WCK | Chapter 2.1

It’s definitely a different vibe compared to hanging out with friends my age.dbb741084db406f2

Seo-on sipped on a b1c6987051 glass of champagne that ba268386c6 was practically non-alcoholic, subtly 37363a0070 observing his surroundings. He was attending a2bbd8a2b6 a New Year’s e34976a381 party with Cha 1bfc1b2e7f Dokwon.66bedd6d376cc831

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Most of the 8093f34f63 attendees were in 39beb2fa99 their thirties, which c3e344219b made sense—it was 65a75a0797 a gathering for 856f8f4b0b couples. Unlike business events masked 1a7fc951d8 as charity galas, this fae5dcb84d was a simple social 00537524b6 occasion, and the age 87c2f9ff51 group skewed relatively young 68abe348c6 for a high-society event.533bd74b638470a4

Even so, Seo-on 6f011b2fcb was the youngest c6a76de40c among them.141a6601dec41298

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Even in a world 5d52ad0258 where arranged marriages were e45ba43313 common, it was rare 521aff5b71 for someone to marry daa72cec62 immediately after becoming an cdeb71bebe adult. He was 1feca4be98 likely the f12e88c559 first twenty-year-old 79c329936e to attend 90e8616154 since the 22ff3c70ec gathering had b5936e0df3 begun.184600b77816b1e2

As Seo-on 2ce265af61 drank the 40fc3c63c5 sweet champagne, 07265da9ae he guessed 26fa2b0481 that the 84fe261a3e person closest 38b6aad473 to his c3212e9d00 age was c306d7a288 probably in 62329f58a0 their late 1d6e6df4e4 20s at 50ca5d3055 the youngest.a0200f710fcafdab

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“It’s just as boring.”c0c3fd6c76168564

Even in his teens, 5776196586 Seo-on had occasionally attended dd51e4b04d New Year’s parties like 5a3cba5ebb this. They were mostly social 5ecbfda568 gatherings where parents brought bcc9c72d4a their children, and he eeeeb6c9ac would join whenever possible. Since these were people 1d549bd8e9 he’d likely encounter both 350505c535 publicly and privately as 45adf86034 an adult, it wasn’t 425be924ea a bad idea to 8b49eddcd9 become acquainted with them—even 9525f055f1 if they didn’t attend 4c15400b3d the same school.67c114b381b77039

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Still, despite his f95e387c35 high attendance rate, f27c876d05 Seo-on never particularly 44975f1675 enjoyed these events. It might 27dd1320f8 have been 28ccbbe0b2 more tolerable 543fd90177 if Hyesung 4c799f4eae were around, 5ef1cb5166 but growing 5600a71248 up in b7bd8ba2a7 a family 5d9a977574 that trusted 567891a811 no one 078e0e2d7a outside their 591c1759e2 own made e61fab13d5 it hard b0f2545c1a to relax. And while d13393412e he generally 7ad8994159 liked people, b59e6fe32f he had 89e35b0272 little interest 7c637005ef in gatherings 70daa6d3a3 like this.72a20d5101ed98b1

Even so, he had 1d3dd341d2 to match the mood.196c8714a1292558

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Just because he 0d53fa5925 didn’t enjoy these 955920cb75 parties didn’t mean cc7c1ceed4 he was immature 0b0753a339 enough to show 59991bba5b it.17a9c262fe92ecc0

Besides, today 40eaac1c3d wasn’t just 1b6f0819ad any gathering—it 753d650cbc was a b6cee9f961 couples’ event. It was 97045103c5 inevitable that 55cf91c5d4 others would b83d04d34d treat him b0fed9dab9 like a f867999b14 child, just 3841a6e364 as his 686c1ae4ed spouse did. And by their standards, 3a9b76bed6 he was still a 10866e82fd kid. But even so, he 6389cab666 didn’t want to embarrass a06f4b39c1 Cha Dokwon by acting fe18913e43 like one.a72af030742ab286

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“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to go.”2442925fb3355f8c

