Chapter 52: The First Apology

“Do you even know what kind of situation this is, sleeping so comfortably like that?”

The moment Go Ha-jin stepped onto the balcony behind the main house, Lee Ah-seong’s sharp voice served in place of a greeting. Judging by how the words started pouring out the instant he saw him, he must have prepared this speech in advance.

“Hello, Father.”

So Go Ha-jin simply answered with a greeting.

After Chae Woo-seok left for work, he had dozed off for a bit. It was the aftereffect of not sleeping at all the previous night. Then he had been awakened by someone shaking him.

It was a summons from Lee Ah-seong. Not long ago he had told him not to show his face until every mark on his neck disappeared…

“Hello? You really have it easy, don’t you? Your husband went through something like that, and you could still sleep?”

Beneath the table, Go Ha-jin could see Lee Ah-seong’s hand clenched into a fist.

Why was he so angry? Anyone listening would think Chae Woo-seok had come home after getting beaten up. In reality, he was the one who had turned other people into bloody pulp.

“I saw Woo-seok come home this morning and then took a short nap. And Father, who do you think should be the most upset right now…?”

“What?”

This time, Go Ha-jin decided not to hold back.

Of course, he made sure his tone sounded pitiful. He was putting on the act of an omega whose heart had been worn down by a lover’s betrayal. He tensed the corners of his eyes until they looked moist. It wasn’t time to shed tears just yet.

“The only alpha husband I have goes drinking with omegas, then beats up five alphas because of another omega? Shouldn’t you be asking if I’m okay instead of scolding me?”

Of course, those weren’t Go Ha-jin’s true feelings.

But looking only at the circumstances, it was a reasonable thing to say.

Lee Ah-seong knew nothing about the contract marriage or the true nature of Chae Woo-seok and Go Ha-jin’s relationship.

The mistake had been assuming Lee Ah-seong was a normal person.

“Haah… You really are selfish, aren’t you? In a situation like this, you’re worried about yourself first? And honestly, didn’t you know what he was like before you married him? You were the one who happily rushed into this marriage knowing everything. And now you’re acting like the victim? If you ask me, the biggest problem is that you couldn’t even win your husband’s heart after getting married.”

Arrogant.

That was the perfect word for him.

How could someone be this overbearing and conceited?

“No, Father, that’s exactly what I’m saying! I don’t understand how someone can stay the same even after getting married. Then again, if you couldn’t change him in twenty-eight years, how could I possibly change him overnight? We haven’t even been married for a month yet.”

Go Ha-jin dropped into a chair he had never been invited to sit in.

Picking up the teapot Lee Ah-seong had been drinking from, he poured himself a cup and gulped it down as though it were cold water.

Lee Ah-seong wanted to criticize what he was saying, but he couldn’t quite find a point to attack.

And then there was that foolish head of his, incapable of recognizing criticism even when it was directed at him.

“At this rate, I wonder if getting pregnant will even work… He keeps scattering his seed in all the wrong places…”

At Go Ha-jin’s sighing remark, Lee Ah-seong stiffened.

Up until now, no matter what Chae Woo-seok got up to, she had let it pass.

He caused trouble, yes, but never anything beyond repair.

Even though he was constantly meeting omegas, he had never gotten entangled with them over money. There were never any clingy people hanging around him either.

So he hadn’t cared what he did outside.

An alpha. A chaebol heir.

Of course they spent their youth fooling around.

That was what he believed.

But pregnancy was different.

Even Lee Ah-seong could never forgive him for fathering a child outside the marriage.

No matter how precious his son was, that crossed the line.

“…That’s something I won’t forgive. Don’t worry.”

“Uh… yes, Father. I’m counting on you.”

Go Ha-jin sensed something unusual.

He had fully expected another round of, “An alpha is allowed to have some fun.”

Instead, this reaction suggested there was something else going on.

Perhaps he needed to investigate Lee Ah-seong a little more closely.

****

It was strange.

At times, this felt like the most comfortable and peaceful place in the world.

At others, it felt like lying on a bed of thorns.

Physically, he was perfectly comfortable.

Wake up, eat, sleep again.

He could spend all day lounging around.

The fatigue and pain clinging to his body had faded considerably.

But his heart was uneasy.

It felt as though someone he hated would burst through the door at any moment.

As though another disaster was waiting to happen.

How could a house filled with things so luxurious that “high-end” wasn’t enough to describe them feel this uncomfortable?

Eventually, Go Ha-jin sat up.

“Hm…”

On the second floor was a small room set aside just for him.

Dim lighting.

No furniture.

A single painting hung where a spotlight illuminated one wall.

One Heart Until Death by Empress Sojin.

Chae Woo-seok had suddenly brought it into the house as a wedding gift.

The painting possessed a value that defied reason for a mere work of art.

Go Ha-jin visited it at least once a day.

Whenever his thoughts became too noisy, staring at it calmed him.

More accurately, it pushed all other thoughts away.

Sitting absentmindedly in the chair several meters away, he imagined smelling the fragrance of the petals in the painting, feeling the season carried on the wind, reading the gazes of the two figures facing each other atop the pavilion.

Of course he couldn’t truly see or feel any of those things.

Yet if he stared long enough, he could almost convince himself he could.

Then suddenly he sprang to his feet.

That happened often too.

It meant an unpleasant face had surfaced in his mind.

“That bastard…”

He hated calling him a dog.

Dogs deserved better.

But no other insult suited Chae Woo-seok quite so well.

