Chapter 29: Gilded Cage

“It looks like our dear bride is in quite a good mood.”

“Ah, Chairman… you’re here.”

Chae Il-ju and Lee Ah-seong both wore convincing smiles. Their outfits were as extravagant as if they themselves were the stars of the wedding, rivaling even Chae Woo-seok and Go Ha-jin.

Considering that most of the few guests present were high-ranking officials and powerful figures in business, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the real protagonists of this wedding were the Chae family.

“Your voice was loud enough to be heard outside the waiting room. Doesn’t seem like you’re nervous at all?”

“I guess I feel at ease thanks to how much the two of you have taken care of everything…”

Approaching him, Chae Il-ju took one of Go Ha-jin’s hands and clasped it with both of his. The sudden appearance was already overwhelming, and the unfamiliar physical contact made it hard for Ha-jin to even speak properly.

To an outsider, it might have looked like nothing more than a future father-in-law offering encouragement, but Ha-jin certainly didn’t feel that way.

“Still, have some dignity. Fix your clothes properly.”

As if it wasn’t just Hajin’s impression, Lee Aseong—standing a step behind—joined in. His gaze was sharp as a blade, his lips smiling while his eyes did not. Even the act of adjusting Hajin’s perfectly fine outfit felt unsettling.

“You look perfectly fine. In fact, you look even prettier today.”

“Youth really is something, isn’t it?” Chae Il-ju laughed heartily, still holding Ha-jin’s hand tightly. Lee Ah-seong’s expression stiffened even more.

“Th-thank you.”

The way the two treated Ha-jin resembled kind, attentive in-laws, at least on the surface. To Ha-jin, however, it felt like hundreds, thousands of bugs were crawling all over his body. Even so, he steadied himself and returned their attention with the brightest smile he could manage.

“Father, Dad, you must be busy greeting guests. What brings you here? We’re busy too.”

Fortunately, Chae Woo-seok stepped in before long. He subtly pulled Ha-jin toward himself, freeing him from Chae Il-ju’s grasp.

“We didn’t come to see you, so go out and greet the guests.”

For some reason, even on his wedding day, Chae Il-ju completely ignored Woo-seok. Ha-jin was curious about their relationship, but decided he’d figure it out gradually. After all, he’d have plenty of time after the marriage.

“So. You’ve prepared the gift properly, right?”

“Of course, Chairman.”

‘Ah, so that was the purpose.’

Ha-jin almost felt grateful that Chae Il-ju revealed his true colors so plainly, this kind of conversation was much easier to deal with.

The “gift” referred to the 20 billion won demanded during the meeting between families.

Given the enormous amount, he had needed time. Using the excuse that Ha-jin’s family was based in the U.S., they had delayed the delivery until the wedding day. It felt like if the money hadn’t been ready, they would’ve found some excuse to cancel the marriage altogether.

“Over there, it’s ready. Seeing it all together, it’s quite a lot.”

The night before, a group of burly men had stormed into Haj-in’s house. He had been startled by the sight of so many men in black carrying things inside, but relaxed when he saw Woo-seok among them.

Then he realized what they were carrying, the money demanded by the Chae family, and was left speechless. He had never seen 20 billion won in cash before. There were twenty box-sized cases stacked up.

“Haha. Our dear bride really keeps his promises! Good, this is how it should be.”

Watching Chae Il-ju laugh heartily, Ha-jin felt relieved. Yes, better to just be openly greedy like this.

“But Chairman, I haven’t received my ‘gift’ yet…?”

Though Woo-seok had prepared the money, Ha-jin decided to take the credit. However that massive sum had been gathered, it was now time for him to receive the promised Blue Moon.

“Of course you’ll get it.”

At Chae Il-ju’s signal, his secretary entered carrying a large velvet case. Opening it, he revealed what appeared to be a necklace.

“You have no idea how hard it was to get this for our dear bride. I’ve never struggled this much to buy something before.”

The chain, densely studded with clear diamonds, was as thick as a pinky finger. The pendant hanging from it was, exaggeration aside, almost the size of a fist.

