THE CURSED FAMILY

SUPPRESSANTS, check.

Kim Heedo glanced nervously at the bottle of rut suppressants in his hand.

Alphas go into a rut every three months, so four times a year.

And this would be Heedo's second rut for the year.

Heedo shouldn't have to take suppressants for his rut since he had a partner, but his partner in question was a Beta.

Junsu won't be able to handle me.

During his first-ever rut, he was with his lover.

I had to take a lot of rut suppressants so I wouldn't lose to my desire, though.

And Heedo had to hold back so that he wouldn't hurt Lee Junsu.

A Beta's body isn't really built for Alphas.

However, he didn't care about that.

Heedo only wanted Lee Junsu, so he did it with his lover as gently as possible.

He still wasn't able to put his entire length in his lover, though.

Unfortunately, Betas didn't have the 'slick' to help him enter him with ease.

Heedo hadn't even put half of his length in Lee Junsu when his lover cried, saying it hurt so much, so he stopped immediately.

But that's fine— sex isn't all about penetration anyway.

So, this time, Heedo studied a lot about foreplay to make Lee Junsu feel good.

Even if I can't use my dick to please him, I can use my fingers, mouth, and tongue.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door of his penthouse opening.

Ah, he's here!

Heedo immediately took three rut suppressant pills before running towards the door.

He smiled when he saw Lee Junsu, but he knitted his eyebrows when he realized that his lover was just standing there— unmoving.

Why is Junsu frozen there like a statue?

"Babe, what's wrong?" Heedo asked worriedly. "Are you upset because I didn't pick you up from your dorm? I'm sorry. Your manager said you're being followed by reporters from Scoopers, so I thought we should be extra careful in the meantime."

'Scoopers' was an infamous news source for gossip and scandals about Korean celebrities.

They seem to be targeting Junsu and his group these days.

Lee Junsu's group, Kosmos, had been steadily gaining attention from both the media and the public after they debuted with a hit song.

I swear if those reporter bastards don't stop bullying Junsu, I'll destroy them—

"Heedo-ya, let's break up."

"Huh?"

Lee Junsu raised his head— his pretty, gentle face looking unusually determined. "We barely see each other these days because of my crazy schedule. I'm making you lonely, right?"

"I admit that I feel lonely, but it's not a reason for us to break up," Heedo said desperately, panic probably making his pupils tremble. Lee Junsu looked so serious— and this one was the type who wouldn't change his mind once he already made a decision. "Junsu-ya, I know you're busier than me, but that doesn't mean I don't have a life. So, don't worry about me."

"Heedo-ya, I didn't satisfy you during our first time, did I? No, scratch that— I never satisfied you every time we do it."

"Junsu-ya, that's not true—"

"A Beta like me can't possibly please an Alpha like you," Lee Junsu said in a cracked voice, tears already rolling down his cheeks quietly. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright! Sex isn't just about penetration. We can try other things," Heedo said, calmly this time. One of them had to be calm or else they wouldn't be able to talk properly. "Junsu-ya, I just need you by my side." He gently held Lee Junsu by the shoulders. "I can live without sex— but I can't live without you."

"You're an Alpha. How can you live without sex?"

"Junsu-ya, I'm an Alpha— not a sex addict. They're not synonymous. But I know there are Alphas who give us a bad name, so your opinion is valid. I just want you to know that my feelings for you are stronger than my libido."

"You're too good for me, Heedo-ya."

"Junsu-ya…"

"I hate being with you."

"Now you're hurting my feelings."

"Whenever I'm with you, I feel inferior— I feel lacking. I hate feeling this way, Heedo-ya," Lee Junsu said bitterly, smiling at Heedo in a sad way. "So, please let's break up. I can't afford to be miserable when our group is doing well. You and this relationship are both preventing me from flying higher, Kim Heedo."

Ah.

Those words cut Heedo deeply.

I'm holding him back?

If there was one thing Heedo hated more than breaking up with Lee Junsu, it was getting in the way of his lover's dream.

***

<"HEY, BASTARD. Are you still alive?">

Kim Heedo answered his friend's call, but his eyes remained glued to his laptop.

He was stalking Kosmos' post on their official fan café on a platform called 'Youniverse.'

And, yes, I'm a VIP member of their fan café.

[KOSMOS' FIRST ASIAN TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT]

Haaah.

It had been three months since Heedo and Lee Junsu broke up.

He called and begged his lover to take him back many times, but to no avail.

And, with this upcoming Asian Tour, Lee Junsu would only get busier.

A big part of Heedo was genuinely happy about his ex-lover's tremendous success, but a part of him was devastated.

I guess it's time for me to accept that we're really over.

<"Kim Heedo, if you're not going to listen a word I say, you shouldn't have just picked up my call. This bastard…">

"I see Junsu everywhere."

