If You Want Me - Episode 104
<Episode 104>
Do-gyeom fully faced his mother’s gaze as if he was going to have a battle of wills.
Then she matched his sharp gaze for a while, but turned her head first and avoided his eyes. And as if facing someone she couldn’t communicate with, she shook her head weakly.
“You’ve lost your mind… You’re completely crazy because of the one-sided imprint.”
“It has nothing to do with the one-sided imprint.”
“No, you’re sick. Let’s go to the hospital together with Mom. I’ll find a place that’s good and has fewer side effects…”
“Sigh… Then let’s say, even after getting surgery to undo the one-sided imprint, what if I still like Seo-won? Then will you acknowledge our relationship?”
“That won’t happen.”
“Answer my question first. If it won’t happen, there’s no reason you can’t answer.”
Do-gyeom grabbed her, telling her not to avoid it and to answer properly.
Honestly, Do-gyeom wanted to avoid getting surgery to undo the one-sided imprint if possible. Because the side effects are so severe that you can lose function as an alpha or frequently lose memory due to a big impact on the brain.
However, if his family would acknowledge his relationship with Seo-won by undoing the imprint, he was willing to have the surgery.
Of course, Do-gyeom thought that he didn’t need his family’s approval and that they could get married if their hearts aligned. But Seo-won seemed to want his family’s permission. Not only was it Seo-won’s personality, but to him, Do-gyeom’s parents were not only his mother’s employers but also benefactors who took them in during a desperate situation, so he understood that Seo-won didn’t want to be hated by them.
When Do-gyeom asked with that in mind, Mother seemed to hesitate a bit as if she hadn’t thought that far. After moving her lips thickly coated with red lipstick with a flustered face, she carefully opened her mouth.
“If that happens…”
“…”
“…It still can’t be.”
Mother seemed to be trying to answer seriously, but soon shook her head.
While denying that it would never happen, she seemed reluctant to think about the aftereffects that would hit her if she spoke confidently and Do-gyeom still liked Seo-won even after the imprint was undone.
At the futile answer, Do-gyeom exhaled his breath as if exploding. Since she only said no to any suggestion, there was no reason to argue with Mother anymore.
“Sigh… Then there’s no reason to have the surgery.”
“Do-gyeom. Mom is…”
“Mother, do you remember when I was in the hospital last time? The day you came to the hospital and we had lunch together. Actually, at that time, I was like that because I had imprinted one-sidedly and couldn’t see Seo-won for a few days.”
Do-gyeom spat out his words annoyedly as if throwing them up, cutting off her words.
Last time, after he imprinted one-sidedly, he suffered from insomnia and pain from not being able to see Seo-won and was hospitalized on an IV drip. She had found out like a ghost and came.
Until then, he hadn’t acknowledged his feelings for Seo-won, so he had been secretly searching for ways to undo the one-sided imprint. He had even found several hospitals that specialized in it. He was confident that he knew better than Mother who had just figured it out.
Do-gyeom took advantage of her flustered and shrinking gap to continue.
“Back then, I couldn’t acknowledge my feelings for Seo-won, and the imprint pain was so excruciating that I looked into all sorts of things. Mother, do you know how many cases there are of people becoming disabled from forcibly undoing a one-sided imprint?”
“Disabled…”
“If that happens, as you worry, it’s possible for Chaeyeon to take all the shares. Father isn’t someone who would give company shares to a disabled son.”
“…”
Mother seemed to not have thought that the side effects after surgery could be enormous, and when Do-gyeom gave an extreme example, she couldn’t refute anymore. Actually, it wasn’t a completely extreme example. That’s how frequent the side effects were for this surgery.
Do-gyeom was about to continue being aggressive, but after seeing Mother’s hurt face, his heart softened a bit. She seemed to have not thought that undoing the one-sided imprint by force would lead to such serious consequences because she hadn’t looked into it as closely as him.
After hesitating for a moment, Do-gyeom knelt on both knees at her feet and gently held her hands. At the sight of Do-gyeom suddenly kneeling at her feet, her pupils shook uneasily.
“Oh, my. Why are you suddenly kneeling… Do-gyeom, don’t do this. Get up quickly.”
“I know you care about me a lot, Mother. So I know you have a big desire for me to do even a little bit well.”
Even at her words to get up, Do-gyeom opened his mouth seriously while still kneeling. As he spoke in an affectionate tone while gently caressing her hands, Mother hesitated a bit and nodded.
“Yes. That’s why Mom is opposing it, saying it can’t be. You know Mom’s heart, right?”
“I know. I know, but… this isn’t it. I don’t have confidence that I can meet another omega or have the second generation you hoped for.”
“…Are you threatening me now?”
“It’s not a threat, it’s sincere. When Seo-won disappeared, I learned for the first time what it’s like to become a wreck. I had doubts about what I had been running towards so hard and wanted to give everything up.”
Do-gyeom shook his head lightly and opened his mouth carefully.
Previously, when Seo-won had run away tired of his relationship with him, he felt like his heart had been completely hollowed out, not because of the one-sided imprint. It felt like the part of his life he had spent with Seo-won had been completely cut out. He had worked hard with the single determination to become the successor of the company, but it felt like he had ruined everything with a momentary mistake.
Until then, he had thought Seo-won was someone who should naturally be by his side. Only after losing Seo-won. Only then did he realize that Seo-won was someone he absolutely needed.
