Pheromone Off Chapter 16

“I told Mother to match it to the tastes of young people as much as possible.”

He took off his suit jacket, threw it roughly onto the sofa, and loosened his necktie with a face that looked tired from it choking his neck.

“Even so, something too childish is a bit much. Anyway, is it to your liking?”

He picked up the glass cup he had been drinking from and downed the water. Ordinarily, Hajin hesitated for a moment and nodded his head.

“Yes. …It’s pretty.”

“Well, even if it’s not somewhere we’ll stay for a long time, it’s a place to stay from now on, so it should be moderately to your liking.”

He continued all his words as if it were no big deal. On the contrary, Hajin felt a sense of tension in every situation. Since he appeared, it really sank in that he would stay here with him just the two of them, and he was worried about whether playing this fake fiancé would be possible, and because his words handed over unconcernedly sounded kind to him yet also sounded bitter, his mind was restless.

“…Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Thank you for what. You aren’t going to keep acting so stiff like that from now on, right?”

He sat on the sofa as if stretching out, leaning his neck against the backrest while unconcernedly looking at Hajin. When Hajin didn’t put out any particular answer to his question, he let out a short sigh as if altogether frustrated.

“Since we decided to do it, we should do it properly.”

“…”

“To deceive that old man who would have swallowed thousands of sly old foxes inside.”

“…”

“He might be a kind old man who treats you well by pampering you, but in my eyes, he’s a terrifying human being who holds and shakes my lifeline.”

He let out a sneer and bitingly evaluated his grandfather. His words were right. In his eyes, Grandfather had a somewhat authoritative side, but he was mostly kind to him and treated him like a real grandfather. The purpose of trying to make this marriage happen was also to the extent that he said it was because of him, showing he was someone who worried for his well-being, but the situation of hearing such words from the real grandson was ironic.

“…He isn’t necessarily just like that…”

As Hajin murmured in a low voice since he couldn’t completely agree, he let out an even deeper sneer.

“Do you think the reason for trying to pull off this marriage is solely because of you?”

“Pardon…?”

“Kwon Sahui hasn’t married yet. She even notified the family that she doesn’t particularly want marriage. Because of that, it was a state where talk was coming out regarding the succession issue.”

“…”

“But I would have proceeded with marriage with Yeonwoo soon, and if so, of course, having a child would have been a matter of time.”

“…”

“But breaking that marriage and proceeding with an arranged marriage with you, who can’t even have a child—this situation. With your head which is still bright green and young, it wouldn’t be well understood, but in the eyes of conservative executives and relatives in this field, rather than a figure who refuses marriage and will cause an immediate succession issue no matter how outstanding they are, a counterpart who has a reliable spouse family background and a wife of tremendous traits is much more dependable and to their liking.”

“…Are you saying Grandfather purposely… made hyung disadvantaged?”

“There is no way to know that inner mind accurately. So do it properly. Because your role is also important to properly deceive a human being who doesn’t know what kind of deed he will do from behind while pretending not to.”

“…”

“Something you and I decided to do anyway. You said so with your own mouth.”

“…”

“To please act properly.”

Right?

He stood up leisurely, smiled kindly, and hugged his waist. Pulling him into close contact, he kindly kissed his forehead. Startled, Hajin took a step backward and looked up at him with rabbit eyes. Leaving aside being flustered at the unpredicted situation, Hajin slightly trembled his fingertips at his heart that thumped reflexively. And he lowered his head to hide his face that was about to turn red right away.

Seeing his remarks and his appearance of doing things without hesitation that weren’t even in his heart, Hajin realized that this situation was not a light matter.

It was truly ironic. To think that in a matter that was said to be because of him, he was actually being used. Although he couldn’t completely know Grandfather’s inner mind, he felt like he knew even a little that it was not a matter solely for him. It wasn’t that he doubted Grandfather’s sincerity, but he hadn’t quite understood his appearance of acting obsessively in this matter especially, but hearing his words, that doubt could only be resolved.

Right, the marriage matters of this tremendous family are always connected business-wise. Grandfather might have aimed to kill two birds with one stone. It was natural since he was his only ally and at the same time the head of a large enterprise leading the country’s economy.

“Has the wound healed completely?”

After kissing his forehead briefly, he looked down at his mouth and asked unconcernedly. Hajin, who was out of his mind trying to grasp the situation, rubbed his forehead and continued his answer sheepishly.

“…Almost.”

