RACA 7

“Didn’t you call me boss?”

When he pointed it out, Eunsol’s narrow eyes widened, and the pupils rolled. His slightly raised eye corners made him look not like a fierce predator but more like a cat with its tail bristled.

“N-no. That, I mean… th-the mood was…”

It was funny how he managed to say everything he wanted to even while stuttering.

“Wh-what should I call you? You, you never t-told me.”

“Do you always stutter like that?”

“No?”

See? He’s getting defensive. There’s no way he’s actually scared of him. If he were, he wouldn’t be standing in front of the doctor like that.

Maybe he realized it too, because once again Eun-sol looked around furtively.

“Th-that’s because you’re gl-glaring at me right now!”

What kind of address is ‘you’ now? ¹

“Puhaha!”

Jaebeom finally burst into loud laughter.

“That guy is hilarious.”

Even Gwak Sang shook his head in disbelief. In all his life, it was the first time he saw someone act that brazen in front of his boss… no, in front of his superior.

To be exact, usually they ended up with broken arms or legs, or lost teeth, or deformed faces.

But Jaebeom laughed as if something amused him, and he even wiped his tears with his finger.

“That’s right. I forgot to introduce myself. ”

Jaebeom pulled a flat silver case from his suit jacket. He took out one card and held it out to Eunsol.

“What are you doing? Take it.”

Eunsol stared at the small paper flapping in front of his eyes, then he accepted it. On the black background the words “Pyo Jaebeom, CEO of Sunshine Savings Bank” were engraved in gold.

‘Who even makes business cards in these colors?’

It was not liquor or entertainment. It was so unnecessarily flashy.

“Uh… then… CEO?”

Eunsol watched him as he carefully tested the address.

“You’d better call me that.”

Jaebeom smirked. But that smile looked like ridicule. And savings bank? He thought he was only a gangster boss.

Then again, that was why he dressed up so stylishly and went to work.

“Then my introduction is done. Let’s hear about Lee Eunsol-ssi now.”

Jaebeom gave not a grain of attention to the doctor, who still trembled, not knowing what fate awaited her, and he fixed his eyes on Eunsol.

He had a face that looked provocatively Omega-like to anyone who saw it, and the way he was making such an absurd claim was intriguing

“N-no, the thing is…”

Eunsol bit his lip, and he racked his brain. No matter how many times he thought, it made no sense. Even if he transmigrated into a drama, how could his trait change? Usually in those cases the hidden setting was that he had always been Omega but recessive and unaware.

But Eunsol had never heard that from his grandma.

‘My father would have been indifferent anyway.’

He clearly remembered his grandma going to city hall to pull his trait record and submit it to the school when he transferred.

“No… but. Why did the man called my father go to you, CEO?”

Because he didn’t know the Omega protagonist’s past in the drama, he switched the subject with whatever came to mind. After he said it, he realized he really was curious. How had the protagonist’s father even ended up bringing his Omega son’s trait record to Pyo Jaebeom, no, to the Alpha protagonist.

“He must have seen an ad looking for an Omega.”

The casual words Pyo Jaebeom spoke made Eunsol tilt his head.

“What?”

“Why? It’s strange?”

“Uh… you said you advertised for an Omega?”

Did he really do it like that? When he asked again in disbelief, Jaebeom shamelessly nodded.

Wow.

It was an outrageous method.

‘Are all gangsters this creative?’

The father who went to him after seeing it was also something. Jaebeom watched Eunsol, who shook his head and clicked his tongue like it wasn’t his business, as if he was looking at something curious, then he signaled to the doctor who still trembled.

“What are you doing? Get out.”

“Yes!”

The doctor answered quickly, she rushed to pack her things, and she ran to the entrance. Eunsol stared at the back of the doctor who vanished in a hurry, afraid someone might chase her, and he came back to his senses when he heard fingers clicking together.

“Now all your questions are answered?”

“What? Yes…”

Eunsol put his hands together politely, and he bowed his head. He was looking at the door, and then he saw the frying pan lying by the entrance, and it made him turn back to what he had done.

“So what should Lee Eunsol do now?”

He had at least called him Lee Eun-sol-ssi earlier, but now even that was gone. Eunsol thought about the changed form of address, and he hunched his shoulders.

