For her, love for him boiled endlessly. She could do anything for the man she loved—anything except leaving him.
Baek Gu-bon, too, whispered sweet words to her constantly. He showered her with expensive handbags and accessories without hesitation. And before long, she became pregnant with Baek Gu-bon’s child.
Two months after she gave birth to Kyung-wook, news of Baek Gu-bon’s illegitimate child finally reached his wife.
Even when his lawful wife stormed into the secretary’s office that very day and raised her voice at her, Kyung-wook’s mother never shrank back.
Ironically, that incident became the catalyst for Baek Gu-bon and her to begin meeting openly. Eventually, Baek Gu-bon even went so far as to bring his mistress into his own home.
Unable to endure her husband and his lover’s shameless behavior any longer, Baek Gu-bon’s first wife ultimately chose divorce.
Kyung-wook was three years old at the time.
His mother believed she had won. She thought she had endured a long period of patience and had finally claimed a proud victory. But it was nothing more than a delusion.
“You think this is the only time that man has cheated on his wife with another woman? The same thing will happen to you someday. Try living miserably like I did.”
On the day Baek Gu-bon’s first wife left the house, leaving her own son behind, she mocked Kyung-wook’s mother mercilessly.
She hurled venomous words as she departed, saying that one day Kyung-wook’s mother would end up in the exact same position. And those words remained as a curse that might as well have been a death sentence.
She became obsessed with love.
Even while doubting Baek Gu-bon’s sincerity, she paradoxically insisted on believing in true love.
Around that time, Baek Gu-bon’s interest in her gradually began to fade. And though she knew it, his mother clung desperately to his father. But to his father, she was nothing more than a decorative object. He had never truly loved her. What he loved was youth and beauty. To begin with, eternal love did not exist for his father. His love lasted only a season—fragile and fleeting.
Soon, his father began seeing other women.
The more the scent of different women’s perfume clung to Baek Gu-bon each day, the more hysterical his mother became. Her increasingly vicious temperament began to manifest as violence toward her son.
A woman who had once been indifferent to her child now swung between extremes. One day she would shower Kyung-wook with affection, as if pouring out all the love in the world. The next day she would curse him viciously and beat his small body without restraint.
The more that cycle repeated, the more desperately Kyung-wook began to crave every scrap of affection she gave.
Her inconsistency affected the young boy deeply.
Some days he wished his mother would love him. Other days he wished she would simply disappear from his sight.
Perhaps his wish came true.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, she—being a heavy smoker—developed lung cancer at a young age.
Her once elastic, vibrant skin gradually became dry and lifeless.Â
After spending her days waiting only for death, she eventually committed suicide.
The one who discovered her hanging in the master bedroom was none other than Kyung-wook, returning home from kindergarten.
The suicide note contained only a few short lines.
It said that she didn’t want her husband to see her ruined by illness, and that she had chosen to leave while she was still beautiful.
There was not a single mention of his father’s affairs or infidelity. And not a single word about the young son she would leave behind after losing his mother.
The shock of witnessing his mother’s death left Kyung-wook unable to speak for a long time. He trembled with anxiety and developed an extremely sensitive temperament.
His father ordered Chief Choi to send him for psychiatric treatment, but there was no sign of improvement.
Then he met Kim Kang-woo.
“Why do you like me?”
Sometimes Kim Kang-woo would ask him that question.
“Just because.”
Whenever Kyung-wook answered with a soft grin, Kang-woo would purse his bird-like lips slightly, trying to hide the proud look on his face before replying,
“I just like you too.”
As they played together and spent time together, Kyung-wook slowly began to stabilize.
During that time, his father met another woman. It hadn’t even been a year since his mother’s funeral.
Kyung-wook hated his father. He found it disgusting that the man who had pushed his mother toward death by neglecting her showed no remorse until the very end. His resentment toward his father soon manifested as rebellion.
Whenever that happened, his father would grab a golf club under the pretense of “disciplining him out of love.”
As Kyung-wook grew older, his longing for his mother gradually changed shape.
Hatred. Hatred that continued even as his insides rotted and withered swallowed him whole.
