To me, who still hadn’t broken the habit of trying to understand results, Lee Hyeonseok pulled out A4 paper and a pen from somewhere and placed them on the table.
“Then shall we talk about our belated contract now?”
“Contract?”
I thought for a while about what contract Lee Hyeonseok was talking about, and then recalled the agreement to live together for a month or two and to have relations when he wanted.
I was pissed off and dumbfounded, but seeing him actually write up a contract made me relieved that some negotiation seemed possible.
“Let’s start with the confidentiality clause first.”
“Okay.”
He seemed to know that even he would get cursed out if anyone found out. Lee Hyeonseok signed first and handed me the pen. I signed with a sigh.
“Anything you want?”
“I’d like you to not do it when I don’t want to….”
“What. Putting it in?”
“Yes….”
My ears turned red at Lee Hyeonseok’s explicit statement. I avoided his gaze and answered with difficulty. The more I learned about this bastard’s brazenness in discussing such things with someone he wasn’t even close to, the less I liked it.
“Have you never done it before?”
“Th-that! Why… would you ask that.”
“…Hmm. I see.”
Lee Hyeonseok, for whatever reason, asked if I was a virgin. It was a fucking bullseye and I was so embarrassed my voice cracked. I thought Lee Hyeonseok would mock me, but he looked calm. Like he was just asking a normal question. So I answered him as best I could. After hearing my answer, Lee Hyeonseok deliberated for a while before accepting. I thought I’d have to persuade him for a long time, so this was unexpected. I was letting out a sigh of relief when Lee Hyeonseok smiled wickedly. Was he mocking me now?
“If you say you don’t want to, I won’t do it.”
He had clearly accepted my wishes, yet it felt extremely unsettling. Something kept nagging at me. What is it. What is it, why are you smirking wickedly?
“The duration of your stay is until you manifest.”
Up until last time, when I spoke indirectly he’d answer indirectly, but now he spoke directly first as if he had no intention of hiding anything. I carefully composed my gaze that was about to turn contemptuous and signed without a word.
“Haah….”
A sigh came out naturally. You shouldn’t sign things carelessly, but I’d learned through considerable time that if I refused and held out, he was the type of person who would do anything until I complied. It was miserable to be in a position where I had no choice but to do something I knew I shouldn’t do. I knew there were aspects where I could get legal help because there were coercive elements, but since my opponent was a chaebol heir, there was a high chance I wouldn’t even be able to meet a lawyer.
“What if I don’t manifest? What if I’m a Beta?”
“You?”
“Why do you keep being so certain that I’ll be an Omega?”
I asked Lee Hyeonseok, who kept being certain that I would manifest as an Omega, after I signed. Now that I thought about it, annoyingly, Lee Hyeonseok spoke as if he’d never even considered such a case. I was so dumbfounded that informal speech slipped out. Don’t tell me.
“Don’t tell me… in the original work, Kim Hyeonmin….”
“How would I know about an extra?”
“Then, why.”
“You look like you’ll manifest as an Omega.”
It was something Lee Hyeonseok said nonchalantly while scanning me from head to toe. What about my appearance was what now? As expected, trash. He never fails to meet expectations. Regarding debating what someone will manifest as based on their appearance, people were already quickly calling it discrimination. Then again, there was no way this piece of trash would care about such things.
“Still, we know better than anyone that you never know how things will turn out with people.”
“Then, in that case, just stay for 6 more months.”
“6 months?”
Perhaps my words made sense, because Lee Hyeonseok added a clause to the contract without a second word saying I should stay 6 more months in that case. I asked again, but he only nodded without saying anything in particular.
“Why? Why do I have to stay?”
“You never know. What if you manifest late?”
When I, feeling ominous, kept pressing him, Lee Hyeonseok spoke as if it was nothing. For someone who had delayed answering, the casual answer was even more suspicious. Moreover, while it was certainly a plausible answer, there was also the point about how obsessed he was with me manifesting as an Omega.
I couldn’t cancel this contract even knowing I was fucked. The weaknesses and debts Lee Hyeonseok had on me were too great. All I could do was desperately hope that I was a Beta. When I sighed, Lee Hyeonseok, thinking I understood, mentioned the next clause.
“And even if you don’t want to, you’ll have to accommodate me during my rut.”
“Rut?”
“Heat period.”
“Ah, yes. Aha.”
An unfamiliar word came out. When I tilted my head and demanded an explanation, he answered as if it was nothing. For someone like me who had hardly ever discussed sexual topics, I kept getting embarrassed when such direct words came out. When I hung my head low and mumbled, I heard a scoff. Must be nice being promiscuous, you bastard.
“So, roughly this much?”
“Yes…. Ah. Until when are we maintaining this relationship?”
“What.”
