* * *
Today, the back seat of her son’s imported car felt particularly uncomfortable.
Juwon’s mother, Madam Kim, tried hard to straighten her stiff back and looked out the window.
As the dazzlingly luxurious hotel building came into view, she involuntarily swallowed.
Her husband, next to her, was also looking out the window with a highly anxious expression.
For the ordinary Beta couple who had spent their lives diligently running a small shop, the upscale hotel where their son’s engagement meeting was to be held was an intimidating and utterly foreign world.
Even the hotel staff, who bowed politely right from the entrance, made them uneasy.
‘Still… my Juwon is no ordinary son. No matter how great that family is, my son’s secondary gender is far superior. He’s a Dominant Alpha, a Dominant Alpha.’
Madam Kim reassured herself internally, trying to suppress her anxiety.
She and her husband were perfectly ordinary Betas.
They had no notable Alpha relatives.
That’s why, when Juwon manifested as a Dominant Alpha through a rare genetic throwback, she felt like she had everything in the world.
A gift from heaven, the pride of the family.
Amidst the neighbors’ envious and slightly jealous glances, she felt her chest swell with pride.
She doted on her son, wanting to show him only the best things in the world and raise him to be the best. Her son had exceeded all expectations.
Not only in elementary school but also during adolescence, he never talked back, always obeyed his parents, and excelled in his studies, graduating with honors from Korea University’s Business Administration department, considered the best in the nation.
Furthermore, after quitting his job, he established his own company and grew it into a notable firm in the industry within just a few years.
She had thought she would have nothing more to wish for if her son married a beautiful, well-behaved Omega from a good family, settled down, and gave them a grandchild who resembled them.
But… the sense of betrayal when she heard that her perfect son had been dating a Beta, a male Beta at that, for eight years.
In a world where it was natural for Alphas to meet Omegas, form families, and continue the lineage, dating a Beta male instead of those beautiful, well-behaved Omegas—what kind of obstacle was this in her son’s path?
She and her husband had scolded their son repeatedly, saying, ‘A Beta won’t do,’ ‘Get a grip,’ and ‘End it quickly.’
She even pleaded with tears, telling him she was doing it for his future.
But her stubborn son was unmoving. In fact, the more they opposed the Beta boy, Yoonwoo, the more he seemed to protect him.
She thought that Beta boy was bewitching her innocent son with his pretty face.
Frustrated, she eventually met Yoonwoo secretly, without her husband’s knowledge, and of course, without Juwon’s.
When she sat across from Yoonwoo in a quiet café near the company, she was surprised.
Yoonwoo was a much more refined and handsome young man than she expected.
He could almost be mistaken for an Omega at a glance.
But the fact that he was a Beta overshadowed all those merits.
No matter how outstanding his appearance or talent, a Beta was still a Beta.
An existence that couldn’t fully satisfy an Alpha or continue the family line.
“You know yourself that an Alpha is ultimately bound to follow the Alpha instinct. Why don’t you understand that no matter how much you struggle, you can’t fill the void in Juwon?”
She tried to use the softest tone possible, but inwardly, she was determined to pour out harsh words.
She told him not to block her Juwon’s path and to quietly step aside on his own.
She asked him if, as a Beta like herself, he didn’t know better, that the Alpha-Beta relationship had clear limits and would only lead to unhappiness in the end.
Her voice grew louder.
“Every time he goes into rut, Juwon has to take inhibitors that he shouldn’t have to take because of you! Moreover, I can no longer bear to see Juwon struggling, being gossiped about and pointed at unnecessarily because of you.”
The accusations flowing from her mouth didn’t stop.
“Your very existence is an obstacle in our Juwon’s path. Know your place and step back cleanly. That’s the way for you to survive too.”
But Yoonwoo’s face, listening to all those harsh words, was surprisingly calm.
He looked as if he had expected this to happen.
Yoonwoo didn’t change his expression, listened to her completely, and then quietly opened his mouth.
“Until Mr. Juwon lets go of me, I cannot let go of him first.”
His voice was low and gentle, but the will contained within was rock solid.
He stood up and knelt before her.
He didn’t even give her time to be surprised.
