WCK | Chapter 1.7

Given that he found the process troublesome, it seemed he indeed had no sexual desire. Seo-on was relieved, as he had been wondering how to bring up the related topic.

“There’s nothing more annoying than the pressure of having an heir.”

“I think similarly to you, Executive Director. But, um…”

Seo-on struggled to string his words together.

“When you say you won’t meet others, do you mean serious relationships?”

Cha Dokwon silently looked at him, as if asking what he meant.

“I mean, not just mentally, but physically…”

He hesitated to bring up such a topic face-to-face, but he thought it was important to address issues that needed to be addressed, so he tried to speak as clearly as possible, but the man let out a low laugh.

“Why.”

His voice seemed to carry a hint of mischief.

“Did I seem like the kind of guy who’d do something else outside while having a spouse at home?”

He hadn’t imagined it in such detail. He had thought it might be easy for a man like him to be tempted wherever he went, but…

“That’s not it, but I asked just in case you meant serious relationships only.”

“Then let’s write a separate contract.”

“A separate one?”

“A prenuptial agreement without talks of divorce. Just between you and me, not the company.”

That was a good idea. He had been concerned about including personal matters in the prenuptial agreement that his family would review. It would be a big deal in his family, though he wasn’t sure about Cha Dokwon’s.

“Sounds good.”

“Is that enough?”

Not understanding what he meant, Seo-on blinked, and the man raised his glass.

“It seems like this was the part you wanted to include in the contract.”

“Did you know from the beginning?”

“I had a rough idea.”

It was hard to tell if the man was perceptive or if Seo-on couldn’t manage his expressions well.

Still, he felt relieved to have achieved his goal. As Seo-on sipped his cocktail, he noticed only ice was left in his glass and glanced at Dokwon.

“Can I drink what you’re having, Executive Director?”

Instead of saying no, Dokwon called the bartender.

“Did you call?”

Then he nodded toward Seo-on. Understanding the gesture, the bartender spoke amiably.

“Didn’t the one I made suit your taste?”

“Oh, no. It was delicious. But I’m curious about other things.”

Noticing his interest in the drink Dokwon was having, the bartender kindly recommended a cocktail.

“There are sweet ones, but most of them are high in alcohol… Or, do you like coffee flavor? It has milk, so it’s smooth. The alcohol content is lower than soju.”

“Then I’ll have that.”

“Sure. Please wait a moment.”

As the bartender left, Dokwon lightly tapped his cocktail glass, as if surprised.

“Weren’t you curious about the martini?”

“Actually, I haven’t tried many high-alcohol drinks.”

Having confidently claimed he learned to drink, he felt a bit embarrassed, but being honest was better than pretending. If he made a mistake and got drunk, his ears or tail might pop out.

It wasn’t long before there was a knock, and the bartender entered. Seo-on, staring at the glass that looked like it was filled with unblended latte, sensed someone else entering with him.

The man, who politely bowed to Seo-on, approached Dokwon and handed him a tablet. Then he left with the bartender as if he had never entered.

Naturally, Seo-on’s gaze shifted from the cocktail to the man across from him.

“Can I ask what it is?”

“Come over and see.”

Seo-on, holding the cocktail that looked like a latte, moved over to sit next to Cha Dokwon.

“We need to check it together anyway.”

What caught his senses wasn’t the tablet the man was holding. It was the cold scent.

Wow, he smells like an adult.

“You’re thinking about something else.”

The low laughter reached his ears, and Seo-on snapped back to reality. Only after making eye contact with Dokwon did he subtly lower his gaze. The tablet the man was holding displayed a neatly organized list of rings.

🐾🐾🐾

The man who was fastening the cuffs of his sleeves stopped his hand at a slow pace. His fingertips, following the thinly folded corners of his eyes, removed something stuck to his shirt.

What is this?

It didn’t take long to identify the thin object, even thinner than a thread. Since all his suits were sent for cleaning, anything that got on them should have been removed cleanly. But the pure white color and the excessively thin thickness seemed to have escaped detection.

Cha Dokwon rolled the thin, almost thread-like hair between his thumb. The hair, faintly mixed with a cream color, was as soft as its color suggested.

If the true form’s color is like this, how does the hair end up that color? Naturally, he thought of the small head sitting next to him.

Thud, thud. Before he could even shift his gaze, his attention was caught by ears that suddenly perked up above his head due to the sound of something hitting the sofa hard.

Dog ears appeared. Then the sound hitting the sofa must be the tail.

Instead of looking back, Cha Dokwon quietly gazed at the ears protruding over the ash-colored, honey-colored hair. The ears, unable to stand upright and drooping, reminded him of dumplings.

Normally, the body hair follows the color of the true form, so the appearance of ears shouldn’t feel out of place, but the fact that the color was different from the hair was strangely fascinating.

