Chapter 32: Cold Morning After

When Ha-jin first agreed to a contract marriage with Woo-seok, he didn’t think too deeply about it. He assumed all he had to do was pretend to be a married couple.

But once the wedding actually happened, reality began to settle in. More precisely, it started after the kiss at the ceremony.

As Woo-seok had said earlier, married couples had certain “duties” to fulfill. Even if the marriage lacked affection. But did that include s*x? There was no definitive answer, it could, or it might not. But the conclusion Ha-jin reached… was that it did.

“…Aren’t you going to sleep?”

While Ha-jin had finished washing up, Woo-seok had also cleaned up in another bathroom. He looked different somehow, even though Ha-jin had seen him all day. Probably because Ha-jin’s own state of mind had changed.

Ha-jin had dimmed the lights in the room beforehand. Bright lighting felt… embarrassing. Watching Woo-seok walk into the dim room, he thought he’d made the right choice.

The atmosphere felt entirely different now. As Woo-seok approached slowly, it felt like he might do something at any moment.

“Um… we should sleep early since we’re tired.”

The situation was unbearably awkward. Words tumbled out of Ha-jin’s mouth without him meaning to, about how nice the bathroom was, how soft the bed felt. In truth, his mouth had gone completely dry.

He kept remembering the sensation of Woo-seok’s tongue from the wedding. He licked his lips over and over. Why was this guy walking so slowly?

“Seems like it.”

Woo-seok’s voice was lower than usual, likely because it was late. His damp hair and half-buttoned shirt looked unnecessarily… indecent.

Finally, he stopped in front of Ha-jin, who was sitting on the bed. Ha-jin picked at imaginary hangnails, wiggling unseen toes. He looked calm, but inside, he was anything but. His heart felt like it might burst out of his throat.

He had prepared himself while showering, but now that it was real, all that resolve was useless.

“Go to sleep first. I have to step out for a bit.”

The moment Woo-seok spoke, everything Ha-jin had been feeling scattered like an illusion.

“Now…? Where are you going?”

“I’ve got something to take care of. It’s important.”

With that, Woo-seok left. He finished buttoning his shirt and even put on a jacket, showing no hesitation.

“…Ha.”

Ha-jin let out a hollow laugh. He flopped face-first onto the bed and even shouted into the pillow. It did nothing to ease his embarrassment.

What had he been imagining? A marriage built on coercion and zero affection, had he really believed something genuine might happen? Had he thought Woo-seok, being an alpha, wouldn’t be able to resist his instincts?

Maybe this was normal. What “first night”? And yet… why was he so irritated?

He climbed into the overly large bed alone. The sheets were too soft, the pillows too comfortable, it was all infuriating.

Though his body ached with exhaustion, sleep wouldn’t come. His mind refused to quiet. At first, he blamed Woo-seok, but eventually, it turned into self-doubt.

“Guess I’m not sleeping tonight…”

He picked up his phone and absentmindedly opened social media, then froze.

A photo. A party. Dim lighting, a crowd of people… and there was Woo-seok, with women on both sides.

****

“I saw someone on the news today who looks just like you. Only from the side, but it startled me.”

“That was me. The one who married Woo-seok.”

“…What? Are you insane? What marriage all of a sudden?”

Ha-jin woke up to a call from Teacher Lee. He hadn’t even realized when he’d fallen asleep.

“That’s how it happened. Just keep your mouth shut.”

“Of course, but explain properly! You hit the jackpot, didn’t you?”

Ignoring the excited chatter, Ha-jin asked what he’d been wondering.

“About Woo-seok’s background check—you got something wrong.”

“What part?”

“You said he had erectile dysfunction. He’s perfectly fine. Why did that rumor even exist?”

All the omegas previously involved with Woo-seok had said the same thing, he never went beyond bringing them to a hotel room. One even tried throwing herself at him naked, only to get knocked out.

“So we thought maybe he was asexual. Why, he’s not into you either?”

Ha-jin lowered the volume, annoyed by the laughter.

“That’s not the point. Look into it again. This is important. And since you got it wrong last time, no payment.”

“What- hey!”

Even after thinking all night, it didn’t make sense. If Woo-seok really could function normally, why had he never slept with anyone?

Unless… he really was asexual, just putting on a show.

Ha-jin wanted that to be true. Otherwise, it hurt his pride.

He drank his coffee, then noticed something odd, the room was too quiet.

Woo-seok wasn’t there.

“…Out all night, huh.”

The last bit of expectation he had disappeared.

****

“Where did you go? You didn’t even take your phone.”

Woo-seok stood in the living room, staring sharply as Ha-jin returned.

“We’re not exactly the kind of couple who checks in with each other, are we?”

Woo-seok blinked, caught off guard by the cold response.

“What if something happened to you?”

Ha-jin scoffed internally. Woo-seok hadn’t shown his face all morning.

“I’ll report in next time.”

He didn’t want to argue.

“Did you eat?”

“I already did. Just order room service.”

Ha-jin went straight to the room.

Woo-seok sat on the couch, feeling strangely unsettled. He’d brought food to share, but now it sat unopened.

What was wrong with him?

Shaking it off, he stood and threw the food away.

It didn’t matter.

There was no reason to get worked up over someone like Ha-jin.