The World of Contrasts Vol. 2 Chapter 7

As he pondered how to handle the situation, the subordinates who had dragged Jaemin in approached cautiously.

Chairman Jang glanced at them and realized their eyes were gleaming. He knew that all the men present were alphas.

Jaemin’s body, unable to suppress his anger and humiliation, was emitting a scent it never had before. The unmistakable aroma of an omega’s pheromones filled the air, a scent so enticing it could make even a limp cock hard.

“Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha…”

Chairman Jang finally decided on the perfect punishment for the arrogant omega before him.

“Alright, who wants to fuck our Director Jang Jaemin? Raise your hands.”

Jaemin’s screams echoed through the mansion.

✽ ✽ ✽

The express bus back to Seoul was almost full, even on a weekday. It seemed that an adult baseball team was returning from a winter camp.

Amidst the noisy crowd, Daeyoung quietly stared at his phone. After his shower, Jaemin was already gone. He rushed to the parking lot, but the car was missing too.

[I’m leaving first]

Leaving just this one line and truly disappearing was so like Jaemin, but Daeyoung couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he hadn’t even said a proper goodbye.

But that’s why he liked Jang Jaemin even more.

Daeyoung rested his head against the cold bus window. The bus was slowly entering the capital area, and the increasingly familiar skyline came into view.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated in his hand, and he quickly checked the screen.

“Hello.”

― Daeyoung, where are you?

The cautious voice belonged to Junkyung. Daeyoung cleared his throat and swallowed hard. Yesterday, he had been so focused on rushing to Jang Jaemin that he hadn’t had a chance to comfort her properly. But now, reassuring Junkyung was his top priority.

“I’m on my way home.”

― And… Jaemin?

“Everything went well. Mom, you don’t need to worry.”

Daeyoung hid his anxiety and forced a smile. There was an inexplicable distance in Junkyung’s voice, a sense of alienation that he couldn’t ignore.

“Jaemin said he’ll make sure our mom gets the best treatment at the top hospital. That guy… he might talk tough, but he’s not all bad.”

― …I see.

There was a hint of brightness in Junkyung’s voice. Daeyoung swallowed hard and added, “Yeah.”

“So, Junkyung, you don’t need to worry about anything. From now on, just focus on getting in the best condition for your surgery. Okay? Eat lots of good food. Build up your strength.”

― Yeah… I’m sorry, Daeyoung. I couldn’t tell you earlier.

Junkyung spoke to him in a faint, choked voice. Daeyoung knew why she was apologizing, but that wasn’t important anymore. Honestly, everything made sense now.

Whenever Junkyung looked at him, there was a hint of guilt in her eyes. He wished she had just told him earlier and gotten it off her chest. Even if she had confessed the truth, he wouldn’t have left her. His poor, beautiful omega mother.

“I’m really angry that you hid your illness from your son, but we’ll deal with that later. Once you recover, I’ll make sure you pay for it. So, don’t worry.”

― Uh-huh.

“Thank you so much for raising such a troublemaker son so well, Mom.”

Junkyung couldn’t respond, her breath hitching with suppressed sobs. Daeyoung clenched and unclenched his fist, thinking. He had no intention of letting go of either his mother or Jaemin. To do that, he needed to handle things one by one. The most urgent matter was Junkyung’s surgery.

“Then I’ll see you at home. Let’s have a nice dinner tonight. Your favorite samgyeopsal.”

― I’ll prepare it.

As he was about to hang up, Junkyung called his name again.

“Yes, Mom?”

― Remember last summer, when you said you had a friend you were dating?

Daeyoung recalled the conversation he had with Junkyung last summer. He licked his lips before speaking.

“Did I?”

― Was that… Jaemin?

A parent’s intuition is not to be underestimated. Or perhaps his behavior towards Jaemin yesterday afternoon had given it all away.

“…Maybe.”

Daeyoung’s eyes hardened, unbeknownst to him.

