FF Chapter 1

The sound of a vibrating alarm echoed in the sunlit room.

A faint groan emerged from under the bulging blanket. A white, smooth foot peeked out from under the covers, wiggling in resistance. Despite trying to stay in bed, the blaring of the alarm forced Ji Yeonwoo to reluctantly throw off the blanket and sit up.

Ji Yeonwoo’s mornings were slower to start than most. He had tried countless methods to become a morning person, but no matter what, he was always slow to get going. It wasn’t that he stayed up late or drank every night, so why did mornings always feel so exhausting? Sitting in a daze with his hair in disarray, Ji Yeonwoo pondered the unanswerable question.

After some time, he finally groaned and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Dragging his slippers along, he made his way to the living room, pressed the water dispenser button, and leaned against the cabinet. With sleep still heavy in his eyes, Ji Yeonwoo let out a long yawn, drank a cup of lukewarm water, and trudged to the bathroom.

Though his actions were slow, they flowed naturally as if part of a well-established routine.

After washing thoroughly from head to toe, Ji Yeonwoo’s face finally brightened. He went to the kitchen, prepared a simple breakfast, sat at the table, and opened his tablet.

He spread marmalade thinly on toast, stacked it with a fried egg and bacon, took a bite, and tapped the tablet screen with his index finger.

When he checked the delivery status of an order he had placed, it indicated that it would arrive at his shop in about an hour. As he took another bite of toast, thinking he would finish eating and head out afterward, his phone rang.

It was his mother calling.

“Yes, Mom.”

[You’re up. Did you sleep well?]

“Yes. Is there something you need this morning?”

[I was worried because you sounded tired when we talked yesterday. Are you feeling okay?]

“You’re always worrying, Mom. Your son is doing just fine on his own now.”

Ji Yeonwoo responded with a smile, his mouth full of bread.

[Of course, but that’s what moms do.]

“I’m up and eating breakfast now. Don’t worry too much.”

[Breakfast, you say? You’re not eating just bread, eggs, and bacon, are you?]

His mother’s words, pinpointing exactly what he was eating, made Ji Yeonwoo freeze like a child caught in the act. Swallowing the mouthful of food with an audible gulp, he drank a few sips of water.

“Of course not. I’m eating rice. Rice.”

[Hmm.]

Hearing his mother’s skeptical tone, Ji Yeonwoo quickly continued speaking, fearing she would start nagging.

“Have you eaten yet, Mom?”

[Not yet. I’m waiting to eat with your father when he gets back from his workout.]

“Did he go golfing?”

[Yes. By the way, have you been to the hospital?]

The question came out of nowhere, catching him off guard.

“The hospital…?”

[You haven’t gone again, have you? I told you to go before it’s too late. What if something’s wrong?]

His perceptive mother instantly knew the situation from his brief hesitation. Unable to lie, Ji Yeonwoo leaned back in his chair, listening to her rapid-fire concerns. It had already been two years, but she was still worried about him, which brought a bittersweet smile to his face.

“I’m fine, Mom.”

[But I’m not fine.]

“I really am fine,” Ji Yeonwoo muttered softly, not arguing further with his mother. To her, Ji Yeonwoo was a source of constant concern, and after what happened two years ago, he felt even more guilty for worrying her.

[Yeonwoo, I still can’t forgive Lee Hyunjun. I did nothing because you asked me to, but it wasn’t because we lacked the means to take action.]

“I know.”

[Four years living with him, and you came back a mess. And then he divorces you because you lost your pheromones? How is that even possible?]

His mother, who had been venting her frustration, fell silent, unable to continue. Although she was angry, she seemed to hold back for Ji Yeonwoo’s sake. Even though two years had passed since the divorce, just thinking about it made his mother seethe with anger.

At times like this, Ji Yeonwoo felt like a criminal, unable to say anything. He appreciated that she was angry on his behalf, but he couldn’t shake the discomfort it caused him. The label of a divorced dominant Omega was already enough for him to bear alone; he hated the idea of burdening his mother with it as well.

“Our dear Mrs. Kim, getting angry in the morning will only raise your blood pressure. It’s all in the past. Please try to calm down, okay?”

[Oh, if only I could hold my tongue.]

Ji Yeonwoo could imagine his mother, now more sullen than angry. It might be rude to say, but when Mrs. Kim got mad, she resembled a kitten more than a tiger. In other words, she was quite adorable.

[By the way, I heard Lee Hyunjun is coming back to Korea.]

“……!”

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes widened as he silently listened. What? Who’s coming?

[Apparently, he remarried in the U.S. to Mrs. Choi’s eldest daughter. It’s been about a month.]

“Mrs. Choi? Are you talking about Representative Seo’s family?”

[Yes, Mrs. Kim told me. Even though she knows you divorced Lee Hyunjun, she brought it up so casually. She said he’s coming back to open a gallery or something. It made me so mad.]

Ji Yeonwoo’s mind went blank, unable to think of anything to say. He thought he was okay, but as soon as he heard that Lee Hyunjun was returning to Korea, his heart started pounding. It was pure anxiety.

