The harsh white light from the ceiling lamps spilled down, casting cold reflections onto the sterile walls of the hospital room. The air was thick with the stifling scent of disinfectant, pressing down with a suffocating weight.
Seo Eun Woo slowly opened his eyes. A wave of dizziness struck him at once, forcing his brows into a faint frown. Even before his mind could clear, an impatient male voice intruded upon the silence, deep yet edged with irritation, muttering endlessly by his bedside.
"...Don't think I came here because I wanted to. My parents forced me to visit you. I don't have the time for this…"
"...This engagement between us is nothing more than a binding of interests. Don't mistake it for anything else…"
Every word was laced with impatience and coldness, the kind of sharp disdain that made the very air feel turbulent.
Eun Woo's aching head spun further with those words. A weak murmur slipped past his throat, hoarse and fragile, barely audible—
"...So noisy..."
The voice was soft, yet tinged with the helpless rasp of someone just awakened from a coma. Fragile, almost featherlight, it brushed against the heart rather than striking it, carrying no malice at all. Even in complaint, it stirred something like a tremor in the soul.
Standing by the bed, Jang Dong Hyun froze, momentarily robbed of words.
Just a moment ago, his face had been twisted with irritation, his mind circling endlessly with thoughts of how absurd this arranged marriage was. His parents had forced him into an engagement with this Omega he had never even met. The more they pushed, the more fiercely he resisted.
Besides, he already felt something for another Omega in the company—Kim Kyu Min from a different department.
Dong Hyun valued free love, not a marriage steeped in calculation. If not for his parents' coercion, he would never have come here today.
And yet—
That single frail "so noisy," spoken in such vulnerable tones, made his gaze instinctively fall upon the figure lying in the bed.
A pale yet exquisite face came into view.
The skin was so fair it seemed almost translucent, faintly sickly, but only served to make those eyes appear deeper and more luminous.
It was a face close to perfection.
His features were more striking than most Omegas, so delicate they seemed unreal. Slender eyes, softened by drowsiness, carried an innate gentleness and patience. They shimmered like lakewater filled with starlight—clear, profound, and dangerously captivating.
Dong Hyun's chest jolted violently, his words caught in his throat. His breathing stuttered as he stared blankly at Seo Eun Woo, unable to look away.
"..."
For the first time, he found himself utterly entranced.
The disdainful words he had spoken just moments ago cut off abruptly, as though strangled in silence.
Eun Woo, still weak on the bed, paid no attention to the man's sudden loss of composure.
His head hurt too much. The dizziness was overwhelming, as if the world itself was spinning. Just then, a familiar force stirred deep within his spiritual sea, soothing the pain slightly.
A boyish voice, soft and milky, suddenly echoed in his mind—
"Oops, sorry Daddy~ I messed up! It wasn't the WIY system just now, it was me fumbling around. That's why you suffered when you woke up…"
Eun Woo stilled, startled. He had thought it was the WIY system guiding him as usual, perhaps with Lucel's help. But this voice was one he could recognize instantly—it was his son, Lucel.
"...Lucel?" he called faintly in his heart, eyes still closed, ignoring the man at his bedside.
"Mhm! It's me!" the boyish voice answered sweetly, dripping with a spoiled tone. "I'm really sorry, Daddy~ I'm still learning how to control the system. I didn't know I'd throw you into this world in the middle of the process, and then you woke up with a headache…"
Eun Woo sighed softly, his tone indulgent yet helpless.
"It's fine. Just make sure you learn properly from WIY next time. Mistakes like this can't happen again. At the very least… you should've learned how to file reports correctly by now, right?"
"I know, I know! I did back it up!" Lucel quickly reassured him. "Daddy, listen to me~"
The boy's voice continued eagerly within his spiritual sea:
"The storyline of this world goes like this: The male lead, the 'gong,' is your supposed fiancé—Jang Dong Hyun. He's dissatisfied with the marriage his family arranged for him, because he secretly likes the male lead 'shou,' Kim Kyu Min, from another department in the company.