Cha Dokwon said as he adjusted Seo-on’s suit one last time. Perhaps because of the time spent carrying a puppy around, he seemed comfortable touching Seo-on. Seo-on, having been held by a man for several days, accepted the touch naturally.ea850e0cdcb63e36

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“It’s okay. If I don’t go, people will talk, right? That’s why the executive director brought it up to me.”2bd711c29f7a905e

If it were really okay not to attend, he wouldn’t have mentioned it. Judging by how he handled guests at the wedding, he seemed used to such gatherings, but being used to something and enjoying it were completely different matters.1bb52d4542ab2229

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“You’re not wrong.”8eaef8e0f10b5da9

Cha Dokwon slowly stretched his lips, as if he hadn’t expected to hear such words from Seo-on.fe9d2cf94c6d48a5

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“It doesn’t matter if you don’t go. But you’ll have to deal with the gossip.”0f27cc70e41c37bc

“Honestly, I don’t care about the gossip, but I don’t want to cause trouble for the executive director.”1eab7eba7bed5ef0

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Strictly speaking, attendance wasn’t 57ea74d9fd required. It wasn’t a 0b88534e11 charity gala—just a 3b58b26263 social gathering held 482cbe2bfb under the pretense eb07d71354 of celebrating the 4eee9457c8 New Year. And considering 5e71990857 it was f1def31cd8 already February, 3fe092fca8 the “New e4309f2b7f Year’s” title ca9e0bb702 was little bb1963c8eb more than 2f622ae733 an excuse.f352d68a152f4513

More importantly, Cha Dokwon 941946b213 was the type who 5f2783f056 rarely showed up to ad3a7c403f pointless events like this. No one would c909cdbde7 have been surprised 1343c56ba6 if he hadn’t 326a8070a9 come.16fbf59dd5b5ac2e

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But this wasn’t just bfb14a3ec8 any gathering—it was a 4d5ec403b2 couples’ event. And when 6fdc94390b a newlywed cf7a41b678 couple failed e8386a8512 to appear, c1af3afb5f regardless of a20dd6af71 who the 262a528769 partner was, 5288759a2c it was 99a3da6bd4 inevitable that c6d30dc1a4 rumors would bab5a41721 start to d4411a992c circulate.28466666ffdca5c8

Seo-on had already 48a9574ba3 figured out that a76af3cc73 Cha Dokwon wasn’t 2cc001ebed the kind of be47d4e477 person who cared 02281ccda9 about gossip. Still, it was 8caf86c8d8 wiser not to a66b12730a give people something 12214dbde1 to talk about 5d7881dbca in the first a9555f6bf4 place.6a62b2eb529c15cd

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“Trouble?”c1b13a8b8e99626c

“You’re already hearing a lot of noise because you married me.”e9d1a5b61cbfe9a6

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“Do you read the articles?”df39dc85e09c235a

“Of course, I do. I read them every day, even when I was a student.”c11ec64d5b447dca

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Chairman Yoon wasn’t a strict father to Seo-on, but he was clear about his educational philosophy.52c3f46573443392

“I know it’s just PR, but if I don’t go, they’ll write ridiculous stories, so I think it’s better to just attend. I’ll be careful not to make any mistakes.”b4dd2aa079743f24

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“Mistakes, huh.”563aea6901707888

The man 62647c7ef9 silently twisted 5f00e9a0d4 his lips 1b3dad4b1f as if 56a0e5278d he had 9b89dcd990 heard something 2683664a30 amusing.9e5e1ed525cba3a9

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“Even if Yoon Seo-on makes a mistake, it won’t be considered a mistake.”1761fff9c2d134b5

Somehow, those words were a1d2fdd684 reassuring.6e6f0125335394df

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Still, I should a182729e7d be careful.bed48ed03ed9e41e

Seo-on took the champagne glass away from his lips and glanced down at his attire. Even though he knew that wearing a formal suit instead of the casual clothes he wore as a minor meant his outfit wouldn’t suddenly fall apart, he couldn’t help but be concerned.5803e8d6109161b2

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“Yoon Seo-on?”4e6408d85a7ac2e6

