MOT | Chapter 1.2

Taeseong was not a flashy beauty, but he was the sturdy, straight-laced handsome type. If he were a potato, he would be a potato carved with great care by a sculptor, and if you were to guess his profession just by his face, he had the vibe of a sports player who became famous more for his looks than for his skill.

Even if he was not an entertainer-level dazzling beauty, he was a warm and handsome man that others would certainly find appealing.

This time, he casually took off his jacket and stood in only his shirt. He raised both arms and stretched them back. The front of his shirt tightened, revealing especially broad shoulders, a firm chest, and a comparatively slim waist. In particular, Taeseong looked over his chest, which was twice as robust as other people’s, from side to side, and smiled with pride.

‘My body is complete too.’

Five years ago, when he had shouted that he would become the best beta groom, Taeseong had been rather thin. His flat chest and smooth stomach were far from the ideal male image Taeseong had in mind, so he immediately started strength training. Thanks to going to the gym every day without fail and building his body up, he had now completed a solid muscular physique.

He had already passed 180 cm by the time he turned twenty, so his appearance score could be said to be almost perfect.

‘At this level, there’s no way I’ll be rejected at a blind date.’

In order not to repeat the second brother’s misfortune, he had also undergone thorough testing to make sure the sperm were fine. Sexual function normal, fertility confirmed. There was no way he would be rejected because of infertility.

As he scanned his reflection with a satisfied look, there was a knock. When he answered briefly, the door opened. Keeping his gaze fixed on the mirror, Taeseong smiled proudly and muttered.

“I’m number one among betas.”

It might seem like self-admiration, but Taeseong thought he was assessing himself in a fairly objective way. At this level, when he put himself on the marriage market, there was no way he would receive anything less than a perfect score.

Taeseong wanted to have a marriage that would help the company. That was his life goal and dream. Rather than simply making his parents happy, if he was going to get married anyway, it would be better if there were something to gain.

The other side would gain a number one groom like him, so it would only be fair if he also gained something. And that “something to gain” was Pinset’s exclusive entry into a popular brand operated by his future partner.

Thinking he had gotten closer to that dream made him feel good. Taeseong hummed a tune, snapped his head around, and asked the man standing beside him and watching him.

“What do you think? Do you agree?”

He meant whether the man agreed that he was the number one beta groom. If someone else asked this, it would be laughable, but Taeseong was certain it would not be laughable in his own case. It was the plain truth, without the slightest exaggeration.

“Where else would you find a man as fully equipped as our Director Myeong Taeseong? The person marrying you would be lucky.”

The person who had come into the room was his cousin Daehoon, who worked with Taeseong in the global marketing department, but in practice was little different from Taeseong’s personal assistant.

Daehoon answered casually without being flustered at all by the sudden question. But his easygoing expression immediately turned dark.

“But are you really okay with this? Getting married to someone you don’t really know…”

“Ah, other people meet through blind dates a lot too. Isn’t it something similar in a way? You get to know someone you didn’t know at all little by little, and then you start dating and get married.”

When Taeseong said that with a slight laugh, Daehoon tilted his head with a doubtful expression.

“Anyway, my dream is to have a successful marriage. I want to make it happen no matter what.”

“You’re really diligent, hyung. Amazing.”

“Haha, but what brings you here?”

Only then did Daehoon offer up the documents he had brought to Taeseong.

“I brought the meeting materials. The ones you asked for this morning.”

“Ah! Thanks. I’ll take a look right away.”

Taeseong immediately spread the materials open. As he flipped through the rather heavy packet page by page, the crease between his brows gradually deepened. Whether because the materials were heavy or because the contents were complicated, sweat gathered on his smooth forehead. The room also suddenly felt hot.

Taeseong tugged at his tie to loosen it and undid a couple of shirt buttons. Then, in the end, he set down the heavy packet and fanned himself with a lighter stack of papers.

“Hoo, is the indoor temperature high? It’s a bit hot.”

At Taeseong’s words, Daehoon, who had been standing quietly, flinched and slowly raised his hand.

“W-well, I’ve been thinking since a little while ago…”

“Hmm?”

“Hyung, could you be running a fever?”

At the cautious words, Taeseong’s eyes widened.

“A fever? Me?”

“Your face seems redder than usual, and you also seem to be sweating a lot. I know you’ve never had a cold before, but the office air conditioner sickness has been going around recently, so I just thought I’d ask, just in case…”

Taeseong, who took good care of himself, had strong immunity. He was far removed from minor illnesses, so at first he was flustered, but as he listened to Daehoon, it did sound plausible. Taeseong touched his chin and nodded with a serious expression.

“Now that you mention it… I do feel unusually sluggish today. Is it a cold?”

“Should I make a hospital appointment for you?”

“Mm! Good. It’s best to catch a cold early, so I’ll go get checked first thing tomorrow morning.”