I almost forgot and let an obvious question slide by and ended it. Lee Hyeonseok understood what I said but asked back with a shameless face pretending not to know.
“Once I manifest as an Omega, we won’t have relations anymore, right?”
“As if.”
“No, what kind of…. So what, we’ll do it for life?”
When I asked anxiously, Lee Hyeonseok answered as if it was an absurd thing to say. A bastard like a problem with no answer. I couldn’t hide my disbelief and argued back. Frankly speaking, I wasn’t going to date or marry Lee Hyeonseok. I didn’t know how Lee Hyeonseok would live, but if I happened to date someone else, I couldn’t be in a relationship with Lee Hyeonseok.
“It’s not like I can’t.”
“What if we each get different partners?”
Informal speech came out naturally at Lee Hyeonseok’s reaction that had forgotten all morals. Unlike the promiscuous Lee Hyeonseok, I had the notion that I should be faithful to my partner. Even forming a partnership was a big decision, but Lee Hyeonseok never understood my heart. If we were going to do this, it would be nice to go slowly from A to Z, but suddenly starting from Z meant Lee Hyeonseok’s pace was too fast and I didn’t want to keep up.
“Do you want to do it with the bastards here?”
Lee Hyeonseok treated me like the strange one instead. I suddenly felt like I’d become someone with abnormal sexual desires. It was funny that the promiscuous bastard was acting all picky. I almost laughed without realizing, but his attitude was quite serious. My lips, which had been about to curve up, stopped as I became bewildered, but there was no sign of Lee Hyeonseok’s attitude changing. He was really serious.
“No…. No, you would have already done it! During the, what’s it called. Manifestation or whatever and this heat or rut or whatever!”
Whether he treated me like a strange person or someone with abnormal sexual desires, I steadfastly made my case by bringing up Lee Hyeonseok’s past. I hoped Lee Hyeonseok would feel at least a little guilty, but he was shameless as always.
“Now that I have a substitute, is there any reason to do it?”
“So what, you’re going to marry me or something?”
Lee Hyeonseok openly frowned. It was a face that said know your place. Damn bastard, he’s just going to suck me dry. I felt like I was going to fall backwards any moment. How on earth do you solve a problem with no answer? Am I going to have my life mortgaged to Lee Hyeonseok like this? This is why people shouldn’t carelessly receive help. I never dreamed I’d be shackled like this.
“Please listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m listening well.”
Yeah. The problem is you’re only listening. Still, I had to somehow coax Lee Hyeonseok. I wasn’t gay and had no intention of living my whole life with someone I didn’t even like.
“You seem to have a lot of complaints about this place, Hyung, but I don’t have that many complaints.”
“You’re about to have a fuck ton more.”
It was probably because of things related to the new genders. Certainly, looking at how things were starting to turn out lately, it didn’t seem like a joke. People who had manifested as Alphas or Omegas were appearing quite frequently. Even though the year hadn’t passed yet, the increasing numbers were unusual. Accordingly, social problems like sexual assault and discrimination were already beginning to emerge. And that was just from two weeks ago.
Honestly, I wasn’t paying proper attention to my surroundings because my own matters were urgent, but the outside world had its own big problems. Objectively speaking, my problems looked like child’s play in comparison.
If I happened to manifest as an Omega, my life might really become no different from a gutter. But. But crazy, it’s not like Lee Hyeonseok was going to take responsibility for my life, so why did Lee Hyeonseok have to be by my side?
Lee Hyeonseok was like a high-interest loan shark. I borrowed it because I was desperate at the moment, but the debt that accumulated afterwards was unmanageable and ultimately led to a catastrophic ending. Of course, there were people who paid it all back, but if it was a high-interest loan shark, there was no answer. Lee Hyeonseok was the high-interest loan shark. Look, my life was about to be mortgaged.
“Anyway, what I mean is that there’s no way to return to the original world, so why not try to like this world a bit? Frankly, what can’t you do here, Hyung?”
“How positive of you.”
“You should live life positively.”
Lee Hyeonseok looked at me pitifully as if looking at an idiot, whatever he was thinking. If you’re going to pity me, then let me off the hook. I didn’t care if Lee Hyeonseok looked down on me, I just wished he would let it go.
“Fine, alright. Let’s agree to go our separate ways when we don’t need each other anymore.”
Lee Hyeonseok spoke arrogantly as if doing me a favor. “When we don’t need each other anymore”—in the end, wasn’t it the same as having no set period? Still, compared to before, I was grateful.
“What exactly does ‘when we don’t need each other anymore’ mean?”
“When I can do it with someone other than you.”
“When… when would that be…?”
“How would I know. Pray, or draw purified water.”
Ah, this bastard. Hey, can’t I just become a shaman’s son while I’m unconscious?
