Chapter 1

My older brother, Kim Shin-hee, is three years older than me and an irresistibly beautiful dominant Omega.

With his soft brown hair and gentle, sparkling black eyes, he looked so adorable that he reminded people of a rabbit.

Thanks to his looks, when my father’s business was on the verge of collapse, he secured a massive investment in exchange for my brother’s engagement.

His fiancé was seven years older than him, the second son of Seolgang Group, one of the top conglomerates in the country.

The moment my brother turned twenty, he was forcibly “sold off” to a dominant Alpha seven years his senior—someone he had never even met before. At the engagement ceremony, he cried his eyes out.

It was beyond embarrassing; he threw such a fit that he practically shamed our entire family, lying on the floor wailing at the top of his lungs. His fiancé, glancing at his watch, coldly said:

“If you want to call off the engagement, do it now. I don’t have time for this childish tantrum, especially not at an engagement I barely managed to fit into my schedule. Of course, the money I invested will be immediately withdrawn.”

At his icy, indifferent words, my father fainted on the spot, and my mother clenched her fists, glaring at my brother.

Faced with this reaction, my brother, who had been thrashing on the floor, abruptly shut his mouth and stood up, finishing the engagement ceremony.

Fortunately, his fiancé claimed that he wouldn’t have time to get married for at least three years, granting my brother temporary freedom.

Well, “freedom” was just a nice way of saying he was ignored due to a busy schedule—but my brother had no complaints about that.

While attending university, he enjoyed dating freely, and at some point, he started spouting nonsense about having met his “fated one.”

“Shin-Yeon, look at this picture! Isn’t he handsome? Totally perfect, right?”

“Hyung, you already have a fiancé… And I have the college entrance exam coming up. Don’t bother me and get out.”

“Aw, come on! He might be your future brother-in-law, you know~”

I, a high school senior with only 100 days left until the college entrance exam, yelled at my brother, who was shoving his phone in my face.

“Mom! Hyung is distracting me from studying!”

Before I could even finish speaking, my mom stormed in, wielding a fly swatter, and started scolding my brother.

“You brat! Your little brother’s exam is just around the corner, and you’re fooling around?! And you, Shin-Yeon, don’t scream just because your brother talked to you! Ugh… Shin-hee, get out now!”

“Ow! Mooooom!”

Honestly, I had no interest in my brother’s love life. I was more concerned about the looming entrance exam, so I focused on my studies.

Ignoring my brother, who had buried his common sense in a field of flowers, I took the exam 100 days later.

It was brutal, but I managed to score higher than expected, so I was satisfied.

Just when I was about to smoothly move on to preparing for university admissions… my brother stopped coming home regularly.

“Kim Shin-hee must be out drinking and crawling around on the streets again.”

“Ugh, Mom is always worried he’ll suddenly show up pregnant with someone’s kid.”

“Come on… Hyung wouldn’t do that, right? No matter what, he has some common sense.”

But Kim Shin-hee, the eldest son, did not have common sense.

And none of us had any idea what was happening.

***

December of my nineteenth year, the last month of my teenage life.

My parents had gone to a year-end party, leaving me alone at home. I was watching TV and eating fried chicken when—

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang. I put down my chicken and checked the intercom.

– It’s Seo Kyo-Shin.

“Huh…? Hyung’s fiancé…?”

A low voice came through the intercom, and on the screen, a towering man stood outside, so tall that his face was barely visible.

Recognizing him as my brother’s fiancé, I hurried to the entrance and opened the door.

His black coat billowed in the cold winter wind as he walked toward me, exuding a dangerous aura.

“Hello.”

“It’s been a while. You’ve grown a lot since the engagement ceremony.”

With his long legs, he reached the doorway in an instant. His flawless features looked like they had been sculpted from a painting.

But contrary to his breathtaking beauty, his deep black eyes held an eerie chill.

“Still, I’m shorter than average. I’m only 173 cm.”

“That’s average for an Omega. Back then, you were so small you looked like a newborn.”

Despite his intimidating presence, his low voice carried a strangely lazy, relaxed tone.

“It’s cold outside. Would you like to come in for a bit? My parents are at a year-end party, and Hyung… should be out with friends, I think? I’m not sure.”

“I figured. I haven’t been able to contact Kim Shin-Hee at all recently. I think he blocked me.”

…Wait. Did my brother seriously screw up something huge?!

I suddenly got chills, my eyes darting nervously. I awkwardly raised my hands, gesturing for him to come inside, but he didn’t budge.

Almost as tall as the front door, Seo Kyo-Shin scanned the house with his cold gaze before finally looking at me.

“Today isn’t the right time. I should go. It would be inappropriate to enter a house where a kid is alone.”

As he spoke, he pulled a refined envelope from his pocket and handed it to me.

“Congratulations on getting into Korea University. Buy whatever you need or anything you wanted. Have a good end of the year and a happy New Year.”

“Oh… Thank you! Future brother-in-law, happy New Year to you too. You worked hard this year.”

I quickly accepted the envelope, making sure not to embarrass myself. Upon hearing my words, Seo Kyo-Shin let out a short sigh.

