MW 3

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“Are you done?”

“Yes…”

“Right, you’ve worked hard. But you know well this isn’t just for us, don’t you? Don’t forget that you’ve been able to live in comfort and luxury until now on that condition.”

“Yes. I know.”

After spitting out her words in a sharp voice, Mrs. Lee glanced at Yijae, whose face was pale from the difficult and painful procedure, then turned her head away indifferently, as if it didn’t matter to her.

“Alright then. Don’t wander around needlessly and go straight home.”

She was the one who would anxiously and strictly monitor even Yijae’s outings whenever Dohae’s pheromone fluid levels decreased. But as soon as Dohae’s pheromone transfusion was over, she got into the waiting car without a second glance at Yijae, as if her business with him was finished.

Vroom.

Left alone, Yijae watched the back of the car Mrs. Lee had taken disappear with a cloud of white exhaust, blinking with a blank expression. The sight of being discarded once his usefulness was over was a familiar one, an act that had been repeated for years. But he himself didn’t know why his chest stung like this every time.

Although he had rested for a short while at the hospital, his head was still dizzy and his body felt heavy. Yijae barely managed to drag his body to a nearby bus stop.

In the middle of a winter with a cold wave advisory, Yijae, without even a warm coat and with a large piece of gauze on the nape of his neck, looked extremely weary. People stole glances at him.

The sickly beauty with a pallid complexion was like an orchid blooming in midwinter.

As he panted, letting out hot breaths as if in discomfort, people’s gazes gradually converged on him. A few of them even positioned their feet towards Yijae, ready to catch him in their arms if he were to collapse.

“Haa…”

But contrary to their wishes, Yijae, having regained some of his senses in the cold air, saw a bus approaching the stop and took out a crumpled thousand-won bill and some coins from his pocket. After carefully collecting his change, Yijae sat in an empty seat and gently leaned his head against the window. His breath fogged the glass, drawing a circle that repeatedly appeared and vanished.

Just then, the name of a familiar university came into his view. At the same time, the same name was announced through the bus’s speaker. Hearing it, Yijae unknowingly pressed the stop button. Soon, the bus stopped, and surprised by the gazes directed at him, he hurriedly got off.

‘Haa. What was I thinking, getting off here…’

No matter how out of it he was, he had acted too impulsively. A wave of regret washed over Yijae as he stood alone at the empty bus stop.

Amidst those feelings, hesitation squeezed its way in. A thought began to creep up from the depths of his heart, suggesting that a brief look around would be okay since he was already here.

Nibbling his lip, he was engulfed in contemplation, well aware that his heart’s desire was greed. But he didn’t know when he would have such an opportunity again, and he wanted to see the university he would be attending.

‘Right… Just for an hour.’

Having made a decision after much thought, Yijae started walking towards the university. Perhaps because it was vacation, the path to the university was quiet. The university town was nearly empty with few students, but Yijae’s heart pounded faintly as he imagined himself walking this path to attend classes in the future.

Walking endlessly, following the university signs, Yijae stopped in his tracks when he saw the tightly shut main gate. It was as if it was telling him he had no right to enter.

Even though he hadn’t planned on going inside in the first place, the sight of it made his breath catch in his throat. Just as Dohae said, he was an idiot who didn’t know his place.

Yijae’s shoulders slumped, and he turned around, afraid someone might see him like this. It was then, as he took a hasty step to flee. Walking forward with his eyes closed, Yijae’s face collided with someone’s chest.

“Ah. S-sorry…”

Startled, Yijae hurriedly lifted his head, only to freeze on the spot at the sight of a man with glistening eyes looking down at him.

“I smelled something fucking good and followed it, and it was you?”

⁺₊❆₊⋆

Shit.

Dohae twisted his lips as he felt the pheromone fluid being forcibly injected into his body. The sensation of what was in Seo Yijae’s body entering his own was like an insect crawling inside him, making him feel nauseous. Every time he came to the hospital once a month to do this, he felt like he was being miserably thrown to the bottom. Especially the fact that he had to prolong his omega lifespan with that bastard’s pheromone fluid was the most disgusting and annoying thing.

Who the hell was that bastard! The fact that Seo Yijae was a dominant was because that bastard had stolen what was originally his. A leech-like bastard. Every time Dohae thought about sharing the same bloodline as Seo Yijae, he ground his teeth. Just looking at that fucking face made curses spill out of him automatically.

“Fucking dog.”

His biological parents who abandoned him and chose Seo Yijae. His adoptive parents who fought for a long time, saying they were deceived and should have brought Yijae. And Seo Yijae, who, unlike him who had manifested as a recessive omega, had manifested as a dominant omega and stolen everyone’s attention. He hated him so much he wanted to rip them all to shreds and kill them. A metallic taste of blood came from his lips, which he had been senselessly tormenting. Dohae’s brow furrowed, and he spat, ptui, recalling a very old memory.

