OCMG chapter 3

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Junhee looked up at the endlessly towering building.

Right in the heart of Seoul, where land prices were worth their weight in gold, four buildings stood like an impregnable fortress.

“…It’s insanely big.”

Even though Leeum, where Yoo Junhee worked, was a solid company that owned an entire high-rise building, it couldn’t compare to Taesan.

Junhee checked the time on his left wrist and headed to the location the secretary had given him.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Junhee?”

“Ah, yes, that’s me.”

“I’m Yeo Daeyun, Chief Secretary to the Director. I’ll guide you this way.”

A tall escort secretary wearing in-ear headphones led Junhee somewhere. He looked more like a sturdy bodyguard from an action movie than a secretary.

“Well, they probably had to be good at fighting to get this job.”

Junhee, along with the escort secretary, took the executive elevator in Building C and headed to the Strategic Planning Office.

When the secretary opened the door, the minute hand of the clock that came into view was pointing precisely at 6 without even a 1mm deviation.

Below the downward-pointing clock hands was the man.

‘Damn VIP.’

The chair the man sat in slowly turned toward Junhee.

The face looked as if it had stepped right out of the profile picture. His sharp eyes, stretched long, held black pupils that seemed to sink like sediment, staring right at him.

The sense of oppression Junhee felt, surrounded by Taesan’s enormous buildings, returned. No, it was even more chilling than before.

The man had a calm appearance, but there was an underlying sense of unease about him.

‘Is it because he’s a psycho?’

Junhee, unconsciously holding his breath due to the tension filling the room, gulped as the moment passed.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Junhee?”

“Yes, Director… Ugh.”

As he retched, a crack appeared in Ki Taeryu’s neatly furrowed brow.

It was as if the profile photo had been crumpled up.

Before he could even think about how to recover, Ki Taeryu stood up.

Despite his tall height and angular frame, his movements were not heavy but seemed to carry the elegance characteristic of the upper class.

When Junhee came to his senses, Ki Taeryu was standing right in front of him.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Junhee.”

His deep voice fell over Junhee’s head like raindrops.

Junhee quickly pulled back his chin and bit down lightly on the inside of his cheek before letting go.

“I’m sorry. I got a bit nauseous on the way here, and that must have been the cause. I apologize for the rudeness on our first meeting.”

Nauseous, my ass.

Not once in his life had Junhee experienced nausea, and he was in better shape than ever.

The problem was just one thing.

‘…The damn Alpha smell.’

Ki Taeryu’s pheromones invaded his nose and drilled into his brain.

He had prided himself on having adapted quite well to Alpha pheromones, but Ki Taeryu was on a completely different level.

The sharp scent of dry earth mixed with the aroma of dried violet petals hit him hard. It felt as if some unknown exotic fruit had been crushed and thrown directly at him.

To put it simply—

‘I want to get the hell out of here.’

Whether Ki Taeryu knew Junhee’s true feelings or not, he reached out a large hand and tugged at the end of Junhee’s tie.

“What are you…”

“Omega?”

The word Ki Taeryu lazily spat out made the nerves on the back of Junhee’s neck stand on end.

“You’ve got it wrong. That’s incredibly rude of you.”

Junhee immediately swatted away the dangerous man’s hand and stepped back.

Ki Taeryu tilted his head slightly, making a low humming sound, and stared down at Junhee. His gaze was as penetrating as his repulsive and persistent pheromones.

Junhee turned his head to the side to avoid his stare.

The pressure he felt from Ki Taeryu wasn’t just due to their height difference. That’s what made it all the more unsettling.

It felt as if he was being looked down upon as something less than human.

“If I misunderstood, my apologies. You just look so much like a dominant Omega.”

Even the casual slur about Omegas, dripping with Alpha arrogance, somehow felt natural when it came from Ki Taeryu’s mouth.

Junhee despised the blatant shamelessness and composure of the upper class that Ki Taeryu embodied.

‘What’s this? Is he a recessive Omega? Is he going to die serving him all his life? Get him disowned immediately!’

“Honey…!”

“If you’re going to keep wearing that, let’s get divorced, I want a divorce!”

Suddenly recalling a fragment of the past caused a slight sting in his stomach.

Junhee tightened his loosened tie and replied nonchalantly.

“You have a talent for making compliments sound unpleasant.”

“First, have a seat.”

Suppressing the embarrassment and humiliation he hadn’t felt in a long time, Junhee sat down as instructed.

After all, he had been the one to commit a social faux pas upon first meeting, and it wouldn’t do any good to make a big deal out of it with a VVIP client.

