If You Want Me - Episode 125
<Episode 125>
One year later.
“The sky is really dazzling…”
Seo-won muttered to himself while looking at the wall made of full-length windows.
The sky was blue without a single cloud, and the sunlight was shining down so brightly it was almost blinding.
As he lowered his gaze, he saw the distant sea horizon, and around the sandy beach, he noticed palm trees sparsely planted.
Looking at the exotic outside scenery, Seo-won seemed to understand why Do-gyeom had insisted on coming all the way to Hawaii to hold the wedding.
A few months ago, while having a meal together as usual, the topic of the wedding came up by chance. Since the situation had been settled and Do-gyeom asked if Seo-won had anything in mind, Seo-won expressed his opinion that he wanted a small-scale wedding. It was because he thought there was no need to have a fancy wedding since it was a ceremonial wedding anyway.
Do-gyeom also seemed to agree, so Seo-won was thinking of having a simple wedding, but suddenly Do-gyeom found a wedding venue in Hawaii and strongly pushed for it.
For Seo-won, he wondered why they had to go all the way to a distant foreign country to hold the wedding, but he couldn’t ignore the one opinion Do-gyeom had suggested. As they matched their opinions one by one like that, although it was a small wedding with only a few guests, the actual scale turned out to be not like that at all.
Although it was a completely different wedding from what Seo-won had thought… Hawaii was a place he had never been to before in his life, so he liked it.
As Seo-won was sitting at the table and chair, looking at the peaceful scenery beyond the full-length windows, Do-gyeom, who had been answering a phone call from afar, approached.
He naturally sat next to Seo-won and gently wrapped his arm around Seo-won’s shoulder.
“Sorry, did you wait long?”
“No. Did the call end well? It seemed like some difficult issue came up…”
“Yeah. Sigh… I told them a few months in advance that I was taking a vacation to go on my honeymoon. It seems the company can’t function without me.”
Do-gyeom spoke as if he was frustrated and annoyed, but subtly revealed his pride in the company.
“It’s natural since you’re the CEO.”
Seo-won lightly responded to Do-gyeom’s words.
Due to a recent project Do-gyeom had pushed, the company had refreshed its highest sales record in history, and he had been promoted from senior managing director to CEO.
As work was going well, it was a time when a lot of work would pile up. But in such an important period, the person named the CEO was going to be absent, saying he would hold a wedding… It was obvious even without seeing how much chaos the company would be in.
Seo-won said it was okay to postpone the date since it was a formal wedding anyway, but Do-gyeom firmly drew the line, saying he couldn’t do that. He did it as if he had been looking forward to this day for a lifetime.
And what did he say at that time…? He said trusting subordinates is also part of a CEO’s job, right? It was a correct statement, but in the current situation, it just felt like empty words.
As Seo-won was looking at Do-gyeom with a hollow laugh, Do-gyeom tilted his head as if sensing something strange while matching gazes.
“Wait a second, Seo-won.”
As if he had forgotten something, he looked around and picked up what was on the dressing table and asked.
“Why aren’t you wearing this?”
“Ah…”
What he held in his hand was a pretty flower crown with harmonious green leaves and white flowers.
Seo-won looked at it and smiled awkwardly. He had gotten a white suit tailored for the ceremony and prepared everything, but when he arrived at the wedding venue today, he suddenly heard the shocking news that he had to wear a flower crown too.
It was fine that Do-gyeom was wearing a flower crown too, but Seo-won’s had a veil attached. He had never worn something like this before, so it was very awkward and strange.
“The flower crown is fine, but the veil is a bit… It doesn’t suit me…”
“I’ll put it on for you.”
Seo-won tried to refuse indirectly while fidgeting, but Do-gyeom didn’t even pretend to listen.
Do-gyeom held the flower crown with the veil attached and gave a look. He usually followed Seo-won’s opinion, but at times like this, he didn’t back down.
It’s embarrassing to wear… Seo-won tried to refuse indirectly because he didn’t really want to, but he hesitated upon seeing Do-gyeom’s eyes filled with anticipation.