“I am truly sorry that your son has had to face undeserved criticism, and that I, being inadequate, have caused worry to you and your husband. I will do better to make up for it. I will do my best to make him happy by your son’s side.”
His eyes were sad, but not servile.
Instead, a kind of unwavering strength could be felt.
Madam Kim remembered that she had been both displeased by his audacity and unexpected action, and at the same time, she had been left speechless by his inexplicable firmness.
She even thought that perhaps that was the side of him that her son had fallen for.
Juwon still didn’t know about this meeting.
After that, she had mostly given up on opposing her son’s relationship.
But a few months ago, her son suddenly broke up with Yoonwoo and introduced a new person.
He said he was a recessive Omega.
At first, she was a little disappointed that he was recessive, but her mind changed when she learned he was the youngest son of a famous pharmaceutical company.
Her son’s new lover came from a good family, was handsome, and seemed bright and affectionate.
Most importantly, he was an Omega, wasn’t he?
What did it matter if he was recessive?
He was much better than a Beta.
She and her husband sincerely blessed their son’s choice.
She felt relieved, thinking, ‘Our son, after all, chose the right path.’
But strangely… her son seemed somewhat empty.
On the surface, he tried to act normal, even brighter than before, but Madam Kim could see through it all.
Her husband dismissed it as the shock of breaking up with a long-time lover, but she, who had birthed her child, couldn’t fail to notice his suffering.
When he first introduced Jiwoon, her son had said things he often heard from others—that ‘it’s comfortable because he’s an Omega,’ ‘I feel stable communicating through pheromones,’ and ‘This is the right relationship’—as if trying to convince himself.
But recently, even those words had completely disappeared.
He merely repeated, like a parrot, ‘I’m busy with work.’
Even when he came to the main house with Jiwoon, he didn’t force a bright smile or pretend to be affectionate as he used to.
He would sit expressionless, as if consumed by deep fatigue, or suddenly stare into the distance, lost in thought.
His visible weight loss was noticeable no matter how well he covered it with expensive clothes.
So, at first, she had urged him to get married quickly since things had come this far.
She thought marriage would definitely stabilize her son.
An Omega from a good family—what more could one ask for?
But each time, her son would evade the answer with a somewhat forced, weak smile.
She wanted to press him further about his inexplicable state, but she instinctively realized that her son was desperately enduring something, and that it wasn’t just the pain of a breakup.
So, she didn’t say anything more.
‘Still, with time, it will get better.
Since an Alpha and an Omega have met.
It must be a growing pain that happens because that is the natural order,’ she told herself, trying to suppress her anxiety.
Eventually, her son agreed to an engagement first instead of marriage, and she decided to be satisfied with that.
And today was the day of the family meeting.
Standing before the opulent entrance of the hotel and the respectful attitude of the staff, she felt intimidated again, but she consciously straightened her shoulders.
Yes, no matter how great that family was, a royal family of a famous company, they had brought their incomparably precious Dominant Alpha son.
She believed they were in no way inferior, at least in terms of secondary gender, even if not in social status or wealth.
She decided to forget the subtle shadow that passed across her son’s face for a moment.
Today was a good day.
Once this engagement was finalized, everything would return to its rightful place.
Her son would soon find stability and return to being the kind, happy son he once was.
In front of the private room of the appointed Korean restaurant, she met her husband’s eyes.
He also looked tense, but he was managing his expression just like her.
When she held his arm nervously, he, too, swallowed dryly.
He tried to appear calm, but the subtle tremor in his fingertips revealed his nervousness.
“Please go in, Father, Mother.”
Juwon’s voice was also a little lower than usual.
The heavy, elaborately carved wooden door opened.
Inside, Jiwoon and his parents were already waiting for them with relaxed smiles.
The luxurious mother-of-pearl table in the center of the wide room, the famous painter’s painting on the wall, and the expensive incense scent subtly filling the room—everything seemed to flaunt their wealth and status.
Madam Kim took a deep breath and consciously recalled her pride as the mother of a Dominant Alpha son, stepping inside confidently.
She felt the cold, judging gaze hidden behind their seemingly gentle smiles.
* * *