“…Is that not okay, Mom?”

His voice, low and resonant like an echo in a cave, carried an emotion he wasn’t aware of, but it was clear to the person on the other end of the phone.

Possessiveness.

A clear expression that even if she was his beloved family, even if she was Jaemin’s birth mother, he didn’t need her permission.

― No. I’m relieved.

Daeyoung heard Junkyung sigh through the phone. He listened carefully to her voice, wondering if she was being sincere or not.

― No one can protect the person they love better than our Daeyoung…. That makes me feel so relieved, as your mother.

Junkyung’s sincerity came through even over the mechanical device. A faint smile spread across Daeyoung’s face.

“Next time, we’ll all have dinner together. Don’t worry.”

― Thank you… I’m really sorry, Daeyoung.

“Don’t say weird things. I’ll hang up now. See you at home.”

Daeyoung ended the call. He wondered if he had been too abrupt, but he would see her at home soon anyway, so it was fine.

The bus was now approaching Gangnam Express Terminal. As they got closer to Seoul, the traffic became increasingly congested. The sky was gray even though the sun hadn’t set yet.

“I wanna get off quickly and have a drink!”

“You gotta have a drink when the weather’s gloomy like this.”

Listening to the middle-aged men in front of and behind him, Daeyoung opened his messaging app with Jaemin again. Jaemin still hadn’t read his messages and remained silent. After a moment of hesitation, Daeyoung slowly typed a message.

[If you’ve noticed, you should contact me. But since you haven’t, does that mean you still don’t know?]

Sensitive and sharp-witted Jang Jaemin usually needed this much provocation to react. See, he’s calling right now.

Daeyoung answered the call, not bothering to hide his rising smile.

“Finally calling me back.”

― This is Jaemin’s mother, Sin Joohee.

The unexpected voice on the other end made Daeyoung’s thick eyebrows furrow. It was the first time he heard this voice, but he had learned the name just yesterday. Sin Joohee. According to Junkyung, she was his biological mother. The wife of Jang Wonjung and the woman who raised Jaemin.

― Are you listening to me?!

Sin Joohee asked sharply. Daeyoung briefly opened his mouth, wondering why she would be calling him.

“Yes.”

― Chairman Jang knows.

That single sentence made Daeyoung’s eyes darken. He furrowed his brows and swallowed hard.

“How much does he know?”

― Everything.

Daeyoung didn’t ask for clarification on what “everything” meant. Sin Joohee’s voice, trembling as she tried to hold back tears, poured out from the other end of the phone.

― His thugs took Jaemin. Please, go quickly. I beg you.

Daeyoung’s heart pounded, and his mouth went dry.

“Where?”

― There’s an abandoned resort construction site. They probably took him there. Jaemin might die. The local police chief is an ally of Jang Wonjung, so reporting it won’t help… Ah!

There was a commotion as someone tried to stop Sin Joohee, and her screams echoed before the call abruptly ended.

Daeyoung jumped to his feet. His mind raced coldly, but he knew where the resort she mentioned was. He remembered Jaemin talking about a place where you could bury a body without getting caught, describing it as a place with a view so beautiful it made you want to die.

He took a deep breath and walked down the bus aisle. As he approached the driver’s seat, the driver, wearing sunglasses, raised his voice.

“The rest stop is still far away. Please sit down.”

Daeyoung grabbed a baseball bat from someone’s bag.

“Stop the bus.”

“…What?”

Thud!

The front window of the bus shattered, and the driver abruptly stopped the bus on the highway. It was a harsh emergency stop, leaving skid marks on the road.

“What the… You…!”

“I’ll make sure JangHyun Construction compensates you fully. So, get out before I lose my patience.”

“This crazy bastard… Huh!”

The driver and passengers disembarked with their hands on their heads, just as Daeyoung was about to turn the bus into a scene from hell.

Ignoring the traffic lanes, the bus sped down the 8-lane highway at top speed. Daeyoung shifted gears and pressed the accelerator with all his might.

