Vol. 1 Chapter 1.1 – Golden Contract

Haa, haa. His breath crashed against his eardrums like thunder. His heart wasn’t just pounding in his chest; it was throbbing wildly in his throat. His parched lungs fluttered, gasping for air.

“Yeha. I told you not to go outside.”

But he couldn’t stop. He mustn’t stop. The laces of his old sneakers couldn’t withstand the running and came undone. Annoyed by the flapping laces, he kicked them off. The sneakers flew helplessly and landed at the entrance of the alleyway, under the utility pole where the back neighbour habitually urinated after drinking.

There, in that stinky, filthy place, his white sneakers lay scattered. Yeha stomped his feet, looking at the sneakers. Dad bought them for him.

“Yeha. Hide here. Okay?”

What to do? Should he get them? He couldn’t leave them there. As he hesitated, the yellowish light of a flashlight sliced across his ankles. “Hey! He’s here! Here!” A thunderous shout followed. The hateful voices of those wicked people who wanted to catch Yeha, tear him apart, and kill him.

“Yeha. Don’t come out.”

Yeha had no choice but to give up on his sneakers. He still had one on his left foot, so he had to be satisfied. He started running again. His knees, unaccustomed to exercise, clanked and protested with every push against the ground, screaming that they couldn’t run anymore.

“Yeha.”

TAP, TAP. TAP! Unlike Yeha’s bare feet, the sound of shoes with thick soles followed closely behind. A terrifying sound, as if they were about to grab Yeha by the back of his neck and tear out his insides.

The fear he couldn’t feel until now poured down like a torrential rain. His feverish forehead grew wet, his dry shoulders soaked, and soon his thighs and soles were drenched in terror.

It was a clear day, so clear that he could see thousands of artificial satellites twinkling, but rain fell only on Yeha. A red light flickered across the sky, and to its left, a green light blinked. The large and small artificial satellites looked like rainbow-colored stars. Stars he had never seen before in his life.

Bang!

A sharp yet dull sound shook the world. Something sliced through the air and clung to Yeha’s elbow like a snare. He instinctively flailed his arm, but

“Heuk…”

The tingling sensation that dominated his weak body was much faster. The sky collapsed, and the ground surged. Only when his burning body crashed onto the cold floor did Yeha realize he had fallen.

His whole body convulsed as if struck by lightning. Perhaps he really had been struck by lightning, Yeha thought.

His eyelids blinked slowly. Not because he wanted them to, but because his electrified eyelids were beyond his control.

A hologram attached to a decaying utility pole flickered, displaying a few letters. [Omega Wanted. Reward: 100 million Credits.] It was an advertisement that had been there since Yeha was very young. Advertisements once posted in this neighbourhood rarely changed. Because no one paid to advertise.

Next to it was a terrifying advertisement that read, [Free Euthanasia. Organ Donation Required.] He had seen that one every time he passed by as well.

Several black military boots stopped near his ears. Yeha stared at them with blurred vision. “Five people? Or six? Ah, what did it matter?” He moved his lips diligently, but the damned voice couldn’t utter a single syllable properly.

“Get away. Please, leave me alone.” Yeha shouted with all his might.

“Hey. Are you crazy? Do you know how much this is worth? What if it gets damaged?”

“Damn it. Are you going to let him escape then?”

“We had him!”

“Ah, whatever. Just pick him up quickly.”

Unfamiliar voices exchanged words among themselves. Then, they roughly grabbed Yeha’s body. He was lifted. His armpits were gripped by brutal force, and his vision turned upside down again. His stomach churned. Unable to take a proper breath, his lungs constricted, causing nausea.

But no one cared about Yeha’s well-being. Even the distant moon merely overlooked this terrible reality. The fake CCTVs installed everywhere would be no different.

The man holding one of Yeha’s armpits flicked his hand. Soon, a square window appeared above his wrist, and the silhouette of someone appeared. It was a man with hair sticking up like pine needles.

“This is Team P, Team P, item acquired. Moving to Raptor.”

[Item condition?]

“Uh… good.”

[Check just in case.]

“Yes.”

Yeha, limp as a waterlogged towel, had one arm raised sharply. A sharp needle pierced Yeha’s skin without hesitation. It was only a very thin needle, but it was so cold that a shiver ran down his spine.

The drawn blood was placed in an emerald glass container. The man shook it up and down a few times, and the gauges attached to the container rose one by one. Soon, the full gauges blinked, indicating the result.

“Confirmed, Omega.”

With those unfamiliar words as the last thing he heard, his vision flickered.

“The outside is dangerous, Yeha.”

Yeha didn’t know why Dad apologized every day. But he realized it now. Only now. Only now. Foolishly, only now!

“So, don’t go out.”

Where on earth did Dad go? Did he run away? But why didn’t he take me with him? If he couldn’t take me, he should have just killed me. Rather than leaving me alone in this terrible hell, he should have just done that.

Even as he fell into the pitch-black darkness, Yeha poured out his resentment towards Dad.

Towards Dad, whose face was now fading.

Towards Dad, whom he missed so desperately.

Today was an ordinary day for Yeha. Depending on how one defines ordinary, it was certainly no different from yesterday and the day before. Except for one minor deviation that stood out.

Yeha worked at a cafe. Most people had coffee machines or coffee robots that brewed coffee with perfect ratios and temperatures. However, people still loved handmade coffee. Thanks to that, this tiny cafe needed a ‘barista,’ and thanks to that, Yeha didn’t starve to death and received a regular salary.

