AOA 66

The phone resting on the table buzzed rapidly, displaying popup notifications. Baek Mugyeong glanced at the contents with his eyes.

They were all messages from Choi Jaeha. Since they were popups, he couldn’t see the full messages, but the first lines were enough.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, the weather was amazing, they were eating something delicious, jealous, aren’t you?, are you working, hyung?, come hang out, messages like that kept coming. Photos were included too.

After checking the popups, Baek Mugyeong furrowed his brow.

It was spring. Just as Choi Jaeha said, Yeouido was covered in blooming cherry blossoms. And right now, Choi Jaeha was with Jeong Minchae.

Despite their disastrous first meeting, Jeong Minchae had somehow become semi-friends with Choi Jaeha. They met almost every weekend and wandered around together.

Baek Mugyeong had merely watched the two interact.

Choi Jaeha had stopped obsessing over him and found a lover, and there was no longer any talk of the “wife” and the “mistress” getting along. Most importantly, unlike before the regression, Jeong Minchae wasn’t being dragged around one-sidedly, so Baek Mugyeong let it be.

Whatever kind of relationship Jeong Minchae and Choi Jaeha had, it shouldn’t concern him. But when Choi Jaeha deliberately flaunted their closeness with pictures and messages like this, it stirred something inside him.

It was strange, watching the altered future unfold in real time.

Baek Mugyeong had regressed in late autumn of last year. Nearly six months had passed, and though life was similar, it was also different.

The most drastic change was Jeong Minchae.

His manifestation as an omega during their honeymoon in Cebu was something that hadn’t happened before the regression. That event had influenced many things. His grandfather openly hinted that he wanted an alpha great-grandson, and his uncle’s scrutiny had become even harsher than before the regression.

Above all, Jeong Minchae himself had changed. The man who used to be quiet, avoiding eye contact and always bowing his head, was gone.

Now, there was strength in his gaze. He spoke confidently about what he wanted.

He had even cried.

As Baek Mugyeong recalled that evening, his expression soured again.

There had been times when he’d been seized by the urge to make Jeong Minchae cry during sex. But he’d never wished to see him cry in everyday life, and yet, Jeong Minchae had broken down.

It was the first time he’d seen a grown adult sob like that. And faced with that unguarded grief, Baek Mugyeong had found himself impulsively promising revenge.

He felt sorry, seeing him torn between people he didn’t even want to call family. Despite having been betrayed before, it hadn’t been reason, but emotion, that had moved him.

It was completely unlike him.

Thankfully, after that day, there hadn’t been any more emotional entanglements with Jeong Minchae.

As promised, he had found where Jeong Minchae’s birth mother was buried. Just recently, he had also obtained evidence that Jeong Minchae’s older brother, Jeong Guihyeon, was using drugs.

But that was all.

Nothing special had happened in the past two months. Both rut and heat had occurred once each, but they got through them without sex. That was thanks to Baek Mugyeong retreating to a hotel in time.

Still, the sense of distance between them had grown ambiguous. More precisely, as his resentment and grudge toward Jeong Minchae faded, his body began to want him.

Baek Mugyeong sighed, cutting off the natural flow of his thoughts. The shock he felt upon realizing it for the first time had been tremendous.

They’d only had sex a few times. Yet he found himself craving that pleasure again, like an addict.

Thankfully, he was busy enough with work that he had no time for distractions.

Today was no exception. Though it was a Saturday, he had a lunch appointment with an important guest from the United States. He arrived early and didn’t wait long before the person he was expecting appeared.

“It’s been a while, Jake.”

Baek Mugyeong stood to greet his long-time friend and business partner. They had spoken frequently via video calls since Jake came to Korea, but this was their first time meeting in person in a while.

“Yeah, it’s been a while, you bastard.”

Jake cursed him playfully and hugged him with a wide grin. After the loud greeting, they finally sat down.

Publicly, Baek Mugyeong held the title of Executive Director at DS Motors. But during his time in the U.S., he had co-founded the AI security startup Today Dream. Jake Mallard had been his college friend and co-founder.

