Chapter 47

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 47

Chapter Title: Alpha

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"Sea?"

I echoed back to her.

Basically, Sea had no close friends in the guild.

Except for me.

She didn't show much interest in other people.

So I remembered that she neither liked nor disliked those around her.

It was more like there was hardly any interaction at all.

But Sea particularly disliked Baek Si-eun?

If that's how she felt, there had to be a reason...

I leaned forward.

"Why? Was there something that made you think that?"

"Yeah... well..."

She hesitated again, poking at only the mushrooms on the grill with her chopsticks.

Then she finally spoke.

"Ever since you left the guild..."

She glanced at me cautiously for a moment.

And continued.

"She's gotten really sharp."

"Sharp...?"

"Yeah. Sensitive toward the other female guild members, I guess."

She paused to choose her words carefully.

"She didn't seem to like me before either... but now it's like she's bristling with thorns? It feels especially bad toward me."

"......"

I was at a loss for words at her story.

Jin Sea had done that...?

But Baek Si-eun's expression was deadly serious.

Baek Si-eun wouldn't lie...

I got the feeling she wasn't saying everything.

She still hadn't brought up what she really wanted to say.

So I carefully checked her status window.

I frowned slightly at the second option.

A three-way confrontation?

I had no confidence in mediating something that icy.

Besides, this was still just Baek Si-eun's side of the story.

You have to hear both sides.

I went with the standard response.

"Something... bad must have happened to her lately."

At my reply, Baek Si-eun just gave a bitter smile and nodded.

"......Yeah, probably."

From Jin Sea's perspective, her close friend—me—had suddenly left the guild, so it made sense she'd feel lonely.

"Sea never had many close people anyway. She's probably just a bit sensitive right now."

I suddenly felt a little sorry for Jin Sea.

She'd acted bright and tough around me, but the truth was she was alone in the guild.

And I'd up and left overnight.

From her side, it was no different from losing her only friend.

Listening to Baek Si-eun, I could at least faintly imagine how lonely she'd been since I left.

'I was a bit thoughtless.'

For now, I decided to reassure the Baek Si-eun in front of me first.

Regardless of Jin Sea's side, she clearly wasn't feeling great.

"She'll be fine once some time passes. And I'm heading to Haetae Guild for a house call this time anyway."

At my words, her darkened expression lit up—her eyes went wide.

Color returned to her face.

"Really? When?"

She asked urgently.

"Not sure on the exact schedule yet, but it shouldn't take long."

"I see..."

Baek Si-eun nodded.

Her face was back to its usual bright smile.

Seeing that eased my own mind.

Now in a better mood, she reached for the call button to summon a server.

"Seon-woo."

"Yeah?"

"Doesn't it feel a shame to part ways like this after seeing each other in so long?"

She winked playfully and made her suggestion.

"I've got some wine kept on reserve here as a regular... How about just one light glass?"

"Hm..."

I hesitated for a moment.

Baek Si-eun's face was filled with the simple joy of reuniting with an old colleague.

But I shook my head.

"Sorry, Si-eun."

I said in a firm tone.

"I don't drink the day before counseling sessions."

Not even one glass.

Her expectant expression shifted to disappointment.

She nodded soon enough.

"Ah... right. Sorry, I shouldn't have held you back."

"No, no. Thanks to you, I got to enjoy some delicious meat after ages. It was fun."

I stood with her as she took the bill and rose from her seat.

Baek Si-eun walked the night streets alone.

Her steps were incomparably lighter than when she'd headed to the restaurant.

The butterfly-shaped mana wings on her back swayed pleasantly, as if in a good mood.

Well, it was a shame Yoo Seon-woo hadn't had the wine...

But she actually liked his firm refusal.

Things that came too easily were no fun.

He should be grateful this world wasn't Hestia.

As an Otherworlder, she'd received various educations here.

In this world, men—what her world called betas—were no longer the property of alpha women.

They were fully equal persons.

In her world, women were alphas and men betas.

Adapting to those new rules had been a bit tough at first.

But once she left the facility and stepped outside, she could feel it.