…I can’t refuse when he looks at me with those eyes.
Seo-won was still very weak to Do-gyeom even after becoming a married couple. It seemed inevitable that the one who likes the other more loses.
Seo-won let out a small sigh and tilted his head. Then, as if he had been waiting, Do-gyeom gently placed the flower crown on Seo-won’s head.
“Pretty.”
Do-gyeom smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his omega in pure white wearing the flower crown.
There was never a single moment when Seo-won wasn’t pretty, but objectively, Seo-won’s appearance in a white suit with a flower crown was angelic beyond compare. Since his skin was on the pale side, his appearance was enhanced a hundred times more when he wore bright clothes.
It was a good decision to purchase the wedding suit. If they had rented it as Seo-won said, he would have regretted it to the point of hitting the ground. As Do-gyeom was neatly arranging Seo-won’s hair with that thought, Seo-won hesitated and opened his mouth, turning his ears red.
“…You too.”
“Me too?”
“Yes.”
When Seo-won nodded, Do-gyeom let out a small laugh. It was a reaction as if asking if the word pretty even suited him.
However, Seo-won meant it sincerely. In Seo-won’s eyes, Do-gyeom was not only a tremendous handsome man but also a beautiful person in a way. He was beautiful as if looking at a sublime statue.
Especially today, he felt that impression strongly. Do-gyeom was wearing a white suit similar to Seo-won’s, but the feeling was completely different from when he dressed up in a suit to go to work. It was also a white suit he didn’t usually wear, and experts had already polished up his handsome appearance, so it was to the point of emitting an aura.
Seo-won was about to explain why Do-gyeom was pretty, but knowing his personality of taking whatever he said as a joke, he decided to stop. Instead, Seo-won fiddled with his hands for a moment and carefully opened his mouth.
“It feels like… We’re getting married twice.”
“Huh? Why?”
“We registered our marriage first. Last time when we got our family relation certificate, I really felt that we got married.”
The two had registered their marriage along with Do-ha’s birth registration. When they got their family relation certificate, it was an officially recognized relationship that Seo-won, Do-gyeom, and even Do-ha were a family.
Since Seo-won was recovering from giving birth, the wedding ceremony was held later like an event, so it felt like marrying Do-gyeom twice. He knew getting married twice wasn’t a good thing, but it still felt that way.
When Seo-won spoke, Do-gyeom opened his mouth with an understanding expression.
“I felt that way last time when you imprinted on me.”
He seemed to be referring to the day Seo-won formally received a proposal from him and also expressed his desire to imprint on Do-gyeom.
That day, they had joined bodies in a daze, and a few days later, Seo-won realized that Secretary Bae’s pheromones felt almost scentless to him.
“I think I imprinted on you!”
When Seo-won excitedly told Do-gyeom about his condition, Do-gyeom seriously hardened his face and immediately had him get checked at the pheromone department.
It wasn’t with the intention of confirming if the imprint was properly done. Since Seo-won had surgery and his body had weakened, Do-gyeom’s worry about whether there was a problem with his pheromones seemed greater.
And the examination result… hit the mark as Seo-won expected. Seo-won had succeeded in imprinting on Do-gyeom. That’s how they became the mutually imprinted couple they had wanted so much.
Since Seo-won was confident that he would be able to imprint on Do-gyeom soon, although he was a bit surprised, he accepted it as a matter of course.
But Do-gyeom wasn’t like that. As if he had been anxious that Seo-won might never be able to imprint on him, he shed tears as soon as he heard the examination result.
On the day he confessed to Seo-won, and on the day Seo-won collapsed from illness… When serving him as a young master, Seo-won had never seen him cry even once in over ten years, but he turned out to be a real crybaby.
Recalling that day, Seo-won let out a chuckle.
“You cried a lot that day.”
“Are you making fun of me now?”
“I’m not making fun of you. It’s because you’re cute.”
Seo-won spoke while smiling brightly. Actually, there was some teasing. When else would Seo-won get to tease him if not at a time like this?