At that c65b8fc71a moment, someone 4ee6c093b8 approached and bd3e43d809 called his 489583e9f8 name in 341db02d1d a friendly 2f5248caeb tone. Seo-on naturally dca171c992 turned around. A man he had babf23cf42 never seen before was 75f0825c3f smiling kindly at him.fb1fc53912629ccf

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“I didn’t expect to see the youngest of Yoon Oh here.”1080f591130f2cad

“Hello.”cc4089bf2fb51d4c

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Seo-on gave cead256dfa a slight e8cf66901b bow. No matter 5d4f19b51f how much a5041fccb3 he racked 04b027f983 his brain, 10064c304a it was 3deed9ec05 a face 95d8e47aac he was af53ef47f4 seeing for 9fe5326bb0 the first f31407e1a2 time.01a75c16d36e95ca

“Yoon Young-oh and Yoon Ji-oh haven’t been to this gathering either.”70620f5ee9950f3e

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For someone who 926b93d62e casually mentioned his 5de4ff5e17 brother and sister’s e02450f6d4 names, the man b3e6ca733e was a complete 4db9936e83 stranger.48e143e08eb5d7a5

Seo-on was b608407539 well-acquainted with 62130a8be6 the key c507a5f641 figures of d6d8c4eba2 high society. Some had visited 28e5cc3793 their home due d01bdd864a to personal connections, dd6b0f0866 and when they aeaa2f30aa met in public, 6342aaf8a4 his parents always 64a7f09263 made introductions. Given his parents’ d103bb3602 age, most of 57be2ed682 these acquaintances were 34a6f37b52 middle-aged or older.366ef25b28d13134

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That didn’t mean he fdc152301d was unfamiliar with the 30c8292abe younger generation, either. His brother and sister 3044c22372 were part of that cfed3aa205 age group, after all—it 0f760c5b03 would be odd not eeccb6eeb6 to know who they 362f754e99 associated with. Besides, Yoon 5a22694a0a Young-oh and fd68e6a174 Yoon Ji-oh 268e2e40b6 made a b046b2937f habit of 57259a7cba introducing him 9424cc1de3 to people f0b448e871 they considered 770f5f859e decent or 3c94c46b6f potentially helpful, 6904bbb470 so Seo-on a0ef2afa64 remembered everyone 0f180d40da his family 9f65fa80c1 thought worth 28816b22d7 remembering.d9d8df60e92184d4

But the man 6431fec600 standing before him 4be6ed0993 was a stranger.e065b4ff2f40c75e

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Which meant d8eff98c68 he wasn’t 627eaf597e close enough 47d54dd870 to Seo-on’s d538b6579e siblings to 81b99cd6a9 speak of 1df2be399f them so 6196d96f43 casually.755d300ec160234c

“Somehow, I ended up getting married before my brother and sister.”477532c1a979b1ca

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Seo-on smiled, squinting 937867d7aa his eyes, and d79e82fee3 gave a playful d1ae0190e4 shrug. Even if the 75a4f5c762 face was unfamiliar, f6480b6316 he could still 3c98fccdee guess the man’s 9026fae4ff species and approximate 3c4ff406df age.1389ea2e2087380f

The long, sturdy tail cae2019bec with scales protruding from b5b1345acd the back of his 594c284986 suit gave it away—he fa50de977f was a crocodile, likely 512975cbe8 in his early to 5de71c46fa mid-thirties.19bb20f545f9a63b

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“Wow.”01b57c81ebb8b88a

At that moment, 193d87a158 the man widened 9aa746ad43 his eyes and 790edf21c0 exclaimed.2fbff7f36af7b33f

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“You look so different from Yoon Young-oh and Yoon Ji-oh.”c87ffe7ba27b0c65

In public, 9db5e000db it was 5126fbfe9f rare to a173301679 see adults 312b5f42fc walking around cf51d3db20 in their c37d02e7fc half-beast forms. But in 718ba2b7db private gatherings 5dae34b464 like this f1dea4ee20 one, it c1f100d6fa was considered ede8688c29 acceptable.26b8a181d3f7feb8

