Jung Heeyeon parted his lips slightly in surprise, the exclamation caught and muffled within the folds of the fabric. The oppressive Alpha pheromones dissipated in an instant.
“And why are you bothering my baby?”
Director Yeon stood behind the sofa, one hand gently covering Jung Heeyeon’s eyes as his sight slowly came back. His voice was calm, almost lazy, but the sharp line of his mouth radiated displeasure.
Kang Seoui shrugged lightly, retracting his pheromones. He had no intention of genuinely threatening Jung Heeyeon, and pushing any further would only provoke Director Yeon’s temper. The last thing he wanted was to end up groveling on the floor due to another alpha’s pheromones in front of an omega he met for the first time.
“Heeyeon.”
Director Yeon pressed Jung Heeyeon’s head gently back against the sofa. The soft brush of the boy’s eyelashes against his palm was barely noticeable.
“Yes?”
He only withdrew his hand after Jung Heeyeon’s head fully rested against the sofa’s backrest. The darkness beginning to unfold outside the window cast a shadow over the face leaning against the sofa. By then, a red sunset had subtly settled in between, landing precisely over Jung Heeyeon’s eyes. Director Yeon lightly touched over the glow and asked,
“Are you going to keep staring intently like that?”
The man, shrouded in darkness, was caressing something far too soft and warm for his touch.
Even as Director Yeon gently brushed against the corners of his eyes, Jung Heeyeon blinked defenselessly. It was hard to immediately grasp his words—who he had been staring at so intently. Each time he closed and opened his eyes, the inverted image of Director Yeon’s face came into view. The man’s relaxed gaze curved as he tilted his head slightly.
“Hmm?”
As he mulled it over, Jung Heeyeon realized Director Yeon was likely talking about the glare he had directed at Kang Seoui earlier.
“Huh? I wasn’t staring intensely… I was glaring.”
Jung Heeyeon shook his head in denial, causing his light brown hair to tumble softly against the dark sofa. Director Yeon poked his pale cheek lightly before walking around to sit beside him.
“And why were you pestering my baby, Managing Director Kang?”
“Haha, it’s just that he’s interesting. Besides, you doused him with your pheromones too.”
“Doused? It wasn’t even as much as a pheromone shower.”
As he took a seat, Kang Seoui slid a document envelope across the table. The envelope, gliding smoothly, came to a stop midway. It was blocked by a plate sitting on the table. On the white plate rested the cake Jung Heeyeon had been eating, neatly placed.
Instead of the envelope, Director Yeon reached for the plate, leaning back lazily into the sofa. Clicking his tongue, Kang Seoui personally pushed the envelope directly toward him. He wasn’t foolish enough to make things difficult unnecessarily.
“By the way, your baby told me not to call him ‘baby,’”
Kang Seoui glanced at Jung Heeyeon with a sly grin.
“Did he?”
The man who had just carved a perfectly clean slice from the cake didn’t look at Kang Seoui but at Jung Heeyeon instead. Before Director Yeon even offered it, Jung Heeyeon opened his mouth like a baby bird begging for food. The cream-colored cheesecake melted softly on his pink tongue the moment it touched.
“Good boy.”
“Huh!” Kang Seoui let out a hollow laugh, incredulous. Of all people, Director Yeon was feeding an omega cake by hand. Even if he were to talk about what he saw today, no one would believe him.
“What, are you taking care of him to devour him later?”
Kang Seoui commented, unable to hold back his words.
“I don’t have such hobbies.”
Director Yeon responded with a languid smile as he handed the plate to Jung Heeyeon, who hesitated before taking another bite. He seemed to wonder if it was okay to eat alone when no one else was.
“Managing Director Kang, you must have a lot of free time. Judging by your unnecessary jokes, that is. Next time, I won’t let it slide.”
Though Director Yeon’s tone was casual, there was a clear warning underneath his smooth words. Seeing Director Yeon reveal his true colors, Kang Seoui managed to keep a polite smile on his face, intertwining his fingers. He couldn’t tell whether Director Yeon was upset because he had been late or because of the pheromones he had released toward Heeyeon.
Thinking quickly, Kang Seoui decided to skip any apology and get straight to the point. From what he knew, Director Yeon preferred efficiency over wasting time with unnecessary formalities.
“The ace card that Chairman Jung was betting on turned out to be my eldest brother. Kang Seohyo, the first son of the Sunha Group.”
