“Thank you for your hard work.”
Today, Jae-kyung took the day off from the gallery and spent some time at the massage parlor Director Ji had booked for him. When he got up after the massage, his body definitely felt lighter and refreshed.
So this is why people get massages.
Thinking that to himself, he opened his locker to change clothes, only for his phone to ring. The caller was his mother.
“Yes, Mom.”
-“Jae-kyung, where are you?”
“Oh, I’m out for a bit. Is something wrong?”
-“What do you mean, something wrong…? Can you come home today?”
“Home? Is something going on?”
-“I told you, nothing’s wrong. I made japchae for the first time in a while, and it made me think of you… If you’re free, why don’t you come have dinner with me? If you want, you can bring Division Head Han, too.”
An invitation to come home, out of the blue…
It had been several months since Jaeyoung had been taken care of and his mother had returned to Korea, but aside from calling Jae-kyung a few times to ask how he was doing, she hadn’t said much. She hadn’t even asked him to come home.
So, truthfully, he wasn’t exactly thrilled by the invitation. He was even a little afraid that something might have happened at home.
“He’s too busy, so I don’t think he can make it. I’ll come by myself.”
-“All right. I’ll be waiting.”
His mother’s voice sounded terribly somber.
Still, let’s not assume the worst.
Maybe, just as she’d said, she had simply thought of her son when she made japchae and wanted to invite him over.
Jae-kyung changed his clothes and left the dressing room. It was still light outside as he emerged, exchanging greetings with the people around him.
“Mom, I’m here.”
-“Jae-kyung!”
The moment Jae-kyung stepped into the house, his mother came running to him in her socks and pulled him tightly into her arms.
He had told himself that now that he was the child they had cast aside, he should distance himself from them too. But as he found himself wrapped in his mother’s embrace, he had to fight back tears.
Even the air in this house—the very place he had always wanted to escape, always wanted to get away from—felt familiar and strangely comforting.
Then again, he never could have imagined there would be a hell or a prison worse than this.
-“How have you been? Let me see your face.”
Tears welled up in his mother’s eyes. Jae-kyung wiped them away for her, telling her not to cry, but the delicate skin around her eyes continued to grow moist.
As she touched her son’s cheek, stroked his hair, and called his name over and over, Jae-kyung found himself thinking that she had become so much smaller.
-“What are you doing out there? Aren’t you going to tell the boy to come inside?”
At the sharp, heavy voice coming from the living room, Jae-kyung wanted nothing more than to turn around and walk straight back out.
He hadn’t known his father would be here.
His mother immediately looked at her son apologetically and clasped both his hands tightly.
-“Your father has really missed you.”
Someone like that? Then how is it that he didn’t call even once in a year and a half? Not even once to ask how I was doing? Didn’t he ever wonder how his own son was living?
Jae-kyung let out a deep sigh and slowly made his way into the living room.
“Father. It’s been a long time.”
-“You heartless brat. So you never even wondered how your father was doing?”
-“Enough. What’s the point of talking about it? Come sit down.”
-“Jae-kyung, keep your father company while Mom gets dinner ready, all right?”
His mother patted Jae-kyung on the back twice before heading into the kitchen. From there, he could hear the housekeeper’s voice along with the clatter of dishes. There were sounds of food sizzling and being stirred, and soon the delicious aroma of dinner filled the house.
Chairman Park finished reading the newspaper and folded it shut. After taking a sip of tea, he looked at Jae-kyung.
-“So, are they treating you well at NI?”
“We’re both making an effort.”
-“What kind of answer is that? Tsk. I told you before you got married. No matter what happens, keep your head down. Whatever they say, you say yes, yes, and keep your head down.”
“We’re making an effort.”
-“I’m not talking about making an effort. I’m telling you to do exactly as I said!”
Chairman Park slammed his hand against the armrest and bellowed at him.
His father’s shouting used to frighten him terribly… But perhaps after spending a year and a half enduring the silence in that house—a silence far more frightening than his father’s anger—his father’s yelling no longer seemed particularly frightening.
-“I met Chairman Han not long ago, and he was worried because you still haven’t had any news about a child. You shouldn’t give your elders something to worry about. Now that you’re married, shouldn’t you stop thinking about anything else and start trying to have a child? Especially since Executive Director Han is an only son, that family must be anxious.”
Ah. Jae-kyung understood immediately why his parents had called him over today. It seemed that either Director Ji or Chairman Han had casually dropped a word or two to his father.
Was it not enough that they were subtly pressuring me themselves? Now they’re using my own family to pressure me, too?
There really isn’t anywhere I can breathe.
“We’re making an effort.”
-“You should be making an effort! Of course you should! And you—there’s a rumor going around that you still haven’t imprinted with Executive Director Han. Hurry up and imprint with him! Do you really think the Omegas will leave someone like Executive Director Han alone? Do you think there are only one or two families after him? There’s a whole line of people begging him to take them, even if it means becoming his mistress. What are you going to do if you make one wrong move and Executive Director Han imprints with another Omega? Then you’ll become an old woman shut away in the back room. No—you’ll be thrown away.”
