XX | Chapter 2.1

The lack of choice is a sign of weakness. This is probably the sentence that Gongjun has etched into his mind and mulled over the most in his life.

His father is the vice chairman of the Baekse Group, and his mother was a movie star who dominated her era. Baek Gongjun is the illegitimate child born from their affair. The Baekse Group did not acknowledge Gongjun as family, so he didn’t receive a single penny, but his mother wasn’t someone who lacked money.

It was a time when media control was relatively easy compared to now, and if you were determined to hide something, you could hide anything. So, his mother did not reveal Gongjun’s existence to the public. She planned to stay overseas for the ten months she carried Gongjun and give birth there, but unfortunately, she passed away right after giving birth to him.

Chairman Baek Hwanseok of the Baekse Group wasn’t cold-hearted enough to completely ignore a child who lost his mother at birth. However, he didn’t acknowledge Gongjun as a member of the Baekse Group either. He simply hired trustworthy people to raise Gongjun and received periodic reports on his progress every six months.

Of course, the people of the Baekse Group weren’t pleased with this. They wondered why Chairman Baek Hwanseok, who had always cut off people claiming to have had children with the vice chairman, was keeping this child close. It was a question that never ceased among the Baekse Group and others.

But it didn’t take long for people to understand why Hwanseok kept Gongjun close. Perhaps due to his mother’s genes, Gongjun was often compared to Snow White from fairy tales since birth. People around him, seeing his pretty appearance, were convinced he would manifest as a dominant omega.

However, what came to him before the onset of secondary sexual characteristics was an early first rut.

An ultra-dominant alpha. That was the trait Gongjun was diagnosed with. It was also the reason Hwanseok had been keeping an eye on Gongjun.

As soon as Gongjun was diagnosed as an ultra-dominant alpha, he was brought into the Baekse family. His first meeting with the people of the Baekse Group wasn’t pleasant. His pathetic biological father, who hung his head like a criminal, his stepmother, who openly showed her displeasure, and his two half-brothers. Even his grandfather, who sat at the head of the table, staring at him as if to assert his authority, was there. It was all unpleasant.

In that icy atmosphere, Gongjun found himself thinking absurd thoughts. He wondered if he would age to look just like Chairman Baek Hwanseok, who was sitting in front of him. Gongjun resembled his grandfather so much that no one could deny it.

After a long silence, a hand moved slightly. It was a gesture calling him. Gongjun moved without a word. The stern gaze that had been watching him as he walked toward the head of the table changed subtly as he got closer—so subtly that only Gongjun, who was right in front of him, noticed.

“…You are indeed my blood.”

Those were the first words Hwanseok said to Gongjun. What Gongjun remembers clearly from meeting Hwanseok wasn’t the situation, emotions, or expressions, but his scent. A scent that no ordinary alpha or omega could detect. Gongjun felt a sense of familiarity with the faint scent emanating from Hwanseok. The scent of roses. It was the same fragrance he had.

Gongjun instinctively realized that the reason Hwanseok acknowledged him as his blood was not because of his appearance but because of his pheromones.

After seeing Gongjun, Hwanseok immediately registered him in the Baekse family registry. There was no sentimental reason like family affection or pity for the young Gongjun. It was because, except for Hwanseok, his father and half-brothers were all recessive alphas.

There was no other reason. But it was an absolute reason that no one could oppose, and it was a valid reason that anyone could see. In high society, traits were something that couldn’t be ignored, even if the person was an illegitimate child.

The life of an alpha is one where they are revered just for existing and are treated well wherever they go. Especially for dominant alphas, life was easier, and for ultra-dominant alphas, it was like having a high-pass ticket to the pinnacle of life.

Gongjun wasn’t just an alpha or a dominant alpha; he was an ultra-dominant alpha. From Hwanseok’s perspective, there was no reason not to register Gongjun in the family registry.

His half-brothers had to accept Gongjun as their brother simply because they weren’t dominant alphas. At that time, Gongjun thought as he looked at his half-brothers’ faces. Those idiot-like faces, too dumbfounded to say anything, were quite a sight.

Gongjun officially became a member of the Baekse Group and lived with the Baekse family.

True to his ultra-dominant alpha trait, Gongjun excelled at everything. His grades were always at the top, his physical condition was overwhelmingly superior, and his gentle speech and handsome appearance meant he was always surrounded by people.

Naturally, Gongjun and his half-brothers were compared. As Hwanseok noticed Gongjun’s uniqueness early on and paid attention to him, the vice chairman’s wife and Gongjun’s stepmother saw him as a thorn in her side.