✽ ✽ ✽

How did Jang Wonjung find out the truth so quickly? That was no longer important.

Jaemin’s fear of Jang Wonjung was not some vague anxiety. The terrible screams of Sin Joohee through the stolen phone were filled with rage and terror.

“What are you most afraid of right now?”

“That my father will kill me because he found out?”

Daeyoung gritted his teeth, angry at himself for naively thinking it wouldn’t come to this.

“He can inflict pain worse than death. My father… no, your father…”

The image of Jaemin, terrified and tear-streaked, flashed through Daeyoung’s mind, making him breathe heavily through clenched teeth.

Please.

Please, Jang Jaemin.

Just hold on until I get there.

His phone, connected to the car’s system, buzzed with an incoming call from “Mom.” Daeyoung declined Junkyung’s call and bit his lip until it bled. He had to save Jaemin, if only to keep the promise he made to Junkyung.

― No one can protect the person they love better than our Daeyoung…. That makes me feel so relieved, as your mother.

Daeyoung grabbed his phone and, with trembling hands, found the number. He had saved the number from the business card Jaemin gave him at their first meeting. He never thought he would use it for something like this.

The other end picked up immediately.

― Who is this? Our son is…

Daeyoung’s arm, holding the phone, bulged with thick veins like a poisonous plant’s stem.

“Chairman Jang Wonjung.”

The other end chuckled. Daeyoung glared out the window as if Chairman Jang was right in front of him, spitting out each word clearly.

“If anything happens to Jaemin… you will die a gruesome death at the hands of your own son.”

Chairman Jang laughed out loud.

― Indeed, you are my son. But what can you do? Jaemin should be at the Yodang construction site by now. I’ll give you the address so you can go and clean up the mess. I wanted to see how well my son handles things, so this works out perfectly.

The address Chairman Jang provided matched exactly with what Joohee had said and where Daeyoung was currently headed. Daeyoung roared like a beast and threw his phone out the shattered window. The speedometer needle was trembling at its maximum limit.

Under the grim, gray sky, a bus sped along like a madman.

✽ ✽ ✽

Inside the unfinished resort building, the wind blew through the open spaces. The changing seasons were more apparent from this vantage point.

Summer. The deep green scenery he had looked at, wishing for death, had passed, and now only the desolate sound of wind blowing through bare branches remained in the cold winter.

“Ha… Ha ha…”

Lying on the cold concrete floor, Jaemin laughed hysterically. The sound of someone flinching behind him made him laugh even harder.

“Fuck, put some tape on his mouth! His laughter is creepy.”

“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up if you’re done.”

Several men had already tried and failed to have their way with him. Five. No, six. Or maybe even more.

“Ha ha ha…! Ha ha ha!”

“Won’t you shut up?”

Due to the injection given to him by his former subordinates, Jaemin couldn’t move his body. But his voice remained strong and clear.

“Show some respect to the Director…”

Someone approached him from behind again.

“Fuck, the scent… How did he hide this? Ha…”

It was an injection that maximized the omega pheromones. It was no wonder the alphas were going crazy and lunging at Jaemin.

“I’m sorry, Jaemin.”

Jaemin, with his head pressed to the floor, rolled his eyes to see who was speaking. It was Park Hyungoh, Park Sejun’s father.

“I had no choice; it was Chairman’s orders,” he said, but there was no remorse in his eyes, only lust for the omega.

“Father, why are you saying useless things? This bastard was so arrogant.”

Jaemin’s hair was roughly grabbed. He looked at Park Sejun, his childhood friend, who had even more dangerous eyes than his father. Jaemin laughed again.

“Jang Jaemin, you really… surprise people in many ways. An omega… It’s unbelievable.”

Chairman Jang’s punishment for Jaemin was beyond imagination. Jaemin admired Chairman Jang’s cruelty as he watched the father and son duo approach him simultaneously.