“Future brother-in-law, huh… You shouldn’t get too used to that title. It might change.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve kept you in the cold for too long. Go inside. Enjoy your chicken.”

Then, with a smooth motion, he reached out and wiped my mouth.

Raising his hand to show me the sauce-stained fingers, he let a faint smirk flicker across his lips.

“Ah… Thank you for wiping it off. Please be careful on your way back. See you next time.”

“Sure.”

Turning around, Seo Kyo-Shin walked back to the front gate just as quickly as he had arrived.

Then, as he glanced back at me, he licked the sauce off his thumb before disappearing.

“Wait… why did he…? Did I just imagine that?”

I stared at the spot where Seo Kyo-Shin had been standing, feeling an odd sensation. But instead of dwelling on it, I grabbed the envelope and went back inside to finish my chicken.

The year-end variety show was too entertaining, and as a result, I completely forgot about the fact that Kim Shin-Hee was out of contact.

Before I knew it, the new year had arrived.

Even Kim Shin-Hee, who had been out and about all the time, returned home for the occasion, and our family was finally together again.

Then, on the first day of my twentieth year, while we were eating tteokguk, Kim Shin-Hee dropped a bombshell.

“I’m pregnant.”

“What kind of nonsense is that, first thing in the new year?”

Holding his stomach with both hands, Kim Shin-Hee’s eyes welled up with tears.

“It’s from the senior I’m dating. He’s a dominant alpha, but his family is normal. Just so you know.”

“You… you crazy bastard! Catch him right now!”

In the moment our father, who had been eating tteokguk, choked and clutched his neck, Kim Shin-Hee took the opportunity to grab a suitcase he had already packed in advance.

As I helped my mother support my father, who had nearly collapsed, Kim Shin-Hee rushed to the front door, pretending to cry pitifully.

Then, he shook the envelope that Seo Kyo-Shin had given me last year.

“Sniff! Shin-Yeon, I’ll make good use of this money when I give birth! Since it was given by Seo Kyo-Shin, it’s basically mine anyway, so I’ll be taking it!”

“You crazy bastard! Why are you taking that?!”

“Seo Kyo-Shin is insane! What kind of psycho gives 5 million won to a kid who just turned twenty? Anyway, thanks for the money!”

“HEY!!!”

And just like that, Kim Shin-Hee ran away on New Year’s morning, escaping with his so-called “kid daddy.”

It turned out that the only reason he had come home was to steal my mother’s emergency savings, her jewelry, and all the cash and valuables from my father’s wallet.

By the time my parents realized their bedroom had been completely looted, both of them collapsed again, but there was nothing we could do.

Kim Shin-Hee had cut off his phone and vanished.

All we could do was sit there in stunned silence, feeling utterly helpless.

“Dad, don’t we have to return the investment money to Seolgang Group?”

“…If we return all of it, our company will go bankrupt.”

“We were barely holding on as it is with the bad economy…”

Sitting in the living room, our parents sobbed about how terribly they had raised their son, and I joined them, crying my heart out all day.

“I won’t go to college. I’ll get a job right away and start earning money… Can’t we figure something out as a family?”

“It’s not something we can fix that way.”

Suhan, our mid-sized company, simply didn’t have the capital to repay Seolgang Group’s investment in a lump sum.

The amount was close to 10 billion won.

If Seolgang Group took it back, we’d be out on the streets.

And not long after, Seo Kyo-Shin personally sent us the official countdown to homelessness.

—I’ve booked the wedding hall for early March. Please inform Kim Shin-Hee.

At that, my father clutched his neck and fainted again, and my mother ran in every direction trying to find Kim Shin-Hee.

But how could we possibly find someone who had disappeared on purpose?

There was only one option left.

I had to propose to Seo Kyo-Shin myself and offer to marry him in my brother’s place.

A recessive omega like me would obviously be unappealing to an extreme dominant alpha, but I had to try.

With my parents on the verge of complete collapse and our company nearing bankruptcy, there was no other choice.

By mid-January, I secretly checked my father’s phone to find Seo Kyo-Shin’s number.

“Haah… This is insane.”

After wandering the streets in the cold winter air, I finally dialed his number.

Trriiing—

—This is Seo Kyo-Shin.

“A-Ah, hello. This is Kim Shin-Yeon…”

—Shin-Yeon still sounds like a kid over the phone.

As his deep voice echoed in my ears, I nervously tapped my toes against the ground before speaking up.

“If, if you have time—”

—Yeah?

“Please… marry me. W-Wait! No! That was a mistake! I meant, please meet me!”

As soon as I realized my slip-up, my mind went blank.

I clutched my phone tightly, trembling in silence.

Then, I heard a laugh.

—Hahaha! So, if I have time, you want me to marry you?

“That’s not what I meant…”

As I chewed on my nails in panic, Seo Kyo-Shin laughed for a while before letting out a quiet sigh.

—What a shame. I don’t have time. Sorry, kid.

And just like that, he rejected me coldly.

Two months until we lost everything.

In two months, I either had to find Kim Shin-Hee or walk into that wedding hall with Seo Kyo-Shin myself.

From now on, my only way to survive… was to propose.

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