The Curse of the Dominant Alpha

The Seon family lunch, the first in nearly a month, fell apart in a spectacular fashion.

It ended when Seon Ji-ha, who had been fidgeting and clutching his phone throughout the meal, finally stood up and announced he had to make a call before walking away. Seon Ji-ho, the eldest son, froze with his spoon halfway to his mouth.

Ji-ho couldn’t swallow a single bite, clutching his chest in frustration at his youngest brother’s bizarre behavior. Seeing this, the parents quietly excused themselves, realizing the atmosphere was no longer fit for a family meal.

Seon Yeon-jeong, the middle child, finally spoke up as she watched the chaos.

“Oppa, just leave him be. You’re going to hyperventilate before he ever listens to you. Have you ever actually seen him do what you say?”

“What do you mean ‘ever’? When he was little, he did everything I told him not to—”

“That’s not because you told him; it’s because he didn’t want to do it. Do you still not know Seon Ji-ha?”

Yeon-jeong sighed heavily at her brother, who was as stubborn as a mule. There isn’t a single person in this family with a normal personality. They were a “prestigious” household, but every single heir was far from ordinary.

Forgetting for a moment that she was one of those “heirs,” Yeon-jeong finished her bowl and set down her spoon. Ji-ho, who had been deep in thought without eating, suddenly asked:

“But what’s really going on? I didn’t think his obsession with that phone was this bad.”

“Get it right. Can’t you tell? It’s not the phone—he’s waiting for someone’s contact. And as for the phone obsession, are you kidding? He went all the way to America to find discontinued parts for that thing. If that’s not obsession, what is?”

Yeon-jeong shook her head, recalling the incident a few years ago when Ji-ha’s phone broke.

Knowing the parts were no longer in production, Ji-ha had tracked down the original engineers to secure them. Consequently, the phone he used back then wasn’t even fully “authentic” anymore.

Ji-ha’s long-standing obsessive streak was legendary within the family. They viewed it as a “disease”—an unavoidable disaster or an act of god.

Because of this, his parents had dragged him to every doctor and specialist imaginable to “cure” him.

Ji-ho, meanwhile, had suggested locking him on an island until he learned what hunger felt like. Specifically, a tiny, secluded island with nothing on it but a white psychiatric hospital.

Yeon-jeong took the most neutral stance. She had been greedy as a child, but as an adult, she had settled into a staunch individualism: As long as Ji-ha doesn’t bother me, I’ll leave him alone.

“So he’s obsessed with a contact now?”

“How are you so dense? Do you think he’s obsessed with the act of calling? It’s a person, Oppa. A person. Not the phone itself.”

Yeon-jeong had almost forgotten about barging into Ji-ha’s house recently, but she shamelessly passed on his warning to the eldest brother now.

“He told us not to touch him. Ji-ha did.”

“……Ji-ha? He said those words?”

“You’re so funny, Oppa. Are you going to play the dignified scholar or the head of the house? Pick one.”

Ji-ho, who had been roaring like a lion a moment ago, suddenly called out “Ji-ha” with an affectionate tone the moment he heard the boy had actually spoken up for himself. Yeon-jeong could only scoff.

“Dr. Nam said it’s been a while since Ji-ha came in for a check-up.”

“Since when has he ever listened to the Doctor…… Wait, Dr. Nam isn’t the psychiatrist, is he?”

“I’m talking about his trait issue! His trait!”

“Ah.”

Yeon-jeong let out a short exclamation as she remembered. Right. Her damnable younger brother had another “illness” besides his mental ones. He was a Dominant Alpha—one of the few in the country.

Dominant Alpha. It sounded like such a grand title, the Alpha among Alphas. But Yeon-jeong, an ordinary Alpha herself, looked at her brother and saw something else:

A patient with a rare, incurable disease.

In fact, she secretly believed Ji-ha’s obsession was a byproduct of being a Dominant Alpha. She never said it out loud because it would make her family frown, but the suspicion remained.

Most people, having never seen a Dominant in person, assumed it was a blessing. The media only raved about the perks: the absolute dominance of their pheromones, their superior looks, physical stats, and genius intellect.

But that was a fantasy created by a clueless media. Every Dominant Alpha suffered from severe, unique side effects. Because the sample size was so small and the symptoms varied so much, there was no known cure.

Seon Ji-ha was no exception. He suffered from a severe pathological condition related to his Rut.

“He didn’t go crazy during his last Rut?”

“Yeon-jeong. Watch your mouth.”

