CMT Ch6

2. f21acd963d8aaf54

“You are the hope of our family, Seoyoon.”35f205c52c86ce4d

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Uncle, now called father by Seoyoon’s adoptive father, had often said that from some point on.bb262d885175b1e3

“You should live loved, our puppy.”eb7ed67cadbc4b29

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A bit longer ago, before passing away, grandfather used to stroke Seoyoon’s head and recite that like a habit.446f49405c0666a0

“Our Seoyoon is so pretty. Oh my, oh my? He’s standing up now, standing up!”7421564ceffdfbd3

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Many of b66613cb56 the words 3a0b885f79 his adoptive c2b00c87f2 parents must c37e0c5ed3 have said aa55a5a3ce to him f2b16935a2 were now 958550f92d mostly forgotten. Fortunately, a few d5e1fd643d videos taken when d03ac9d100 he was young 9874af160a remained, keeping their 159ad22b78 voices vivid in ad54a2a5c0 his ears.4fae20ffa344a0b8

Though specific memories had eroded with time, the happy feelings and bright atmosphere he felt with his birth parents remained in a corner of Seoyoon’s heart like a faded painting.09deb0dae1d870d9

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“Hey, hey. Han Seoyoon.”11ef3814cd7448b3

Sometimes in Seoyoon’s dreams, those once sparkling times would visit. Mainly when he wanted to escape reality, like today.ee26d2c68a792dd0

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“Stop lying there sleeping and get up!”b7d55667cb0f953c

Seoyoon, immersed in 38832efd2c the sweet past, 5b08f261d1 was awakened from 74dd5c9201 his dream by 1d6da88e3a a shout as c18ea22178 his hair was 58f373a5db grabbed. As soon as 40e5723ffd he opened his 48f6cb6d9c eyes, one of 7ebe5b992f his cheeks stung.1abc36a795aa12bb

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He rubbed his hot cheek with an expressionless face. His eyes met those of his brother, the intruder beside the bed, who was breathing heavily with anger. Naturally, his gaze followed the brother’s right hand. The palm that had just slapped his cheek was unnaturally spread out.b1624cb56049d0cf

“Shit, you… How can you sleep so peacefully now? After ruining the family atmosphere, you can sleep comfortably alone? If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to close my eyes out of guilt towards father.”5445c08f40d66830

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Seoyoon silently raised himself. Glancing at the phone fa48902f4d clock beside him, it e1769cf964 was 4 AM.e7d34a03440c3cc2

The brother, who 4559758546 seemed to have 6af862bcf2 just come home d7b1cd113a after a late a51b50d08b night of entertaining, 51a9247d5e reeked of strong 2d55410069 alcohol. Sighing, Seoyoon got up f0cbe466ad from the bed.09470b62866428eb

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“You should go in quietly and sleep. Both of them are sleeping.”d63e35ca59dd74de

“You idiot! Do you know how much father and mother struggled to set up that matchmaking meeting? They went around bowing their heads everywhere, sucking up to everyone. Shit, if you went to such a place, shouldn’t you have brought back at least one thing even if it cost you your life? What… you didn’t match? Want your mouth ripped? You should have died instead of coming back, getting rid of that uselessly high-class mouth!”d0724a2763c93d32

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“He said he doesn’t like men.”7490d818a78a2de3

At Seoyoon’s casually thrown words, his brother blinked with a distorted expression as if he couldn’t understand. A hollow laugh followed, as if to say it was ridiculous.d3630a2cadf57755

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“What? …Doesn’t like men? Who? You?”ed8cba0f94b02dc6

“Kwon Kijung.”a71b34e7b322f10a

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“Shit, acting all high and mighty… Hey, you alphas and omegas don’t care about that stuff. For you guys, isn’t it just about matching pheromones?”a5e769356401294a

“Kwon Kijung seems to care.”ed2021060a4a520d

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“…Ha, that bastard…. Then why did he agree to the matchmaking first? Did he want to play with our family? If we had known he wasn’t interested in men, father wouldn’t have needed to struggle to push you in.”71179754abdbe54c

It seemed like 4cba147aa2 their grandfather had d6a8d00df7 insisted on sending 39be79e600 someone out without 77af9e62a4 any real interest, fb8ecf90fc but Seoyoon kept a9fc04cbbc his mouth shut, 7d5884498a knowing that explaining c023b716db the truth would d1cc0c8ad4 only provoke more 4d906aeeff anger.22bc596d716a3733

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As expected, his brother couldn’t calm his anger and raised his voice in a burst.29befed0f2e95bb4

