“Director Han Ganghyeon sent a car for you. I’ll be taking you to the meeting location. Please get in.”
Oh— yes. Jiwon answered in a fumbling murmur and found himself riding in the car Han Ganghyeon had sent. The ride quality of the large foreign luxury vehicle, which he was experiencing for the first time, drew out an involuntary sound of admiration. At first he looked around the car’s interior with curiosity as they drove, but then a vaguely unsettled feeling crept in.
It felt like being Cinderella climbing into a pumpkin carriage to go to a ball. No. Since it all started because his father’s business was in trouble, maybe he should call himself Sim Cheong, offered up in exchange for three hundred sacks of rice?
It still didn’t feel real — the idea that a decision as momentous as marriage was being made and moved forward like this. He had thought lightly of it because he had never once seriously contemplated marriage before. Getting married to someone I barely know.
If we live together and it doesn’t work out, we can just separate — if this were someone else’s situation, Jiwon might have said the same thing. They said divorce wasn’t a stain in this day and age, but whether that was genuinely fine was of course something he worried about. But there was still time. For now, he would meet Ganghyeon, talk things through, and if it really felt wrong, he would put a stop to it. Jiwon barely managed to soothe his hammering heart.
By the time he had finished marveling at the comfortable ride and smooth cornering, they had arrived at the meeting place. The driver opened the door for him, so Jiwon climbed out somewhat awkwardly. It was a location Ganghyeon had chosen. It was more out of the way than he had expected — had he taken a taxi, he might have been hit with a shocking fare. Is that why he sent the car.
The exterior of the Italian restaurant tucked against the mountain backdrop was quite impressive. It was considerable in size, but what struck him more was the smell of grass and trees drifting in from all directions. Savoring the pleasant scent, Jiwon stepped inside and was guided by a staff member. Ganghyeon was seated at a table by a large window at the far end of the hall, where tables were spaced generously apart. He rose when he saw Jiwon.
“Was the ride comfortable?”
“Very comfortable, thanks to you. Thank you.”
He hadn’t particularly noticed last time, but standing face to face like this, Ganghyeon was quite tall. His build was also significantly better than Jiwon had expected, his suited shoulders cutting a broad, solid line. It felt like coming face to face with a well-dressed athlete.
Ganghyeon felt noticeably different from their first meeting. He had worn a faint smile throughout the gathering with the adults, but today there was not a trace of one. Perhaps because of the expressionless face, his sharp, defined features felt even more pronounced.
“Please, sit.”
“Yes. Did you wait long?”
“Not particularly. Shall we eat first? The food here is worth having.”
“Sure.”
There was a distinct sense of being led along by Ganghyeon’s initiative, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Honestly, he was even a little grateful that someone was taking the lead in a situation that otherwise felt like it had no answers. Today, their second meeting, the two of them had agreed to talk about marriage.
“Would it be alright to move to my officetel to talk in more detail. There are too many people coming and going here — it doesn’t feel quite right. There are also some documents we’ll need to go over together.”
After they finished eating, Ganghyeon suggested moving locations. It wasn’t a topic that benefited from being overheard. He had been concerned Jiwon might be uncomfortable going to the officetel, but fortunately Jiwon gave a ready nod.
When Jiwon got into the passenger seat, an unfamiliar pheromone drifted faintly through the car. Ganghyeon held his breath for a moment, then started the engine. Ganghyeon was extremely particular about pheromones. He never kept anyone close whose frequency grated on him. It was also the instinct of an alpha seeking an omega whose nature suited his own.
Jiwon’s pheromone was one of several reasons Ganghyeon had resolved to marry him. It had a soft, harmonious quality — a feeling of ease. To feel at ease with an unfamiliar pheromone meant the two of them were reasonably compatible. If Jiwon’s pheromone had bothered him, he would not have proceeded with the marriage.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jeong Jiwon had majored in fine arts. The fact that he had even gone abroad to study suggested he was quite serious about it, though no notable achievements had yet emerged. Ganghyeon liked Jiwon’s profession. Even without focusing on earning an income, he wouldn’t come across as idle, and if he made any slightly unconventional moves, the label of artist would serve as a perfectly adequate shield. Meaningful achievements as an artist were something that could be built, depending on what was put into it.
“Was there no one you were seeing? The marriage talk seems to have come together rather suddenly.”
“It is sudden, yes, but there was no one in particular.”
“So marriages like this genuinely exist.”
“It’s probably more common a form than you’d think. There are several couples in my circle who married this way and are living together.”
“How do they say it is?”
“Not bad, they say.”
