#47

 

“……What should we do now?”

 

Joo Tae-kang murmured. After Seong Chan-young stumbled away, looking half-dead ^[1] 초주검 is a combination of the 초(meaning ‘first’ or ‘initial’) and ‘주검’.  The state of being half-dead; being more dead than alive , everyone was just looking around and didn’t know what to do.

 

“I was completely hated.”

 

Yoo Yi-seo also pretended to be cool, but he was not in a good mood when he witnessed Seong Chan-young making a grimace that almost made him cry. I’ve been cold-hearted, excluding my sincerity as much as possible, but it hurt as if my heart was stabbed with a spear when he showed such a hurtful appearance.

 

I thought he was a fun toy.

 

‘I didn’t feel anything when he cried while begging for love and attention before…….’

 

It was to the point where I had the illusion that Seong Chan-young was shedding tears, even though he didn’t shed tears earlier and made an expression of disgust. It sounds silly, but I was shaken for a moment.

 

“What’s so good that you’re angry with us? How annoying.”

 

Chae Yoon-chan kept turning his eyes toward the room where Seong Chan-young disappeared. Even though his head was spinning like a meerkat, he didn’t seem to recognize it.

 

“…Shouldn’t we go back?”

 

Baek Do-jun murmured in a confident voice. Chae Yoon-chan, Joo Tae-kang, and Yoo Seo’s eyes were on Baek Do-jun.

 

“It is true that we did wrong to Seong Chan-young. We were the ones who didn’t believe him even though he apologized enough, and we were the ones who hurt him.”

 

“So, you’re going to leave Seong Chan-young even though it seems true that he’s sick?”

 

“He says he doesn’t want to.”

 

“But that’s not true. You saw it earlier. He walks unsteadily like that.”

 

One thing Chan-young overlooked was that he seemed to be suffering from stress, as if he were a patient with limited time.

 

“Seong Chan-young is sick, but he must be hiding it!”

 

That’s how all five alphas, including Seo Eun-soo, misunderstood like this. And as long as they confirmed that Chan-young was sick, the thought of taking him became more firm.

 

If Chan-young, who was sleeping, had heard this, he might have vomited the blood of the five intestines like a real patient suffering mental illness.

 

At that time, Seo Eun-soo, who had been watching the situation, stepped up.

 

“Baek Do-jun ssi, Chae Yoon-chan ssi, Joo Tae-kang ssi, and Yoo Yi-seo ssi. Thanks to you, I’ve lost my honeypot-like part-time job. What are you going to do?”

 

The rather cold voice sounded blunt, with a firm accent added. Moreover, the effect doubled when he spoke with honorifics to his friend Do-jun, a regular cafe customer, Tae-kang, and Chae Yoon-chan, who was like a cute younger brother.

 

‘Did his personality become aggressive after becoming an alpha?’

 

If not, this was his original personality, and it could be seen that it was revealed as he no longer had to rely on the alphas.

 

Yoo Yi-seo pretended to love Seo Eun-soo, so he kept calm no matter what he said, but Chae Yoon-chan was different.

 

“Eun-soo yah, why……. Why are you talking so cold? If you don’t have enough money, I can fill it up. If you say so….”

 

“I don’t want to continue living on the money that others give me for nothing. I’m afraid I refuse.”

 

Shocked by his hard acting, Chae Yoon-chan no longer opened his mouth. Seo Eun-soo’s spouting of alpha pheromones was also tingling as if he had already been hit in the head, so it was quick for him to be quiet.

 

Seo Eun-soo ignored Chae Yoon-chan and continued to say what he wanted to say.

 

“I think if you’re really sorry for Chan-young, you’d better stay until the end and ask for forgiveness.”

 

“Why?”

 

Yoo Yi-seo asked Seo Eun-soo’s question. Seo Eun-soo continued to speak in a firm manner.

 

“If he’s sick, if he’s hiding it even though it’s a serious disease, it’s right to live as a human being.”

 

“That’s not all the reason.”

 

“That’s right. I, like you, doubted Chan-young’s true intentions at first, but all I felt here was that he was a good man.”

 

Chan-young cherished his dog, General, with utmost care, and used honorifics to his employees, and greeted them happily whenever he encountered them.

 

The same was true of Seo Eun-soo. From Seong Chan-young’s point of view, Seo Eun-soo could still have been a hateful person, but he calmly took care of him and cared for him while he stayed.

 

‘… have I been mistaken all this whole time?’

 

Chan-young here was like a simple wild flower. It was good to see him live contented with what he has without wanting much, but on the other hand, it was sad because he looked very lonely.

 

So he noticed that Secretary Choi told his employees not to leave him alone. The only thing Chan-young fully opened his heart to was his dog, General.

 

“Don’t go like this. Please stick to Chan-young’s side and continue to persuade him. I don’t think you wouldn’t have come here with the determination to do that.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“I’m telling you that the interest you’re seeing in Seong Chan-young is not just a curiosity.”

 

I didn’t want to tell you much.

 

Yoo Yi-seo did not miss the sincerity Seo Eun-soo said in a very small way. One of his eyebrows twitched.