<"Why are you surprised? Kosmos is the most famous rookie group right now, and Jamie their popular member. Of course, company would hype more.">

"I want to go where I can't see him…"

<"Then go on an overseas trip? I don't think Jamie's popularity is a global level yet, so leave the country and clear your head first.">

"I'm going to enlist."

<"Enlist? Are you crazy? The first semester of our year in college hasn't even ended yet.">

Alphas didn't have to wait when enlisting— they would get accepted within a week.

Yeah, 'Alpha Privilege' is a thing.

Moreover, Alphas only needed to serve in the army for one year. But they had to donate blood and pheromones— for science, of course— in exchange for a shorter service time.

<"Kim Heedo!">

 "Ah, shut up," Heedo said to his friend, annoyed. "I'm going to enlist and that's final."

***

[KOSMOS' WORLD TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT]

Fucking hell.

Kim Heedo had just been discharged from the military, and that was the first thing he saw when he looked up Lee Junsu on the internet.

A year ago, he enlisted when his ex-lover started his group's Asian Tour.

And it's a World Tour this time?

Kosmos and Lee Junsu seemed to be doing really, really well.

"Are you still pining for your ex?"

Heedo raised his head.

Yang Jaewon, his childhood friend and a fellow Alpha, handed him a pack of cigarettes. "Why did you run away when we're celebrating your discharge from hell?"

Right.

Heedo met up with his closest friends in a bar to celebrate his freedom.

But he had to step out and hide in the alleyway to check his phone.

I sent a message to Junsu earlier informing him that I've been discharged, and I'm hoping for a response.

But he wasn't even left on read.

"Jaewon-ah, how do I know if my number is blocked?" Heedo asked, accepting the pack of cigarettes. "Junsu isn't reading my messages."

Yang Jaewon let out a sigh. "I don't want to say this when you just got discharged, but…"

"Just spill it."

"Lee Junsu is dating a fellow idol— a Beta like him."

"How would you know that? There isn't a dating scandal about Junsu."

Yang Jaewon leaned against the wall, lighting the cigarette between his fingers with a fancy-looking lighter. "My noona works in the entertainment industry. Apparently, Kosmos' company paid a huge sum to Scoopers to stop them from publishing Jamie's dating scandal."

Heedo glared at his friend. "I'll kill you if you're lying, Yang Jaewon."

"Why would I lie to you?"

Right.

Yang Jaewon had no reason to lie.

Haaah.

Heedo leaned against the wall, dropping the pack of cigarettes when his body lost its strength. "Why would Junsu date a Beta when he has me…"

"Do you want my honest, unfiltered opinion?"

"If I don't like what you say, I'll kill you."

"I think Jamie dated a Beta to show you that a Beta can only be with another Beta," Yang Jaewon said casually, puffing a smoke before speaking again. "Many people believe that an Alpha and an Omega belong to each other, after all."

What kind of logic is that?

Heedo was upset, but he couldn't get mad at Yang Jaewon because he could see his friend's point.

And it's valid.

Haaah.

When Heedo was done getting upset and sad, anger started to rise in his chest.

He's dating a Beta just to prove a point?

"Then maybe I should do the same."

"Huh?" Yang Jaewon asked, confused. "Do what?"

"Hook up with an Omega," Heedo said indifferently, his voice and expression probably as cold as his freezing heart. "I'll do what Lee Junsu wants me to do— find an Omega that can handle my rut."

And that was the beginning of Kim Heedo's life of debauchery.

***

THAT LIFESTYLE didn't even last a year, though.

Kim Heedo was forced to stop his sinful way of living— aka hooking up with willing Omegas— when strange and dangerous things started to happen around him.

Is my life a soap opera or what?

"For real?" Heedo asked in disbelief, getting up from his bed abruptly. "The Omega that I slept with last month was also beaten up to a pulp?"

He was busy being a homebody when the news reached him.

Since getting discharged from the military eight months ago, all he had to do was play.

But he wasn't feeling well for the past week, so he just stayed in his penthouse.

That was when Yang Jaewon delivered the bad news to him in person.

No wonder I feel like people in our community have been avoiding me these days.

"This is serious, Heedo-ya," Yang Jaewon said grimly. "All the Omegas that you've hooked up with for the last seven months have been beaten by an unknown attacker. Apparently, this attacker left a message for you."

"A message for me?"

"'Anyone who hooks up with Kim Heedo— whether you're an Alpha, Beta, or Omega— will end up half-dead. Kim Heedo is mine and mine alone.'"

"What the fuck?"

"I think you have a stalker, Heedo-ya," Yang Jaewon said, sighing. "Do you need help?"

Heedo shook his head, clenching his jaw tight. "I'll catch that bastard with my own hands and make him pay for his crimes."

