Just because I was an omega now didn’t mean I could do what I couldn’t even do when I was a beta. I forced strength into my trembling legs and stood up. Whether I went or not, first I needed to wash this filthy body.

I took off my padded jacket and hung it over a chair, then removed my shirt. I had sweated so much the light-blue shirt had darkened considerably. If I could just endure this one time somehow, then from next time on, medicine would handle it. That was assuming no variable mutation came into play.

After showering, I rummaged through a drawer and took out a thermometer. I pressed it to my forehead and hit the button, and soon a beep sounded and the temperature appeared on the screen. 37.2 degrees. Thankfully, it was only a slight fever.

I went into the dressing room and looked through my clothes. After some thought, I put on a white shirt and a gray suit. I left the tie off and unbuttoned a couple of buttons so it wouldn’t look too heavy.

After fixing my hair and stepping outside, Jung Inhyuk, who had been sitting in a dining chair without me noticing when he came in, stood up and approached me. He buried his lips in the gap of my shirt and lightly sucked at my skin. A chill ran down my spine, and I roughly pushed him away.

“I’m saying this again, don’t even open your mouth in front of the chairman.”

“…Yes.”

I followed Jung Inhyuk into the main house. Whatever nonsense he said, I planned to let it go in one ear and out the other. For people working in a chaebol family like MuSung Group, pretending not to hear and pretending not to see was an unspoken rule. I had been trained in that too. I had learned that nothing happening inside the house could ever cross the wall.

The moment I stepped onto the stairs, the world spun and dizziness hit me. Before I could even think I might fall backward, Jung Inhyuk snatched my wrist and pulled me into his arms. Wrapped against his solid chest, I let out a relieved breath. Embarrassed, I scratched my head and took a step back.

“T-thank you.”

“If the pheromones smell bad, breathe through your mouth.”

I took off my shoes and put on the slippers. It had truly been a long time since I’d stepped into the main house. About halfway down the hallway, heavy footsteps came thudding toward us, and suddenly the world flashed bright. I stood there blankly, blinking rapidly.

Only belatedly did I cover my burning cheek and lift my head. In front of me stood Bang Seojin, glaring and breathing hard. Jung Inhyuk caught Bang Seojin’s hand and slammed him against the wall.

“How dare you touch someone?”

“How dare I? Now that I look at it, hyung, you’re actually a pretty interesting person.”

“If you understand, then call off the engagement.”

“Why would I call it off for your sake?”

“Do it while I’m still giving you the chance. If I step in, you won’t be able to show your face in Korea.”

I didn’t care what Bang Seojin did. This was all just a kind of show Jung Inhyuk was putting on to break off his engagement with Bang Seojin.

Someone in the house must have contacted him, because before long a man who looked like a secretary came in and dragged the furious Bang Seojin away. Jung Inhyuk, looking completely unfazed, wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me inside.

In the living room, with its luxurious chandelier and sofas that looked too precious even to sit on, Chairman Jung stood with white hair streaked through it, radiating dignified authority. Even with age, Chairman Jung still had that aura that dominated a room. His sharp gaze landed on me. I bowed politely and then immediately lowered my head.

Chairman Jung roughly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer. He lowered his head slightly, buried his nose in my nape, then shoved me away in irritation. Jung Inhyuk caught me before I could lose my balance and set me upright.

“Ungrateful bastard. We took in a penniless orphan, fed you, clothed you, and put a roof over your head.”

“……”

“This is why family background matters. That cheap blood of yours never changes. Vulgar thing.”

At the insult to my mother, my stomach seethed. If anything was vulgar, Chairman Jung and Jung Inhyuk were worse than me, not better. The one who had waited until I turned twenty to steal my virginity, and the one who had taken an unborn life hostage from my innocent, clueless mother, were both utterly vulgar. I clenched my fists and swallowed the anger climbing up my throat.

“Leave that one alone and at least marry Seojin.”

“I never agreed to marry Bang Seojin. And I have no intention of leaving Shinjae alone either.”

“…Then are you saying you’d marry that thing?”

“What would be so impossible about that?”

I jerked in shock and looked up at Jung Inhyuk. He wore his usual calm expression. It was a lie. Sweet talk to get out of the situation. Jung Inhyuk, hiding his true face like a mask and behaving so casually, was chilling.

“If Lee Shinjae, who has mutated into an omega, gives birth to my child, that child will be your grandson. Maybe that child could even become the heir to the MuSung Group. Then how are you going to look Shinjae in the face later if you keep saying he’s cheap or vulgar?”