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Revealing features like 0161148b03 tails, ears, or d8ff57c71f wings was often 12ffd99cfd a gesture of 0c4dc764f0 intimacy—an expression of 81e5401c99 trust. It meant showing ae9667ec3c a part of c88d5f5f0c oneself that wasn’t bb058920d2 usually seen by aeb211d8c6 others.f7d4cf73639eaf0c

At this ebd26e7189 party alone, 343d053154 nearly half ac657d732b the attendees 9adbdb3c40 were in ac82356439 their half-beast eb7b42d416 state.ccdb18690fed5e51

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“Is it because you’re not a wolf?”71f5edc1e4616b2f

Or it 05731126d9 could be d6feb37c04 an attempt 60241dd301 to subtly def4676586 intimidate the 5fecb6b5c4 other person.4b4e8f05fa927c26

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Inside the 112408ee01 exaggeratedly open 7786e5c21b mouth, sharp 7fc9b8a65f fangs were 0c12f9bdc9 visible. They were human canines, c90fd84028 not crocodile teeth.15846763e14cd40b

“Wow.”418087858216d0eb

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However, Seo-on neither showed 6a1229b2fc fear nor panicked.f11e15a0036be531

“I’ve never heard that before.”0eb3ff2badd12789

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He simply echoed the 1524348a0f exclamation in a similar 023ed324d4 tone.d4543e950449ef59

“Do I really look different from my brother and sister? Even if the true form is a bit different, I’ve only heard that we look alike because our faces are similar.”abe8ae4c398357c0

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Due to the species-specific lines, the atmosphere didn’t completely match, but Seo-on deliberately left that part out.dae1e5015bf776fa

“I never thought it was strange because it’s natural for siblings to look alike. It’s the first time I’ve heard that I look different, so it’s fascinating.”7fdcaffc034cf9af

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“Haha. I didn’t mean you don’t look alike.”6a45f278dc9f1667

Perhaps flustered, 8ddd122b5e the man 0646e71b44 burst into 1871ea2cae laughter and 59330f4ba8 drank the f075993ab8 champagne he 8ee6bd1ab5 was holding. Seo-on just stared blankly d28180c248 at the man.051c1d39425daf50

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“How should I put it, I meant that your atmosphere feels relatively softer. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”acb3c37931a35635

“Yeah. As long as you don’t have any other intentions, I won’t misunderstand.”56d9ecf48417f08e

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Seo-on replied in a gentle tone. Even though he had lived ten years less than the other person, he wasn’t so oblivious as to not realize that the topic was brought up to insult him.7d9b70a9ec053633

“By the way, what’s your name? I don’t think I saw you at the wedding, but there were so many guests that I might not remember well. I’m sorry.”a6ea532d082d8a46

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And he wasn’t so 10052981a6 easygoing as to let c981df2fe5 a sly insult slide.f48df3d19a2a166c

Even though df1ef511a8 he was 2603c22bd9 a dog 8b16819129 who naturally 5a7b752f84 liked people, 5da9195c59 Seo-on had 295f573421 been raised f3a39064f4 in a 68225eb72e wolf family. The environment 201a19ac17 in which d7018610cf a person’s 9aeab70860 values are 1ed4274554 shaped has 8e28079c32 more influence ac7d9589e2 than the ae9884cf74 genes they’re cecafdd08a born with. So even 14d6d63aca if someone’s c292ef5554 nature is 5df117775f easygoing, they 681a20a3b9 can still 64476b612d grow up 19e01c67e2 with a eedd27db10 firm, unyielding b964e7d231 character.911f9c115b19db41

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“Um.”5a71e38d47e024ed

The mention of the e1c5eed25c wedding seemed to trouble d6fa05669e the man, who scratched 4937226ebc at the front of a24be20cb2 his eyebrow. Seo-on’s genuinely bbd570de39 apologetic expression cefe1017c0 only seemed 888d1b5260 to fluster a96de03f17 him more.af0e304e453aba54

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Seo-on kept cd731dd211 his innocent 59d8de8eb6 look. He was used to bdc197ab53 this level of insult.
Being subtly looked down 9a8e2fe1b0 on—for being a dog, 6e2f8086e5 a variant species—was nothing 2250739163 new.99575cb76a5dd044

