From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 2.7

He tossed out the words indifferently while unbuttoning his shirt.

「…Before you came, Director Ji asked me about the imprinting, and I don’t know how I should answer.」

Imprinting is possible when two people spend the night together. It can be said to be proof of becoming a truly official married couple, where they have knotted and entrusted their entire bodies to each other with trust, looking into each other’s eyes and acknowledging that they have become each other’s mates. When imprinted, an Omega can no longer smell the pheromones of other Alphas, and an Alpha can no longer smell the pheromones of other Omegas. Other Alphas and Omegas also cannot smell the pheromones of Omegas and Alphas who have an imprinted mate. In the entire world, only the one person you’ve imprinted with becomes the partner to whom you can entrust your pheromones and everything else.

Jaekyung had never even spent a night with Han Taesuk, let alone imprinted. Although he had been coming home without fail since that night he returned from his business trip to the US, he was sleeping in the small room attached to the study on the second floor.

A relationship worse than strangers… and yet, imprinting…

「I think it would be best to decide for the future as well. If we were to hide it… I think we could hide it to some extent by carefully managing my pheromones and taking suppressants. It’s possible for me because I’m a Recessive. Since relatives can’t sense each other’s pheromones, unless we get tested at a hospital, I don’t think Director Ji or the Chairman will know.」

「Do that.」

「Pardon?」

「Let’s say we’re imprinted, just as you decided, Park Mr. Jaekyung.」

He brushed past Jaekyung. It might seem like he agreed to what I said, but he didn’t. That wasn’t an opinion. It was one of the options, and I had suggested we discuss and decide together, but once again, he cut me off. I don’t know what to do. It’s only been a month… yet it feels like 10 years have already passed.

Following him to the living room, he saw that Director Ji had instructed the housekeeper and had a tea and refreshments table set up.

「I asked Secretary Oh, and he said you’d eaten dinner, so I had some refreshments prepared.」

「Thank you.」

Jaekyung and Taesuk sat down together, and Director Ji sat across from them. She took a sip of tea, set the cup down with satisfaction, and looked at Jaekyung.

「So, about what we were talking about earlier… you two have imprinted, right?」

「Yes, we have.」

Han Taesuk answered immediately. Jaekyung was about to answer but looked at him in surprise. He remained expressionless, showing no emotion as he just drank his tea. At her son’s answer, Director Ji made a “hmmm…” sound, then lifted her teacup again to savor the aroma before speaking.

「I suppose we’ll be hearing some good news soon. I’ll be looking forward to it.」

◆

There are times when those years feel like a dream. Times when it feels like this was how he was always meant to live. Is this escapism? Or is he just getting used to it? It was a thought he had anew, but there seemed to be no better medicine than time. That’s why he wanted time to pass even faster. That’s why Jaekyung hoped it would completely separate him from their world.

“Here you go, Mr. Jaekyung, your first paycheck.”

“Wow!”

A white envelope was handed to Jaekyung. It was the money he’d earned from working hard for a month. How could he not be happy?

“Normally I’d just wire it, but I heard that receiving your first paycheck in an envelope doubles the joy, so I put it in one. Still, money is something you spend when you have it in your hand, so deposit it quickly.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jaekyung quickly put the envelope in his bag. About one million won. Compared to the fortune Jaekyung possessed, it was a tiny amount, not even a drop in the ocean, but it felt more precious and larger than any other money. In fact, even when he was working at Jaewang Group, he hadn’t gotten the job on his own merit. He got in through his family’s power and connections. Nowadays people say connections are a skill too, but that’s just a fancy excuse…

“By the way, Mr. Jaekyung, what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? It’s my day off, so I was thinking of watching a movie for the first time in a while.”

“Ah, so you don’t have any special plans then?”

“No.”

Hmm, for the manager to probe my intentions like this must mean he has some work for me to do.

“Is there something I need to do?”

“Haha, you’re so quick on the uptake, Mr. Jaekyung. Could you possibly help me with inventory tomorrow? You were super fast when you helped before. I’ll pay you for the hours, of course.”

“I’ll watch a movie around lunchtime and come by around 6. Would that be okay?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, got it.”

A while ago, Jaekyung had seen the manager struggle a few times after another part-timer made a mistake with the numbers while inputting notes the manager had taken because he couldn’t use the inventory management tool. After that, Jaekyung created a simple tool for him in Excel. Of course, the convenience store had its own program, so eventually, another part-timer or Jaekyung would have to re-enter it, but the number of mistakes had drastically decreased, which was a huge benefit for the manager.

“Hello!”

“Ah, welcome.”

The person who cheerfully opened the door and came in was Joo Mieun, the representative in charge of this convenience store. She would visit from time to time for promotions, event announcements, and the regularly scheduled convenience store inspections.

“These days, this store has the best sales among all the stores in this neighborhood. You got first place this month.”

“Oh! Really? I think it’s been like that since Mr. Jaekyung came~!”

