"Why."
The business that cut in after his barely polite first word was enough to make his travel-weary mood even worse.
[Just three. Starting this Friday, just meet three people. The ‘I’m busy’ excuse doesn’t work anymore. I’ve already confirmed you’ve got free time now that this job is done.]
"…"
[Son, they say you grant even a dead person’s wish, can’t you grant one wish for your living mother?]
"If it’s your dying wish, I’ll think about it after you revise your will and actually pass away."
[You little—… Hah, Cha Muyoung. Then even just one person on Friday.]
"…"
[She’s a dominant omega young lady from a good family, raised beautifully. And you don’t have to worry about the pheromones you hate so much, she can control them perfectly. She’s really, really pretty, as pretty as Eunwon. You like pretty people, don’t you?]
It wasn’t that he liked pretty people and therefore liked Seo Eunwon; it was that Seo Eunwon happened, thankfully, to be pretty, and so he loved that prettiness all the more. How many times would he have to explain this?
Annoyed and irritated, Muyoung answered carelessly.
"Is it your dying wish? Then revise your will first and tell me after you’re dead."
[Hah… fine, I got it. This will be the last time I mention it. I just stopped by the company and left all the documents with Eunwon, so Friday evening, that one you absolutely—]
"Who did what with whom?"
[I left them with Eunwon. The photos and profiles of the people you’re supposed to meet.] Now he was truly dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh. It wasn’t funny at all. It was deeply unpleasant that she kept touching his private life, but dragging Seo Eunwon into such unclean business—since when had he ever been the obedient son who did as his parents said, for her to pull such a stunt…
He was about to snap back with his temper flaring, but then the record of the dutiful son he’d built up over the years came to mind, leaving him hollow.
Objectively, he’d be close to a model son.
But Muyoung could say it proudly.
It was all lies, all pretense.
By nature, Muyoung was never the type to become a model son. Everything was a bother, everything was tedious, he had a short temper and feared nothing in the world. On top of that he had money, so if he’d grown up just as he was born, he’d very likely have become a delinquent loafer.
That he had instead grown up without a single escapade, dressed neatly in a suit, living as a proper member of society—well, fuck, all of it was—
thanks to Seo Eunwon, who had gazed up at him with those pretty eyes, beaming, calling him hyung.
Even when he wanted to snap and lash out in his temper, when that chick-like little voice called him "hyung-ah," everything just… fizzled out.
When his rotten nature raged like a madman, it would slam on the brakes as if doused with water.
And that wasn’t all.
When he’d add, "Wow, hyung, you’re so cool…" in admiration, Muyoung would find himself gritting his teeth and charging off in that direction without even realizing it.
He loved being praised by that tiny little kid so much. He wanted to keep being the cool hyung who deserved the praise.
That he’d never once properly lost his temper with his parents, despite being a good-for-nothing, good-for-nothing, the most good-for-nothing of them all inside, was also just the byproduct of being filtered through the purification device that was "Seo Eunwon"—who believed that kind, diligent, and upright things were right and good.
And damn it.
His parents had been the quickest to catch on to that fact, and they’d been using "Eunwon’s whispers" at every turn as their method for raising their hellion son into something human.
"Hyung-ah, Auntie said that at school, the cooler you are, the better you study. Muyoung hyung is the coolest, so of course you’re number one, right?"
"Hyung’ll go get first place right away. Wait for me, baby."
That he’d, after shutting himself off from studying, brought home straight first-place report cards on every exam after age six, that he’d—though he’d planned to stay in Korea to look after Seo Eunwon through puberty—ended up graduating from the world’s most prestigious university, that he’d later founded an investment firm, amassed personal assets no one could touch, and returned to Korea to step into the family business—
it was all a vicious one-man show for a single audience member.
"You’re amazing. Hyung is the best, as expected!"
To be that kind of person for his chick.
And yet, Mother, you’re telling me you left those other omegas’ somethings with Eunwon, the sole audience of that performance?
Of course he knew his mother had always cunningly used Eunwon to nudge him, just like this time.
She must have coaxed him, saying things like he should tell hyung to hurry up and get married, or whatever.
But on this matter, he would absolutely not dance to her tune. He had already stamped Seo Eunwon with the seal that said "my omega"—*thunk*.
*Ngh, it hurts… it hurts, ahhk, agh…!*
He’d knotted deep inside that pretty boy’s belly and left a vivid brand, soaked generously with his own seed as the ink—how could anyone talk about marrying another omega?
An alpha who couldn’t take responsibility for his own omega—that would be the shortcut to becoming the irredeemable piece of human trash the elders were so worried about.