Suddenly, a harsh scent like musk flooded my nose. Ugh, nausea rose up without warning. I glanced around, then quickly covered my mouth and ran to the bathroom.

I buried my face in the toilet and vomited until my stomach felt like it was being pulled inside out. Even after I had emptied myself completely, the musk smell still lingered at the tip of my nose.

And the faint pheromones I’d barely been able to sense earlier mixed into my breathing. My condition rapidly began to worsen. Something was also leaking below me, soaking my underwear.

“Get up.”

Jung Inhyuk suddenly came into the bathroom and grabbed my arm. A sharp crashing sound rang out behind me. Before I could gather my thoughts, he was dragging me out of the main house by the arm.

He opened the passenger side of the car parked in front of the gate and shoved me inside as if throwing me in. Park Suwon, who had been waiting in the driver’s seat, looked startled and tried to get out, but before he could, Jung Inhyuk flung the car door open and pulled him out. Ignoring Park Suwon sprawled on the ground, Jung Inhyuk got into the driver’s seat and slammed on the accelerator.

“Buckle up.”

I didn’t know what had been said between Jung Inhyuk and Chairman Jung while I was in the bathroom, but he was furious. Unable to restrain his anger, Jung Inhyuk unconsciously let his pheromones leak. The musk smell that had only been nauseating was gone, and Jung Inhyuk’s pheromones took over my sense of smell.

My senses swung wildly in and out of control. My vision blurred, and my sense of touch sharpened. I bit my tongue hard to stay conscious, but all that did was make my breathing more ragged. Now even the blood flowing beneath my veins felt hot.

“Lee Shinjae.”

“…Hng, h, ugh.”

I clenched my teeth and forced down the groans trying to slip out. Jung Inhyuk drove like a madman. Without realizing it, my nails were scratching at the car door. The nail tips turned up and split, but I didn’t even feel the pain. No, even that sensation had transformed into pleasure and warmed my body.

“Fuck, you useless hack. You couldn’t even hold out for a few hours, bullshit.”

“…Ugh, take me home.”

Jung Inhyuk kept blaring the horn in irritation as he tore down the road. One minute felt like several hours. With a screech, the tires scraped against the road and my body lurched forward. He hurriedly unfastened his belt and got out of the car.

I couldn’t even think about getting out and just let my body sag. My mind was so hazy my head felt empty.

Soon the passenger door opened and Jung Inhyuk shoved himself back into the car. With rough hands, he unbuckled my seatbelt and lifted me up in his arms. The moment his hands touched my body, a sharp scream burst out. The skin he touched burned as if on fire. He covered my face with his coat and started walking briskly somewhere.

“E-Executive Director.”

“Keep going and take him up to the executive office.”

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

A radio crackled somewhere, and I felt like I was getting into an elevator. Even the sensation of being lifted was stimulating. Tears burst out all at once. I cried silently inside the coat he had draped over me.

It was truly the worst day of my life.

✿ • ✿ • ✿

I had been a child easily exposed to violence. That day too, I had been beaten up badly by classmates from my homeroom, and my face was a mess. I quietly pushed open the gate and went inside, then flopped down on the garden bench.

When I brushed my hair with my hand, fine sand fell away in a shower. I stared up at the pitch-black sky without end, forcing back my tears. I had learned too early that no matter how much I cried, there was no one who would comfort me.

I looked down at both my hands, then opened my right hand and clenched my left into a fist. Then I placed my right palm over the fist and turned it to the right. It was the sign language my mother had taught me first. It meant I love you. Tears rose all the way to my throat.

– Lee Shinjae.

At the sudden voice calling me, I slowly lifted my head. Jung Inhyuk, wearing a neat school uniform, gestured to me. I wiped the corners of my eyes with my torn, ragged sleeve and walked toward him.

-You’re here, Young Master.

While greeting him, I unconsciously lowered my head and sand fell off. I swallowed a short, ragged breath and stepped back. But Jung Inhyuk, as if it were nothing, pulled me closer and brushed the sand from my hair.

-Don’t do that, Young Master. You’ll dirty your hands.

-Stop calling me Young Master. Call me hyung.

-The chairman told me to call you Young Master.

-If you call me hyung, I’ll give you a gift.

Jung Inhyuk took a white sweater out of a shopping bag and showed it to me. It was the sweater I had been unable to take my eyes off when I had gone to the department store with him recently. Wow. Without meaning to, I let out a low gasp and stared at it, dazed.

-Come on.