By Zephyria 
“It’s never bad to learn something. Even if you don’t make it a profession, you should have a hobby.”
Sensing my gaze, Father added an excuse. This kind of atmosphere is subtly cringeworthy. Kwon Yi-kang alone was enough to provide the kind of fluttering atmosphere that feels like a gentle tickle on the skin.
“Let’s think about that after you’ve successfully peeled off the leech.”
“Let’s do that.”
“You won’t be sharing a bed after sending the divorce papers. How are you spending your time?”
“Of course, I moved rooms.”
“And you’re not leaving the house?”
“I’d like to, but I was told it’s not a good choice. I hate breathing the same air, but what can I do? The only consolation is seeing that face scowl every time we cross paths.”
Still, it’s a relief he’s enduring it stubbornly. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I agree that if you want to strip someone of their assets, you shouldn’t be the first to storm out. You never know what pretext they’ll use to hold things back.
“Strip as much as possible. Shake the very foundations of the house.”
“I will try.”
“I’m glad you seem to be holding up well.”
He still had a face that suggested life wasn’t worth living. But since he didn’t look like he was about to die soon, I felt a bit relieved.
When I heard he sent the divorce papers, I thought he had finally drawn his sword, and I was a bit worried just in case. But seeing him stubbornly endure, it seems he won’t die right now.
“Endure until the end. Revenge isn’t about me collapsing, but about making the other person collapse. The best thing is to enjoy making the other person’s life miserable, and the worst thing is for me to collapse alone. That depends on you, Father.”
“…Thank you for the advice.”
He didn’t exactly look grateful. In fact, I felt like he was clenching his teeth a bit. I let out a small laugh and shook my head.
“I’ll be going now. Make sure you eat. You need strength to carry out a revenge, after all.”
“Soo-kyung.”
As I turned to leave, Father called out to me in a low voice.
“Yes?”
“……Send me the invitation once it’s ready.”
“Now you’re stating the obvious. I’ll contact you when the baby is born and for the first birthday party too, so don’t worry and just have an envelope ready.”
I wasn’t entirely sure if it was right to take money envelopes from my parents, but since it’s better to have it than not, I figured I’d mention it. Whether it was appropriate or not, Father simply smiled.
∞ ∞ ∞
It was winter when I first entered Cha Soo-kyung’s body, but the seasons had shifted, and it was now somewhere between spring and summer. Even though it was eight o’clock, it wasn’t very dark. In winter, it used to get dark before six.
“Why are you sitting there? You can’t just sit anywhere and let your butt get cold.”
Kwon Yi-kang, fresh from the shower, approached and pulled me up. When he spread his arms wide, I understood his intent, and he scooped me up in a sudden lift.
“Do you know you’ve been getting off work late lately? You haven’t been shopping much either; why do you keep coming home so late?”
Is he trying to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of me before the company fires me? I don’t know why my clock-out time is getting later and later.
Since when is there a set clock-out time? That’s just a guideline for when you’re supposed to leave. But why won’t they let me go? Isn’t a Director a high-ranking position? I have no idea who is working a Director to death without letting him go home.
“There was some work to do. I’ll be home on time from now on.”
“It’s annoying. If someone asks you to do something, you should just flat-out refuse. You have to stick to the schedule. You go to work on time, so why don’t they let you leave on time? I’m seriously going to report this to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.”
“Just let it slide this once.”
Kwon Yi-kang chuckled, patting my firmly supported backside. I was annoyed, but the guy who was actually working late seemed to be in a great mood.
“Did the meeting with your father go well?”
“Yeah. I heard the house was in an uproar, so I scurried over. I’m not the type to stay quiet during something like that.”
“What happened?”
“They’re getting a divorce. They haven’t signed the papers yet, but apparently, he hired a lawyer and sent the divorce papers over with a flourish. I heard the Alpha father threw a huge fit; it’s a shame I missed the show.”
“That’s not good for the prenatal education.”
“No, you’ve gotta see a show like that once in a while.”
Everything I say is ‘not good for prenatal education.’ Pouting, I rubbed my forehead against Kwon Yi-kang’s shoulder. A sweet and refreshing scent wafted from him—a mix of water, his natural skin scent, and pheromones.
“Why are we going into the bedroom?”
I asked as Kwon Yi-kang subtly carried me into the bedroom and set me down on the bed. Nights where flesh and bone burn with passion are great and all, but I haven’t even had dinner yet because I was waiting for him. The braised short ribs, prepared so I could eat as soon as the table was set, were cooling down in the kitchen.
“I have a gift for you.”
A gift? Out of nowhere? As I tilted my head in confusion, Kwon Yi-kang smiled with a mysterious expression and handed me an envelope he had placed on the nightstand. I had mentioned envelopes to my father, so why was one appearing here? I looked down at the envelope in my hand with suspicious eyes.
