Pig Government Official

-46-

After the meal, Junjae left the main house entrance to return home. He wanted to get home and rest as soon as possible.

“Executive Director Won.”

“……”

“Hey. Won Junjae.”

“……”

“Ha-. This bastard is consistent in his disrespect, now as before.”

However, the person Junjae least wanted to face right now stopped him. Junjae sighed. Won Sungjae was all sweet and foxy in front of their father, but behind his back, he would lash out at Junjae alone. Right now, Junjae really didn’t want to deal with him and continued walking, treating him like an invisible person.

“Do you look down on me too because I’m a recessive?”

“……”

“But you were recessive too, weren’t you? Are you saying you’re not anymore?”

“……”

“And you know, right? That to father, you’re a bigger flaw than I am-.”

Shit, really. His jaw clenched momentarily. He had to ignore him because engaging would make him no different. Junjae closed his eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them and continued walking. Won Sungjae’s grumbling voice from behind made his irritation rise to the tips of his hair. He roughly pushed open the automatic gate, unable to wait for it to open on its own.

“Sir……”

Secretary Oh was waiting with the car door open, a worried look on his face, probably having heard that Won Sungjae was there. Junjae got into the car without delay. If he stayed any longer, he felt like he might vomit everything he ate onto the wall. Meeting Won Sungjae here. His luck couldn’t have been worse.

There was another reason Junjae disliked Won Sungjae. Father always said, to the point of being tiresome, that it was thanks to Won Sungjae being born a recessive alpha that Junjae could come into the world. That if Won Sungjae had been a dominant alpha, Junjae wouldn’t even exist. But then you were born recessive too, he’d say. If that was going to be the case, you shouldn’t have been born at all.

As Won Sungjae said, Junjae was indeed a bigger flaw to their father. To have abandoned a child born as a recessive alpha, only for the next one to be born recessive as well. His pride couldn’t allow it, so he told the world Junjae was a dominant alpha, but if this fact were to become known, the tower his father had built would obviously crumble. His siblings would doubt their own traits until they died, and he would be the subject of gossip until he died. Whenever anything bad happened to the company, everyone would blame it on his trait. Father always said, you should have been born dominant from the start. Because of you…

“Haah……”

His head started to ache. How much harder did he have to work… How much more effort did he need to put in to escape from being his father’s flaw? For over 30 years, he had never once rested, never once shown that it was hard. Because he said it was something he absolutely had to do for Won Electronics. Everything – what he ate, what he wore, even his hobbies – he did exactly as his father told him to. To not add any more to his father’s weaknesses. To prevent the company from being tarnished because of him.

That’s how he had lived. But he was always a flaw. No matter how much he struggled and tried to escape, a label always followed him. The label of being born recessive. Won Sungjae, who knew nothing, always envied and was jealous of him. Why were you the only one who manifested as dominant? Why am I recessive? That resentment turned into an inferiority complex, and he would bristle and lash out whenever he saw Junjae.

In his teens, Junjae felt superior seeing Won Sungjae like that. You’re the real son of the cruel father. You can’t have Won. You can’t enjoy this position. But from his mid-twenties, he began to feel that the true winner of this fight was Won Sungjae. The hobbies I can’t have. The rest I can’t enjoy. What I can’t have… is myself.

He wanted to crumble.

* * *

No matter how much he ate, he felt empty. Jeonggwan was already on his third bag of potato chips. The whole family had gathered in the living room for the first time in a while, but Jeonggwan alone had demolished three bags of chips.

– Are you saying… that you don’t love Seonjeong?

– …I’m sorry, mother-in-law.

– Hah… Then why did you marry my daughter? Huh?!

Oh my. Oh my. That bastard. I knew he would do that. Jeers towards the man burst from the mouths of Jeonggwan’s family members. Why are they getting so worked up over just a drama… Jeonggwan’s eyes were on the drama, but somehow his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.

– It was because of the pheromones… That’s why.

– …W-what?!

– What can I do if I only like Seonjeong’s pheromones!

– You! Now that’s…!

– Pheromones aren’t a crime, are they?!

The man who looked like he could be the male lead in a family drama, kneeling in front of a middle-aged woman, was spitting out lines with a feeling of “Love isn’t a crime!”

“That damn bastard.”

Jeonggwan, who had thrown a potato chip bag, sat up from his half-lying position on the sofa, his eyes blazing. Led by Jeonggwan, all family members sat up and started cursing. The actor’s life was being extended bit by bit by the curses he was receiving.

What? Pheromones aren’t a crime? They are, you idiot. Is Seonjeong a gas station? Just to suck out the pheromones? Am I a gas station? To come and charge for 20 minutes and then dash off? Huh?! Jeonggwan was now spewing curses randomly, not sure who they were directed at anymore.