<What do you mean the child was switched?>

<It’s strange that he’s a recessive omega when he was supposed to be a dominant! I had someone look into it, and those parents took the dominant son for themselves and had us adopt the recessive one!>

Late at night, Dohae, who was going down the stairs thirsty, stopped in his tracks at the sound of his parents arguing coming from the master bedroom. Dohae, who had recently become more sensitive after being diagnosed as a recessive omega, held his breath at the word ‘recessive’ and listened to their conversation.

<What? You, what have you been doing all this time without even figuring that out properly! If we had known sooner, we could have brought the dominant child back!>

<Why is that my fault? You also said we should wait and see!>

<Still, you should have checked properly. Are you and I, who work outside, the same?>

<Then what should we do! We can’t bring that child here now!>

Adoption? And what was this ‘that child’ about? After listening to the conversation for a while, Dohae began to feel anxious and chewed on his fingernails.

<The engagement talks with the Kangmyeong Group are just starting to happen, what are we going to do about this! Have you met that child?>

<Only in photos and documents. The child named Seo Yijae is definitely a dominant. From the photo, his face looks exactly like Dohae’s. If we switch him and Dohae now…>

<Is the eldest son of the Kangmyeong Group a fool? Do you think he wouldn’t recognize a child he has met not once, but several times?>

The more he listened to their conversation, the colder Dohae’s face became. His always strict father. His mother, who looked displeased every time she saw him craving love. If the reason for that was because he wasn’t their child…

<Ha.>

A bitter smile formed on Dohae’s lips. He slowly wiped his face. From his parents’ conversation, it seemed he was an adopted child. A twin, switched with their chosen child at that. Moreover, that bastard named Yijae was an omega born with the dominant trait he didn’t have.

An indefinable shame and anger surged up, and Dohae clenched his fists. And at that moment, the words that came from his father’s mouth made Dohae’s eyes flash.

<It’s written in the will that it must be an omega who has inherited the blood of the Gu family and an alpha who has inherited the blood of the Kang family. The important thing is, whether it’s that child or Dohae, if the fact that they are not of our family’s bloodline is revealed, we’re finished.>

A will… That must have meant the will left by the founder of the Kangmyeong Group, who was a very old friend of his grandfather. It was to fulfill that promise that his engagement with the alpha eldest son of the Kangmyeong Group was proceeding.

To think there was such a weakness in the will. Pfft. A laugh escaped Dohae unknowingly. Was the heavens helping him? The sound of his self-deprecating laughter grew louder.

Chairman Gu, sensing a presence outside, flung the door open.

<You…>

Chairman Gu’s face contorted upon discovering Dohae. Next to him, the flustered Mrs. Lee flinched when her eyes met Dohae’s.

<Were you eavesdropping on us just now?>

It was Chairman Gu who spoke first. Rubbing his eyebrows as if troubled, he puffed out his chest, intending to question Dohae about how much he had heard.

<Father. If you were going to abandon me, you should have been a little smarter about it.>

<What? Where did you get the nerve to…>

<An omega who has inherited the blood of the Gu family.>

At the words that came from Dohae’s mouth, Chairman Gu’s face turned as white as if he had seen a ghost. Dohae looked up at his stiffly frozen father, smirked, and opened his mouth.

<That would be the same even if you brought another child, wouldn’t it?>

<…>

<Can I tell Kang Jaeha about this?>

The Kangmyeong Group wanted to break off this engagement somehow. That’s why they hadn’t even held a proper engagement ceremony for over 20 years. So now, if this fact were to be revealed, everything would surely go up in smoke.

Dohae, noticing Chairman Gu’s eyes waver as if they would crumble, was convinced that this was their weakness.

<Father, Mother, and I are already in the same boat. I believe the two of you, being so greedy, will think carefully.>

With their weakness in his grasp, Dohae had no intention of backing down.

Dohae recalled the words ‘pheromone gland transplant’ he had heard from his doctor a few days ago, and with confident steps, he sat down at the table.

<Well then, shall we discuss how to resolve this matter from now on?>

Dohae’s eyes, as he looked at the two of them with his head held high, shone coldly in the darkness.

⁺₊❆₊⋆

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking brought Dohae back to his senses. He straightened his disheveled clothes and said, “Come in.”

“Are you feeling alright?”

Dr. Yang, Dohae’s personal physician, asked as he checked his vital signs and today’s examination results. Dohae, with a bored expression as if it was always the same, sat crookedly in the chair and fixed his gaze on his phone screen.

“It’s just that the results from the test we did last time are out.”

At those words, Dohae whipped his head towards Dr. Yang.

“What are the results?”

“The Chairman and his wife…”

Dohae glared at the hesitating Dr. Yang, then reached out and snatched the documents he was holding. Swish, swish. Flipping through the stack of papers, his eyes fell on the numbers written in the last paragraph, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

“The pheromone compatibility between A and B is 92.33%. That means a transplant is possible, right?”