“We’d like to have the two of you confirm the terms you’ve agreed upon.”
After discussing the matter at length, the lawyers entered the agreed-upon terms on a tablet and held it out for Jaekyung and Taeseok to review.
They took turns reading through and explaining each clause before one of the lawyers pointed to a particular section.
“Article 4. Regarding the fulfillment of marital relations.”
“This section is for the two of you to discuss and agree upon.”
Jaekyung felt utterly at a loss.
Fulfillment of marital relations clearly meant something related to their sex life.
The thought of having to discuss such a thing in front of complete strangers—and to talk about having sex with someone whose eyes he had barely met and whose voice he had never even heard—left Jaekyung bewildered.
And yet…
Clause 1: Marital relations shall take place on the agreed-upon date.
As though he had been waiting for the moment, Han Taeseok delivered the next clause in the same dry, matter-of-fact tone he might have used to discuss business.
“Clause 2. The couple shall have one son and one daughter. If two sons are born, they shall continue having children until a daughter is born.”
It felt like a death sentence.
Jaekyung clasped his hands tightly in his lap. His palms were sweating.
There was no room for his opinion here. Even his own lawyer simply nodded and wrote down what Han Taeseok had said. He was discussing the most intimate aspect of married life, yet he wouldn’t even look at Jaekyung.
Jaekyung felt like he was going to be sick.
He wanted to run out of the room, but he didn’t want to show such weakness. That was the last shred of pride he had left, so he forced himself to endure it.
“The wedding preparations will be handled entirely by the two companies. The two of you only need to show up at the venue.”
“We’ll also be handling all press coverage ourselves, so please make sure no separate reports are published.”
The contract was finalized without a single one of Jaekyung’s wishes reflected in it. As everyone stood to leave, the two lawyers gave him one final warning: behave himself properly until the wedding.
The NI Company lawyer left with Han Taeseok, followed by Jaekyung’s lawyer. As soon as he stepped outside, he called the chairman of Jaewang Group to report what had happened.
Left alone in the private room, Jaekyung finally allowed himself to cry.
He could feel himself disappearing little by little.
**************
—“Park… Jaekyung?”
“Huh…?”
Jaekyung suddenly snapped back to reality at the sound of someone calling his name. A beta man in his forties was looking up at him. A badge on the man’s chest read ON Store, with Store Manager written beneath it. He was holding Jaekyung’s résumé in his hand.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
—“Do you really want this job?”
The manager looked at Jaekyung with an air of disapproval. Jaekyung nodded.
“Yes! I really do. I know I’m lacking in experience, but please let me work here. I’ll do my best!”
—“You’ve certainly got a strong voice, I’ll give you that. But given your age, I don’t think you’ll manage night shifts… And you’re an omega, too…”
The manager shot Jaekyung another displeased glance.
“Oh, no. I can handle night shifts too. And as for being an omega… I take my suppressants regularly. Besides, I’m a recessive omega, and… the imprint still hasn’t been broken, so for now… I’m fine.”
—“Imprint? Are you married?”
His marital status wasn’t listed on his résumé, so the manager glanced over it again before asking,
“Yes, I was married. But I’m divorced. The imprint is still intact, though.”
That had been one of the conditions of their divorce: maintaining the imprint.
The manager looked confused. Normally, when people divorced, they broke their imprint.
Knowing exactly why the man was giving him that puzzled look, Jaekyung could only smile. Even though this was a job interview, there was a limit to how deeply the manager could pry into something so personal.
—“Well, all right. We’re a little short-staffed right now, so could you start tomorrow? The shift would be from midnight to seven in the morning.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Jaekyung bowed deeply, then walked out of the convenience store and clenched both fists in triumph.
It was the first job interview he had ever gotten through entirely on his own merits—and he had been hired.
It was only a tiny convenience store on the corner of an intersection, barely ten pyeong in size… but to Jaekyung, right now, it felt bigger than any major corporation.
Let’s start small and take things one step at a time. Then I’ll become truly independent—someone I won’t be ashamed of.
Jaekyung walked along cheerfully, humming to himself, until he caught sight of his reflection in the darkened window of a closed shop.
His shoulders were held proudly, his head was raised. His eyes were bright and lively. He was wearing nothing more than a plain cotton T-shirt and cotton pants, but he looked better than he had in the past five years.
Whenever he had walked behind that man, he had always kept his head lowered, his shoulders slumped, weighed down by the heavy, restrictive clothes he was made to wear.
Back then, the reflection staring back at him from the glass hadn’t contained Park Jaekyung.
But now, Park Jaekyung was there.
The only thing missing was the man who had always stood beside him.
The manager looking over his résumé earlier had reminded Jaekyung of the lawyers. Even now, thinking about that time still made his heart ache. He regretted it deeply—he should have stood up that very day, told them he couldn’t go through with the marriage, and walked out.
After that, there had only been more things to regret.
So from now on, I won’t give myself anything to regret.
Jaekyung headed back toward his little studio.
On the way, he bought a whole bagful of his favorite fruits and hugged them tightly to his chest as he walked.
For the first time in a long while, he was simply happy.
********************
“Hello.”
“Come in.”
At the sound of Director Ji’s voice, Jaekyung instinctively stiffened.
