‘So, what do I do now?’ asked Donghyun to himself before throwing himself on the bed. He took a glance at the clock on the bedside table.

‘1230’

He released a deep sigh before waking up and walked towards the bathroom, trying to get his first shower of the day. He also planned to take this time to have deep thoughts about what happened just hours ago.

About 2 hours ago….

“No.” answered Donghyun; loud and firm before closing the door. A few seconds later, his phone kept on ringing again as expected, it came from the same number that called him just now. It was Hong Joochan’s number. 

“Urgh. Leave me alone!” grumbled Donghyun and proceeded to turn off his phone. However his effort seemed futile as Joochan kept on ringing his doorbell.

God knew how hard Donghyun tried to ignore the doorbell but he couldn’t stand it anymore and gave in. Dragging his feet, Donghyun walked towards the door and opened the door.

“What do you want!?” growled Donghyun as soon as he saw Joochan’s face.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I know that was weird. But, are you sure you want to refuse me?” smirked Joochan, but it slowly faded and was replaced with a confused face instead.

“Did you try to use your hormones on me?” chuckled Donghyun.

“I… Uh..” 

“In case you haven’t heard, I’m a recessive Omega. I can’t sense your heat, Mr Hong Joochan.” Donghyun huffed.

‘This is why I hate Alpha’ continued Donghyun, mumbling his words.

“No, I’ve heard you the first time you mentioned it in the interview room. But I think that’s impossible? I was pretty sure I could smell-”

“Why are you doing this, Mr Hong? I don’t get it. Is this some sort of prank or initiation for that position in your company? Is doing this kind of thing to an Omega an entertainment for you, Mr Hong? Because if that is the case, please leave right now and may we never see each other again.” cut Donghyun. His hands were sweating and trembling. He knew what Joochan was about to say but it was impossible. He never missed taking those drugs. However, he was suddenly reminded of what the doctor mentioned the other day. The drug would eventually lessen its effects and the side effects would get even worse. The latter did not worry Donghyun as much as the first one. His hands could not stop trembling.

“Okay. I failed. But let me explain myself. Can you please let me in. It’s cold right now.” requested Joochan. His tone was soft, almost as if he was talking to a kid.

“You can’t do that here?” Donghyun grunted.

“Please. I just really can’t stand the cold.” pleaded Joochan. His nose was red, due to the cold temperature. Winter was coming soon, therefore it was a given that the weather had gotten colder. 

“Fine, come in.” invited Donghyun out of pity. Plus, he did believe that if he refused Joochan, he would still be persistent.

“Thank you. I gotta say, for an unemployed person, your apartment is pretty luxurious.” compliment Joochan as soon as he took off his shoes.

“Why? Is it hard to believe that an Omega owns a luxurious house?” asked Donghyun sarcastically as he led Joochan towards his living room. 

“No, I didn’t say a word about you being an Omega.” 

“But I’m sure that thought did cross your mind.” said Donghyun before sitting down on the sofa.

“No. Not all Alpha are like that.” denied Joochan and took his place on the sofa opposite of Donghyun.

“Said the person who tried to use their Alpha hormones on me.” smiled Donghyun. His eyes were cold. He then got up to the fridge at the kitchen to pour himself a glass of orange juice and walked towards the sofa once again to listen to the rest of Joochan’s explanation.

“Sorry about that. I was desperate. I would never have done that if I wasn’t” explained Joochan, disappointed in himself.

“ And so? What business do you have with me? What’s it with the roses?” asked Donghyun non-stop since he refused to listen to an excuse given by an elite Alpha.

“Okay, first, let me just put this flower on the table over here.” Joochan then proceeded to put the bouquet of fresh roses on the table.
 

“Next, let me explain why I did what I did.” He looked at Donghyun as if he was asking for permission to continue his explanation.

“Yeah, go on.”

“You might already know about this but my parents are Alpha.”

“Are you trying to brag or….?”

“No, let me finish.”
 

“Okay. Go on?”

“ Well, on paper, yes. They are both my parents though in truth, only one of them is my real parent, which is my father. The one who gave birth to me was not my mother. My real mother was a male Omega whom I’ve never met. Well, he threw me away. I was the unwanted child from an affair. But as you can see, I’m an Alpha, so they still raised me.” 

“Isn’t that a good thing? You managed to grow up in a privileged household.”

“No, you don’t get it Kim Donghyun. I was alone and still alone.” Joochan paused. Trying to stop himself from reminiscing about what he had gone through from the moment he was born. Donghyun noticed how his expression turned gloomed. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like comforting those hurtful expressions in front of him right this instant. Maybe it was true that broken people can sense each other’s pain.

“I’ll just save that story for another time. But the point here is, I’m sure you’ve heard rumors that I’d be the one inheriting the company?” continued Joochan after staying quiet a few seconds.

