AOA 156
Lee Sejun, Jeong Minchae’s younger brother who was not related by blood, had a gentle appearance. He bore a strange resemblance to the delicate-looking Jeong Minchae, to the point where one could believe they were blood related brothers.
Lee Sejun, still a high school student, showed his youth a lot. He was also very shy and found Baek Mugyeong difficult to approach. Although they greeted each other politely whenever they met, they had never once shared a long conversation. It had only been a short while since he decided to address him as “Hyungnim”. Even so, he used “Excuse me” more often than not, just like now.
It was significant that Lee Sejun called out to him, even with a hesitant look on his face.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
“Is there something wrong with hyung?”
“Hm?”
“It seems like he’s troubled about something. You know, his relationship with the Chairman isn’t exactly smooth. He really went through a lot last year. Since coming to the U.S., he’s become so much brighter, perhaps because he doesn’t have any worries anymore. But today, he suddenly looked downcast. Is there any bad news from Korea by any chance? I just checked my phone, but there wasn’t any news about people over there…”
Baek Mugyeong became nervous because Lee Sejun also mentioned that Jeong Minchae was acting strangely. It was said that the words of three people can create a tiger. Even if it was a lie, people were bound to believe it if many of them said it.
However, this time there were several grounds. They said he sighed a lot, was lost in thought, and looked upset. As family living together, it wasn’t strange to notice even small changes quickly. The problem was that he was the only one who didn’t realize it. That was a serious matter.
Baek Mugyeong tightened his brows, which were about to furrow. He had to maintain his composure in front of Lee Sejun, who was worried.
“There’s no problem.”
This was true. Baek Mugyeong checked the situation in Korea every day. Everyone who could threaten Jeong Minchae was busy. Jeong Suchan’s embezzlement trial concluded with him paying a fine. He didn’t go to prison, but he acquired a criminal record and his reputation was dragged through the mud.
The disaster did not end there. Evidence uncovered during the investigation led to an intense tax audit. It is said that the emotional distress was so severe that he lost weight like a wooden stick.
Jeong Guhyeon’s situation was even worse. Although it was a rather noisy case, it ended with a suspended sentence thanks to Jeong Suchan’s intervention. However, as political circles and celebrities became entangled, he ended up taking the entire blame alone. He acquired a criminal record not just for simple drug use, but for distribution, sales, and brokering.
Naturally, Jeong Guhyeon was so wronged he wanted to die. Even during the trial, he met up with friends every day to drink. Fortunately, he was avoiding drunk driving by having a driver accompany him daily on Jeong Suchan’s orders. However, it was uncertain how long this would last.
A guy like Jeong Guhyeon was bound to self-destruct with just a slight push. With Park Soyeon’s help, the preparations were complete. Now all that remained was to wait for Jeong Guhyeon to fall into his trap.
This was a secret not only from Jeong Minchae but also from Lee Sejun.
“Really? Then why is he like that?”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Yes. Please.”
After comforting Lee Sejun, Baek Mugyeong found Lee Miseon resting in the lounge. She was reading a book while drinking tea. As he sat opposite her, Lee Miseon’s red lips parted.
“Minchae is acting a bit strange today. Is something wrong?”
Baek Mugyeong frowned this time for the first time. It was already the third time he had heard the same thing. Park Soyeon, Choi Jieun, Lee Sejun, and Lee Miseon had all mentioned Jeong Minchae’s mood.
It was certainly a serious matter. This meant that Jeong Minchae had only pretended to be okay in front of him.
“Nothing special happened.”
Baek Mugyeong retraced his memories. Nothing special had happened throughout the trip. On the third day, Jeong Minchae had to buy new sneakers because he stepped in a mud puddle at the park, but that wasn’t really a problem.
It was today that the group unanimously agreed that Jeong Minchae was acting strangely. Therefore, it was highly likely that the problem occurred yesterday. To be precise, it must have been last night.
Nothing happened during dinner. It was the same after returning to the hotel. If Jeong Minchae was left alone on the street for even a moment, there was a high probability that gnats would swarm around him. But yesterday, nothing like that happened.
“Really? There must be something. Did he hear some bad news?”
“I will look into it.”
Baek Mugyeong had no choice but to repeat what he had said to Park Soyeon, Choi Jieun, and Lee Sejun.
“It’s good that he’s thoughtful, but he keeps his worries to himself. I told him to speak up if something’s bothering him, but he’s at it again.”
“Has something similar happened before?”
“When he was attending the language institute, he said he fought with a friend. Didn’t you know?”
“No.”
Baek Mugyeong answered slowly, hearing the story for the first time. Since they were in a long-distance relationship, they made sure to video call at least once a day. They talked about the big and small events that happened that day. If they had nothing to say, they even mentioned what they had eaten that morning.
Baek Mugyeong had never heard of Jeong Minchae fighting with anyone. All he knew was that he hung out with friends doing assignments or going out.
“It looks like he only wants to say nice things. Just to put your mind at ease.”
“Do you happen to know what they fought about?”
Lee Miseon smiled as she looked at Baek Mugyeong, whose eyes were shining brightly. Baek Mugyeong, her grandson’s ex-husband and current lover, was a typical alpha. An alpha who was obsessed with and tried to protect his Omega.
