“Was Han Yeoul’s team leader a beta?”
“I think so?”
“Then leave that person as is.”
To entrust work to Han Yeoul’s company, I first needed to write a good ‘contract.’ My first priority in the contract was to remove alphas from around Han Yeoul, so I planned to demand they create a team exclusively for me.
If they do just that, I’ll give them not only my company’s work but also some of the work derived from Pine Furniture’s affiliates.
With those conditions, that tiny company would welcome it with both hands raised.
Isn’t this truly a win-win situation?
Well… let’s leave work talk at that.
There was a more important matter remaining.
Work and such—well, there’s nothing money can’t solve, so it’ll work out naturally. The problem is the proposal…
Actually, I wanted to marry Han Yeoul as soon as we became adults. We were dating with marriage in mind anyway, and we’ll only have each other going forward, so I didn’t see the point in dragging it out.
But Han Yeoul flatly refused.
Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be rejected then, so it was a bit of a shock. I thought Han Yeoul would naturally think the same way as me…
“Um, Seonjae, how about we get married after graduating college?”
“What?”
“Right? We just graduated high school. We just became adults, and I want our time to be more diverse, Seonjae.”
What do you mean you want our time to be more diverse? Does that mean our time until now has been monotonous?
Hearing Han Yeoul’s words then, I thought about our time together.
Well, it was like that. We were students and minors. Once we become adults, we’ll be able to do more things. There will be more we can do together. But those are things we can do even after ‘getting married.’
No way…
He doesn’t want to try dating other people or anything like that, right?
“Yeoul. Are you perhaps…”
“I want our ‘youth,’ Seonjae, to be diverse and vibrant.”
I get it. I get it, but we can do that even after getting married…
“I want us to enjoy each other being a bit freer, and when our world has expanded more, get married with blessings from more people.”
…More people, who?
Your relationships won’t change much anyway.
My head throbbed. This was an unexpected turn of events.
Han Yeoul was smiling. He smiled at me with a comfortable face as if he’d already made up his mind, and I felt a strong aura from him. A strong aura that said, ‘Yoo Seonjae will do whatever I say.’
So I couldn’t refuse.
I wanted to cling to him right now and beg him to marry me, but if I did that, I think even I would lose all affection.
Even though I’ve grown this big and become a dominant alpha in my own way, I’m still that dirt-covered kid from childhood to Han Yeoul in certain parts, so if I whined about something like this, really… I sighed.
So instead, I proposed.
Instead of postponing marriage, let’s live together.
Then he said let’s have separate rooms. I really couldn’t understand why we needed separate rooms when we’d wake up in the same bed more often anyway, but since Han Yeoul said so, I had no choice.
That’s how we ended up ‘living independently’ rather than cohabiting.
“Honestly, I… think I’ve been patient enough, Uncle.”
“Puhaha.”
Uncle Irang burst into laughter. Well, Uncle is the very person who witnessed with his own two eyes how restless I was back then, so of course he’d find it funny when I say such things.
“Maybe this is an opportunity.”
“An opportunity?”
“Right? Han Yeoul wanted to get married after graduating college because he wanted to experience more things, right? But thankfully, he ended up ‘getting a job,’ so these days he’s really having a lot of experiences like he wanted. So haven’t all the necessary and sufficient conditions for our marriage been met?”
Uncle Irang stared at me and gulped down his coffee.
“You’re anxious, aren’t you?”
“About what?”
“It’s obvious even if you pretend otherwise, Yoo Seonjae.”
Uncle Irang’s eyes sparkled. Only at times like this do I believe in his former career as a police officer. Is it an occupational hazard?
“You’re talking a lot right now. Just from that, I can tell how anxious you are.”
“Ah…”
Right. I was talking a lot. I should just act instead.
“Ta-da. What do you think of this?”
I opened the ring box to show him. Uncle Irang nodded his head, going “Ooh.”
