Chapter 14

“Enjoying newlywed life, brother?”

“Watch your mouth.”

Jaeha’s brow tightened with glacial displeasure.

The warning only drew a shrill, grating cackle from Jaeho.

Needling a superior about his private life during an official transfer of corporate duties was already wildly inappropriate. Openly mocking an Alpha’s spouse bordered on suicidal. Even so, Jaeha could not summon any genuine anger. He merely looked at his younger half-brother and felt an overwhelming surge of exhausted pity.

Jaeho was little more than a glorified thug wrapped in bespoke suits, a shameless man who seemed to live for manufacturing pointless corporate drama. Since Jaeha had systematically withdrawn from Yooshin Group’s daily management, all he could do was pray the idiot would not drive the entire conglomerate into the ground.

Jaeha felt no love whatsoever for his blood relatives, but his loyalty to the empire itself ran bone-deep.

Yooshin Group had been built upon the colossal block of shares his maternal grandfather had bestowed as a dowry when Jaeha’s mother married Lee Ik-hyeong.

Frail, high-strung, and chronically ill, his mother had loved Jaeha in her own fractured way. On the rare days when her health permitted it, they spent quiet hours reading together in the sunroom or touring private art exhibitions. Whenever her illness flared, however, her affection soured into razor-edged irritation, and she would banish him from her sight.

Jaeha had learned young to orbit her from a safe distance, retreating at the first sign of pain so he could preserve the illusion that she was healthy, loving, and whole.

He possessed no soaring, cinematic memories of childhood happiness, but neither had he lived in constant misery. Within Jaeha’s emotionally starved world, that sterile and carefully conditioned distance was the closest thing to warmth he had ever known.

It had been a pathetic, lukewarm kind of love, like water once boiled and then abandoned for days, yet it had been enough to satisfy him.

In a society overflowing with poisonous parents who left their children nothing but debt and trauma, Jaeha had at least inherited a colossal financial empire. Protecting the foundational dowry his mother had left behind was his final duty to her ghost. He refused to let the company decay.

Jaeho, naturally, held no such reverence. Poisoned from birth by Kim Ranhee’s venomous whispers, the bastard son seemed to exist solely to defile the memory of Jaeha’s mother.

The irony was that the late matriarch had never once gone out of her way to torment either of them. She had simply wielded the formidable influence of her maiden family to prevent her husband from installing his mistress and illegitimate child inside the main estate.

That defensive maneuver had been carried out entirely for Jaeha’s protection.

Shielded by aristocratic indifference, she had not shed a single tear over Lee Ik-hyeong’s infidelity. Her only concern had been protecting her legitimate heir from the parasitic burden of a half-sibling.

Jaeha still remembered the day she openly criticized his father. She had not sounded like a betrayed wife seething with heartbreak, but like a CEO conducting a sterile assessment of an incompetent manager who had recklessly impregnated an Omega. There had been no passion in her reprimand, only the clinical judgment of a catastrophic blunder.

Paradoxically, Ik-hyeong had been the one unable to endure that emotional void. The chairman had genuinely and desperately loved Jaeha’s mother. Faced with her absolute apathy, his unrequited devotion had curdled into a poisonous, attention-seeking rebellion, driving him to behave like a neglected child throwing tantrums in hopes of forcing a reaction.

It was a pathetic psychological complex. Unfortunately, when the man throwing the tantrum controlled one of the largest conglomerates in the country, his idiotic affairs carried consequences worth billions.

—“…for the distinguished guests who have joined us in celebrating this monumental milestone…”

The emcee’s amplified voice rolled through the cavernous hotel banquet hall, dissolving into a monotonous corporate drone.

Abruptly pulled back into the present, Jaeha suppressed a heavy sigh. He scrolled numbly through the itinerary on his tablet, reviewing the seemingly endless roster of political and business figures he was expected to memorize.

It was a tedious and hollow ritual, but the founding family could not afford even a single public misstep.

