Baek Yihyeok’s driver handled the car so smoothly that you couldn’t even tell when it was moving or stopping.
I stared blankly out the window at the tall buildings streaming past, then sneaked a sideways glance at the seat beside me. Baek Yihyeok was sitting right next to me, looking at a tablet. He seemed to be working — the screen was packed wall to wall with text. He scrolled down with his hand and a complicated graph appeared.
As if to make clear he’d never done a day of rough labor in his life, even his fingers were long without a single rough edge. Maybe from exercising, his knuckles were a little coarse — but that leaned more toward attractive than unappealing.
He was a lunatic who spouted nonsense like just think of it as selling your body — but watching him work in silence, I found my eyes drawn to him just a tiny, infuriating bit.
Before I knew it, my attention had shifted entirely away from the window and onto Baek Yihyeok. His bangs were swept back neatly, but one or two strands always fell onto his forehead — whether on purpose or not — and today they looked especially, insufferably sexy.
“Something you want to say?”
“Oh — no?”
I’d apparently been staring too openly, because Baek Yihyeok furrowed his brow and looked up, and I whipped my gaze forward. The tips of my nose itched for no reason, as if my embarrassing thoughts had been laid completely bare.
I sniffed through my nose and stared rigidly ahead. The navigation announced there were ten minutes left to the destination. Thinking it would be my last try, I asked the same question I’d asked a few minutes ago one more time.
“So, where are we actually going?”
“…….”
Still not telling me. The address showing on the navigation was somewhere I’d never seen before, so I had no idea where it was. I gave up on getting an answer and sank deep into the plush seat.
The moment daylight hit, I’d been rushed into getting ready to go out without a moment to breathe. From early morning, I’d been guided by staff members who had me put on the neat cream-colored suit they’d brought, and I’d had to sit like a doll while my hair was styled (naturally, I showered on my own).
Even through all that preparation, I had no idea what was happening. I asked the busily working staff where I was going, but not a single one answered, and Baek Yihyeok, naturally, only said what he wanted to say and didn’t seem to have any intention of answering my questions.
Unbelievable jerk. I cursed him quietly to myself and shot him a sideways glare.
Baek Yihyeok’s outfit wasn’t all that different from mine. Draped in an ivory knit top, he looked surprisingly put-together, at odds with his awful way with words. I caught a glimpse of the firm line of his shoulders, then looked away.
Ten minutes left and he still won’t say anything. We’d already filed the marriage registration — maybe he was going to introduce me to some acquaintances.
I let myself think through realistic possibilities and mentally prepared myself for what expression to wear and what kind of conversation to make.
Baek Yihyeok switched off the tablet he’d been staring at and stretched his neck to the side with a light roll. Then, for once, he met my eyes like a decent human being.
“We’re going to greet my parents.”
“Oh, to greet your parents——”
At first, what came through stronger than the actual content of his words was the relief and satisfaction of finally getting an answer after a full half day. So it was only about three seconds later that I realized something was very wrong.
“What?! Your parents?!”
“Yeah. My parents.”
And of course, in complete contrast to me, Baek Yihyeok was perfectly, maddeningly calm.
“How could you tell me this right now?!”
“What would telling you earlier change? You’d just spend the whole ride being more nervous.”
“Even so!”
We’ve only known each other for two days!
The absurdity of it had my voice rising on its own.
Baek Yihyeok’s parents — that meant the Chairman of BN Group. I’d never met anyone of that caliber before, and an overwhelming wave of pressure crashed over me.
Just as Baek Yihyeok had said, knowing earlier would’ve only made me more nervous on the way there — but at the very least I would’ve had more time to mentally brace myself!
“We’ve arrived.”
Unforgivingly, with no time to absorb the shock, the car stopped in front of a five-star hotel.
“Are we really going to meet the Chairman and Madam right now? Right this moment?”
“Stop pestering me with questions and just get out. This is exactly why I didn’t say anything.”
“No, wait, hold on——!”
Panicking, I called out without thinking, and Baek Yihyeok, who was halfway out of the car, turned back.
“Try using that same way of addressing me in front of my parents.”
His expression was sharp enough to cut, and I couldn’t help but flinch.
“Get out. Now.”
In the end I couldn’t say anything more, and with an eye on the driver holding the door, I got out and followed Baek Yihyeok.
The hotel manager who had come out to meet us greeted us and guided us upstairs. With the manager right there in front of us, I had no way to press Baek Yihyeok further, so I had no choice but to close my mouth and follow along quietly.
The manager led Baek Yihyeok and me to the hotel restaurant, and further inside was a private dining room. As the atmosphere grew more refined and immaculate, my nerves wound tighter.
