* * *

“Im…print?”

My mom and dad, looking dazed and bewildered, sat back down.

Taeshin’s parents also gave us questioning looks, demanding an explanation.

I looked at Taeshin, worried about what his outrageous claim might mean for us.

“Imprinting? Are you serious?”

“Taeshin, imprinting isn’t something easy. It often fails even after multiple attempts. I don’t know how deep your relationship with Sunwoo is, but imprinting isn’t something that can be done on a whim.”

Taeshin’s parents calmly voiced their doubts.

Despite their skepticism, Taeshin answered confidently.

“It’s true. We imprinted.”

Seeing Taeshin remain so composed, I found myself momentarily questioning if we really did imprint.

Wow, Lee Taeshin lies so convincingly. I almost believed it myself.

My parents, clearly taken in, looked stunned with their mouths open.

“Sunwoo, is Taeshin telling the truth? Did you really imprint?”

“Uh…”

Taeshin’s mother turned to me and asked. Startled by the sudden attention, I glanced at Taeshin.

You idiot, you’ve taken this too far. If they find out it’s a lie, we’re really finished!

Silently cursing Taeshin, I swallowed hard.

Damn it, I don’t care anymore. I’ll just go with it!

“Yes, it’s true! We imprinted! So it doesn’t matter what you say!”

“Imprinted? Moon Sunwoo, do you even know what imprinting means?”

“Of course I do! It means we can’t be separated, ever.”

I shouted back confidently, feeling defiant towards my mom who was doubting me. If they want to check the imprint, we’ll just do it for real.

Imprinting isn’t a big deal. I’m going to marry Taeshin and live with him forever anyway!

With a reckless attitude, I boldly faced my mom who held her head in dizziness.

“Imprinting can be confirmed. You can prove if what you’re saying is true or false.”

As expected, our parents weren’t easily convinced.

My dad, comforting my mom who was feeling faint, spoke about confirming the truth.

“If what you’re saying is true, then you’ve imprinted, and we can prove it.”

My dad pressed us to confirm it, and Taeshin’s father looked at us intently as if to see through us.

Under the pressure of their gaze, I clung to Taeshin.

What do we do, Taeshin? Should we confess it was a lie now? Tugging at Taeshin’s sleeve, I looked at him nervously.

Not only my parents, but Taeshin’s parents too, were demanding the truth, making me break out in a cold sweat.

I quickly regretted going along with Taeshin’s words just to keep our parents from leaving.

“…Actually,”

“We’ll show you.”

“Huh?”

“If you allow us, we can show you right now.”

What…!

Are you out of your mind?

Just as I was about to confess it was a lie out of fear, Taeshin cut me off. Startled, I looked up to see him confidently facing our parents.

I thought I was reckless, but Taeshin was worse. Offering to prove an imprint we didn’t even have—he must be crazy.

“Hey, what are you planning…!”

“Before going to the hospital, I’d like to confirm it here first, if Sunwoo’s parents don’t mind.”

“Alright. Go ahead, Taeshin.”

While I whispered in panic to Taeshin, our parents were already discussing it.

My dad, who had recovered from his dizziness, exchanged looks with my mom, and Taeshin’s mother also agreed.

With their permission, Taeshin tightly held my hand.

“Excuse us then.”

Taeshin bowed to our parents. The word ‘imprint’ filled my mind with countless thoughts.

Proving an imprint that doesn’t exist, the revelation of our lie, our parents’ enormous anger, and my name disappearing from the family registry.

Thoughts of explaining to our future child, who would surely look like Taeshin, floated in my mind.

‘Mom, why don’t I have grandparents?’

…No! How can I explain to our child that I was removed from the family registry because of a lie!

Stop it, Taeshin…!

Flinch!

“Gasp!”

As I urgently tried to tell the truth and tugged at Taeshin’s sleeve, an overwhelming alpha pheromone burst out.

Taeshin was openly releasing pheromones to threaten our parents, making them groan. I, too, was startled by the threat and opened my eyes wide.

“Hey, hey…what are you doing?”

Not understanding why Taeshin was showing hostility towards our parents, I lightly tapped his arm.

The hostile pheromones Taeshin released filled the space around us.

My parents’ expressions looked strained, as if they were struggling under Taeshin’s pheromones.

Hey…! No matter how much our parents oppose us, this isn’t right!

Even though I called and nudged him, Taeshin didn’t stop.

Feeling that something could go seriously wrong, I quickly grabbed Taeshin and pulled him towards me.

“Stop it! What are you doing?”

We always called him an unfilial son, but this was truly outrageous.

Grabbing Taeshin firmly, I glared at him sternly, making him quickly retract his pheromones and smile.

“You did well, Sunwoo.”

As if that wasn’t enough, he even praised me. Completely flabbergasted, I gaped at him as Taeshin turned to face our parents, still holding my hand.

“Is this enough?”

“Oh my god, imprinting…!”

My mom, who had been pale, exclaimed with a shocked expression.

My dad sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips.

“Alright, it’s an imprint.”

“…Huh? Imprint? Us? We didn’t do anything?”