“I really want to raise Tteokbokki well. So please give me a chance, just once.”
“…Who’s Tteokbokki?”
“Ah, it’s the nickname for the baby Seo-won is pregnant with.”
“Why did you even give it such a name… I told you you can’t get rid of that tacky taste.”
Mother reacted as if it was absurd after hearing the nickname Tteokbokki. It was a reaction asking why he would give such a tacky name for a nickname.
What’s wrong with the name Tteokbokki…? For a moment, Do-gyeom felt the urge to refute, but feeling that her reaction had softened compared to earlier, he didn’t say it out loud. Somehow, there seemed to be a little hope.
For a moment, the two didn’t exchange any conversation, but the sensitive, tense atmosphere was calmly loosening. Mother looked at Do-gyeom kneeling at her feet with a complex gaze and calmly opened her mouth.
“Okay… I understand it’s sincere. It won’t be a big blow to our family to bring in that poor kid.”
“…Are you giving permission?”
“It’s not like that.”
“…”
Do-gyeom shut his mouth tightly. The mood seemed good, but what was the problem again…?
It’s discouraging. Wondering what reason she’s trying to block it again, Do-gyeom looked at Mother suspiciously, and she gave Do-gyeom a look as if it was obvious and said.
“I’ll arrange a dinner meeting, so let’s talk about it then. And we need to hear your father’s opinion too.”
Does that mean… instead of flat-out saying no, she’s giving us a chance?
Do-gyeom was trying to persuade Mother, but honestly, he didn’t even expect to hear a positive answer today.
Maybe she thinks it’s better to allow one omega she doesn’t like rather than ruining her son with surgery that could collapse all the towers he had built up while undoing the one-sided imprint…
As Do-gyeom looked at her with surprised, wide eyes, she got up from the sofa.
“I should get going now.”
“So suddenly?”
“Mom is tired now. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
Even while giving in, Mother still seemed to dislike the topic, and moved her steps toward the shoe closet with a tired face as if she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
As Do-gyeom got up from his kneeling position and followed her closely, she said while slipping her feet into black heels.
“And it’s not complete permission, so think carefully. Because no matter how I think about it, you’re too good for this.”
“…If you talk with Seo-won, you’ll change your mind.”
“We’ll see about that when the time comes. Don’t come out.”
For some reason, Mother flatly refused to let him see her out and left the house.
Thud, beep! The sound of the front door closing and the door lock engaging was heard. Do-gyeom blankly stared at the closed front door.
Persuading her and obtaining a somewhat hopeful result felt more unreal than achieving any performance at the company. I thought I didn’t need my family’s permission, but when I actually received something similar to permission, my mood was uplifted.
“Seo-won will be happy to know.”
Suddenly thinking of Seo-won, Do-gyeom raised the corners of his mouth and took out the cell phone he had shoved in his pocket.
He called to deliver the news, but imagining Seo-won’s brightly smiling face after hearing the good news, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. Do-gyeom naturally made an appointment and promised for tomorrow.
* * *
The next day, Seo-won opened the door of a cafe near the house where Do-gyeom had asked to meet and went inside.
Every time he sees me, he’s always in a hurry to take me somewhere, but today, for some reason, he wants to meet at a cafe…? Somehow arriving ten minutes early, I was about to order coffee at the counter when someone grabbed both of my shoulders from behind.
“Seo-won.”
“…Huh? Hyung?”
Startled by the sudden grab on his shoulders, Seo-won widened his eyes and turned around. Then Do-gyeom was looking down at him with the corners of his mouth raised.
Perhaps because it was a day off, he was wearing a casual beige knit and slightly fitted black cotton pants rather than something stiff. While thinking the light attire was unexpected, Seo-won also liked it, so his gaze naturally went there without realizing it. As Seo-won stared absentmindedly, he asked.
“You’re here early?”
“Ah… somehow…”
Seo-won answered awkwardly while calming his startled heart. He could have just naturally said he came out early, but somehow he ended up answering vaguely, worried that it might seem like he came out earlier than the promised time because he was looking forward to the date.
Fortunately, Do-gyeom didn’t seem to notice anything strange in the answer and didn’t reply. Instead, he glanced at the menu and asked Seo-won.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Ah, I think I’ll have a decaf latte.”
“Okay. I’ll order, so go sit first.”
There are still plenty of seats, so it doesn’t seem necessary to grab a seat first… However, there was only one empty seat by the window, so Seo-won had no choice but to grab a seat first.
After waiting for a bit, Do-gyeom returned to the seat with the prepared drinks. He sat across from him and naturally handed the decaf latte to Seo-won. Glancing over, his was an Americano.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Seo-won, I have something to ask you.”
As he grabbed the decaf latte with both hands and pulled it over, Do-gyeom spoke in a slightly more excited voice than usual.
If it were before, he would have been nervous wondering what he was going to say by meeting in person to talk instead of calling or texting, but judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like he was going to say anything bad.
It feels oddly excited… Could it be that he’s going to deliver good news? Or is there another event prepared today since we’ve been having new dates every time we meet these days?
“What do you want to say? What is it?”
“My parents want to meet you, is next week okay for you?”
Seo-won asked with sparkling anticipation, but what came out of Do-gyeom’s mouth was like a bombshell declaration.