AOA 8

Baek Mugyeong didn’t question anything further. Instead, he politely asked Jeong Guhyeon to move his car.

When Jeong Guhyeon reversed the Audi, Baek Mugyeong calmly drove away.

As soon as he was gone, Jeong Guhyeon, who had parked haphazardly in front of the underground garage entrance, exploded.

“Hey! What the hell?! Why’d you make me look like a complete fucking idiot? You should’ve told me he was the Executive Director of DS Motors!”

“I did say it was Baek Mugyeong.”

“Baek Mugyeong, so what? How the hell am I supposed to know who that is?! Huh?! Fuck!”

Fuming with rage, Jeong Guhyeon grabbed my arm and shoved me into a corner by the gate.

Our father’s house was a standalone home on a slight slope.

There was a considerable space between the road and the gate, and with Jeong Guhyeon blocking the path, it felt like I was trapped.

I clenched my jaw and tried to hold my ground, ashamed of how I’d been scared of him just moments earlier.

But with the situation turning physical again, my body instinctively froze.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

“What did I—Ow!”

Jeong Guhyeon kicked me in the shin.

He had a violent streak, and he was cunning about it, he never hit places that would show, like the face.

Instead, he kicked shins, shoved shoulders, or smacked the back of the head.

At first, I used to fight back.

But once the side effects of my meds dulled my reflexes, I just became his punching bag.

“You did it on purpose, you little shit! If you’d just said Daesong, I wouldn’t have been humiliated!”

This time, he hit me on the head.

I wasn’t about to let myself become his outlet.

Before regression, I held back because I didn’t want to stoop to Jeong Guhyeon’s level.

But that wasn’t necessary anymore.

I was valuable now.

Even if my father didn’t take my side, he wouldn’t want to risk leaving marks on my body.

And unlike right before my death, my body was healthy now, I could fight back.

“Enough!”

I shoved Jeong Guhyeon’s shoulder with all my strength.

Our builds were similar, so he stumbled back two steps.

“You son of a bitch!”

Jeong Guhyeon raised his hand again, about to strike me, but this time someone caught his wrist mid-swing.

His eyes widened, taking a moment to realize what had happened.

With a cold expression, Baek Mugyeong let go of his wrist sharply.

Astonishingly, Baek Mugyeong had come back and stepped in.

“What… What the hell?”

Instead of answering, Baek Mugyeong rang the doorbell.

A voice crackled through the intercom asking who it was.

“This is Baek Mugyeong. Please let Mr. Jeong know I’m here to see him.”

I stared blankly at Baek Mugyeong’s back.

For some reason I couldn’t explain, the butterfly effect was growing larger and larger.

Baek Mugyeong’s unannounced visit threw the house into chaos.

My father, who must’ve been enjoying a leisurely Saturday morning, came rushing out barefoot to greet him.

My stepmother, too, welcomed him with a bright smile and a gentle tone.

Baek Mugyeong quietly said he had something to discuss and asked to speak to my father privately in the study.

With the door firmly shut, neither my stepmother, Jeong Guhyeon, nor I could leave, we waited in the living room.

In the kitchen, the housekeeper from Jeju bustled around preparing refreshments.

“How did you meet him?”

My stepmother asked curiously, but Jeong Guhyeon just huffed irritably.

In the end, the attention turned to me.

I simply said we met by coincidence at the door.

I didn’t have a chance to explain further, because my father and Baek Mugyeong emerged from the study soon after.

The atmosphere between them wasn’t good.

Baek Mugyeong’s face was unreadable, while my father fidgeted anxiously, watching his expression.

I didn’t know what they’d talked about, but I could guess it wasn’t pleasant.

“I’ll be going now.”

With a polite bow, Baek Mugyeong turned to leave.

My stepmother offered him tea, but he left without even the formality of declining.

As soon as he disappeared, my stepmother turned to me angrily and demanded to know what had happened.

Meanwhile, my father turned on Jeong Guhyeon.

“You—what the hell did you do?!”

“What?”

“I heard you blocked Director Baek’s car and threatened him! Swore at him too!”

“Hey, that was all because of him! He didn’t tell me that guy was some director or whatever!”

Jeong Guhyeon tried to pin it on me.

Normally, my father would’ve taken his side, but not today.

“Minchae did tell you it was Baek Mugyeong, and you didn’t recognize the name!”

