AOA 95

However, I couldn’t help wondering who the guy who punched Baek Yeongseop was. He went after the eldest grandson of the Daesong Group, his future would be arduous.

When I said after picking up the coffee I ordered, Choi Jaeha’s eyes lit up.

“I know who it is.”

Jaeha knew the guy who hit Baek Yeongseop. He said it was the boyfriend of some actress we only knew by face, a lawyer with U.S. citizenship. His name was Robert. Apparently, he found out his girlfriend had been cheating with Baek Yeongseop and showed up at the art museum.

“I knew something like this would happen someday. I feel relieved.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at Jaeha, who was smiling brightly.

Before the regression, unlike Jeong Guhyeon, Baek Yeongseop never physically hit me. Instead, he treated me like a servant. He’d call me in and make me run stupid errands. I guess he took out on me the tantrums he couldn’t throw at Baek Mugyeong.

Either way, it was relief to see Baek Yeongseop get get beaten up. It was even more exhilarating because it hadn’t happened in the previous timeline.

“What’s the mood like? What did the chairman say? I bet he he’s angry.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything.”

It had only been a day. I didn’t know how badly Baek Yeongseop got hurt or how Baek Jinseok had reacted. But I could imagine, Baek Jinseok was obsessed with appearances.

The news didn’t report a single thing about the incident at Cheongam Museum. But it looked like they hadn’t managed to completely suppress things on social media.

I’d overheard students whispering in class, “Did you see it?” Of course, Baek Yeongseop’s name came up.

Scandals involving chaebol kids always made for interesting gossip. Yeongseop would probably be trending for a while.

“Chairman Baek must be furious. Everyone knows Yeongseop leaks like a sieve, but being humiliated in front of people is something else. And there was an alpha hazard on top of that. Did you know that? We received a tons of video submissions, and Daesong blocked all of them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, even private uploads. The executive office’s been in chaos.”

“Where on earth did you even hear such stories?”

“From gossip feeds, obviously. With a scandal involving chaebol heir, a celebrity, an alpha hazard. You don’t subscribe to anything like that? You seem like the type. I’ll share the one I read. Just follow it.”

“No. I don’t need that.”

Jaeha kept trying to get me to follow at least one newsletter, but I refused. It wasn’t worth the money, and more than that, I didn’t care about rumors I couldn’t verify.

The conversation kept going. Jaeha wanted to know what the alpha hazard was like.

An alpha hazard was exactly that, a disaster triggered by Alpha. Omegas would scatter in every direction, and alphas got pulled into fights.

It didn’t happen often, so it made sense he was curious.

“I heard people fainted and puked. What about you?”

“It was just the pheromone smell. A little intense.”

Thinking back, I hadn’t been affected as badly as the other omegas who ran. The scent was strong, yeah, but I managed to endure.

I thought it was because I was a dominant. But Jaeha disagreed with my opinion.

“There were other dominants omegas there too.”

“Then what was it?”

I tilted my head. If it wasn’t because I was a dominant omega, then what? My phone buzzed on the table. I glanced down, and saw a popup with Baek Mugyeong’s name.

Huh? Baek Mugyeong? Why?

Feeling uneasy, I excused myself and picked up the phone.

[Baek Mugyeong: Are you with Choi Jaeha?]

It was the first time I’d ever gotten a message from him. I was surprised, so I carefully typed a reply.

[Me: Yes]

[Baek Mugyeong: What time does your class end?]

He replied instantly. I wondered what was going on but I still typed back that I finished at five.

[Baek Mugyeong: I’ve made a reservation]

[Baek Mugyeong: Mihu, 23rd floor, Carva Hotel]

[Baek Mugyeong: Be there by six]

The sudden dinner plan caught me off guard. He’d never messaged me before, this was also the first time he’d ever asked to have a meal together.

I wondered if he had something urgent to talk about, I thought it was strange for him to ask to have dinner together. So I sent another message.

[Me: Is something going on?]

[Baek Mugyeong: It’s a date]

The reply I received within seconds contained a strange word. I blinked a few times hoping it wasn’t true but the word “date” didn’t disappear.

A date. Seriously.

I was so surprised that I froze, phone still in hand.