“To think an omega with such a strong scent… pretended to be an alpha all this time?”

Perhaps this is what they mean by “old but not dead.” Before killing Jaemin, the ultimate way to humiliate him was to be trampled by those he had once commanded.

The reason only alphas were selected for this was also clear. After injecting the omega with a heat-inducing drug and making his body drip with alpha pheromones, Chairman Jang wanted to see him beg. The camera on the tripod was to capture the scene.

“How do you feel, Jang Jaemin?”

“Ha ha ha!”

Jaemin didn’t stop laughing, even as he drooled and foamed at the mouth. The alphas approaching him reeked of nothing but disgusting lust.

“Ugh!”

Sejun finally grabbed his waist and pulled him back.

“Laughing? Ha ha, have you finally gone mad?”

Jaemin looked at him with bloodshot eyes and twisted his bleeding lips into a smile.

“Yeah. It’s hilarious… that father and son… are both assholes… It’s driving me crazy.”

Thud! His body was battered again as someone approached.

“Those bastards are enthusiastic, and I am diligent, Director. I won’t disappoint you.”

Even as he was violently shaken, Jaemin laughed like a madman.

“Ah… Ha ha ha!”

He never thought it would end like this.

The variable in his life had always been Seol Daeyoung. Since the summer he turned eighteen, from the moment he first met him.

“Nice to meet you, Jang Jaemin.”

The moment he first saw Seol Daeyoung, Jaemin’s heart pounded strongly for the first time in his life. It was an undeniable fact, so he denied it throughout their time together. A future with him was, of course, unimaginable.

But…

Seol Daeyoung had marked Jang Jaemin.

“Ha ha…”

In that place where the sound of waves could be heard, Jaemin lost consciousness and collapsed into Daeyoung’s arms. After biting into his neck, drawing blood, and marking him, Daeyoung held him tightly.

It is said that after marking, a burning sensation spreads throughout the body, as if engulfed in flames. However, for Jaemin, who was already consumed by the heat of their intense sex and the feeling that this was his last moment with Seol Daeyoung, even the pain of the marking was unnoticeable.

All he remembered was Seol Daeyoung holding him, moaning and laughing endlessly.

“I had no choice.”

Only now did Jaemin understand the meaning of those whispered words. Tears streamed down his face, but his bloodied lips curved upwards in a smile.

A marked omega cannot get pregnant by anyone other than their marked partner. The marking is a bond that lasts until one of them dies. Therefore, the marking between an alpha and an omega is a stronger commitment than marriage, a eternal chain.

More importantly, from the moment of marking, they no longer react to pheromones of other types. The alpha pheromones that were now repulsive to Jaemin were a result of the marking.

“Ha ha…. Seol Daeyoung…”

Jaemin laughed, his bruised body shaking. He had long known that Daeyoung was not normal, a twisted and insane person. Marking him in this situation was certainly surprising, but it was also fitting.

However, at this moment, Jaemin felt more grateful to Daeyoung than the desire to stab and kill him. The greatest gift Daeyoung had given him was allowing Jaemin to remain Jang Jaemin until the very end.

“Nothing will change. So… there’s nothing to fear, Jang Jaemin.”

When he was dragged before Chairman Jang, Jaemin expected to die, so death was no longer frightening. What Jaemin feared most was the thought of begging and crying for the alphas to fuck him.

But that hadn’t happened, and for that, he was content. Dying here as a punk was an acceptable outcome.

✽ ✽ ✽

In the distance, a speeding car appeared on the desolate landscape. Jaemin, despite being roughly handled, squinted to see it. There was no reason for a vehicle to be on this abandoned road.

Screech! The car came to a abrupt halt with a harsh sound.

From the fourth floor of the dilapidated building with gaping walls, Jaemin saw the sign on the front of the red bus. It read ‘Yangyang-Seoul.’ Seeing this, a sense of relief washed over him, even though his senses felt numb.

Why would a bus be here, so far off its route?