“Yeah?”

“Well, in order to do that, I need to fulfill my father’s request. And this is where your part came into the play. ”

“Which is?” 

“I need to get married and produce an heir as soon as possible. ” said Joochan; serious.

Donghyun, who was drinking orange juice, snorted- resulted in orange juice splashed all over his shirt and the coffee table.

“HUH??? Are you out of your mind?? ” fumed Donghyun, torn between his anger and the shocking reasoning. He then placed the glass on the table; grabbing the tissue to wipe his mouth and nose.

“No, listen, Donghyun. I need this. I need power. Me as I am right now, I won’t be able to protect anyone I love.” begged Joochan.

“But why me? There are tons of other Omegas and Alphas that are born from elite families. Plus, I’m a defect. I’m a recessive Omega. I can’t give birth to an heir or whatever! “

“But I’m pretty sure you’re not-”

“I am! “ cut Donghyun.

“Okay, let’s say you are, you don’t have to worry because this will not be a real marriage.”

“I don’t understand.” Donghyun stood up and hugged himself.

“Let’s just think of this as a job that is based on a contract. Once the position is given to me officially, the contract will be over.”

“Then what about the heir thing?”
 

“That is just a side request.”

“No. I can’t agree to this. Why me?”

“Because out of all the people I’ve known in my life, I know you won’t betray me.” 

“How do you know that? You don’t even know me, Hong Joochan!” growled Donghyun.
 

“Which is exactly why I know you won’t betray me. Also,I don’t want to resort to this but I know where half of your money was used for, Kim Donghyun.” threatened Joochan.

“What money? I’m just an unemployed Omega.” Donghyun tried to play dumb though he knew it was not a very strong denial since his apartment already said it all.

“Don’t play dumb. I know you do stock trading, Kim Donghyun. And I know where half of your money flows, Kim Donghyun.”

“Are you trying to threaten me?”

“No. What if I tell you I can solve that problem for you.”

“Solve it?” 

“I have friends from the other side, Donghyun. I can even end him and his whole organization, if I want.” 

The moment Hong Joochan mentioned ‘him and his organization’, Donghyun knew Joochan was the real deal. He did a thorough background check on Donghyun; which meant he knew what had happened.

“I-”

“Yes, I also know why you are funding his organization, Kim Donghyun.” Joochan then grabbed a black file from his bag and put it on the table.

Donghyun could feel his hand grow cold. His past that he tried to hide all this while was being dug up by this scary fox eyed man, Hong Joochan.

“I’ll leave this file containing our contract here for you, Kim Donghyun. I’ll be back in a few days to collect them. I’m not threatening you, Donghyun but I know what I’m offering you is something you won’t be able to refuse.” Joochan paused, trying to decipher the emotions being expressed by Donghyun right now. He felt guilty for doing what he did but he had no choice. The painful expressions on Donghyun’s face broke Joochan’s heart. He wanted to comfort him but he needed to stand firm or everything he had planned would go to waste. 

“Well then, I’ll leave now. See you in a few days.” 

Back to the current time...

Donghyun, who had just finished reading the contract, took a deep breath before laying on his bed. Some of the rules that had been set up were that :

1. There is no exact expiration date for the contract however there will be certain rules that can nullify it.

2. They have to live in one house, be it Donghyun’s or Joochan’s

3. Donghyun will be given a fake elite family background to ease the marriage process

4. Both parties can’t have another relationship while still in the contract.

5. Any ual act between both parties, must have consent from both parties or the contract will immediately be considered nullified.

And plenty more in detail. But basically, Donghyun just had to pretend to be a good husband and everything will be over ASAP. 

‘ Ah… I wonder how Jaehyun and Jibeom react to this. Gonna be hilarious. Mr and Mrs Bong as well… I wonder if they are going to be surprised.’

Kim Donghyun then let out a weakened laugh followed by tears flowing from his eyes to the bedsheet.

‘From then till now, nothing has ever changed. My fate is still in another’s hand just because I’m an Omega.’ he sobbed even louder once he realized this excruciating truth.

Next morning...

“Hello, Kim Donghyun?” asked that person from the other side as soon as the call connected.

“Yeah. It’s me. I’ve signed the contract.” said Donghyun, his voice still hoarse from last night’s cry.

“Oh that’s fast.”

“Yeah. Promise me you’ll stop it. You’ll stop them, especially him.”

“Yeah. I promise.” reassured Hong Joochan.

“Are you okay?” he continued just in time as Donghyun was about to end the call.

“Why do you care?”

“Well, let’s meet later. I’ll pick you up to explain the contract in detail.”

“Yeah, okay. Text me when you are here.” answered Donghyun weakly and then ended the call.

‘I’m sorry Kim Donghyun.’ uttered Joochan as soon as Donghyun ended the call.