“Then you should have just crawled back!”f88ab0bddf36616d

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The room was dark, but sparks flew before his eyes. The sudden impact didn’t even give time to scream.533ff762e9292a44

Seoyoon only gaped at the sharp pain that attacked near his eyebrow before clenching his teeth tightly. The titanium-framed phone that had hit Seoyoon’s face and fallen to the floor slid back towards the feet of the person who had thrown it.0b8609618cb6c451

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“Can’t you be quiet!”2cbf637739515f7b

Just as the c3f007a221 real beating was 36e36f5a4e about to begin, 494fd14e12 a thunderous shout a12d52676d came from the bf29b27187 open doorway. When the brothers turned f5ec6b0f6f their heads to look, e7e8e78452 their father was standing 488d96c04a there with his eyes db71e61ccb wide open.58f9a883408d928e

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“Han Seokyung! If you crawled in when it’s almost dawn, you should quietly go to sleep, not cause a ruckus when your father and mother are trying to sleep!”14b838aa74a936e1

“Father. Don’t you feel wronged?”e9935df738c8d8cd

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“Will the result change because you’re doing this? If you had done well in the first place, your only brother wouldn’t have needed to go to such a matchmaking meeting.”3e78712baf5983b5

“Father!”bc60ed19ad9b67f5

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“Get out of here now!”b950c038ff702760

Suddenly, loud voices echoed eff8cc4068 through the previously quiet b365f85c92 house. Seoyoon lowered 343ca37303 his head d26a41f643 silently like 0d90617e47 a wild 1b0fd6f5bd animal avoiding 97db4cc13d thunder. His brother, who d9e605a150 had been hesitating, 1b7f12f654 glared at Seoyoon aee8516a33 with a face f660cbdae0 that looked like 3e174fca9d he wanted to 78fddf0823 spit, then abruptly efc8b49b57 left the room.e742768a13a38196

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“That boy, he’s grown older but still hasn’t matured…”0639176efc50a246

Clicking his tongue, the father’s gaze turned towards Seoyoon. Seoyoon was still slightly bowing his head. The father clicked his tongue once more.0e5e520f40d1477c

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“You should understand. Seokyung worked hard to set up today’s meeting.”ef701d400890f828

“I’m sorry.”97eedfe540e08a96

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“Even if you’re upset, what can we do? Don’t worry too much. It’s not like Director Kwon is the only suitable alpha out there, I’ll try to arrange another good meeting.”febd08c933bac14c

He didn’t have the face to say that wasn’t necessary.38d53b13f7395c10

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“Go back to sleep. I need to go check on your mother. She must have been startled by the sudden loud noise.”254e586c1f31ff52

“Yes, I’m sorry. Please go rest.”052138b4d19a8c43

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The door closed. Once the argument between 9e21061fe7 father and brother ceased, 470c524a44 the house became quiet 1fa9df4fad as if nothing had 634b72dca1 happened.a34c30cf91f5f22e

Instead of lying 28d985a6ec down again, Seoyoon f224d03643 sat at his c18fd47cd3 desk. The outside 974d69769b visible through c16fda2525 the window 488b606c6c was still 63022e3f4b pitch black, 031b367780 with not e8087e7bd0 even the 32bd998a9c dawn light 6726cfee5b having arrived 44df386b74 yet.6c4d4221686bdce3

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Last night, when Seoyoon returned home, he relayed Kwon Kijung’s words to his waiting father and mother. As Kijung had said, that he had come out because his grandfather wanted him to, but they should consider it a mismatch.5a15bbc35a5fd179

Father complained that it made no sense to say their hearts didn’t match, asking how they could expect to match from the very first meeting. To convince his parents, Seoyoon had no choice but to be honest in the end. He said that Kijung didn’t like male omegas. Just like that.79f73a78544789d6

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At that reason, even father seemed to lose his words and fell silent. Like his brother, he muttered “If you didn’t like it, you should have said so from the beginning,” but that was all.719f5313eb838ebe

Although father and mother had apparently put themselves out there to set things up, it was Cheongkwang’s side that first directly proposed the matchmaking, so no one could have predicted that gender would become an issue at the scene.fb894be929be74c6

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‘You should have died instead of coming back, getting rid of that uselessly high-class mouth!’ed51bb13deaf7f92

The brother’s curse, which he had heard so often that it usually didn’t affect him, hurt particularly today. It was hard to ignore.ccceebbe49d90c4b