Taeseong gave a thumbs-up and smiled, showing his white teeth. Daehoon, looking at Taeseong, who was the very picture of a cheerful and healthy young man, nodded with sincere admiration.

* * *

Thinking it was a cold, something he really had not caught since he was very young, Taeseong headed to the hospital the next morning.

His alpha brothers always went to a specialized hospital with an alpha specialist and an attending doctor when they got treatment, but Taeseong was a beta, so he did not bother to choose so carefully and just went to a nearby neighborhood clinic.

As usual, Taeseong stopped by an ENT clinic near the company and checked in. Fortunately, there were not many patients waiting, so he got into the examination room quickly.

“……”

The doctor looked at Taeseong silently and then proceeded with a blood test. Did they normally draw blood just for a cold? It was a little odd, but he thought they must be doing some other virus test as well and obediently went along.

He waited a bit until the nurse brought the test results. Just as the waiting was starting to get boring, the doctor finally spoke.

“So… yes, that’s right.”

So it really was a cold, then. Just as Taeseong was concluding that inwardly and about to nod, the doctor said:

“You have awakened as an omega.”

Plink. It felt as though the doctor’s voice had fallen like a drop of water onto a quiet surface.

“…What did you say?”

The life that had been flowing smoothly according to plan instantly went awry.

In the car on the way home, Taeseong mulled over the doctor’s words with half his mind gone.

“Usually, traits are determined in the teens, or at the latest in the early twenties, but about one in ten thousand people awaken late. You are one of those cases. The feeling of heat you experienced was not because of a cold, but because of awakening fever.”

The doctor had explained it to Taeseong in a calm voice while displaying the chart on the monitor. Every word rang in Taeseong’s ears. It was like listening to a radio with his head submerged under water. Taeseong, who had been sitting there with his mouth open, suddenly turned to look aside. His reflection appeared in the mirror.

A face straight and masculine without a single soft point, a height over 180 cm, broad shoulders and chest. Such a robust man that if he did not first reveal his profession, everyone would assume he was some kind of athlete or bodyguard, an omega?

“Th, that came out wrong, didn’t it? Omegas are usually small and cute like rabbits or deer, right? Such a big, sturdy, not a single pretty feature on me, b, but me, an omega?”

“Traits are not decided by appearance. And judging from your pheromone levels, as an omega patient you are…”

Pushing his round glasses upward, the doctor added gravely.

“A recessive omega.”

Boom. The word omega alone was shocking enough to hurl Taeseong’s soul into space, but the two characters attached in front of it dragged his heart underground. Not only was he an omega, he was below others, not above them.

My life is no longer something others would covet.

Taeseong’s heart pounded loudly.

“In the case of recessive omegas, heat cycles are irregular, and there are even cases where they never appear at all. When taking suppressants, we strongly recommend that you receive care from a specialist and get a prescription, and please avoid overuse and misuse.”

The doctor handed over a document listing precautions for omega awakening and glanced at Taeseong’s complexion.

“…If the shock is too great, I also recommend seeing a psychiatrist.”

That was the last conversation he had with the doctor.

As he staggered out of the examination room, the door slammed shut behind him, he paid the fee, and while booking an appointment at a specialized traits hospital, his mind was so dizzy it felt as if paint had been poured out inside it.

While mulling over the only conversation with the doctor that stood out clearly in his mind, Taeseong exhaled with a khah sound and leaned his head back.

“Of course it’s a shock…!”

Then he clutched his face with both hands. He wanted to writhe in grievance. He had lived for thirty years as a beta, and as the only non-trait-bearer in a family of trait-bearers, he had done his utmost to survive… and now he had suddenly awakened as an omega.

“My perfect life plan is all about to fall apart!”

He was not despairing over the fact that his body had suddenly changed. Taeseong was a beta, but he had been trying to make himself competitive by grooming himself into a man anyone would covet. That plan had now almost been realized, and in order to achieve his dream, he had lined up blind dates after carefully choosing suitable candidates.

And now, at this point, he had awakened as an omega, and a recessive omega at that.

Beta women who hoped to build a normal but happy family would not want a groom who had awakened as a recessive omega.

Taeseong anxiously gnawed at the tips of his fingernails. His face turned white and cold sweat beaded on him. But although he was greatly flustered, he did not completely break down. A dark, flame-like ferocity rose in Taeseong’s eyes.

“……There’s a way.”

Taeseong muttered with his fingernails in his mouth. When his dark, slurred muttering was heard, the driver behind the wheel glanced at the mirror.

“As a new ‘me’… a way to get through this situation…”

Ignoring the driver’s gaze, Taeseong glared into space and muttered, then shut his eyes tightly and opened them again. Then he calmly took his phone out of his pocket. What he entered without hesitation was his father’s phone number. It did not take long for the call to connect.

“Yes, Father. It’s Taeseong.”

“Oh, yes. What is it?”

“I have something important to tell you. It’s something I can’t handle alone, so I’d like to ask for your help. Could we have a family meeting?”