Even now, Jae-kyung’s situation wasn’t much different from being a discarded wife relegated to the back room…
But honestly, from Chairman Park’s perspective, it must have been nerve-racking. He had handed Jae-kyung over to NI under the pretense of some sort of “deal,” yet Jae-kyung wasn’t fulfilling his side of the bargain at all. His father must have been constantly anxious, wondering when the whole arrangement would fall apart.
But what am I supposed to do?
Jae-kyung couldn’t have a child by himself. Han Tae-seok wasn’t interested in Jae-kyung’s heat cycle, nor did he wait for it. And as for having a child, he clearly had no interest in that at all.
Ah… Could he already have someone else?
Another Omega.
They had agreed not to interfere in each other’s private lives, so it was entirely possible.
No… But then again, he comes home every single night.
Jae-kyung suddenly remembered something he had once read online. Apparently, cheating husbands sometimes treated their wives exceptionally well.
Is that exactly what’s happening here?
Spending the day with that Omega, then coming home at night to sleep alone and make up for whatever he’s missing…
It actually sounds plausible.
-“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?!”
Chairman Park began shouting and nagging at him again, but Jae-kyung simply sat there blankly, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.
In the end, the japchae he had eaten at his parents’ house gave him such terrible indigestion that he suffered through the entire night.
And he swore to himself that he would never, ever go back to his parents’ house again.
Finally, the day of the party arrived.
The staff and artists arrived at the house even earlier than they had on the day of the wedding. After getting a massage, having his skin treated, and getting his hair done, Jae-kyung put on the outfit Director Ji had chosen for him—as expected, an expensive designer suit that was apparently one of a kind.
When he came out, Secretary Oh was waiting to escort him.
Once he got into the car, he found that there was already a chauffeur behind the wheel. Secretary Oh sat in the passenger seat and went over the party schedule with Jae-kyung once again.
-“Executive Director Han will meet you in front of the hotel, and the two of you will enter together.”
“Yes.”
Staring out the window, he decided that today, he needed to be careful not to say too much.
This was the kind of world where one careless word could become gossip people would talk about for years.
They might put on airs and pretend to be refined, but these people loved gossip more than anyone and were experts at dragging others down to the lowest point.
There was no harm in being careful.
After about an hour on the road, they arrived at the hotel. As soon as the car door opened, Han Tae-seok was standing there.
And then there were all the eyes around them…
They were only at the entrance, yet Jae-kyung could already tell that countless people were watching the two of them.
Come to think of it, they had made quite a spectacle of their wedding, so it was only natural.
Besides, this was supposed to be a celebration for Han Tae-seok’s promotion to Executive Director. There was no way NI’s marketing team would let an opportunity like this pass without making the most of it.
Looking around discreetly, Jae-kyung noticed quite a few reporters as well. There would undoubtedly be an enormous number of them stationed inside the banquet hall.
Jae-kyung smiled, looked at Han Tae-seok, and greeted him. Then he carefully got out of the car and stood close beside him.
The sound of the reporters’ camera shutters pierced his ears.
“You arrived early.”
-“I’m sorry I couldn’t come pick you up.”
“No, it’s all right. I know you’re busy. And you always come to pick me up and take me places anyway… You can take a day off from that today.”
Be affectionate.
Even though a year and a half had passed, they needed to look like newlyweds.
Like we were happy.
Like I had married Han Tae-seok and was spending the sweetest days of my life with him.
That was how they needed to look.
-“This way.”
Following the manager’s directions, they entered the banquet hall, which was packed with reporters and guests, just as Jae-kyung had expected. The moment Han Tae-seok and Jae-kyung appeared, everyone was busy applauding or crowding around them to offer their greetings.
It was especially significant because this was the first official event the two had attended together since their marriage, which naturally drew even more attention and interest.
When Jae-kyung was jostled by the crowd and staggered slightly, Han Tae-seok quickly steadied him.
-“Are you all right?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”
Jae-kyung felt uncomfortable with the hand around his waist. He would have to get used to things like this if he wanted to pull them off naturally, but for now, he couldn’t help stiffening up.
Afraid someone might notice, he quickly put his mask back on.
As he straightened up, still holding Tae-seok’s arm, he somehow felt envious gazes directed at him. He glanced to his right and saw several people who were unmistakably Omegas, looking at him with a mixture of envy and jealous resentment.
Ah. Are these the Omegas Father was talking about—the ones who want to become Han Tae-seok’s mistress?
If he could, he would have liked to tell them, “Why don’t you take him and try living like that for yourself?”
But obviously, he couldn’t.
Instead, Jae-kyung smiled at them, gave a small nod in greeting, and tightened his grip on Han Tae-seok’s arm.
He didn’t necessarily have to link arms with him since he wasn’t a woman, but Jae-kyung thought it would still be better to show at least a little physical affection.
Come to think of it, this is strange.
He had always thought Tae-seok had a rather slender build, but the sensation beneath his hand was distinctly muscular.
Maybe it’s because he’s an Alpha.