V1C1 Part2

The brilliant sunshine shone into the room.

Eun-woo was sleeping deeply when he gently opened his closed eyes. But as the merciless streaks of sunlight broke through the curtains and came inside the room, Eun-woo closed his eyes once again.

"Hhm......"

His throat was stuffy, and his body felt too heavy. Eun-woo blinked and tried to gather some strength into his body before standing up in surprise.

"Where......"

He mumbled while looking around, but no matter how much he looked, this wasn't his house.

Ever since his parents had died, Eun-woo had been living in a small studio apartment. And although it had windows, even during the day, the room was quite dark because the sunlight wouldn't come in properly. This room, however, was too dazzling, even with the thick curtains hanging over the window.

With a blank face, Eun-woo looked into the room, which was much wider than his own studio. It was neat and clean, just like a room from those expensive hotels he had once gone with his parents. Though Eun-woo could also be considered a neat person for a boy, he couldn't clean up his room as well as this place.

Moreover, Eun-woo was wearing comfortable pajamas now. This pajama wasn't Eun-woo's either. Blinking his eyes with a face full of doubts, Eun-woo removed the sheet that was covering his body and carefully stepped on the floor that was covered with a thin carpet.

---Click

At that moment, the door opened. Eun-woo stood frozen with his feet on the floor while sitting on the bed, before looking up at the door with surprised eyes.

There stood a man in a navy blue suit with silver-rimmed glasses. The man stood still for a moment, watching Eun-woo who had woken up, and then he closed the door and entered the room. After that, he came close to Eun-woo and opened his mouth.

"So.... Lee Eun-woo? Did you regain your consciousness??"

"Yes?"

When the man whom he had never met before called him by his name, Eun-woo looked at the man in surprise. The man approached him with an awkward expression as he watched Eun-woo standing there with his big surprised eyes.

"Hmm..... don't you remember anything, about what happened before you fell asleep?"

Eun-woo opened his mouth in a stupid way as he stared at the man who friendly asked him. Before I fell asleep...... before I fell asleep I... what did I......"

"....Ah!"

The memories flitted through Eun-woo's mind. The sudden heat that struck him before the CSAT. The memory of leaving home to buy medicine, and then of someone catching him while he was falling down...... and after that, he couldn't remember a single thing.

Then suddenly, Eun-woo raised his head and asked the man. "Excuse me... now... what day is today?"

It just happened that Eun-woo's heat had come on a Tuesday, two days before the college entrance exam. Eun-woo thought he might have slept for a day, but just in case, he asked him in desperation. And then, the man told him with a slight tilt on his head.

"Today... let me see, it's the CSAT day, so 10....."

"Today's the college entrance exam day?"

Eun-woo sprang to his feet when the man let out those words. The man looked at Eun-woo with a surprised face and nodded.

"Yes. Today's the CSAT day. Is there something wrong......?"

"Ah......"

That's when the clock on the wall came into Eun-woo's view. The clock was showing him it was already one in the afternoon. Facing this desperate situation, he felt himself going weak. Eun-woo's body collapsed on the bed once again.

"Oh, Eun-woo. What's wrong? You're not feeling well again?"

"No, that's... that's not it....."

Eun-woo's eyes brimmed with tears. With what feelings he had lived after his parents had passed away.... So how could he lose the so long-awaited college entrance exam in vain like this.... Eventually, the tears that were filling Eun-woo's eyes trickled down his cheeks. Feeling sorrowful, Eun-woo let go of his voice and cried.

"Hic... ugh... sniff......"

And seeing Eun-woo crying like that, the man began to grow restless. He saw Eun-woo crying pitifully before his eyes, but there wasn't a single thing he could do.

Ah, that's why kids are too much for me to handle..... The man murmured to himself. Nevertheless, he looked at Eun-woo without showing his innermost feelings and spoke in a warm tone.

"Eun-woo. Stop crying and talk to me slowly."

"Hic... t-the thing is....."