“How is a person supposed to endure that? They say the pain of a Dominant Rut feels like your internal organs are being burned. Tell him to just have s*x, okay? It’s better to just get the pain over with.”

“You, as a girl……! Ahem, didn’t Dr. Nam say that would be even harder? Because the pain is so intense, meeting an Omega would only make him burn hotter.”

Dr. Nam, the specialist they had managed to hire for Ji-ha, was the top trait-expert in Korea. After examining Ji-ha during a Rut, he had stated firmly: “Sexual activity during a Rut may be physically impossible in the future.”

The reason was simple. A Rut, like an Omega’s Heat, is an instinctive drive for reproduction. Usually, an Alpha meeting an Omega during this time fuels the flame.

But Seon Ji-ha was a Dominant Alpha whose body already burned so hot during a Rut that it felt like his organs were charring. He was in too much pain to even think about holding an Omega. If he tried, he would likely lose his mind entirely.

Yeon-jeong clicked her tongue, thinking of her brother who was still a virgin despite his age.

“Ha…… poor bastard.”

“Seon Yeon-jeong.”

“Fine, fine. My poor little brother.”

She grumbled but changed her tone at Ji-ho’s low warning. Still, she truly pitied him.

Ji-ha himself brushed it off, saying the pain was so great he didn’t even care about Omegas, but Yeon-jeong—an Alpha who had dated every Omega in sight—didn’t see it that way. To her, he was just a “functional eunuch” with a uselessly impressive tool.

“Having such a massive piece of equipment and no place to use it…… Jeez.”

“Yeon-jeooong!”

“Oh, alright, Oppa! You’re going to lose your voice. So what if I saw my brother’s junk through the blankets once or twice? It’s what happens when I go to wake him up in the morning.”

“You! As a girl, how can you—!”

“You know people don’t use the ‘as a girl’ phrase anymore, right? You’re so old-fashioned, honestly.”

Yeon-jeong shrugged and stood up. She had finished her meal and endured her brother’s nagging, fulfilling her duties as the middle child.

Except for the “scholar” Ji-ho, who insisted on living with their parents, both Yeon-jeong and Ji-ha had moved out as soon as they became adults.

Though, technically, Ji-ha had been “sequestered,” so only Yeon-jeong truly moved out. She moved quickly, wanting to return to her cozy home.

But Ji-ho caught her before she could escape.

“Tell Ji-ha to go get his check-up before he leaves.”

“Ah, tell him yourself!”

“He at least listens to you.”

“He doesn’t listen because it’s me; he listens because I still have things he needs, okay?”

Yeon-jeong grit her teeth as she spoke. Ji-ho ignored her and picked up his spoon again.

“Tell him if he doesn’t get the check-up, I’ll cut his cards.”

“Do you still think he’s eight? He’s an adult who’s already received his full inheritance.”

The Seon family was old money. Not just some “conglomerate” group—their grandparents used to say that business was only for people who lacked money.

The Seon family were “real” wealthy, owning a vast amount of land and buildings in Seoul. They were the kind of people who, if joked with to “buy me all the buildings from here to there,” would reply: “From here to there is already mine, and that one is our family’s, so I can’t buy it.”

Thanks to their fair-minded parents and grandparents, the three siblings had already inherited their shares without any legal drama. Seon Ji-ha owned prime land in Seoul and tens of thousands of acres across Korea, plus dozens of buildings on top of that.

A man like that wouldn’t blink at his brother threatening to cut his credit cards.

“……Then tell him our parents ordered it.”

“So you finally realize he won’t listen to a word you say.”

“Sigh…….”

While they were bickering, Ji-ha returned from his call.

Holding his phone firmly in one hand, he looked at the ruined dining table with a blank stare. Then, he turned on his heel.

He clearly felt no guilt about ruining the meal and decided that since it was over, he could go.

Ji-ho grabbed him.

“Seon Ji-ha!”

“……?”

“Since you’re here, go see Dr. Nam for a check-up. Why the hell aren’t you getting them regularly?”

Ji-ha started walking the moment Ji-ho finished. As expected, he had zero intention of listening. Yeon-jeong decided to step in.

“I heard you’ve been calling Secretary Park a lot lately?”

“…….”

“Heard you keep making him buy clothes for you……. Should I look into that a bit more?”

At her words, Ji-ha stopped dead. He slowly turned his head to look at the two still sitting at the table. His eyes peered through his long bangs.

With a face that said he was enduring a massive inconvenience, Ji-ha spoke.

“Where is Dr. Nam?”