They had emphasized to Ganghyeon that a spouse, above all, should be chosen based on conditions. The best partner, they said, was someone who offered mutual benefit — whether in business or social terms — and could cover each other’s weaknesses. They had also added that holding one or two of a partner’s vulnerabilities was sure to be a source of vitality in married life.
“I wonder if something like affection might develop naturally from living together.”
Jiwon’s words sounded quite naive. People who entered into arranged marriages claimed to be satisfied with their married lives, but among them, almost none faithfully upheld the sacred vows of marriage. They would boast that marriage was marriage, and that there was no shortage of partners to share affection with on the side.
“Perhaps it might.”
Ganghyeon answered with something noncommittal. What their marriage would be like was something Jiwon would come to know and feel naturally through living it himself. He had no intention of spelling it out in advance.
As Jiwon stepped into the officetel, a sudden coughing fit burst from him, startled by the unfamiliar air that filled his lungs to the brim. When Ganghyeon came to him and asked if he was alright, he realized that the cause of the coughing was Ganghyeon’s pheromone, which lay dense and heavy throughout the space.
“Are you alright?”
“Cough — yes.”
Perhaps because it had been controlled outside, he hadn’t properly sensed it before. His heart thudded at the rich, potent pheromone of Ganghyeon’s that filled every corner of this space he lived in alone. Ganghyeon, guessing the reason for Jiwon’s reaction, went ahead inside and opened all the windows to air the place out.
Settled on the sofa, catching his breath as it gradually steadied, Jiwon thought that the officetel’s interior suited Ganghyeon’s atmosphere perfectly. The spacious interior, done in white and muted grey as its base colors, had so little furniture it felt almost bare. The living room held nothing but a large television that covered nearly the entire wall, a sofa, and a table. Jiwon’s gaze landed on a single painting on one wall, lit by indirect lighting, and he let out a quiet inward laugh.
It felt like a scene he’d seen countless times in dramas and movies. Was this just how wealthy men’s places looked when they lived alone? Open the dressing room and you’d probably find shirts and suits lined up with razor precision by color. Open the man’s fridge and there’d probably be nothing to eat — just rows of water and beer.
“I’ll go make a quick phone call. Feel free to look around. There are drinks in the fridge over there.”
After Ganghyeon disappeared into what appeared to be the bedroom, phone in hand, Jiwon slowly took in the rest of the space. Everything inside was arranged with perfect neatness. Without so much as a single photo anywhere, there wasn’t much to look at.
The one thing worth calling unusual was a square glass fish tank sitting beside the TV. Even the tank was kept simple. Jiwon watched the small number of fish inside for a moment, then moved toward the fridge out of curiosity.
So — would there in fact be water and beer lined up label-side out?
“Pfft.”
Just as expected. Not quite label-side out in perfect formation, but the fridge bore no trace of anything edible having ever passed through it — it was filled exclusively with things to drink. Water, beer, carbonated drinks and nothing else. Jiwon let out a small laugh as he looked at it. He took out a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and was lifting it to his lips to drink as he turned around.
“Something funny?”
A voice suddenly came from right behind him. Jiwon spun around and startled at the sight of Ganghyeon, who had come up close. In his surprise, the water bottle in his hand shot a stream of water high into the air. The jet of water soaked Ganghyeon’s chest before falling to the floor.
“……”
Jiwon’s gaze drifted blankly back and forth between the shirt that was spreading wider and wider with wet and the water bottle in his hand. Ganghyeon, silent for a moment as if in solidarity, grabbed the hem of his water-soaked shirt and shook it. The remaining droplets fell, and the wet fabric clung damply to his body.
“Oh. I’m sorry. You startled me all of a sudden….”
Jiwon hastily moved to pat the water from Ganghyeon’s chest, then quickly withdrew his hands and felt heat rise to his face. It was because through the thin, thoroughly soaked fabric, the solid thickness of Ganghyeon’s chest had transferred clearly to his palms.
Ganghyeon calmly undid a few shirt buttons and opened it, patting himself dry without much fuss. Perhaps against his unusually fair complexion, the slight flush that had risen to Jiwon’s cheeks stood out all the more. Ganghyeon looked quietly down at Jiwon, who had flinched so easily at his pheromone and his presence from the moment he’d stepped into the officetel.
“You’d do well to get used to it quickly.”
“Pardon?”
“To me.”
“……”
“And to my pheromone.”
Either way, this was someone who would soon be bound to him by the tie of marriage. He didn’t want his own presence to feel like something unsettling. Ganghyeon added those last words in a low, quiet voice — and then released his pheromone. A dense and powerful alpha pheromone enveloped Jiwon and swelled upward, filling every corner of the space in an instant. It was an unrestrained release, as though to make Jiwon recognize his pheromone in one fell swoop.