Do-gyeom looked at Seo-won like that and raised one corner of his mouth as if it was absurd. He narrowed his eyes as if he knew Seo-won’s intentions and spoke as if warning.
“I’ll be watching to see if you cry or not today.”
“Hmm… Please forget what I just said.”
Seo-won awkwardly scratched his neck and immediately backed down. It was hard to guarantee that he wouldn’t cry today. Although he spoke leisurely just now, objectively, Seo-won had much more tears than Do-gyeom. It wasn’t the time to tease him for being a crybaby.
As Seo-won quickly waved the white flag, Do-gyeom pinched his cheek as if he was cute and took revenge.
“Ow, ow, it hurts…”
“I’m doing it so it hurts.”
Do-gyeom spoke as if he would pinch more but lowered his hand.
Glancing at the time and confirming there was still time left until the ceremony, he habitually fiddled with Seo-won’s hand.
As he fiddled with Seo-won’s particularly soft hand, he muttered as if a little regretful.
“It would have been nice if we had the wedding earlier.”
“Again with that?”
He had said this countless times until this day arrived.
It was good that they started married life early after Do-ha was born, but the truth was, they couldn’t enjoy a typical newlywed life like others because they had many things to do here and there.
How nice would it have been if Seo-won had acknowledged his feelings just a little earlier? Then he could have dated Seo-won and married him while following the general procedures like others. Then the period of acting cheesy while dating would have been long…
In reality, Do-gyeom made Seo-won suffer by denying his feelings like a dumb jerk. Just when he thought they could date a little, this time, because the impatient Do-ha came out into the world early, the time to enjoy was short. It’s not blaming Do-ha, but that’s how the situation was.
Seo-won, who knew Do-gyeom was thinking that way, shook his head while laughing with understanding.
“There were many things to take care of because Do-ha was too young. I was also busy recovering… I’m happy now too. And if it weren’t for Do-ha, we might not have even gotten married, so I’ll place meaning on the fact that we’re getting married.”
Although Do-gyeom didn’t mean to blame Do-ha, Seo-won spoke as if there was no need to blame Do-ha.
And truly, to Seo-won, Do-ha was a child of blessing. Because his heat cycle suddenly hit in the US and the child was conceived, and thinking he couldn’t be connected with Do-gyeom, he ran away recklessly, and Do-gyeom chased after him and found out Seo-won was pregnant, and misunderstood, and was jealous… There were countless hardships, but if the child hadn’t been conceived that day in the US, could he have been connected with Do-gyeom in this way? He thought it might have ended as a one-sided love.
When Seo-won spoke with that thought, Do-gyeom tightly closed his mouth. He looked at Seo-won with tranquil eyes and opened his mouth seriously.
“Even if Do-ha didn’t exist… We would have met.”
“…”
He seemed to want to say that even if it wasn’t Do-ha, the two of them would have met.
Looking into his eyes, it seemed he sincerely thought that way, not just sweet words.
Seo-won knew it was meaningless to assume ‘what if’, but he seriously thought about it again at Do-gyeom’s words.
Until just now, he had thought if Do-ha didn’t exist, he would have put a period on his eternal one-sided love. However, thinking about it again, Do-gyeom unconsciously liked Seo-won and didn’t meet other omegas. On top of that, he tried to get involved with Seo-won in any way, so he felt it might not be quite like that.
And it was the same for Seo-won. Although there were times when he ran away from Do-gyeom here and there to protect Do-ha, if there was no pregnancy in the first place, he wouldn’t have thought of leaving Do-gyeom. Without even thinking of quitting as pheromone partners, he would have continued to find justifications and stayed by Do-gyeom’s side like that.
“…That could have been the case.”
Somehow, we would have fallen in love.
With the thought that the conclusion would have been the same, Seo-won answered with a smile on his lips.
Then, Do-gyeom smiled back and tightly held Seo-won’s hand. Through their clasped hands, warmth as warm as his heart was conveyed.
As they were talking and fiddling with each other’s hands, suddenly there was a knocking sound on the waiting room door.
