Pig Government Official

-75-

People view Jeonggwan in three ways. One is just a cute and chubby friend. Another is a cute but slightly fierce chubby friend. And the last one is,

“This is really such a family disgrace…”

“Mister.”

“…Mister?”

“What are you to me?”

The hell’s pig fighter. When Jeonggwan was really angry, he could spit out words so rapidly without breathing that he could win a necklace if he went on a rap program. It sounded so much like rap that when Jeonggwan got angry, Jihoon often found himself grooving to the rhythm.

“Did I say you’re uglier than Won Junjae, or that you’re narrow-minded? Did I say you’re shorter than Won Junjae? That your pheromones stink? Why are you picking a fight with someone who’s minding their own business?”

“…”

“Self-awareness? What’s that? Is there a law that fat people can’t date good-looking people? Did I belittle someone else’s looks, or throw a tantrum saying ‘Why don’t you love me! If it’s because I’m fat, that’s really unfair, you should look at my inner beauty!’? Of course, I’m not beautiful on the inside either. I’m just me. To some, I might be funny and kind, to others, I might be selfish and nasty. Just me.”

“…”

“But, are you perfect? Are you God? Or do you have some kind of certificate? What gives you the right to talk about self-awareness?”

Jeonggwan’s eyes were slightly red as he fired off his words like rapid gunshots. Won Seongje, who should have counterattacked, couldn’t say anything and just stared at Jeonggwan, dumbfounded. Honestly, when he saw Jeonggwan from the car, he had gotten out to pick a fight thinking, ‘Let’s bully this pig and make Won Junjae angry!’ But now, the enraged Jeonggwan was untouchable. Even if Won Seongje’s great-grandfather’s grandfather came, he couldn’t win.

“Be careful.”

“…”

“If you hit from behind, it’ll be me.”

Jeonggwan, brushing back his hair and moving on, looked surprisingly calm except for his slightly reddened eyes, which made him even scarier. So when Seongje saw Jeonggwan approaching to pass by him, he quietly stepped aside. He was slightly intimidated, thinking Jeonggwan’s tightly clenched fist might fly at any moment.

“This is so unfair…”

Only after confirming that Jeonggwan had gone far, Seongje pouted and expressed his grievance. I don’t think I teased him that badly, but he’s really telling me off… It seemed like Jeonggwan’s anger had been accumulating bit by bit until it exploded today. Seongje had picked the wrong fight at the wrong time. He waited until Jeonggwan’s figure completely disappeared before hesitantly returning to his car.

* * *

Jeonggwan felt that if he met Junjae now, he might snap and ask if he had a brother and if his brother was always such a jerk. So he decided to recharge on sugar, regain his composure, find peace of mind, and then go up to see Junjae. He didn’t want to get angry and blame Junjae for something that wasn’t his fault just because they were family.

He was also bothered by the fact that when he had asked about siblings before, Junjae had said he was an only child… This seemed like something he needed to ask calmly. Jeonggwan first went into the cafe on the first floor and asked the manager to pile whipped cream on his iced mint chocolate latte as high as his desire to quit work.

“At this point, you might as well just quit…”

“Haha. It’s just a feeling. I still need to make money.”

“…You’re definitely hinting at me.”

The whipped cream was piled so high it was almost twice the height of the cup, and Jeonggwan found it so funny that his anger seemed to subside instantly. Jihoon awkwardly smiled while glancing at the manager, but the manager’s smile was only on his lips as he stared at the cup with its tower of whipped cream, which was quite scary.

“What happened to make you like this?”

“No, some crazy bastard… Ah! You would know.”

“Know what?”

“Does Junjae have an older brother?”

Come to think of it, he didn’t need to ask Junjae. Of course, he would have to ask again, but Jihoon was also part of that family, and it seemed easier to ask him, so Jeonggwan asked Jihoon if Junjae had an older brother. There might be family circumstances that could be a bit awkward(?) if he asked Junjae right away. Well, maybe Junjae’s father had an affair and brought back an illegitimate child…

“Won Seongje? Did you run into Seongje hyung?”

“…He has a brother?”

“Yeah. A half-brother. My big uncle remarried. The current aunt is Junjae hyung’s birth mother.”

However, contrary to Jeonggwan’s worries, Jihoon mentioned the existence of Junjae’s brother quite casually. He even kindly provided detailed family history.

“Seongje hyung is a recessive alpha, so my big uncle remarried and had Junjae hyung, who’s a dominant alpha.”

“Huh? It wasn’t some love affair, but he remarried to get a dominant alpha?”

“Yeah. In our group, only dominant alphas are eligible for succession.”

“…What kind of mess is that?”

“How is this a mess? It’s natural.”

Jeonggwan looked at Jihoon with a very surprised face. That’s natural? Does that mean they could keep remarrying until they have a dominant child? Jihoon looked even more puzzled at Jeonggwan’s reaction, as if he didn’t understand why this was strange.

“Yeah. How could a recessive lead this huge group?”

“…Why can’t they? Whether recessive or dominant, they’re all people in the end.”

“Well, that’s true. But in Won Group, only dominants are eligible for succession.”