***

KIM HEEDO'S bad luck didn't end with having a violent stalker.

In just a span of two weeks...

His grandfather collapsed.

His mother got into a minor car accident.

His twin younger siblings almost drowned while on a beach trip.

And, now, his father…

"It's only a minor injury," Kim Dohan, his straight-laced Alpha father, assured him. "I just hurt my lower back while playing golf."

Yes, it was just a common injury.

However, as the vice chairman of the Ilsung Group, Heedo's father still ended up in the VIP room of a private hospital for more tests.

His grandfather was also confined there.

Grandfather's condition seems to be getting worse day by day.

"Abeoji, am I next?" Heedo asked bluntly. "It seems like our family is really cursed."

His father fell silent for a moment, and then he sighed. "I think your grandfather is right to believe the shaman. The more that person suffers, the stronger bad luck our family receives."

"That person?"

"Park Sohee."

"Ah, that hyung."

"According to my investigation, Park Sohee is in a very dangerous situation at the moment," his father said in a serious tone. "His deadbeat father borrowed money from loan sharks and disappeared. So, Park Sohee is being chased by the debt collectors. If he doesn't pay them on time, he'll be forced to sell his body to the gang leader."

Heedo frowned, feeling bad for the hyung who once saved his love life.

I bet that Hyung regrets turning down Grandfather's offer before…

Oh, right.

Heedo suddenly remembered that his grandfather wanted him to marry Kim Heedo because, according to the shaman his grandpa trusted the most in his life, only then would bad karma stop chasing their family.

I really don't believe in superstitions, but…

"Abeoji, can you tell me where to find Park Sohee?"

"Son, you don't have to do what your grandfather is forcing you to do," his father said, his usual stern voice sounding a bit gentle this time. "We'll find another way to get rid of our family's bad luck."

"No, Abeoji. I'm not saying I'll marry that hyung," Heedo assured his father. "I just want to see how he's doing these days."

***

IT WASN'T easy finding the elusive Park Sohee, though.

That hyung knows he's being chased, so he's good at hiding.

Fortunately, Kim Heedo's secretary-slash-driver-slash-bodyguard got lucky when he went to Park Sohee's apartment. He saw Park Sohee leave his place and shared Park Sohee's location with Heedo.

So, I followed them until I arrived at the only convenience store in the area.

But before Heedo got out of his car, he received two pieces of bad news.

First, the doctors discovered a tumor in his grandfather's brain.

Second, the Omega he hooked up this month was in a comatose state after being beaten up.

Fucking hell.

Heedo was already in a bad mood, and his mood worsened when he heard two students verbally harassing Lee Junsu— aka Kosmos' Jamie.

Of course, he saw red instantly.

He picked up two bottles of soju and smashed it against the kids' heads. But that didn't satisfy him. Hence, he grabbed them by their heads and slammed their faces against the rack— immediately rendering the brats unconscious.

"Hey, stop it!"

Heedo turned around and wasn't surprised to see Park Sohee there.

Hyung still looks the same— still gloomy after all these years.

But, for someone who had a semi-permanent melancholic look on his face, Heedo would say that Park Sohee was seriously pretty.

I was shocked by his face the first time I saw him, and that doesn't change even now.

"I understand why you're angry, but you can't kill those kids. I'll help you sue them with the video I recorded, so calm down for now," Park Sohee said, obviously trying to act brave. His voice was "calm," but his body was trembling. "Do you hear me, Kim Heedo?"

Oho?

Heedo smiled, amused.

But he wasn't sure if his smile looked nice since he was in a bad mood, and he knew he looked intimidating whenever he was pissed as hell.

"You remember me, Hyung?"

Park Sohee just stood there awkwardly.

But I commend this hyung for withstanding my pheromones.

Heedo was aware that his pheromones were strong because he was angry, so he tried to suppress them for Park Sohee's sake.

"I've been looking for you for quite some time now, Park Sohee Hyung."

"Why?" Sohee asked, stepping backward when Heedo took a step forward. "Why are you looking for me?"

Heedo tilted his head to one side while looking at Park Sohee, his amusement towards this hyung getting stronger for some reason.

Would this person really end the Kim Family's "curse?"

What will happen if I marry this hyung?

Yes, Heedo suddenly felt the need to marry Park Sohee.

Was it because he was fed up with the bad luck happening to them?

Or was it because he was bored?

But am I bored enough to sacrifice myself and get married for my family's sake?

There was only one way for Heedo to find out if Park Sohee would be worthwhile.

"Hyung, let's get married."

Park Sohee just blinked rapidly, and then he called someone on his phone while avoiding Heedo's gaze. "I would like a report an Alpha who attacked two students, sir."

What?

Park Sohee called the police and reported Heedo?

Haaah.

Why do I already want to divorce this hyung when we're not even married yet?

***

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