Chapter 41

His mood.

Was absolutely fucking garbage.

“…So what you’re telling me is, I slept with some random Omega, but Manager Yoo has no idea who it is, the hallway CCTV has no idea who it is, and the only person on earth who actually knows is that specific Omega.”

Manager Yoo wore an expression of profound failure. Letting out a heavy sigh, Jo Yeon-oh covered his face with both hands, rubbing his features dryly.

From the moment he left So Gi-hyeon’s apartment until he clocked into work today—when he had issued the direct order to find out exactly who that fucking Omega was—Jo Yeon-oh had genuinely believed that Manager Yoo, acting as his grandfather’s loyal dog and a highly competent secretary, would absolutely drag that Omega back to him.

But the CCTV footage was completely missing. It honestly made him wonder if someone else had intentionally shoved an Omega into his room and wiped the security servers themselves. Slowly tracing his lips and jawline with his index and middle fingers, Jo Yeon-oh finally asked.

“…What are the chances Jo Yeon-shin intervened?”

“Since Director Jo Yeon-shin most likely orchestrated the rut-inducer, it is highly probable he prepared the Omega as well. …However, the issue is that Director Jo’s faction also appears to have absolutely no idea regarding the Omega’s whereabouts.”

Manager Yoo’s deduction was solid. If Jo Yeon-shin actually knew anything about the Omega, there was zero chance he would be sitting this quietly. He would have sprinted straight to the grandfather, panting like a dog in heat, to gleefully tattle that Jo Yeon-oh had gone all the way down to Namhae just to fuck around instead of doing his actual job.

Perhaps due to the legacy of Jo Yeon-oh’s father, Jo Seong-heon, the grandfather harbored a visceral hatred for his grandchildren playing around promiscuously. Furthermore, as the eldest grandson and primary heir, Jo Yeon-oh was subjected to an infinitely more brutal and draconian standard.

Jo Yeon-oh frequently complained openly to Manager Yoo about it, arguing that since they were all cut from the same garbage cloth, he had no idea why the old man only held a knife to his throat.

But ultimately, that strictness was the heavy price of the grandfather’s expectations. If Jo Yeon-oh simply kept his head down and diligently managed the finances at Naban Gallery for the next year or two, he would effortlessly swallow Haeseong whole. The path might be a little treacherous right now, but if he just endured a few more seasons, Haeseong would inevitably become his.

Therefore, for Jo Yeon-shin—the weaponless son of the second son—that was the only possible vulnerability left to attack. It was blindingly obvious he had used the rut-inducer to force Jo Yeon-oh into heat, shoved an Omega into the room to snap incriminating photos, and planned to run straight to the grandfather to show him the damning evidence.

If things had actually played out that way, there was absolutely no way it would be this quiet. The simple fact that Manager Yoo was still stationed right by Jo Yeon-oh’s side was proof enough that Jo Gyu-deok knew absolutely nothing. If the grandfather had caught even a whiff of the scandal, he was absolutely not the type of man to let it slide. He would have raised absolute hell, threatening to strip Yeon-oh of Naban Gallery immediately.

“We still have that Omega’s DNA sample. Keep it secure, since we have no idea how this might play out.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Manager Yoo offered a sharp, curt nod.

Despite the clean, professional response, it left a bitter taste in Yeon-oh’s mouth. He couldn’t shake the overpowering sensation that he was missing something massive.

However, since there was absolutely nothing he could do right now, he dismissed Manager Yoo. Left alone in the massive Director’s office, Jo Yeon-oh stared intently at the metronome-motif art piece sitting on his desk and let out a heavy sigh.

He had definitely slept with someone. Mistaking them for So Gi-hyeon…

“…Fuck.”

The curse tore from his throat. The blood completely drained from his face, leaving him deathly pale. Yanking the trash can from beneath his desk, he urgently bent over.

Despite violently dry-heaving, absolutely nothing came up, but the sheer pressure in his skull spiked, leaving his eyes bloodshot and terrifyingly red. Straightening his back, he slumped heavily into his executive chair and mindlessly tapped the screen of his phone.

Truthfully, he felt like he was losing his mind. He had even seriously considered ordering Manager Yoo to contact the Urology Department at Haeseong Hospital to book a surgery to cut his own dick off. He had only managed to suppress that psychotic impulse after downing a heavy dose of tranquilizers, but Jo Yeon-oh was currently in an absolutely foul mood, having been violently blindsided by the exact desires and lusts he had flawlessly suppressed for years.

“…”

So Gi-hyeon clearly knew absolutely nothing. There was no way Manager Yoo would have shown any signs, and while Gi-hyeon might have looked at him a little strangely over the past few days, Alphas in a rut were fundamentally unhinged to begin with.

Since Yeon-oh had never once shown Gi-hyeon any signs of being in heat before, Gi-hyeon likely just assumed a natural rut made Jo Yeon-oh that inherently unstable.

Yesterday, when he abruptly regained consciousness in Gi-hyeon’s apartment and started cooking dinner, Jo Yeon-oh had genuinely believed there was no way in hell he had slept with someone else. His brain, completely scrambled by the violent collision of Alpha aphrodisiacs and heavy suppressants, had simply dismissed the events of that night as a bizarre fever dream. Yeon-oh hadn’t felt any pressing need to dig deeper into it, either.

Ever since he began dating So Gi-hyeon, those specific urges had drastically decreased. And even when his rut cycle did hit, he relied on custom-formulated suppressants engineered specifically for his unique biology by the absolute best researchers in the field. The medication was so incredibly effective there was absolutely zero chance he would ever lose control and snatch the wrist of some cheap Omega passing in a hotel hallway.

But that night, Jo Yeon-oh had clearly seen it in his dream. The partner crying and begging beneath him, screaming that they hated it. While the partner had worn So Gi-hyeon’s face, it was fundamentally different from the dreams he usually had. The physical sensations had been terrifyingly real. The searing body heat, the agonizingly tight, slippery heat of the insides swallowing him whole, every single visceral spike of pleasure…

In short, he had undeniably fucked someone, mistaking them entirely for So Gi-hyeon, and then completely blacked it out of his memory. The very moment he reached that horrifying conclusion…

“Ugh—!”

Another violent wave of nausea hit him. This time, his spasming stomach must have actually struck his diaphragm, sending a sharp, blinding pain shooting under his ribs.

Knowing nothing was going to come up anyway, he staggered to his feet, walked over to the mini-fridge tucked into the corner of the office, and yanked out a bottle of water.

Twisting the cap off so violently it cracked, he chugged the entire bottle in seconds. Just then, the phone on his desk buzzed. Letting out a low sigh, Jo Yeon-oh trudged back to his desk and checked the caller ID.

“…”

<Arsenal-loving Dev>

—”Don’t come over today. I’m exhausted and just want to rest by myself.” 7:48 PM

He honestly didn’t know whether he should consider this good news or not… Scowling deeply, Jo Yeon-oh shoved the phone into the pocket of his suit pants.

…Either way, he wouldn’t be able to see So Gi-hyeon for a while. He needed to track down that fucking Omega, figure out exactly what the hell happened, and completely resolve the situation before he could ever face Gi-hyeon again.

Grabbing his suit jacket, he marched out of the Director’s office. Right before he left, a man with violently bloodshot eyes and a jaw clenched so hard the masseter muscles bulged aggressively stared back at him from the reflection in the glass cabinet.

“…You resemble him, alright. You look exactly like that son of a bitch. Just drop dead, you pathetic bastard.”

Jo Yeon-oh sneered at the man trapped inside the glass.

And then, he walked straight out of the office. Without looking back even once.

***