Unlike Hestia's betas, who couldn't handle mana, the men here could wield abilities.

Every time she ventured out, Baek Si-eun found herself looking around unconsciously.

There was none of the scenery she knew.

No betas leashed and meekly following their owners.

No betas locked in cages, waiting for their owners to return.

So Baek Si-eun nodded to herself.

It didn't matter anyway.

She'd never once felt any possessiveness toward a beta.

She'd had sexual relations with them, sure—but the next day, she'd kick them out without a second thought.

No responsibility.

To Baek Si-eun, betas were nothing more than annoying possessions.

That was her before meeting Yoo Seon-woo.

But Yoo Seon-woo was... somehow...

He was the first person since arriving in this world to make her feel possessive.

He always seemed to think he had an ironclad wall up...

Well.

How many women wouldn't scale that clumsy barrier?

He had no idea.

How many gaps riddled that wall he'd built.

So she aimed to make him her possession.

Or at least, she was willing to adapt somewhat to this world's culture of "dating."

He was that special.

But.

Baek Si-eun sensed something.

'......No gaps.'

Weirdly, there were none.

She wasn't talking about his walls—he was kind and gentle to everyone.

The problem lay beyond that.

No matter how she approached or seduced him, he never closed that final step of distance.

As if an invisible glass wall stood between them.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impossible in her world.

Betas were expected to obey alphas: kneel if desired, lie down if ordered, strip if commanded.

Resistance was merely an invitation for the whip.

Just beat them until they stopped resisting.

That made her all the more urgent.

In the end, she resolved herself.

'Just kidnap him.'

She'd first sought advice from the Hestia-born hunters already here.

They all said the same thing.

'The betas here are ultimately the same. They're just a bit more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stubborn.'

'Once you kidnap them and lock them up for a few days and nights, doing this and that, they'll accept it in the end. That's what betas are.'

Right. She'd been too bound by this world's ways.

Primitive, inefficient procedures like dating and consent.

I am an alpha.

He is a beta.

She'd treated him too much like an equal person.

Nothing special about Yoo Seon-woo.

Just a possession that obeys its alpha's commands.

Treating him like that was plenty.

She'd make him regret standing in her way.

She'd certainly tried to treat him kindly, in line with this world's sentiments.

Yoo Seon-woo.

This is all your own doing.

It was the moment she steeled her resolve.

Right then.

A cold voice came from very close behind her.

—Those wings.

Baek Si-eun's every movement froze.

Her butterfly mana wings trembled with instinctive threat.

—Shall I tear them off for you?

She was caught.

Baek Si-eun slowly turned her head.

Golden eyes gleamed coldly.

No smile graced her lips.

It was Jin Sea.

—You thought I didn't know?

She already knew every thought in Baek Si-eun's head.

Feeling that chill, Baek Si-eun frantically shook her head.

After that day, she couldn't so much as lift a finger toward Yoo Seon-woo.

If she dared touch him, it felt like her wings would really be shredded to pieces.

Even back in Hestia, it was the same.

Once a stronger alpha appeared, there was nothing to be done.

That was how Baek Si-eun spent her days under Jin Sea's invisible pressure, her blood drying up day by day.

—I'm leaving the guild as of today.

Yoo Seon-woo said he was leaving the guild.

Baek Si-eun's eyes flew wide.

Surveillance only worked inside the guild—outside, it was a whole different story.

Jin Sea must have sensed it too; after he left, the watchful gaze on her had grown far more obsessive than before.

But.

It didn't matter.

Jin Sea had her own duties, and surveillance had its limits.

The moment Yoo Seon-woo stepped out of Haetae's fence, it was just a matter of time.

All thanks to Team Leader Wi Jae-wan for creating the opportunity.

And on top of that... he was coming for a house call?

Baek Si-eun stopped dead in the middle of the night street.

A smile bloomed on her lips.

She fell into happy deliberation over where to keep her new toy.

'A cage would be nice.'

Or maybe a doghouse, where it could kneel obediently at her feet, waiting for its owner's touch.

Yeah. That wouldn't be bad either.

That was her one and only worry.

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