TCBW C1

Character Introduction:

Lee Dowoon (Top): 35 years old. An extreme-dominance Alpha with a handsome appearance, a large build, and a taciturn demeanor. In order to secure succession of the family’s management rights, he takes in a “curse-bearing” wife to break the household’s curse. Unlike himself, he finds himself gradually drawn to Suhoe, who is altruistic and shows his weaknesses or shortcomings without concealment.

Suhoe (Bottom): 20 years old. An extreme-dominance Omega with a strikingly beautiful appearance accentuated by an androgynous charm. He was raised in the shrine of Unbang Mountain solely to become Dowoon’s “curse-bearer.” Having grown up under education bordering on brainwashing, he possesses an obsessive sense of duty that he must break Dowoon’s curse.

 

 

Chapter 1

That day, the rain fell thick and strong like steel rods.

Sheets of water poured down with such force it seemed as though they would swallow the entire world in an instant, drenching every last parched corner without leaving a single dry spot.

In that roaring downpour, where even distinguishing a hand before one’s face was near impossible, Suhoe* was desperately pushing forward through the rain, running with all his might.

His whole body was already soaked through from the ceaseless onslaught, and the thin clothing he had donned in an attempt to disguise himself clung helplessly to his skin, revealing his dry, gaunt frame like bare thorns.

But none of that mattered to him.

Every breath felt as if cold water was pouring into his lungs, the filth-ridden rainwater pooling around his ankles threatened to make his whole body falter, yet he never stopped running.

The primal instinct that if he so much as paused or stumbled for even a moment, everything would truly be over — that brutal fear clung to his back, leaving no room for thoughts of anything else.

And all of it — all his frantic running, scanning his surroundings like a cornered rat — it was entirely for one, single reason.

To save the child growing in his belly.

“Haa… haa…”

Raised as an aegbaji**, Suhoe more than anyone understood that a person’s fate was something granted by Heaven and Earth, decreed by the divine providence of the gods. Yet now, he dared to attempt to change entirely the fate of his child.

It was a choice born of the belief that even if fate had dealt him nothing but hardship, he could protect the pitiful life inside him — one destined for an even harsher fate than his own.

The decision came in the space of a heartbeat, yet Suhoe could state with absolute certainty:

This was the single most correct choice he had made in all the days he had been alive.

Even when the distant heavens split apart, hurling down crashing thunder as though to warn him, even when the unending rain seemed intent on turning him back, he never stopped.

Rain pelted his face, blurring his vision, but he only blinked away the haze again and again, moving forward, only forward.

I can’t get caught.

I need to run, to vanish somewhere Mr. Dowoon will never find me.

If I’m caught again, I’ll never get another chance like this.

“So… you have to hang on too, little one,” he whispered to the child fated to be swept up in a tragic destiny.

“If I’m caught here, if  Dowoon-ssi learns of your existence, then we… we won’t be able to stay together.”

“Lost him!”

“All units — block the main roads around the hospital and expand the search perimeter. Now! Request full cooperation from the police!”

At that exact time, inside the hospital, frenzied shouts like the barking of enraged dogs mixed with the crackle of static from radios, and the wail of sirens grew ever closer — the place becoming a scene of utter chaos.

A step behind the unfolding disaster, black-suited aides bolted out of the hospital doors, racing toward every vehicle leaving the parking lot, shouting wildly and lashing out aggressively — but it was already too late.

The one they were so desperate to find had already vanished, slipping through the thick sheets of rain without leaving so much as a trace.

“P-President… we’ve searched the entire hospital from top to bottom, but found nothing that points to the madam’s whereabouts.”

“As a precaution, we’ve stationed personnel at the villa, headquarters, and the residence in Balhwa-dong, and a missing-person report has been filed with the police.”

“…”

Throughout the unpleasant reports, Dowoon stood without the slightest movement, staring out at the torrential rain that filled the window.

Gulp.

The suffocating silence he emanated made the aides and his secretary Hae-eon—standing before his broad back—swallow dryly, sweat running cold down their spines.

The air was heavy with a pressure and killing intent so palpable it seemed to press upon their very bodies.

It was not simply the pheromones*** of a top-ranked alpha; it was an intangible aura radiating from Dowoon himself, something beyond mere biological traits — something that made everyone present hold their breath.

“…The CCTV footage — exam room, waiting area, corridors. All of it?”

At last, after a long silence, his voice slid through the air, low and cutting.

Cooler and sharper than usual.

Nearly ten grown men flinched, their bodies trembling in place. None dared to answer easily, all of them glancing at Dowoon in dread.

It was Hae-eon who finally spoke, cautiously.

