TRIPLE 13

On the night Siyeon was agonizing over the contract, Beom Yisu was also busy handling a backlog of work. After finishing an unscheduled visit to Nagwon-dong and completing a series of back-to-back external meetings, he arrived in front of his house, only for the sound of shoe heels to follow closely behind him.

“CEO!”

Turning around, his dedicated secretary, who had been waiting nearby, was holding a thin envelope to his chest. It was quite late, and he must have come here in person because the matter was that urgent. As expected, the secretary, who had chased him all the way to the front gate, continued speaking without even catching his breath.

“I know you are busy, but you must check this matter right away.”

Because he had received the content over the phone, Beom Yisu asked back as if he had already guessed why he had visited.

“Is it about the breach of trust case regarding Managing Director Song?”

“Yes. It seems that a portion of the shares held by Managing Director Song’s side has been transferred to Director Yoon’s side.”

Since Beom-yeong was such a massive conglomerate, they had been passing down management through various subsidiaries. Among them, Beom Yisu, the direct grandson of the current Beom-yeong Group chairman, held dual positions as the CEO Director of the medical foundation and the semiconductor division, which was the core axis of the company.

Because the main subsidiary had reached a path of stability, the industry discussed as the next CEO position was the construction company. This was one of the primary culprits causing him headaches lately, along with the Omega, Hong Siyeon.

“What is Director Yoon’s current stake?”

“It is still under 10%… but if it continues like this, there is a high possibility that a counterforce will be formed.”

“He’s being a nuisance.”

Beom Yisu, whose brows furrowed at the unwelcome news, entered the fortress-like front gate along with his secretary.

Director Yoon, who was currently wielding the now-vacant CEO position to his liking and held a massive amount of construction company shares—in short, Director Yoon Seok-won, who was recently competing with Beom Yisu for the position of the next group CEO, was one of his direct family members.

To be precise, he could be defined as Beom Yisu’s uncle. As for why they were direct family but had different surnames, there was a deep story behind that as well. More importantly, it was that Director Yoon was constantly eyeing Beom Yisu’s position.

“Director Yoon’s movements lately are not normal. I think it would be good to be prepared.”

It was a dangerous report, suggesting that he seemed to be leaking even Beom Yisu’s private matters to shareholders, perhaps with the intention of causing trouble. At the secretary’s whispered words, Beom Yisu’s gaze sank. If it was a private matter, there could only be one.

Omega pheromone rejection syndrome. A fatal defect for an Alpha—a damned constitution that rejects Omegas.

The moment his flaw was exposed publicly, it wouldn’t just be a simple weakness; it would become a ‘defect.’ In other words, it would act as a fatal flaw in the conservative management succession disputes dominated by Alphas. If he didn’t solidify his succession plan in advance, that weakness would eventually return as a blade.

That was why he couldn’t delay it any longer. He had to form a peaceful family as if it were painted, obtain formal stability, and paint a complete picture to show to the outside world as soon as possible. Since he had already secured strategic shares through a strategic marriage, all that was left now was the succession issue. Unlike his complex thoughts, Beom Yisu accepted the envelope and spoke nonchalantly.

“Then I should clean it up before it gets any later. Let’s go inside and hear the details of the breach of trust case first.”

He could let other things slide, but he could not hand over the construction company CEO position. Stopping in front of the door, he loosened his tie, which felt strangely stifling.

As Beom Yisu opened the front door while lost in thought, an unexpected voice was heard from inside.

“You’re home? You’re late getting off work today.”

On the floor, a half-open suitcase and a few roughly tossed shirts were scattered about in a mess. Following the strewn clothing into the house, I could see Chae Yoonoh sitting obliquely on the sofa, waving his hand nonchalantly.

What on earth is this situation? Although they were legally a married couple, Chae Yoonoh lived in a house he had obtained in the city separately due to his busy entertainment industry schedule. Of course, even during his break periods, the number of times he showed his face at their newlyweds’ home could be counted on one hand. He would stay for a while out of necessity and leave once his business was done.

So, no one had expected that Chae Yoonoh would be here in the middle of this night. As Beom Yisu stood frozen with a stiff face, Chae Yoonoh’s gaze naturally flowed to the secretary.

“Oh? Secretary Han is here too. Have you been doing well?”

Leaving people flustered as if nothing had happened. As Chae Yoonoh spoke with a relaxed smile, the secretary’s shoulders stiffened noticeably. The secretary gave a slightly awkward smile and accepted the greeting.

“Young Master. It’s been a while.”

“Aiy, our Secretary Han is being formal again. I told you, you can call me comfortably.”

“Haha, how could I to the CEO’s spouse….”

“What’s it to you? It’s not like I’m your boss. Right, hyung?”

Chae Yoonoh spoke toward Beom Yisu, who had already taken off his coat. However, instead of answering that, Beom Yisu asked a more primal question.