Jaemin watched as a man stepped out of the bus. To his disbelief, it was Daeyoung, holding a baseball bat.

Where did he even get that?

The absurdity of seeing Daeyoung with such an old-fashioned weapon made Jaemin laugh despite the situation.

Once, during a heavy summer rain, they had watched a movie together in a cool, air-conditioned room. It was a B-grade gangster film, full of action but lacking in substance. Daeyoung had wrapped Jaemin in soft bed sheets, teasing his nipples, and asked:

“Why do gangsters always bring baseball bats to a fight? There are much more effective weapons out there.”

“So they can claim they didn’t intend to kill anyone. If they all use the same weapon, the police can’t pinpoint who did the killing, making their job harder.”

“You sound just like a real gangster, Jang Jaemin.”

Daeyoung had chuckled and climbed on top of him, leading to a passionate encounter. Jaemin couldn’t remember the ending of the movie, but it was likely a tragic one, as such films often are.

“Why are you laughing? Feeling good, Director?”

The hot, disgusting breath of the man behind him didn’t matter. One of Jaemin’s eyes was swollen shut, making Daeyoung’s figure blurry. Daeyoung was clearly looking up at him, but Jaemin couldn’t see his expression.

All he could see was Daeyoung rushing towards him. Daeyoung’s figure disappeared from view, and soon, footsteps echoed through the empty, wall-less space.

Seol Daeyoung is coming for me.

His first thought was relief. He had wanted to see Daeyoung. But then, a darker thought crossed his mind.

“Ha ha… Fuck, I’m doing it with our Director. This is a dream, right? Huh?”

You’re going to see me like this.

You, who always praised me, will see me at my lowest.

The man behind him panted heavily, his disgusting breath hot on Jaemin’s neck. As the man tried to kiss him, a loud thud sounded, and the man collapsed.

Jaemin felt a heavy weight on his body, which then disappeared. Daeyoung’s roaring voice echoed as he struck the man again. Jaemin, lying on the cold cement floor, watched Daeyoung rage.

Ah. You’re angry. Aren’t you? You’re sad.

With his arms tied, Jaemin rubbed his face against the cold cement. Wiping the blood from his swollen eyes, he could see Daeyoung swinging the bat wildly more clearly.

One, two, three. Daeyoung accurately struck the heads of the men lunging at him, his movements as precise as a batter hitting a home run. Jaemin watched, a faint smile on his lips, confirming his suspicion that Daeyoung would be excellent at this.

But won’t they die like this… he thought, realizing a moment too late. Could it be intentional?

Seeing Daeyoung pick up a fallen weapon, Jaemin’s suspicion grew stronger. His body, still limp from the injection, couldn’t move.

Jaemin, sprawled like a crushed bug, watched Daeyoung kill. He saw the knife that had torn his clothes plunge into someone’s carotid artery, blood spurting out.

“Seol Daeyoung, stop, please stop… Ugh…”

Park Sejun staggered back, his face slashed open, and then his body was riddled with bullets. Park, the section chief, rushed to save his son but was thrown to the ground with a thud. Daeyoung stuck a wooden stick from a drum into his mouth. Jaemin’s body was the only thing that mattered; Daeyoung’s movements were as swift and agile as a leopard.

Daeyoung’s slaughter continued. Though the alphas Jaemin had worked with were tough, they were no match for Daeyoung.

It wasn’t that Jaemin felt regret for his subordinates’ incompetence. Rather, he was newly impressed by how extraordinary Seol Daeyoung was.

The sight of him, drenched in red blood, was… far more spectacular than Jaemin had imagined. His heart, which had been cold as he was trampled by his subordinates, now raced excitedly.

A memory from long ago, from high school, surfaced in his mind. In the gym, when his heat had hit, Seol Daeyoung had beaten and even tried to kill those who attempted to rape him.

Back then, Jaemin had managed to calm Daeyoung down, but now, with his body bound, he couldn’t move.