Nothing came to mind. Eunsol rolled his eyes here and there as he searched, and he barely recalled the contents of the contract.

“Uh…”

It said he handed over all bodily freedom to Pyo Jaebeom until he got pregnant.

“Eek!”

As he thought that far, Eunsol suddenly staggered back. More than that, he crossed both arms and covered his chest. It was instinctive.

Pyo Jaebeom smirked, it was a scornful expression. But Eunsol watched him with wary eyes.

‘He won’t do it in broad daylight, right?’

But he didn’t seem like someone who cared about that.

“Because of you I got worked up, and now I’m hungry. Make me some food.”

“What?”

“Or should I just drag you to the bed right now?”

“No!”

Just the thought made him shiver, so Eunsol quickly ran to the kitchen. He heard a sound laughter behind him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look back.

He racked his mind about what he should cook and serve. But because he was shocked by the unexpected demand, nothing came to mind.

If he followed his heart, he wanted to heat the leftover soybean paste stew from breakfast and give it, but if he did that, this time Pyo Jaebeom really wouldn’t let it go.

He opened the refrigerator, and he scanned the ingredients. First he saw organic bean sprouts. Next was fish cake.

‘Bean sprout rice and spicy stir-fried fish cake as side dish!’

Yes, with that he could cook and set it within ten minutes. He immediately fixed the menu, took the bean sprouts, and he washed them under running water. After that he drained them in a colander.

He took a thick pot, put in the bean sprouts first, and he placed the rice he had made in the morning. He poured three spoons of water, and he set the induction cooker to the weakest setting.

He opened the cupboard again, and he found red pepper powder, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame seeds. He tried to take out minced garlic, green onions, and sesame oil from the refrigerator, but he found tuna cans stacked up.

“Oh… it tastes good with that too.”

He quickly took a can, and drained the oil. Then he cut the fish cake to a proper size, put oil in the frying pan, and he stir-fried it.

Normally he would season it sweet and salty with soy sauce, but since the main dish was bean sprout rice, he judged spicy would match well, so he decided to use the seasoning sauce he had already made.

The spicy aroma wafted, and it whetted his appetite. Meanwhile, the smell of well-cooked bean sprouts came from the pot with the lid closed.

“Is it done?”

Eunsol opened the lid, checked the contents, and he nodded before turning off the heat. He moved the dishes to the table, and poked his head out of the kitchen.

“Come eat!”

As if he had waited for those words, Pyo Jaebeom appeared. His swaggering walk reminded him of a leopard.

“You’re not eating?”

Pyo Jaebeom sat at the table and looked at the dishes, and he slightly tilted his head.

“Ah, yes. I’ll eat later.”

Eunsol answered with his hands behind his back. Of course he was inwardly grumbling that if he ate with him now, he would get indigestion.

“Let’s eat together.”

“Yes!”

That thought immediately vanished with one order from Pyo Jaebeom.

“You don’t even know when your heat is?”

The moment he heard that question, the spoonful of bean sprout rice he had scooped froze in place.

“…That’s right?”

He blinked and answered, his mouth opened foolishly.

“Right. If you became an Omega, then you’ll have a heat cycle too…”

The realization made the back of his neck burn hot.

‘That’s the time when Alpha and Omega roll around like beasts?’

Eunsol wasn’t pure innocent, but he had no idea of what exactly that meant.

He had seen it indirectly through media, but that was like watching a fire across the river.

Even when he imagined it might come to him, he couldn’t picture it.

“Hmm…”

Pyo Jaebeom crossed his arms. His gaze went from Eunsol’s upper body to his neck, jaw, lips, nose, eyes, brows, forehead, and crown.

Unable to endure that gaze, Eunsol looked away. He didn’t know what it was, but he was certain he couldn’t meet the Alpha’s eyes. The persistent scrutiny showed no sign of ending.

“Then it can’t be helped.”

After a minute that felt like half a year, Pyo Jaebeom spoke in a meaningful tone.

1. Eunsol used overly formal word “그쪽께서” (geu-chyon-kke-seo). This is a very awkward and indirect way to say “you.” It’s like saying “that side” or “the respected party over there” ↩︎