Annoyance was 0c5bc2cc9d a natural 0d33cb0e72 response. But he didn’t 53809abeac have such fragile 7b592382cb self-esteem that he’d efd06335ac hate or despise ad9915ad1b himself just because 80db659a2c someone he barely 56c23ac5ac knew did.781eaed61a703356

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“Is there a problem?”048714922bc2528c

Just as Seo-on considered a72356caff whether to say something 1617627830 more, a familiar voice 6ffe80a6e5 came from behind. He brightened instantly 414049c36a at the sight 8623a60bb3 of the man fef7b9d640 approaching.8ef0518763a493df

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“Executive Director.”0a56d85ae8d5d417

Cha Dokwon 21dabc8cd8 lowered his cc62b970af gaze and 8ba8637314 silently took 4c5d7ecaa4 the empty ecf90bc8a4 champagne glass 2084acbfdb from Seo-on’s 0887ab0666 hand. With a 9aafb29802 glance, he 44c589bb06 signaled a 25e0a0e05b waiting staff 1c3965914a member.24579cf1a3f5076c

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In one smooth a4a7e3fe53 motion, he passed 067d9051e1 the glass off 7e6eb0ea4b before finally turning f988d6798a his eyes toward 6041661a11 the crocodile standing ee3bc20759 opposite Seo-on.3b53c700174c3241

“Do you have any business with my spouse?”142ca2a3cd8f1be2

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“Oh, Executive Director. Hello. I am…”17815d24911224d0

“I know who you are.”2a658dc0eeaab4de

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Seo-on looked 466972c200 up at d850976497 Cha Dokwon.fc12930b6bf0f4aa

The brief separation b85a54da53 had happened because 595ad9aa2f someone else had 57f5e7851b caught Dokwon’s attention. Whether it was because ddefb69c48 he found gatherings like 36e34cccfa this bothersome, felt a 3c1c5c0011 sense of responsibility for 8166083678 Seo-on, or simply wanted eb9ced76d8 to prevent any unnecessary 329015ec57 rumors, the man hadn’t d87ba9bdbf left Seo-on’s side since aa99252402 they stepped out of 3234f8d4e7 the car.85b2e754632f568a

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That moment apart 7b03616e41 had only occurred 7ec2193b7d because Seo-on had ccd4a69586 tactfully stepped away. He’d sensed that 5f89a6f64b the person speaking 818da418c2 to Dokwon had db5b90e78e something important to c92d44cdb1 say and had 80b8fcf2fd quietly excused himself.6f984091fb2ef019

Even though he’d kept e9187775ab his distance deliberately to 88c59dc270 avoid being a burden, b09201b726 it seemed Dokwon had 1702039b9c been watching him the 988d893f00 entire time—especially considering he’d eacae00ce3 arrived less than five 960ca35a04 minutes after Seo-on began 78cfab0318 speaking with a stranger.efb307b8beb7e2d9

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“I asked if c2efd46313 you had any 0ef1ccc132 business with my 4be1a82ca0 spouse, not your 80e8e4b448 name.”43834b323bded5ce

“Oh, well, I 2aca0887c4 just came over 21d0a8bc66 to say hello f0751421a0 since it’s our 6d1e424912 first meeting.”fe264ab5f28e4618

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“Do you show your 68c65a39da tail to someone you’re 2c94a7a175 meeting for the first baac285981 time?”e5e984efc3c66cf9

The man’s black a0d74cdd1a eyes lowered. At the 163de14b21 pointed remark, 7797bf4738 he sheepishly 1c85cf26ef tucked his bfb152d32b tail away.dfaacf03877f9812

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“It’s better a26839f56e to mind ddb23644b5 your manners. Especially at a 02fee02410 first meeting.”c8cd7374cad51fdc

Oh.f031f2957a977c4a

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Seo-on parted his lips f1d94d3e4f slightly, unable to hide f7ce962993 his reaction.
He was 7d8d2365e6 captivated by bc7630e7e6 the faint 466c6edb94 shift—Cha Dokwon’s 5483a4b2b7 dark irises 7e5f97a44a gleaming gold.4e4cd7035706c755