Chapter 30

He had experienced relatively decent dreams today, making him genuinely wonder why so many utterly repulsive things were happening in the waking world.

After spending hours entertaining the loathsome old politicians, they had suggested hitting the sauna. Yeon-oh had bluntly rejected the offer, stating he had absolutely zero interest in staring at the naked bodies of other Alphas. In truth, the very idea of sharing a sauna with those obese, wrinkled pigs made his skin crawl.

Furthermore, he absolutely refused to return to the room he shared with So Gi-hyeon reeking of the putrid mixture of cheap cigars and weed that wafted off the politicians’ government-supplied mistresses, so he had ordered his staff to prep a separate room for him to shower. Naturally, the moment he stepped out, clean and refreshed, he had been immediately dragged right back into the drinking sessions.

The most aggravating issue, however, was the inexplicable, boiling heat completely consuming his body today. Pinching a cigarette between his fingers, Yeon-oh lifted his Baccarat glass filled with Royal Salute. Smiling a devastatingly handsome smile, he vividly fantasized about taking a sledgehammer to the skulls of the whining old men who were demanding to play Hwatu instead of poker.

“Minister, fuck, you must really be head over heels for me. My bladder is about to explode; do you expect me to just piss right here?”

“Aigoo, we can’t have that. The second Director Jo drops his pants, this little one here is going to be drooling all over the place. I wouldn’t be able to go on living if my lover got stolen right out from under me.”

Then drop dead.

Thinking the response with profound apathy, Yeon-oh stared down at the Minister of Economy and Finance, who was currently aggressively kneading the chest of a male Omega. Yeon-oh brought the crystal glass to his lips, perfectly concealing his absolute disdain. He drained the liquor in one smooth motion until the ice clinked sharply against the glass, slammed it down onto the poker table, and firmly patted the Minister’s shoulder.

“Then don’t even think about following me. You’re really making me report my bathroom breaks in front of the Omegas now? Are you intentionally giving me a hard time like some lowly street vendor?”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. Go ahead, Director Jo.”

Even as he apologized, the Minister’s gaze was deeply, blatantly fixated on Yeon-oh’s heavy crotch. The rumors were true—in addition to his hobby of tearing into male Omegas, the man demanded sexual favors from the Alphas who brought him bribes, fully indulging his insatiable greed for the back hole as well. Suffering such blatant sexual harassment for the first time in a while was sickening enough to trigger a migraine, but Yeon-oh had no intention of acting like a hyper-sensitive teenager who had just suffered a wet dream by slapping the man and screaming about where he was looking. He simply turned and walked away.

Jo Yeon-oh’s grandfather actively delighted in forcing him to handle these filthy receptions personally. While his cousins threw tantrums over the lavish, buffet-style business deals their massive secretarial teams spoon-fed them, Yeon-oh was forced to run his own sales pitches in the trenches.

And specifically with the absolute filthiest, most corrupt bastards his grandfather meticulously handpicked.

—You must act as if you’ve crawled up from the absolute bottom without a single shred of my support, so those bastards will underestimate you and willingly expose their weaknesses. Collect their filthy secrets, piece by piece, like an autumn harvest, and use them exactly when you need leverage. Do you honestly think your grandfather would force you into such degrading work simply because he hates you? Do not feel resentful. Just close your eyes and swallow it, knowing the most effective medicine is always the most bitter.

His grandfather genuinely believed this psychological torture was the ultimate expression of familial love. With hundreds of millions of won shifting across the poker and Hwatu tables in a single night, the stench of rotting money never left Yeon-oh’s thumb and index finger. How any of this was supposed to be ‘good medicine’ was entirely beyond him.

Did the old man even realize his grandson was being treated like a male prostitute expected to service filthy back holes out in the field? Considering the old man possessed the cunning of a hundred-year-old fox, he probably knew exactly what was happening and intentionally threw Yeon-oh to the wolves anyway.

The absolute second he stepped out of the poker room, Yeon-oh mimed violently throwing up. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed a painfully familiar number. After a few rings, the call abruptly cut to the automated message stating the customer was unavailable.

“Our Gi-hyeon is fucking ignoring hyung’s call again.”

Yeon-oh immediately dialed a different number. This time, the recipient wasn’t So Gi-hyeon, but Manager Yoo. The secretary answered instantly.

[He went out around noon and returned from the beach around 3 PM. He has remained inside the suite ever since. I believe he is currently sleeping.]