He didn’t want to, but there was something about her voice that made people shrink back. More than anything, it was her sharp gaze…
Han Taeseok must have inherited those eyes from his mother.
Today, Director Ji was wearing a purple dress and matching purple heels, with a pearl necklace around her neck. Despite her age, she had a remarkably slender figure, and every step she took echoed through the gallery with the sharp click of her heels.
Jaekyung followed cautiously behind her.
Three days earlier, Director Ji had suddenly called him and told him to come to Han Art Gallery at a specific date and time.
It happened to be a day he had set aside to finish handing over his work, but he hadn’t dared utter a single complaint. Jaekyung had hurried all the way to the gallery.
—“From now on, you’ll be the partner of Executive Director Han of NI Company. You need to start paying more attention to how you dress.”
She said it as she walked ahead of him.
Jaekyung had straightened his disheveled clothes while rushing over, but apparently, she had noticed anyway.
“I’ll be more careful,” Jaekyung said quietly.
—“Are you interested in art?”
“Ah… well…”
—“Be honest.”
“I’m not.”
—“Good. Then starting today, come to the gallery every day and work here until the wedding. While you’re here, you can study art.”
“What?”
Jaekyung was so startled that Director Ji stopped and turned around.
—“Is there a problem?”
“I’m sorry, but I need to hand over my work at the company before the wedding.”
—“Then work at the company during the day and come here at night. You’re not planning to work overtime, are you?”
“N-No, I’m not. I’ll do that.”
—-“Good. At NI Company, the partner has traditionally been responsible for running the gallery. If you and Director Han make a good marriage, this is the place I’ll eventually hand over to you. So you’ll need to know how to run it, won’t you?”
“Yes…”
The pressure around his chest tightened again.
Despite how spacious and airy the gallery was, Jaekyung could tell that something about the atmosphere here simply didn’t suit him.
Director Ji didn’t care how Jaekyung felt, however. She continued explaining everything about art and the gallery, keeping him beside her.
Jaekyung listened attentively, even taking notes, but she didn’t seem satisfied. Several times, she glared at him and clicked her tongue in disapproval.
Each time, Jaekyung could only apologize.
~~“Oh my, Director Ji. You were here?”
A lady wearing a fur coat and an extravagant amount of jewelry entered the gallery. Jaekyung knew her as well. She was the wife of an executive at Sangham Construction.
And standing beside her was a strikingly handsome young man.
At a glance, it was obvious…
He was an omega.
—“Oh my, welcome.”
The moment Director Ji saw them, the coldness she had been showing Jaekyung disappeared, replaced by a warm smile as she greeted the Sangham Construction family.
..“It’s been such a long time, Director Ji.”
—“My goodness~ Eun-ho? Look how much you’ve grown! I heard you’re a dominant omega now. Your mother must be thrilled.”
~“Hehe, of course. Now all we have to do is find him a good match and get him married.”
__“He’s grown up so well. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Jaekyung felt increasingly uncomfortable in the conversation. Since he didn’t seem to have anything to do here, he wondered if he could simply say he was leaving. Just then, the wife of the Sangham Construction executive noticed him and looked surprised.
~~“Oh my, who’s this? Isn’t that the eldest son of Jaewang Group?”
__“Ah, let me introduce you. Jaekyung, come over here.”
At Director Ji’s beckoning, Jaekyung quickly stepped into their world. He smoothed his stiff expression into a polite smile and approached them. Director Ji introduced him to the lady, and Jaekyung immediately bowed courteously.
~~“But why is Jaekyung here?”
__“He’s the one who will be joining our family.”
~~“Oh! So Jaekyung is going to be Director Han’s partner. My goodness.”
She let out a long, regretful sigh.
~~“If only our Eun-ho had been born a little earlier. He could have finished university and we could have tried to match him with Director Han… Such a shame he’s too late.”
Of course.
Bringing her well-bred omega son to meet Director Ji was obviously the whole point. There was no way Director Ji hadn’t seen through her intentions. That was why she, too, gazed at Eun-ho with a look of regret, as though disappointed by the missed opportunity.
Still, Jaekyung smiled.
He had a feeling there would be plenty more situations like this in the future, so he made an even greater effort to smile as though none of it bothered him.
From that day on, Jaekyung went straight to Han Art Gallery after work every day and diligently studied art.
He had to learn everything about each artist—their year and place of birth, their entire life story, the meaning behind their paintings, the emotions they conveyed, even the types of paper and paints used to create them.
He remembered a professor on an educational TV program saying a few years ago that the people in Korea who understood the value of art better than anyone were the chaebol families. At the time, Jaekyung had laughed, thinking the professor was joking.
Looking back now, he realized the professor had been completely serious.
And completely right.
Jaekyung had always known that the paintings his parents gave or received as gifts were expensive, but he had never imagined they could be worth billions of won.
In particular, there wasn’t a single painting in Han Art Gallery worth less than one billion won.
The most expensive piece was a painting by the renowned artist Jin, carefully displayed on the third floor, the central level of the gallery.
It was worth 6.7 billion won.
The moment Jaekyung heard the price, he decided he should probably never go anywhere near the painting.
Fortunately, Director Ji apparently still didn’t trust him enough to teach him how to handle artwork of that caliber.