AOA 96

The place Baek Mugyeong had chosen for dinner was a Korean fine dining restaurant at the Carva Hotel. When I gave his name at the entrance, I was immediately shown to a private room.

It was ten minutes before six, but Baek Mugyeong was already there. He stood up to greet me.

“You’re here.”

“Yes. You’re early.”

I greeted him politely and sat across from him. My actions were smooth, but my heart was beating irregularly.

When I first heard from Choi Jaeha about my aunt, I had forgotten all about Baek Mugyeong. But as the clock edged closer to six, my thoughts filled with nothing but him.

What even was a date?

It already meant something just to ask someone out for a meal, but attaching the word “date” to it made it feel strange. It didn’t help that Choi Jaeha had given it such a weird interpretation. Baek Mugyeong liked me? It was absurd.

What mattered was Baek Mugyeong’s intent. I couldn’t let my guard down.

“What is this about?”

I brought it up before the food arrived. I didn’t want to sit there tense and waiting.

“Let’s eat first.”

“I’ll get indigestion.”

“It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to have dinner with you.”

“I don’t think that’s all.”

I didn’t know much about Baek Mugyeong, but I knew enough to tell that this wasn’t just about eating together.

When I looked at him, his lips were curled up. It wasn’t a sneer. Judging by the way his smile had risen to the level of a clown, he seemed genuinely pleased.

“I wanted to continue the conversation we didn’t finish yesterday.”

“I knew it.”

I thought as much. I still didn’t know why he had called it a date, but I chose not to bring it up. Something told me it would only make things messier.

“Starting today, I’ll be sleeping at home. I won’t be coming in late after work either.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll inform you of my schedule if I have any overseas trips.”

“All right.”

Since we had agreed to live like a married couple, it was only right for Baek Mugyeong to stop staying out. I didn’t really need to know about his trips, but I nodded anyway.

Just then, the server brought out the first course, cutting off the conversation. I was tense, but hungry enough that I quickly finished the cold appetizers and raw beef.

While I was eating, Baek Mugyeong continued.

“I’ll say it again. We’re not having a child.”

“I know.”

“My sexual preferences are normal. I won’t ask for anything extreme.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’ll respect your preferences and try to accommodate them, but if I judge something to be dangerous, I’ll say no. Please be aware of this in advance.”

He said it with a perfectly calm expression. I didn’t even know where to begin objecting. I was too stunned to speak.

Sure, sexual compatibility was something to work on together. But the rest of it? It was absurd.

You think your preferences are normal? Was that what he called squeezing the life out of someone? I barely had enough experience to even have preferences.

I stared at him in silence, unsure what to say. Baek Mugyeong cleared his throat and asked,

“Do you have any sexual fantasies?”

“Tying someone up, or things like that?”

“That’s a dangerous fantasy. I won’t be tied up.”

“I don’t have fantasies like that.”

I said it with extra force because it felt so unfair. I had never once imagined tying a man up.

But like they say, tell someone not to think of an elephant, and all they can think about is an elephant. A vague image of Baek Mugyeong bound with rope flitted through my mind, but fortunately it disappeared quickly. It was too unrealistic to visualize clearly anyway.

“Good.”

Baek Mugyeong smiled faintly and slowly ate his food. He had stirred things up but looked completely unbothered, so I felt like I had lost. But if I brought it up, I’d only make myself look worse, so I let it go.

“That’s all you had to say?”

“Baek Yeongseop fractured three ribs and broke his nose. He’s been given a four-week recovery period and will be hospitalized for a while.”

“…!”

“Considering it was an alpha hazard incident, he came out relatively intact.”

If they were just regular cousins, it would have been easy to find out where Baek Yeongseop was injured and how long he’d be in the hospital. But their relationship was poor. Given the nature of the incident, his condition was likely being kept secret.

For Baek Mugyeong to know this already meant he had sources. That made sense. He was still part of the Baek family.

With three broken ribs, Baek Yeongseop wouldn’t be able to move from his bed for a while. I liked that.