But even if he could speak, he wouldn’t want to. His true feelings now were…

“Huh… Huh…”

His physical response was even stronger. The sudden sobs were like a dam bursting, unstoppable. Tears streamed down Jaemin’s face, his expression twisted in pain. Daeyoung, who had been viciously beating someone, turned to look at Jaemin, panting heavily.

“Kill them all… Huh… Daeyoung.”

As their tear-filled eyes met, Daeyoung bit his trembling lip.

“All of them… Ha… Tear them apart… Huh… for me.”

And Daeyoung did as Jaemin wished.

✽ ✽ ✽

The fallen men showed no signs of life. Daeyoung approached Jaemin and cut the ropes binding his wrists and ankles with a knife. His body, still limp, remained immobile.

“Let’s go,” Daeyoung said, his voice hoarse. His blood-streaked eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Jaemin, who stared back at him with bloodshot eyes. Daeyoung bit his lip, wondering what Jaemin was thinking as he saw him like this. Before Jaemin could find an answer to Daeyoung’s silent question, Daeyoung scooped him up.

Jaemin had once thought that if he were to die, he wanted it to be in this building. But Daeyoung simply carried him out, silent.

“Daeyoung,” Jaemin called out, his body shaking from the cold. Daeyoung stopped, then sat Jaemin down on a bench. Taking off his own coat, he draped it over Jaemin. Though Daeyoung was now left in just a thin shirt, he didn’t seem to mind.

“My face is a mess,” Jaemin said, his body trembling with laughter. He looked at Daeyoung with swollen eyes and asked softly, “Isn’t it?”

Daeyoung swallowed hard, then replied quietly, “No. You’re still handsome.”

Hearing the tremor in Daeyoung’s voice, Jaemin closed his eyes and smiled faintly.

“Ha ha…”

As he nestled his head into Daeyoung’s hand, he felt Daeyoung’s warmth through his cheek. Jaemin watched Daeyoung approach, blinking slowly.

“Daeyoung,” he whispered.

“…..”

Daeyoung remained silent, his eyes fixed on Jaemin.

“Kill me.”

Tears streaked down Jaemin’s face, blurring his vision of Daeyoung’s distorted eyes. The fact that he still found this face beautiful meant his mind was still not right. Jaemin swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he spoke.

“Then… I’ll forgive you for marking me.”

“…. I don’t regret it.”

Daeyoung exhaled heavily, speaking as if confessing.

“Because you’re mine. It was meant to be that way. It was inevitable.”

Jaemin thought that was very like him.

“We’re really…

“…..”

“…gangsters.”

Seol Daeyoung was a gangster, and Jaemin liked that about him. In fact… from the moment they first met, there wasn’t a single moment when he disliked him.

“….Goodbye, Jang Jaemin.”

Jaemin smiled faintly at the true owner of his name. He didn’t want to show such a sight at the end, but the world had never gone his way. So, there was nothing to regret. He just wanted to say his final goodbye.

“Open your eyes, Jang Jaemin.”

Daeyoung hugged Jaemin and shook his body. Jaemin tried to open his eyes, but his body was losing strength, and he couldn’t do it. His vision blurred, and darkness began to fall. Jaemin tried to move his torn lips, but no sound came out.

I want to tell you that your scent is so good. I want to tell you I’m sorry for ruining your life.

Marking you was the best thing in my life.

“Open your eyes, open your eyes!”

Hearing the sound of police sirens approaching, Jaemin closed his eyes.

It was the day when 23-year-old Seol Daeyoung killed eight alphas who had trampled his omega and was arrested at the scene. It was also the day when his mother, Seol Junkyung, died in a fire that engulfed their three-generation family home.

✽ ✽ ✽

Seven years later, winter. Tokyo.

At 9 p.m., the bar Lookie unusually had a customer.

Located in a narrow alley a block away from the subway station, the bar was typically the last stop for those who had already been drinking elsewhere before catching the last train home. For those whose drinking extended further, it was a place to wait until the first train. At this hour, it was still early for customers to arrive.

