"During this one month, I thought of many different ways to punish you," Yeongsoo began, his voice soft but laced with a chilling undercurrent. "Physically, mentally, emotionally… maybe a little bit of all three. And then I remembered your pitiable expression and told myself, 'Maybe he isn't so bad.'"
Haeun's breath hitched, his body tensing as he listened. He knew that look in Yeongsoo's eyes, the same cold detachment that had always unnerved him. It was as if Yeongsoo was calculating every word, every move.
"Haeun, as you can see, I've never involved myself in a relationship," Yeongsoo continued, his tone calm, almost reflective. "I didn't plan to. I didn't even want to pair. The thought of being with someone never occurred to me." He paused, his eyes flickering with something unreadable. "But after pairing with you and knowing you're about to have my child… it's a whole new experience for me. You can say I'm curious."
Haeun swallowed hard, his mind racing to process what Yeongsoo was saying. Curious? He felt like he was some kind of experiment to him, something to be studied. The idea made his skin crawl.
"So, you don't have to worry too much," Yeongsoo said, his tone shifting to something almost soothing, though Haeun could still sense the underlying darkness. "I'll take care of you. We can be boyfriends, and maybe… we'll even get married."
"Get married?" Haeun scoffed, his voice shaking as he met Yeongsoo's gaze. "We don't even love each other…"
Yeongsoo's lips curved into a small, almost amused smile. He reached out, taking Haeun's hand and bringing it to his lips, kissing his palm gently. The gesture was intimate, but it sent a shiver down Haeun's spine—both from the softness of the touch and the undeniable possessiveness behind it.
"That doesn't mean we can't learn to love each other," Yeongsoo said quietly, his eyes locking onto Haeun's with a calm intensity. "People change, feelings grow. We'll learn. One way or another."
Haeun stared at him, his heart pounding in his chest. The words hung in the air, heavy with implications. He didn't know if he could trust them, didn't know if he could ever love someone like Yeongsoo. But the way he was speaking, it didn't seem like Haeun had much of a choice.
His hand trembled slightly as Yeongsoo held it, and for a moment, Haeun wondered what it would be like to try, to live with him, to see if something real could ever come out of this twisted arrangement. But then, his pride and fear reared their heads again, reminding him that this wasn't how he wanted his life to go.
"I don't think it's that simple," Haeun whispered, pulling his hand back, his chest tightening with uncertainty.
Yeongsoo watched him for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, he stood up, turning his back to Haeun as he walked toward the door. "We'll see about that," he said over his shoulder, his voice carrying that same cold edge. "For now, just focus on staying healthy. The rest… we'll figure out."
And with that, he left the room, leaving Haeun alone with his thoughts, the weight of their situation pressing down on him harder than ever.
Haeun stabbed the pancakes with his fork, his face turning beet red as his mind replayed Yeongsoo's words. "Was he serious?" he muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing at the fluffy stack in front of him. "Yeongsoo said we could learn to love each other…"
His grip on the fork tightened, and he exhaled sharply. Could he really trust Yeongsoo? The man who had hunted him down, who clearly had a possessive streak, who was more dangerous than anyone Haeun had ever dealt with. And now he was talking about love, about marriage, as if it were something that could just… happen.
Haeun dropped his fork, rubbing his face with both hands. "This is too much for my heart," he groaned. His chest felt tight, not just from anxiety but from the idea of it all—love. It was a concept so foreign to him, something he had never truly experienced.
He'd spent most of his life dodging his mother's attempts to set him up with alphas, dismissing the idea of ever falling in love, especially with someone like Yeongsoo. But now… now there was this baby, their baby, and everything had changed.
"I've never been in love before…" Haeun whispered, his voice barely audible. His heart was pounding harder with each passing second. Could he really let himself trust Yeongsoo? Could he let his guard down enough to see if there was something real between them? Or was this just a trap, another way for Yeongsoo to control him?
Haeun sighed, dropping his hands and staring blankly at the pancakes. "Why did things have to get so complicated?"
He picked up his fork again, poking at the pancakes half-heartedly. The warmth of Yeongsoo's pheromones still lingered in the room, making him feel warm and strange at the same time.
Haeun stared down at the pancakes, a mischievous idea bubbling up in his mind as he picked up the fork. "Alright, baby, let's leave it to fate," he muttered under his breath, more to the child growing inside him than to himself. His heart pounded in his chest as he raised the fork, gripping it firmly between his fingers.
"I'll spin the fork," he said softly, glancing down at his abdomen. "If it lands on the pancakes, I won't trust Yeongsoo. But if it lands somewhere else…" He paused, his lips tightening. "I'll trust him… and learn to love him."
It sounded ridiculous—childish, even—but he couldn't help it. His mind was racing with conflicting thoughts, his emotions tangled up in a web of uncertainty. Trusting Yeongsoo felt impossible, but here he was, about to let a fork decide the fate of his relationship.
"Alright," he whispered again, giving the fork a good spin in the air.
Time seemed to slow down as the utensil twirled above the plate, gleaming under the soft light of the kitchen. Haeun held his breath, eyes wide as he watched it spiral, his heart pounding in rhythm with its motion.
It spun… and spun… and spun…
Then, with a soft clink, the fork landed.
Haeun stared at it, his eyes following the direction it had fallen. His heart skipped a beat as he realized—it had landed off to the side, far away from the pancakes.
For a moment, Haeun just sat there, staring at the fork in disbelief. "No way…" He could hardly believe it. He actually laughed, shaking his head in exasperation. "So… I'm supposed to trust him? Really?"
He sighed, slumping back in his chair, still staring at the fork as if it held all the answers. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this…" He rubbed his temples, already feeling the weight of the decision settling on his shoulders.
"I'll trust him," he murmured to himself. "And… maybe, just maybe, I'll learn to love him.