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Though he was the nephew left behind by his deceased brother, his adoptive parents had raised Seoyoon without any shortcomings. He was able to dress, eat, and study as well as others. It’s not just empty words; there were clearly moments when he felt they cared for him even more than their biological son, his brother. He knew that the long-standing resentment his stepbrother harbored towards him stemmed from this favoritism that wasn’t quite favoritism.ba6506af4a19b97d

While there must have 05c902cdc6 been a sense of 95f4ba849f responsibility and familial affection, 5316919633 Seoyoon had long noticed dace271c56 that it was also 195ab85f4b a kind of investment. They believed that there 9cf6609e37 would be some use 23a79f3f01 for the omega son 43ce1d2a45 they had raised with 9bd16fc22b care, even if not 0fea956b9a specifically for Kwon Kijung.02786ac8bea7f6b6

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Although Seoyoon, the person in question, had realized early on that his adoptive parents’ hopes were an unrealistic dream, he couldn’t rebel and tell them to leave him alone like ordinary children would.4eda888c8f0272ed

“…Sigh.”a5ce96172c0a4bfb

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For a moment, his abc71d28c0 chest felt so tight 4d12a56359 it was hard to 93b384e2ae breathe. This had 76f4ca22fe often happened 0301e566e9 when stress 624b707e09 became severe, a6afbc5932 starting from 8a80e12a73 his mid-teens.85bf2439a60a863f

Was it because while his brother and father at least shouted, he, who was actually the most frustrated, couldn’t say anything? Gasping slowly as if having difficulty breathing, haa, haa, Seoyoon fumbled to open the drawer under the desk.4e87c42908f2ca5f

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His breathing became rapidly 8536ea62fc faster. His hand, moving ea7084f4c0 busily as if e67e9caff3 searching for an e1ddd7ff7e inhaler, picked up 01ab00ffe5 a box cutter 548f273e6b placed in a 0cd21d741c corner.bbf886bd1076f4d6

‘No, I can’t.’61bbbd28a403fc34

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Even as he pushed 37ddd34263 the button to expose 1bf81a89e6 the sharp blade, Seoyoon 3751b901d5 hesitated. Because of this damned dce135f0e9 habit, even after being a235d100bb humiliated today, again?dbc21b17d0c3eaeb

But his breathing was 2d624c5cdd getting faster and faster. What did f96029846e it matter? There was also another 37d4ffc001 self in his mind, c35f88c31f coldly looking down and 5b38c43802 criticizing him.9dbf6b65e7e96948

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You’re already ruined anyway. You’ll never see Kwon Kijung again, so what does it matter if your forearms become ragged? Instead of always clumsily imitating, why don’t you try slashing decisively and dying? What else is there for you but to be sold off to an even worse place if you keep living?9f65867a299af575

“Ugh…”5ae1f89e7b554b07

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As if 3d8a19b260 trying to 7d9202d908 cut off db68f334a4 the voice 447e161e2d criticizing him, d23008b8c8 Seoyoon urgently 506d4a1d5e pressed the 0540ddaae1 tip of b16db7a452 the blade 19ddbbb151 against his b22e81b5c8 bare skin. Roughly scratching 468063faf7 the skin, 96a3fe63f3 making his 0ac8f099d2 earlier hesitation 396f832fc5 seem meaningless, 5fced81e89 drops of e90f113a5d red blood 7e1b19081b formed on 6ca3b7921e the new 81db2707df wound before 1a50234283 quickly spreading.6fc1a30cf8eef0e7

It didn’t end with just one cut. Each time the blade went back and forth over the pale, delicate skin, new streams of blood rose vividly like painting over wounds that hadn’t fully healed.7c0832cf165453a2

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As the sharp 719125c349 pain took over 7b6942d3b0 his entire body, 08015212ca the voice that 47cdb84463 had been bothering 43d56ec174 him like a 037b4b654d headache disappeared. His rapid breathing also 37cbfa4f02 gradually subsided. Seoyoon looked down at ceb460a744 his arm while regulating d8de612afc his recovered breath. Tears that had reflexively 008f20687f formed were slightly pooled f79ff91056 at the corners of e31e93791d his eyes.f949dfbe9dd13cc9

The relief of regaining 92b9ec7817 his composure came first, 37e521a2c6 and the pain followed. At the a23e1eb6de burning sensation 50d95a0f39 as if 2ac48806d7 his flesh 62feb3308f was on 6fa08736a7 fire, Seoyoon f64f514ced finally slightly 467c2c85c4 furrowed his cf2de2741a brow.f8d1e25cb177f081