Yeha’s position was that of a barista, server, and cashier. The cafe, which wasn’t even a few square meters, had only three tables. Except for one table that the owner, who rarely came to visit, always ordered to be kept empty, there were only two tables.

So, he had many responsibilities, but he wasn’t busy. Of course, the hourly wage was low. Exactly five hundred credits, no more, no less. But he had no complaints. Many places didn’t even adhere to the minimum wage, so this was a very decent workplace.

Moreover, most customers preferred takeout. The ordering and payment were done by machines, so Yeha didn’t need to show his face outside. The narrow kitchen, where he could only move a few steps, was the biggest reason why Yeha stuck to this job.

Especially during the busy mornings, no one paid attention to Yeha. Everyone was focused on the hologram filled with tiny letters, hoping their coffee would come out as soon as possible. Once the office workers grabbed their morning coffee and left, it was quiet until lunchtime.

When there were no customers, Yeha would sit at the most secluded table, as always, and rest his chin on his hand. Then, he would fix his gaze on the hologram TV mounted slightly above his line of sight.

A neatly dressed announcer, her rimless glasses gleaming, spoke precisely like a robot. Was she really a robot? He idly wondered.

<Next is news about the Hanho Group, undeniably known as Korea’s top conglomerate. Chairman Choi Chun-heon of the Hanho Group is experiencing repeated deterioration and recovery of his health. As news of the attending physician struggling with treatment has been exposed to the media, public attention is focused on the Hanho Group’s next successor.>

<Last March. Director Choi Tae-seong, the eldest son, solidified his position as successor by taking over the vice-chairman position of ‘Hanho Corporation,’ the Hanho Group’s core business. However, this morning, as Executive Director Choi Han-geon, the chairman’s second son, took office as president of ‘Hanho Credit,’ Director Choi Tae-seong’s position as successor, which had seemed almost certain…>

It was incredibly boring news for Yeha. It was difficult to understand, and even if he did understand, he wasn’t interested enough to gossip about it. Yeha swiped his index finger in the air, drawing a horizontal line. Following that motion, the channel changed. The channel he switched to had an announcer who looked similar to the previous one, repeating similar words.

Yeha was about to change the channel again when. Ding-dong. The entrance door opened. Instead of a greeting, Yeha jumped up and stood in front of the coffee machine. The android would take care of the greeting.

The customers who entered were three men with their ties tightened around their necks. Familiar faces. A group of office workers who came at least three times a week. According to their conversations, which he couldn’t help but overhear, they seemed to work at a large company nearby. It was an affiliate of the Hanho Group that was being talked about on TV just now. What was it called? Hanho Ubiquitous, or Hanho Bio. Ah, whatever.

[“An order has been placed. Beer, three bottles.”]

A fist-sized speaker announced their order. Yeha’s cafe also sold beer. Office workers pretended to drink coffee after lunch, relieving stress with a glass of beer, which surprisingly generated decent sales.

It was a good thing for Yeha. Because taking beer out of the refrigerator and delivering it was much easier than brewing coffee.

Yeha placed three bottles of beer, a bottle opener, and spotless glasses on the conveyor belt. The beer disappeared below and instantly popped up on the men’s table. Yeha watched them pour the beer into the glasses and then sat down on a chair in the corner of the counter.

Probably about thirty minutes. The quiet cafe would become noisy. Thanks to those three loud-mouthed men.

“You can feel the company tightening up. It’s suffocating.”

The chubby man spoke first. He always started the conversation. His gaze was fixed on the news channel that he hadn’t finished changing.

<We will bring in an expert to hear their opinion.>

The anchor had seated a grey-haired old man and was relentlessly firing questions. An expert. An expert on the successors of conglomerates. Had the presidential election been this noisy? According to the tabloids, the president was also chosen by the Hanho Group. If that was true, it was worth making a fuss about.

“The atmosphere is no joke.”

“Our team leader has aligned himself with Choi Tae-seong.”

“We’re with Choi Han-geon.”

Yeha eavesdropped on their conversation with a blank expression. As mentioned earlier. It wasn’t that he wanted to listen.

“I don’t care who it is.”

“Well, they’re both alphas, so what can’t they do? It’s not like the Hanho Group is going to collapse.”

“That’s right, that’s right. How could a three-hundred-year-old group collapse? I think the end of the world will come sooner.”

They toasted their beer glasses, remarking on how well they had gotten employed. Yeha unknowingly let out a snort. Then he quickly lowered his head and pretended not to have heard anything, fiddling with his coffee cup. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to care what Yeha was doing.

“So, isn’t it a fight over who gives birth to an alpha first?”

“Well, yeah.”

“The media talks about who owns how many shares, who got promoted, but in the end, it’s all about the alpha fight.”

‘Alpha.’ Goosebumps erupted all over Yeha’s slender neck. He silently repeated the word. It was a very unfamiliar word. He would rather be familiar with the words alien, magic school, or something like that.

In this day and age, alpha and omega are rarely mentioned.

A long, long time ago, alphas and omegas accounted for more than 30% of the population. Now, omegas have become so rare that they need to be ‘found.’ Here, ‘found’ means bought with money.

Currently, alphas and omegas make up less than 1% of the total population, or even half of 1%. Alphas still proudly occupy the top of the food chain, but omegas… well. What should I say? Are they endangered?

Yes, they are in a similar situation to otters, which are indiscriminately hunted for their fur. To pass on the authority, knowledge, and wealth of alphas, they give birth to their alpha children and are killed.