Under the lights of the waiting room, the gem sparkled brilliantly, glowing with a faint blue hue. It was so excessively flashy and large that it hardly looked like a necklace at all.

Chae Il-ju personally placed it around Ha-jin’s neck. To exaggerate, it felt heavy enough to snap his neck. The design was incredibly tacky.

“It’s… really beautiful.”

That part was sincere. Honestly, the necklace itself was trash in every sense, it wasn’t even something you could realistically wear. It looked like a child’s toy.

But considering its price, how could it not look beautiful? Ha-jin almost felt like grabbing it and running away on the spot. As his greedy gaze sparkled, it met Woo-seok’s.

Woo-seok pointed at Ha-jin with his index finger, then at himself with his thumb. He opened his palm, then dragged his thumb across his throat. The meaning of that silent gesture was unmistakable: If you want to live, hand over the necklace.

The euphoric feeling Ha-jin had just moments ago vanished instantly. No matter how he thought about it, this marriage was complete garbage. There wasn’t a single person he could trust.

****

“…This is what you call modest?”

“Stop looking around. This is the bare minimum. Any smaller and even the family wouldn’t fit.”

“No way… there must be at least a thousand people. It’s not even a state wedding…”

“You clearly don’t know, back in my father’s time, weddings like this made the news. Even the president attended.”

So much for a “modest” wedding. The largest hall in the SHS Hotel was completely filled. Out of all those guests, Ha-jin had only ten seats allocated to him, and even four of those were taken back by Lee Ah-seong, insisting only the most important guests should be invited.

Since Ha-jin had no family to invite anyway, he had accepted it as a token gesture.

“It seems the two of you already have a very close relationship. Whispering sweet words even during the ceremony, it’s lovely to see.”

As they had been quietly talking, the officiant’s gentle remark silenced them. It was the officiating speech. Only SHS could bring in a figure like the current head of an international organization for such a role.

Soft laughter rippled through the audience, closer to mockery than amusement. As if that delinquent Chae Woo-seok would be whispering sweet nothings.

“On that note, let’s skip the boring speech here and end things with a kiss between the two of you, shall we?”

“Sir…”

“Well then, everyone’s waiting. Please face each other.”

The officiant was like a sly old fox. Without changing his expression, he smiled as he subtly took revenge on the two for ruining his speech. In the history of the Chae family, there had never been anything as “vulgar” as a kiss at a wedding.

Woo-seok hesitated, and even Lee Ah-seong coughed loudly from the family section as a signal to stop, but the officiant pretended not to notice and continued to urge them on.

“He had no problem doing it with other omegas…”

Ha-jin found Woo-seok’s hesitation amusing. How many omegas had he tangled with before? Even counting only those with photos or videos, there would be hundreds. And yet now, he was this reluctant over a simple kiss?

In the end, Ha-jin turned first to face him.

“I’ve done it with other omegas. But you’re not even an omega, are you?”

Keeping their voices low and barely moving their lips, they exchanged their complaints. Woo-seok turned to face him as well, taking Ha-jin’s hands and slowly closing the distance.

“…What do you mean, I’m not?”

“Why? Don’t tell me you actually think you’re a real omega now.”

Not an omega…? His traits might be weak, almost like a beta, but he was still technically an omega. Or did Woo-seok think only “dominant” types counted?

Hajin wanted to argue, but the situation wasn’t ideal. Setting aside the fact that they were in the middle of a wedding, Woo-seok’s face was already far too close.

He couldn’t even open his mouth, just moving his lips slightly would make them touch. In the end, he closed his eyes instead. He had thought it was nothing, but facing him at such close range made it hard to stay composed.

Woo-seok tightened his grip on Ha-jin’s hands, and warmth spread to his lips. Knowing it would end soon, Ha-jin accepted the kiss in tense anticipation.

Woo-seok found it somewhat amusing. As always, Ha-jin was overly sensitive to physical contact. His body stiffened like a statue, as if it would snap with the slightest touch.

Even his lips were pressed so tightly that it felt like kissing a wall. The sight made Woo-seok act on impulse.

“…Mm!”

He pushed his tongue between Ha-jin’s tightly sealed lips.