Howon and his father had never been in a good relationship since Howon could remember. Their relationship probably started turning the way it was since his father continued to suppress him to be the company’s heir. Howon thought his father and him were way too different to understand each other. The only thing his father wanted was to fulfill his own ambition, that was to maintain their company, Woollim Group as one of the top companies in Korea, while Howon seek to do many more than that, which was why he felt that his freedom was being oppressed by his father.

One other thing Howon disliked about his father was how he looked down on male omegas and female alphas. Howon thought that was simply ridiculous.

But Howon still got it better than his sister. His younger sister, Mijoo, was basically restrained even worse than him. Not only she was forced to study business, his father even set her up to marry a young subordinate of his, Nam Woohyun, in the future. But somehow Mijoo managed to stay positive and cheerful despite being restrained. She once told Howon that she simply enjoyed life as how it was.

But Howon was different from his sister. As an alpha, he was not one to be oppressed. He wanted to be released from the cage surrounding him. In the end, he managed to get away from his father by coming to Seoul all the way from Busan. He told his family he wanted to attend highschool and university in Seoul so he could study more about business, which was a complete lie. Howon only wanted some freedom, even if it was temporary. He attended the high school just like other ‘normal’ student, no one knew that he was an heir of one of the biggest company in Korea.

And then he met Lee Sungjong.

He was completely aware that making the younger male his mate would give both him and Sungjong pain in the future. Especially when the day when Howon had to go back to Busan, go back to the ‘prison’, and accept his fate as the heir of Woollim Group has come, he would not be able to be with Sungjong anymore.

But Howon was selfish. He wanted to be with Sungjong, to make him his and to protect him always. Howon had never been one to believe in fate and such. But if fated mates really did exist, he believed that Sungjong was one for him.

Of course, he could have just brought Sungjong with him and introduce him to his family. He could imagine how his mother and Mijoo would adore Sungjong. But not his father, never.

No matter how much he hated his father, he was still scared of him- scared that he would hurt Sungjong if he ever found out that his one and only son and heir had mated with a male omega.

But something unexpected come, during Howon’s third year in college, around two years ago, his father had fallen ill. Both his mother and sister begged him to come back, and Howon was left with no other choice but to leave Sungjong and come back to his family and go back to his ‘cage’.

Two years had passed since then, and today, Howon’s father had passed away due to his illness. The memorial area was crowded with people-- from close acquaintances to unfamiliar people, they all were visiting to show the respected President of Woollim Group their last respect.

As the oldest child and the only son, Howon welcomed all the visitors calmly, ensuring that everything was carried out properly with help of Woohyun and his father’s other subordinates and employees. Meanwhile, his mother had been quite hysterical. Even though his father had been ill for quite long time, it was still hard for Howon’s mother to accept his death. Howon’s sister, Mijoo, tried her best to calm her down despite the fact that she was also mourning for her father.

The news of his father’s passing had also probably been aired on TV. People continued to come and go while a few others stayed. During those time, Howon kept himself calm.