A man with short, bleached blond hair opened the door to the bar, and the mama at the counter lit up with a smile.

“Yukito, you came! Thanks. Was it a hassle?”

“Of course it was.”

The man handed his phone to the mama with a blunt tone.

“I’d be in big trouble without this. I can’t even take calls from regulars.”

“If it’s so important, take better care of it.”

“Want a beer?”

“I don’t have money.”

“It’s on me.”

The mama laughed, his voice lilting in a way that made it hard to believe he had once been the vice principal of a private school a decade ago. The man gave a slight nod to the salaryman sitting at the bar, then sat a seat apart from him.

The mama opened a small beer bottle meant for the food industry and handed it to the man. While the man gulped down the beer, the salaryman sipped his whiskey and glanced over at him.

Noticing that the customer’s attention was no longer on the part-time worker he had been chatting with, the mama spoke in a smooth, knowing tone.

“Ryosuke-san, it’s your first time seeing Yukito, isn’t it?”

“Ah, yes.”

The salaryman seized the opportunity and greeted him, “Hello.” The man returned a brief acknowledgment, but that was all. Focused solely on drinking his beer, he paid little attention to anything else. The salaryman unconsciously swallowed dryly as he observed him.

He looked about 26. Even with his buzzed haircut, his face was striking enough to draw attention.

The loose checkered shirt and wide pants that might have seemed outdated on someone else only looked stylish on him, thanks to his commanding presence. His appearance exuded charm, as though he’d been scouted multiple times to be a model.

“Your style is cool,” Ryosuke ventured.

“…”

“I’ve thought about trying a buzz cut myself, but I don’t think I could pull it off.”

Despite the compliment, the man merely glanced at him briefly before returning to chewing on the complimentary peanuts, his expression indifferent.

His aloof demeanor somehow added to the magnetic aura of his appearance, but it was hard not to feel a bit offended. Were all young people these days like this?

“Ryosuke-san, that’s enough,” the mama lightly scolded the salaryman with a playfully stern expression.

Sensing that he was being ignored, the salaryman instinctively released a faint alpha pheromone, to which the omega mama responded.

Unlike the mama, who recoiled slightly, the man beside him kept chewing his peanuts, oblivious. The salaryman realized with a pang of disappointment that the man wasn’t an omega.

If he had been an alpha, his actions might have provoked some kind of reaction. This meant he was likely a beta.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I guess I’m getting tipsy faster than usual.”

“Isn’t Yukito so handsome?” the mama teased, wiping down the table with a grin that suggested he understood his feelings.

“Honestly, I was surprised,” Ryosuke admitted.

“He’s my boyfriend,” the mama declared.

The salaryman hesitated, his face contorted in confusion. At that, the man chewing peanuts finally spoke up.

“Your real boyfriend is right here, watching with his eyes wide open, and you’re spouting nonsense.”

“Who knows what could happen? I thought I’d never break up with Michael, and look how that turned out.”

The mama had broken up with his foreign boyfriend of six years, who was ten years younger than him, and was now dating Shun, a part-time weekend worker 20 years his junior.

“They all leave me like they’re graduating after I raise them so well. That’s why I won’t sleep with Yukito.”

“I’m leaving.”

The man, having finished his beer cleanly, rose from his seat as if signaling he had no intention of indulging the mama’s frivolous jokes any further. As he walked away, the mama called out cheerfully to his retreating back, “See you later!”

Once the bar door closed, the salaryman, who had been holding back his curiosity, blurted out a question.

“Who is that handsome onii-san really?”

“My son,” the mama replied.

“Really?”

“Just kidding.”

Dodging smoothly like a trickster, the mama left the salaryman frustrated. Hoping to coax more information, the salaryman selected a new drink.

“Let’s chat over a drink.”

Smiling knowingly, the mama opened the bottle and prepared some ice and lemon, as if he had been waiting for this.

