For a brief moment, a wave of dizziness washed over Jiwon and he stumbled backward. Ganghyeon moved swiftly, extending his arm to wrap around Jiwon’s waist and catch him. Looking down at Jiwon, who had been pulled in close, Ganghyeon said quietly.
“That’s my pheromone. Remember it well.”
The words that followed sounded almost like a whisper. Jiwon, who had been leaning with his hand resting on Ganghyeon’s firm forearm, stepped back with the tips of his ears flushed red. Whether it was because of the vibrating alpha pheromone or because of Ganghyeon staring down at his face from so close, his heart lost its normal rhythm and beat rapidly.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Then I’ll go change.”
After Ganghyeon went inside, Jiwon dropped onto the sofa and placed a hand over his chest, which was pounding like a startled bird, and took a slow, deep breath. Dealing with a dominant alpha was no easy thing after all. Just as Ganghyeon had said, getting used to it quickly seemed like it would be better for his heart health.
Ganghyeon came back out having changed into something comfortable — and must have splashed water on his face too, as his fringe was damp. His hair, which had been neatly swept back, was now loose and disheveled, and in a deep V-neck T-shirt, Ganghyeon looked entirely different from when he’d been in his suit.
Whether intentional or not, Ganghyeon wasn’t regulating his pheromone. Jiwon sat planted in the midst of the powerful extreme dominant alpha’s pheromone, eyes blinking in a haze as though he’d had too much to drink. His heart had been beating in an irregular rhythm this whole time.
Ganghyeon set a document envelope he’d prepared in advance on the table. Jiwon, who wasn’t accustomed to neatly formatted documents, held the papers as he listened to what Ganghyeon had to say.
Do people getting married all hold meetings this serious? Normally they say you date based on love, then propose with a ring and dream of a happy newlywed life — but these two’s wedding preparations were very different.
“Through the Cheongmu Construction corporation, financial support will be directed toward your father’s business. The form of that support could be a stable flow of orders or it could be investment. For now, you’ve already heard that the delayed loan approval went through, yes?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a bit uncomfortable to say this, but even just word getting out that a marriage with Cheongmu Construction is being pursued, the work your father has been doing will become significantly easier.”
It was only after listening to Ganghyeon’s careful, step-by-step explanation that Jiwon understood why his family had clung to this marriage so desperately. It was as though a ray of light had finally broken through to his father’s business, which had been barely holding on. Ganghyeon’s household had already begun to exert its influence on Jiwon’s.
The marriage he had thought was just getting started had, in fact, already been underway. The thought of throwing it all away and running if he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to go through with it — that was a futile notion now.
“Your father’s company will stabilize soon, and there shouldn’t be any major difficulties after that either. Even if problems do arise, they’ll be resolved easily enough.”
The tendons in his hands stood out clearly as he sorted through the papers he’d taken from the document envelope. A fascination with beauty caught Jiwon’s gaze. He kept his eyes on Ganghyeon’s hands and long, straight fingers as he thought.
His own household would be receiving substantial financial support. So then — what would the other side be getting in return. Did his own family have anything to offer. However carefully he thought it through, nothing in particular came to mind.
Jiwon’s father’s business was not of great scale. Even when things had been going well and they’d been comfortable enough, their financial situation lately was not particularly at ease. And as for Jiwon himself being someone remarkable — that wasn’t the case either.
He had started painting because he loved it, and naturally shifted toward sculpture, eventually entering an art university. Jiwon, the kind of person who immersed himself only in what interested him, had grown up as the eldest son with a certain degree of sheltering, and was not well-versed in the ways of the world. He had no interest in his father’s affairs and didn’t know much about them either.
“I understand that our household will be receiving that kind of support. So then — what does Ganghyeon get out of this?”
Ganghyeon lifted his water bottle and took a sip. Jiwon’s expression was one of genuine curiosity. Does he really not know? Well. It was admittedly content that was entirely at odds with the times. It wasn’t something pleasant to hear, but Ganghyeon answered honestly.
“I’m thinking of the future. What the elders in my family want from you is simple. To bear a child with dominant alpha traits and carry on the family line.”
Having a child born through marriage was an entirely natural thing. But whether the child would be born with any particular trait — wasn’t that something no one could know?
“But that’s not something you can control. There’s no guarantee I can bear a dominant alpha.”
“Dominant omegas have a significantly higher probability of bearing dominant alphas. I don’t know the details myself, but the elders seem to think you’re the type who would do well bearing a dominant alpha.”