Naturally, his half-brothers were jealous and bullied him. But as always, Gongjun was smarter than his half-brothers, so he would take it in stride and pay them back double. He did it so cleverly that his half-brothers couldn’t even complain to the adults.

However, there was something Gongjun couldn’t overcome.

“No matter how dominant an alpha you are, your background is… you’re an illegitimate child born under a mere entertainer.”

His stepmother couldn’t belittle Gongjun’s trait, so she belittled his background and even his mother. Eventually, his half-brothers followed their stepmother’s lead and called him the child of an entertainer.

Gongjun didn’t hesitate to break his eldest brother’s tooth and his second brother’s arm.

This happened less than a year after Gongjun entered the Baekse family. His stepmother threw a fit at Hwanseok, saying she couldn’t live under the same roof as Gongjun, who had done this to her children.

Naturally, his father said nothing about the situation, and his half-brothers hid behind their parents, silently mocking him with ridiculous expressions.

Hwanseok showed no reaction. He just looked at Gongjun. He didn’t ask why or scold him, just watched him intently.

Not long after, Gongjun was sent to study in the United States by Hwanseok. It was a kind of consideration, suggesting that it would be better to live in a distant foreign country than to endure the dirty looks in Korea.

But Gongjun was furious. He couldn’t understand why he had to go to America when it was his half-brothers who were at fault.

The night before leaving for America, Hwanseok visited Gongjun’s room.

‘Are you upset?’

‘……’

‘Even if you glare like that, there’s nothing you can do. It’s because you lack power.’

Gongjun was upset.

It wasn’t his choice to be born because his lustful father couldn’t keep it in his pants, earning him the derogatory titles of ‘illegitimate child’ or ‘bastard.’ It wasn’t his choice that his mother was an actress, leading to ridicule as ‘the child of an entertainer.’ It wasn’t his choice to be treated like a pest by his stepmother and half-brothers. None of it was his choice.

Even his grandfather, Hwanseok, pretended to show mercy by acknowledging him as family, only to eventually send him into exile overseas—then had the audacity to say it was because he lacked power.

In the end, Gongjun protested in frustration, but Hwanseok remained firm.

“The lack of choice is a sign of weakness. To escape everything that makes you feel wronged, you need power.”

Hwanseok said that if you were born a tiger, you must prove you’re a tiger yourself. No one else can prove it for you.

And so, Gongjun was sent to America. It would be a long ten years before he set foot on Korean soil again.

“Isn’t it time to get up? It’s getting late.”

It was Gongjun who spoke first. In the elegant atmosphere of a hotel restaurant with soft piano melodies flowing, he addressed the man sitting across from him at a round table covered with a white cloth.

Two hours were enough to show respect for the other person. Gongjun thought it was time to wrap up the superficial conversation he had been squeezing out of his nonexistent interest. Besides, the pheromone scent from the other person was giving him a headache, and his patience was reaching its limit.

The man with small, delicate features, who had been blushing since they first met, looked flustered at Gongjun’s suggestion to leave. His expression showed a question of ‘Already?’ but Gongjun pretended not to notice and stood up without hesitation.

As he took a few steps, the man hurriedly followed and spoke up.

“Uh, next time…”

“It was a pleasure meeting you today.”

“What? Oh, yes! I enjoyed it too. And…”

Even as Gongjun gave a farewell to end today’s meeting, the man’s words followed. By now, he should have understood. Gongjun sighed quietly and spoke firmly.

“Take care, and if we get the chance, let’s meet again.”

“Ah…”

It was a kind tone, but a clear rejection. The man’s face went blank for a moment at Gongjun’s firm statement. Then he gave an awkward smile and nodded. He finally seemed to understand Gongjun’s intention.

Gongjun knew the man’s intention to promise another meeting. That’s why he deliberately took the initiative before it became more troublesome.

A short but awkward silence followed. Unable to bear the embarrassment, the man left first. Gongjun, who had kindly said goodbye with a smile, slowly withdrew his smile as the man’s back disappeared from view.

Walking in the opposite direction, his expression turned cold, contrasting with just a moment ago.

Damn, there’s a limit to how much you can interfere with everything.

After Gongjun went to study in America, his stepmother used every means to prevent him from returning to Korea. She suggested that since he graduated high school there, why not attend university there too? And after he graduated from university, she suggested finding a job in a familiar place, preventing him from returning to Korea.