“He’s someone I live with. I don’t know his real name or where he’s from.”

“Is he… homeless or something?”

The unexpected story from the mama only piqued the salaryman’s interest further. Frankly speaking, if Yukito really were homeless, the man’s allure was enough to make the salaryman want to take him into his own apartment.

His pale, almost bloodless skin, cold like porcelain, paired with jet-black eyes that seemed like drops of fine ink, gave him an entrancing quality. Combined with his insolent attitude, he was someone who might make you want to break him, especially if he were an omega.

Even the man’s lack of reaction to his alpha pheromones stirred a competitive spirit within the salaryman.

“For now, he has both a home and a job,” the mama said.

“What kind of job?”

“He works security in Kabukicho. Yukito’s really good at fighting.”

Remembering the tattoos that adorned the back of the man’s pale hand gripping the beer bottle, the salaryman sipped his drink thoughtfully. Yukito’s face seemed far too refined for someone who fought regularly. It made one feel a strange urge to see him cry instead.

“You’re thinking, ‘Yeah, right,’ aren’t you? But it’s true,” the mama said with a laugh, clinking glasses with him again.

“He seems like a foreigner,” the salaryman observed.

“Good eye.”

Yukito’s Japanese was fluent but carried a slightly stiff edge that betrayed it wasn’t his first language.

“He’s not zainichi, is he?”

“Wow, Ryosuke-san, why are you so curious? You must have noticed Yukito is a beta.”

The mama mentioned Yukito’s designation, confirming it as if he were used to such interest from alpha customers seeing Yukito for the first time.

“Honestly, with someone like him, his designation doesn’t matter. His face alone is captivating.”

The salaryman made no effort to hide his attraction to Yukito, prompting the mama to chuckle knowingly. It wasn’t like the salaryman, a corporate worker known for his smooth demeanor, to show his hand so openly. Clearly, he was smitten.

The mama felt amused at the thought of having one more story to share with Yukito over a meal. Though, he knew Yukito would probably put down his chopsticks and tell him to stop ruining his appetite. He had once, in response to an alpha’s confession, bluntly retorted, “You smell like a sewer, so no thanks,” right on the spot.

“Tomoko-san, how did you two meet?”

“It’s been, what, four? No, over five years now…”

The mama furrowed his brow, trying to recall.

“I was on my way back from attending my ex-wife’s funeral when someone jumped in front of my car.”

In truth, the mama had been feeling emotionally conflicted and had taken his eyes off the road to search for his cigarettes when he hit Yukito. But he didn’t see the need to share the full truth.

“And then?”

“I tried to take him to the hospital, but he refused to go no matter what. So, I put him in the car and brought him home instead…”

The mama’s gaze grew distant. Could it be that age gave one a sixth sense? He still shuddered when he thought of the night he woke up feeling uneasy, only to find Yukito collapsed in a bathtub full of bloody water.

He had even taken the sleeping pills left on the kitchen table, as if methodically planning his demise.

Perhaps it was his decision to take him to an underground clinic known for its shady practices that saved him—though it was a gamble. Yukito remained unconscious for three days before finally waking up.

“Anyway, after sleeping like the dead, he woke up and didn’t remember anything.”

Whether he couldn’t or simply didn’t want to, the mama didn’t know.

Murmuring to himself, he lit a cigarette. The salaryman lit one as well, falling into contemplative silence.

“No address, no identification…”

“I think he might have been a yakuza somewhere, caused a huge mess, and got kicked out.”

Given the terrible condition Yukito’s body was in when the mama first found him, it was a plausible story. However, the salaryman seemed to take the mama’s words as a joke.

“If that were true, he wouldn’t be able to work in Kabukicho. He’d be too scared of getting caught.”

His argument held weight. Returning to a pleasure district teeming with dangerous individuals would indeed be a risky move. Even if Yukito had truly lost his memory, his striking appearance would have likely caused someone to recognize him by now.