As Seo-won and Do-gyeom simultaneously shifted their gazes there, the staff member who opened the door spoke to the two.
“Mr. Yoon Seo-won, Mr. Seo Do-gyeom. Please move to the ceremony hall.”
It seemed the time had finally come to hold the wedding ceremony.
They had come all the way to Hawaii for the ceremony and had been waiting for this moment, but now that the time had come, his heart was pounding.
As Seo-won swallowed and tried to stand up by putting strength in his legs, Do-gyeom, who had stood up first, reached out his hand to Seo-won.
“Seo-won. Let’s go.”
It meant to hold his hand and stand up.
Getting up from a chair wasn’t a difficult task, and now Seo-won’s body was fine too, so there was no need for him to help.
However, Seo-won couldn’t refuse Do-gyeom’s hand as he turned to look at Seo-won and reached out his hand while wearing a white tuxedo, looking so dazzling.
“Let’s go.”
Seo-won tightly held Do-gyeom’s hand and stood up.
As they followed the staff and moved their steps, a large white door appeared. And through the closed door crack, the majestic wedding march unique to weddings was flowing out.
At the same time strength entered their clasped hands, the closed door opened with a thud.
Through the open door, dazzling light poured out. Straight ahead was the officiant, and on both sides were the guest seats.
Many people were sitting in the guest seats, with relatives and acquaintances from both families gathered, but what immediately caught Seo-won’s eye was Do-ha sitting on his mother’s lap, looking this way with a bright face.
It was Do-ha’s first time coming to a foreign land, and Seo-won and Do-gyeom had unfamiliar appearances, so he could have cried, but as if he knew today was the most special day for the two, he was smiling brightly. As if he was also happy.
“Groom, bride. Enter!”
As Seo-won’s gaze was momentarily captured by Do-ha, the emcee proceeded with the wedding as if reminding him of reality.
In most weddings, the bride and groom enter one by one holding their father’s hand, but for Seo-won who had lost his father early, they changed it so they would enter together.
Seo-won held Do-gyeom’s hand tightly and strode across the carpet with light steps. Precious people from the guest seats blessed them and clapped, but his heart was beating so fast that his ears felt stuffy and he had no time to listen.
He didn’t know what he was thinking as he arrived in front of the officiant. As the officiant had them face each other, he recited the wedding vows in a soft voice.
Seo-won listened to the vows he had to keep for a lifetime, and slowly looked up at Do-gyeom as he came to his senses a little.
Since the wedding was an official occasion, he thought Do-gyeom would be listening to the wedding vows seriously. But he was softly raising the corners of his mouth and facing Seo-won.
It was the brightest and most pure face Seo-won had ever seen of him.
Looking at his appearance, Seo-won pictured the future he would share with Do-gyeom. No one could predict what would unfold in the future, and he couldn’t declare there would be no hardships and adversity.
However, there was nothing to fear. As they always had, they would somehow make it through and find the answer.
“I vow to love you forever.”
As Seo-won firmly made up his mind and looked at Do-gyeom, he opened his mouth in time with the officiant.
As if blessing the vow of eternal love, white flower petals began to fall from the ceiling like rain at that very moment.
Do-gyeom’s appearance as he was being hit by the flower rain while wearing a white suit was dazzling to the point of blinding the eyes. Because of that, Seo-won momentarily forgot that he had to answer and had his gaze captured by Do-gyeom. He was already beautiful, but with the perfect background too, it really felt like a painting.
As he blankly stared at Do-gyeom’s appearance that seemed to have escaped from a famous painting, he noticed Do-gyeom waiting for his answer.
In the past, he would tremble with anxiety if Seo-won didn’t answer, wondering if he had changed his mind. But not now. He was certain of the words that would come out of Seo-won’s mouth, and had a serpent-like face as if telling him to answer quickly.
Looking at Do-gyeom who loved him, one more conviction came to Seo-won.
If you want me, then I am…
The happiest person in the world.
In a future that would never change, Seo-won brightly smiled as he was hit by the flower rain.
The End