“What brings you here.”

“Do I need a specific reason to come? It’s my house, too.”

“Stop talking nonsense. If you have something to do, deal with it quietly and leave quickly. I still have things left to do with Secretary Han.”

It was a reply that was effectively a request to leave. It was closer to the coldness of treating an uninvited visitor than an attitude toward welcoming family. Chae Yoonoh seemed unfazed as if he were used to it, but the secretary, caught between the couple, clutched the envelope tighter with a troubled expression.

“Still, we’re a married couple in name, so that’s hurtful. What on earth are you two going to do alone in the middle of the night with the secretary?”

“Since when were you so interested in company work?”

“I’m not talking about company work right now. Don’t bring outside men into our newlyweds’ home.”

“Keep the bullsh*t to a limit. There’s a limit to how much I’ll tolerate.”

As expected, Chae Yoonoh openly went after the secretary. It was just a high-level hint for him to leave on his own, but the secretary, who had no way of knowing that fact, let out an awkward laugh. Hadn’t he become a foreign substance causing friction between the newlyweds in an instant?

Although the Director Yoon matter was an important issue, he had absolutely no desire to be stuck between his boss and his spouse.

“CEO! The summary is on the first page, and the detailed data is bound separately. I will process it after you check it and give me instructions.”

The secretary also knew the fact that the two had married because of a strategic alliance, but the detailed inner circumstances might be different. Who knows, even if both were Alphas, they might have hit it off.

Was it the judgment that staying longer would get him caught up in an unnecessary atmosphere? The secretary put the documents down and quietly retreated.

Though he was loyal enough to come running in the middle of the night, he had no obligation to deal with the strange atmosphere occurring in the master’s private space.

“Then I will be leaving now.”

“Bye-bye— take care on your way, Secretary.”

Tap.

Even the sound of the door closing was cautious. Only the two of them remained in the living room. Beom Yisu narrowed his brows while holding the documents.

“What kind of scheme is this again?”

“I felt sorry for him. He’s struggling until this hour under a villainous boss. I helped him escape—I’m his benefactor. I’m sure the secretary is grateful to me, too?”

I knew well about Chae Yoonoh’s selfish personality, but as the situation was the situation, he looked particularly pathetic today for giving such a trivial excuse.

Beom Yisu glared with fiery eyes, but Chae Yoonoh didn’t care and opened his mouth again.

“Actually, I heard an interesting rumor. So I stopped by to check.”

The excuse that he came to pack for overseas shooting preparations was just a surface reason. There was a separate reason he had gone to the trouble of coming to this house and waiting for Beom Yisu.

Nagwon-dong.

Hong Siyeon.

That Omega whose matching rate with Beom Yisu is 100%.

“Hyung, you finally found him, right?”

“You came already knowing everything. Why do you ask again?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? If it’s a surrogate mother issue, it’s our matter.”

As the blunt response fell, Chae Yoonoh rose from his half-slumped position. At Chae Yoonoh’s words, which hit the bullseye, Beom Yisu’s pupils subtly wavered.

“Nothing is confirmed yet. Since it’s an undecided matter, I simply reduced the spread of unnecessary information.”

“Unnecessary?”

With the short counter-question, the corners of Chae Yoonoh’s mouth slowly curved.

“If you’re thinking of making a child behind my back, that’s a bit unfair. It would go into my family register anyway.”

Since they were legally a married couple, if they proceeded with childbirth through a surrogate, the child would be the couple’s offspring in the records.

Therefore, it meant that even if Beom Yisu unilaterally wanted a child, he could not register a child born through a surrogate as his adopted child without Chae Yoonoh’s consent. If he insisted on proceeding despite the opposition, that child would become an illegitimate child. Or, he would have to proceed with a divorce from Chae Yoonoh.

However, a divorce from Chae Yoonoh carried a large risk for Beom Yisu at present. Since there were several projects that had grown rapidly with the help of the Chae-seong Group, he had to maintain their current relationship as much as possible.

Of course, Chae Yoonoh would feel the same about not wanting to break this marriage, so it was a situation where they had to find an appropriate point of agreement.

“What I proposed to that side is to give birth to a child that will be registered in the Alpha couple’s family register.”

“Then what will you do if I say I dislike that Omega?”

“You shouldn’t be unaware that the matching rate figure takes precedence over your consent regarding succession. Besides, you said you liked that Omega, too. Is there any separate reason to oppose it?”

There were already plenty of things giving him a headache, and with Chae Yoonoh grating on his nerves as well, Beom Yisu’s expression crumpled violently. However, when he brought up the succession-related matters written during the strategic marriage, Chae Yoonoh also didn’t back down and continued to assert his argument.

“I like him, that’s why it bothers me a bit to use him in that way.”

“In that way?”

“Aren’t you planning to just use that Omega for the purpose of giving birth and then dump him?”