“It’s totally Han Yeoul’s taste, right?”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I can definitely tell it looks expensive.”
“I need to do an event, but I don’t know what kind of event to do. Should I do it somewhere with lots of people? So the whole world knows Han Yeoul is my husband?”
At my excited words, Uncle Irang shook his head.
“Hearing you say that, I can tell for sure—you’re still a kid.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hey. Do you prefer gossip that the whole world knows, or precious memories that only the two of you know?”
“Hmm… I prefer gossip where we’re the main characters.”
“No. We’re not communicating.”
Uncle Irang put down his coffee, crossed his arms, and furrowed his brow deeply.
“My wife told me. What women hate most is when someone sets off events all over the neighborhood without even consulting them once and goes ‘Will you marry me?’ Of course, there might be people who like that sort of thing. But think carefully—do you think Han Yeoul would like that?”
I thought deeply.
…I’m not sure.
“The more sensitive someone is to other people’s gazes, the more burdensome it is for them to have to express their feelings in front of everyone.”
“Is Yeoul sensitive to other people’s gazes…”
“Why wouldn’t he be? His partner is Yoo Seonjae. Every time those omegas who follow you around spout nonsense in front of Han Yeoul saying they’d take you, how embarrassed do you think Han Yeoul was hearing people whisper?”
“Why would that be embarrassing? I was praising him, saying Yeoul is prettier.”
“Aigoo, you fool.”
Uncle Irang grabbed his head.
“How uncomfortable do you think Yeoul’s heart was every time you did that? You know Yeoul has an inferiority complex, whether you realize it or not.”
“That thing? So what if he’s recessive? There’s no omega as pretty as Yeoul.”
“That’s what you think.”
“You think so too, Uncle. How could the flyswatter that weeds out the flies buzzing around Yeoul not know that?”
“Yeah, I know too. The problem is Yeoul doesn’t know.”
True. Han Yeoul is someone who can’t be objective about himself at all.
“Know that you’re the one who made him that way and do some reflecting.”
Uncle Irang sighed and continued speaking.
“Someone like Yeoul is probably similar to my wife. They find it burdensome when people’s gazes gather on them. So don’t think about making a fuss with events and whatnot—do it moderately… privately, okay?”
Well, if that’s the case, I have no choice.
“Anyway, handle it well on your own. I’m leaving.”
Uncle Irang picked up his coat and stood up from his seat. I didn’t bother seeing him out and sent him off with just a “See you.” Then I fell into thought. A proposal where Han Yeoul won’t be embarrassed, but I can also broadcast to the whole world that Han Yeoul is mine…
Tomorrow I’m officially visiting Han Yeoul’s company as a ‘client.’ The work I’ve been preparing has been successfully completed, and just as Han Yeoul ‘surprised’ me by getting a job, this time it’s my turn to ‘surprise’ Han Yeoul as a client.
Ah, right. That’ll work.
A proposal where Han Yeoul won’t be embarrassed, and I can let the world know Han Yeoul is mine.
In the open ring box, the wedding rings that would be placed on both our fingers glowed softly.
After making the proposal plan, I felt proud for no reason.
Actually, tomorrow’s schedule to visit Han Yeoul’s company was a secret from him. It was literally a surprise. Not knowing any of this, Han Yeoul spoke while having dinner after work.
“Seonjae.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to work at a company too?”
I laughed. I have no intention of working at a company, but I do have a company. The very fact that he thinks I would work at a company was so like Han Yeoul. He seems to have developed a taste for mingling with people, but I have no interest in mingling with others.
Unless it’s ordering people around.
“I already have a company, so why would I go work at one?”
“Huh? Where do you have a company? You haven’t graduated yet, and you said you’re not joining the Chairman’s company.”
Hmm… Han Yeoul grew up watching under his father too, so why can he only think like that? Did I hold him too close while raising him?
“That’s why I made a company. A one-person business.”