When Taeshin defied his parents with pheromones, confirming our imprint, I was utterly baffled and could only blink. Taeshin patted my head and explained.

“An imprinted omega isn’t affected by the threat pheromones of their alpha partner. Generally, an alpha’s threatening pheromones render nearby omegas or lower-ranked individuals powerless.”

“But I was fine?”

“Yes, because Sunwoo and I are imprinted.”

Although Taeshin’s sudden aggression startled me, it wasn’t overwhelming. I pondered deeply over this proof of our imprint before speaking up.

“Are we really imprinted?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Sunwoo and I, we’re imprinted.”

Oh my gosh. It’s not a lie; we really are imprinted?

As I was stunned by this unexpected confirmation, Taeshin chuckled and lightly closed my gaping mouth with his fingertip.

When? Where? How? Why didn’t you tell me?

Questions swirled in my mind until I realized something crucial.

“Then it’s not a lie?”

“A lie?”

If it’s not a lie, I won’t be kicked out, my name will stay in the family register, and Haeju won’t have to ask why she doesn’t have grandparents.

..Wow, that’s a relief. Knowing our imprint wasn’t a lie, I felt immensely reassured.

I had dreaded explaining everything to Haeju after being disowned by my parents.

“Moon. Sun. Woo.!”

“Gasp!”

Mom called me in her highest pitch of fury, snapping me out of my shock. I instinctively hid behind Taeshin, ready to flee.

“How could you get imprinted without knowing on top of being pregnant?!”

“Well, that’s why I’m marrying Taeshin! And we’ll have Haeju!”

“Is marriage a joke to you? Do you think it’s something you can undo as easily as complaining about side dishes?”

“I’ve never complained about side dishes! And I’m serious! I genuinely want to marry Taeshin!”

“Who’s stopping you? I’m just saying to wait a bit longer! Do you know how many couples get divorced because they rushed into marriage?”

“We won’t get divorced! I love Taeshin too much for that! Besides, we already got our rings!”

I showed Mom our wedding rings, clasping hands with Taeshin. Mom, looking dizzy from the sight, groaned and held her head.

“Oh, first you cause all sorts of trouble, and now this…!”

“Mom, trust me. I can do this!”

“I assure you, we will handle everything properly.”

“Oh, dear, oh, dear!”

As Mom’s fervor subsided, I seized the opportunity to appeal strongly. Trying to instill confidence, I widened my eyes, only to have Mom glare back even more fiercely.

Intimidated, I shrank behind Taeshin again.

“…Sunwoo’s parents.”

Taeshin’s mother, always composed, addressed my parents. Mom and Dad looked to her, desperate.

“Given the circumstances, we should…”

“Sigh… I wanted to see if they could endure marriage… But imprinting?”

“He’s always been a rascal, and now this.”

Taeshin’s mother’s careful words prompted Dad to sigh deeply and look at the ceiling. Mom, her outburst waning, muttered resignedly.

“Are you giving us your blessing?”

“Mom, Dad, are you permitting us?”

Taeshin asked his parents, and I followed suit, looking at mine. This had to be permission. We could get married and have Haeju!

“Yes. If you’re imprinted, it would be wrong to stop you.”

“The baby is inevitable. Taeshin, you must support Sunwoo well.”

“Thank you. I will.”

Taeshin’s parents had given their blessing to our marriage and Haeju. Now it was just down to my parents. I turned to them with hopeful eyes, and Dad, glancing at us before looking back at the ceiling, gave a short nod. Permission granted.

“Mom?”

“…Do as you wish! Oh, I can’t take this. To think that dream wasn’t about Jungwoo but this irresponsible boy…”

“Mom, be clear!”

“Yes, yes! Get married, have the baby! But you can’t have the ceremony until after the baby and your recovery! If you don’t take proper care of yourself, you’ll never have a wedding!”

“Yes!”

Though Mom was yelling, her message was to take care of my health after having the baby. The joy of receiving both sets of parents’ blessings was overwhelming.

As I celebrated with a clenched fist, Mom, who looked like she’d lost everything, flared up again.

“Moon Sunwoo, are you happy?”

“Huh? Of course. We’ve been approved to have Haeju and get married. I’ve been so anxious about being found out. If we were caught, Mrs. Kim would’ve gone mad and I would’ve been dead… Gulp!”

“You…! Can’t you at least pretend to be remorseful? Calling your mother Mrs. Kim?”

“Mom, that’s not it…! Don’t come! If you hit me, you’re not just hitting me!”

“Quiet! I thought I’d let you mature, but you go and get pregnant and engaged? Rings too? Couldn’t you wait until the right time? Moon Sunwoo, come here!”

Argh! I’m dead! Excitedly prattling to Mom, I ended up inviting a beating.

Jumping up, I deftly avoided Mom, who chased me around the sofa.

I was confident in my escape, but today, unfortunately, Mom caught me.

Yet, just as I braced for the inevitable hit,

Mom released her grip.

Watching her sigh and shake her head, I felt a strange mix of emotions.

* * *