What?

“Are you nagging me because I didn’t come home?”

“Why are you acting like this? I honestly don’t understand.”

Compared to many of the things Chae Woo-seok had said before, those weren’t even particularly terrible.

Hadn’t he politely threatened to kill him more than once?

And yet somehow, those words lingered.

“Who’s the bastard?”

Someone tell that dog to stop barking.

His head was so noisy he must be hallucinating.

“Surely you’re not talking about me.”

“…When did you get here? No, what are you doing here at this hour?”

It wasn’t a hallucination.

No hallucination could make the hair on the back of his neck stand up like this.

No matter how many times he blinked, it was definitely Chae Woo-seok.

He was wearing different clothes from that morning, but there was no room for mistake.

There were no windows in this room, so he didn’t know the exact time.

But unless he had spent more than half a day staring at the painting, there was no way it was quitting time yet.

“Here.”

Ignoring the question entirely, Chae Woo-seok held out the object hidden behind his back.

“What… is this?”

“A flower. Don’t tell me you don’t know flowers. Then again, it’s not like you’ve ever received any.”

“Hah. Sorry, but I’ve gotten so many flowers that I practically developed a pollen allergy.”

His dismissive attitude immediately annoyed Go Ha-jin.

And it was true.

If he gathered every bouquet men had given him over the years, he could probably fill an entire flower garden.

“So you don’t want it?”

“Well, I’ll take it. But why peonies? What is this, the Joseon era?”

He snatched it away.

Five or six peonies were tied together.

Their large, tightly furled blossoms were the size of fists, resembling ripe peaches.

“I thought they suited you.”

“…These?”

‘Of all flowers, why peonies?’

Not that they were ugly.

He just didn’t understand why it had to be peonies.

“They say the flowers bloom during the day and close again at night. That’s why their meaning is modesty, or embarrassment.”

For the first time in his life, Chae Woo-seok had gone into a flower shop and spent ages thinking.

Honestly, all flowers looked the same to him.

He had nearly chosen the first familiar flower he saw and told them to wrap it up.

The florist had desperately stopped him.

It had been a white chrysanthemum.

Instead, she recommended peonies.

Bright colors.

Huge blossoms.

Even in bloom they were dazzling.

But at night, they quietly gathered their petals again.

After hearing that and learning the flower’s meaning, he thought it suited Go Ha-jin perfectly.

“Why does that-”

“Because you completely change once night falls. Just like this flower.”

The moment he understood what Chae Woo-seok meant, color flooded Go Ha-jin’s face.

After everything they had already done together, what was there left to be embarrassed about?

This side of him amused Chae Woo-seok.

“F-fine. A flower’s just a flower.”

Then suddenly Go Ha-jin’s expression changed.

His voice changed too.

He brushed past Chae Woo-seok and left the room.

The sudden appearance of Chae Woo-seok had made him forget.

This wasn’t the time to be happily exchanging flowers and chatting.

What exactly was lovable about that bastard?

Just moments ago he had been talking pleasantly with him.

Now he wanted to tear out his own tongue.

“Still sulking?”

“As if. Didn’t you say we’re not even that kind of couple?”

“I’m pretty sure that came out of your mouth, not mine.”

“…Anyway, you agreed with it.”

Go Ha-jin headed downstairs.

Chae Woo-seok followed.

How could the man never let a single comment slide?

“If Go Ha-jin hadn’t gotten angry in the first place, I wouldn’t have reacted like that either.”

“Ah, right. It’s all my fault. You spending all night drinking and causing trouble with omegas is my fault too, I suppose. This family has it easy. The moment anything happens, somehow it becomes my fault.”

Chae Woo-seok grabbed his arm and turned him around.

“Did Dad say something again?”

“As if he wouldn’t. Apparently it’s my fault that Chae Woo-seok keeps wandering around outside too. Haah… But don’t worry about it. It’s not like I didn’t know this kind of thing would happen eventually…”

Go Ha-jin had plenty he wanted to say.

If he was going to get blamed no matter what, maybe he should just go out and cause trouble himself.

His chest was full of complaints like that.

But halfway through speaking, he came to his senses.

Chae Woo-seok wasn’t the person he should be venting to.

Being an emotional trash can wasn’t part of their marriage contract.

“Haah… Fine. I’m sure you handled it however you thought best. Just… don’t forget you don’t always have to endure everything.”

Was he being sincere?

Either way, from what Go Ha-jin had observed, Chae Woo-seok and Lee Ah-seong got along well.

Very well.

So hearing him say he didn’t have to tolerate everything from his own father made it difficult to trust his intentions.

Then again, what did it matter?

“Ah, right. Next time you plan on causing trouble, give me a heads-up. At least then I can prepare myself.”

Go Ha-jin adapted quickly.

He never believed his own perspective was absolutely correct.

When circumstances changed, he changed with them.

Hadn’t he already discarded the idea that Chae Woo-seok might have changed?

“You mean the story about me trying to hit on someone else’s omega?”

“…”

“Or the story about me fighting five alphas because of that omega?”

The face Go Ha-jin had carefully kept composed stiffened.

Chae Woo-seok didn’t miss the change.

Watching his mouth begin to open, he hurriedly spoke first.

Whatever came out of that mouth next certainly wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Sorry.”

This time, Go Ha-jin looked completely stunned.

That was the last thing he had expected to hear.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Heemin’s One-Sided Love

AdultBoys LoveDrama

Read Now →
Not interested