Why did it have to be that way? Had he never existed in her life at all? Had she only ever seen his father? Did it truly not matter to her what happened to the son she had thrown into the world?
Those piercing emotions piled up layer upon layer, forming a thick mass. Old feelings that he could neither throw away nor shake off.
Kyung-wook hated her deeply—the woman who had left him with an indelible wound.
His one and only mother.
Perhaps it was around the same time that his feelings shifted between longing and hatred that he also realized the twisted emotions he felt toward Kim Kang-woo. Kyung-wook realized that he had been projecting his mother onto Kim Kang-woo.
“Father will definitely be disappointed if he finds out your grades dropped this time.”
Kim Kang-woo only ever cared about his father.
Everything was always father, father, father.
And whenever Kyung-wook saw Kang-woo yearning for his father’s love, one woman naturally came to mind—the pitiful and hateful woman who cared only about herself and neglected her child.
The moment he realized the truth, Kyung-wook felt an indescribable anger.
Gradually, irritation toward Kim Kang-woo began to build. Especially when Kang-woo smiled at someone else, the feeling became even more unbearable.
If he found it unpleasant, he could have simply pushed Kang-woo out of his sight. But it didn’t work that way. His attention kept drifting toward him without realizing it.
It bothered him. Every single thing Kim Kang-woo did irritated him.
“Kang-woo, be honest with me. …Are you an Omega?”
Then one day, he found Kang-woo’s suppressants.
He searched through Kang-woo’s bag while Kang-woo had stepped away, unable to shake the feeling that he was hiding something.
Kang-woo blinked in surprise for a moment before admitting it.
“…Yeah. I’m an Omega.”
After that, having his weakness exposed, Kang-woo became endlessly small and timid.
“We’re thirsty. Why don’t you go buy us some drinks?”
Kyung-wook liked that.
He thought that was the way Kim Kang-woo—born an Omega—should look. Just like his own mother had lived.
Every time he saw Kang-woo sinking lower and lower, Kyung-wook felt a strange thrill. But at some point, that wasn’t enough anymore.Â
His greed gradually grew. It was no longer satisfying just to keep Kang-woo near him and watch him become miserable.
The way Kang-woo’s body shrank when Kyung-wook touched him. The anxious glances directed toward him. Whenever he recalled every little movement Kang-woo made, his mouth went dry. A desire stirred inside him—to completely devour Kim Kang-woo and make him his own.
“Haah…”
Kyung-wook exhaled a hot breath and crushed out his cigarette.
He entered the cold officetel and walked straight into the bedroom without turning on the lights.
Originally, this place had been rented for the two of them to live together. But Kim Kang-woo’s sudden actions had ruined all those plans.
Still, there was at least one thing he found satisfying. He no longer had to see the people he hated.
Kim Kang-woo had clearly been abandoned by his father. Otherwise, there was no way he would have stayed away this long. But it didn’t matter. If President Kim wasn’t making a move, Kyung-wook would just move himself.
“…Let’s see how well two abandoned people can live together, Kang-woo.”
Kyung-wook muttered quietly.
He had already sent people out on his side, so news about Kim Kang-woo would arrive soon. Or rather, it had to. If they’d taken his money, they needed to do the job.
January 1st. It had been 77 days since Kim Kang-woo disappeared.
Once this long time passed and Kang-woo returned to him again, he would never let him go.
There would not be a second mistake.
Even if he had to twist Kang-woo’s ankle and put a leash around his neck, he planned to keep him by his side.
Kim Kang-woo was timid.
If he coaxed him gently with words, he would eventually listen. In the end, he would remain beside him.
Kyung-wook unbuckled his belt and pulled down his underwear. Then he grabbed the hardened cock below.
“Haah… fuck. Kim Kang-woo…”
Grinding Kang-woo’s name between his teeth, he began moving his hand roughly.
***
Kang-woo lay stretched out on the sofa with his hands neatly resting on his stomach. The living room was dim since the curtains were only half-open and the lights were off.
His eyes blinked listlessly in the faint light coming from outside. After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, he slowly turned his body to the side and buried his head against the backrest.
For the past few days, he had felt completely drained. Everything felt bothersome.