“Seems like that’s it… What do you think, Executive Director?”

Yoon Seo-on, who was looking at the tablet, raised his head. At the same time, the ears that sprouted from his head slid slickly backward. Seo-on seemed blissfully unaware of the ears and tail, wearing a rather bright expression.

“Well.”

Cha Dokwon reached out unconsciously.

“Since it was selected to match my taste, you can just pick the one you like, Yoon Seo-on.”

“Huh!”

He was intrigued by the fact that drooping ears, unlike those of a jaguar, could move backward. When he rubbed the triangular ears, Seo-on, flustered, quickly covered his ears with both hands.

“Huh? When did they come out?”

“The tail’s out too. Didn’t you know?”

“Oh!”

The right hand, which was stuck to his ear, groped his back.

Touching a person’s body carelessly is extremely rude, but touching the ears or tail in their true form is even more uncouth. However, Dokwon didn’t apologize, just withdrew his hand. He noticed the nape of Seo-on’s neck turning red with embarrassment.

“Why did they suddenly come out? Sorry.”

His gaze, fixed on the nape of Seo-on’s neck, fell on the cocktail glass in front of him. It seemed like he couldn’t control it well because of the alcohol.

“You don’t have to apologize to me. It’s fine, so don’t worry and just pick a ring.”

“Okay…”

The sound of something hitting the sofa, which had been echoing loudly, suddenly subsided. He seemed deflated, embarrassed by the fact that he had shown his ears and tail in front of someone he wasn’t close to.

Dokwon just silently watched Seo-on, who had his head buried in the tablet.

The reason Yoon Seo-on was embarrassed was obvious.

Usually, people become adept at controlling therianthropy around the age of thirteen. While alcohol can make control difficult, it’s extremely rare for someone to lose control over just one drink.

Is it because he’s a variant species?

However, those born as a different species due to genetic mutations often struggled with therianthropy. This didn’t apply to him, who was classified as a variant species due to melanism.

On the contrary, Cha Dokwon was so adept at therianthropy that comparisons with ordinary people were meaningless. No matter how experienced one becomes with age, when faced with emotional upheaval, parts of the body tend to take on the true form, but he never revealed his true form even in such moments.

Cha Dokwon only revealed his true form when the act was necessary. He had never been so emotionally overwhelmed that he couldn’t control himself.

“If it’s hard to decide, you can narrow it down to a few. You can try them on and order the one that feels most comfortable.”

The wedding was less than three weeks away. It was a bit late, but since the rings weren’t being designed from scratch, as long as there was money, they could meet the timeline.

“Honestly, they all look the same to me.”

The tail, which had been standing still, began to wag gently, as if the embarrassment had subsided.

Touching the dog ears was enough of an impudent act. Even without looking at Seo-on’s back, he could tell the tail was wagging because of the faint breeze. It wasn’t swinging with a loud thud like before, so unless someone was very sensitive, they wouldn’t notice the subtle movement.

“But since I have to wear it to school, I think a simple design would be better.”

Yoon Seo-on selected a few rings with simple designs and then looked up gently.

“Executive Director, you’ll wear it too, right?”

The ears moved again.

Cha Dokwon only had a bland thought. The drooping ears flopped backward again. If the fur color matched the hair, he might not have even noticed the ears had appeared. The ears were so bent that if Seo-on were in his true form, one might mistake him for a seal rather than a dog.

“I’m not forcing you, but it would be nice if you wore it too, Executive Director.”

At the continuous chatter, Dokwon lowered his gaze. It wasn’t a difficult request.

“Since it’s a wedding ring, it’s better to wear it.”

“Then I think we can choose one from these and order it… Is that okay?”

“That’s fine. I’ll place the order, so let’s decide after seeing them.”

Even though he had only touched Yoon Seo-on once, it seemed that the brief contact had left some fur stuck.

“…”

Dokwon lightly rubbed the fur with his thumb, frowning slightly.

Since the prenuptial agreement was finalized, calling off the wedding was impossible. Just as he had told Seo-on, he didn’t feel the need to call it off, so he had no intention of doing so now.

“Well, it’s not bad…”

Aside from the fact that it wasn’t a pretty picture, he wasn’t a bad match. In fact, there was no one more perfect than Yoon Seo-on in terms of not making annoying demands.

Cha Dokwon had drawn up a separate contract with Seo-on, in addition to the prenuptial agreement between their families, to prevent such annoying demands. Since it was what the other party wanted as well, there was nothing wrong with putting it in writing.

He had no intention of touching Seo-on in the slightest. Not only was the other party seriously young, but more importantly, Cha Dokwon had no interest in sleeping with men. He wasn’t one to enjoy sex in the first place, so it was unlikely he had such a hobby.