As if holding back a groan, Beomwook had his lips clenched tight — and then that rough hand rose over him again. A deep shadow fell across Yeonjun’s face. Beomwook didn’t flinch, both eyes wide open, glaring back.
No, if he gets hit like that, he’ll actually die!
Yeonjun, seized by a surge of roiling emotion, roughly grabbed the man’s face upward.
“…What? Do you even know who I am? Let go, you son of a bitch!”
It was over in an instant — Do Beomryeol’s forearm, thick as a pot lid, caught in Yeonjun’s grip.
Yeonjun’s body had been honed by over a decade of training. It was a strain, but more than enough to hold this man down. Feeling Beomwook’s startled gaze on him, Yeonjun opened his mouth.
“Excuse me.”
“……”
“Our Beomwook. …Don’t touch him.”
What did I just hear.
He couldn’t even feel the pain of his cheek swelling rapidly. This man — Baek Yeonjun — what did he just say…. But it wasn’t a mishearing — every person in the waiting room was looking back and forth between Beomwook and Baek Yeonjun with bewildered expressions. Do Beomryeol, too, seemed thrown off, and lowered his arm that had been primed to strike, face twisting with a scowl.
“Crazy bastards…. Secretary Kim! Go find out where Executive Director Seo is right now!”
Fixing Yeonjun and Beomwook with a look of utter disbelief, Do Beomryeol shook his gaze off them and pointed to his own secretary standing behind him.
“Yes! President, I’ll check right away.”
With a crisp reply, Secretary Kim turned toward the door — then immediately stopped in his tracks, his face draining of all color.
“…Never mind. He’s already here.”
Through the half-open door, Seo Ihyeon appeared. He was looking at Beomwook with his usual smile. The wedding venue had been quite noisy, so Seo Ihyeon had surely gotten the gist of what was happening by now. Yet his expression remained utterly unreadable, as though none of this affected him — and as always, Beomwook had no idea what he was thinking.
That was one of the reasons Beomwook didn’t like Seo Ihyeon.
“Executive Director Seo! Just a moment, we need to talk, it’s not what you think—”
“No. President Do. I already heard… about our Beomwook.”
Seo Ihyeon said it while openly looking straight at Yeonjun. Beomwook, suddenly flushed with embarrassment, dropped his gaze and looked away. Baek Yeonjun had really done it this time — and done it spectacularly. His mind had gone completely blank, and he didn’t even think to pull his hand free from where Yeonjun still held it. Seo Ihyeon’s gaze moved to their joined hands, then shifted back to Beomwook.
“Everyone, step out.”
“…Executive Director Seo!”
Seo Ihyeon cut Do Beomryeol off with a tilt of his head, gesturing toward the door. The hulking figures that had filled the room with their sheer presence filed out of the waiting room in a rush. Do Beomryeol lingered, watching Seo Ihyeon’s expression, then whispered shortly — “Get yourself together. Do Beomwook.” — before moving his feet.
A cold silence settled over the room. Beomwook raised his lowered gaze. Seo Ihyeon, dressed in an ivory wedding suit, was watching him steadily. What he was thinking — still, Beomwook couldn’t tell. Without realizing it, Beomwook tightened his grip on Yeonjun’s hand. Even if Seo Ihyeon’s expression gave nothing away, he had to be quite angry by now.
Soon, Seo Ihyeon, who had been standing with his arms folded and idly tapping his fingers, went still. Then a low voice slipped from his lips.
“…Go through with the wedding. Executive Director Do isn’t this kind of person.”
His expression could be concealed — but not his voice, it seemed — Seo Ihyeon’s voice was wavering more than usual. This kind of person. What did he know about who Beomwook was. Beomwook let out a quiet, hollow laugh before he could stop himself.
“…I won’t. Get married.”
Beomwook answered with precise, crushing certainty. Words clearly carried weight. The sentences he spoke felt as though they became fact the moment they left his mouth.
“Executive Director Do. Come to your senses. Breaking off the engagement? Fine, let’s say you can. But you should have said something beforehand. What is this on the day of the wedding itself? Hm?”
“There will be no damage to Seosung Group. I can guarantee that.”
Seo Ihyeon tilted his head back at Beomwook’s words, letting out a scoff.
“…If that’s what you want, I’ll give you a divorce first thing tomorrow — so go through with today’s ceremony.”
“……”
“And why didn’t you tell me you had someone you were seeing? Wasn’t that something we agreed to disclose in advance?”
Seo Ihyeon tilted his chin toward Yeonjun as he asked. Then he slowly exhaled, as though steadying himself. Yeonjun, without so much as a blink, was staring Seo Ihyeon down. Seo Ihyeon, equally unflinching, met Yeonjun’s gaze and waited for Beomwook’s answer.
