He was starting to regret the moment he'd reminded himself that arranged marriage was simply the fate of families who owned conglomerates, and had thought he might as well get married for the sake of his parents' peace of mind.
Yes, he'd told them to choose someone based on looks above all else.
But he already knew that most people wouldn't meet his standards.
Ah... There's a seriously high chance this is going to fuck me over.
At this point, he was almost impressed by Ki Jaehyuk, who had seen his arranged marriage partner, liked them so much he lost his mind, and gone through with the marriage.
Being the obedient son his parents wanted, accepting the fate of a chaebol heir, presenting himself as someone cool enough to shoulder that grand destiny without complaint—none of it was worth the risk of marrying someone who wasn't his type.
Of course, since he didn't know who the other person was yet, he couldn't say with absolute certainty that he was completely fucked.
But honestly, the odds felt about ninety-nine percent.
He knew society circles inside and out, and he'd never once seen a face there that satisfied him.
Unless some completely new face appeared out of nowhere, but the chance of that was practically zero.
Cha Sejin thought of the faces of a few omega heirs his parents might immediately try to shove at him and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
Just imagining them made him feel like he'd never get hard again for the rest of his life.
Ah, I'll tell Mom tomorrow I can't do it. Fuck, why didn't I realize they'd just pick someone from the people I already know? Fuck. Fuck... This is so fucking bad.
"What's suddenly wrong with him?"
"Leave him alone. I want to see how far he follows Ki Jaehyuk's route. That bastard Ki acted exactly like this back then too—oh, fuck. Goal!"
On the screen filling the enormous wall, the net rippled.
At the same time, Cha Sejin's unusually tall, broad dominant Alpha body slumped bonelessly across the sofa.
It was a night of mixed fortunes.
***
The next morning, Cha Sejin put a piece of caviar sushi into his mouth, watched his parents chatting pleasantly, and decided this couldn't go on.
"I'm not getting married."
His parents looked at him without the slightest surprise, as if they'd known this sudden whim was coming, and shook their heads.
"Too late. We're already in talks."
"No, Mom. The more I think about it, the more this is a loss for me. Isn't an arranged marriage supposed to be something both sides benefit from? But what is there for us to gain by going that far? We can get everything we want without doing something like this."
"Yes. We can get what we want without going that far, but receiving a family's full cooperation is another matter."
"Come on. The candidates they'll put up as marriage prospects are all the same, so how am I supposed to marry one of them? I can't. Why should I? They'd all throw themselves at me if they could, but I'm not interested. I hate it."
Watching Cha Sejin lean back in his chair with a shake of his head, his mother shut her eyes tightly on a sigh before opening them again.
"They'd all throw themselves at you?"
"Isn't that obvious? A bunch of people with no sense of their own place will start making a scene. It was the same when my older brother got married."
At his crude words, Cha Sejin's mother set down her chopsticks with a stern expression and spoke with grave seriousness.
His father, who had been about to scold him, quietly closed his mouth instead.
"Do you know who is acting like the weaker party in this marriage? Your father and I."
"What? Why? Why would you and Dad be the weaker party? How does that make any sense?"
"Think about how many scandals you've caused. The ones the media picked up were only a fraction of them, and the rumors passed from mouth to mouth are impossible to count. Those rumors don't just circulate near us and disappear. Everyone who needs to know about your behavior already knows. In great detail."
"Then tell them not to marry me if they don't like it. Why are you and Dad lowering yourselves like that?"
"We may not even get the chance to tell them. It's already looking like this might fall apart. The other side keeps asking for more time. Isn't it obvious? If I were them, I wouldn't want to marry someone with rumors like that either."
Watching his mother shake her head as though it hurt, Cha Sejin let out a hot breath, irritation rising through him.
Who the hell were they to dare reject him?
"What exactly are they saying?"
"They need more time. They sounded as if they would agree right away at first, then suddenly started saying that. Isn't that obvious? It means they don't want to marry you. Their family probably needs time to persuade them. I thought we'd be able to come to an understanding because that side has a handicap too... Anyway, Sejin, please just keep quiet for a while and don't cause any more trouble. I'm begging you. Alright?"
He heard his mother's words, but they didn't take shape in his head.
The only thought in his mind was that he wanted to go see the face of that person—whoever they were—who had dared toreject him.
He didn't know who it was, but he would probably recognize them the moment he saw their face.
What could they possibly be thinking, pulling something this reckless without considering the consequences?
Tap. Tap.
After drumming his fingertips against the dining table, Cha Sejin abruptly stood.
He said a brief goodbye to his parents and left the dining room.
"Secretary Jung. A moment."
Spotting his mother's personal secretary waiting outside the dining room, Cha Sejin jerked his chin toward the hall, signaling for him to step outside.
Secretary Jung bowed slightly and followed him.
After leaving the living room, Cha Sejin stopped on an empty stair landing and turned to face him.
Secretary Jung knew everything about his mother's affairs, which meant he definitely had the answer Sejin wanted.
"Which family are we discussing marriage with?"
"That isn't something I can disclose at my discretion."
"I'm the person involved, aren't I? I'm the one getting married, so why can't you tell me? Doesn't that make sense? Maybe you can't tell other people, but you should be able to tell me."
"......"
"Tell me. Who is it? The one dragging this out."
Secretary Jung looked troubled for a moment before finally making up his mind.
"Baum."
"Baum? Baum isn't even on our level. No, wait. Don't they only have one son? He died, didn't he? At the riding grounds. I didn't know there was another child."
"The Arche Resort project the chairman is preparing requires Baum Construction's cooperation. Of course, Baum would also gain a great deal simply by becoming connected to the S Group family."
"Then why are they dragging it out? Is Mom right? They don't want me?"
Secretary Jung drew a quiet breath.
He seemed to choose his words, fail, then try again and fail once more, dragging out the silence.
Growing impatient, Cha Sejin leaned crookedly against the stair railing and stared openly down at him.
The look was closer to a glare.
"Just say it. Don't dress it up."
"As you said, Executive Director Cha, you are... directly involved in this matter, so I'll tell you exactly as it stands."
Sejin nodded as if to say he should stop being so frustrating and get on with it.
Lowering his gaze, Secretary Jung let out another short breath and continued.
"This is still only our side's assumption, but considering Baum had been very proactive about the marriage talks and then suddenly asked for more time... it seems likely that things are not going smoothly with the actual marriage partner. Madam believes the reason is your scandals."
"Do you think so too?"
"......I do think... if there weren't an issue with the person involved, they wouldn't suddenly behave this way."
After confirming Secretary Jung's opinion as well, Cha Sejin straightened from his crooked stance.
Apparently, he needed to go see that face for himself.
He needed to confirm with his own eyes just how impressive this person was, to be hesitating when the greatest lifeline of their life had dropped right in front of them.
Only after humiliating them properly would this irritation begin to fade.
"You can find their address, can't you?"
"...Are you planning to go there yourself?"
"Why? Is that a problem?"
"If it backfires..."
"It won't. Send me an address where I can see them if I go there—home, school, wherever. Today... Hmm. I have things until the evening, so nighttime would be best. And don't tell Mom. I'll look first and decide what to do."
"Ah, Executive Director Cha. There's still something I haven't told you..."
"Yeah, I get the gist. Just send me the address."
"...Yes, understood. I'll look into the address and contact you."
After giving the secretary a careless nod, Cha Sejin walked past him and left the main house.
He wanted to go see that face immediately, but he had a string of work meetings he absolutely couldn't miss or ruin.
The fact that he would have to wait until night did not sit well with him at all.