On top of that, his personality was formidable. He had enough sense to visit with his hands full of gifts. He also possessed the ruthlessness to decisively deal with those who threatened his loved ones.
Lee Miseon liked Baek Mugyeong for that. If you were in a complicated position like Baek Mugyeong’s, you needed guts. Otherwise, you would simply be trampled upon.
It had been a long time since she decided that she was not a bad match for her precious grandson. She gave him high marks for everything, from his quick wit in tagging along on this trip to the fact that he had prepared everything without any shortcomings.
So, she intended to speak on behalf of her grandson’s difficulties.
“Male omegas go through a lot of ups and downs.”
“Ah.”
“Besides, Minchae is pretty. He’s kind, too. And popular. He gets along especially well with the girls, so it seems like someone couldn’t stand the sight of that.”
This was absolutely not just a grandmother’s meddling out of love for her grandson. In Lee Miseon’s eyes, Jeong Minchae was cute and pretty. Looking at old photos, he seemed a bit more masculine, but his features had become delicate since becoming an Omega. It was inevitable that alphas would flock to an omega who was pretty and exuded sweet pheromones.
However, the prejudice of betas toward male omegas was quite troublesome. Subtly mocking and ostracizing them was the least of it. Insults and criticism to their faces happened frequently.
It was the same this time. Some scoundrel looked down on Jeong Minchae and made derogatory remarks without thinking.
“Was it serious?”
“It’s fine. Minchae isn’t the type to get taken advantage of. Everything was resolved well. That guy went back to Korea because word got around about the verbal abuse.”
Lee Miseon didn’t explain at length. The fact that Jeong Minchae fought back without being intimidated ended up being just a squabble between friends. However, the Korean community was small, and what the scoundrel had said spread in an instant. Several people were hurt by the scoundrel’s abusive language. Whether it was the male omegas, or their family, relatives, or friends, they were outraged.
Eventually, facing pressure from various sources, the scoundrel quit his studies abroad midway and returned to Korea. It didn’t even take a month to get there.
“It seems you used some influence, Grandmother. Thank you.”
“That scoundrel dug his own grave. There is a congressman named Patrick Choi who serves as an elder at the church he attends, and his youngest son is an Omega. He has made enemies of so many people that he can’t show his face in public. You can’t take back words once they’ve been spoken. People must live wisely.”
In a community where various interests were intertwined, running your mouth could lead to ruin. Lee Miseon encouraged from the sidelines, but things had become much milder compared to the past. It was enough that she hadn’t sent any big, burly men.
“… Yes I understand.”
Baek Mugyeong’s response to Lee Miseon’s advice came a beat late. It was because the moment he heard that Congressman Patrick Choi had a late-born son, he recalled the conversation he had had with Jeong Minchae yesterday afternoon.
Four is a lot. Does that mean he wants children?
It felt like having ice water poured over him.
❖ ❖ ❖
Baek Mugyeong, having returned to his room after parting ways with Lee Miseon, strived to recall his memories.
The conversation they had yesterday afternoon while traveling was ordinary. When he said that he had never seriously thought about having a child and that children wasn’t absolutely necessary for married life, Jeong Minchae’s expression didn’t change.
However, looking back now and considering the context of the conversation, it seemed like he wanted a child. That is why he had been sighing and lost in thought all day.
Everything fit together perfectly.
“This…….”
As he reached a conclusion, he was overcome with helplessness.
For a second-generation chaebol couple, Baek Mugyeong’s parents’ relationship wasn’t bad. To be precise, it was a business relationship. They put tremendous effort into having an alpha son. Perhaps because of this, Baek Mugyeong, who had a very low probability of manifesting, was pushed aside. He wasn’t abused, but he lacked attention and love.
After his parents passed away, Baek Mugyeong was entrusted entirely to his maternal grandparents’ care because of his low alpha manifestation rate. Unable to remain in Korea, he was eventually forced to leave for the United States to study abroad. For this reason, Baek Mugyeong had no illusions about family, nor did he have any desire to build a harmonious family by using them as a cautionary tale.
It was the same even after he began to dream of a future with Jeong Minchae. There was no child involved. The biggest reason was that, given his personality, he wouldn’t be able to raise a child properly. The dangers of pregnancy and childbirth for a male omega were also a factor. He also wanted to completely block the possibility of Baek Jinseok taking the child away. He hadn’t had a proper conversation about this with Jeong Minchae yet.
And he was also convinced that Jeong Minchae would not want a child. After all, he had lived as an ordinary beta man until he manifested as an omega at the age of twenty-two, and had been forced into an arranged marriage to have an alpha boy.
Furthermore, they had fought over the issue of the child even when he last saw Jeong Minchae before the regression. At the time, he was filled with rage over the fact that Baek Yeongseop had taken the company from him. Upon receiving the test results confirming the pregnancy, he did not give the slightest thought to investigate the full circumstances. More importantly, he could not believe that he had become pregnant from just a single sexual encounter.
He poured out his accusations against Jeong Minchae and parted ways. That was the last time they met in their past life. It was a terrible memory. Just thinking about that day made him want to put a bullet in his own head.
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!