At the grand dais, the head of planning for Yooshin Pharmaceutical spoke into the microphone. Today’s event marked a major corporate milestone: a commemorative ceremony celebrating YS Bio Boomer’s successful acquisition of Mehudin, a leading diagnostic reagents company. Although the pharmaceutical division operated independently under its own CEO, the presence of Lee Jaeha, the legitimate heir, remained indispensable.

Under ordinary circumstances, Jaeha would have presided over the VIP table alone. Today, however, he had dragged Jaeho along for the sole purpose of publicly facilitating the transfer of his executive responsibilities. Predictably, the bastard had done nothing but spew arrogant nonsense from the moment they crossed the threshold.

Jaeha fixed a glacial stare on his half-brother, who was scrolling through his phone with complete disregard for the ceremony, then lifted his crystal goblet and took a slow, punishing sip of ice water.

As the official program finally limped toward its conclusion, preparations began for the enormous double doors to open onto the lavish networking banquet. Jaeha wanted no part of it. A strange and oppressive fatigue had settled deep inside his bones, weighing down every limb.

In the past, his obsessive sense of duty would have kept him chained to his seat until the final guest departed. Now, with his formal resignation looming, his tolerance for the suffocating theater of corporate civility had evaporated.

Deciding that the idiot savant beside him was perfectly capable of enduring a few mindless handshakes, Jaeha snapped his fingers and summoned his secretary.

“I’m returning to the estate.” His voice remained low and clipped. “Manager Lim, you’re dismissed for the day as well. I’ll drive myself.”

“Executive Director, but…” Manager Lim Yujin blinked, and her professional composure slipped for the briefest moment.

The famously rigid heir abandoning a major event early and dismissing his chauffeur was utterly unprecedented. Jaeha ignored her obvious shock and extended an open palm. Defeated, she reluctantly placed the heavy key fob into his hand.

The instant he pushed back his chair, the Managing Director of the pharmaceutical division intercepted him.

“Executive Director Lee Jaeha, words cannot express how grateful we are for your attendance today.”

“Good afternoon, Managing Director Park.” Jaeha cut in smoothly before the older man could trap him in a tedious exchange. He then seized Jaeho by the shoulder and physically shoved the younger Alpha into the executive’s path. “Associate Director Lee Jaeho, what are you doing? Pay your respects.”

Caught completely unprepared, Jaeho stumbled forward and found himself trapped in a mandatory bow just as he had been preparing to make his way toward the catering hall. Taking full advantage of his brother’s momentary paralysis, Jaeha disappeared into the crowd and left the venue altogether.

The conglomerate was no longer his kingdom. He did not give a damn who schmoozed with whom.

Jaeha strode into the sprawling hotel lobby, then stopped dead.

Huh?

He blinked hard, convinced that exhaustion had finally begun distorting his vision. It was the middle of a weekday afternoon, and Yooshin Group had effectively commandeered the entire floor for the event. The grand lobby was therefore deserted, and the sheer emptiness of the marble expanse made it impossible to overlook the towering figure standing near the entrance.

In truth, Jang Taegeon would have eclipsed a crowd of thousands. The Alpha stood a full head taller than the average executive, radiating casual violence with his suit jacket draped loosely over his broad shoulders instead of worn through the sleeves.

Genuine surprise sparked inside Jaeha’s chest. He took an unconscious step forward, ready to call out, but his dress shoes abruptly locked against the marble.

Jang Taegeon was not alone.

A slender and delicate-looking man, unmistakably an Omega, stood intimately close beside Jaeha’s husband.

Who…?

A jagged spike of territorial instinct tore through Jaeha’s chest. Since the face was unfamiliar, logic suggested the stranger might simply be a low-ranking subordinate within the Janghan syndicate. Yet the man’s soft, yielding posture suggested something far more intimate.

Jaeha swallowed the acrid bitterness rising in his throat and pivoted sharply toward the side exit. He had already cultivated enough frozen hostility within their marriage, much of it engineered by the late Chairman Jang Changsik’s cold machinations. Confronting his husband over some beautiful Omega in the middle of a hotel lobby would invite nothing but further humiliation.