“I don’t see why I would need to share my personal life with Executive Director Seo Ihyeon. As I recall, the contract stated that personal romantic relationships before and after the marriage would not be subject to any interference whatsoever.”
“Ha, that’s right.”
“……”
“But that guy — he’s not actually your lover, is he?”
Seo Ihyeon had been receiving complete, uninterrupted reports on Do Beomwook’s whereabouts and movements starting from the moment the wedding date was set a month ago, right up through yesterday. That Do Beomwook — who did nothing but go back and forth between the office and home — had a lover this young, an alpha at that…? It would be impossible unless he’d been hiding the person at home and seeing them in secret. His gaze drifted, almost automatically, to the young alpha standing at Beomwook’s side.
Of course, when the various contracts for the arranged marriage were being negotiated, no one had explicitly told him not to take a lover. But bringing a lover to the wedding itself and causing a scene — that was beyond the pale. Even when Seo Ihyeon had learned that Do Beomwook had hired an actor and was staging a performance to break off the engagement, hadn’t he confirmed it multiple times because he couldn’t believe it?
The Do Beomwook Seo Ihyeon knew was absolutely not the type to do something this reckless. To dismiss it all as a staged act seemed too easy — watching the two of them stuck together as if deliberately glued, Seo Ihyeon drew in the emotion that surged up like a rising tide.
This kind of absurd, self-destructive way of handling things — it wasn’t something Do Beomwook was capable of. At least, not the Do Beomwook Seo Ihyeon knew.
“…I don’t see why it matters whether or not he’s actually my lover.”
Beomwook opened his mouth, glancing down at their still-joined hands. Come to think of it, Baek Yeonjun had gone quiet. For someone who had just flipped everything upside down with that “our Beomwook,” he was now completely silent, as if he’d swallowed his tongue. Curious, Beomwook slowly turned to look at Yeonjun.
Yeonjun was holding his neck stiff, staring at Seo Ihyeon — but in those eyes, Beomwook caught a flicker of fear. In this country, there was no one who didn’t know Seosung Group and BS Group. Only after reading the tension frozen in Yeonjun’s expression did Beomwook fully realize what he had dragged Baek Yeonjun into.
Just then, Seo Ihyeon stepped forward and pulled Beomwook’s shoulder toward himself, away from Yeonjun.
“It matters. I’m just curious — whether that kid actually knows about your past.”
Seo Ihyeon said it still wearing that unhurried smile. At the same moment, Beomwook quickly knocked Seo Ihyeon’s arm away — but he just smiled as though it didn’t bother him at all. If he could, Beomwook wanted to cut out Seo Ihyeon’s mouth. No — he swore to himself that someday, he absolutely would.
“…Seo Ihyeon.”
“Why. Getting a little angry now? Seems like our Executive Director Do’s lover doesn’t know a thing?”
Seo Ihyeon sneered, eyes on Baek Yeonjun. Even if Yeonjun wasn’t a real lover, that was no reason for him to have to listen to this kind of humiliation alongside Beomwook. And Beomwook couldn’t let him hear whatever Seo Ihyeon was about to spew about the past either. Letting the two of them get any more entangled than this — also out of the question.
Before Beomwook even had a chance to check what expression Yeonjun was making, he gave him a slight push back. At the same time, he let go of Yeonjun’s hand, which had been barely held.
“That’s enough. Executive Director Seo Ihyeon.”
Beomwook clenched his trembling fist tight. If only I could just punch him. It was at that moment. Over his clenched, burning-hot hand — a cool temperature touched down.
…Baek Yeonjun.
He had taken Beomwook’s hand again, curling his fingers around it, and slowly looked down. Should I be relieved he doesn’t look as frozen as before. But faced with Yeonjun’s expression — unreadable in its intent — he couldn’t help the instinctive unease that crept in.
Yeonjun took the step he’d been pushed back and moved forward again, reclaiming his place. Seo Ihyeon’s gaze snapped onto him. And then Yeonjun raised his hand and, in one swift motion, pulled Beomwook’s shoulder toward him.
It was rather like being held in Yeonjun’s arms.
And then a soft voice flowed into Beomwook’s ear. Trembling — but resolute. Baek Yeonjun’s voice.
“…My Executive Director. I can’t give him to you.”
Even after hearing it, he couldn’t believe the words — and heat rose to Beomwook’s face. Seo Ihyeon’s face, on the other hand, twisted beautifully. That raw, undisguised displeasure showing this clearly across Seo Ihyeon’s face — it was a first for Beomwook too.
