Chapter Text
It wasn’t like that. He had never thought of such a thing before. Yes, it was true that he was financially incapable. But, he didn’t live in poverty and he wasn’t tortured by his stepmother and siblings. He also never thought that one day a rich handsome prince would appear and give him a luxurious life. Then, they will live happily ever after with their children. Yes, he never dreamed of it. Kihyun never dreamed of becoming Cinderella in real life. It’s just a cliche fairytale.
But, he actually was.
He was Cinderella, given a glass slipper from the Fairy Godmother. So that he could set his feet in that majestic place once in his life.
“Mr. Son’s last message is written in the letter.” His eyes stared confusedly straight at the man in the formal black suit in front of him. The man held out a thin brown envelope rather forcefully even though he had rejected it so many times. Kihyun took the envelope unwillingly and looked at it for a while solemnly while remembering the memories together with the person who wrote the letter.
He sighed in defeat. It felt a little bit heavy on his heart but apparently, he still had to do it. Kihyun opened the envelope, there was a letter and a photo. The letter consists of several sheets with neat and orderly handwriting. The date on the letter was exactly two weeks ago, there was even a thumbprint and an official signature on the letter even though it was just a personal letter. A few streaks of ink made an imprint on the end of the letter, and there were also a few blemishes. Kihyun read the letter and took his own time seriously.
He remembered it all like film sheets, those stories of someone.
The man in front of him smiled sadly and noticed how Kihyun’s face frowned little by little as if he was about to cry. The corners of his eyes were watering and his breath began to become short; sobbing hard.
“I hope you can fulfill his last wish.”
Within teary eyes, Kihyun stared at a photo of himself together with an old man sitting in a wheelchair. After reading the letter, Kihyun decided to become Cinderella.
“I will do it. As per Mr. Son’s request.”
~~oOo~~
The sound of his steps overcame the sound of crying in the funeral home. He stopped right in front of the altar, staring mockingly at the photo of the old man smiling brightly who had died. The photo frame was surrounded by many types of flower bouquets. Everyone was dressed in black and put up disgusting funny faces there. He turned his head to the right—a bunch of shareholders doing a boring soap opera drama, sobbing as if they had lost their support in life. Then he turned to the left—a row of sycophantic relatives who only came because they knew that the old man was nearly dead. He laughed sadly. What a wonderful world!
He turned his head to gaze to the front—His eyes caught the presence of a coffin in front of the altar and an old man lying in it hugged by various beautiful flower arrangements that accompanied his long sleep— ah, those flowers, his mother’s favorite flowers. The old man’s face was peaceful, and not surprisingly made him sick. He rolled his eyes and snorted in disbelief at the scene before him.
“Congratulations. You finally died, old man.”
“Hyunwoo! Your words!” A snapping sound popped up from nowhere. The man in the neat, burly suit stood abruptly among the rows of benches for the guests. Hyunwoo turned his head reluctantly to the direction of the sound, giving a cold gaze. He let out the word “tch!”' and all of the guests heard it clearly amidst the sound of crying.
“Just do your jobs, Hoseok. You are allowed to cry every day for this old man, but not for me.”
Hoseok tugged at his hair in frustration. Again, and again. This again. But please don’t at this moment.
The guests whispered to each other. Some of them even looked in surprise at the man named Hyunwoo. The rest, perhaps, was only pretending to give a sympathetic reaction. Hyunwoo understood very well how rotten these people’s personalities in the room were; not that he was the nicest person there. He was also a rotten human who wanted domination and power for him alone.
“Do whatever you want to do, all of you. You can even lick this old man’s ashes until you’re satisfied,” Hyunwoo grinned at the scene. He made sure the expensive watch on his wrist indicated the perfect time for him to leave the funeral home. “But, hahaha, you won’t get what you want, as long as there is me.”