Jiwon was accustomed to receiving evaluations of his work as an art student, but a generous assessment of something he had never once thought about drew out a hollow laugh.
Ganghyeon understood the thoughts behind those smiling eyes to some degree. He wasn’t sure how heavily Jiwon was taking the weight of his family’s situation, but with some support already having begun to flow in, it would be difficult for him to refuse all of this now. He thought that being told the other family simply wanted him to bear the child they desired might come across as somewhat demeaning.
Jiwon lowered his head, and soft, curling brown hair fell forward to cover his eyes. His expression wasn’t visible, but the pheromone quietly dimming seemed to speak on his behalf.
Ganghyeon understood — but empathy was a different matter. A clumsy attempt at comfort would be utterly useless. Ganghyeon called Jiwon’s name in a composed tone.
“Jiwon.”
“……”
“I think that precisely because we haven’t mixed emotions into this, we may actually be able to have a better marriage.”
“……”
“If we proceed as is, this will be an arranged marriage — but if we come to an agreement on a few things, it could become a rational contractual arrangement instead.”
Not an arranged marriage, but a rational contractual arrangement. Ganghyeon put into words the reason he had wanted to meet Jiwon today. It was something that needed to be settled with Jiwon before the marriage moved forward in earnest. Jiwon only looked at Ganghyeon with a mildly bewildered expression.
“Jiwon?”
“Pardon? Oh — yes.”
“This is a draft marriage contract I’ve drawn up on my end for now. For the common provisions, if there’s anything you’d like to modify, just let me know your thoughts.”
Jiwon’s eyes drifted without direction as he looked at the contract. Having no one close to him who had gotten married, Jiwon had assumed that everyone who married through a formal meeting did things this way. He thought that apart from a different starting point, he would be having an ordinary marriage.
Jiwon felt heat rise to the tips of his ears in embarrassment as he realized he had been freely interpreting and understanding everything Ganghyeon had said up until now on his own terms. He had simply been selected as a suitable person to carry on the Han family line, and that was why this marriage was happening — and in exchange, the other family would provide financial assistance.
“Beyond that, if there are things you’d particularly like to emphasize or items you’d absolutely like to add, those can be included as well.”
The man in front of him, radiating an alpha pheromone that yielded to nothing, waited in silence for his response. The contract had his preferred terms of marriage written out in numbered detail. Just as he had said — it was entirely rational and concise.
“I want us to appear, outwardly, as an ordinary couple. And internally, it would be good if we could be partners who respect each other.”
Reading down through the contract, Jiwon came to a full understanding of his situation and of Ganghyeon’s intentions. He wasn’t simply ending up married by circumstance — he was entering into a business relationship with Ganghyeon called marriage. The goodwill he had felt toward Ganghyeon’s pheromone suddenly felt hollow.
“I have no particular interest in a happy marriage. Something smooth and uneventful is enough. In particular — I have absolutely no intention of having children.”
He was the one who said this marriage was to bear children, and now what was this. Jiwon bit down on his back teeth and looked straight at Ganghyeon.
The contract bore no label of ‘Party A’ or ‘Party B,’ but it was obvious to anyone looking that he was ‘Party B.’ But Han Ganghyeon, as ‘Party A,’ must have had his own clear reasons for deciding to marry him — and Jiwon had no desire to be pulled along in a subservient position. It might be nothing more than pointless pride, but Jiwon straightened his back and replied in a clear voice.
“I have absolutely no intention of having children either. Let’s think of it as a joint venture.”
A faint smile spread across Ganghyeon’s face as he sat leaned back against the sofa in a relaxed posture. The atmosphere around Jiwon, which had seemed subdued the whole time, shifted in an instant. The somewhat cowed tone in his voice also came back light — just like on the day they first met.
The way he said let’s think of it as a joint venture even sounded cold, but Ganghyeon found that attitude of Jiwon’s all the more to his liking. He had absolutely no desire to play the role of the other party in a tragic romance.
“About this contract. I think there’s quite a lot that needs to be revised.”
Jiwon set the contract down on the table with a firm tap. He didn’t know much about these things, but he thought he should go through it carefully and make revisions on purpose if needed. This was a marriage being entered into with its end already in mind from the start, with the firm premise of no children on top of that. Nobody knew what might happen if he let himself get dragged along without a fight. He deliberately put on a resolute expression. But Ganghyeon raised his dark eyebrows, signaling that he was open to whatever revisions Jiwon had in mind.
