TAF Ch 6

Yeonwoo went down to the first floor, returned to the cafe, and put on his apron. The part-timer, who was in the middle of making a drink, greeted him.

“You’re early.”

“…….”

“Sir?”

“Huh?”

“Did something happen? Your expression…”

Seeing Yeonwoo’s unusually stiff expression, the part-timer who was standing at the POS system approached him.

“No. I’m fine, just do your work.”

“There aren’t any customers right now anyway, I just finished a drink. But really, is everything okay?”

“…….”

He needed to come up with an excuse, but nothing came to mind. Everything he was experiencing felt unreal, like a dream. He even had the foolish thought that he wished it really was a dream.

The part-timer, flustered by Yeonwoo’s unusual behavior, hovered around him nervously. Yeonwoo, coming back to his senses, told him several times not to worry, but even he could see his dazed reflection in the glass.

“Sigh.”

He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t stay in this dazed state forever. He had to pull himself together and focus on work.

Yeonwoo began mechanically wiping tables with a dry cloth, trying to get his body moving.

Click. Bang.

At the sound of the front door opening and closing, Yeonwoo, who had been sitting in the dark room, stood up. He stood in front of Chahyun, who had just arrived home from work.

“Cancel it. The marriage.”

Yeonwoo spoke before Chahyun could open his mouth.

He’d been agonizing over it ever since he’d returned home after closing the cafe. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come to any other conclusion.

Baek Chahyun was his boyfriend. They’d been dating for four years.

Their feelings hadn’t faded, so it didn’t make sense for him to marry someone else. Therefore, telling him not to get married was a perfectly reasonable request from Yeonwoo’s perspective.

“You know about my family.”

Chahyun replied calmly, turning on the lights in the dark living room.

“What about your family? Are you saying that because you’re from a wealthy family, you have to have an arranged marriage?”

“It was decided a long time ago.”

“So you’re saying you absolutely have to marry someone else.”

Seeing Chahyun’s unexpectedly indifferent and nonchalant reaction made Yeonwoo tremble.

“Yeonwoo.”

“When were you planning on telling me? When the date was set? Or the day before the wedding?”

“I was going to explain.”

“Explain? What are you going to say? That you’re getting married, so let’s break up?”

Yeonwoo’s voice rose. Chahyun, listening to him, frowned as if something was bothering him.

“What? I’m not breaking up with you.”

“But you’re getting married.”

Yeonwoo asked again, unable to understand what he’d just heard.

“Is that why you’re angry? Getting married doesn’t mean we’re breaking up.”

As if the misunderstanding had finally been cleared up, Chahyun’s expression softened. At the same time, Yeonwoo was speechless.

“What the…”

“I might be busy for a while, but nothing will change. This house will stay the same, and I’ll keep living here.”

“What are you talking about? You’re going to keep seeing me even after you marry someone else? And the other person is okay with that?”

“They have someone else they’re seeing too. So if you were worried about breaking up, you don’t have to…”

“No, that’s not the point.”

Unable to listen to any more nonsense, Yeonwoo cut Chahyun off.

“Whether the other person understands or not, I can’t date someone who’s married!”

He didn’t even know why he was explaining this obvious fact.

Something felt fundamentally wrong. The basic logic that one shouldn’t see other people after getting married didn’t seem to apply to Chahyun.

“Why? Nothing changes between us just because I’m getting married.”

“You’re…”

Yeonwoo was about to yell in a fit of rage, but he was at a loss for words. He was flustered and bewildered by the complete lack of communication.

At the same time, a confusion he’d never experienced before washed over him.

Who was the Baek Chahyun he’d known all this time? Someone who would marry another person while having a boyfriend? And he claimed it wasn’t a problem. All the while intentionally hiding the truth.

…How could he have not known Baek Chahyun was like this until now? He and Chahyun lived together every day, shared a bed.

He knew Chahyun was more selfish than most, but he hadn’t known he was this much of a scumbag.

Feeling that further conversation was pointless, Yeonwoo glared at Chahyun and turned his back without hesitation.

“Fine, get married.”

Yeonwoo went straight to the room with the closet and pulled out a backpack.

“Hong Yeonwoo.”

