No matter how I look at it, these people in the documents aren’t the ones.
Even if Han Sol was the family's black sheep, it was too much for these people to be considered marriage candidates, and even if he'd thoroughly displeased Chairman Han, selling him off to one of them was a heartless act.
If he was told to marry for their money and status alone, there was nothing he couldn't do. But for him, who'd transmigrated after being hit in the head by a flowerpot, it felt incredibly unfair.
He could picture it clearly. Chairman Han would pretend to take the initiative to get rid of the son he wants gone. Despite hating him, he’d act nice in public, but behind closed doors, he’d surely mistreat Han Sol.
Even if the household’s not falling apart, Han Sol himself was a doomed marriage candidate. If I could picture this so clearly, how could Chairman Han not? No matter how much he disliked his son, he shouldn’t have arranged a marriage like this.
Han Jinheon tilted his head back slightly, seemed lost in thought, then spoke leisurely.
“There is one way you can avoid this kind of arranged marriage right now.”
“What is it?!”
“Well...”
Unlike my desperate self, Han Jinheon took his time. Even though he could tell me quickly enough, he didn't open his mouth easily, as if enjoying my anxious reaction.
“Tell me already...”
“You need to stop being a Beta.”
“Stop being a Beta? What does that mean...?”
“You become an Omega.”
His answer was nonsense, and I scrunched up my face without holding back.
He had thought Han Jinheon was offering to help by stepping in and telling Han Dongsik that such an arranged marriage wasn't necessary. He'd imagined Han Jinheon would convey that he'd discipline Han Sol himself, but what? Become an Omega?
Han Jinheon remained unshaken by my overtly scrunched-up face. He added calmly.
"At the last family gathering, you said you didn't want to go to any damn marriage meetings and chose to go to America."
"……."
"You left with such spirit, only to change your destination at the airport. If you don't want to go to America and you don't want these meetings either."
"……."
“There’s only one option left. Manifesting as an Omega.”
If he didn't want America or the arranged marriage, he should manifest as an Omega. I almost fell for the calm voice and agreed. If my pounding heart hadn't jolted him awake, my mind, which had gone blank, might have accepted that becoming an Omega was the only answer.
"Father only distinguishes people by their traits. If an Alpha is the best, then an Omega is the second-best. A Beta is the worst and second-worst. That's why he never likes anything you do as a Beta."
"..."
“He always said you’re a useless Beta, but out of pity, he accepted you as his child. He told you to know your place, stay at home, and get married when the time comes… You’ve heard that so many times since you couldn’t manifest as an Omega. Aren’t you tired of it now?”
I had suspected Han Sol was only reluctantly accepted because as a Beta, he had no right to join the succession battle. And I was right. He was accepted out of pity. But that didn’t make me proud. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Even though he's a Beta, he's still of the same bloodline as Han Jinheon, yet one receives all the expectations for being an Alpha, and the other receives all the disdain for being a Beta. Isn't this why Han Sol went astray?
Han Sol was close to a one-dimensional character. If told to be quiet, he'd cause more trouble; if told to be silent, he'd be louder. He probably became more rebellious and defiant every time someone tried to crush his spirit. And then he caused a huge incident involving the main lead of this web novel, Kim Gyuyeong, so it seems they’re trying to get rid of him without any lingering attachment.
Han Jinheon tapped my nose as if to bring my focus back, seeing my dazed face lost in thought.
"So, becoming an Omega and gaining other options isn't a bad idea."
"Omega…"
"Yes. Omega."
That still sounded like nonsense to me.
I didn’t come from a world without Omegas, and I knew all about manifestation. The world I lived in and the current one had subtle differences in how they viewed and treated people with certain traits, but one thing was consistent: the minority of manifested individuals received special treatment compared to the majority of Betas.
Because they were special, it was easy for them to attract public attention, so they couldn’t live freely. Omegas especially lived that way compared to Alphas. They were tagged with labels like “Oh, it’s because they’re Omega,” which limited their lives. That said, their social class was still higher than Betas.
More importantly, as far as I knew, Han Sol was a Beta who couldn’t even manifest. He couldn’t just become an Omega because someone told him to.
So why was Han Jinheon so confidently telling me to become an Omega? Like it was possible?
“Hyung, I don’t really understand right now...”
