* * *

Hajin covered his mouth, coughing repeatedly as a faint crease appeared between his brows for the first time.

When he lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes seemed on the verge of spilling tears.

Wooseok briefly wondered if he’d gone too far, but by then, his crude words and actions had already been unleashed.

“You’re… quite rude…!”

“What?”

Fascinating.

Despite looking seconds away from tears, Hajin voiced his displeasure for the first time.

Not that it could truly be called anger—it was more of a timid protest.

And just one dismissive remark from Wooseok was enough to make him lower his gaze back to the table.

Harmless, really.

Feigning nonchalance, Wooseok replied in his usual careless tone.

“I heard you just came from the States. Didn’t hear about me over there?”

“……”

Hajin’s silence was answer enough.

The way he fumbled with his words only confirmed what Wooseok already suspected.

Of course, he’d heard of him.

How could he not?

He appeared more frequently on society pages and gossip columns than on the business section of newspapers.

With his striking looks, rare status as a dominant Alpha, and constant stream of scandals, he was hard to miss.

“Seems like you knew. Yet, you still came to meet me?”

“Well, I…”

“Money really does have its appeal, huh? You’d think you’d be doing fine in the States. Or maybe it’s the dominant Alpha thing you’re after, huh?”

The lips that once carried a soft, rosy hue were now stiff and pale.

So he did have some pride.

His clenched jaw and trembling lips hinted at an internal struggle.

Despite the tension, he met Wooseok’s gaze head-on, his resolve unwavering.

“W-why would you say something like that…?”

“Why are you acting like an amateur? Don’t tell me you wanted to talk about true love in a place like this. I’m just saying the product doesn’t seem quite right, so there’s no need to get so upset.”

It was strange.

He hadn’t planned to say something like that.

Cha Wooseok wasn’t exactly known for his good character, but even he didn’t usually push people this far. He hated wasting energy on petty arguments.

But something about the omega standing in front of him provoked his dormant sadistic tendencies.

He wanted to see tears spill from those glistening eyes, shimmering with unshed emotion.

He wanted to hear the voice that would emerge, trembling and soaked in vulnerability.

It seemed like it would be worth savoring.

“Well, even so, someone like you could probably find a decent household to marry into. If you’re lucky, maybe even as the official spouse of the Hanseong Group.”

The position of Hanseong Group’s official spouse had been vacant for quite some time.

The head of the family was nearing ninety and had been hospitalized for over a year with chronic illnesses.

Yet rumors swirled that his desperation to find a mate was so intense he invited omegas to his hospital room every night.

Nobody knew how a dying old man could manage such nocturnal activities, though.

“…I guess I misjudged you. I wanted to see for myself rather than rely on rumors, but… it turns out the rumors were better.”

Koh Hajin’s voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

His words, more like grumbles than anger, hinted at someone who had likely never expressed genuine frustration in his life.

And then, Cha Wooseok got exactly what he wanted.

Transparent tears slid down Koh Hajin’s pale cheeks, clinging to his long lashes and making his delicate features even more striking.

The sight of him crying didn’t disappoint.

A normal person might feel pity, but Wooseok, for just a fleeting moment, felt an urge to grab that slender neck and wring a little more emotion out of him.

Again, he wasn’t typically like this.

The omega before him simply brought out something peculiar.

“Well then, I’ll be leaving first.”

Just as Wooseok was immersed in his own thoughts, Hajin wiped away his tears with the back of his hand and rose from his seat.

The urge to say one more thing to make him burst into sobs crossed Wooseok’s mind, but he decided against it.

As interesting as it was, Hajin wasn’t the partner he was looking for.

The brief diversion was amusing enough, and Hajin’s reactions had made up for the time spent.

“And… this is a no-smoking area.”

It happened as Hajin walked past him.

A cold liquid began trickling down Wooseok’s head.

Water flowed past his neatly styled hair, down his pronounced brow, past his masculine jawline, and dripped from his chin.

The cigarette between his lips fizzled out with a faint hiss.

For the first time in his 28 years, Cha Wooseok was stunned.

He’d done his share of wild and reckless things, but nothing like this had ever happened to him.

Dazed, he sucked on the extinguished cigarette filter, only to taste nothing.

It wasn’t until Hajin set the empty water glass on the table with a loud clink that Wooseok snapped back to reality.

“…Ha.”

An omega—just an omega—had dared to throw water at him.

And without hesitation, Hajin turned his back and walked away.

---

The hotel lounge was absurdly large, stretching endlessly like a maze.

Hajin felt as though he’d been walking forever but still hadn’t reached the elevator.

Even as he moved forward, his senses were tuned to the space behind him.

He deliberately walked slowly, expecting some reaction, but there was nothing.

Wooseok wasn’t following him.

“W-What should I do…?”

Only the uniformed hotel staff, startled and flustered, scurried past him toward Wooseok.

The closer Hajin got to the elevator, the more his anxiety grew.

In a fit of desperation, he’d thrown water at Wooseok, but it didn’t seem to have had the desired effect.

Normally, an alpha—even one with overly classic sensibilities—would’ve reacted with fury.

But Wooseok hadn’t moved an inch.

By the time Hajin sent one elevator away empty and boarded the next, Wooseok’s voice still hadn’t reached him.

It seemed like he’d failed.

It had been a long time since anyone—alpha or beta—had dismissed him so thoroughly.

No matter how many times he replayed their encounter in his head, he couldn’t pinpoint where things had gone wrong.

He’d shown more than enough to prove his worth.

“…This is driving me crazy.”

Wooseok was both similar to and completely different from the rumors.

As expected, he was arrogant, brash, and lacked decorum.

He’d insulted Hajin’s family right off the bat.

Even in a society where omega rights were abysmal, few alphas behaved so rudely during marriage discussions.

Maybe it was the natural arrogance of a “noble” dominant alpha.

That, however, was within the bounds of what Hajin had anticipated.

What he hadn’t expected were Wooseok’s sharp, probing questions.

Despite his reputation as a loafer, Wooseok displayed an intimate knowledge of U.S. real estate and asked nuanced questions only someone with firsthand experience could answer.

Up until that point, Hajin had thought the meeting was going well.

But getting rejected so thoroughly?

That hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Now his composure was shaken for the first time in ages.

“Need help catching a taxi?”

“…No, I’m fine.”

Night had fallen by the time Hajin stepped into the hotel lobby.

The area was safe enough, but there was no guarantee something wouldn’t happen to an omega walking alone at night.

Despite his polite refusal, the doorman’s gaze lingered on Hajin’s tear-streaked face, filled with an inexplicable intensity.

“Then… if it’s not too much trouble, may I have your number?”

Even as the doorman spoke, Hajin’s thoughts were elsewhere.

This was the natural reaction.

People should look at him with longing, unable to tear their eyes away.

Yet Wooseok had shoved him aside without hesitation, digging at his very core in the process.

“I said I don’t need a taxi.”

Just as Hajin was debating how to fend off this unwelcome attention, an unexpected voice came from behind him.

“What’s with this insolent bastard ogling a guest like that?”

It was Wooseok, his tone sharper than when he’d been spewing venom in the lounge.

He approached leisurely, draped an arm over Hajin’s shoulder, and pulled him close.

* * *