“Open it.”
At Kwon Yi-kang’s urging, I opened the envelope and took out the contents. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t money, but something like a congratulatory card. As I unfolded the stiff paper, the words ‘Please celebrate the marriage of Kwon Yi-kang and Cha Soo-kyung’ caught my eye.
“……We’re getting married.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll go watch if I have time.”
When I spoke indifferently, looking at the wedding date that had been set without my knowledge, Kwon Yi-kang let out a chuckle. How can he laugh after deciding the date, time, and venue all by himself? As I glared at him with wide eyes, Kwon Yi-kang pressed his lips to my cheek and gave it a lingering suck.
“We should get married before the baby comes.”
“Still, you should have told me in advance. You decide everything on your own and then inform me via an invitation?”
The date was barely a month and a half away. I didn’t even know what was needed for a wedding, yet the date was already set. I felt a sense of dizziness.
“They said this is the stable period. They said the belly starts to show after this, and you said you’d hate that.”
“Of course I would.”
I didn’t want to have a wedding while clutching a swollen belly. I had no desire to personally demonstrate what a pregnant male Omega looks like.
Based on Kwon Yi-kang’s words, it seemed like the most appropriate time, but I was still grumpy that he had decided everything on his own, without saying a single word to me.
“Is there anyone even coming to the wedding?”
“Plenty.”
“Isn’t your father going to bring people and wreck the place?”
“My father will be sitting in the parents’ seat, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Sure he will. It’ll be a miracle if he doesn’t pick up the chair and throw it.”
“Father also said congratulations. He’ll attend the wedding, and he even said he’d look for a house, suggesting a detached home would be better than an apartment for raising a child.”
“……Really?”
“Really.”
“For real?”
“For real.”
Kwon Yi-kang laughed, mimicking my words playfully. He seemed to find my reaction amusing, but for me, these were words that were hard to believe.
That man isn’t the type. He’s the type to crash a wedding and scream, ‘I oppose this marriage!’ He congratulated us that easily? He’ll sit in the parents’ seat and even provide a house?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t believe it, and I shook my head.
“Did your father contract some terminal illness or something?”
“He’ll probably live for a long time.”
“Then did you do something to him?”
“……What do you mean ‘do something’? Father just took a liking to you. Where else would I find someone as perfect as you? Besides, we have a child now; there’s no reason for him not to like you.”
Yeah, he didn’t like me. The person who told me to get rid of the baby immediately was your father.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, trying to figure out his true intentions. His gaze wavered for a moment before he steadied his eyes and looked back at me.
Kwon Yi-kang definitely did something. I could feel it even without verbal confirmation. I didn’t know if Kwon Yi-kang’s father truly congratulated us, but seeing as he intended to sit in the parents’ seat at the wedding, something had definitely happened between Kwon Yi-kang and his father.
“You didn’t get beaten up, did you?”
“Do I look like the kind of guy who gets beaten up?”
“You’re too kind.”
At my worried words, Kwon Yi-kang chuckled, took my hand, and pressed his lips firmly into my palm. The feeling of his soft lips touching and leaving the hollow of my palm was ticklish, making me curl my fingers.
“What exactly did you do? What happened?”
“Whatever it was, it’s nothing for you to worry about. That’s all that matters.”
“Not at all.”
“It totally does. So don’t worry.”
“Can I really not worry?”
“Really.”
I don’t know why he’s so confident today. It’s not a bad thing, but I hope he didn’t run himself ragged trying to change his father’s mind. Changing the minds of old people is no easy feat; it’s better to just give up comfortably.
“If anything difficult comes up, you must tell me.”
“I will.”
Since he went this far, I had to believe him. Even if I couldn’t trust Kwon Yi-kang’s father, I had to trust Kwon Yi-kang. If there was one person in the world I could trust, it was him. And if there was no Kwon Yi-kang, there would be no one left for me to trust.
“Then you’ll marry me, right?”
“You’re asking me now, after bringing an invitation for a wedding that’s less than a month and a half away?”
“Let’s get married.”
His beaming face looked a bit obnoxious today. When I delayed my answer, saying I’d think about it, Kwon Yi-kang pulled a single rose from under the bed and held it out to me.
“Marry me.”
“Just the wedding?”
“Stay with me for the rest of our lives.”
As if urging for an answer, Kwon Yi-kang tapped my lips with the rosebud. A strong floral scent rushed to my nose. The red fragrance was similar to Kwon Yi-kang’s pheromones. It was intense, fragrant, sweet, and irresistible.
The lips touched by the rose curved into a smile, and I closed my eyes, my eyelashes fluttering. Beyond the rose touching my mouth, I felt a breath approaching.
It was an irresistible warmth.