It was safer to withdraw and allow his heart to ache in private.

Such was the bleak and familiar cost of loving Jang Taegeon.

“If you see your wife, the least you can do is acknowledge him. Why are you running away?”

Taegeon’s deep, gravelly voice resonated across the polished marble.

Jaeha’s shoe hovered inches above the floor before he slowly lowered it. Wife? He was legally married, certainly, but hearing such an intimate, domestic term emerge from Taegeon’s ruthless mouth felt profoundly unreal. Turning around, Jaeha met the dark and unwavering gaze of the very man he had been trying so desperately to avoid.

“…Director Jang?”

“Word is Yooshin threw one hell of a party today.”

Taegeon discarded the formal title entirely, the words leaving his mouth in an easy drawl. He sauntered closer, his sharp gaze briefly shifting toward the second-floor mezzanine where the banquet continued in full force.

As the distance between them narrowed, the illusion of a delicate Omega vanished.

The man standing behind Taegeon was not a lover at all, but the bald and broadly grinning Myeongsun, accompanied by another heavily muscled man. Though slightly shorter than Jaeha, the newcomer projected a dense, weighty presence that immediately identified him as another high-ranking Alpha within the syndicate.

“Yes, we did.” Jaeha forced his posture to remain loose. “What brings you to this district?”

“Me?” A smirk curled across Taegeon’s mouth, dark amusement flickering in his eyes. “I personally collect overdue debts from time to time. As you’re so fond of reminding me, I’m only a Director. I still have to do the legwork.”

Overdue debts.

When a Director of the Janghan syndicate mobilized in person, the matter probably involved a development project worth billions of won that had gone catastrophically wrong. Deciding that the bloody logistics of organized crime were none of his concern, Jaeha offered a neutral nod.

“Greetings, Executive Director Lee!” Myeongsun boomed, folding himself into a bow with an extraordinarily wide grin.

“Good to see you, Myeongsun.”

Encouraged by the cordial exchange, the stiff and sturdy Alpha beside him stepped forward.

“It is an honor to meet you, Executive Director Lee. I am Mo Jeong-gil. I serve under Director Taegeon.”

“Ah. The pleasure is mine.” Jaeha politely accepted the man’s firm handshake.

“I’ll never understand why you street thugs insist on traveling in packs.”

The insolent nasal sneer cut through the air and echoed across the marble lobby.

Jaeha’s spine stiffened at once. He turned slowly, his eyes narrowing into frigid slits as Lee Jaeho swaggered toward them. The bastard had brazenly abandoned his post and brought three enormous corporate bodyguards with him, each looming like a wall of muscle.

It was painfully obvious that Jaeho believed this ridiculous display of force granted him immunity from Jaeha’s wrath.

I should have cleared my schedule, tied him to a chair, and beaten him half to death last week.

Profound regret washed through Jaeha. The only reason Jaeho had not yet ignited a national scandal was that Jaeha had spent years violently corralling him from the shadows. Every private correction had ended with the bastard whimpering pitifully on the floor.

Jaeha opened his mouth, fully prepared to eviscerate the uncivilized brat, but Taegeon intervened first.

“Are you a fucking gangster too?”

“…What?”

Jang Taegon spoke with his head tilted to one side, his face utterly devoid of expression as he stared at Lee Jaeho. Rather than merely expressionless, he looked like a man who had never learned how to make an expression at all. It was unsettling enough to send a faint chill down Jaeho’s spine.

Faced with the uncanny stare of an Alpha who stood over 190 centimeters tall, Lee Jaeho appeared flustered.

“I asked if my brother-in-law is a fucking gangster too. They came swarming in behind you, so I thought I’d ask.”

Once again, he addressed Lee Jaeho in that peculiar manner of speaking that made it impossible to tell whether he was being polite or casual. He did not forget to jerk his chin toward the attendants standing behind Jaeho.