While the two are entangled in their ambiguous relationship, Dong Hyun is already married to the original owner of this body. In the end, he cheats, betrays, and even…"
"...Even what?" Eun Woo's voice grew heavy.
Lucel hesitated before whispering cautiously:
"In the end, the gong and the shou conspire against the original owner. His eyes are destroyed, his face ruined, and even his pheromones stripped away… he's forced from Omega into a Beta…"
Eun Woo's fingertips trembled faintly.
Lucel hurried to explain:
"But! Later in the story, the true heir of the Jang family takes away the original owner's corpse, while the gong and shou are cast off to a distant country to fend for themselves. Yet because they're children of Heaven's Mandate, they still end up living happily ever after…"
"..."
Eun Woo listened, but his heart grew cold.
Lucel, sensing his father's silence, added carefully:
"So Daddy, your main mission this time has two parts: First, to find Papa. Second, to conquer this world's male lead, the gong, and make him taste the agony of unrequited love—the classic 'chasing wife to the crematorium' plot."
"And… Papa's identity in this world?"
"Cassian Jang!" Lucel's tone brightened with excitement. "The true heir of the Jang family! He's the most unreachable existence—neither Alpha nor Omega, no matter how many, can get close to him. The mission is to max out his affection points and marry him. Only then can Daddy stay alive!"
"Cassian…"
Seo Eun Woo's heart gave a faint stir. That name alone was enough to make him recall the man who once made him pick up the system missions he had abandoned for years…
Meanwhile, Jang Dong Hyun knew nothing of this exchange.
All he saw was the Omega on the bed lying with his eyes closed, his expression shifting between seriousness and helplessness, as if he were lost in some dream. After waiting for a long while and still not seeing him open his eyes, a wave of panic rose in Dong Hyun's chest.
"Hey, you… did you faint again?"
He pressed the bedside call button in a fluster, his voice noticeably more urgent than before, tinged with panic.
At that moment—
Eun Woo slowly opened his eyes.
Those eyes, shimmering like a river of stars, finally settled on him.
In that instant, the air itself seemed to freeze.
Ding!
[Affection Value: -5 → 25]
The sudden numbers floated across Eun Woo's mind.
He blinked, slightly stunned, gaze landing on the tall, broad-shouldered man before him. He had to admit, for a "male lead gong," this one was indeed striking. Sharp brows, star-bright eyes, chiseled features, and a bold presence. Even with a trace of impatience in his expression, he drew attention without effort.
A faint smile tugged at Eun Woo's lips.
—As expected of Heaven's favored protagonist.
At first, his vision was blurry upon opening his eyes. But when it cleared and he truly focused on the face beside his bed, he noticed something else—the pair of deep eyes staring directly at him, carrying a flicker of daze and… something complicated.
"...Why are you staring at me?" Eun Woo's voice was still hoarse, tinged with the fatigue of waking, his head tilting slightly to the side.
Jang Dong Hyun's Adam's apple bobbed before he came back to his senses. His reply was stiff, defensive:
"I… I was just checking that you woke up. The doctor will be here soon."
"Oh." Eun Woo's response was lazy, light, as though he didn't place the man before him in his heart at all.
That indifferent tone made something twist in Dong Hyun's chest.
He had resisted this engagement from the very start, despised it even, convinced it was nothing but a political maneuver by their parents. Yet now, seeing the other lying there—pale, fragile, speaking in a voice soft as feathered breath, tinged with unexplainable tenderness—he found it strangely difficult to look away.
"You…" Dong Hyun had meant to ask Are you okay? but the words shifted on his tongue.
"Did you just say I was noisy?"
A quiet chuckle escaped Eun Woo, his eyes curving with amusement, voice laced with a playful tease.
"Yeah, you were too noisy. Noisy enough to make my headache worse."
"..."
For a split second, Dong Hyun was stunned, his ears burning red. When had anyone ever rejected him so directly? Yet this person said it without a hint of hostility, smiling so beautifully that he couldn't even muster real anger.