He didn’t even care whether the deceased would be buried or cremated. He never cared what happened to that rotting old man. He only cared what the old man had. Hyunwoo went out and only left a trail of his musk scent in the room, without knowing how his late father had slipped a nightmare into his historic life.
The funeral process went smoothly even without the presence of the only son. However, the guests were confused as they saw a slender, unknown young man who came carrying “only a sunflower” and placing it by the side of the deceased as a tribute. Even during the funeral process, it was this young man who became Hyunwoo’s substitute, carrying the sign name for the deceased and giving the final prayer in front of the guests; which should be the authority of the deceased’s main family. The guests didn’t understand the role of this mysterious man.
After the funeral was over, the guests left before they even realized it. Only two men were left there, staring gloomily at the sign name “Son Jung Hwa”.
“Thank you for coming, Kihyun.”
Kihyun shook his head and smiled sadly. He brought back a sunflower and placed it in front of the tombstone. “He was like a parent to me. I’ll definitely attend his funeral.” Kihyun’s face became melancholy as he saw the sunflower lying helplessly on the side of the tombstone, just like someone buried in it.
“Thank you for your help, Kihyun. He must be happy to know you.” Hoseok held out his sentence. He sighed heavily; remember someone who casually left without waiting for the funeral process.
“He’s the one we talk about, right?” Kihyun turned around and looked straight at Hoseok. The older man took another deep breath. He massaged his forehead many times, not only because he was dizzy from crying, but also vertiginous seeing Hyunwoo’s behavior at the funeral.
“Yes.” Hoseok was still massaging his brow bones. It seems that Hoseok’s job as a private secretary will be even more complicated by the current conditions. “I can’t control him now. He’s getting wilder.”
“Son Hyunwoo,” Kihyun looked up at the clear blue sky that brightened the gloomy cemetery. The wind blew and ruffled his hair. “What should I do about him?”
The two men stared at each other and took turns shifting focus to the tombstones. The name sign stands still as if telling them that they will be okay.
~~oOo~~
Hyunwoo threw himself down on the sofa roughly while loosening the tie around his neck. The nape of his neck felt so stiff because he had to act sad in front of the media who were looking for news about the death of his father.
It’s so annoying! Why were those disgusting people looking around just for such insignificant news? Even because of that, Hyunwoo couldn’t go to the club to have fun because the media was busy crowding him. He poured whiskey into a glass and drank it slowly. He growled as the bitter taste touched his tongue.
Hyunwoo rolled his eyes as he saw Hoseok’s arrival together with a smaller man who Hyunwoo didn’t recognize. He sighed heavily. He just wanted to calm down, but Hoseok and his company came to disturb his beautiful night.
“Hyunwoo, we need to talk.” Hoseok walked over to him, carrying a big brown envelope. A petite man followed behind him. Hyunwoo’s nose could smell the smaller man’s familiar scent; a strange mix of scents—the smell of alcohol, disinfectant, and vanilla citrus.
“Can you not bother me tonight?” He said as he drank his whiskey once again. His tongue licked the remaining whiskey at the corner of his lips. He raised the glass higher in the air so that the light reflected off the glass and created a color bias. “I want to enjoy my first day as ruler here.”
“No, not even in your dreams.” Hoseok shook his head. He moved to sit on the sofa not far from where Hyunwoo sat, besides that Hoseok also invited the young man who came with him to sit down. Hyunwoo snorted in amusement.
“Is this 'pretty man' yours? Hmm, he looks pretty. You have good taste even though it doesn’t compare to mine.” Hyunwoo pouted, his eyes gazing on the young man’s body from head to toe. Well, actually he wasn’t that pretty, and he isn’t Hyunwoo's favorite type.
“Are you teasing me?” Pfft —Hyunwoo was trying to hold back his laughter. He put the whiskey glass back down on the table beside the sofa. His hands were paddling in the air, making a gesture as if Hyunwoo forgot Hoseok's status.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Hoseok. I forgot that you are only an ordinary human being.”
