”

“I’m serious.”

—”Chaewoo.”

“How much money do they give if I do that?”

****

Returning to his room, Chaewoo began rummaging through his drawers.

He opened all the boxes containing personal documents he had hurriedly packed when the main house was seized.

[You remember that man in the blue suit who used to trade with my factory when you were little? The one who said he did business in the US and bought you toys. He might look like he acts younger than his age, but he has a wide network and knows a lot of people. …He knows a lot of rich people, too.]

Only after several more prompts did his uncle reveal the full story.

Chaewoo used a knife to open a document envelope sealed with tape.
The dust that had accumulated over time scattered thickly into the air.

[That man knows a couple who is very well-off, but the Alpha son of that house has no intention of getting married. He’s into the non-marriage thing or whatever. Anyway, that thing young kids say these days. That family usually marries early and sees grandchildren quickly. But since the only son won’t get married, they’re making a fuss, telling him to at least have a child soon. The son doesn’t care, but the parents are going crazy with impatience.]

What Chaewoo was looking for came out of the envelope.

His graduation certificates from kindergarten through high school, his transcripts, results of an IQ test from a reputable institution, and his dominant Omega diagnosis were all inside.

[It might sound a bit uncomfortable… No, it is uncomfortable. Still, according to the man in the blue suit, the family itself is quite decent. I heard they’re a family of musicians that goes back generations, so the Reset Partner conditions they’re looking for are strict, but they say you’re a perfect match. He said if you’re okay with it, it wouldn’t be bad, and told you to think it over…]

The amount they offered was certainly a staggering number.

[Earlier, I just lost my mind over the talk of money… There are things you should and shouldn’t say to a child. Anyway, don’t pay any more attention to this. I’ll look for other work instead. You just focus on graduating.]

He didn’t know the man in the blue suit well, but seeing as he had worked with his uncle for a long time, he didn’t think he would have made a completely shady proposal.

For now, he had no choice but to believe that.

Chaewoo badgered his uncle for a while longer to get the contact information.

He wasn’t in a position to sit around blaming his uncle, who was already berating himself for speaking out of turn.

If the conditions were right… he was genuinely willing to consider it.

The conditions requested by the other side sounded strict at a glance, but the Seol Chaewoo of the past, rather than the present, met those standards almost perfectly.

Even if his situation had become like this now, his mother had been a music professor until right before she passed away in the accident, and his father had been a successful businessman, meaning they were lacking in nothing.

Wasn’t Chaewoo himself also attending a prestigious music college?

‘Uncle. I’m okay, so calm down. First of all, this isn’t a scam, right?’

‘Kim Sangho isn’t the type to play around with things like that… It definitely won’t be nonsense.’

Kim Sangho. That was the name of the man in the blue suit.

[You may visit by 20:00, Monday through Friday, regardless of the date, with the documents guided above.]
[Address: Room 1105, XXX-dong, XX-gu, Seoul. When visiting, please state that you were referred by Mr. Kim Sang-ho.]

Chaewoo carefully checked the screenshot of the text message his uncle had sent, which he had exchanged with the other party.

Fortunately, the documents requested by the other side were still in the box.

The location he had to visit was not far from his studio apartment.

It was a twenty-minute bus ride, so he decided to go there to at least hear what they had to say.

Since a detailed guide on the process had to be conducted in person, he had to meet their representative even if he didn’t want to.

At first, he had the lighthearted intention of just listening, but as he gathered the requested documents one by one, Chaewoo also began to grow increasingly nervous.

‘If it seems strange, I just won’t do it.’
Chaewoo boarded the bus, trying to maintain as light a heart as possible.

He hadn’t signed a contract, and it wasn’t something he was forced to do.
His uncle had also emphasized that he could refuse at any time if he changed his mind.

The bus soon reached its destination.

Chaewoo exhaled deeply with a stiff face.

The place where the bus stopped was in the very heart of the downtown area.

It was a relief that it wasn’t some secluded corner.

The address was also for one of the clean, recently built officetel buildings.

That is, if the information listed on the internet was correct.

Chaewoo walked a few more minutes and stood in front of a building.
He checked twice to see if the building address in front of him matched the address his uncle had received by text.

For a very brief moment, he hesitated, wondering if he was doing the right thing.

However, he had no intention of getting scared and turning back after coming all this way.

If anything seemed even slightly suspicious, he could just refuse, and conversely, they might not even like him.

Chaewoo pressed the bell with a calm face.

—”Who is it?”

An answer came before the bell could even ring twice.

“I, I’m the person who was supposed to come in the evening.”

A flustered Chaewoo stammered.

‘Wait. Did I even make an appointment?’
He had just come after seeing the text message his uncle received.
He hadn’t contacted this side directly, had he?

—”I’ll open the door for you. Please take the elevator up and knock on the door.”

The door opened as soon as the voice finished speaking.
Scanning his surroundings with suspicious eyes, Chaewoo boarded the elevator.

His heart was pounding.
The building itself was clean and didn’t seem to have anything suspicious about it.

The elevator soon stopped on the 11th floor.
Step by step, he headed toward Room 1105, looking around the hallway.

Chaewoo soon discovered a soundproof door installed at the entrance of Room 1105.

Since he was told it was a family of musicians, it was natural in a way, but since there was so little information about the other party, his imagination wandered in a grim direction.

‘What if it was installed so that no sound could leak out when they’re threatening someone? What if all the information his uncle heard was a lie?’

A contract like a Reset Partner was so rare in Korea to begin with that something felt fishy.

“…….”

Chaewoo contemplated.

‘Would it be right to turn back even now?’
However, his uncle and his father lying in a hospital bed flickered before his eyes, making it difficult for him to turn away.

‘I can just turn back if I see any suspicious signs. Surely they wouldn’t do something crazy like forcing me to get pregnant. What kind of world are we living in these days?’

Chaewoo knocked on the door instead of pressing the bell, as instructed.

“Yes, one moment.”

The door opened, and a neat-looking woman who appeared to be in her early forties came out.

Unlike when she calmly opened the door, she looked a bit flustered upon seeing Chaewoo.

Her wavering gaze briefly lingered on the university jacket Chaewoo was wearing.

“…Hello?”

‘Is there a problem with my clothes?’

“Oh, you’re a friend. I almost made a mistake because I wasn’t told.”

“Pardon?”

“Please come inside. Follow the hallway and go through the door on the right.”

The woman gestured as she threw the door wide open.

The interior was so clean that his worries were put to shame.

He saw pianos, music stands, and a large bookshelf filled with sheet music everywhere.

He also saw a display case with certificates and medals from competitions.

‘Is someone a piano major? They said it was a family of musicians, and it seems to be true.’
Now he understood why the man in the blue suit had tried so hard to persuade his uncle.

It certainly wouldn’t have been easy to find someone in the country who met the criteria of being a dominant Omega and a student at a prestigious music college.

Chaewoo walked down the hallway as the woman instructed and knocked on the door on the right.

Then, he heard a faint presence from inside the room.

A moment later, as the door opened, the heavy pheromones from inside wafted out all at once.

“…….”

The pheromones were strangely familiar, yet they also carried a sense of unfamiliarity.
Chaewoo instinctively recoiled.

The man’s Adam’s apple was the first thing to catch Chaewoo’s eye.
This, too, was somehow familiar.

As he slowly lifted his head in dread, he saw a familiar face.
Chaewoo froze right then and there.

“Senior Seol Chaewoo?”

Beom Euigeon was standing there.