Kang Seoui nudged the envelope slightly with his chin, urging the man to open it. Director Yeon pulled out the profile, various photocopies, and photographs inside, skimming through them.
“He’s quite a notable person.”
Not ’notable’ in the usual sense, of course. Being the heir to Sunha Group made such notoriety inevitable. Director Yeon himself was already familiar with the man’s face and basic information.
“Of course, very notably known for his filthy habits.”
“And why are you bringing this to me, Managing Director Kang?”
The photographs, likely original copies, showed several individuals in varying states of distress. Their appearances and ages differed, but there were noticeable commonalities. Most were barely clothed, their bodies covered in bruises and marks consistent with being tied up. They all seemed to be Omegas.
“You know that Chairman Jung’s customer is this man, right?”
“I had my suspicions. At his age, he wants to marry a barely twenty year old Omega?”
“He’s had his fun and now wants a kid of his own.”
Director Yeon glanced briefly at Jung Heeyeon, who was focused on his cake. The omega’s long lashes cast soft shadows as they fluttered lightly.
“How much is the deal worth?”
In response to the casual question, Kang Seoui began extending his fingers one by one. It was only after the motion stopped that Director Yeon gave a slight, slanted smile—his habitual expression.
“That’s more than I expected. Is the succession at stake?”
“As you probably know, our chairman’s a bit of a traditionalist. His condition is for my brother to marry a dominant omega and have children. The problem is, all the omegas worth considering have run off.”
“And does he have the funds to pull this off? I doubt Chairman Jung would make things easy.”
“It’ll hurt in the short term, but… If we pool everything together, we can make it work. Once my brother inherits the company, that amount won’t be a problem.”
Director Yeon mentally calculated the amount Kang Seoui had mentioned. It was enough to make Chairman Jung return to Korea.
“So, are you planning to start a sibling rebellion?”
“A sibling rebellion? This is more like a bastard’s uprising.”
Kang Seoui was an illegitimate child the Sunha Group chairman had fathered outside his marriage.
“Considering he had an illegitimate child himself but still insists on prioritizing bloodlines for the succession, our chairman is such a classic romanticist boomer, don’t you think so, Director Yeon?”
Leaning against the sofa, Kang Seoui nonchalantly insulted his father. His goal was clear: to remove his eldest brother from the position of president. His second brother was a fool, and the third had troubled the company because of an omega. If Kang Seoui could eliminate the eldest, there was nothing stopping him from claiming the spot as the heir.
“Director, you’re aware that Sunha Group is backing Chairman Jung, right?”
Director Yeon casually tapped the tip of his shoe, signaling for Kang Seoui to continue.
“If we take down Chairman Jung first, it’ll make things easier for you too, won’t it?”
“And you’re offering to get rid of him for me?”
“With your help, it shouldn’t be hard, Director.”
“Well, I don’t particularly need Sunha to cut him off. But is there anything in it for me if I help you?”
Though Director Yeon found the proposal intriguing, it wasn’t enough to fully pique his interest. Sunha’s support for Chairman Jung was ultimately inconsequential—like a mouse in his grasp.
“You know Sunha has been lobbying in the firearms sector, right? I’ll ensure they pull out of that completely.”
“Hmm.”
Now that offer was tempting. That interference had been an annoyance for a while.
“Managing Director Kang, can you back up your words?”
“Do you think I’d be stupid enough to make an enemy out of you? It’s not like I want to be found dead tomorrow.”
Instead of responding, Director Yeon lazily leaned back and set the documents down.
From Sunha Group’s perspective, Director Yeon was a thorn in their side. After the legalization of firearms, Sunha had tried to secure distribution rights, only for Director Yeon to snatch them away. Their backing of Chairman Jung was a calculated move to bring down Director Yeon and create an opportunity for themselves.
If Kang Seoui, Sunha’s illegitimate child, succeeded in overthrowing his eldest brother and consolidating power, it would certainly make things easier in some ways. But that didn’t mean he needed to take Kang Seoui’s hand. He lightly flicked his fingers, pondering his next move.
Become a member in my ko-fi to get early releases!
Make me feel happy and supported by leaving a comment!
![I Mistook the Paranoid Gong for a Shou [Book Transmigration]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WhatsApp-Image-2024-09-12-at-01.24.02_47d1acd0.jpg "I Mistook the Paranoid Gong for a Shou [Book Transmigration]")