Chaewon burst through the door, chewing on a chicken wing as she spoke. She had been steadily gaining weight from the pregnancy cravings that had been plaguing her day after day. The look in her eyes as she took in Jiwon sprawled across the bed was complicated.
He got called over to that family’s place for the in-law’s birthday today, and now he comes home looking like this — did he witness something awful? Scenes from morning dramas flashed through her head. “A family like yours should be grateful we even took you in — you ought to be bowing your head and staying in your lane. How dare you look anyone in the eye?” She could practically hear the sharp voice of a domineering future mother-in-law putting her daughter-in-law in her place.
“What happened. Did they say something to you over there?”
“No.”
“Then is the brother-in-law-to-be a piece of work? Is he arrogant, a womanizer, all that?”
“I said no.”
Following Chaewon to the dining table and catching a whiff of the chicken, Jiwon suddenly felt hungry and sank his teeth into a drumstick. At Ganghyeon’s house, the solemn atmosphere at dinner had been so stifling he could barely remember what he’d eaten. It was as quiet as a graveyard.
“You said you went because it was the in-law’s birthday today. Did you not even get a proper meal? Are they mistreating you over there?”
“What are you going on about.”
Jiwon chewed and swallowed his chicken and popped open a can of beer. He pushed away Chaewon’s suspicious stare, and then their mom, who had brought out a plate of fruit, scooted in close beside him.
“Did the gift go over well?”
“Yeah.”
“Were they pleased with it? That family is so well-off, I kept worrying all day that our gift was too modest.”
“She liked it.”
Not only had there been no sign of whether she was pleased or not — they’d left in such a rush that Jiwon never even saw the gift being unwrapped. But he assured his mom that she’d been happy and had liked it. The wedding preparations were coming along, but almost everything was being handled by Ganghyeon’s family on their end. Even when his parents had questions, they didn’t dare reach out to the other family to ask.
“I stopped by the newlywed place earlier, by the way. The renovations are all done.”
“Oh my. Really? They said they’d take care of everything, so I’d been curious how it was coming along — so how was it? What apartment complex? How many square meters? How many rooms?”
“What was it called again. I’m not sure how big it is. I think there were about five rooms?”
What their mom wanted to know was the square footage and the current market value of the apartment — but Jiwon, busy gnawing on a drumstick, clearly had no idea about any of that.
Looking at her brother’s unusually naive expression tonight, Chaewon had been feeling worried when she suddenly noticed — Jiwon’s pheromones had grown stronger lately, different from before. Was it from being around such a powerful Alpha? Faintly woven into the end of his pheromones, which had grown noticeably richer than before, was a clean, fresh scent drifting past.
Having completed all his examinations, Jiwon changed back into his clothes in the changing room. When he stepped out, a nurse who had been waiting guided him to the attending physician’s office. Ganghyeon’s grandmother, who had been sitting across from the doctor, brightened when she saw Jiwon.
It was his first time visiting a Pheromone Center for a checkup since his Omega traits had manifested. A few days earlier, Ganghyeon’s grandmother had contacted him saying there was somewhere she wanted to take him, and she had brought him to the Pheromone Center. A VIP examination had been booked in advance, so the checkup moved quickly as soon as Jiwon arrived. Blood was drawn first and sent to the testing lab, and then he moved through the Center’s examination course to have his condition assessed.
The attending physician, who had already reviewed Jiwon’s results, turned the monitor slightly toward them and gave a brief explanation of the findings. The upshot was that nearly all his indicators fell within the normal range.
“Madam Bang. The health of Director Han’s future spouse is in excellent condition. His pheromone levels are very high, and his pheromone gland function is excellent as well.”
“Our Jiwon — he is a Dominant Omega, correct?”
“Yes. He has the Dominant trait. That’s why his pheromones are very pronounced and superior. Regarding the heat cycle — Jiwon indicated that his occurs once every three months, but that will likely change once he is living with Director Han. Increased exposure to an Alpha’s pheromones will naturally shorten the interval. And given that Director Han’s pheromones are far from ordinary, it could happen even faster.”
The pheromone examination was purely to assess the reproductive function of the Alpha and Omega. Ganghyeon’s grandmother was thoroughly satisfied by the doctor’s assessment that Jiwon was in excellent health. She felt that turning down all other candidates and choosing Jiwon had been the right call. A Dominant Omega with healthy pheromones — there was nothing to fault.
“His pheromone resonance with Director Han is also an excellent match. Moreover, since both of them are in their prime, you need not worry at all about having children, Madam Bang.”
“You’re aware that simply having children isn’t sufficient. This is a family where Dominant Alphas have continued through every generation.”
“Yes, of course, Madam Bang. I cannot make any absolute guarantees, but looking at both of their test results, the probability of a Dominant Alpha being born is very high. If both parties make the effort, having a child should come quite naturally.”
