As a dominant alpha, he would naturally be healthy, and as for his mental state, he seemed normal for a dominant alpha, so there was only one thing that worried me.
Dominant alphas typically have promiscuous sex lives, so when I asked about what concerned me most, he frowned with a quite displeased expression.
“Don’t you run things through a filter in your brain at least once before speaking?”
“You checked my mental health history, so there’s no reason I can’t check if you have any STDs.”
For a moment, he laughed. Just like when he called an hour ago.
As if defeated, and as if he’d lost his mind.
“You really are interesting.”
“I hear that a lot.”
“Good. That’s very reassuring. It seems like I’ll be able to divorce you without any regrets or worries.”
Junghyun laughed heartily at his statement that he didn’t have even the slightest concern about what if I fall for him and refuse to divorce, what if we both grow attached after living together for a while, what if an accident happens and I get pregnant, and so on.
“I find you interesting too. It’s been a while since I met an alpha who communicates this well.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of whether someone is an alpha or omega in your case?”
At his comment about my bad manners, Junghyun immediately retorted.
“It’s just that alphas tend to be especially old-fashioned. Their sense of humor is at zombie level.”
“Your sense of humor is what’s strange. First, fix that threatening way you talk.”
Seeing him get angry as if he found it quite unpleasant, Junghyun laughed in disbelief.
“While it’s true I have that tendency, I don’t want to hear that from you.”
When Junghyun laughed and asked where this Cha Jaehyuk was from who threatened him by announcing their marriage out of nowhere and involving his family, Jaehyuk couldn’t refute it.
Because it was true.
“Let’s both be careful about that.”
“I like how quick you are to admit it.”
“That’s because I heard it made you feel scared and uncomfortable.”
Seeing him looking somewhat sulky as if saying “why didn’t you tell me earlier if that was your complaint,” Junghyun took a sip of beer and asked curiously.
“Who told you that?”
“My ex-fiancée and girlfriend. Unofficially.”
“The one who dumped you two weeks ago?”
It must have been an accurate observation, as he flinched. That’s how Junghyun figured it out—that the unofficial girlfriend was finally venting everything that had built up after breaking up.
“But it seems like something she couldn’t talk about. If she was unofficially engaged to an S-ranked alpha, she must have felt tremendous pressure from those around her, so she had no choice but to be careful.”
“I wish you would be a bit careful too.”
Jaehyuk asked, thinking it unlikely but just in case, and Junghyun laughed as if to say “why would I do that?”
“Why should I? In this deal, we’re equals anyway, right? If anything, aren’t I the one with the upper hand here? And wouldn’t it be exhausting to live with someone who’s always walking on eggshells around you?”
At Junghyun’s comment that people should be comfortable at home, that it would be impossible to live in discomfort, Jaehyuk nodded in agreement.
“That’s why I chose you.”
“I thought so. Now, let’s get to the negotiation in earnest. Oh, by the way, can I call that hyung?”
“Who?”
“The lawyer hyung. We’ll need to create a prenuptial agreement, and we’ll need a lawyer to get it notarized.”
Since he had been present at the meeting and showed no particular reaction even when Junghyun had just called to threaten him, Junghyun was convinced the lawyer must be an accomplice.
He must have known about today’s blind date and had no particular comments about Junghyun’s threats from an hour ago, which meant he knew about this man’s plans to some extent.
Jaehyuk also had no intention of explaining that part in detail. With communication flowing this well, confirming such details would just be a waste of time.
“A draft has already been prepared. We can add the parts we agree on later.”
“Great. Then let’s write down the negotiation points. For our smooth married life.”
Junghyun, now sitting on the floor to properly use the laptop, opened a text program.
As he began to work in earnest, Jaehyuk quickly interjected.
“Before that, there’s something I need to confirm first…”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you sure about this? We’ll be legally registering our marriage.”
It was a question asking if he had made a careful decision, considering that divorce proceedings wouldn’t be simple.
Junghyun laughed at that point. He thought it was rich coming from someone who had abruptly told him “you’re going to marry me no matter what.”
“Didn’t you say I was going to end up marrying you anyway?”
“That would be the conclusion, but I’m asking if you’ve thought it through properly. It would be problematic if you suddenly say you can’t go through with it right before the wedding.”
“Then let’s register our marriage first.”
Jaehyuk was a bit taken aback by Junghyun’s suggestion to put the shackles on right away before he could change his mind, if he was so suspicious.
It’s extreme in a way, but it’s also the most realistic and powerful form of contract.
From the moment the marriage is registered, for better or worse, they become bound by fate.
Jaehyuk had considered this too, but he wanted to keep the marriage registration as a last resort even after the wedding, since you never know how people’s hearts might change. So being urged to rush it was somewhat bewildering.
It was too fast. And extreme.
If he had been that kind of person from the beginning, Jaehyuk might have withdrawn from the marriage, thinking he was thoughtless. But since Junghyun seemed more sensible and level-headed than expected, he had pushed forward—but now he found him unexpectedly radical.
Seen positively, he was assertive and bold; seen negatively, he lived like there was no tomorrow.
“I don’t mind if that’s what you want… but why did your mind change in the meantime?”
“You said to smartly get what I can, right?”
“And if I ask what that is?”
“Let’s agree not to ask each other. I won’t ask why you need to get married within a month, and you won’t ask me either. After I marry you, I’ll quietly divorce according to our agreement after a year, and then I’ll live quietly. Like someone who doesn’t exist in this world.”
“The problem is that humans can’t be as mechanical as that, right?”
That’s true. Human beings always have impulsive and unexpected qualities beyond prediction, and tend to take paths even when they know they shouldn’t.
“That’s why we should establish protocols for human unpredictability before going in. Let’s prepare contingencies for all possible scenarios in married life and specify penalties for breaking the contract. You seem quite rational, and I’m not the type to get emotional either.”
Then it should be fine, Junghyun shrugged.
Jaehyuk agreed this was what he wanted, and he appreciated how straightforward and communicative Junghyun was, but something felt off.
No, to be precise, he didn’t feel good about it. He felt like he was constantly being dragged along.
Having always been the one leading, he’d never been so unilaterally pulled along, so this feeling was both unfamiliar and strange, and also unpleasant and bruising to his pride.
But Junghyuk was too valuable to overturn this contract just because of that.
It seemed impossible to find another person like him with such an AI-like personality, albeit a dirty one.
So he decided to set his emotions aside.
Reality was what mattered now.
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
* * *
“Upon divorce, both parties agree to divide 10% of assets… One question here, how much assets do you have?”
Junghyun, sitting on the floor drafting the document on his laptop, asked with genuine curiosity.
With an S-ranker, he expected Jaehyuk must have inherited quite a bit of wealth.
But Jaehyuk’s answer was cold.
“You must have a lot of money too, right?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t. I never listened to my father, so I haven’t received any allowance since high school, let alone inheritance. My uncle even paid for my college tuition and living expenses. This apartment belongs to my uncle’s real estate.”
“…Uncle?”
“My father’s official partner.”
“Director Han Juwon?”
“Yes.”
After this brief exchange, Jaehyuk asked with curiosity:
“…It’s interesting that you get along well with your father’s partner?”
From his investigation, he roughly understood that the man had reluctantly taken in and raised Junghyun due to legal issues. He thought Junghyun was weak towards that man, but their relationship seemed more solid than expected.
That was unusual.
“Except for issues with my father, we get along well. He’s similar to me.”
“To you?”
“Yes. You could say he raised half of me.”
At Junghyun’s one-sided claim, Jaehyuk tilted his head in disbelief.