Chahyun followed him a beat later. He watched Yeonwoo shove his belongings into the bag.

“I don’t think I have any reason to stay in this house anymore.”

“What’s wrong? What are you doing?”

“Let’s break up, Baek Chahyun.”

“What?”

Having hurriedly packed only the essentials, Yeonwoo opened a drawer, checking if there was anything else he needed.

“We’re not done talking.”

“I am.”

“Who said you could break up with me?”

“If you’re getting married, let’s break up. Is that so hard to understand?”

Chahyun snatched the bag from Yeonwoo’s hands.

“Give it back.”

He reached out to take it back, but Chahyun was exceptionally large, even among alphas. His grip strength was incomparable to Yeonwoo, an omega. No matter how hard Yeonwoo pulled, the backpack in Chahyun’s grasp wouldn’t budge.

“I know it hurts your pride, even if it’s just a marriage in name only. But I promise nothing will change.”

“Why wouldn’t it change? My feelings are changing. Give me my bag!”

“I’ll make it up to you, I’ll compensate you for your hurt pride.”

Yeonwoo scoffed at his words.

“My boyfriend suddenly becomes someone else’s groom overnight. How are you going to compensate for that? I’m incredibly curious.”

“What do you need?”

Chahyun asked seriously, though Yeonwoo knew he wasn’t genuinely curious.

He seemed to think for a moment, then spoke.

“Ah, should I put this apartment in your name? That officetel is too small anyway.”

The officetel Chahyun was referring to was where Yeonwoo had lived alone before moving in with him. Knowing that Yeonwoo was preparing to move to an even smaller studio apartment because he was struggling to pay rent, Chahyun had transferred the ownership to him.

“Ha.”

Yeonwoo laughed again.

Chahyun’s mother, and now him. Why was his whole family so eager to give him an apartment? Was this hereditary? He’d never even asked for one.

Having already received an officetel, a cafe, and a car while dating Chahyun, perhaps it was natural for him to try and appease him with money.

“I don’t need it, so just give me my bag. I don’t want to fight over this anymore.”

“I’m not giving it to you. Do I look like I’m joking?”

Chahyun growled, tightening his grip on the bag. Seeing the veins bulging on the back of his hand, Yeonwoo gave up on trying to forcefully take it back. Then, as if accepting the situation, he sneered.

“Oh, so you’re saying that’s yours too because you bought it with your money? Fine, then I’ll leave empty-handed, just like when I moved in here.”

“Hong Yeonwoo!”

Chahyun immediately threw the bag aside and grabbed Yeonwoo’s arm. His grip was so tight that Yeonwoo felt a dull ache, but by this point, his emotions were so heightened that he didn’t care about the pain. He pushed Chahyun away with all his might.

However, Chahyun’s arm didn’t budge. He only tightened his grip and pulled Yeonwoo closer.

“Let go!”

“You’re not going.”

“Do you think I’ll just stay put if you tell me I can’t go?”

“No, you’ll go anyway.”

“Then let go!”

“I told you. You’re not going.”

His gaze was cold as he stared at the shouting Yeonwoo. Unlike his heightened emotions, his voice was calm. Chillingly so.

“…….”

“…….”

A brief silence fell between them. As Yeonwoo’s heavy breathing gradually calmed, Chahyun finally released his arm.

“I won’t let you go.”

Chahyun looked Yeonwoo in the eye and spoke deliberately. Devoid of emotion, his words sounded chilling.

“Stop with the ridiculous…”

Yeonwoo, about to tell him to stop with the ridiculous talk, flinched. Chahyun’s pheromones had intensified, becoming overwhelmingly strong.

Yeonwoo felt his body stiffen. Pheromones were used for seduction, but they were also effective for subjugation. The latter often occurred during power struggles between individuals of the same secondary gender.

Especially in Chahyun’s case, with his physique and pheromones far surpassing those of average alphas, he naturally dominated any relationship. When he unleashed his pheromones so carelessly like this, it was impossible for the other person not to feel intimidated.

“You crazy bastard.”

He hadn’t expected Chahyun to do this to his own boyfriend, even if it was common between alphas.

Yeonwoo managed to clench his hands into fists. The pressure made his spine tingle.