Junhee swallowed his pride, silently repeating to himself the words Representative Lee had said earlier, “They’re humans just like us.”

Ki Taeryu took the head seat, and Junhee deliberately sat diagonally across from him rather than directly opposite.

Ignoring the gaze that followed him to the side of his face, Junhee pulled out a profile file and opened it.

“So, Beta?”

“It seems our esteemed customer is quite curious about me.”

Deliberately responding stiffly, he made sure to enunciate the word “customer” clearly.

The only reason Yoo Junhee had given up his precious early departure and come all the way here was for this damn meeting with the Alpha and to complete the profile, not to be interrogated.

He should be the one asking the questions.

So, he wished that this Alpha would stop going on about Betas and cooperate with filling out the profile information.

“You’re acting all sensitive, just like an Omega on the verge of a heat cycle.”

“I’m a Beta.”

These damn Alphas, especially dominant ones like Ki Taeryu, were the reason submissive Omegas like Junhee were forced to hide their true nature and pretend to be Betas.

His already simmering disdain for Alphas only deepened.

Junhee tried hard to maintain his composure, repeating to himself once again, “They’re just like us.”

“Well, if you were an Omega, you’d already be stripping naked and pouncing on me.”

Ki Taeryu leaned back in his chair, his face relaxed like a well-fed lion.

It was the moment when Junhee’s expectation that he would at least observe some basic manners, given that it was their first meeting, crumbled.

The world had never been easy on Junhee.

Although that “app” had provided a bit of breathing room, that was all. Even that had malfunctioned, forcing him to be here in person.

So, it wasn’t Junhee’s fault that he maintained a cynical attitude towards everything in the world.

‘Damn Alphas.’

Click. Junhee pulled out a fountain pen from his breast pocket and opened the cap.

“I’ve already filled in your name, age, and educational background. We can proceed directly with the interview for the other sections.”

“The profile should’ve already been sent by my secretary’s office.”

“Yes, I’ve received it, but according to ‘Leeum’s’ internal regulations, all member profiles must be completed by the assigned manager personally. There are no exceptions.”

By signing up for the purpose of marriage, it meant that whether the client was a president or a conglomerate, they would be treated just like any other member.

In truth, Yoo Junhee wouldn’t have wanted to come all the way here to have a one-on-one meeting with a dominant Alpha he loathed.

But to keep his job at this damn company, he had to cater to people like this.

“I don’t know what more you’re curious about.”

“While your profile is important, I also need information about your desired partner.”

“My ideal type?”

Junhee gave a slight nod, almost as if acknowledging.

Ki Taeryu thoughtfully stroked his chin for a moment before speaking.

“Well, maybe an Omega that’s like a Beta?”

Junhee took a deep breath, suppressing a sigh, and read out the checklist items himself.

“You can choose from dominant Omega or Beta categories. Other options include age, height, style, as well as wealth, occupation, religion, and family background.”

“Just because I mention an ideal type, it doesn’t mean you can place one right in front of me, does it?”

“Knowing this helps us find the best match for you, so I’d appreciate your cooperation, even if it’s a bit of a hassle.”

Though his tone was exceedingly polite, Junhee couldn’t completely hide the sharp edge he had put up.

To be honest, it was already a struggle just to tolerate the overwhelming pheromones this damn Alpha was releasing without even trying to conceal it.

“I should’ve sent over those requirements along with the profile.”

“… You sent them together?”

Junhee couldn’t hide his puzzled expression as he frantically searched his memory.

He had been called in by the representative, handed over the documents, went down to the office, entered the minimum required information into the app, and immediately matched it.

‘… I didn’t even think to check thoroughly. Could there have been something written on the very last page?’

Now that he thought about it, the representative had mentioned something about the conditions.

‘Ha, I didn’t want to say this, but it seems like he has a reputation as a bit of a freak even in that market. The director said that as long as the conditions are met, he doesn’t mind if it’s not a chaebol family.’

The phrase “a bit of a freak,” had been so striking that it wiped out the rest of the information from his memory.

The human brain, as an information-processing organ, tends to remember shocking and stimulating details selectively.

“The conditions… I apologize. I should’ve been more thorough. I’ll proceed without any omissions to ensure you meet the perfect match.”

Junhee immediately offered a polite apology and laid out his determination for the future. It was a textbook-perfect way to handle and recover from a mistake.

A blatant gaze fell on Junhee, making him feel suffocated and uncomfortable, as if someone were sizing him up, wondering how to devour him.

After a long pause, Ki Taeryu finally spoke.

“A recessive Omega.”

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