OCMG chapter 1

“Next, we will announce this year’s Employee of the Year.”

The sound of crackling machine noise accompanied the voice of the emcee, echoing through the large conference room on the 20th floor.

“Congratulations! Assistant Manager Yoo Junhee of Couple Team 4, please step forward.”

A man dressed neatly in a gray suit walked forward through the thunderous applause.

His composed stride attracted various gazes.

Some were filled with indifference, as if they expected this outcome. Others carried a hint of envy, and some gazed at him with admiration.

Yoo Junhee walked silently, eyes slightly lowered as usual, brushing off those stares.

CEO Lee of the marriage consulting company ‘Leeum’ looked at Junhee with a gaze filled with admiration, similar to a farmer gazing at a goose that lays golden eggs.

CEO Lee placed Junhee by his side and began a lengthy speech.

“Our company, Leeum, has not only been recognized as a leading enterprise in marriage culture this year but has also had the honor of receiving the Minister of Family Affairs Award…”

That rather dull and tedious speech was eventually condensed into a single final sentence.

“I urge all of you to follow Assistant Manager Yoo Junhee’s example and continue to do your best to ensure our customers experience even better service.”

In Junhee’s arms, a bouquet as large as his own body and a plaque were placed. Several photos were taken in various poses.

Yoo Junhee, a couple manager of Couple Team 4.

Even the inscription on the plaque was the same as last year, the only difference being the year engraved on it.

After enduring this ordeal for some time, Junhee finally took the elevator down to the office, but the aftermath was far from over.

“Congratulations, Assistant Manager Yoo! Of course, you received the Employee of the Year Award again this year! I knew you would get it. Are we having a team dinner tonight?”

“Of course, who else but Assistant Manager Yoo deserves that award? Even the number of successful marriages you facilitated last year is more than enough to count on your fingers and toes….”

“Thank you. I have an urgent call, so if you’ll excuse me for a moment.”

Leaving the employees who had gathered around his desk behind, Junhee hurried out of the office and headed to an empty consultation room.

“…Sigh.”

Looking at the name displayed on his phone screen, Yoo Junhee swallowed back his frustration.

[Chief Director Ki Taeryu]

As he hesitated over whether to answer, the call ended abruptly.

But before he could even take a breath, his phone lit up again.

“…Yes, Chief Director. This is Yoo Junhee.”

• You’re late.

“Sorry?”

The voice on the other end was filled with displeasure.

• You’re late.

The heavy voice resonated in his ears, making Junhee stop asking foolish questions and take a deep breath.

• I gave you a day to think. Do you need more time?

Normally, one would say they were given only a day, not as much as a day, but Junhee couldn’t dare voice this.

“I apologize, Chief Director. I’ll get back to you by this afternoon….”

• Let’s meet at the office. I should be free around 7:20.

“Excuse me? Then should I come to your office, Chief Director….”

• I’ll be busy finishing up work before then, so that’s all.

Click.

Junhee’s fingers turned white from gripping the phone so tightly.

In his other hand was the crystal plaque he had just received.

[In recognition of your exceptional sense of duty and unwavering dedication to the company…]

Thud. The plaque fell to the floor.

At the same time, a low curse slipped from Junhee’s lips.

“…Damn it, should I just quit?”

The ill-fated relationship with Chief Director Ki Taeryu began just a week ago.

The CEO himself had called Junhee to his office and discreetly handed him a file.

The CEO made a gesture for Junhee to open it, and as Junhee pulled the file towards him and turned a page, the CEO spoke.

“Chief Director Ki Taeryu from Taesan Group. You know him, right?”

CEO Lee smiled as he brushed his hair behind his ear.

Junhee’s hand momentarily paused as he flipped the page.

“Taesan Group… isn’t that the company we’re in talks with about a merger?”

“That’s right. It’s still in the preliminary stages, but if this deal goes through, we’ll be part of a major conglomerate.”

To Junhee, matters involving chaebol families and corporate leaders felt like stories from a distant world.

Of course, some of the diamond-tier clients at Leeum were the children of executives from large corporations, but this was the first time he had encountered someone of this caliber.

Naturally, Junhee’s gaze was drawn to the profile picture at the top.

A custom-tailored suit with not a single crease. But what stood out more was the man’s face—perfect symmetry, as if it had been mirrored. The kind of face that could only be described as flawless.