[I thought you should know so you wouldn’t be caught off guard if you ran into him.]

“There’s no chance of running into him unless he comes looking for me.”

[You never know. Life is unpredictable.]

“The paths of our lives are completely different now. Besides, we haven’t been in contact for the past two years. We’ll just continue living our separate lives, just like we have been.”

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely over it. Even now, the name “Lee Hyunjun” stirs up the buried feelings of anxiety within me, but I couldn’t let my mother see that.

“And please don’t worry too much about the hospital. I asked around, and they said it’s just like a fever. I also did some research, and apparently, once you lose your pheromones, it’s very hard to get them back. There is a treatment, but it’s expensive, so I haven’t gone.”

When Ji Yeonwoo calmly explained his thoughts, his mother seemed to accept it, saying nothing further.

“I’m okay now. It’s only a bit uncomfortable when I get a heat cycle, but other than that, I actually feel more at ease and comfortable now.”

[……]

“It’s all in the past, and I’ve forgotten about it. I might be a bit clumsy, but I can handle things on my own now. So please, don’t worry too much.”

[Are you really okay?]

“Of course. Trust your son.”

[Alright. Make sure to eat well, and don’t stay at the shop too late.]

“Yes, yes, I understand, ma’am.”

[And call your father sometimes. He may not show it, but he worries about you a lot.]

“I will. Enjoy your breakfast.”

After ending the call with his mother, Ji Yeonwoo let his hand holding the phone drop. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it felt hard to breathe. Taking shallow breaths, Ji Yeonwoo stood still like a wax figure in the silent, clockless house.

Ji Yeonwoo is a dominant omega, but he has no pheromones. To be more precise, he lost his pheromones.

His mother suggested visiting the hospital to find out why, but Ji Yeonwoo already knew the reason. If his mother ever found out, she might grab a knife and go after Lee Hyunjun herself. To avoid that, Ji Yeonwoo planned to keep it a secret until the day he died—not to protect Lee Hyunjun, but to protect his mother and those around him. After all, it was in the past, and everything was already over.

Misfortune began when he met Lee Hyunjun, his senior by two years in high school. Lee Hyunjun had picked out Ji Yeonwoo as soon as he entered school, declaring him as his omega and warning others not to touch him. For three years, Ji Yeonwoo had to live under the label of being Lee Hyunjun’s omega. Lee Hyunjun wasn’t lying when he said he’d take responsibility—right after graduation, he took Ji Yeonwoo with him.

He had thought those four years of marriage would be happy, but the end was hollow. As a dominant omega, Ji Yeonwoo lost his pheromones and ended up living no differently from a beta. He lost people, and was left with the stigma of being a divorced dominant omega. The marriage had taken more from him than it had given.

“So, he’s really coming back to Korea.”

After the divorce, Lee Hyunjun had fled to America as if he was running from something, without so much as an apology for turning Ji Yeonwoo into something neither omega nor beta.

After learning he had left, Ji Yeonwoo spent a long time consumed by hatred. Resentment and anger gnawed at him, breaking him down until he ended up in the hospital again.

After recovering, Ji Yeonwoo shut himself in his room, cutting off contact with everyone. During that time, he was trapped in an endless loop of resentment, anger, and regret. It took falling and getting back up countless times for him to realize that burying everything related to Lee Hyunjun was the only way to move forward. He knew he couldn’t continue living in a cycle of anger and inaction.

Taking a deep breath that made his chest swell, Ji Yeonwoo exhaled forcefully and slapped his cheeks with both hands, making a loud sound.

“So what if he’s coming back to Korea? He’s remarried anyway. That means there’s even less reason for us to cross paths. He’ll live his life, and I’ll live mine. That’s all there is to it.”

Breathing the same air under the same sky as Lee Hyunjun might feel like hell, but Ji Yeonwoo’s nights were no longer filled with sadness or pain. Life now, compared to those hellish four years of marriage, was so much better and happier. There was no point in dwelling on a past that was long gone. Ji Yeonwoo knew he couldn’t waste time crying over it when a better future awaited him.

“Oh! I don’t have time to be sitting here like this.”

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Ji Yeonwoo suddenly snapped back to reality. More time had passed than he had realized. It took ten minutes to walk from his home to the shop. If he left now, he’d have just enough time to tidy up before the flowers were delivered.

With the remaining toast in his mouth, Ji Yeonwoo quickly packed his tablet into his bag and got up.

As he walked briskly down the hallway toward the entrance, he tapped the screen pad on the wall. With a beep, all the lights in the house went out.

Click. Beep.

The door closed, and the sound of it locking echoed softly, leaving Ji Yeonwoo’s home in peaceful silence once again.

݁˖ ❀ ⋆｡˚

There’s a company that’s considered a rising force in the domestic distribution and logistics industry.

It started as a distribution company called Seonwoo Trading, but the small business was grown into the Seonwoo Group by its founder and chairman, Choi Taebeom.

Chairman Choi Taebeom had two sons.

