Pheromone Off Chapter 9

‘…Ha, wow, you don’t even know that?’

‘Sorry.’

Because he had little communication with people, Hajin’s learning ability was lower than that of his peers. Until the age of five, he had only conversed with his nanny and the household servants. In a word, he was a case of someone who had grown up neglected. It was only later that Chairman Seong and his wife were told that his speech was delayed and his communication skills were lacking, which prompted them to assign an expert to him.

‘This guy knows absolutely nothing.’

‘…Sorry.’

‘You are lacking in many ways.’

Eight years old. From then on, Kwon Sabin began to look down on him. An existence that could be endlessly ignored. In this world, he had consistently been that kind of existence. Since Kwon Sabin was someone who classified Hajin as his subordinate, an inferior person, from the moment they first met, it was in a way natural that he would be astonished upon hearing that Hajin was marrying his hyung right now.

Leaving behind Kwon Sabin, who had gone blank at his answer, Hajin left the restroom and headed toward the parking lot. The one who left the venue right after the dining gathering ended was Chairman Kwon. Confirming that he got into his private sedan and disappeared with Secretary Do, everyone stood in front of it to maintain formalities.

Only after Chairman Kwon disappeared did the adults share the side stories they couldn’t share in front of him, and the siblings also had a brief moment while sharing private conversations. Kwon Sahui and Seong Suhyun left the spot to smoke a cigarette each, and Seong Yeonwoo and Kwon Sayoung also concealed themselves separately, as if they had business to attend to.

Hajin, who had been left apart like an outcast, had quietly backed away and escaped to the restroom.

Thinking it was about time to return, he headed to the parking lot, but the disadvantage of this high-end Korean restaurant was that it was pointlessly massive. Every time he came, he always ended up losing his way at least once.

“Hey! I told you to stand right there!”

At the presence of Kwon Sabin following from behind, Hajin quickened his pace, but the path he wanted did not appear. Around the time Hajin let out a deep sigh and bit his lower lip hard, voices were heard from beyond the oak pillar.

“…Are you telling me to accept that?”

“Then what should I do.”

“You’re going to date me but marry him?”

Just from the voices, it was obvious who the main characters of the conversation were, so Hajin didn’t even check who they were.

“That’s not what I mean.”

The one cross-examining fully worked up was naturally Seong Yeonwoo, and the one convincing the other party as if tired was Kwon Sayoung. He had a exhausted look from soothing his angry partner, and he was bowing his head to rub his stiff neck. However, even with that attitude, the other party did not stop cross-examining.

“Even if that’s not your intention, in the end, that’s what it means. How can you make this kind of decision all by yourself?”

“I told you it’s merely for the sake of blinding their eyes.”

“An engagement to blind eyes? On top of that, living together? Ha.”

Seong Yeonwoo let out a hollow breath as if dumbfounded, his lips trembling slightly. As if he couldn’t understand Kwon Sayoung’s choice, he glared at the other party reproachfully with a completely betrayed face.

“The Chairman doesn’t have much time left.”

“What?”

Hajin, who was eavesdropping secretly, opened his eyes wide in sudden shock.

“It’s only until then. It ends once we act appropriately and get what we need to get.”

“…Is that what Doctor Kim says?”

“One year at the longest.”

The voice of Seong Yeonwoo, which had been agitated for a moment, subsided somewhat. Hajin covered his mouth with both hands to hold back his rough breathing with a panicked face. The appearance of his grandfather, who had been continuing his hospitalized life recently, flashed across his mind like a kaleidoscope.

“…So I just have to endure until then?”

“Yeah. Still, if you feel too uncomfortable to do it, tell me. Because I’ll break up with you.”

“Are those words you should be saying to me?”

“Either way, the reason for the fault lies with me, and if it’s hard for you, it’s right to let you go.”

Kwon Sayoung continued his words dryly as if speaking of something natural. It was a responsible statement, but Seong Yeonwoo, as if he didn’t like it, snapped back with a surging face.

“Is breaking up with me easy for you…?”

“Yeonwoo.”

“In the end, the company is more important to you than me.”

Seong Yeonwoo’s behavior was natural. He had trusted his lover, Kwon Sayoung, completely like a rock, but Kwon Sayoung had failed his trust. Hajin held his breath while leaning his back against the wall with a troubled face.

“Aren’t you important to me too?”

“What?”

“What I will possess in the future. What I am capable of possessing.”

“…Even if it’s just you right now, I am sufficiently—.”

“I’m sorry, Yeonwoo. I am not satisfied. What I have struggled for decades to achieve, they say I can obtain it if I marry him. If I just marry him, I can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kwon Sahui.”

“…”

“You know.”

“…”

“After struggling for thirty years, I was just about to finally give up… but they say they’ll give it to me. If I just marry.”