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After chasing away pain with pain, the self that couldn’t endure that one moment feels like the most pathetic thing in the world. Letting out a sigh full of self-loathing, he took out disinfectant, cotton, bandages, and the like from the same drawer. His hands treating his own arm were very skillful.b40ce545d1874f59

Unlike Seoyoon’s adoptive parents who were an alpha-omega couple, his uncle and aunt were both betas.06fd2298bbbca823

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As people who couldn’t have children with special traits, apart from the sorrow of losing their brother, his uncle had been secretly pleased to adopt Seoyoon, an omega, from before. Many betas believed, without clear evidence, that alphas or omegas could grasp greater luck and opportunities than them.0235999bc19adeec

Until about 30 b74e40e4fd years ago, it 944bd9a83a was legally prohibited 44d915f300 for alphas or 895469949a omegas to marry 0f69b1be6e those of the 640bfb87b2 same trait, or 9c48053c5b betas. As times changed, awareness 0668fe43e1 grew that the state ae24e20287 depriving individuals of their 362d52cb7d right to choose was 2b7e842122 a violation of basic 8a30fa0bd3 rights. The law was abolished, 0f7bd25367 and along with the 1d09c9867d legalization of same-sex marriage, 3c82981b84 alphas and omegas were 45972e9874 also allowed free dating a3480d8671 and marriage.c232e624cc206d77

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Even the effects of pheromones that once isolated trait-bearers from society was no longer an issue. Just by taking a small pill on time, it became possible to live one’s entire life without publicly revealing one’s trait.35822e243e565ddf

Nevertheless, the annual 719e75b04c survey results showed 1065c41bde no change in eb6f580750 the fact that 8170f45a36 the majority of 05b493b2e8 alphas and omegas 408bf95cef still chose each 2105ae128d other as partners. The most 64d3532e97 common analysis b41d4255f7 was that 4f6b1208f6 it was 514428dc01 due to ced65a38cb their unique 573eb08024 strong sexual 4f5f16e9e5 instincts, and cfa8309d1e there were 4495502792 also many 510f0365e6 claims that d920677fdf it was 00764009d1 because many b6a0eeb68c trait-bearers achieved 58d85780cd social success a13c1fb1d9 under more 220d7dcf3e favorable conditions 52c3a5281f thanks to b4635709f3 their innate 036f54a331 abilities.dd18201cf99dd1e2

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Just as 42b01ae404 wealthy people a121187a16 use marriage a0e271f1ac connections to eb33f44d82 protect their 8e28c193ec assets, it 96082abd22 was said c23472d1ea that alphas d6cb1d136e and omegas 88ce061415 also seek da1ebba077 to meet d41436687b each other 5598e3c952 and leave ca2bd8d4ff offspring to 277143024b preserve their 1ec9210c60 achievements and fbd6a210e7 talents derived 984d8e3a40 from their 34ea78636f special traits 543730679f for generations.d0e75b6de1d57d8e

Several days had 6a1473485b passed since the 7743e30eec day he drank 0dbcb04e76 that bitter cup.f4706bb92bebccdf

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The family atmosphere, e472e6727d which seemed about fc025ed3db to explode at 8a62099945 any moment, gradually 5bb44c0198 calmed down, and b94d6e6722 family members were d1500e327e regaining their usual e2ce74a382 life, at least 18e68b111c on the surface.b3024abf30b7ac42

“Seokyung’s late again today?”9558e8f7c7a5a845

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“He’s so busy these days. He needs to meet with companies diligently to win new contracts.”489e3909a0d04023

“You’re out of medicine, right? Take this with you. Even if you’re busy, take it regularly.”0dd0330ae0442f65

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“You bought more? I told you I don’t need to eat this stuff. It tastes bitter and I don’t want to eat it.”0ea99140560b89bd

“Meals alone aren’t enough for someone so busy with work. Father takes it consistently too.”db33c547ebcf6b1f

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As the family situation worsened, mother became particularly attentive to the family’s health. The reason was that to revive the failing family business, the health of those working on the front lines needed to be the foundation.fabe7fe17a823d88

Of course, “those working on the front lines” did not include Seoyoon, who did not participate in the business, but he was in no position to feel left out. Seoyoon tried to focus on his meal, pretending not to notice the conversation between his brother preparing for work and his adoptive mother who always gave him nutritional supplements and pills.d1777eec044d2afa

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Even while talking with mother, his brother did not forget to cast glances at him, treating him like useless trash. Unlike the rest of the family who had pinned their hopes on him, his brother’s anger had not subsided even after several days.37ae69b55b107193