Suddenly, the man realized that Eun-woo burst into tears when he had heard that it was the CSAT day, so he asked.

"Ah, were you... an examinee?"

"......"

Eun-woo gave him a silent nod. This made the man look at the crying Eun-woo with a pitiful face. He didn't know the details of Eun-woo's situation, but he could guess what an examinee would feel like if they lost their CSAT.

Rather than trivially comforting Eun-woo, the man placed a tissue in Eun-woo's hand and silently waited for him to stop crying.

A moment later, when Eun-woo's tears died down a little, the man asked cautiously.

"Have you calmed down a bit?"

"······."

Eun-woo nodded silently, holding the tissue in his hand. Then the man said with a relieved face.

"So, yesterday...... no, the night before yesterday, can you remember that you suddenly fainted on the street?"

"...Yes."

Eun-woo blushed slightly, recalling what happened then. But he had almost no memory from after he collapsed. Because this was only the second time that he had had his heat, and he had never endured it to such an extent.

"We fed you the medicine bought at the pharmacy first and put you to sleep, but you were asleep for two whole days. It's unusual for a person to lose consciousness like that, but the doctor who was examining you said you're a special case."

"Ah....."

Eun-woo just blinked. He hadn't paid much attention to his physical condition all this while. And he only went to the hospital when he felt he couldn't stand it any longer.

Just like that, Eun-woo had been taking care of himself alone without the help of others, and before he knew it, he had become very weak. On top of that, as the CSAT day approached, his heat struck him earlier due to the stress he hadn't even been aware he had been receiving, making his body collapse.

The man finally found out how Eun-woo had become like this, but he didn't necessarily say something about it out loud. Instead, he opened his mouth to speak, putting on a big smile on purpose.

"From now on, if you eat well and your body gets better, you might not go so far as to faint again."

"Yes...... hm, thank you."

But then, the man got surprised and waved his hand.

"You should give that thanks to someone else rather than to me."

"Sorry?"

"Because I'm not exactly the one who helped you."

Eun-woo tilted his head. Was he saying that the man who caught him that night was not the man in front of his eyes? Eun-woo gave him a curious look, recalling vaguely the firm chest and arms of the man.

"Not me, but my boss..... Oh, what timing. I'm just getting a call from him."

ㅡBzzzt

The man was momentary flustered, picking up the vibrating phone, tapping it and bringing it to his ear. Then, he started talking to someone on the phone.

"Oh, yes. Yes. He just woke up. Yes."

Eun-woo looked puzzled as he saw the man answering in a polite tone. Perhaps because he was a little far from him, he was only able to hear the other person's voice in a faint way. He could dimly hear the low voice of a man.

"Yes. I understand. I'll do that."

After the brief call, the man turned around to look at Eun-woo. Then he asked, seemingly in a better mood than a while ago.

"Eun-woo. You haven't eaten anything in two days. Aren't you hungry?"

"Sorry? Oh, a little."

Strangely, he didn't feel so hungry, but he felt somehow empty, so he answered him like that. And hearing that, the man muttered to himself.

"Hm, what would be good for you to eat then? Since you're still a patient, something like porridge......"

"E-excuse me....."

"Yes?"

Eun-woo swallowed hard while looking at the man. The only thing Eun-woo wanted was to go back to his home. But leaving without even meeting the person who had helped him would look too rude.

"The person who helped me... when will that person come?"

"Oh. I talked to him on the phone just now. He might probably be a little late, but he told me to take care of your meal in the meantime."

"Really?"

Upon hearing the man's answer, Eun-woo lowered his head a little. He was curious to know who was the person who had helped him while also feeling grateful for him.

It was a pity that he had missed the CSAT today, but that didn't mean his life was over.

Eun-woo, who always tried hard to live with a positive mindset, persuaded himself. He bit down his lips as he felt his tears would spill out again.

And seeing Eun-woo like that, the man's face darkened once more.