“Did the ghost of a narcoleptic possess him or something?”

[He must have accumulated a great deal of fatigue over the week. I understand the clinic has been exceptionally busy lately.]

“I expect you to monitor the situation perfectly, Manager Yoo. I won’t stop you from double-reporting to the old man, but is it acceptable for me to be completely in the dark about how So Gi-hyeon is living?”

[It is nothing major. I was told he has simply been overwhelmed with patient evaluations.]

Manager Yoo responded smoothly, entirely unfazed, as if he had fully expected the interrogation. While the secretary didn’t sound like he was actively hiding a crisis, the seamless deflection confirmed Yeon-oh’s suspicion: every single detail regarding Gi-hyeon was being funneled directly to his grandfather.

—It’s a relief he isn’t an Omega… I absolutely refuse to watch you cause a massive scandal over a Beta the way your father did, but at least I don’t have to worry about the bastard getting knocked up.

What had Yeon-oh said to the old man back then?

—Old man, cut the bullshit. Go fondle your dead son’s balls to your heart’s content and stop trying to dip your filthy toes into my life. The stench of your rotting greed is completely destroying my nostrils. Wow, fuck, I really can’t deal with this shit anymore.

It had been something along those deeply disrespectful lines. It was certainly the kind of statement that justified a grandfather rising from his seat to strike his grandson across the face. Taking the hit without dodging had been Yeon-oh’s own twisted version of filial piety.

“Tell Lee Beom-hee to stop accepting so many goddamn patients. Why does it feel like Dr. So is the only one actually working in that clinic?”

[Understood.]

Even with the direct order, Director Lee Beom-hee—who absolutely refused to listen to her primary investor—would undoubtedly pack the clinic to the brim with patients again. Whether it was the old man or his friends, not a single bastard in Yeon-oh’s life ever behaved exactly how he wanted.

Spotting a familiar face down the corridor, Yeon-oh abruptly ended the call.

“Yeon-oh.”

It was Jo Yeon-shin, Yeon-oh’s older cousin and a Director at Haeseong Chemical. Yeon-oh offered a sharp, brilliant smile.

“Why are you pretending we’re close?”

“Why must you always speak so harshly?”

Yeon-shin laughed softly, feigning distress. Fucking bullshit. Yeon-oh didn’t drop the aggressive smile from his face. Standing next to Yeon-shin was a Beta he had never seen before. The man was glancing at Yeon-oh with thinly veiled interest. Seeing the pathetic opportunist sizing him up, hoping to scavenge some leftover scraps, made Yeon-oh want to laugh out loud.

“Grandfather bought me a membership, so I plan on frequenting this place starting this year.”

“Yes, of course. Imagine how thrilled the old man will be when he finds out you brought a male whore directly to your room.”

At the insult, the Beta’s face instantly burned a violently humiliated red. Yeon-shin shook his head with a gentle, reprimanding smile.

“It’s nothing like that. This man is simply a friend.”

“Right. You two must be incredibly close friends if you’re willing to open your back hole for him.”

Bored of the interaction, Yeon-oh turned his phone screen back on and opened a familiar app. It was the mobile RPG So Gi-hyeon constantly complained about being too difficult to level up in, leading Yeon-oh to clear his quests for him whenever he had a spare moment. The moment the text ‘Welcome, Sokhyeon’ popped onto the screen, a loud, cheerful chime echoed through the tense hallway.

The gentle smile instantly vanished from Jo Yeon-shin’s face. Ignoring his cousin’s hardened expression, Yeon-oh casually blocked the entrance to the poker room with the toe of his dress shoe.

“I have no idea what scraps you’re hoping to scavenge here, but the old man explicitly assigned this job to me, so stop interfering and go back to your room. I’m warning you out of the goodness of my heart as your younger cousin. If this deal shatters because of you, do you honestly think you can handle the old man’s temper?”

“…”

“I warned you. Don’t broadcast your pathetic IQ, and just go upstairs. Before the old man decides to practice his birdies by aggressively smashing your skull instead of a golf ball.”

With that final threat, Yeon-oh turned his back and stepped into the poker room. The Minister of Economy and Finance immediately lit up, whining about what took him so long. Firing back an irritated complaint about being severely micromanaged during his bathroom breaks, Yeon-oh took his seat as the Minister eagerly brought out the Hwatu cards.

Outside the resort, the dark, heavy curtain of night was finally beginning to fall.

***

[END of VOLUME 1]