He spent his days doing nothing, overcome by a lethargic mood that made him not want to move at all.
He had even started skipping meals. Recently he had been eating regularly and had begun to gain a little weight, but now it seemed like he might lose it all again.
It had already been a week since Kang-woo became an adult. After the drinking session that day ended awkwardly, he and Seok-ho had been acting as if nothing had happened. But that was only on the surface.
“Omegas, Alphas… I’m sick of all that.”
Seok-ho’s words kept echoing in his mind. And the brief mention of his family also lingered in his thoughts.
Seok-ho seemed reluctant to talk about family, and Kang-woo had even considered asking Jung Young-wan about it indirectly.
But in the end, he didn’t. It felt like he would be secretly investigating Seok-ho behind his back.
He wanted to know more about Seok-ho. He wanted to get closer to him. He thought that was a natural and pure desire toward someone he had a crush on. But somewhere deep in his heart, an instinctive warning rang out—telling him not to get any closer.
Don’t get greedy. Maintain this distance. Before getting hurt again.
“…What should I do from now on?”
Kang-woo muttered quietly and sighed deeply.
The thing troubling him wasn’t only his one-sided feelings for Seok-ho.
Now that he had become an adult, the future stretching ahead of him felt even more distant and overwhelming.
Thinking about the uncertainty of the future reminded him again of a question Jung Young-wan had asked him.
What did he want to do?
Kang-woo thought about it carefully once more.
What did he want to do? What did he like?
Truthfully, there had never been many choices in Kang-woo’s life.
The university he would attend—and even his future beyond that—had already been decided. Almost as if he were just a part of his father’s planned life. But he had left that carefully structured life behind. He didn’t regret the decision. The problem was that he had no idea how to navigate the future ahead. A way to become independent without anyone’s help.
He kept thinking about it, but still couldn’t find a clear answer.
Seok-ho had said he could continue living in his house. But Kang-woo thought that was impossible. Maybe not right now, but someday he would definitely have to leave.
Either his father would find him. Or something would happen to Seok-ho. Or Seok-ho would discover Kang-woo’s trait.
Kang-woo had completely abandoned the idea of honestly telling Seok-ho that he was an Omega.
If Seok-ho, who clearly held resentment toward special traits, found out he was an Omega… what kind of reaction would he have?
Many scenarios came to mind. But one thing was certain. It would no longer be possible for him to stay by Seok-ho’s side.
In just a few months, his heat cycle would begin. For some reason, Kang-woo felt like that moment was a kind of expiration date. The end of the time he could spend with Seok-ho was slowly approaching.
Come to think of it, he also needed to try buying suppressants again. After running into Lee Seong-cheol and his group, he didn’t dare go near the school area. Maybe he should check online to see if any nearby pharmacies sold suppressants.
As he lay there doing nothing, all kinds of thoughts flooded his mind.
When his mind got this tangled, he knew it was better to move his body without thinking. Instead of wasting time feeling depressed, it would probably be better to do some intense physical work.
Right.
He would do a deep cleaning.
The moment he made up his mind, Kang-woo jumped up from the sofa. He had plenty of time—and plenty of stamina saved up.
He decided to start with the bathroom, the hardest part.
Neither Seok-ho nor Kang-woo used the bathroom in a particularly messy way, but water stains were inevitable.
[When cleaning the bathroom, it’s best to follow this order: walls, mirror, sink, toilet, floor…]
After quickly searching the overall cleaning order and methods on his phone, he put on rubber gloves.
Following the blog instructions, he first wet the walls with water and sprinkled baking soda over them.
After leaving it for a few minutes, he scrubbed firmly with a sponge.
Small clumps of grime rolled off.
“Oh, this works pretty well.”
Muttering to himself, Kang-woo moved his hands diligently.
Seeing the dirt come off so easily made him strangely energized. If only his worries could be removed this easily too.
He shook his head and focused on cleaning.
Doing simple physical labor was nice—it kept useless thoughts from entering his mind. And beads of sweat forming on his forehead made it feel like a bit of exercise too.
Kang-woo continued cleaning the bathroom step by step.
