If You Want Me - Episode 24
<Episode 24>
I had thought he must have done a background check starting from finding out the house address… But to be this confident? Well, if he was the type to be cautious, he probably wouldn’t have boldly come to my house like this.
He seemed to have realized I lied and quit, but didn’t seem to have figured out that I liked him.
When I didn’t answer yes or no, as if exercising the right to remain silent, Do-gyeom tilted his head and spoke in a sarcastic voice.
“Or is there someone you have a crush on in this village? There aren’t even any young people for that. Do you have a taste for old fogies? I didn’t know your standards had fallen that low.”
“…”
Calling them old fogies… What does he take people for? Rather, my standards were too high. I had feelings for a man I shouldn’t dare to like.
When I didn’t bother to explain, Do-gyeom casually asked.
“Or is it the pain of being rejected?”
“…I don’t think I need to tell you that much.”
“Ha, this is a fresh sight.”
Do-gyeom laughed absurdly as if seeing me firmly refuse for the first time. It was a moment that made me realize anew how faithful of a partner I had been under him.
Because I had been like that, it was scary to the point my heart pounded to speak decisively in front of him even now after quitting… But I could be resolute because I really had no intention of going back even if he offered me a fortune.
“Anyway, I have no thoughts of returning. I’m sorry, but please find another omega.”
“If that was possible, I wouldn’t have come all the way here.”
“…Pardon?”
“It won’t do without you. Do I need to say it twice for you to understand?”
Do-gyeom spoke as if it had to be me.
What’s that supposed to mean? I wanted to ask in detail, but the thought that it would be nothing much quickly came to mind. What meaning would it have when I wasn’t special to him?
“I don’t know what you mean by it won’t do, but this is unlike you, young master. I don’t understand why you’re going this far for someone like me.”
“Me doing what?”
“Don’t you, young master, only need a discreet and faithful low-fertility omega who won’t have a child?”
According to Secretary Bae, no matter what partner they brought, Do-gyeom would kick the omega out of the bedroom in less than ten minutes.
Why was he doing that? There was a confidentiality clause in the pheromone partner contract, and he had competent legal professionals. So if they weren’t discreet, they wouldn’t even get a chance to become his partner… Why was he rejecting all the omegas who met the conditions? It was incomprehensible.
When I looked at Do-gyeom with uncomprehending eyes, he ran his hand through his bangs with a troubled face.
“That’s right. But…”
“…”
“There’s no partner as good as you, is there?”
“A good… partner.”
“Yeah, the omegas they bring all fail to grasp the situation and act clingy and annoying.”
Do-gyeom grimaced as if recalling a certain omega.
Seo-won’s face also froze as cold as Do-gyeom’s. In the end, as expected, it was most convenient for Do-gyeom to exploit me.
Do-gyeom was a dominant alpha who was from a wealthy family, young, and handsome on top of that. So the omegas who became his partners might have hoped for a “maybe” like I did at first. But to reject the omegas for such a reason and let his pheromones accumulate… It was absurd.
Although it couldn’t be, I vaguely speculated if it was because Do-gyeom couldn’t get it up without me… No, that couldn’t be, since he was someone who didn’t get tired even after having sex several times in a row. All the more so since he was as good at sex as he was at making money.
How did I come to like such a person? How did I come to carry the child of such a man…? Maybe as Do-gyeom said, my eyes for people had fallen to the bottom. I don’t know why I came to like a man who was this selfish except for his face and money.
Feeling suffocated, Do-gyeom seemed to think of something and continued seriously.
“And I kept thinking about what you said, that you found someone you love.”
He added as if he hadn’t come here simply because I was a convenient partner.
What does this mean? What does it matter to Do-gyeom that I found someone I love…? Feeling my mouth go completely dry, I swallowed and asked.
“…Why?”
“The right for you to even love someone belongs to me, but you dared to leave.”
“Haa…”
It was an absurd statement that made me at a loss for words.
I unintentionally let out a hollow laugh in front of Do-gyeom. When we were young, I might not have, but since becoming Do-gyeom’s partner, it was the first time I openly showed such a reaction in front of him.