“What’s the matter?”

Jaeha leaned over, curious, and looked at my screen.

“Wow. You’re going on a date with Mugyeong-hyung?”

“No… I have no idea.”

I really didn’t. I had no clue why Baek Mugyeong would suddenly call it a date. Given his personality, even if it was a joke, it felt scary. Which made it even harder to ask what he meant.

“What’s going on with you and hyung?”

Jaeha’s eyes sparkled brighter than when he was talking about who punched Baek Yeongseop.

I only found out after I regressed, but Jaeha loved romance stories. He was a loyal viewer of romcom dramas too.

This wasn’t the kind of situation I could brush off. He never let vague answers slide, so I told the truth.

“It’s just…”

“Just?”

“I agreed to get along with Baek Mugyeong.”

I’d decided to have regular sex with him, to avoid getting kicked out of Korea in a name of traveling abroad. Well…I guess it’s true that we decided to get along.

Even though I was vague, Jaeha caught on instantly. His already large eyes widened even more.

“You two are dating?”

“No.”

“Then what? Did you make up? Don’t tell me, after that fight, you…huh?”

“Yeah.”

Choi Jaeha who was about to shout “ You slept together” lowered his voice, taking note of everyone around us. I nodded in response.

It certainly seemed like things got easier to talk about and work through after sex.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You know I was worried.”

“It just happened yesterday…”

“Hyung is going too far. He even told me he wasn’t into guys. I mean, just to be clear, I’m not mad. I’m not even jealous. I’m just stunned. I literally tried to seduce him and he didn’t blink. You remember, right? You saw it. I’m only letting this slide because he introduced me to Taehwan. If he hadn’t, I’d have gone and punched him.”

I didn’t say a word. I’d learned from experience: when Jaeha started speaking like this, the best course of action was to simply listen quietly.

Choi Jaeha, who had been criticizing Baek Mugyeong for a long time, lit up again.

“But if he said it’s a date, why do you say you’re not dating?”

“I don’t know why he called it a date either. Honestly, I’m curious too.”

I really didn’t understand what Baek Mugyeong was doing.

“I think I know.”

“What?”

“You really don’t know? You don’t know. You really are clueless about these things.”

“What am I clueless about now?”

Jaeha smiled like he knew everything. It was the kind of smug grin that made you want to hit him.

“Poor thing. You don’t have any romantic cells.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means he likes you. Obviously.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Yes, he does. You know as well as I do, Mugyeong-hyung isn’t the type to joke around. If he says it’s a date, then it is. Want to bet?”

He wasn’t wrong.

But Baek Mugyeong didn’t like me, he liked my body. He said so himself.

Even though Jaeha was the one friend I could confide in, I wasn’t about to explain that. Telling him we agreed to have sex every Friday would’ve been just as awkward.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on. No, forget it. It’s fine. That’s what makes you charming. Just do whatever you want. He’ll like that. You fought and now you’re attached. I knew this would happen. He showed up to get you on Christmas Eve, come on. I knew back then.”

Jaeha acted like some kind of fortune-teller. But I had no way to refute it.

At times like this, the best thing to do was either change the subject or get out.

“Anyway, let’s go. I have class.”

“You’re embarrassed, huh? Fine, I’ll let it go, for now. But you have to tell me how the date goes. Oh, wait, one more thing.”

I was throwing away cups and wrappers when Jaeha called out.

“What?”

“My grandma asked me to tell you. She got a call from the States. Your aunt’s coming to Korea next month.”

“What?”

“She said your grandma’s too old to fly, so your aunt’s coming instead.”

I’d met Jaeha’s grandmother, Lee Heejeong, not long ago. She’d told me my maternal grandmother and aunt were in the U.S. She wanted to tell them I was alive, and I said she could.

I’d assumed the worst, that they didn’t care. I hadn’t let myself think about it too much. But I was surprised to hear they were coming all the way to Korea.

“Did she say anything else?”

“She wants to have a meal this weekend. Said she wants to see you and talk. Do you have time?”

“I have time. I have a lot of time.”

Just like that, Baek Mugyeong disappeared from my mind. Right now, the upcoming date didn’t matter. What mattered was that next month, my aunt was coming from the U.S.