“…So if the married omega can’t bear a dominant, they get divorced right away?”

“Yeah. Dominant alphas do.” Jihoon answered simply as if it was obvious, but Jeonggwan was a bit stunned, wondering if this was what they called chaebol life. Divorce being that easy… It was a world he had never even thought about. Moreover, Jeonggwan had grown up in an exceptionally harmonious family where he could count on his fingers the number of times he had seen his parents fight, so it was even more shocking. Then if I… If I can’t bear a dominant with Won Junjae, will we get divorced?

“Come to think of it, marrying Junjae hyung would be a huge win.”

“…”

“If you can’t bear a dominant, instant divorce. Sweet alimony.”

Jeonggwan glared at the giggling Jihoon and took a bite of the mountain of whipped cream. Usually, he would have joked along with Jihoon saying “Oh, that’s a big win,” but somehow Jeonggwan felt a bit deflated by those words. Won Junjae, who said he would love me even if I was bald, how sad would it be if he divorced me for not bearing a dominant.

“…Aish.”

No. They hadn’t even been dating for a month and hadn’t even had their first time yet, and here they were talking about marriage, children, and divorce. Besides, Junjae might not even be thinking about marriage with him in the first place. It was really just distant talk.

“Hyung. Will you marry me?”

Although it was distant talk, Jeonggwan was quite curious. Of course, nothing was set in stone, and people who date can break up if they’re not compatible, but curiosity was curiosity. Of course, Junjae wouldn’t say “No, I won’t marry you” here, but words have power. Even if Junjae hadn’t realistically thought about it, if he at least said yes, how much stronger would their relationship become? This was just Jeonggwan asking a leading question because of the stress he had received today and feeling deflated after hearing Jihoon’s words earlier. In other words, this was in the same context as asking “How much do you love me, hyung?”

“Yes.”

“What… You should at least think about it before answering.”

“I’m serious.”

And with Junjae’s firm answer, Jeonggwan felt like all his pent-up stress flew away at once. His heart melted. Jeonggwan, who had been sitting on the opposite side of Junjae’s office desk, jumped up and approached Junjae.

“Do you like me that much? Enough not to even think about it?”

“Yes.”

Jeonggwan giggled as if Junjae was hopeless, wrapping his arms around Junjae’s neck and sitting on his lap. At first, he had absolutely refused to sit like this, worried that he might be too heavy for Junjae, saying “My boyfriend’s thighs will burst,” but Junjae had insisted on holding Jeonggwan in this position. After doing it once or twice, it had become quite natural now.

“…Jeonggwan.”

Unlike the smiling Jeonggwan, Junjae had a serious face as he buried his face in Jeonggwan’s neck and spoke.

“You were upset earlier, weren’t you?”

“Huh? Oh, that? It’s okay.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s not like you did anything, what are you sorry for?”

Recently, Junjae had been very sensitive about the stress Jeonggwan was experiencing. Whether they went to a restaurant or a cafe, or just walked hand in hand down the street, he could feel people’s gazes scanning Jeonggwan’s body. He couldn’t have been unaware of it. So Junjae was anxious. What if Jeonggwan, with this stress piling up, left him saying it was too stressful because of him?

“I forget about those things quickly, so don’t worry. If I really can’t control my anger, I’ll just hit them and go to jail. Bring me food.”

“…No. Then I won’t be able to see you.”

“Then buy me something delicious before that happens. I’ll forget even faster.”

Haha. Junjae laughed shortly with his face buried in Jeonggwan’s neck. While Junjae was greatly anxious about even small things concerning Jeonggwan, Jeonggwan made Junjae’s worries seem trivial. My cool pig.

“You just thought ‘pig,’ didn’t you?”

“…I added ‘cool’ before it.”

“Then it’s fine.”

* * *

“Father, you should prepare a generous amount of money.”

“…Is the kid that shrewd?”

“You have no idea. He’s so fierce, he’s not an ordinary person.”

“Won Junjae, that foolish boy. Of all people to date, he had to choose such a fierce one…”

Won Youngjae lamented and lightly punched the armrest of the sofa after hearing Seongje’s story. When Seongje suddenly said he was coming to the main house, he thought he was just coming to talk nonsense again, but to think he had met that guy. Moreover, he must have been quite defeated, as it was quite unbecoming for a recessive alpha to be beaten by an omega and come running to tattle.

“You… Even though you’re an alpha, to lose face like this.”

“Father. If you meet him in person, you won’t say that. He’s small but has a strong spirit.”

Tsk. Won Youngjae’s eyes left his son. How strong could his spirit be? In the end, he’s just an omega. And in this world, there was nothing money couldn’t solve. Especially for a family that had nothing. However, trying to separate them with money right away would be a very foolish act. The more you try to stop love, the stronger it grows. Won Youngjae decided to leave them be for now.

Junjae had lived in this world all his life. Everything from what he wore, ate, and used. He would realize for himself how incompatible and shabby it all was when he met someone else. He was bound to come back on his own. No matter how much they claimed to love each other, it was clear they would break up in less than a year. Won Youngjae decided to just wait a bit longer.