Hoseok sighed at the comment. Hyunwoo was still trying to hold back his laughter. He wasn’t aware of something terrifying waiting for him. Hoseok grinned later and gave a mischievous look. “Well, but this commoner will bring a nightmare to rich people like you.” He glanced at the person sitting next to him and smiled.
Hyunwoo’s laughter suddenly broke off. His eyebrows deepened, trying to digest Hoseok’s words. He tilted his head, thinking. Shortly thereafter, Hoseok threw a brown envelope on the table so Hyunwoo could see the envelope directly closer. His gaze moved from the envelope to Hoseok’s annoying relaxed gaze. Then, Hyunwoo took the envelope, opened it, and read the letter inside the envelope—a testament letter.
Hoseok inhaled deeply before proceeding. “Let me introduce myself,” Hyunwoo’s eyes were still focused on the sheet of the letter. His brows creased even sharper. He flipped the paper over and over again, to make sure he didn’t read them wrong.
Through this letter, I, Son Jung Hwa, declare that all the wealth and assets I have will be passed on to my only son, Son Hyunwoo—
“This person who came with me, his name is—” Hoseok continued, patting the shoulder of the person next to him.
With several conditions that must be fulfilled. Some of the conditions will be stated on a few separate papers. However, the main requirement that will be stated in this letter is that Son Hyunwoo should marry to—
“—Yoo Kihyun.” Kihyun gave a little smile, in return for Hoseok’s patting.
If Son Hyunwoo doesn’t do all of the conditions that is written in these testament letter and the attached terms, this statement will be declared null and all power over wealth and assets will become property rights of—
“Your future wife.”
Right after, Hyunwoo slammed the letter on the floor roughly. He gasped for breath as the emotion reached the top of his head, especially when he saw the innocent face of the person named Kihyun— his fucking future wife, he said? —who was sitting in front of him casually and even occasionally gave a big smile with a line of white teeth.
Hoseok was smirking just now.
The man grabbed Hoseok by the collar until the body was forced to get up from a sitting position. Hoseok looked at him flatly as Hyunwoo raised his voice, almost screaming right in front of Hoseok’s face. “What does this nonsense mean? Why are you ordering me around? You know, if I hadn’t run this business while my father was incarcerated in that hospital, this whole thing would have crumbled, remember? You also saw for yourself how these rotten people are aiming for my father’s legacy and position?”
Hoseok exhaled. Be patient, myself. “Everything doesn’t have to be about inheritance, Hyunwoo.”
Hyunwoo laughed mockingly, “So you mean, My father doesn’t care about his son and only thinks about his possessions, always. I know it. If he could, then he would have brought all his belongings into his grave.” He threw Hoseok’s body back onto the sofa, making Hoseok’s body shake as Hyunwoo pushed him back using full power. The man combed his hair in frustration. “What the heck are those requirements? Are you kidding me? He asked me to marry this fucking ugly potato hamster?” His forefinger pointed right in front of Kihyun’s nose.
“What?” Kihyun almost spat out harsh words as he heard that. Potato hamster, he said.
“Huh, what have you done to my father? What is your contribution to the extent that he wants to give his property to a stranger like you?” He had his hands on his hips. His mouth was rambling nonstop. Kihyun started to feel annoyed as those words let out of that mouth. “As expected of you. You must have given him a good service using your body, huh.”
A heavy slap landed on Hyunwoo’s cheek right after those words let out of his mouth. His cheeks felt so hot and itchy. His hands were clenched hard as if his emotions were about to explode on the spot. He glared at his future wife in front of him, exerting emotional distress via a dark aura.
“It will have no effect on me, Hyunwoo-ssi. We are not in a primitive age.” Kihyun stood up and looked at Hyunwoo as if challenging him. “One thing, it’s okay if you mock me. But I can’t forgive you if you mock Mr. Son.”