“W-Well… apparently there’s no CCTV footage at exactly the time the madam disappeared. They say the cameras weren’t working at all — staff think it might’ve been mechanical failure.”

Dowoon slowly turned his head toward Hae-eon, locking eyes.

“Of all times… at that exact time?”

“…Yes.”

Tap, tap.

His fingertips drummed against the window frame. The short, dry sound echoed through the hospital room, making the aides bow their heads lower.

“If I may… it seems likely to be the work of an external party.”

“…And what exactly are you saying?”

“The circumstances suggest an abduction is the most probable explanation.”

Dowoon’s gaze sank deep; he did not even blink as he muttered in a low tone:

“Abduction…?”

“Yes.”

The hand tapping the frame tightened, as if holding back his rage.

“…I see. That would make sense.”

Behind his back, his pheromones shimmered like heat haze, steeped in razor-sharp hostility.

“M-Mr. President, your pheromones…!”

“Yes, that’s it.”

If one assumed that at the exact, coincidental moment the hospital CCTV went dead, an omega unable to control their own pheromones vanished without leaving even a trace of scent — all of it meticulously planned — then it fit perfectly.

Even if the location were Yongseong Hospital, run by the Lee family to which Dowoon belonged, enlisting a betrayer or two on the inside would hardly be impossible.

From his fingertips to his chest, a dull, tightening pain spread as Dowoon convinced himself — no, forced himself to believe — this was indeed a calculated kidnapping.

“P-President?”

Hae-eon gazed at Dowoon with trembling eyes, as if unable to accept that the reality before them — Suhoe’s disappearance — had truly happened.

“An inept omega who can’t even mask their pheromones, with a frail, skin-and-bones body that might not even survive pregnancy, vanishing without a trace right before my eyes — tell me, what else could that be but abduction?”

The golden gleam rippling through Dowoon’s eyes was more akin to a beast’s, one on the verge of losing its reason entirely.

“We’ve already dispatched people to retrieve all traffic CCTV near the hospital and the security cameras from nearby shops. I’ll report back as soon as the review is complete.”

Even as Hae-eon reported, Dowoon’s mind was far from the present. His thoughts kept replaying, over and over, the desperate, fearful voice and those great chestnut-brown eyes from before.

He remembered that winter, when he’d heard:

‘If you don’t… share intimacy with me, you won’t be able to escape the curse. And then… your limbs will rot away and you will die.’

A place sought out by high-ranking politicians who shaped the nation’s affairs, and by the wealthy with immense power, whenever they faced troubles or worries.

Mount Unbang, famed as the sacred mountain where even the divine dragon of legend once sought out a shaman to forestall its death.

Hidden somewhere on that mountain is a shrine where shamans dwell together.

“From this day forth, your name is Suhoe.”

Even though it was midday, little light entered through the open windows of the dim shrine hall atop Mount Unbang.

The weakened voice of the elderly woman, Gye-geum — who, though well past eight decades, still presided over all the shrine’s most important affairs — pierced Suhoe’s ears.

Kneeling alone on the worn wooden floor, heavy with the scent of old incense, he heard the unfamiliar name without question, simply giving a quiet reply.

“Yes.”

In truth, to him, the meaning of the name, or any intention hidden within it, was of no concern at all.

Having been called nothing but “Agi-ssi”**** all his life, what mattered now was that he had finally been given a name — Suhoe — and that the fact of having it would bring a change to his life.

And that change meant not only leaving the shrine where he had lived until now, but also marrying a man he had never met, to live as his aegbaji wife.

While the shrine’s servants either pitied or mocked him for it, Suhoe never considered his situation entirely despairing.

He knew that being allowed to live here in the shrine — a place only shamans could remain — despite having no divine powers, was thanks to the patronage of the Lee family and the care of the shrine’s servants.

He merely thought it was now time to repay that debt.

There is nothing in this world without a price. The reason a powerless boy like you could live here was entirely thanks to the Lee family. So, you must repay that debt.

Yes, Lady Gye-geum.

Footnotes:

• Suhoe: Name of the male omega; “Su” (秀) can mean “outstanding” or “elegant,” and “hoe” (檜) refers to cypress trees, often symbolizing purity and strength.
• Aegbaji (액받이): In Korean folklore, a person who takes on another’s misfortune or curse to protect them — often a wife chosen to absorb ill fate meant for her husband or his family.
• *Pheromones (오메가버스 설정): In Omegaverse fiction, alphas, betas, and omegas release scent chemicals that can provoke intense instincts or emotions in others.
• ****Agi-ssi (아기씨)**: A semi-archaic, formal way of addressing a young person of status, often used for children from noble or patronized households.