The eldest, Choi Muhyeok, was a dominant alpha, and the younger, Choi Minhyuk, was also an alpha with excellent traits. Both of Chairman Choi’s sons were blessed with heights approaching 190 cm and well-built physiques, but Choi Muhyeok, in particular, was known for his striking good looks. There was even a rumor that Choi Muhyeok’s handsome face resembled his late mother, who was rumored to have been from the entertainment industry.

Currently, Choi Muhyeok was serving as an Manager Director at Seonwoo Trading, the subsidiary that marked the beginning of the Seonwoo Group, but he was effectively running the company as its president. Meanwhile, Choi Minhyuk was working as a director at Seonwoo Logistics, a company primarily involved in transportation and warehousing.

At first glance, Seonwoo Group might seem like a legitimate corporation, but in reality, its roots trace back to a criminal organization that dominated the region. In essence, Seonwoo Group was a corporate-style gang. Although it had shed much of its former image and now operated as a proper company, remnants of its criminal past were still evident.

Aware of this history, the business world silently refused to acknowledge Seonwoo Group’s existence. Despite being one of the country’s top ten conglomerates in terms of scale, the Seonwoo family was thoroughly excluded from gatherings like the representative directors’ meetings or the prestigious “Youngwoo Club,” a social organization for the second generation of business elites.

Chairman Choi Taebeom resented the high barriers to entry in the business world, but there was nothing he could do about it. As much as he despised the situation, the quality of information shared inside those circles was vastly different from what was available outside.

Bribery would have been an easier option, but it wouldn’t work on people who were already swimming in money. After countless attempts to bow his head and ingratiate himself, only to find the door still firmly shut, Chairman Choi decided to use his eldest son Choi Muhyeok’s superior genetics as a backup plan.

Since there is a high probability of giving birth to a dominant Alpha or Omega when both parents have dominant traits, the most sought-after marriage partner in political and business circles was undoubtedly someone with dominant traits. Chairman Choi leveraged this fact to promote a strategic marriage between his dominant Alpha son, Choi Muhyeok, and someone from these circles.

The result was successful.

The previously aloof figures in politics and business finally began to respond to Chairman Choi’s dominant Alpha card.

Chairman Choi Taebeom, whose hair had turned white over the years but whose face remained as sharp as ever, sat at the head of the sofa. Responding to the call, Choi Muhyeok sat upright, his lips tightly sealed. Chairman Choi, looking at Choi Muhyeok with a hint of dissatisfaction, gestured with his chin, and Secretary Kim, who shadowed him like a ghost, pulled a photograph from his pocket and placed it in front of Choi Muhyeok.

“She’s the esteemed daughter of Assemblyman Park. I’ve heard she’s quite a brilliant Omega.”

Only then did Choi Muhyeok raise his eyes to look at Chairman Choi before turning his gaze to the photo. The woman in the picture was the complete opposite of Choi Muhyeok’s image. While Choi Muhyeok, with his neatly slicked-back pomade hairstyle, straight brow bones, thick eyebrows, double-eyelid-free but appropriately sized eyes, a prominent nose, and sternly closed lips, gave off a classic handsome yet stern impression, the woman in the picture was a typical beauty with a gentle smile and a neat appearance.

“6 PM, on the 16th, at Hotel 00’s restaurant. Make sure to meet her.”

Realizing the date, Choi Muhyeok looked back at Chairman Choi.

“The 16th? That’s today.”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

Chairman Choi raised an eyebrow, as if to ask what difference it made. It was after work hours anyway, so what was the issue?

“…”

Choi Muhyeok, who had been meeting his gaze, silently shifted his focus back to the photograph. For a very brief moment, a displeased expression flickered across Choi Muhyeok’s face, but it quickly reverted to a neutral one.

“My fully grown son seems lost and wandering, so shouldn’t I step in?”

“….”

“Make sure to meet her properly this time.”

After carefully placing the photo in his jacket, Choi Muhyeok stood up, slightly tugging at his wrinkled jacket to smooth it out. Without a word, he bowed deeply and turned to leave, lips pressed into a straight, grim line.

Chairman Choi glanced at him and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Given his age, it was perhaps inevitable that he would be set up on dates. After all, he couldn’t remain single forever. From just the photograph, she didn’t seem like someone with a difficult personality. If she was someone chosen to fit Chairman Choi’s tastes, she was likely to be obedient and easygoing. Even if he were to concede that it was all fine, learning about the arrangement on the same day was something he found extremely displeasing.

It was obvious. The timing was so tight that he couldn’t prepare any countermeasures, forcing him to attend the meeting. However, even considering all the circumstances, it was excessive to inform him on the day of the meeting.

It had only been two months since he returned to the frontlines of management after spending two years in a bloodstained abyss. He had found it strange when the person who hadn’t contacted him even once during that time suddenly summoned him, but now he understood why.

If Father’s going to play it this way, then I have no choice but to respond in kind. 

Choi Muhyeok’s eyes narrowed as he leaned his elbow on the window frame, driving with one hand.

As he continued staring straight ahead, Choi Muhyeok’s gaze flicked briefly toward a flashing light. His phone, mounted on a holder, was vibrating.

It was a call from his younger brother, Choi Minhyuk.