Hyunwoo laughed too loudly so that his cheek that was slapped felt even more painful. Neither did his heart. “It turns out there is someone defending my father besides Hoseok.” He raised his chin higher, looking at Kihyun from a higher position. “I'm sure about it now. You are a sneaky bitch. Are you trying too hard to become a billionaire instantly?”
Whatever Hyunwoo and others say, Kihyun didn’t care anymore. He just thought about the personal testament letter that was given to him by Hyunwoo’s father. “You can call me anything. I don’t care about that. But, have you read all the clauses?”
His throat was burning after this argument. Hyunwoo took a whiskey glass and swallowed its contents in one sip. He needed to cool his head with an alcoholic drink. This whole thing was frustrating. The corner of his eyes was hard to escape from Kihyun like he wanted to kill the latter using that cold gaze. After putting the glass back down, he picked up the letters that were scattered on the floor.
Hyunwoo read them again slowly; the clauses. His eyes were observant about every text and his brain processed strategy. One of his brows raised at the sight of a very interesting clause. He read it slowly aloud, “ Son Hyunwoo can do whatever he wants after all of the conditions stated in the separate sheets are fulfilled. What are these conditions? Show me.” His attention shifted to Hoseok.
Hoseok shrugged playfully. Playing his gaze in all directions, as if he didn’t want to give out much information. “The attachment letters for additional requirements can be shown to you after you marry Kihyun. Please read clause no 10.” Hoseok put his palm on his cheek and tapped his index finger against his own cheek.
“Do you try to stab me in the back?” He turned his emotions towards Hoseok. The secretary just stared at him dryly, without giving an answer.
“Are you afraid, Hyunwoo-ssi ?” His attention was turned to the smaller man. Kihyun gave him a strange smile, it felt like Hyunwoo wanted to rip it off right away. The corners of the lips rose as if they were mocking him. “Didn’t you say I was pretty earlier? Can’t you afford to marry this pretty man for an inheritance?”
“Are you stupid? Can’t you realize that? It was sarcasm. You definitely look like a potato. Potato hamster.”
Kihyun smiled sweetly as if he already knew how Hyunwoo would react. It was precise that those smiles made Hyunwoo more emotional. Kihyun really challenged him.
Whatever the conditions, Hyunwoo wouldn’t just let go of this power. Whatever the risk, he would find a way out. Whatever the circumstances, this marriage wouldn’t last long. Because Hyunwoo knew that all of this event was just a game created by his father to mock him and laugh at him from the sky.
“Well, ‘Son Hyunwoo can do whatever he wants after all the conditions are fulfilled’ sounds challenging to me. That means I could get you out of my sight in the blink of an eye.”
“Please get rid of me immediately, Hyunwoo-ssi .”
They smiled at each other. Mysteriously attacking each other.
~~oOo~~
Marriage is a sacred ceremony. To be able to reach this stage, each partner has gone through a lot of painstaking processes. But those conditions didn’t apply to Kihyun. He set his feet in the luxurious building where the wedding reception was being held without the slightest hitch. All of the processes had been well prepared without Kihyun having to intervene. That also caused the lack of interaction between Kihyun and Hyunwoo even though the wedding date was getting closer. There was no clichés quarrel between couples who want to get married. There was no bittersweet taste of love when the set date finally came. There was also no emotion even though they had reached the final stage of a human bond. Wealth turns out to be both good luck and bad luck at the same time. But, Kihyun didn’t mind it because, for him, that wedding day was the day when Cinderella’s game had started. He is a fairytale character.
“I, Son Hyunwoo, propose to you, Yoo Kihyun, to be my legal and only life partner.”
Hyunwoo felt the same way. The wedding day was no different from an ordinary day. He woke up at the same time, having breakfast alone at the dinner table, checking the messages of the club ladies asking him when he would be back playing in the club, sunbathing for a while in the pool, and then almost forgetting to go to the wedding hall. He couldn’t really remember what kind of words to say at the wedding vows. Ah, never mind, it didn’t matter if it was wrong. Because they were married not to tie the sacred promise of love but only part of the game. Marriage was just a game of life that his late father gave him so that he would fail to get what he wanted.
