If You Want Me - Episode 112
<Episode 112>
It was already shocking that they only allowed the relationship to this extent, but what? Give up Tteokbokki? I had struggled so much to protect Tteokbokki, but it was about to be taken away in an instant.
I had to say no, but my heart was pounding so fast and hard that my ears felt clogged and I couldn’t speak. My vision darkened and spun from dizziness, and the urge to vomit rose to the tip of my throat.
As Seo-won turned pale and tried to say something, Do-gyeom was faster in responding to the chairman’s words.
“Don’t touch the child. And my feelings for Seo-won are not the simple kind like how Father sees other omegas.”
Do-gyeom firmly blocked him. ‘Like Father.’ It was a penetrating remark that the chairman meeting Madam was also not out of love, and he even had an illegitimate child by cheating.
There was no way the chairman didn’t know that. The chairman, who had been coldly responding without any change in expression, instantly turned his face red and blue as if his vital point had been struck. Soon, he raised the bluish veins on his forehead and shouted.
“You punk…! After I did everything to make you the best, you’re throwing away a good opportunity! Don’t act like a child and think realistically!”
The chairman’s eyes shone brightly as he looked at Do-gyeom.
The atmosphere was already chilly, but when voices were raised, it became precarious and brutal as if walking on thin ice.
It was only natural to be scared in this situation, but Seo-won felt a strange sense of distance rather than fear at the chairman’s words.
Made him? Does one usually use the expression “made” to one’s own child?
Even if he thought it was something he blurted out in a fit of anger, it was an expression that was hard for Seo-won to accept. The thought that the chairman had been thinking of Do-gyeom as a useful tool wouldn’t go away, making that expression natural for him.
‘What kind of love did you receive here, Hyung?’
Seeing Madam, he had always thought that she was more obsessed compared to other parents. But he had heard jokes about how intense mothers are in Daechi-dong, so he had dismissed it, thinking ‘it must be worse because they’re wealthy.’ He could also understand that everyone wants their child to graduate from a good university, have a stable job, and live a worry-free future.
But this… it doesn’t look like he’s worried about his child, but rather worried about losing a tool that’s convenient to use.
It wasn’t just because of the single expression “made.” However, the overall atmosphere of the family that he felt since setting foot here also felt that way.
Even if they didn’t like him, if they were parents who tried to understand Do-gyeom’s feelings, they would have at least given him a small chance. Since it’s the person their child chose, they would have observed to see if there were any good qualities.
However, Madam and the chairman weren’t curious at all about what kind of person he was. They only talked about his traits and money.
After thinking for a moment and looking at Do-gyeom, he also seemed as angry as the chairman and was about to leave his seat at any moment. Thinking that leaving the seat like this would only worsen the situation, Seo-won grabbed Do-gyeom’s hand tightly under the table to stop him.
As Seo-won silently held his hand, Do-gyeom hesitated and looked at him with trembling eyes. Seo-won quietly locked eyes with Do-gyeom for a few seconds, then turned his gaze back to the chairman sitting across from him and opened his mouth.
“I… Chairman.”
“What is it?”
When Seo-won carefully intervened, the chairman shifted his gaze to Seo-won while exhaling a breath as if trying to subdue his anger.
The intimidating atmosphere exuded by the chairman was still there, but Seo-won tried to stay calm as much as possible, determined not to be afraid.
“I understand why you are opposed to the marriage. I also expected that I wouldn’t be a satisfactory partner in your eyes.”
There was a time when even he himself thought that he could never be with Do-gyeom. So even though the child was conceived, he ran away without telling him.
However, he was different from his past self now. Even if he thought it was impossible, he wanted to at least try.
Seo-won put strength in his voice, hoping that his firm heart would reach Do-gyeom and his parents.
“But that’s why I want to marry Hyung even more.”
At his words that sounded like asking for permission to marry, the gazes of everyone at the table were fixed on Seo-won.
Everyone at the table was surprised, but the most surprised person was Do-gyeom. Suddenly receiving a proposal, Do-gyeom was startled and his eyes widened.
Even though he had been talking about marriage all along, he seemed to have not expected such a sudden declaration, reacting as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
“You’re saying you’ll marry me?”
“Yes.”
“W-why all of a sudden? No. I’m so happy though…”
As if the fact that they were having a meal with his parents didn’t matter, Do-gyeom turned his body halfway to Seo-won and asked. To him, only the fact that he received Seo-won’s permission to marry seemed important.
Seo-won could have explained to Do-gyeom step by step how he came to change his mind, but not in this situation.
As Seo-won faced Do-gyeom and raised the corners of his mouth to answer instead, the chairman, who had been watching this situation absurdly, raised his eyebrows and asked with a displeased face.
“What does that mean? You’re saying you want to marry him ‘even more’ because of that?”
“Actually, a few days ago, I received a marriage proposal from Hyung, and at that moment, I was so happy, but… I wasn’t confident about marriage. As you’ve heard the situation, it wasn’t a typical imprinting.”
“That’s right.”
When Seo-won spoke, the chairman and Madam nodded their heads. Even if they hadn’t heard the detailed situation before and after the one-sided imprint occurred, they seemed to understand since it was such a unique case.
After observing their reactions for a moment, Seo-won began to continue his words.
“I was also very worried that if Hyung’s imprint was undone, he might not like me anymore. Because until before the imprint, I had never thought Hyung liked me.”
As he spoke, Seo-won recalled the time when he was Do-gyeom’s pheromone partner.