"Don't flatter yourself," he huffed coldly, clinging to his pride. "I only came here because my parents forced me. Not because I wanted to see you."
"Mhm. I know." Eun Woo nodded lightly, his tone indifferent, dismissive, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
But that very dismissal was what tightened Dong Hyun's chest.
He had been the one to act distant first, to put up walls. Yet when the other truly acted as though it didn't matter—as if he could take it or leave it—Dong Hyun felt inexplicably unsettled, as though his fists had swung only to strike against cotton, his strength scattering into nothing.
"You… knew?" Jang Dong Hyun frowned.
"Mhm." Seo Eun Woo answered with the same careless tone, even tilting his head and shutting his eyes again, as though he had no desire to continue the conversation.
Just then, the door opened and the doctor entered with several nurses, beginning a routine check. Instinctively, Jang Dong Hyun stepped back to give them space, but his gaze couldn't help drifting back toward the bed.
The doctor asked a few questions, confirming that Seo Eun Woo was conscious and stable. For now, he only needed rest.
"Make sure to get plenty of rest these next few days. Don't overexert yourself," the doctor instructed, before turning to Jang Dong Hyun. "As family, you'll need to look after him."
"I—" Jang Dong Hyun had wanted to argue, to clarify that he hadn't come here of his own will. But when his eyes met Eun Woo's calm, steady gaze, the words stuck in his throat. All he managed was a muffled, "Mm."
Once the nurses filed out, the room fell quiet again.
Eun Woo lifted his eyes toward him, then said faintly, "So, Young Master Jang—when do you plan to dissolve this engagement?"
The words struck Dong Hyun like a jolt.
"You… want to dissolve it?"
"What else?" Eun Woo's gaze was calm, his voice even carrying a hint of boredom. "You've been unwilling from the start, haven't you? I don't like being forced into anything either. Since neither of us is interested, why waste the time?"
"..."
Dong Hyun froze.
He had always hated this engagement, despised it even. By all logic, he should've felt relieved to hear the words he wanted most. Yet when Eun Woo said dissolve aloud, a strange heaviness surged in his chest.
"You're quite straightforward," he said, his tone unintentionally sharp.
"I've never liked wasting time." Eun Woo smiled faintly, his eyes curving gently, though the gesture carried an unmistakable sense of distance.
Complicated emotions churned within Dong Hyun. His lips parted as though to speak, but no words came out.
The atmosphere grew taut, the silence so dense that even the air felt weighted.
The room's lighting softened, leaving only the steady rhythm of heartbeats and the quiet beeping of machines.
Dong Hyun wanted to say something, anything, but Eun Woo had already turned his head away, eyelids drifting shut. His voice was almost devoid of emotion as he murmured:
"If you dislike me that much, then stop appearing before me. Either way… I'll dissolve this engagement myself soon enough."
The calmness of his tone carried an edge of dismissal, as though declaring, You are insignificant.
Dong Hyun's chest tightened painfully, the urge to refute burning within him—but the words refused to form.
Then, suddenly, Eun Woo opened his eyes again. His lips curled ever so slightly, his gaze glimmering as his eyes arched into a breathtaking curve. His voice, light as falling feathers, slipped into the air—
"But—if you'd rather keep pretending you care about me… I wouldn't mind."
A short line, yet sharpened like a hidden needle. It teased, it blurred the truth, leaving one unable to tell if it was earnest or mockery.
Dong Hyun's heart lurched violently. His ears burned red, yet no rebuttal came.
Eun Woo looked away, shutting his eyes once more, his indifference a deliberate wall. All Dong Hyun could see was his flawless profile, untouchable and unbothered.
And in that instant, for the first time, Jang Dong Hyun found himself thinking—
This engagement he had always sneered at… suddenly felt dangerous. And fascinating.
Just as the air was about to condense into suffocating pressure, a crisp voice rang coldly within Eun Woo's mind:
Ding—Target's emotional fluctuation +20. Mission progress: 6%.
[WIY System Friendly Reminder: Master, 'playing hard to get' is working wonders~ Keep going, and he'll fall soon!]