The manager was all smiles, pleased to be praised by the representative. Jaekyung felt shy. He really couldn’t get used to receiving compliments like this.

“By the way, have you heard? It seems they’re going to call all the store owners to the head office soon.”

“Ah ah, I got the call, but what’s that all about?”

Jaekyung, thinking it was a conversation he didn’t know about or shouldn’t be hearing, quickly slipped away from between the two of them to check the product displays one more time.

“It seems our convenience store chain is likely to be acquired by an affiliate.”

“What?”

“But the conditions don’t seem bad. You don’t need to worry. I heard about it too, and it was fine? It seems like it’s just the owner changing while everything else stays the same… But since it’s still worrying for the store owners, they’re probably going to hold a briefing session or something.”

“Are you sure the conditions and all that won’t change?”

“From what I know, it seems like they’re actually getting better… The company has a supermarket chain, so they won’t be getting food and goods through a middleman like now, so the costs will go down and the burden will be reduced. They also said they’d lower the commission fees… It seems they’re going to listen to the store owners and make more adjustments if needed. To be honest, this head office was a bit shaky, wasn’t it? It’s a good opportunity to become part of a large corporation.”

“Anyway, the rich get richer. They’re well-off enough as it is, why are they so endlessly greedy.”

“It’s a different world. A different world.”

“What does that mean?”

“‘The world they live in.’ How would we know? Maybe they’re shorter on cash than we think.”

“…Goodness, then I must be a penniless beggar.”

Jaekyung chuckled at the two people’s conversation, which sometimes sounded like a comedy routine. The world they live in… It was a phrase he often saw while browsing the internet, and it was a really witty abbreviation. A perfect abbreviation. There would be no other way to describe them. Jaekyung belonged to the world they live in too, but looking at it from the perspective of someone who has temporarily escaped (?), it was beyond imagination. Anyway, so this convenience store chain is being acquired. As someone who just works here, it wouldn’t affect him much, but he thought it must be a heart-stopping story for the store owners. No matter how much the representative reassured him that it was fine, the manager continued to worry and sigh until the store owners’ meeting.

However, after returning from the 2-day, 1-night meeting, the manager came back with his face unexpectedly in full bloom. The corners of his mouth stretched to his ears, and he clapped Jaekyung on the shoulder as soon as he came in. He looked completely satisfied.

“It seems things went well for you?”

“Went well? Of course it did!” “Tell me about it.”

The manager seemed eager to talk, so Jaekyung sat on the counter stool, his eyes sparkling to show he was ready to listen. It wasn’t a busy time for customers, so the manager also sat on the chair set up at the next counter and began to gossip animatedly.

“You know, I secretly had some distrust for young people, right? There was this one guy who quit after ten days of part-time work, saying he’d saved up for his trip. Then there was another who quit after about a week, saying he just wanted to get some work experience… But after you came, Mr. Jaekyung, that flower of trust was truly beginning to blossom in me! And guess what, the executive director of the company acquiring our convenience store chain is so young and nice! He listened to everything the store owners said! And all those unreasonable clauses we’ve had until now, he got rid of them all! Just like that! And we didn’t even bring it up! On top of that, they decided to subsidize labor costs, and they lowered all the commission rates. Once the acquisition is complete, the convenience store name will change and the renovations will be fully funded by the company!”

“That’s completely unprecedented, isn’t it? I don’t know for sure, but that sounds like it would cost tens of billions of won…”

In terms of convenience store brands, it was only ranked about fourth in number of stores, but still, considering the whole country, that was quite a lot of stores. For the company to pay for all of those stores’ renovations.

“Right? And they said the convenience stores need to be bright, so they’re changing all the lights to LEDs. The managers were all so bewildered afterward, saying they didn’t know if it was a dream or reality.”

“I can see why. It sounds like a lie even to me, just hearing it. It’s hard to get conditions like that in this day and age.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Wow, they said my luck would be good starting this year, and I guess it’s true! I think it’s been even better since you came, Mr. Jaekyung. You’re our convenience store’s good luck charm, so please work here for a long time.”

“Haha. I’ll try.”

He had no thoughts of quitting the convenience store right now, nor did he want to. He had to keep moving, even if just a little, like this, so that he wouldn’t languish.

“Come to think of it, Mr. Jaekyung, did you enjoy the movie?”

“Ah, yes!”

The day after receiving his first paycheck, Jaekyung, unfortunately, didn’t get to watch a movie and instead bought a book at a bookstore and sat reading it in a cafe. He deliberately sat in the busiest part of Myeongdong, watching all sorts of people, reading his book, and listening to music, enjoying a relaxing break for the first time in a long time before returning to the convenience store to help the manager.

He had planned to deposit his paycheck the day he received it, but he thought it might be good to have some cash on hand, so he kept it safe at home. He wanted to spend it lavishly, but surprisingly, there was nothing to spend it on. He had no desire for clothes or electronic gadgets. As for taking a trip to Jeju Island, he felt he’d need to go for at least 3 nights and 4 days for it to feel like a real trip, and he wouldn’t be able to take that much time off. However, he did think he needed a healing time at some point, so he was planning to go on a trip the day he quit his part-time job at the convenience store. A trip doesn’t necessarily have to be overseas, after all.