Baek Mugyeong explained what had happened after the incident yesterday. The man who punched him, as Choi Jaeha said, was indeed a Korean-American named Robert Lee. And what he had yelled while hitting Baek Yeongseop was also true.

Because of that, Daesong Group hadn’t been able to turn Robert Lee over to the police. Most of the alphas involved in the fight came from well-known families in Korea. They couldn’t afford a scandal.

Im Songyoon and Baek Jaehan were scrambling to do damage control. Baek Jinseok was furious. Apparently, he had thrown a teacup across the study during the briefing.

Even his birthday celebration next month was being scaled down. With the eldest grandson hospitalized after a scandal, it would be inappropriate to host a grand party and entertain guests.

“The engagement has been called off.”

“Really?”

I was calmly listening until I was so surprised that I stopped cutting my grilled flounder. Yesterday, it had seemed like the wedding was practically a done deal.

“The other side said they’d prefer to pretend it never happened. I heard Aunt’s office was a wreck afterward.”

“Oh… how did you find that out? If it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me.”

I couldn’t help asking. I was dying to know how he knew about Im Songyoon’s tantrum in the office. But I didn’t want it to sound like I was asking him to reveal his sources, so I quickly added on.

“My aunt told me. She called earlier.”

“If the engagement is off… I guess your aunt will have a hard time.”

Baek Yeongseop was the third-generation heir to Daesong Group. But marrying him would mean a brutal in-law experience, full of surveillance and pressure. On top of that, he was sure to have affairs and father children out of wedlock.

Most families wouldn’t want someone like him as a son-in-law. And anyone who did want him probably wouldn’t meet Im Songyoon’s standards.

So it made sense that she went ballistic when the one match she had carefully selected fell through.

I kept my comment vague, and Baek Mugyeong clicked his tongue in agreement.

But something felt off. I glanced at him, and sure enough, he frowned again.

“With Baek Yeongseop’s marriage delayed, Grandfather will pressure us even more.”

“Well… you can’t force what isn’t happening.”

It was true. If Yeongseop’s wedding was delayed, the pressure to have a child would increase. But I wasn’t too worried. We were spending one night a week together to look like a normal couple. If that wasn’t enough and no child came of it, we’d just say it couldn’t be helped.

I spoke casually, and Baek Mugyeong made a strange expression. Like he was trying not to laugh.

“What? You’re the one who said that before.”

Baek Mugyeong wasn’t expressive, so it was rare to see his lips twitch like that. Still handsome even when flustered, which was kind of annoying.

The rest of the meal passed in a surprisingly pleasant atmosphere. Baek Mugyeong led most of the conversation. He brought up Baek Jinseok’s birthday gift, the exact date of the grandmother’s ancestral rites in the summer, and asked about my finals and summer break plans.

They were all ordinary topics anyone close could talk about, not just a married couple. It hit me again how much we had lived like strangers.

“Jeong Minchae.”

“Yes?”

“What are your plans for after the divorce?”

The final dessert was plum sherbet. Just as I was enjoying the sweet and tart flavor, he dropped a serious question.

“Why are you asking?”

I couldn’t help replying defensively. It reminded me of the time he had gotten angry and asked if I planned to go back to the family that abused me. The atmosphere was different now, but my stomach still sank.

“If you want, I can force Chairman Jeong down. The evidence that Jeong Guhyeon used drugs will be effective. But that kind of thing won’t last long. If someone has money and time, drug records can be erased. You’ll need something stronger to secure your safety long-term.”

From my past life, I knew more than just that Guhyeon did drugs. I knew another devastating secret about my biological father. I didn’t have proof, but it was enough to pressure him and make a deal.

Or so I had thought. But Baek Mugyeong was right. If it was Guhyeon, he would cover up any weakness. He was the type of man who would do anything to protect his power and status.

If killing his omega son and silencing him was more advantageous than arranging a political marriage, I knew exactly what he’d choose.

“There is something I can use. But I won’t tell you what it is.”

This was something only I could know. That way, I could play it when it mattered most.