A House Full of Wolves

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was screwed. When was the scariest moment for a schemer like Yoo Yi-seo?

It was when the other person laughed so ominously that you instinctively thought, f*ck, I’m dead.

That was exactly how I felt right now. Was I about to get buried alive or something?

“It’s, it’s not a provocation.”

“That’s right.”

“No, it’s not. Hey! Yoo Yi-seo!”

“Get some rest. Something interesting is going to happen tomorrow.”

What was that supposed to mean?

I could only stare at him blankly like a goldfish. Yoo Yi-seo narrowed his eyes, quietly shut the door, and left.

“…What’s happening tomorrow?”

This was exactly why I was afraid of opening my eyes.

The faint traces of pheromones lingering in the air felt strangely awkward, so I waved my hand around as if that could somehow disperse the scent.

Five different pheromones lingered as lightly as feathers brushing against a baby’s cheek. The deep crimson sensation carried in that scent was overwhelming.

The craziest part was that my cheeks were getting hot too.

“I must seriously be losing it…”

Unable to face reality, I rolled around on the bed with the blanket pulled over my head.

“Noona, what am I supposed to do?”

Instead of a peaceful farming life, romance was about to crash into my life.

And not just any romance. Romance with the very men I was trying to run away from.

At this point, I was completely screwed, because the worst part was… I didn’t hate it as much as I should have.

“Argh! Argh!”

The horrifying realization sent me flailing across the bed like a rolling gimbap. The completely useless breakdown only stopped when General whined sleepily at me.

“Whine… Whine…”

“Sorry, General. Dad’ll be quiet.”

“Woof.”

Satisfied with my answer, General curled up on his soft cushion and went back to sleep. Once I finally calmed down, exhaustion hit me all at once and I quickly drifted off.

“General… what should Dad do now…?”

The chaotic day filled with tangled thoughts came to an end. No matter how hard I tried to think things through, my mind only became more of a mess, and eventually I fell asleep.

This time, I didn’t dream about those dark hands.

Instead, I had a different kind of nightmare.

I dreamed of kissing someone.

I couldn’t see who it was, but I could feel how deeply he loved me through the warmth of his lips and the arms wrapped tightly around me.

Who was it?

And what was going to happen to me from now on?

Even after such a disturbing dream, morning still came, along with the unavoidable duty of feeding my dog.

“Woof! Woof!”

“My dear General… waking your dad up from his dreams again. Thank you for that too.”

“Woof!”

I stroked General’s fluffy white fur and prepared to head out for our usual walk after feeding him.

Boom!

The sound of the front door flying open echoed thunderously through the house.

“Oh my god.”

I jumped in shock, only to see Secretary Choi sprinting toward me with a deathly pale face.

“Young Masterrrrrrr!”

“Huh? Wait a second. Secretary Choi? What are you doing here this early?”

Cough. Cough.

I nearly choked on my water at his sudden appearance. Secretary Choi looked as if he had just seen the afterlife while I continued coughing.

“How could I not come? I suddenly heard you were sick!”

He carefully avoided mentioning the heat cycle out loud as he looked me over anxiously, his gaze darting around the room.

“You drove all the way here at dawn? You must be exhausted.”

“It’s fine. I’ve been trained to survive overtime work.”

No wonder he looked half dead. I suddenly felt bad for him. No matter how well he was paid, forcing a busy employee to drive over at dawn was ridiculous. Work-life balance existed for a reason.

“I’m sorry, Secretary Choi. You got dragged into trouble because of me.”

“What are you talking about? I’m being paid with the chairman’s money anyway.”

“Uh… right.”

Apparently Secretary Choi had willingly traded his work-life balance for money.

Thanks to that, my guilt faded a little.

“Are you really okay? I was shocked when I got the call… I should’ve been more careful when selecting staff. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. There’s no way you could’ve known Mrs. Kim would do something like that.”

“…I’ll personally make sure she receives proper punishment.”

“Yes, please do.”

I wasn’t kind enough to forgive someone who had tried to harm me. Mrs. Kim would definitely be dealt with by the people Secretary Choi brought.

“I should probably ask quickly before things get worse. There are a bunch of little beasts grinding their teeth upstairs right now.”

“What? Did you get another pet besides General?”

“It’s not like that. I’m just worried I’m about to get into serious trouble.”

The problem was the five alphas staying in my house. Thankfully Secretary Choi had arrived early, because I had a feeling those men wouldn’t leave Mrs. Kim alone after discovering I was a recessive omega.

“I don’t fully understand, but alright. More importantly… are you really okay? You went through a lot.”

“Oh, that.”