Do-gyeom’s gaze fell on me, but this time I didn’t care and refuted.
“Why does that right belong to you, young master?”
“Has there ever been a time it didn’t? You’ve always been mine. The thought of another bastard sticking it in you makes me feel damn dirty.”
Do-gyeom seemed displeased as if he found it unpleasant that I, whom he had monopolized, would become someone else’s.
Did he think I would meet just anyone and give my body to them? I was rather conservative, but I had always been obedient in front of him and even accepted his proposal to become a pheromone partner as soon as we reunited, so I might have seemed promiscuous.
But after overlapping bodies and being together for such a long time… The fact that he had seen me completely differently until now felt like proof of how little interest Do-gyeom had in me, making the years I spent with him feel futile.
Why was I by Do-gyeom’s side?
It was something I had thought countless times while being with him, but it was the first time I felt it so acutely like today.
“You don’t need to meet anyone else. I’ll take responsibility for you for life, so come back under me.”
“…”
Anyone hearing this would think he was making a romantic proposal.
Saying he would take lifelong responsibility for me as a partner without even loving me… It was an apologetic thing to say even to the companion he would keep by his side in the future.
I took a small breath and lowered my voice as seriously as possible.
“Young master.”
“Yeah, tell me what you want.”
“I feel the time I spent with you was a waste.”
“…What?”
I tried to sever ties with cold words.
It wasn’t that I no longer loved him. No matter how harsh his words were, my heart still pounded just from being in the same space as him, and the alpha pheromones grazing the tip of my nose were enough to dampen my lower region.
However, on the day I chose the child, I sorted out all my expectations. He would never accept my heart anyway, and I had decided to be with the child.
“If we talk more, I feel like even the good memories with you will all disappear. Please leave now.”
“Yoon Seo-won.”
“No matter how many times you ask, my opinion will be the same. Don’t waste time that you hate, young master, and please leave now.”
I wasn’t being sarcastic, I sincerely wanted Do-gyeom to stop wasting time, which he abhorred to the point of disgust.
His time was golden down to the minute and second, even if it wasn’t for ordinary people. Such unproductive things didn’t suit him. It would have been understandable if he had only sent Secretary Bae like last time…
When I directly told him to stop and leave, Do-gyeom blinked for a moment as if wondering if he heard correctly. Then he held his forehead and burst into an absurd laugh as if it was ridiculous.
“Ha, this is the first time I’ve been treated this way by Yoon Seo-won in my life.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you like that person so much? Enough to chase me away like this?”
Do-gyeom seemed unable to understand what kind of person I liked so much that I refused all these conditions and acted confidently.
At his words, I gently bit my plump lower lip. The person I like is none other than you. I hated myself for not being able to say those words despite having a one-sided love for several years.
“Yes, I do.”
“…”
“To the point that it’s awkward to even face you like this, so… I’d appreciate it if you never came to see me again.”
I was as cold to Do-gyeom as I was disgusted with myself for not being able to be honest.
Since it was as absurd as the sun rising from the west for me to treat him this way, Do-gyeom’s face became numb as if he had been hit. For a moment, the alpha pheromones lingering around wavered uneasily.
I thought he would immediately explode with anger like lightning, but Do-gyeom looked at me with sharp eyes, averted his gaze and spoke.
“One week.”
“…?”
“I’ll give you a week, so sort out your feelings by then.”
He meant for me to change my mind within a week.
I said several times that my feelings wouldn’t change, so why did the conversation return to square one?
While I was dumbfounded, Do-gyeom got up from his seat and left my house without even saying goodbye. The sound of the front door slamming closed was substituting for his anger.
At the sound of the door almost breaking as it slammed, I felt my heart clench tightly and let out a deep sigh.
“Haaa… Why are you looking for me…?”
I wondered if I should run away again, but this time I had no idea where to flee to. I had just gotten used to the village… What should I do?
For some reason, after Do-gyeom left, my stomach started aching. I furrowed my brows, gently stroking my stomach that held a child so small it wasn’t even showing yet.