Jaeho opened his mouth to snap back, but then glanced behind him and dismissed the men who had followed him.

Having watched the entire pathetic display, Jaeha let out a deep sigh.

“Associate Director Lee Jaeho.”

“What?”

“……”

“…Yes?”

Jaeho had answered curtly at first, but the terrifying look on Jaeha’s face made him hastily switch to polite speech. He glanced back and forth between Jaeha and Jang Taegon.

“What’s with that attitude? Come over here and greet him properly.”

“……”

At Jaeha’s command, Lee Jaeho hesitated with an irritated expression before slowly shuffling toward Jaeha and Taegon.

With two dominant Alphas standing side by side and staring at him, he appeared nervous. Even his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Jaeho reluctantly opened his mouth.

“Hello, hyung-nim. This is the first time we’ve seen each other since the wedding.”

As though he had no interest in Jaeho’s greeting, Taegon turned toward Jaeha. He parted his lips, seemingly about to say something to him.

That was when Lee Jaeho spoke again, this time with a mocking sneer. “But isn’t it a little strange for me to call you ‘hyung-nim’? It’s not like I’m one of your gang members.”

“…Lee Jaeho.” Jaeha’s voice sank into a low, dangerous register.

Jaeho, intoxicated by his own inflated ego, continued to dig his own grave. “Come on. The more I think about it, the more fucking hilarious it gets.” He erupted into a boisterous, grating laugh that sent shivers down the spines of those around him.

However, it did not last long.

Soon, Jang Taegeon also began to laugh.

His hands remained casually buried in his trouser pockets, his head tilted slightly back as a deep, resonant laugh rolled from his chest. The sound seemed fundamentally alien coming from him. It boomed through the lobby with the terrifying amusement of a predator, startling even Jaeha into a blank stare.

“…Why are you laughing?” Jaeho demanded, his grin vanishing at once.

“I thought my brother-in-law was telling a joke, so I laughed to make a good impression.” Taegeon answered with effortless composure. “It’s only proper to impress the in-laws, isn’t that right, Myeongsun-ah?”

“You are absolutely correct, boss,” the bald enforcer grunted from behind him.

Jaeho’s face flooded with a violent, humiliating red. Realizing he was being openly mocked, he bristled, but before he could retaliate, Taegeon took one deliberate step forward. The man’s sheer height and mass forced Jaeho to scramble backward. In the span of a breath, the younger Alpha found himself completely cornered.

Taegeon leaned closer, every trace of emotion wiped clean from his face. “You said it was fucking hilarious.”

“……”

“So why am I the only one laughing?” His voice softened to a whisper, while his eyes gleamed like pools of black oil. “You’re making me feel left out.”

Trapped mere inches from a predator whose fangs might as well have been the size of an adult’s palm, Jaeho’s eyes trembled with naked terror. Taegeon did not retreat by so much as a millimeter.

Suffocating beneath the murderous pressure, Jaeho had no choice but to wrench his violently twitching lips into something resembling a smile.

“Haha…”

The pitiful sound wheezed out of his throat.

He forgot about his bodyguards. He forgot they were standing in the middle of a luxury hotel. The only coherent thought left in his head was that if he defied this monster, Taegeon would crush him underfoot without hesitation.

He had wanted to mock Jaeha for marrying a gangster. He had wanted to boast that he would devour the Yooshin Group whole.

Not one of those words made it past his throat.

Without breaking eye contact, Taegeon reached out and gave Jaeho a heavy pat on the shoulder.

“Smile more often, brother-in-law.”

“……”

“It’s good for preventing cancer.”

Leaving Jaeho petrified by the grotesque health advice, Taegeon turned away as though the matter had already ceased to interest him. He placed one large, warm hand against the small of Jaeha’s back and guided him toward the exit.

By the time Lee Jaeho’s face had turned purple with humiliation, he was standing completely alone in the vast marble lobby.

***