“From now on, if by any chance Seong Suhyun lays a hand on you carelessly, tell me.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean why. Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”

“…”

“You are my partner now. Surface-wise a fiancé, and from now on the counterpart I must cherish the most.”

“…”

“Where would there be a fiancé who would just watch blankly while such a counterpart gets hurt.”

He narrowed between his brows as if asking something natural and carried on his words. Nowhere was there a heart that was for him. It was solely for the act, for the contract, but… possessing a miserable heart, his actions that were said to be because of work somehow approached him heavily. His heart is truly light. Light and easy. He liked his natural thoughts that he must cherish his fiancé counterpart. Unlike Seong Suhyun who held that counterpart in ridicule even while being engaged and married, unlike his father who had sleeping arrangements with other Omegas just because he was an Alpha.

“…Yes. I understand.”

The moment he answered in a low voice, the sound of a doorbell came through. At that sound, the words of Butler Ahn saying he would come to pick him up in time for dinner suddenly occurred to Hajin. It meant the time had come.

࣪˖ ִֶָ🍇་༘

“I didn’t know you would get off work straight to the detached house.”

Butler Ahn addressed words politely toward Kwon Sayoung, who came out of the house together with him. It seemed he thought he was alone.

“Since I came without seeing the elders first, you might not know.”

“So I thought everyone was being late….”

“How can one be late. It’s the day my person enters inside the house. I should move early.”

He smiled softly toward Hajin, who was walking side by side, and rested his arm on his shoulder. Hajin flinched for a moment, but faced toward him and put on a smile. It felt like the corners of his mouth would convulse, but because he knew he had started acting, he had no choice but to chime in.

“Butler Ahn, please take good care from now on. Because it will be hard to adapt.”

“…Yes. I understand.”

Butler Ahn scanned him with a side-glance, gave a polite nod of the head, and took the lead. He lowered his arm from his shoulder, walked leisurely, and continued his words.

“If there’s anything uncomfortable, tell me right away.”

“There’s nothing uncomfortable.”

“The servants were removed on purpose. Even so, we are in a relationship ahead of an engagement, and I thought you might find it uncomfortable to stay together with outsiders.”

He was a grandson who took exactly after his grandfather, who was said to have thousands of sly old foxes inside. He was thoroughly performing the role of a affectionate fiancé who steadily prepared for the future marriage shamelessly.

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

Carefully reading the other’s countenance, Hajin linked his arm in his arm. Until doing that act, he had agonized thousands of times inside, but because he had to show that he could pull it off too, he attempted it boldly. As he approached while smiling faintly, he let out a light laugh. A gaze saying he was doing better than he looked brushed against his skin.

The glancing gazes of the busily moving servants were felt. And the gaze of someone who was entering just then as well.

“Mom—! I’m hom…”

A presence he had forgotten for a moment appeared. The moment he was entering inside Doseondang, he ran into Kwon Sabin just in time. Two startled gazes collided, and soon Kwon Sabin’s gaze headed toward Hajin’s hand linking Kwon Sayoung’s arm. Feeling that gaze, Hajin tried to pull his hand out slightly in embarrassment, but Kwon Sayoung’s arm strength was firm.

“You’re here.”

Kwon Sayoung threw a comfortable greeting toward his younger brother.

“Greet him. Since you’ll see him often from now on.”

“…”

“Don’t act too comfortably just because you two are the same age. Since he’s your hyung’s spouse now.”

“Spouse?”

Kwon Sabin repeated the words and let out a sneer. At the face that smiled as if he knew this situation entirely, Hajin’s pupils trembled with a start.

“Spouse my foot, hyung—.”

“Oh dear. You’re all here?”

The moment Kwon Sabin opened his mouth as if he knew everything, whether she heard the voices, Madam Shim, who was nearby, appeared. At that moment, the speech cut off abruptly and everyone turned their gazes toward her.

“The youngest is here? You said you might be late because of filming.”

Madam Shim welcomed Kwon Sabin, who had just entered, with gladness. As she made a sign with her eyes to a servant who was behind her, the servant approached quickly and familiarly received the coat Kwon Sabin took off.

“You told me to come on time.”

“Since when did you come obediently just because I told you to?”

“Mom, again, since when did I—.”

“Right, a person newly entered inside the house, so we should all eat rice together. It’s said you saw him often before, but he’s a person who will live together with your hyung now.”

“…Live, my ass.”

Kwon Sabin murmured in a low voice. Whether he really had no intention of keeping the secret easily, Kwon Sabin was spitting words out tap-tap without realizing. Letting out a sigh without a sound, Hajin was on pins and needles.