Then he recalled the conversation he had with his boss that morning.

* * *

Cha Sung-hyun opened his eyes wide at the words coming out from his boss, who was in front of him.

"Are you serious?"

With his eyes still wide open in disbelief, he quietly echoed his boss' words inside his head.

To turn Lee Eun-woo... into his mate.

And at the same time, he recalled the boy who had appeared at the night two days ago and had suddenly collapsed.

Now he knew his name and age thanks to the ID card that was in his wallet, but back then, he didn't know anything about him, so when he saw the boy for the first time, he thought he was way younger.

Maybe it was because he was sick, but the boy with striking fair skin looked very miserable and pitiful while he panted. Sung-hyun was bringing back the memories of that time when he faced his boss, Kang Shi-hyuk, and told him cautiously.

"Isn't it alright even if it's not Eun-woo?"

"Too bothersome."

"Pardon?"

Sung-hyun doubted his ears. It had already been over a year since he had worked under this man, but his way of speaking was something he couldn't get used no matter what.

Shi-hyuk looked at Sung-hyun with a cold face and repeated.

"It's bothersome, to look for another omega."

"I'm glad he came to my hands at the right time."

Omegas were unexpectedly precious. Part of that was because they made desperate efforts to hide the fact they were omegas, since the social perception towards them was not a positive one.

Though in the past, it was difficult to hide themselves because of the poor medical facilities, nowadays, if they were born in an ordinary family and received enough care, they could live without anyone knowing that they were omegas.

However, the omega who came into Kang Shi-hyuk's arms two days ago was not like that.

He was clearly wandering around the streets in a defenseless state. If Shi-hyuk hadn't unconsciously stopped the car, attracted by the pheromone that the omega was leaking out, he couldn't figure out in which guy's hand the omega would be by now.

"But, he's still a child, isn't he?"

Shi-hyuk snorted at Sung-hyun's words.

"A fully developed 20-year-old is a child?"

"Still..."

But he looked like a kid who hadn't gone through that many heats, and who didn't even seem to have any experiences in that area as well...

Yet Sung-hyun didn't dare to speak that out, so he just lowered his head. He knew from his long experience that no matter how much he tried to persuade him otherwise, Shi-hyuk would not listen.

Shi-hyuk watched the gloomy faced Sung-hyun for a while and then he stood up. He slipped on the black suit which he had hung next to him and ordered in a casual tone.

"Explain everything to him before I come back."

"Yes."

And then he watched Shi-hyuk leaving the room with a complicated look on his face.

* * *

Sung-hyun recalled the happenings from the morning for a moment before looking at Eun-woo who was silently eating the thin porridge.

He wondered how his life had been until now as his skinny body and face looked pitiful. He had to explain before Shi-hyuk came back, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.

While he was hesitating, Eun-woo had emptied his bowl of porridge clean. Feeling more and more uneasy, Sung-hyun said.

"Hm, Eun-woo?"

"Ah, yes."

After putting his spoon on the table, Eun-woo looked at him. Sung-hyun spoke in a cautious tone.

"Actually, while you were sleeping, I tried to contact your parents but, I mean... they hm..."

The one who was rather making a very troubled face was Sung-hyun, while Eun-woo's face remained calm instead. It had already been five years, so it wasn't like he felt sad all over again or something. He just felt hollow as if his heart was empty.

Maybe that's why, but Sung-hyun felt even more guilty. He was especially weak to young people. And although Eun-woo was a 20-year-old adult, his appearance, which was too boyish for his age, also contributed to it. He swallowed in anxiousness and managed to open his mouth with great difficulty. He had to do what Shi-hyuk had ordered somehow.

"It must have been very hard to live as an omega without parents, so, are you under the care of any relatives or adults?"

"No."

Sung-hyun saw Eun-woo shaking his head and was surprised. He couldn't believe he really had been living alone ever since. It must have been unbearable for him to endure such a thing at such a young age.

