MIM 32

Jae-seung blinked blankly. Never having doubted that he was an Alpha, the shock refused to subside. To think that he, one of the strongest Alphas, was originally born a Beta. The word ‘experiment’ evoked an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, but the talk of genetic modification seemed preposterous.

No matter what anyone said, Jae-seung was an Alpha. A proud Alpha. The master of Ma Corporation.

“You’re saying I was originally a Beta? That’s impossible.”

“Your father believed Alphas had superior genes and gathered like-minded investors to fund the research. They thought if they could create a drug to artificially increase the number of Alphas and Omegas, it would have tremendous business value. Since you need Omegas to give birth to Alphas, they developed a drug to alter Beta traits.”

“…”

“When the drug was almost complete, your father was the first to set an example-“

Ye-wook paused and frowned. Dissatisfied with his word choice, he rephrased,

“Your father put you, born a Beta, on the experiment table. Impressed, some investors followed suit, offering their own children as test subjects. My younger brother was one of them.”

Jae-seung, about to ask how he could believe this, closed his mouth. As soon as Ye-wook mentioned his younger brother, his face contorted with grief. He answered the question Jae-seung couldn’t bring himself to ask.

“My younger brother couldn’t withstand the rapid growth. His skin didn’t just stretch; it tore. His immune system weakened, making him prone to illness. He lived confined, rarely able to go out. Severe skin conditions left his face disfigured…”

“…”

“Wasn’t it the same for you?”

Was it?

A faded memory flickered. Blood. Red blood on white sheets. Every cough sent tiny droplets of blood flying, leaving vivid marks. Amidst the fear and huddled posture, the surroundings were noisy with bustling people. Among them, his eyes met those of a man standing tall. Father. He tried calling out in a shriveled voice, but the man remained at an unreachable distance, not approaching.

Though soundless, his father’s lips were moving. Jae-seung desperately clung to his blurry vision, trying not to miss the words directed at him. Slowly, letter by letter, the lips formed words.

You must overcome this, Jae-seung.

That’s what it means to be the master of Ma Corporation.

“My younger brother took his own life. They call it suicide, but it was really murder.”

Ye-wook’s sigh broke the silence, bringing focus back to Jae-seung’s deep green eyes. He pondered the memories that had just surfaced and dissipated like smoke. Rather than the exact events, the emotions felt at the time were more vivid. Desire. It was a desire that surpassed the tearing pain in his body.

He wanted to overcome it. To become a valuable existence.

To be loved.

Though just a fragmented memory, it choked him up. Jae-seung cleared his throat loudly, pushing aside the complex emotions.

“Besides me, what about other test subjects… What was the scale of the experiment?”

“At least hundreds. It was a top-secret experiment, so the scale itself wasn’t large, but it went on for over a decade, so the numbers aren’t small.”

It was hard to believe there were hundreds more. If the experiment lasted over a decade, when exactly did he become a subject? The more they talked, the more questions arose.

“I’d like to meet the others. Can you connect me with them?”

“There are none. You’re the only survivor.”

The response was shocking. Jae-seung unconsciously felt his own body, as if to confirm its existence.

“…Hundreds all died? How could such a failed experiment continue in secret? It should have been exposed long ago-“

“The experiment had to be conducted secretly to prevent leaks. They only used direct family members of investors and people from Mangwol District, who were practically orphans.”

Mangwol District. As soon as he found the connection, something clicked in his mind. Jae-seung searched his phone for an old news photo of his father. A photo with a red circle drawn around his father’s head. He had found it while sneaking into Shin-woo’s room.

He had been trying to figure out when the photo was taken when his rut hit, making him forget about it completely. Jae-seung showed the photo to Ye-wook.

“Any idea when this might be from? I found it in Shin-woo’s room.”

At the mention of Shin-woo’s name, Ye-wook’s expression hardened. Was there a specific reason he feared Shin-woo so much? Jae-seung carefully observed Ye-wook’s reaction as he continued.

“Shin-woo started working at the mansion when I was twelve. If this photo was taken before that, maybe he came in from the beginning to seek revenge for the Mangwol District people-“

“Revenge my ass. That bastard knew everything and didn’t even blink an eye.”

Without even glancing at the photo, Ye-wook smirked. Jae-seung’s mouth opened to ask what he meant, but no sound came out. Though nothing could be more horrifying than learning he was raised as a test subject by his father’s hand, anxiety swelled like a water-soaked sponge, constricting his chest. His heart pounded as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff.

“What do you think that guy did under your father?”

The pounding heart that had been racing suddenly became quiet. It felt like his heart was being crushed.

* * *

“One cocoa please. Iced.”

“You mean one iced chocolate, right?”

As Shin-woo finished his order and slightly narrowed his eyes, the part-time worker smiled in response. It was a café he frequented quite often since it was on campus, and every time he came, Shin-woo stubbornly used the word ‘cocoa’ which wasn’t even on the menu, instead of iced chocolate. He kept ordering like that because he found it cute how Jae-seung was subtly embarrassed by it, and now the part-timer would immediately start making iced chocolate as soon as they saw him.

He used ‘cocoa’ because it sounded cute, even though it wasn’t a word only used by little kids, but Jae-seung particularly couldn’t stand it. It all started when they first came to the café right after entering university, and Shin-woo asked if they had cocoa on the menu. Although the part-timer who replied that he could order hot chocolate had no ill intentions, Jae-seung’s ears turned bright red with embarrassment.

Cocoa was a word his nanny used to use. Jae-seung, who grew up only inside the mansion, naturally learned the language of his nanny, the gardeners, servants, and his parents. While communicating with a limited number of people wasn’t a problem for language learning, there were cases like ‘reward’ or ‘cocoa’ that stood out. He hated the former terribly, but found the latter cute.

Jae-seung had liked cocoa since he was young. Even when he struggled with allergies to all sorts of foods, cocoa never gave him trouble. Considering that many people have difficulty digesting milk, he thought it was really fortunate. Whenever he was sick, cocoa was what they sought out as a reward.

Though Jae-seung doesn’t show it, what happened at the villa must still be painful. The habit of pretending not to be sick for fear of disappointing people still remained. In fact, he might just not have anywhere to open up about it. Shin-woo gazed at the chocolate drink being placed on the pickup counter.

That was the reason he kept coming to buy cocoa. To comfort the guy who might be hurting, even if just like this.

“Your drink is ready.”

The part-timer’s cheerful voice echoed through the small café. As Shin-woo picked up the drink, he noticed a note tucked into the sleeve and looked up. As soon as their eyes met, the part-timer blushed and quickly disappeared behind the showcase.

On his way out of the café, Shin-woo threw away the number the part-timer had given him along with the straw wrapper. It was surprising that such contacts kept coming in when he was being treated as a criminal wherever he went. He’d heard that famous serial killers sometimes have followers – was this similar? It was a mentality Shin-woo couldn’t understand at all.

On his way back across campus, Shin-woo created a social media account and followed Jae-seung. Somehow, tens of thousands of people had already followed Jae-seung. More people would be watching from now on, and every word he said and every picture he posted would be turned into news articles. While he was worried because Jae-seung had such a fiery temper…

Seeing the welcoming messages pouring in for Jae-seung in numerous languages somehow made Shin-woo’s heart feel lighter. Because it seemed that Jae-seung could finally leave freely, anytime, anywhere, if he wanted to.