Baek Mugyeong had managed the operations, while Jake focused on securing investment and growing the company. Despite the strong concept, Today Dream had struggled financially, like most startups.

At the worst moment, Baek Jinseok had offered a deal: investment money in exchange for five years of Baek Mugyeong’s time. Baek Mugyeong bought capital with his own time, left the company to Jake, and returned to Korea. That was two years ago.

Since then, Baek Mugyeong had stepped away from Today Dream’s management. But his equity and interest remained unchanged, and he stayed in regular contact with Jake.

As the food arrived, Baek Mugyeong carefully asked about Jake’s health.

“How’s your body? I heard chemo is tough.”

Jake had undergone cancer surgery three months ago, but his complexion looked good.

“It’s not that bad. Just annoying. My condition fluctuates a little, but I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

There was one more person whose fate had changed because of the regression, Jake.

Before the regression, Jake had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer too late to even begin proper treatment, and he died.

When Jake, the real operator of Today Dream, passed away, the company naturally wobbled. At that moment, Baek Yeongseop used a private fund to swallow the company whole.

One bad event after another had spiraled until Baek Mugyeong was murdered.

After going back two years, one of the first things Baek Mugyeong did was schedule Jake for a health screening. Jake had grumbled about it, but once the cancer was detected, he had called Baek Mugyeong a lifesaver.

Jake had even said he would grant any wish. Baek Mugyeong asked him to investigate Baek Jaehan and Baek Yeongseop.

Jake had grown up in San Francisco and came from a mixed-ethnicity background. His paternal line had faint ties to the Chinese mafia.

Though Jake said they barely had contact, the truth was that his grandmother held considerable influence. That was why Jake, despite his age, had so many connections.

Having grown up in the U.S. since his early teens, Baek Mugyeong had no base in Korea. Since he planned to return to the U.S. after the five-year agreement with Baek Jinseok, he hadn’t kept any risky people around.

Now, it was too late to find someone new. Worse yet, Baek Jaehan, heir to one of Korea’s top conglomerates, had influence everywhere. Any sloppy probing would immediately be noticed.

So he chose the safest option: relying on Jake.

Jake had boldly said to leave it to him. That was around the end of the year. But despite his confident words, there had been no news until last week, when he called, claiming he’d discovered something major and flew to Korea himself.

Sure enough, as soon as the meal started, Jake handed over a USB with a meaningful expression.

“It’s all in here.”

“You could’ve just emailed it.”

“You don’t understand the heart of a friend who wants to see his lifesaver. But more importantly, is this okay?”

Jake grinned and tapped Baek Mugyeong’s phone on the table.

Smartphones, essential to modern life, were easy to hack. Once breached, personal information could be stolen, location tracked, and even ambient audio recorded.

Baek Mugyeong took special care with security and regularly inspected his personal devices like phones and laptops. He hadn’t found any signs of hacking yet.

“No problem.”

“Good. Now I can talk. I couldn’t find the whereabouts of the bodyguards you mentioned. I even combed through police reports from that day, nothing.”

“Shame.”

Baek Mugyeong was leveraging his knowledge of the future to the fullest. Especially for revenge, he was gathering money and intel without hesitation.

But he had quickly realized that no matter how much money he had, taking control of DS Group was impossible. The only path left was to take down Baek Jaehan and Baek Yeongseop.

If even one of them went down, the successor lineup could shift dramatically. No matter how much Baek Jinseok favored alpha male descendants, he wouldn’t choose someone with a fatal flaw.

The hint came from an incident at Baek Jinseok’s estate on New Year’s Day. Baek Mugyeong had grown suspicious after hearing the thief shout during the break-in at the women’s locker room.

The thief mentioned a Brick House and said the security guards summoned when “Madam” died had gone missing.

The Brick House referred to the newlywed home given to Baek Yeongseop when he got married. “Madam” was Kim Soohee, Baek Yeongseop’s deceased wife.

When Baek Mugyeong investigated, he confirmed the thief’s claim: the guards summoned on the day Kim Soohee died had indeed disappeared. They’d been off the grid for about six months. No bodies had been found, but with no signs of life, they were presumed dead.