MIM 40

“I wish I could have just lived as a Beta.”

Lost in thought, Jae-seung inadvertently muttered to himself. Ye-wook’s eyes widened in surprise as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

“Don’t say such nonsense. You’re the only one who survived that experiment and became an Alpha.”

“So what?”

“What do you mean ‘so what’? It’s an indisputable fact that Alpha is the superior trait. Anyone would choose to be an Alpha if they could.”

The lecturing tone and stern expression. Jae-seung found it hard to understand the look of conviction in his eyes. How could he still praise a specific trait when his brother died because of the trait transformation research?

“Do you still think that way even though the research ended in failure?”

“I think the failure of the research actually proves the superiority of Alphas. It’s something you’re born with, not something that can be artificially created.”

His word choice revealed a blind belief. It was almost like madness. Jae-seung mulled over Ye-wook’s words repeatedly.

If everyone involved in the research concluded that Alphas couldn’t be artificially created…

Then what am I? Am I a fake, unable to be acknowledged by anyone and yet unable to function as a complete Alpha?

A headache gripped his entire head. He thought he had misheard due to the headache, but then he felt a vibration in his tightly clenched fist. Only now did he realize he had been clutching his phone like a lifeline, even though he had nothing else to do.

It was Shin-woo. Jae-seung’s eyebrows furrowed as he checked the caller ID. The timing was unbelievable – after days without contact, the call came just as he met with Ye-wook.

Was Ye-wook right? Was he really wary of Jae-seung getting close to anyone? While he himself went on dates with his girlfriend and dog?

Out of spite, Jae-seung didn’t answer the call. When it rang again, he pressed reject. After ignoring two calls, he felt a little better.

He was the one who should be sorry when he was kicked out onto the street, not him. If he had no other source of income, it was only a matter of time before he was dumped by his lover. Thinking of Shin-woo, who would never be able to set foot in that ice cream shop again, made his stomach feel better.

Vengeance. That’s how Jae-seung concluded his feelings.

* * *

“A birthday party?”

When he asked again, thinking he had misheard, the man nodded, confirming he had heard correctly. Shin-woo sighed and took a drink from the mini-bar. The information he had received was so unbelievable that he wondered if this guy was making things up after being caught by Jae-seung.

This man was a private investigator Jae-seung had hired to follow him.

Shin-woo, who usually didn’t mind if reporters used drones to take photos as long as they didn’t get too close, had finally caught one of them because this guy had crossed the line. He had tried to follow carefully, taking his time, but his mistake was entering the hotel. Shin-woo calmly waited for the elevator to go down to the first floor and come back up, then caught the man who had walked right into his arms.

There was no need to question him; as soon as he was caught, the man spilled everything. Jae-seung had hired him to follow Shin-woo all day and monitor what he was doing, and he had just been diligently following behind.

Finding it cute that Jae-seung was so curious about his whereabouts that he hired someone, Shin-woo had let the man continue following him. In return, he asked to be told what conversations they had whenever he met with Jae-seung. It had only been a few days, but he was curious about how Jae-seung was doing and if he was sleeping well.

However, upon hearing the man’s report, he felt more confused than reassured. He had been worried when told that Jae-seung suddenly complained of severe abdominal pain during a conversation and looked for medicine, but the very next thing he heard was that Jae-seung was planning a grand birthday party.

As far as Shin-woo knew, Jae-seung had never been the guest of honor at a grand birthday party. He had often been sick due to experiments since childhood, and he had been raised in hiding to conceal visible side effects like abnormal growth or stretch marks.

Was he just wanting to have a birthday party now? Shin-woo cleared his bitter-tasting mouth and asked,

“His birthday is next week, right? Not just a small home party?”

“No. He said he wanted to do it grandly. He also mentioned wanting to hold a memorial service for Chairman Ma.”

“…You must have misheard that.”

“No, I heard it clearly with my own ears.”

Shin-woo finished the rest of his drink in one go and crumpled the can, throwing it in the trash. He was always unpredictable, but now that they were apart, it was even harder to understand what he was thinking.

Thanks to the tracking device placed on Ye-wook’s car, Shin-woo knew that Ye-wook had recently visited the Ma Family mansion. Could this have caused a new change in Jae-seung’s state of mind? The reaction he showed when he met Ye-wook last time was also concerning, so Shin-woo tried calling him, but Jae-seung didn’t answer.