“I will live with you from today onwards,”
Kihyun was pensive. If both of his parents were still alive, would they be happy to see their son on the marriage altar even though this was all a fake? No matter how beautiful the wedding suit he was wearing, no matter how handsome his prospective life partner was, there was no meaning if there was no love. Then why did Kihyun want to do it? He thought for a moment, staring at the high, gleaming ceiling—the wedding hall was huge and pretty. He never dreamed of it. Kihyun did all of this out of gratitude—think of it as the same as love.
“Whether in good times or bad times, abundance or lack, healthy or sick,”
It was an insult to Hyunwoo when everyone he knew was interrogating him about his sudden wedding plans to a stranger; moreover, to a person who wasn’t from a prominent family. Some of them had seen Kihyun at his father’s funeral and replaced Hyunwoo’s role. The people who were the most shocked by the marriage news were Hyunwoo’s close relatives—in fact, Hyunwoo was quite happy to be able to play with his close relatives who did not hesitate to do anything to get wealth. With the existence of the testament letter—even though everything was not exposed to many parties—the official property status belongs to Hyunwoo as an only child; even the ownership of all shares became 100% transferred to Hyunwoo without any other portion for the relatives.
“ I will always love you, protect you, respect you, until death does us apart.”
The priest stood straight in front of Hyunwoo. When the wedding march was being played, Hyunwoo was forced to look back at the place where his wedding partner would come along with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Suddenly he forgot the reason why he was standing at the wedding altar as his wedding partner entered the room with slow steps while gazing at him from a distance. His future wife still looked like a potato hamster but why did his smile look so happy? His facial expression was also overwhelmed by happiness. The smile was beautiful as if it made the corners of Hyunwoo’s lips rise too unconsciously. Hyunwoo took the pretty hand and led Kihyun into an imaginary world at the wedding altar. His clothes were all white, matching with Hyunwoo, and he brought some fresh sunflowers bouquets. Kihyun seemed to glow under the crystal chandelier; especially his smile that made guests so jealous.
“ This is a marriage vow that I sincerely say.”
That was the longest time they stared at each other right into the eyes. Kihyun realized how bright Hyunwoo’s eyes were and how handsome his future husband was in the all-white formal dress; he looks like a real groom isn’t it? As with Hyunwoo, he realized that Kihyun’s lashes were so curvy, his nose was sharp, his lips and cheeks were flushed red; Is this the effect of the lights? Even those crystal earrings seemed to match his face. When the priest told Hyunwoo to say a vow, his mouth babbled before his brain could think. He didn’t remember everything he said during the wedding vows in front of Kihyun, but the expressions of a group of Kihyun and Hoseok’s friends in the corner of their room looked so strange. Was he uttering ridiculous wedding vows? So, he did it?
“ This ring is proof that I will give to you as a sign of the vow that I have pledged to you.”
Hyunwoo put the ring on the slender ring finger, followed by Kihyun who put the ring on his ring finger. He stared at his hand for a moment, never expecting that the ring would fit so well on his ring finger; neither big nor small. Hyunwoo and Kihyun stared at each other again, becoming slightly mute and deaf from the roar of the music and the congratulations sound of the many guests. They were really stepping into an unknown world. They never knew that the next moment would determine the direction of this new journey.
“ You are welcome to kiss.”
Hyunwoo leaned in closer. The soul in his body was struggling to awaken to a realization of the purpose of all this. But when the rhythm of their breath was the same and the lips joined together, Hyunwoo had become blind. His eyes closed and he enjoyed the kiss; especially when Kihyun kissed him back, giving him tender heart kisses.
At that moment, he had decided to get rid of Kihyun from his life as soon as possible before it was too late.