Having heard the answer she was looking for, the grandmother stroked Jiwon’s back with a pleased expression. But Jiwon couldn’t bring himself to smile along with her. With Jiwon right there in front of her, the grandmother continued her consultation with the doctor. As he listened to the conversation about the probability of conceiving the child they wanted, Jiwon felt he could begin to understand a little why Ganghyeon had stated so plainly that he had no intention of having children.
This marriage had been arranged by setting aside every other consideration — prioritizing solely the likelihood of producing a Dominant Alpha. If she was already showing this level of fixation before the wedding, the pressure to conceive quickly after marriage would surely be immense.
He understood the grandmother’s desire to see a great-grandchild — but he couldn’t help feeling like he was being reduced to a tool for bearing children. It seemed as though the only way out of this obsession was to produce a child with the Dominant Alpha trait, and nothing else would do.
But Han Ganghyeon had made it unambiguously clear in the marriage contract that he would not be having children. Enduring the situation in which no child would come — that was the responsibility Jiwon had to bear in this marriage.
Jiwon’s thoughts drifted back to a gathering he’d had with a few friends not long ago. It had been a while since this close-knit group had gotten together, and the drinking night had been in full swing. The topic of conversation was, naturally, Jiwon’s wedding. Jiwon had returned suddenly in the middle of his studies abroad without even finishing the semester, and when he handed out the wedding invitations, his friends were stunned — there hadn’t been a single rumor, so how had this come about?
Son Jaemin, who had known about Jiwon’s situation in advance, helped explain things in an appropriate way, and the attention naturally shifted to the person Jiwon was marrying. When it came out that Jiwon’s future husband was the only son of a company whose name everyone would recognize, the gathering erupted into noise all over again.
“The newlywed apartment is the Sewon-dong Ideal? That’s insane. Wow. That’s no joke.”
“Seriously. When I heard Jiwon was getting married, I thought for a second there must be another Jeong Jiwon I didn’t know about.”
“Honestly, at this level, it makes sense to drop the studying abroad and everything and just get married.”
Lee Seongjun, who had folded the crisp invitation and tossed it carelessly into his bag, answered flatly. Just the other day, word had gotten around that Jiwon’s father’s business was in trouble and Jiwon had been called back home — and yet here Jiwon was, showing up to the gathering without a care in the world and handing out wedding invitations. On top of that, his partner was someone anyone would envy. Seongjun knew it was petty jealousy, but something about it rubbed him the wrong way, and the words that came out weren’t kind.
“Jeong Jiwon’s set for life. All he has to do now is put out some work, and they’ll just keep boosting his value for him — how nice is that. Actually no. He doesn’t even have to bother with any of that anymore. He can just marry into that family and live however he likes.”
“Well, that’s all Jiwon’s good fortune, isn’t it.”
“I’m just saying it’s great for him. Did I say something mean? Meeting someone wealthy and getting married — I’m saying that’s a good thing.”
Lee Seongjun told himself he’d just said what everyone had actually wanted to say to Jiwon. Behind all the that’s great and I’m so jealous, everyone was clearly hiding the same unspoken accusation — that it was a shallow, money-driven marriage.
“Guys like me with nothing to show for ourselves don’t even get these kinds of opportunities to begin with. Maybe if I’d been born with Omega traits that draw Alphas in. Looking at you, you really are lucky.”
“Are you drunk? Why don’t you drop it?”
“Hey. Jeong Jiwon. Be honest. If that person had absolutely nothing — was a flat-out broke nobody — would you still have decided to marry him?”
Seongjun asked Jiwon with a sarcastic edge. Every pair of eyes turned to him at once. No one would believe him if he said no — and he didn’t want to tell that kind of lie. Jiwon drained his glass and admitted it honestly.
“…Probably not. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have.”
“You don’t know anything about it, man.”
“But Seongjun. There were reasons.”
“Every grave has its excuse.”
“Is Lee Seongjun too drunk to know what he’s saying? Why are you picking a fight with someone who’s just sitting there?”
“It’s fine. Leave it.”
Jiwon stopped Jaemin, who was getting angry on his behalf, with a strained smile. Seongjun wasn’t wrong. If Ganghyeon had been someone with nothing, this would never have been a match worth considering in the first place — and Jiwon would have had no reason to agree to the marriage either.
When he made the decision to marry Ganghyeon, his father’s business got some breathing room, and his mom — who had been sighing endlessly at all hours — got her smile back. The wedding was being planned at the finest level, and on Jiwon’s side, there wasn’t even a need to worry about money. Things had been flowing smoothly and without friction, because Ganghyeon had a great deal to offer.
“As long as you marry well and live happily, that’s all that matters. You said he’s a decent person too.”
“Yeah yeah. Jiwon’s going to be just fine. Come on, drink up. Drink!”