Secretary Choi looked confused because I seemed far too healthy.

“Did you still have emergency medication left?”

“No. There wasn’t any left, but the others found some for me.”

“The others?”

“We found it for him, Secretary.”

Joo Taegang answered from the staircase upstairs before I could speak.

Secretary Choi froze in shock.

“What… what do you mean?”

“Stop trying to hide it. We already found out. Seong Chanyeong is a recessive omega. His inhibitors were stolen.”

“……!”

All color drained from Secretary Choi’s face.

My own shoulders stiffened instinctively, though honestly, I’d already accepted the situation.

“You mean… everyone in this house knows?”

“Yes. It couldn’t be helped. You probably expected this once you received the call.”

“I see…”

Secretary Choi’s voice sank heavily. I walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much, Secretary Choi. Everyone agreed to keep it secret.”

Yoo Yi-seo had promised me that himself when I panicked after my identity was exposed.

—I’m not the type to exploit someone’s weakness and keep them on a leash.

None of them had even demanded anything from me. They simply decided to keep quiet about it, and that unexpected kindness still left me stunned.

Even so, Secretary Choi’s expression remained dark.

“That’s not the issue. It was an emergency situation, so naturally… it was reported to the chairman.”

“What? Chairman Seong?”

“It was written into my employment contract from the beginning.”

Wait.

Why was I suddenly hearing Chairman Seong’s solemn voice?

“Chanyeong. If anything related to your traits ever happens, report it to me immediately. Didn’t I tell you before? No matter what else happens, I’ll protect you in that regard.”

“G-Grandfather…?”

“Chairman Seong…?”

It wasn’t a hallucination.

Chairman Seong had personally come all the way here at dawn alongside Secretary Choi.

“I apologize, sir. This was my mistake.”

“That’s enough, Secretary Choi. You were hired to assist Chanyeong, not to handle dangerous situations alone. The fault lies elsewhere.”

“Yes, sir…”

Chairman Seong lifted Secretary Choi’s bowed head before walking toward me.

“It’s been a while, Chanyeong.”

“…It has, Grandpa.”

“I know I came unexpectedly, but how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Really. I’m not sick anymore.”

“That’s good enough.”

There was no anger in his voice. No disappointment either. Just quiet concern.

I couldn’t ignore the affection hidden beneath those simple words.

“Woof! Woof!”

“You’ve grown a lot, little guy.”

“Woof!”

General wagged his tail enthusiastically and placed his paws against Chairman Seong’s hand as if he could sense the old man’s warmth.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

General licked Chairman Seong’s face enthusiastically. Even with saliva all over him, Chairman Seong simply scratched under his chin affectionately.

“For being a recessive omega… for hiding it.”

“I know this isn’t your fault. No one could’ve predicted this.”

A large hand rested gently on my head, stroking it carefully.

“The only thing that matters is your health. Are you alright? I heard you showed abnormal symptoms during your last hospital visit.”

“…I did before. But I’m okay now. I’m really fine.”

Chairman Seong never once blamed me. He only worried about whether I was safe.

The warmth of that concern made my eyes sting.

“Oh no. Why are you crying? Did those alphas do something to you?”

The infinitely gentle Chairman Seong instantly narrowed his sharp eyes at Joo Taegang.

Joo Taegang immediately raised both hands in protest.

“No! Chairman Seong, we never laid a finger on Seong Chanyeong!”

“And I’m supposed to believe that? An alpha loses their mind the second an omega enters heat.”

Grandpa, you’re a dominant alpha too…

It was basically insulting himself, but Chairman Seong shamelessly declared that all alphas were wolves.

“I disliked this arrangement from the start. Why are random alpha brats staying in my grandson’s house?”

“…Your grandson is the one destroying us.”

“Oh? Talking back now?”

Chairman Seong unleashed enough alpha pressure to qualify as a true boomer tyrant.

Unable to win the argument, Joo Taegang clutched his chest dramatically before shouting upstairs.

“Hey! Wake up! Chairman Seong is here! Are you really leaving me alone to deal with this?”

“Hmph. An elder is present and they’re still sleeping? Tsk. Maybe I should throw them all out. Secretary Choi, wake everyone up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Secretary Choi somehow produced a gong from nowhere at lightning speed.

Was there one in the storage room? Was Secretary Choi secretly human Doraemon? Where did he even find that thing?

“Wake up! Wake up!”

“Hahaha…”

I pinched my cheek with a hollow smile.

It hurt.

So this really wasn’t a dream.

“What kind of romance even is this…”

Yoo Yi-seo’s so-called provocation felt completely meaningless in front of Chairman Seong.