Chapter 5: The Weight of the Past

Hyunwoo opened his eyes.

Then a dazzling light stabbed his eyes.

Hyunwoo frowned without realizing it.

Lowering his gaze, he looked at his own body.

A glossy navy suit hugged him perfectly.

Even in a wealthy family, this was not a suit one would wear except on special occasions.

Hyunwoo frowned and fell into thought.

He was sure he had gone home and fallen asleep exhausted yesterday.

So why was he in a place like this?

Raising his head, Hyunwoo opened his mouth slightly and muttered an absentminded “Ah.”

The scenery of the wide hall looked somewhat familiar.

Scanning the surroundings, Hyunwoo noticed floral wreaths arranged in a corner of the hall.

The writing on the extravagant congratulatory wreaths left no doubt.

This was the engagement celebration hall he had visited just before marrying Seunghyuk in his previous timeline.

Even though they would marry in just a few months, they had held such a lavish engagement party purely for show.

It was meant to flaunt to executives and shareholders, who were uneasy about the heir marrying an alpha, and to assert dominance.

Hyunwoo sighed, holding a champagne glass.

“Ha…”

Now that he knew it was a dream, he could have woken up, but the people before him continued to move.

Even if he had done the crazy thing of marrying an alpha, Joo Hyunwoo was still the next heir to Munsung.

People eager to gain his favor surrounded him.

Hyunwoo mingled with them casually and then moved around.

In his memory, he started searching for Seunghyuk somewhere in the hall around this time.

Seunghyuk had never liked such an extravagant engagement party from the beginning.

He had managed his expression reasonably well only while entering together, but afterward, he disappeared and couldn’t be seen anywhere.

Perhaps if he found him, he might wake up from the dream.

Hyunwoo thought vaguely, glancing around.

But the memory was too distant to recall exactly where Seunghyuk had been.

Helplessly, he moved wherever his feet took him.

“…!”

Soon, Hyunwoo stopped abruptly in a secluded spot.

Far from the center of the hall, in a space connected to the terrace, he froze.

Yes, he had seen him here before.

Lovers secretly meeting, aching from a love unfulfilled by external pressures, like Romeo and Juliet.

Scenes buried in the depths of memory were forcibly dragged up, unfolding before Hyunwoo’s eyes.

Thump, thump—his heart raced.

He slowly approached them.

Moonlight shining on the terrace illuminated Seunghyuk and Hyunjin brightly.

“Do you think this makes sense? How long do you think you can hide it?”

“…You don’t know anything!”

A sharp voice cut through.

Hyunwoo’s eyes widened.

Hyunjin’s voice, usually lively and bubbly, sounded unusually sharp that night.

“…!”

The lovers’ voices grew louder.

At that moment, Hyunwoo was shocked to witness them together.

He couldn’t even think of moving away; he just stared at the terrace dumbly.

Back then, his love for Seunghyuk outweighed any guilt about separating innocent lovers.

But now, things were different.

Hyunwoo no longer wanted to see them suffer.

He just wanted to escape.

From the foolish sins he had committed.

“Ha, you think I can just stay quiet? What on earth were you thinking….”

“Stop, just stop it!”

Their voices rose even more.

If anyone in the building heard them, they might rush in out of surprise.

Hyunwoo’s body trembled.

At that moment, he couldn’t recall if he had gone onto the terrace to stop them or just turned and ran away.

It was so long ago he couldn’t remember clearly.

Moreover, since he was dreaming, his body didn’t move as he intended.

Hyunwoo’s face contorted.

He just wanted to get out of there.

It would be easier to walk back to the lavishly decorated hall as if nothing had happened and smile brightly.

But his feet felt nailed to the floor.

Some part of him seemed to say he could no longer just run from his sins.

“Ha, I’m really sick of you. Don’t ever contact me again.”

“Wait….”

“…!”

Seunghyuk emerged from the terrace first.

Then their eyes met with Hyunwoo nearby.

Seunghyuk’s pupils widened.

“…Hyunwoo hyung?”

“Ugh….”

“Hyung!”

Hyunwoo couldn’t hold it any longer and turned, running.