As a beta, Sung-hyun didn't know how an omega's life was. He also had no interest, to be frank. But he could understand that a young child living alone without their parents was hard.

"You might know it better than anyone else, but it's extremely hard for an omega to live alone. That's why... um... the person who helped you wanted to make you a proposal and..."

"Pro...posal? "

At his sudden words, Eun-woo looked at Sung-hyun and opened his eyes wide.

Proposal? Although he had relatives, he lost contact with them, making him no different than an orphan, but how come he had a proposal for an omega like him...?

Sung-hyun confronted Eun-woo, whose face was filled with questions, and opened his mouth with a lot of effort.

"It's a proposal offering to pay you 100 million won* a year."

(*approximately $85.910)

"O-One hundred million?!"

For a moment, he thought he had heard it wrong.

Eun-woo was still young so he had little concept of money. But he knew how much money 100 million was.

Even if he worked part-time all day, Eun-woo could only gain about 50,000 won*.

(*approximately $43)

And if he took out the medical insurance fee, even if he worked for one whole month, he could only make a little over 1 million won*. And after he paid his rent, his living expenses, and his food with that money...

(*approximately $859)

No matter how hard he worked, he didn't know how many years it would take him to collect that sum of money.

Eun-woo opened his eyes wide with a surprised face, and Sung-hyun nodded while looking at him. His boss had clearly said so to him.

"That's right. That's what he said."

"How... no, why? Why me?"

"As I said, it's because you're an omega."

"Because I'm an omega?"

Eun-woo couldn't understand it even more. Who in the world gave 100 million won a year to a person just because that person was an omega? Moreover, to a person like him, a person who had just met him for the first time?

Seeing Eun-woo looking confused, Sung-hyun felt the need to elaborate. But this part was quite hard for him to talk about.

Sung-hyun cleared his throat for a while and looked at Eun-woo with a clearly burdensome face.

Then he asked, stammering out in a small voice.

"Er... Eun-woo, um... so... do you... have any experience?"

"Sorry?"

"So, like, with a girl or... with another, um... person, do you have any sexual experience...?"

Understanding Sung-hyun's words, Eun-woo's face flushed red. He dropped his eyes and answered quietly with a shake of his head.

"No. I don't."

"Yes, as I had expected."

As he expected, Eun-woo had no experience at all. Sung-hyun watched the innocent boy who was now blushing until his neck, and sighed inwardly.

What was he making such a young child do? This boss of his...

No matter how much alphas treated omegas like objects, Sung-hyun did not understand.

Perhaps that's why, when Sung-hyun hesitated to say any more, the door that had been tightly closed opened without notice.

---Click

The door opened and a man strode in. A tall man in a black suit looked around the room.

Eun-woo then raised his bent-down head reflexively at the sound of the door opening.

The eyes of the man who came into the room met Eun-woo's. At that moment, Eun-woo couldn't breathe, as if something was choking him. There was only one word that dug into his blank mind.

Alpha. He was an alpha. This man...

Eun-woo's body, which had seen an alpha for the first time in his life, began to tremble like an aspen leaf. He himself couldn't understand why his body was like this. He couldn't move an inch, as if he was an herbivore with a predator in front of his eyes. But that didn't mean he could take his eyes off him. It felt ironic. Eun-woo just remained swallowing nervously.

"Welcome back, Vice President Kang."

Sung-hyun saw the man, Kang Shi-hyuk, entering the room, and greeted him after standing up from his seat which was facing Eun-woo. Shi-hyuk watched Sung-hyun with indifference and moved towards the table where Eun-woo was sitting.

As Shi-hyuk came closer, Eun-woo's heart beat faster. He was unable to stop his pounding heart and just stared blankly at Shi-hyuk, who was slowly approaching him.

Shi-hyuk sat on the chair, and after crossing his legs, he looked at Eun-woo. Then, he slowly opened his mouth, and Eun-woo flinched at his low voice.

"Have you finished talking?"