“How would I know who Baek Mugyeong is? He should’ve just said DS Motors Executive Director!”

“And now you’ve nearly ruined this marriage, and you think you can just talk back?!”

“What did I even do?”

“Shut up!”

Startled, I widened my eyes.

I didn’t understand what was happening, but my stepmother asked the question I couldn’t.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ha… He beat up Minchae. Right in front of Director Baek. He threatened a stranger with his car, then beat up his own brother. Director Baek asked how he could marry into a family like this. I couldn’t even lift my head in front of him…”

My father, clearly furious, let out a deep sigh and cradled his head.

Realizing what was going on, my stepmother gently tried to calm him.

Then, in a soft voice, she asked Jeong Guhyeon,

“Why did you do that?”

“It’s his fault! He only told me the guy’s name was Baek Mugyeong! How was I supposed to know who that was? He set me up!”

Even after being scolded, Jeong Guhyeon continued to blame me without a hint of remorse.

My stepmother also criticized me, asking why I hadn’t just said “Executive Director of Daesong,” but she didn’t press further.

She must’ve known that Jeong Guhyeon’s excuse didn’t hold water.

He had mentioned Baek Mugyeong by name several times when the arranged marriage talks came up, calling him a “stud horse.”

Claiming he forgot proved just how empty-headed he was.

“Jeong Guhyeon. Go upstairs.”

“It’s all his fault.”

“Now.”

“I didn’t even do anything wrong!”

My father rarely raised his voice, but this time he was firm.

Jeong Guhyeon stomped his feet, then stormed out of the house.

Even when my father yelled after him, he didn’t stop.

My stepmother tried to calm him, saying she’d talk to the boy herself.

Everything was a mess.

I wished it would end there, but now it was my turn.

“You. Come with me.”

He led me to the study.

The room, decorated in dark brown tones, was filled with English-language books, a nod to my father’s desire to appear more scholarly than business-minded.

He sat in a leather chair and lit a cigarette.

“Tell me what happened at the hotel.”

“I tried to spend the night with Mr. Baek Mugyeong. But it didn’t work. He said he couldn’t do anything with a man who wasn’t an omega.”

I recited the facts flatly.

After all, all that happened was a light kiss.

Still, my father’s face twisted in frustration.

“Executive Director Baek said he doesn’t think this marriage can happen. I thought it was because of what Guhyeon did, but now I see—it’s because of you. If you’d manifested as an omega earlier, this wouldn’t have happened!”

So it was my fault again.

I didn’t reply.

Baek Mugyeong had said this marriage wasn’t his choice and that we should just stay out of each other’s business.

Which meant, regardless of my status, he was still going to go through with it.

But explaining all that to my father would be pointless.

He’d just tell me to stop making excuses.

“Even what just happened, if you’d just mentioned Daesong, Guhyeon wouldn’t have made a fool of himself.”

“I didn’t think he wouldn’t recognize Mr. Baek Mugyeong’s name.”

“And you think that’s something worth talking back about?”

“I’m sorry.”

I apologized and kept quiet.

It wasn’t smart to provoke him in times like this.

“How many times have I told you? When you make a mistake, admit it and apologize. Why is it always like this with you… Ha…And do you have any idea how much effort I put into this marriage? Don’t start celebrating just because this match might fall through. There are plenty of families who’d love an omega who can bear alphas, even if they’re not as prestigious as Daesong.”

Was that really something a father should say to his child?

I almost laughed.

I’d long since given up expecting anything from him, but moments like this still filled me with disgust.

What kind of man tries to sell off the son he abandoned for marriage gains?

Certainly not one worth having a proper conversation with.

When I stayed silent, he shouted at me to get lost.

I bowed and quietly left the study, only to be replaced by my stepmother.

“This is all your fault. If you hadn’t abandoned Minchae, we wouldn’t be suffering like this now.”

He even blamed her.

My father had married three times, and both the first and third wives had been my stepmother.

I didn’t know exactly what went on between them, only that she had lived in the U.S. after the first divorce and remarried him in Korea after my birth mother died.

In any case, she was the one who ordered someone to abandon me in a market when I was four.

She must’ve really hated the sight of me.

If she had given birth to multiple omegas after remarrying, none of this would’ve been a problem.

But she only had one child: Jeong Guhyeon.

And that’s why my father eventually tracked me down.

To use the omega child he’d thrown away for a marriage deal.