He didn’t know why he was still thinking about Junjae, who had left like that in the morning, and why he felt so resentful. Clearly, on that day, he had thought it was really over with Won Junjae. Is he doing this because he’s embarrassed to give in to me? Or does he think I’ll cling to him out of desperation even if he acts like that? Even if he comes crying and begging later to meet again, I’ll spit on him, that old man. He had gone to bed thinking all sorts of negative thoughts.

But from the next day, thoughts like “Didn’t I do something wrong too…?” gradually occupied his mind. Thinking about it that way, he wondered if he hadn’t provoked Junjae too much, wanting to see him beg… Still, Junjae had waited for an hour before leaving, and then Jeonggwan didn’t contact him once, and when Junjae accidentally called, he only heard about Jeonggwan meeting his ex-boyfriend. Thinking from Won Junjae’s perspective, Jeonggwan felt like he was a bit of trash too. And he even called him an idiot. So part of him was secretly willing to accept if Won Junjae pretended not to know and asked for reconciliation.

But really, am I a gas station? Just 20 minutes… Not even 20 minutes. He charged for 18 minutes and left. It would take longer than that to fuel up and wash a car at a gas station. Ah, I don’t know. I’m really annoyed, Won Junjae. I hope Won Electronics’ stock crashes.

[KakaoTalk!]

“Ah shit! Won Electronics’ stock fell!”

Huh? Jeonggwan startled, looked at his eldest brother who was looking at his phone with a serious expression next to him. What, did it really crash so quickly just because he said it should? Jeonggwan dropped the potato chip bag he had picked up again.

[KakaoTalk!]

“It fell by 400 won. That much goes up and down every day.”

“Oh really? I didn’t know since it’s my first time with stocks…”

Jeongwon looked at Jeonghyun’s phone and spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, while Jeonghyun, a stock market novice, scratched his head as if embarrassed. Ah, damn, this brother really. Jeonggwan cursed with his mouth shape but let out a sigh of relief. I thought it really crashed because I said it should.

[KakaoTalk-. KakaoTalk-. KakaoTalk-.]

“Ugh, whose is it! Put it on manner mode!”

“Third one.”

“Jeongyun.”

“It’s Jeongyun hyung’s.”

The KakaoTalk notifications ringing from the kitchen table since earlier seemed to have finally angered mom. The drama was heading towards its climax, and it seemed to be bothering her. However, the owner of the phone had been in the bathroom and not coming out since earlier.

“Jeonggwan, go check if your brother died in the bathroom.”

“Leave him. Jeongyun washes all day when he drinks.”

“Right. That bastard’s probably peeling off his dead skin.”

Even though the drama was almost over, Jeongyun wasn’t coming out of the bathroom. The brothers said he was surely still washing, but mom seemed worried and kept pushing Jeonggwan to go check. Only making me do it at times like this. It’s obvious he’s removing even his heel calluses without having to look. Knowing Jeongyun, who peels off every bit of dead skin from head to toe when he drinks, Jeonggwan grumbled as he got up and approached the table. That brother will really collapse one day doing that.

[KakaoTalk-. KakaoTalk-.]

But really, why are there so many messages? Did Kim Jeongyun perhaps get a lover? Jeonggwan’s eyes glared at the bathroom once, then quickly turned mischievous. That bear-like guy. Did he perhaps get bewitched by a vixen like me somewhere? I guess this body needs to check directly.

Jeongyun hyuuung, you keep getting messages. Is it urgent? I’ll check for youuu-. Jeonggwan asked for permission in a voice so small that Jeongyun definitely couldn’t hear, then immediately drew an L-shaped pattern to unlock Jeongyun’s phone. Jeongyun had used the L-shaped pattern his whole life. It was quite sloppy security for someone working at a security company.

[WJJ Security Youngest Chat Room]

However, there was no foxy lover on Jeongyun’s phone, but there was a Pandora’s box. Anyone could see that ‘WJJ’ was Won Junjae. However, Jeonggwan didn’t even think of pressing it. This was Jeongyun’s work that required confidentiality, and if he meddled out of curiosity, it would be disrespecting Jeongyun’s profession,

[Security Team 3 Jin Hamin Wow. VIP going on a blind date?]

[Security Team 2 Hong Youngju – How do you know?]

[Security Team 3 Jin Hamin Glasses just received some kind of envelope with a VIP blind date list;]

[Security Team 3 Park Jinwook OMG! Then what about Chubby?ㅠ]

However, he couldn’t stop the preview windows rapidly passing before his eyes.

“…Blind date?”