"How can it be hard to understand? I'm telling you to become an Omega."
"But I don't understand that... I know it's a foolish question, but can I ask something?"
"If it's a foolish question, you don't have to ask."
"No, I have to. How can I become an Omega? Is that even possible? Hyung, you must be mis—"
"That's more than a stupid question. It's possible. Right now, your Omega ratio is almost as high as your Beta ratio."
"Trait ratio?"
The term sounds familiar, but it’s still strange.
Han Jinheon patiently explained it to my dull self. He was 100% Alpha. Han Dongsik, also an Alpha, was the same. In comparison, Han Sol was 60% Beta and 40% Omega. The gist was that if this 40% was nurtured a bit more, he could manifest as an Omega at any time.
"Does that mean I…"
"It means you haven't manifested yet. If you induce manifestation, you can become an Omega anytime."
"I haven't manifested?! Me?!"
"You told me to keep it a secret, so why are you suddenly pretending not to know?"
I wasn’t pretending—I really didn’t know. I’d never read about this in the original story.
It was surprising, but the fact that I didn't know wasn't important. The fact that I could become an Omega was more important than that. If his manifestation period had completely ended, his Omega ratio wouldn't have reached 40% in the first place, nor would it fluctuate further. It felt strange that the ratio could even be manipulated.
This wasn’t something to just understand; it was a big deal. Being non-manifested means I could manifest anytime. That means I could become an Omega!
And while I was unaware, Han Jinheon knew Han Sol was non-manifested and had kept it secret. Because Han Sol made him keep quiet, I couldn’t blame him for not telling me. It was my fault for knowing nothing about Han Sol.
“Don’t worry, I’m keeping the secret well. Father and your mother think your manifestation is over.”
Han Jinheon continued speaking softly to me as I just rolled my eyes with a perpetually dumbfounded look.
“You said you were reflecting.”
“I am, but still…”
“You’ve lived long enough as a Beta.”
Could you please not define someone else's Beta life like that?
The information filling my head, which had been empty for fifteen days, swirled around, making my head ache. I grabbed my hair with both hands for a moment before leaning back against the sofa cushions. My body slumped down as if pulled by gravity.
Han Jinheon watched me leisurely, and I found him annoying. After avoiding America, a marriage meeting came my way. Trying to avoid the meeting, I'm told to become an Omega. This was one problem after another. It was a plot where even if I escaped one predicament, I was bound to be thrust into another.
And what? When I offered to cook as a sign of reflection, he teased me, asking if that was reflection, and now he tells me to live a new life as a sign of reflection. Is this a joke or what?
I wish it was just a joke. I wish Han Jinheon had been the one to trick me to tease me, or that Chairman Han sent the match but everything he said was just to mess with me. How great would that be?
My wish was futile. His pitch-black eyes were full of genuine sincerity, which only made me suspicious.
First, I had to keep asking what I needed to ask. Han Sol being non-manifested was too significant a matter for me to ignore or pretend I hadn't heard.
“How do you induce manifestation?”
“Well, you take medicine or get injections.”
“Medicine, injections... that’s all it takes?”
“There’s something most important.”
“The most important? What is it?”
“Alpha pheromones. Has your mind gone soft from staying quiet lately?”
He was teasing me, asking why someone who knows better than anyone is suddenly pretending to know nothing. Annoyed that he was teasing me so nonchalantly, oblivious to my feelings, I glared at him slightly, and Han Jinheon raised one corner of his mouth as if finding it ridiculous.
To induce manifestation, you need medicine, injections, and alpha pheromones. Thinking this over, more questions came up.
“How are you going to help me, Hyung..?”
When I asked if he would get me the medicine or injections, he just shrugged nonchalantly. Was that all? He replied casually and then reached out, roughly stroking my hair.
"I have to give you my pheromones. My pheromones are better than those of other Alpha bastards, aren't they?"
"……."
"And it can prevent you from going out and causing trouble just to get pheromones."
"I have no intention of causing trouble…"
My words stopped due to Han Jinheon's action of suddenly leaning his body towards me. He closed the distance as if sharing a secret. His face, now quite close, created tension. In an instant, all the nerves in my body focused on him.
Ah, thrusting this handsome face at me is troublesome. It makes me let down my guard completely.
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