Kwon Sayoung’s expressionless face shifted sharply. Feeling the faint, madness-tinged obsession, Seong Yeonwoo’s face warped subtly. He knew how sensitively Kwon Sayoung, who had grown up always being compared to his older sister, acted regarding this matter. Even when he had zero interest in everything else in the world, he acted with a bad temper whenever it involved his sister’s matters or succession matters. Therefore, Seong Yeonwoo, who had trusted Kwon Sayoung, was also anxious on one hand. Afraid that he would be enticed by his grandfather’s conditions. In the end, that anxiety became reality.

“If you understand me, I will reward you sufficiently for it.”

Seong Yeonwoo was always weak against Kwon Sayoung. In fact, it wasn’t like Kwon Sayoung was the only dominant Alpha. Well-born dominant Alphas begging and pleading for Seong Yeonwoo were scattered all over the place. It wasn’t that Seong Yeonwoo coveted Kwon Sayoung because he was his childhood friend and they had known each other for a long time. Kwon Sayoung was different. He was different from the Alphas who clung to an Omega because they were instinctively beautiful, attracted to pheromones, or felt sexually aroused.

He was not an Alpha who merely touched an Omega for the sake of the bed, and his purpose and ambition were clearer than anyone else’s. Even if his older sister was implicitly called the next chairman, Kwon Sayoung exerted all his effort to surpass his sister somehow. And despite having the family background, money, and fame, he was generally rational, and kept only one person, Seong Yeonwoo, as his Omega lover. Most Alphas slept around with other Omegas behind their backs using excuses like ruts or pheromones, but Kwon Sayoung was on the clean side. That was why he had trusted him all the more.

However, because he also sufficiently knew the ambition Kwon Sayoung possessed and his obsession toward it, Seong Yeonwoo agonized. If he said he still couldn’t understand, Kwon Sayoung, as he had said before, would tell him he would let Seong Yeonwoo go. Seong Yeonwoo groaned for a moment while grinding his molars, and soon opened his mouth cautiously.

“…If by any chance we get caught by the Chairman…”

“Didn’t you hear? I said one year at the longest.”

“…”

“How thorough can an old man who doesn’t have many days left to live be. It’ll be a relief if he doesn’t get carried away again in the meantime.”

His voice was faintly tinged with irritation. This entire situation looked incredibly exhausting to him. His grandfather’s newly revised will, the marriage with an unexpected partner, the lover he was seeing, and even his grandfather’s remaining lifeline which was not long.

The attitude of Seong Yeonwoo, who had merely been shivering with disgust at Kwon Sayoung’s choice, shifted calmly at the news of Chairman Kwon’s terminally ill state. And after showing an appearance of contemplating for a moment, he soon opened his mouth unfavorably.

“…Then really… I just have to wait, right?”

“I didn’t meet you all this time for nothing.”

“…”

“I met you with the intention of marrying, and that remains unchanged.”

“…”

“But it’s also true that this current opportunity is a massive opportunity for me.”

“…”

“If you can’t do it, tell me. Because I won’t hold onto you shamelessly.”

Although he couldn’t know the exact details, Hajin could roughly guess. Accepting Chairman Kwon’s proposal was ultimately because Kwon Sayoung had a separate plan, and that plan meant it would end once his grandfather passed away. It was a story where the will of himself, one of the parties involved in this marriage, was completely excluded.

Roughly speaking, Kwon Sayoung was telling him to wait since this proposal Chairman Kwon threw would soon end. He was convincing him, not sorting things out. Hajin felt a strange emotion. In a way, should he say it was a good thing, or should he feel bitter? His mouth tasted bitter at the conflicting emotions.

“Hey, you—!”

At that moment, Kwon Sabin, who had been following behind, discovered Hajin and rushed over as if to kill him. With a frustrated face, Hajin quickly approached Kwon Sabin, who was trying to raise his voice again, and gagged his mouth.

“You, mgh!”

Gagging his mouth, Hajin raised his index finger to his own lips and whispered quietly.

“…Shh.”

If someone were to hear this conversation, it would be embarrassing for both of them, so they had to conceal their presence. At Hajin’s abrupt behavior, Kwon Sabin opened his eyes wide and hurriedly tried to push Hajin away, but Hajin held his ground steadfastly and shook his head violently. It was a sign to be quiet. At Hajin’s unusual behavior, Kwon Sabin crumpled his brow as hard as possible as if he couldn’t understand, and at that exact moment, the voice from far away reached Kwon Sabin’s ears as well.

“…Alright.”

It was the low reply of Seong Yeonwoo, as if accepting reluctantly. Kwon Sabin roughly grasped the situation and looked back and forth between the place where they were and Hajin, who had pressed close right in front of him. At that moment, Kwon Sabin, whose gaze was stolen by the edge of Hajin’s sorrowfully lowered eyes, paused and stiffened completely. However, Hajin’s attention was entirely focused only on the conversation between the two, Kwon Sayoung and Seong Yeonwoo.

“Then I can just keep trusting you, right.”

With eyes full of determination, Seong Yeonwoo looked clearly and straight at Kwon Sayoung. The fingertips of Hajin, who was gagging Kwon Sabin’s mouth, trembled slightly.