He feared the resentful expressions the two of them would make as they looked at him.

Once again, he had no choice but to run.

“Haah…”

Clutching his throbbing head, Hyunwoo drank coffee like water.

He had just woken from a horrible dream.

It would have been better if he couldn’t remember it clearly, but, damn it, it was vivid.

The unpleasant memory he had been trying to forget surfaced, putting him in a foul mood from the morning.

“You called for me, young master?”

“…Ah.”

Hyunwoo glanced at the person who had come to the director’s office.

Kang Sung-yoon.

The head secretary of Munsung and someone who had long managed Hyunwoo’s minor affairs.

Remembering why he had been called again made his head throb.

“Welcome, director. Would you like some coffee?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Having known each other since childhood, Sung-yoon still addressed Hyunwoo and Hyunjin as “young master.”

Hyunwoo had asked them to use different titles at the company, but now, with only the two of them present, it was fine.

Hyunwoo smiled slightly.

“Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Yes, what is it?”

Sung-yoon asked as if accustomed, though a hint of concern showed.

His anxious eyes studied Hyunwoo through the clear glass.

The eldest young master of Munsung had always been somewhat sensitive, but he had not caused major problems.

Compared to reckless heirs from other chaebols, he was reasonably disciplined.

But recently, Hyunwoo had begun doing strange things.

He would have him investigate other alphas, check class schedules, and even draft a plan for a proposal.

Sung-yoon swallowed hard.

Surely, he wouldn’t ask to check wedding venues this time.

Everything else could be dismissed as a minor incident, but a wedding was different.

He couldn’t let such news reach the chairman.

Sung-yoon waited, his eyes earnest, for Hyunwoo to speak.

“Please introduce me to an omega, as soon as possible.”

“Young master, that is… what?”

“It would be better if the person could act well.”

“Act…?”

Sung-yoon blinked, surprised by the unexpected request.

He realized nothing disastrous had happened, but Hyunwoo’s request was surprising in another way.

“Yes, the reason I need someone who can act… is that person will play the role of my lover. Preferably male.”

Since it was acting, gender didn’t matter, but for a gay man to immerse himself in the role, finding a male omega seemed better.

Hyunwoo, watching Sung-yoon stand dazed, beckoned him softly.

“Director? Did you hear me?”

“Ah, yes. I heard you.”

Sung-yoon nodded anxiously.

Although startled by the sudden request, finding a male omega to pose as a lover was not difficult.

He only wondered why Hyunwoo needed such a person.

Adjusting his glasses, Sung-yoon asked cautiously.

“May I ask why you need someone like that?”

“Ah…”

Hyunwoo chuckled, seeing Sung-yoon’s worried gaze.

Before his regression, he often made small or difficult requests of Sung-yoon.

This was no different.

It showed Sung-yoon was someone he trusted.

So it was fine to be honest.

“I told Seunghyuk I was canceling the proposal, but he wouldn’t believe me.

So I thought showing him me with someone else might convince him.”

“Ah… I see.”

Sung-yoon’s previously serious expression brightened immediately.

He exclaimed excitedly.

“Then why not find a real matchmaker instead of an actor? The chairman has a list of candidates…”

“No, not yet. That’s later.”

Hyunwoo waved him off.

Yet, seeing Sung-yoon speak as if waiting for this moment gave him a bittersweet feeling.

This world was thoroughly against Hyunwoo and Seunghyuk being together.

No wonder they wouldn’t be happy if forced.

Hyunwoo chuckled.

“Tell my father I’ll see matches slowly, alright?”

“Ha… understood.”

“…”

Eventually, he would have to go through an arranged meeting and marry, just not with Seunghyuk.

Hyunwoo drank his coffee again, wearing a wry smile.

Bzz, bzz, bzz.

“…”

Hyunwoo’s face tensed slightly as his phone vibrated repeatedly.

Sung-yoon’s gaze followed his phone.

“Is it an important call?”

“No, a message.”

“Ah…”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

Hyunwoo smiled faintly and clenched his teeth.

The source of his stress for the past few days, including the ridiculous dream,

was the flood of Seunghyuk’s messages.