* * *
A much younger face than his current one—eyes black instead of blue.
Raizen was aware that this was a dream, and yet he couldn’t help but be shocked.
Even on a second glance, the boy in front of him was definitely Sean.
The version of him from when he’d lived in Korea.
The one Raizen had seen repeatedly in his dreams.
[That’s not true.]
Surprisingly, his mouth moved on its own.
Was this what Sean had meant by transmigration?
His consciousness was clear, yet it was as if he were trapped in someone else’s body—unable to act freely.
All he could do was watch.
The voice that came out sounded similar to Raizen’s own.
And yet, somehow, it didn’t feel like his.
There was something fundamentally different about it.
‘It feels calm and peaceful.’
Of course, there was a subtle sense of danger too—but it wasn’t overwhelming.
Or maybe it was the affection supporting him that let him endure that fragility.
‘But… I had that too, didn’t I?’
Raizen knew his parents loved him dearly.
Whether or not he truly accepted it emotionally, his mind understood it.
So then why did he feel such a fundamental difference?
No—what Raizen really wanted to know was something else entirely.
‘The owner of this body… is that man, isn’t it?’
It didn’t seem to be a direct replay of a dream scene, but the place was familiar.
The spot where the mysterious man and Sean always met—the man whose face he had never fully seen.
And sure enough, the young Sean stood before him.
Why had he entered this body?
Why did this man’s voice sound so much like his own?
With these unanswered questions, Raizen continued to watch the scene unfold.
[Not true?]
Young Sean glared and asked.
His eyes, turned a warm brown in the light, were filled with deep distrust.
Even when Raizen nodded, the boy’s expression didn’t change.
He just lowered his head and stomped on the floor in frustration.
[Liar.]
Muttering like he was trying to convince himself. Raizen asked:
[Why do you think that?]
Sean’s head snapped up.
[Because it is a lie! It’s all lies. Everyone lies to me. You’re the same. Why do you keep coming here? I liked being alone!]
‘He’s like a baby kitten with its fur all puffed up.’
Raizen couldn’t help but think that as he looked at him.
If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have cared to even listen.
The curse he carried was already too heavy and too miserable.
But because it was Sean, it was different.
Unexpectedly, Raizen found young Sean… fascinating.
To think Sean had a time like this.
[Really? But I came here because I want to be with you.]
[Th-that’s…!]
At those words, young Sean gave a little jump.
He scrunched his face tightly as if to show his displeasure, but somehow, it felt a bit too deliberate—like it was being put on.
Despite his expression, the back of his neck was visibly flushed red.
‘So even when he was young, his neck would turn red when he was embarrassed.’
[No way. Absolutely not!]
[Why do you think that?]
At Raizen’s reply, the boy’s eyes drooped at the corners.
His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly shook his head.
Raizen—or rather, the owner of this body—simply watched in silence.
‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’
Raizen couldn’t understand the behavior.
Wasn’t the owner of this body also trying to grow closer to the young Sean?
If so, shouldn’t he be coaxing him with sweet words, trying to ease him somehow?
Even Raizen, who wasn’t well-versed in human emotions, could clearly see what the boy in front of him wanted.
Outwardly, he was doing his best to act like he didn’t want it, but in truth, he seemed to be hoping someone would hold on to him more firmly.
‘If it were me…’
He wouldn’t have just stood there doing nothing. Frustrated, Raizen tried to move the body he was inhabiting. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t take control.
“……”
Then suddenly, Raizen woke from the dream.
He stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before slowly sitting up.
Pressing a hand to his forehead, he chased after the lingering traces the dream had left behind.
He felt like he’d dreamed many things, but the one just before waking lingered most vividly.
As if he had actually experienced it.
As he recalled the young Sean he’d seen in the dream, Raizen’s lips curved faintly.
That messy, clumsy boy hardly seemed like the Sean he knew now, but even so, he was adorable.
His deep distrust of others, and even the way he couldn’t accept someone’s kindness at face value—it was all endearing.
That’s why, if it had been him, he wouldn’t have stood idly by like the man in the dream.
He’d thought that before too, though at the time, it had been a thought clouded by jealousy.
But now, it was different. Raizen had proven that he—not the man in the dream—was right.
Once he started doing what Sean truly wanted, everything began to fall into place.
Their engagement had been decided, preparations had begun in earnest, and even if their physical affection still resembled child’s play, he was slowly beginning to reach Sean.
Soon, once they were officially engaged and Sean came of age, he would be able to take him fully—inside and out, leaving behind countless, undeniable traces of himself on Sean’s body.
Sean, who now held Raizen Pantheon’s heart, would never leave him.
That was what he’d always wanted. Sean Pantheon.
Just the thought of him as his bonded partner was enough to fill him with satisfaction.
“……”
And yet, why did he feel so hollow?
It felt like something had gone wrong.
It was a sensation he hadn’t felt since realizing Sean’s emotions and discovering a way to bind him.
[You’re deceiving me. This… this isn’t love.]
[Is that so?]
Suddenly, a conversation echoed in his mind—something he felt he had heard somewhere before. The faint voice became clearer.
[Then what is love? What do you think love is?]
The words felt as if they were directed right at him now.
Raizen licked his lips, his throat dry.
‘The love I think of is…’
✦ ✦ ✦
Once I told Grandfather my decision, everything started falling into place quickly.
The announcement that Sean Kreveta was alive and engaged to Raizen Pantheon was scheduled for a month later, and everyone began preparing.
I started receiving lessons under Arthur Sothes and the Duchess, learning how to become the next duchess.
Duchess.
Even now, the word still felt strange to me.
Just thinking about it made me shiver involuntarily.
‘Being called a “duchess” as a man still feels strange.’
In this world, when it came to marriage, what mattered more than biological sex was whether one was an Alpha or an Omega.
So even male Omegas weren’t addressed differently.
It seemed I was the only one finding it particularly awkward, probably because I had lived in Korea.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
‘I’m really becoming Raizen’s bonded partner.’
In a world where men could marry men if one of them presented as an Omega…
This was how things were meant to be.
The laws of this world—the world I was supposed to have lived in all along—made it possible.
All I had to do was accept it.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
‘Even when I longed for my missing hyung back in Korea, I never imagined that, if we met again, our relationship could become… this.’
Even being lovers would have been more than I ever dreamed of.
But bonded partners? Marriage?
‘Can I… really do this well?’
Maybe not like the Duke and Duchess, but I hoped we could still live a happy life.
I wasn’t entirely confident, but I had no choice now but to believe in that hope.
Suppressing the familiar waves of anxiety that occasionally welled up inside me, I made my way to the Duchess’s room.
When I opened the door, I saw the Duchess intently studying a table overflowing with catalogs—and Raizen was there too, staring just as intensely at them.
For the record, this wasn’t for the engagement ceremony.
In fact, if it had been for the engagement ceremony, it might’ve made more sense.
‘This is the day our Sean will reveal his true self to the world. Naturally, you should be the one who shines the most.’
That was what the Duchess had said.
Even now, I couldn’t help feeling a little flustered at the memory.
That day was supposed to be… the announcement of her precious son’s engagement, too.
* * *