The thought that his mother’s needless meddling might have made the already-fumbling boy hesitate even more sent his irritation surging.
"I’ll handle my own business."
He cut her off and hung up. Without Eunwon beside him, this level of rudeness was nothing. Muyoung decided to turn his mother’s plan to his advantage.
He would use those wretched blind date documents as an excuse to forcibly end the time for worrying and avoidance he’d granted Eunwon.
They needed to revisit the memories of that heated night, discuss their future, and he’d have to hear all about those useless worries Eunwon had prattled on about to that garbage AI, too.
Naturally, there was only one possible conclusion at the end, but Muyoung knew it would take kind persuasion and a lot of talking to reassure the timid Seo Eunwon.
The reason he was rushing to the office instead of going straight home at the end of an exhausting business trip was also to see Seo Eunwon’s face. He pictured Seo Eunwon, all deflated and crumpled, meekly fiddling with the errand documents he’d been unable to refuse—*yes, yes*—ing away.
Since he was a newborn he’d only ever cooed over and coddled, never raised strictly—what on earth was the boy so afraid of?
To soothe the bitter irritation left in his mouth, Muyoung unwrapped a pale green candy and popped it in.
The cheap candy he’d kept within arm’s reach everywhere, to take like medicine whenever he needed to kill his temper, looked exactly like the scent of a certain someone who tossed and turned him in their palm without even knowing it.
"Green apple candy."
Its fragrant, sweet apple scent, and how he wanted to roll it on his tongue and melt it in one bite—
anyway, his cute Seo Eunwon.
"…Fucking frustrating, though."
Muyoung, who had been smiling softly, suddenly turned serious and muttered, then crunched the candy ruthlessly into pieces. His mood could flip 180 degrees in an instant.
…
After bickering with his mother, brooding with a look that could kill, then grinning vacantly as he sucked on the candy, smiling softly as he ate it, then suddenly grinding his teeth again—Team Leader Jeong, in the passenger seat, watched his boss’s antics in the rearview mirror and quietly moved his fingers.
*Arriving in 10 minutes* *VIP status is… currently code purple* *Explosion risk, everyone be extra careful*
Unaware that he was being treated like an explosive in the secretaries’ group chat, Muyoung’s eyes fell on the company building, built to his own taste, as it came into view, tossed about by his churning emotions.
"Seo Eunwon is in there."
The moment that sentence crossed his mind, his expression—so fierce a moment ago it had looked murderous—softened smoothly.
Popping another candy into his mouth and savoring the scent again, a chillingly tender smile spread across his lips.
—
*Have you finished sorting out your thoughts? Do you finally have something to say to me? Aren’t you sick of all that shoveling yet? Well, that personality of yours is cute enough to bite, though…*
*Apple, you becoming my secretary meant you’d only think about me for the rest of your life, right? Then how could you go days without contacting me first? Didn’t you miss hyung at all, baby…?* Turning over and over in his head the things he wanted to pour out at Seo Eunwon, trying to choose how to start the conversation, Muyoung opened the secretaries’ office door. But the moment he actually faced Eunwon, he couldn’t bring himself to say any of the lines he’d prepared.
Because Seo Eunwon’s face was pale as a wax doll. His gaze kept scattering into empty air, and his hands, clasped together in front of him, were trembling pitifully.
Without even returning the other secretaries’ greetings, Muyoung quickly wrapped an arm around Eunwon’s shoulders and led him into his own office. He sat him on the sofa, knelt before him, met his eyes, and stroked his cheek. Even the skin under his hand felt pitifully cold. *Surely he’s not like this because of my blind date news…?*
For a moment the thought crossed his mind, and quite apart from his worry for the boy, the corner of his mouth twitched—but that arrogant delusion crumbled in less than a few seconds.
"Eunwon-ah, Seo Eunwon."
"Secretary Seo Eunwon."
"Hey, Mr. Seo Eunwon."
"Baby."
"Y-yes…? Yes?"
No matter how many times he called his name, Eunwon could hardly focus. His lips, pale blue, pressed shut like a clam, made it obvious he was lost deep in his own thoughts.
How could he not notice? If the reason for this turmoil were really "Cha Muyoung’s blind date," he wouldn’t be reacting like this in front of the very person concerned.
Then was he sick somewhere?
He was cold and pale, but he didn’t look it…
Glancing at Eunwon’s flat lower belly, Muyoung naturally slipped the cloned phone from his pocket while Eunwon was staring blankly into space again.
Sure enough.
There were new traces he’d missed in the meantime.
A hospital number in the call log. And right after, a record of a call to his mother lasting over five minutes.
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