EDR Ch 41

Side Story 1: Opportunity

Lee Si-hyun is an Alpha. He has been educated and raised as an Alpha all his life, and he plans to live as an Alpha in the future. Before being himself, Lee Si-hyun was the Alpha of a family and a company. He was praised for being basically upright in character. Others may see it that way, but Lee Si-hyun identified himself as a person with a strong desire to win, a bit arrogant but sincere. Of course, none of that matters. Lee Si-hyun used to be called ‘Dongwoo Food’s first Alpha’ by everyone. That was his identity.

For a while, the review of Dongwoo Food’s first Alpha was twisted. For no apparent reason, positive comments on Kim Joo-hyuk, who had an unsightly attitude in front of him, had been pouring in. It was information he didn’t want to hear. When people make a decision, they tend to accept only information that supports their preconceived notions. ‘Praise Postcard’ was a torturous time for Lee Si-hyun, who received inaccurate or distorted information about Kim Joo-hyuk.

The ‘Praise Postcard’, which is part of the company’s welfare, was filled with stories about Deputy Kim Joo-hyuk from a certain moment. Most of the content was useless. They said he was handsome, he was cute with his hair down one day… It was more like a collection of radio stories, not a complimentary postcard.

Lee Si-hyun thought of the blunt Beta employee. A straight face came to mind. On the other hand, he seemed to be laughing at himself as an ‘Arrogant Alpha’. A Beta with good grades. The Beta employee, who would not have much contact with Lee Si-hyun in the future, kept invading Lee Si-hyun’s daily life.

As time passed, Lee Si-hyun became accustomed to reading ‘Praise Postcards’. He saw a different side of Kim Joo-hyuk receiving compliments from others every day. Competent, kind, cares for Omegas, and does not feel intimidated by Alphas. There is a downside to not being able to get into the equipment room, but he is basically sincere.

Lee Si-hyun started thinking about Kim Joo-hyuk. About a person named Kim Joo-hyuk, who had many faces, not just the hard-looking Beta.

Kim Joo-hyuk seemed to be a better person than he thought.

Lee Si-hyun began to visit the third floor using the pretext of meeting with Lee Hyun-jae. If he was lucky, he could even talk to Kim Joo-hyuk. Kim Joo-hyuk always greeted him with a stiff face. It was an attitude that couldn’t be interpreted as a good feeling. Lee Si-hyun’s interest in Kim Joo-hyuk naturally faded.

Then something happened where he couldn’t see Kim Joo-hyuk, no, couldn’t go to the 3rd floor. This was because Dongwoo Foods was overturned once due to the succession issue. Even if only the name was listed as managing director, a director was still a director. Lee Si-hyun repeated the schedule of working at a consulting company during the day and at Dongwoo Foods headquarters in the afternoon. While Director Ha Kwang-hwan worked through the HR team, Lee Si-hyun persuaded shareholders. It was a tiring and painful day.

The family was also in trouble. They polished Lee Si-hyun from all sides. From parents to relatives without a drop of blood, they began to worry about Lee Si-hyun’s every move. As Lee Si-hyun remembered, it was the same interest he had when he had chickenpox at 5 years old. Everyone gathered their voices as if Lee Si-hyun would start a game right away and die if he didn’t live like an Alpha.

‘It’s nice to see Dongwoo’s Alpha often these days.’, ‘He has to marry a good Omega.’, ‘You have to clean up the company and return to Dongwoo Foods to take on the job.’, ‘You are the eldest Alpha son in our family.’, ‘Don’t you have work to do as an Alpha?’, ‘What are you going to do with such a lack of responsibility?’

Not everything worked out right. Lee Si-hyun had no intention of going into Dongwoo Foods. He didn’t want to accept the role of the eldest son who walked steadily through the life as an Alpha that someone had set for him. He knew what he was rejecting. A life tied to the thread called Alpha, the only identity that ties all of one’s persona.

However, he believed he would eventually return to Dongwoo Foods. Just like the hands of a clock go round and round.

Meanwhile, Director Ha Kwang-hwan handed over one more burden. He asked to somehow solve the complaint about Ha Won. After graduating from college, Ha Won, who had to join Dongwoo Foods and follow a proper path, kept getting further away.

‘I don’t need an Omega employee, who works moderately and gets severance pay.’

One day, Lee Si-hyun, who was furious to the point of his head, yelled at Ha Won.

‘They told you to live comfortably, what the hell are you so dissatisfied with?!’

Ha Won, who was clearly annoyed, yelled back. Lee Si-hyun was stunned when Ha Won’s expression abruptly changed. He is a much-loved younger brother, despite their age difference. Perhaps it was too harsh. He is still a young Omega. Alphas should be kind to Omegas, be more considerate, and…

‘Are you happy living as an Alpha?’

