* * *
Early Saturday evening, Wookyung and Saheon visited Wookyung’s parents.
It was both a formal introduction and a chance to have dinner together.
The conversation mostly stayed light and casual—until it naturally shifted to marriage.
“Come to think of it, Wookyung told me we should date at least a year before getting married. Was that your advice, sir?”
“Yes, that’s right. Marriage means choosing someone to spend your whole life with. So of course, you should date at least a year first.”
Saheon looked genuinely surprised.
“Since I’ve known Wookyung for some time already, couldn’t we consider getting married before summer?”
He asked with a hopeful, almost pleading tone, as if he were negotiating.
Han Seokyung chuckled softly.
“Why are you in such a rush?”
Though his voice held amusement, his curiosity was sincere.
“Because I want to be with Wookyung every day. The sooner, the better.”
But his expression remained serious.
Saheon knew full well this wasn’t just romantic urgency—it was also his Alpha instincts kicking in.
Since officially dating, he’d been steadily marking Wookyung with his pheromones, with Wookyung’s consent.
After all, now that it was known Wookyung was an Omega, other curious Alphas had started showing interest.
Saheon hated the idea of another Alpha’s scent on him, no matter how faint.
It was childish, maybe.
But that’s exactly why he felt they needed a deeper, more permanent bond.
What he really wanted was imprinting—but that would only be brought up after marriage, carefully.
“You really are an Alpha, huh.”
Seokyung seemed to see right through him and laughed heartily.
He then nodded toward his own Alpha, who had been quietly sitting nearby.
“You’re just like Taejin.”
“Of course. Alphas are always possessive of their Omegas.”
Gil Taejin added with a slight scowl, making Seokyung laugh even louder.
“Seriously? Is that how it is?”
Wookyung joined in, asking Saheon directly.
He nodded without hesitation—it wasn’t something he had any reason to hide.
“No wonder you kept bringing up marking.”
“You’ve marked him?”
“Yes. I didn’t today, since we were meeting you both.”
“Wow, you two really are alike.”
As Wookyung and Seokyung laughed, Saheon shot Taejin a subtle look of apology.
Taejin just gave him a wry smile and said nothing more.
Seokyung then playfully teased them, giving Wookyung tips on how to handle a jealous Alpha.
“But you two know each other back in school, right? That makes your situation a bit different from ours.”
“That’s true.”
Wookyung now realized that his desire to help Shin Jaehyun and Min Kyowon, back when he had memory issues, likely stemmed from seeing the lasting love his parents shared.
He must’ve believed that if a couple, like his parents, could marry and be happy after meeting young—then helping others do the same meant he’d lived a good life too.
“Still, thinking about it… I do trust Saheon, even without going through all four seasons.”
“Mm.”
At Seokyung’s words, Taejin nodded in agreement.
Saheon let out a quiet sigh of relief at their support.
“But let’s wait until your busy period is over. You can set a date after that.”
“Yes. I was thinking after the Chicago expo.”
Since he’d be swamped with preparations anyway, that timing felt appropriate.
Wookyung didn’t seem to object either—he just blinked silently.
“Then what about the family meeting? When should we do that?”
“If it’s okay with you, how about early next year?”
“Early next year?”
“Yes. The end of the year tends to get hectic. But it’d be good to meet before the holidays.”
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
With the important conversations settled, the topic shifted.
Seokyung asked about Saheon’s favorite foods, what Chairwoman Choi preferred, who the elder relatives were, and how they usually spent the holidays.
“Wookyung won’t have to worry about any of that.”
Saheon responded firmly.
“Still, if we’re going to visit for the holidays, wouldn’t it be good to know in advance?”
“No. I already discussed it with my grandmother. After the wedding, we won’t need to visit regularly.”
Of course, some relatives weren’t happy about that.
But Chairwoman Choi had made it clear that it wasn’t necessary, and Saheon had no intention of bending to family pressures.
Seokyung looked at the firm expression on his face, then slowly nodded.
“That’s a relief to hear. I was a bit worried since your family isn’t exactly ordinary.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
What they didn’t know was that Saheon had seriously considered taking Wookyung to the U.S. if things got too complicated.
As they ate dessert and chatted about how to spend the rest of the year and plans for next year, the mood lightened again.
They even paused briefly when Gil Woohyun called.
The long visit finally wrapped up by nightfall.
The end of the year had been so hectic and overwhelming that he barely remembered how he had spent it.
Still, amidst all that chaos, Wookyung had taken Saheon to hear the New Year’s Eve bell, and right after, they dashed off to the sea to see the first sunrise of the year.
They made wishes as the sun rose, shared a long, lingering kiss that turned heated—and as a result, ended up spending the rest of their break tangled in the hotel bed.
That was a bonus.
After enjoying the New Year, they were immediately swept back into a busy daily routine.
With the decision to participate in the exhibition in Guangzhou, the workload on the TF team had only grown heavier.
But since the directive came directly from CEO Choi, there was no way to refuse—it was just dumped on them.
“This really feels like the CEO is trying to screw over the division head.”
Assistant Manager Oh sighed loudly, making sure others could hear, as he looked toward the empty division head’s desk.
Wookyung nodded in agreement.
He’d suspected the CEO wouldn’t leave Saheon alone, but he hadn’t expected it to come around like this.
Of course, they could handle it.
They were already accelerating furniture production not just for the workspaces, but also for the lounge and meeting rooms.
In a way, the Guangzhou expo could even be considered a rehearsal.
“Are we really going to survive this?”
The problem was whether they could produce results that satisfied CEO Choi.
And how she might use Saheon as a pretext to act out.
Assistant Manager Pyeon frowned at Assistant Manager Oh’s grumbling.
She, too, had a headache from the sudden schedule, with all the costs and marketing plans she now had to handle.
And Oh kept stirring up anxiety with those remarks—she was on the verge of telling him off.
“We’ll be fine.”
Before Assistant Manager Pyeon could say anything, Wookyung answered firmly.
“Huh? Deputy Manager Gil, did you hear something?”
Oh immediately turned toward Wookyung, making it obvious who he had been trying to draw into the conversation all along.
Assistant Manager Pyeon clicked her tongue inwardly.
“Either way, we’ll pull it off, won’t we?”
Wookyung shrugged as he met Assistant Manager Oh’s deflated expression.
Still, it wasn’t a lie, was it?
If they could pull off the exhibition successfully and bring sales up to a satisfactory level, even CEO Choi wouldn’t be able to nitpick.
‘It was probably just spite to begin with, anyway.’
Even then, it didn’t seem like she’d do anything to harm the team.
Unless she was planning to spit out the sweet fruit Saheon had handed her.
‘Backing off now would mean she’s being cautious.’
Realizing he could think so calmly about all this was entirely thanks to the person he was dating.
Wookyung’s expression shifted subtly at that thought before returning to normal.
Thanks to the words he’d spoken, the office atmosphere soon calmed.
Wookyung’s gaze turned to the calendar.
Even without a mark, one particular date kept drawing his eyes—just as important as any work deadline: the formal family meeting.
Saheon had told him not to stress about it—it was just a family meal—but it wasn’t that easy.
After all, this was an official introduction to both sides’ parents.
As the day drew closer, Wookyung’s mind grew more and more tangled.
He became aware that he couldn’t focus properly on work.
‘Sigh…’
He tore his eyes away from the calendar with a quiet sigh.
Every day, the conflicting emotions—wanting to get it over with and hoping it might somehow be delayed—tormented him.
Even so, time marched steadily forward, and at last, the nerve-wracking day arrived.
* * *
