A Calm Before the Shift

Everything clicked into place.

With hospital bills piling up, it seemed the compensation I’d given him hadn’t been enough.

‘And now that he’s no longer afraid of Seong Chanyeong, he probably figured he could handle a bit of risk.’

A Beta couldn’t beat an Alpha anyway.

Even if Seong Chanyeong had been unusually strong for a recessive Omega, the outcome wouldn’t have changed.

‘Honestly, this works out better. I can completely wipe away everything Seong Chanyeong did to Seo Eunsu with this.’

Once I framed it that way, I felt at ease.

“…You’re more open-minded than I expected.”

Seo Eunsu blinked at my words, then smiled gently, his eyes curving.

A beautiful person’s smile was practically an attack.

“You don’t find this disturbing? Like I’m some kind of monster?”

Why would he even ask that?

“Not really? Trait conversion is extremely rare. It’s not like you chose it. It just… happened. Like a natural disaster. There’s no reason for me to see you as something terrible.”

If Seo Eunsu becoming an Alpha made him a monster, then I wasn’t any different.

This body had already changed once—from dominant to recessive.

And I had no complaints about living as a scentless peony, barely distinguishable from a Beta.

‘If he’s a monster, then so am I.’

I’d just given a perfectly reasonable answer, but his expression turned… strange.

Like a goldfish swimming in water suddenly spoke to a human.

“…Do you really think that?”

“Why not? Honestly, it might even be a good thing. Even if we don’t know your exact traits yet, being an Alpha means better physical capabilities.”

This world didn’t really look down on Omegas, probably because suppressants worked so well.

That said, people still favored Alphas in things like employment.

In many ways, life was easier as an Alpha.

‘And as an Alpha… he could even double as protection.’

Hopefully, those guys didn’t know about this change yet.

I had no idea why the main character—who had always been an Omega in the original—had undergone such a massive shift, but I really hoped those idiots would prove their “true love” transcended traits.

Because my safety depended on it.

“Anyway, I’ll be counting on you, Seo Eunsu. And sorry for earlier—I misunderstood about the boyfriend thing.”

I apologized politely and turned to leave.

I still had to prepare the soil and set up the greenhouse for planting strawberry seedlings.

‘Busy, busy.’

But just as I was about to go, he grabbed my wrist.

‘Why the wrist?’

Confused, I looked at him as he spoke, his lips red like cherries.

“I wasn’t bothered by your misunderstanding.”

Huh?

“You seem like a better person than I thought, Seong Chanyeong.”

…Huh??

“Uh… thank you?”

I answered awkwardly, and he burst into laughter—clear and refreshing like spring water.

“Sorry for stopping you. You can go now. And… thank you for providing such a nice place.”

Well, as long as he liked it.

And just like that, I ended up bringing the one person I most wanted to avoid—Seo Eunsu—into the annex of my home.

Only a few days later, Chairman Seong called again.

After his last call, I had saved his number.

Simple reason—whenever he called, it probably meant those guys were on the move.

‘It’s fine. Whatever their intentions are, I’ve got Seo Eunsu with me.’

I didn’t know how they’d react to his change in traits, but I chose to believe things would work out somehow.

Otherwise, I’d stress myself into a breakdown.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Thanks, Janggun. For barking so I don’t get lost in my thoughts.”

I handed him a snack out of habit—homemade beef jerky.

He loved this stuff.

After happily munching it down, Janggun suddenly stood in front of me like a guard dog, sensing someone’s approach.

“You’re here?”

“Yes. The housekeeper asked me to bring you some side dishes.”

Wrapped in a floral cloth, the dishes were plentiful.

Braised beef, stir-fried anchovies with peppers, seasoned seaweed stems, fresh young radish kimchi, and pan-fried meat patties.

“That’s… really not necessary.”

“I wanted to do it. I feel restless just sitting around doing nothing.”

I had absolutely no intention of making Seo Eunsu work.

Why would I mess with the main character of the story?

It was far more beneficial to stay on his good side.

‘Though it would’ve been even better if we never met at all…’

But that wasn’t an option.

So, plan B it was.

Honestly, I was fine with him getting paid for doing nothing.

But unfortunately, this diligent, kind-hearted main character couldn’t just sit still.

He had practically turned himself into my errand boy.

Taking over small tasks from the older housekeeper, bringing me food like this, even insisting on cleaning my room.

At first, I freaked out.

If the others saw this, I’d look like some evil stepmother tormenting Cinderella.

– “What are you doing, Seo Eunsu?!”

– “Cleaning.”

– “That’s not what I meant! Why are you cleaning my house?”

‘He looks way too good in a white apron…’

Even while scolding him, that thought crossed my mind.

Fairy godmother, where are you?

Here’s a perfect Cinderella candidate—please take him away.

– “I want to. I don’t want to just sit around doing nothing.”

With those dark, pleading eyes, I couldn’t refuse.

It felt like he might cry if I did.

‘Makes sense, given how he grew up in an orphanage…’

Still, this wasn’t ideal.

Now the other workers were warming up to him too, taking his side more and more.

Especially the housekeeper—she was practically obsessed, always trying to feed him more.

“Seriously, don’t do these small errands anymore. I hired you, but I don’t want to make you work like this.”

My plan was simple—use him as a shield when those guys showed up, then send him back to Seoul.

That’s it.

But this guy… couldn’t just rest.

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

‘Yeah right… he’s definitely going to keep doing it anyway.’

Maybe it was because he’d become an Alpha, but he seemed full of energy he couldn’t contain.

He came by every day, looking for things to do.

It was exhausting.

‘He even bathed Janggun yesterday…’

That one actually stung a little.

Janggun didn’t usually let anyone but me handle him.

But with Seo Eunsu?

Petting, carrying… even bathing—he accepted it all.

‘So you like him that much, huh.’

The main character’s charm even worked on dogs.

Unfair.

‘Well… if he’s this charming, maybe those guys will still fall for him even as an Alpha.’

That thought was… comforting.

I distracted myself by buying farming books online.

Either way, my life was still peaceful.

“The housekeeper also made soy-marinated crabs. Want to try some?”

“That heavy container was that? Makes sense. Just leave it—I’ll eat later.”

At this rate, my fridge was going to overflow.

“Just one bite. She said these crabs are especially good this time and really wants your feedback.”

‘This is a trap…’

A pretty guy holding a container of soy-marinated crab, asking like that—

There was no way I could refuse.

Beauty plus good food?

I’m weak. I surrender.

“Fine. Just one bite.”

“Great!”

He served me a bowl of white rice like a pro housewife.

“Thank you for the meal.”

He even cracked open the crab shell and cut the legs for me.

Was this what a perfect spouse looked like?

I couldn’t help but wonder which lucky bastard he’d end up with.

‘Well… the original ending was basically a group relationship anyway.’

I scooped up some rice, piled it with the crab’s rich innards and roe—

Right as I was about to take a bite—