 

Joo Tae-kang asked, opening his mouth stupidly.

 

“That… by any chance…… Are you saying that we’re starting to have feelings for Seong Chan-young as if we were seeing Seo Eun-soo, right now?”

 

“No way!”

 

“Chae Yoon-chan, I think you’d better keep your mouth shut.”

 

“Yeah…?”

 

At Joo Tae-kang’s words, Baek Do-jun was also agitated and jumped to his feet. Seo Eun-soo sat still and stared at the four men who once liked him and tried to dig into his life in various ways.

 

“Following me around for liking me, too—honestly, I don’t think it’s just a means that you guys set up to turn away from your feelings.”

 

“No way….”

 

“If not, why are you here now? Didn’t you put off your important work, come to see Chan-young without having breakfast, and put on a despairing look when Chan-young said he didn’t want to see you anymore?”

 

“We…we did?”

 

The pheromones of all the alphas fluctuated at the objective analysis of the person they had unrequited love for. Seo Eun-soo smiled bitterly as he felt it on his skin.

 

“When I said that my trait was mutated into alpha, a similar reaction came back. You loved ‘Seo Eun-soo’, who is valuable as a dominant omega, not me.”

 

This was the reason why Seo Eun-soo became cold. When he became an alpha, he was able to learn the same Alpha mindset instinctively.

 

Even with inhibitors that were safely manufactured by pharmaceutical companies to national recognition, the instinct felt between alpha and omega was powerful. Alpha wanted Omega to be his partner, and so did Omega.

 

‘So, even though I don’t have anything as an alpha, I have noticed that I was superior in one trait.’

 

The beautiful appearance, innocent and gentle personality, and trait of dominant omega would have attracted Alphas attractively, and Baek Do-jun, Chae Yoon-chan, and Joo Tae-kang could have misinterpreted it as love. It was similar to a kind of imagination imprint.

 

‘Although Yoo Yi-seo, that snake-like man pretended to love me.’

 

When all the puzzles were solved, Seo Eun-soo rather wanted the alphas, who said they loved him, to come to their senses and sincerely approach the changed Chan-young, who they became really interested in.

 

‘I think it’s a courtesy to those who liked me even though I once received affection like a shell.’

 

And, it was because I liked the changed Chan-young and now I want him to be happy.

 

“……Why do you give us such advice?”

 

In Joo Tae-kang’s question, Eun-soo’s lips were slightly drawn.

 

“I don’t want you to stick to me because you keep shoveling and miss the timing. Well, and there is one more.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Maybe because I mutated to alpha? While I was staying here, I felt that I liked Chanyoung. It’s good to have no rivals, but it seems too cowardly.”

 

Contrary to the smile, the content was shocking.

 

“Hiccups.”

 

Chae Yoon-chan was so surprised that he had a hiccup. Joo Tae-kang looked up and couldn’t move like a stone statue. Yoo Yi-seo stood still and was grinning as if he had heard a pretty funny story. Baek Do-jun’s expression was frowned upon to the point that he felt close to a rival, not a friend.

 

“The biggest reason, of course, is to keep the terms of the contract so that I can stay here. I can stay in this house under the name of a part-timer next to him.”

 

“Do you think we’ll listen to that?”

 

“What can I do? If I can’t, I’ll have to solve it by myself.”

 

At the end of the sentence, Seo Eun-soo’s alpha pheromone spread into the air. A thick and sticky concentration of alpha pheromones, which is difficult to see in a person with mutated form, poured out. The four alphas’ faces hardened.

 

“Did you present as an Extreme Dominant Alpha ^[2] 극우성 알파 would be directly translated to Extremely Dominant Alpha which doesn’t have the same ring as Extreme Alpha to me. But if you prefer the term, Extremely Dominant Alpha, do tell me. I will change it! Edit: Thanks for the suggestion @StrawberryMilkTea ?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How can this ridiculous probability be……? It’s a trait that’s impossible unless you’re born with it.”

 

“Well, I don’t know how this happened, but I’m going to use it well.”

 

Simple Alpha Baek Do-jun, Dominant Alpha Joo Tae-kang and Chae Yoon-chan tried to defend with their respective pheromones, but they were not enough. This is because the pheromones of extreme dominant alpha were not rivals except for the same extreme dominant alphas.

 

“Ugh….”

 

The three alphas got down on one knee at Seo Eun-soo’s pheromone, which tried to penetrate the brain through their nose. Only Yoo Yi-seo glared at Seo Eun-soo with brightly shining eyes.

 

“I look forward to your kind cooperation. Gentlemen.”

 

Seo Eun-soo smiled brightly, like a flower in full bloom. For the very first time, the corners of Yoo Yi-seo’s mouth twitched with displeasure.

 

 

• 1. 초주검 is a combination of the 초(meaning ‘first’ or ‘initial’) and ‘주검’.  The state of being half-dead; being more dead than alive
• 2. 극우성 알파 would be directly translated to Extremely Dominant Alpha which doesn’t have the same ring as Extreme Alpha to me. But if you prefer the term, Extremely Dominant Alpha, do tell me. I will change it! Edit: Thanks for the suggestion @StrawberryMilkTea