It would be fortunate if he was no longer struggling with separation anxiety, but Shin-woo was deeply worried because he intended to look after him until he graduated from university and safely took the chairman’s position. He needed to be by his side, at least publicly, for Jae-seung to be safe. He had left him alone for the past few days as he stayed in the mansion, but as his external activities increased, he needed to stay close to him somehow.

How could he persuade Jae-seung? Shin-woo pondered for a moment and nodded lightly to the man.

“How did he react when he saw my picture?”

“Well… He was surprised that you were living in luxury, and he was very curious about what you were doing and who you were meeting.”

“Really?”

“Yes. When I mentioned that you might be raising a dog, he said that couldn’t be true and even asked me to find out if it had a separate owner.”

That’s understandable. Shin-woo smiled wryly, and the man gulped. After hesitating for a while, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Ahem! I’m not sure, but whether it’s dating or raising a dog, it seems…”

“Seems?”

“It seems he finds it objectionable. This isn’t my opinion at all! From Young Master Ma Jae-seung’s perspective…”

“From his perspective?”

“It’s as if he’s trying to track where the money you’ve diverted, I mean, earned through hard work, is going.”

Shin-woo’s brow furrowed, and the man quickly shut his mouth. Well, it was understandable to be curious about where all that money was going. It wasn’t like Jae-seung was worried about running out of money in his lifetime, and the idea of tracking it out of spite didn’t make sense either. Why bother when it wasn’t money he could get back anyway?

“Are you sure the young master is curious about where my money is going?”

“Yes, I’m sure. He asked me to investigate, saying there must be some hidden bank accounts.”

Of course, there were hidden accounts, but it was surprising that Jae-seung would be curious about that. The fact that Jae-seung was thoroughly investigating the flow of funds, even tracking hidden accounts, couldn’t be dismissed as a mere emotional issue. He must be anxious that the money might be used to threaten him.

Shin-woo hadn’t anticipated that he would be anxious about such things. He’s trying to keep his distance because he considers me a potential threat.

“Um, by the way, this girl named Hye-jeong… does she really exist?”

Shin-woo, who had been tapping his shoes thoughtfully, looked up. As soon as their eyes met, the man’s courage seemed to evaporate, and he immediately lowered his gaze and prostrated himself.

“I-I’m not asking out of personal curiosity, it’s just that Young Master Ma Jae-seung kept asking if there was a woman named Park Hye-jeong around.”

“…Just ignore that.”

“Or perhaps, is there something between you and that ice cream shop owner? Young Master Ma Jae-seung recognized that woman immediately when he saw the photo.”

“What?”

“He keeps asking me to find your girlfriend, so I think he might be wondering if you’re spending all your money on her.”

“…”

“Forget it! That last part was just my speculation, don’t mind it.”

Hmm. Shin-woo groaned, drawing out the end of his sound. Could this be why Jae-seung kept asking about Hye-jeong? If so, it might be better to let him believe that he has a girlfriend and that he was giving all his money to her. It would be preferable to reassure him with a lie rather than have him worry about his safety, suspecting that he might be planning something sinister with the diverted funds.

“Tell him that.”

“Pardon?”

“Tell him that I’m dating the ice cream shop owner and that it seems I’m spending all my money on her.”

Since he would need to ask for various favors anyway after entrusting her with the dog, he might as well add one more issue to negotiate. She was the type who was very easy to communicate with.

“Are you really dating her? I guess that’s why you trust her enough to leave your dog with her.”

Shin-woo was about to deny it when the man asked in surprise, but he decided there was no need to tell the truth. After all, even if he said they were dating, Jae-seung wouldn’t come to see for himself or investigate the source of funds, so there would be no trouble at all.

The bigger issue was whether the claim that he was spending all his money on that woman would be believable. Although he had recently done some minor interior renovations, the shop was basically small, and the owner had a simple style, so there was no visible sign of lavish spending, which was concerning.

Maybe he should get her a new sign while he was at it. That should be enough to make it somewhat believable.

“I’ll have a new sign put up at the ice cream shop tomorrow, so take a picture and tell him I did it for her. Say that I’m completely infatuated with her.”

Shin-woo gave the order concisely and then nodded, indicating that the man should leave now. As he watched the man quickly gather his bag and rush out, Shin-woo sighed deeply.

He could only hope that this would prevent Jae-seung from becoming even more anxious.