Until then, he couldn’t imagine a future together with him at all. It was a time when he thought it would remain an unrequited love forever.
“When Hyung confessed to me, he said he had liked me before but didn’t know his own feelings until now. Until then, I couldn’t believe how he could not know he liked me, but… after talking with the chairman today, I thought Hyung grew up in an environment where he couldn’t acknowledge his feelings.”
As he spoke, Seo-won recalled the moment when Do-gyeom confessed his feelings to him.
Honestly, when he heard those words, he doubted if it made sense. If he had liked him for over a decade, how could he not know his own feelings? He thought that unless he was a fool, there was no way he couldn’t know.
But unexpectedly, at today’s meal, Seo-won came to understand Do-gyeom. When his closest family members reject recessive omegas like this, how could he acknowledge that he had come to like a recessive omega? He thought he wouldn’t have been able to acknowledge it either if it were him.
The fact that he acknowledged liking him despite growing up in a place like this… it must mean that Do-gyeom was that sincere towards him.
Seo-won, who had been facing the chairman and Madam all along while speaking, slowly turned his head and looked at Do-gyeom sitting next to him. He was looking at him with a serious expression that also seemed like he might cry.
Even when he found out Tteokbokki was his child, or when he accepted his feelings, he didn’t seem to have such an overwhelmed expression. Thinking it must be that good, Seo-won unknowingly had a faint smile on his lips.
Until just now, it felt like he was standing alone on the battlefield, but his most reliable ally was right next to him. Just Do-gyeom’s presence made him feel a little less tense. After looking at Do-gyeom for a moment, Seo-won looked across again and continued speaking in a firmer voice than before.
“I became convinced that Hyung would like me even if his imprint was undone… So, I wanted to have a child with Hyung and build a future together.”
Until he came to this meeting today, Seo-won hadn’t even thought for a moment about getting Do-gyeom’s parents’ permission to marry.
But somehow, he ended up accepting Do-gyeom’s proposal and immediately asking for his parents’ permission. It happened before even thirty minutes had passed since the chairman drew the line, saying marriage was not allowed.
“Are kids these days bold and say whatever they want to say? But what do you mean by saying Do-gyeom grew up in an environment where he couldn’t acknowledge his feelings? Are you implying that the way of education or environment was wrong?”
The chairman asked as if he had faced someone who couldn’t be reasoned with, looking annoyed and fed up, but also curious about why he thought that way. It seemed like he was genuinely curious, not accusing him of raising his son wrong.
From what he had heard from Do-gyeom before, he knew that the chairman rarely came home and was indifferent to his son. So it was unexpected for the chairman to ask.
Perhaps even though he was indifferent during his childhood, he was still a parent? Seo-won wondered if it was okay for him to say such things when he had never raised a child and was not an expert in that field, but for now, he conveyed to the chairman what he had felt.
“Both of you drawing the line based on my traits and family background rather than being curious about what kind of person I am, and also expressing that you ‘made’ Young Master. If Young Master grew up in this environment, he would have also learned to divide people based on class rather than the personality and values of the person he meets. Then, even if he felt attracted to someone incompatible like me, wouldn’t it be hard for him to acknowledge it?”
When his parents evaluated him, they didn’t consider his appearance, educational background, speech and conduct, or values, but only the issue of his traits and family. Furthermore, not only did they judge him, but they also used the expression “made” to their own child, binding him so he couldn’t escape the standards they had set.
It was so clearly depicted what kind of partner Do-gyeom’s parents wanted him to have by his side. And the reason he came to think this way wasn’t the end of it.
“And according to what I heard from Young Master, he was taught that dominant alphas are supposed to like dominant omegas, and liking recessive omegas is abnormal… Isn’t that something that only circulates among chaebol families?”
Seo-won was suspicious of whether even the words Do-gyeom said he was taught were fabricated.
In a family like this, it was more than enough, and there was a time when he had searched the internet alone after hearing those words from Do-gyeom.
He did see them sharing such words among themselves in a community where dominant types gathered, but he couldn’t find any research results to support that opinion.
At that time, there was data showing that statistically, over 90% of dominant types met and formed families together, so he had dismissed it, thinking ‘I see’… But coming here, he had a strong suspicion that it might be something made up because the things that could be gained as a dominant type were too sweet to let go.
Seo-won widened his eyes and looked at the chairman. Thinking that avoiding his gaze might seem like he lacked conviction, he faced him straight on, and the chairman let out a small sigh as if he had heard some nonsense.
“I thought you were going to say something great… This is disappointing. In the end, it sounds like you’re saying you were upset because you have nothing.”
“That’s not it, the basis to support it…”
“Ah, it seems you searched for some data…”
As Seo-won tried to ask back to get a proper answer, the chairman interrupted his words as if he was about to say something. The chairman looked at Seo-won with a disparaging gaze and answered sarcastically.
“It’s said to be abnormal because marrying a recessive results in defective offspring. You might luckily give birth to a dominant child, but, well. Is there a reason to take such a gamble?”
“…”
So that’s what they meant by abnormal…
I thought if the way of education was wrong, he was asking with the intention to change it. But he had no awareness that it was wrong because he had been educating with that intention from the beginning.
Do-gyeom also had a shocked face as if he didn’t know that’s what abnormal meant. It was hard to believe how he couldn’t have known that until almost turning thirty-one, but considering that his parents and the people around him were all dominant types, it seemed he had no room for doubt.
Seo-won had a vague thought that Do-gyeom’s parents had raised him with good business skills, but now he was convinced.
So it was true.