The only other thing he desired was a car… but Jaekyung didn’t have a driver’s license yet. Since he was young, he had been driven around by the family chauffeur, and it was the same after he got married, so he never thought a driver’s license was that necessary. But he was thinking of maybe attending a driving school next month. In the end, after considering this and that reason, he had nowhere to spend the money, so he just kept it safe at home.

Perhaps as he lived day by day, that money would disappear before he knew it, and by then, he’d receive another paycheck. That’s probably how you live.

And the day before yesterday, a part-timer asked to switch shifts to go on a trip, so Jaekyung agreed to watch the convenience store all day a week later and in return, got a day off yesterday to watch the movie he missed. Jaekyung originally liked watching romance movies, but recently he’d been drawn to action movies, so he’d started watching them frequently. After watching the most popular hero movie these days, he felt he understood why people liked it, so he had purchased all the related movie DVDs and was waiting for them to be delivered. Of course, he wasn’t without the worry of ‘Where am I going to put all these DVDs?’, but hey, it’s okay to mess up the house now. Anymore.

“So, what movie did you see?”

“Ah, it was…”

Just as it seemed to be Jaekyung’s turn to talk and he was about to start a pleasant chat with the manager, the representative suddenly came in. The representative had come without any notice, so both Jaekyung and the manager shot up to greet her.

“Oh? Ms. Mieun.”

“Hello! Ah, it’s nothing much. In about—10 minutes? The CEO and the Executive Director of that company are coming.”

“What?”

The startled manager unblocked the counter and came out. “What do you mean?”

“They came to the head office suddenly today and said they needed to do a tour, and they’re visiting the stores with the best sales, and this one was chosen.”

“Ah… what should I do? What needs to be done?”

“Just a moment.”

A frantic conversation seemed to be going back and forth. Deducing from their conversation, it seemed the CEO and Executive Director of the acquiring company were coming to this store… then we can’t just stand around like this. The store needs to be in good condition… Jaekyung also shot up from his seat. As soon as Ms. Mieun looked around the store and said which parts needed to be cleaned and tidied, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and started moving diligently. Fortunately, neither the manager nor Jaekyung could stand messiness, so the displays were perfectly arranged according to the manual. They moved briskly, and in about ten minutes, everything immediately visible was neatly organized. As everyone was letting out a sigh of relief, Ms. Mieun looked at her watch again.

“The aides will be escorting them soon… Ah, they’re here. When they come in, just greet them. Just like you always do.”

She lifted her head to look at the door and spoke in a tense voice. Jaekyung and the manager also gulped and looked toward the door.

A group of about five people poured into the convenience store, which was only about 10 pyeong.

“Welcome. This is the Happy Convenience Store.”

And upon seeing the man who slowly entered from behind, Jaekyung felt his heart drop. That gait… the way he was dressed, his hairstyle… the watch on his wrist, the tie… Afraid their eyes might meet, he quickly turned his head.

‘Ah, no way…’

He didn’t even need to look. The scent of this pheromone was his. It was Han Taesuk.

Jaekyung stumbled backward. There was no need to think. He had to get out of here right now. He didn’t know why he was here, but nothing good would come of them running into each other. A wave of nausea suddenly rose, and his head began to ache. Feeling the fine hairs on his body stand on end as the pheromone subtly tried to ensnare him, Jaekyung grabbed the manager.

“I, I’ll go organize the inventory.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Since they were blocking the entrance, he couldn’t leave, so going into the storage room was the best option. They probably wouldn’t go so far as to open the storage room. The thought of why he had to run away did cross his mind, but now was the time to retreat. For the future, that was the best course of action.

With a jingle, the second door opened. Secretary Oh must have opened it for him. As he instinctively turned his head in that direction, he didn’t make eye contact with Han Taesuk, but with Secretary Oh. He looked at Jaekyung with an expressionless face. Jaekyung shook his head. It was a clear sign of refusal, and there was no way Secretary Oh wouldn’t understand its meaning. He wouldn’t tell. He quickly entered the storage room, locked the door, opened the employee locker in the corner, and took out and ate a suppressant from the bag inside. Then, he took out the blanket he kept prepared for when it got cold late at night, covered himself from head to toe, and slumped down in the corner.

He hoped with all his might that he wouldn’t smell his pheromone. It had to be that way. He could hear murmuring and cheerful greetings from outside. Amidst it all, he could feel his pheromone strongly. As if it knew he was here, the pheromone flowed in, drawn to its imprinted mate. Strength was gradually draining from his body. In spite of himself, just having his imprinted mate nearby was making his body feel a sense of stability. It was an Omega’s instinct. Conversely, Jaekyung’s mind was snapping piece by piece. It hurts. My head hurts so much… I should have taken a painkiller. Jaekyung clutched his head and prayed for him to leave as quickly as possible.