‘What?’

‘You left because you didn’t want to be an Alpha tied to Dongwoo in the first place. Didn’t you start your own company because you didn’t want to be an Alpha? Even if you were working under another CEO, you didn’t want you being an Alpha and the eldest son to be the reason you got there.’

Lee Si-hyun was speechless. Ha Won, who he only thought was young, recognized Lee Si-hyun’s nature. Ha Won had grown up. There was no need for Lee Si-hyun to take care of him like this and that, he was already an adult.

‘If I go to Dongwoo Foods, it will be comfortable just as hyung said. Everyone will pay attention to me, and if I do my job properly, I’ll be promoted. And then? Well, if I marry an Alpha, whom my family chooses for me, I’ll leave with severance pay. Or, I’ll just put my name on it and play with it. It’s my fucking life, too.’

Meanwhile, Doori circled frantically between Lee Si-hyun and Ha Won. Ha Won lifted Doori and added,

‘I have a life too. Not the life of an Omega, but the life I want to live.’

Lee Si-hyun informed Ha Won that the contract position at his company is vacant. ‘If you have a resume and prepare it properly, you might be able to get it. If you’re that good, try earning your own pocket money.’

On that day, Lee Si-hyun, who returned to the house where he lived alone, thought carefully about Ha Won’s words. And he remembered the tired face of the HR manager and the family picture on his desk. He counted the number of wedding invitations on his desk. Lee Si-hyun decided not to resign.

After a stormy period, Lee Si-hyun went to the third floor again. He had to go to work to see his cheeky face after a long time. There will be no more coming to see Kim Joo-hyuk after this last time today.

As Lee Si-hyun expected, Kim Joo-hyuk had arrived earlier than the others. He sat at his desk and stared blankly at his computer. When he tapped the partition, Kim Joo-hyuk raised his head. The expression looking up at Lee Si-hyun with his lips slightly open made him look quite young.

“What are you doing?”

Kim Joo-hyuk answered.

“I was looking at pictures of tourist spots. It’s still before business hours, so don’t scold me.”

“I won’t scold you. It’s before everyone starts work. I haven’t seen you often lately. Did you miss me?”

Lee Si-hyun joked lightly. Kim Joo-hyuk answered in a faint voice.

“I missed you.”

Kim Joo-hyuk smiled.

“You come every day and suddenly you don’t come.”

Lee Si-hyun remembered that moment as an opportunity. A polite word or whatever.

From that day on, Lee Si-hyun made a habit of visiting the third floor every day. As the time on the third floor increased, he could see Kim Joo-hyuk’s surroundings. Kim Joo-hyuk was a good person. Betas and Omegas around Kim Joo-hyuk were the same. It seemed that Lee Si-hyun was better than any other Alphas who gritted their teeth.

Lee Si-hyun had more time to talk with the Beta. He also had a talent for recognizing a competent Omega employee. Lee Si-hyun’s surroundings, which were full of Alphas, became a little more colorful.

Among the many people, Lee Si-hyun liked Kim Joo-hyuk the most. He looks a little blunt, but surprisingly, he smiles a lot. He often gets compliments from people around him, but he doesn’t think it’s a big deal. His blank face is a little funny. His lips are tightly closed, his habit of smiling with only one corner of his mouth raised, and his frown on one eyebrow when looking at Lee Si-hyun is cute.

Kim Joo-hyuk did not easily smile at Lee Si-hyun, but he was also a pretty good talker.

‘Deputy Kim, would you like to eat lunch with me today?’

‘I brought a lunch box.‘

‘Eat with me.’

‘It’s curry. I’m going to eat it alone because of the smell.’

‘Then I can eat curry too.’

‘Let’s find a curry restaurant.’

‘You don’t want to eat with me.’

‘True.’

‘Joo-hyuk-ssi.’

‘Yes.’

‘I think I like Joo-hyuk-ssi.’

‘Director is an Alpha.’

Looking at Kim Joo-hyuk, who looked at him as if wondering, Lee Si-hyun smiled brightly. Before being Alpha, Lee Si-hyun was just Lee Si-hyun. Just like Kim Joo-hyuk was Kim Joo-hyuk before being a Beta.

One day, Lee Si-hyun woke up and saw Kim Joo-hyuk sleeping next to him. Lee Si-hyun thought, ‘The fact that Lee Si-hyun is Alpha doesn’t change, but Lee Si-hyun can change. No matter how fast or slow, people are bound to change.’

Lee Si-hyun blushed alone for no reason, then hugged Kim Joo-hyuk and interlocked their hands.

This is the reason why Lee Si-hyun said to Kim Joo-hyuk, ‘I wish you could be by my side whenever I open my eyes.’