You didn’t need an explanation to know he was from a chaebol family. Just one look at the photo made it clear; the man radiated an aristocratic air.

And that cold expression, as if he wouldn’t bleed even if you pricked him, was just an added bonus.

Junhee immediately closed the file.

“This task should be given to the matching team, not to me.”

The CEO seemed slightly taken aback by Junhee’s quick response and hastily spoke.

“Why are you being like this, Assistant Manager Yoo? There’s no one more suitable for this job than you.”

“If it were the child of an executive, sure, but for a chaebol family, they don’t need to use our company.”

Even if Junhee didn’t know much, he understood that people like them had their own ‘world.’

Taesan Group, Chief Director. Even the title suggested that “Ki Taeryu” was likely to carry the scent of a powerful alpha.

It would undoubtedly be a potent, arrogant scent, typical of a dominant alpha.

Junhee had always been repulsed by alphas, especially the higher-ranking ones.

Of course, considering his profession, he had to deal with them for a living, but he didn’t want to take on a job that wasn’t necessary just to interact with them.

The CEO, who was flustered by Junhee’s firm stance, sighed and spoke.

“Well… sigh, I didn’t want to say this, but… He has a reputation in the market for being a bit of a psycho. But Chief Director Ki said he doesn’t mind if the conditions are right, even if it’s not with another chaebol family. And just imagine what it would mean for our company’s reputation if we had someone like him as a client.”

“…Are you suggesting we keep him as a client just to attract more omega members? Is that really all?”

“Well, of course, if it works out, that would be even better, but just having him as a client is enough. Just play nice, arrange a few meetings, and that’s it. It’s not that hard. Do you think being a chaebol makes them any different from us? They’re human just like us.”

“…”

“Next year, Assistant Manager Yoo, you’ll be promoted to team leader. You said you wanted to move to the planning team, right? Handle this case, and I’ll make sure you get transferred there. Wouldn’t it be great to secure the youngest and fastest team leader position? You’ll need this kind of achievement to avoid any pushback. Once you’re a manager, you won’t have to deal with the fieldwork anymore.”

In the end, Junhee was swayed by the sweet talk and picked up the file again before returning to the office.

The strong scent of a dominant alpha was something he had grown somewhat accustomed to over the years.

Besides, no one at the company knew that Junhee was an omega.

He had been pretending to be a beta for three years, so there was no way he could confide in the CEO and ask for a break.

Anyway, as the CEO had said, if he could successfully manage this case and hold out until the beginning of next year, the promotion season would come.

If he could move to a department where he didn’t have to meet clients directly, his life would be much easier.

“Sigh…”

Back at his desk, Junhee opened the profile file and began to enter information about the new client.

The Chief Director of Taesan Trading, the backbone of the massive Taesan Group.

31 years old, Ki Taeryu.

Based on the usual rankings in matchmaking companies, he wasn’t just an S-grade client; he was so perfect that even an SSSS-grade label would fall short.

Junhee couldn’t understand why someone like him would need the help of a matchmaking company, but he could only guess that the man was quite a handful.

Even if the representative was right and the person had a bit of an odd personality, there would still be quite a few people willing to meet someone under these conditions.

Just looking at the profiles of clients registered with ‘Leeum,’ there had long been over ten thousand members, and this year, the company had rapidly grown to become the most solid among its competitors.

The team contributing the most to this explosive growth was none other than Couple Team 4, which Junhee belonged to.

The marriage success rate was so high that there was even a joke that being assigned to Couple Team 4 meant you’d be stuffed with rice cakes (TL: a Korean expression implying being well-fed or benefiting greatly).

And the person responsible for more than half of that team’s success was Assistant Manager Yoo, Yoo Junhee.

‘…I wish they’d all just end up in divorce court.’

This was what he truly felt, though neither his team members nor the representative would ever dream of it.

“Assistant Manager Yoo!”

“Oh, yes, Jiyeon.”

Startled out of his thoughts, Junhee quickly closed the documents in front of him.

“Are you very busy right now?”

“I have a meeting scheduled for the afternoon, but I’m free at the moment.”

“Oh! Then, could you maybe take a look at the list of members I’m trying to match?”

As Junhee nodded, Jiyeon excitedly said she’d go print out the profiles immediately, but Junhee told her to just send them via messenger instead.

Ding.

Soon after, Junhee received the profiles that Jiyeon had sent.