Just before the manager opened the door, Baek Yihyeok spoke quietly, just low enough for me to hear.
“No matter what you hear, don’t be flustered. I’ll handle it.”
Should I be grateful he said even this much. I unclenched my damp fist, wiped it on my trousers, and gave a small nod.
Click.
The door opened, and there sat a middle-aged couple with warm, pleasant faces.
“It’s been a while.”
It was a greeting that sounded more distant than affectionate, but the couple smiled and welcomed Baek Yihyeok as if they were used to it.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
“Come in, come in.”
“Seongha, it’s so good to meet you. I’d been wondering when we’d finally get to see you, and here you are at last.”
Following behind him, I smiled as naturally as I could manage and greeted them — and the couple rose from their seats almost in unison. Both were dressed impeccably in formal attire.
The Chairman shook my hand with a benevolent smile.
“The traffic must have been bad? Thank you for making the trip.”
“Not at all. Yihyeok made it very comfortable for me.”
“What a thoughtful young man.”
“Ahaha…… you’re too kind.”
Honestly, it was a little unexpected. Since Baek Yihyeok was a man utterly devoid of basic decency, I’d half expected his parents to be prickly as well — but they were far warmer and kinder than I’d anticipated.
The light conversation that flowed over the meal was so comfortable it almost made me wonder why Baek Yihyeok had given me that warning at all. For the most part they asked what I’d been doing with my life, how I’d come to know their son — things like that — and for any questions that were awkward, Baek Yihyeok handled them smoothly on his own.
The more the conversation continued, the more at ease I felt, and by the time dessert arrived after the main course, I even broke into genuine laughter. Thanks to that, I was able to actually savor the dessert with far more composure than the courses that came before.
Yes — it had genuinely been fine. Everything was going smoothly.
Until that topic came up.
“So, when are you two thinking of having a child?”
When the Chairman — speaking familiarly now — asked that, I couldn’t quite process it properly and my words trailed off.
“A child, as in……?”
That was only natural. I was a man, and I’d been attracted to men since I was young, so pregnancy was something I’d never once thought about.
“Ha ha, well, as you may know, the probability of a Superior Alpha being born between two Superiors is the highest, which is why I ask. Yihyeok is a Superior Alpha, and as Seongha is a Superior Omega too, our expectations are naturally quite high.”
“Ah, I see. But I’m truly sorry — I’m not quite sure what you mean…….”
I was quite confused. Why was he talking to me — a man — about pregnancy? An imagination I didn’t want to entertain, and couldn’t possibly be real, kept trying to force its way past my reason.
Yes. The very idea that an Omega, regardless of biological sex, could become pregnant — was a concept that had simply never occurred to me. It was because I’d never thought deeply about why it was natural in this world to date based on secondary gender rather than biological sex.
The moment I’d landed in this world, I’d been too busy scrambling to find a way to earn money. A life of poverty meant no phone. And knowing nothing about this world, I hadn’t even known where to begin learning.
“I’ve already noted down the favorable date and time, so do keep it in mind.”
“……Yes. Yes.”
I just barely managed to receive the small slip of paper the Madam held out without dropping it. The Chairman smiled his warm smile.
“If you give us a Superior Alpha, I’ll transfer property worth a hundred billion into Seongha’s name. A small token of goodwill, really. Other things will naturally be taken care of as well.”
A hundred billion — none of that even registered. What latched onto my eardrum and spun round and round before clinging to my cochlea like a leech was the phrase if you give us.
It was a shock.
Then — could it be — the reason Baek Yihyeok wants to marry me, a Superior Omega……
But I couldn’t even think freely.
Bang!
On the heels of that stunning declaration, the door flew open with a violent crash —
“Dad!!! How could you have a gathering like this without me——! Huh? What, the housekeeper?”
Baek Irang burst in with a sharp shout —
“The housekeeper?”
Baek Yihyeok’s parents looked back and forth between me and Baek Irang in bewilderment —
And in the middle of all that commotion, Baek Yihyeok reached under the table and took my hand.
Startled by the sudden contact, I flinched and glanced sideways at him, but Baek Yihyeok’s expression was as composed as ever. Still, seeing this unexpected side of him — reaching out to hold my hand as if to tell me it was okay — I felt a quiet, unexpected gratitude well up inside me. And so my heart, catching onto that, began to beat a little faster, a little shyer —
“Then the wedding will proceed as planned, tomorrow.”
And out of Baek Yihyeok’s mouth fell words like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.
“……Pardon?”
Where exactly — where am I even supposed to start with not being flustered?
