ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Soonyoung stood at the altar, his hand at the hem of his suit as he waited for Jihoon's entrance. His eyes glossed over the crowd, the presence of the Lee family too apparent to ignore.

The guests were mostly from the side of the Lees, their extended family and family friends, coworkers and more while the other guests, were news reporters and paparazzi ready to document the wedding on every site imaginable.

Soonyoung sighed. It didn't necessarily affect him, or maybe it did and he refused to believe it, but his family being nowhere in the flock of guests was a tad disheartening.

His father had been diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer 3 years ago and while he was still alive, he was bed ridden and his condition was only getting worse.

His mother on the other hand, was in a rehabilitation centre, getting help with her alcohol addiction which she acquired after her husband was diagnosed and admitted.

His sister wanted to make it, but she was too caught up with her schedules abroad, Soonyoung wasn't the only one with businesses to take care of.

It amused him slightly that he was the one ready and prepared for the wedding when no one but his staff were here to support him and yet Jihoon, who had everyone he loved in the world here, was still so downcast.

He didn't know why Jihoon despising him irked him so much because truly, everyone did so why was Jihoon so... special?

All he knew was he wanted to make things right. He wanted Jihoon, all to himself in more ways than one.

And he was going to achieve his dream.

The doors leading into the massive hall opened and in came Jihoon, with his father on his right hand side.

Soonyoung had already seen him but watching him walk down the aisle ignited emotions in him he didn't realize he had. Jihoon's beauty was so rare, so unique, so healing that Soonyoung had no words to describe it.

He was left speechless.

His hands came together and he began to scratch his fingers, the nerves in him tripling with each step Jihoon took. He had on a bright smile but Soonyoung knew it was just a fake. He was just doing it for his family.

No one else.

As Jihoon joined Soonyoung at the altar, he stretched his hands out intertwining Soonyoung's fingers with his. It was a simple action but it made Soonyoung's heart beat faster.

Why did Jihoon have so much of an effect on him? And why did he have no problem with it? Why did he actually enjoy it?

The ceremony went by in a flash, Soonyoung savouring every moment and Jihoon erasing each one from his head, like it hadn't happened all.

As they exchanged vows and rings, the guests waited in anticipation and once the officiant requested they kiss, Jihoon found his breathing getting heavier while Soonyoung took a sharp inhale before placing his hands on Jihoon's face.

The touch was cold and it made Jihoon swallow, breathing out as Soonyoung's face came closer to his. When their lips touched, the guests erupted into cheers and claps.

However, Soonyoung and Jihoon could barely hear them, too caught up in the moment. Soonyoung captured Jihoon's lips in his, the taste of the man before him miraculously calming all his nerves and fading all his worries away.

Jihoon didn't know what to do so he didn't kiss Soonyoung back, instead he closed his eyes and let Soonyoung take the lead, the kiss not as awful as he had expected it to be.

At least he wasn't one of those people with awful first kisses now.

As Soonyoung pulled away, he failed to hide the bright smile on his face, moving his hands back to Jihoon's. He noticed Jihoon look away and his cheeks brighten.

Had he perhaps enjoyed the kiss? The possibility excited Soonyoung, his pupils slowly dilating as he stared in awe at his husband.

That's right, Jihoon was his husband now.

And Soonyoung wouldn't have had it any other way.

Jihoon's eyes narrowed to the crowd, the dozens of flashes almost blinding him as he observed the expressions of his family and his brothers' friends. They weren't his.

Jihoon had no friends.

He was yet to experience most things in life, his first best friend, his first boyfriend, his first real kiss and here he was, getting married.

Kwon Soonyoung had become his everything in the eyes of the public; his first boyfriend, his first kiss and now his husband as well.

•••••••••••••

The couple finished off the wedding by signing their marriage certificate officializing their newly-formed relationship and bond.

Walking out of the room with their respective lawyers and staff, Soonyoung and Jihoon were swarmed by a bunch of reporters and paparazzi, the camera flashes going on and off rapidly in front of them.

Soonyoung, caught off guard by the sudden lights and sounds of camera clicks went into an immediate state of shock, freezing on impact.

Jihoon noticed Soonyoung's panicked expression and held his wrist, pulling him behind while their bodyguards took care of the situation.

"A lot of people say you kept your relationship secret from the public! And that you do not love each other, is this true?!" A reporter yelled as they began to be pushed backwards, pointing their mic above the crowd.

"Private, not secret... Soonyoung knows how much I love him and that's all that matters." Jihoon answered with a soft smile as he gently dragged Soonyoung along with him through the path their guards had made in the crowd.

As they got outside, they were quickly rushed to their vehicle and once they got inside, the doors were locked just before the herd got to them.

Jihoon glanced at Soonyoung whose face was still frozen, his chest rising up and going down as he let out unstable breaths. "Are you... okay?" Jihoon questioned, not knowing Soonyoung as someone who could ever be phased by the paparazzi.

Soonyoung's eyes narrowed to Jihoon's grip on his wrist as he nodded while Jihoon immediately let go, turning to the window beside him. "That's good then." He crossed his arms as the car drove in silence.

"I'm sorry." Soonyoung apologized, rubbing his eyes. Jihoon's brows furrowed as he slightly looked back at Soonyoung. "For?"

"Not protecting you from the paparazzi and freezing." Soonyoung expounded, his face still in his hands as he slowly shook his head at himself, in disappointment.

Stupid panic attacks. All they did was make him look weak. He thought he had outgrown them by now but maybe he hadn't.

Jihoon scoffed, turning fully to Soonyoung who brought his face out of his hands, also facing Jihoon. "First of all, I don't need you to protect me, I'm not some damsel in distress." He informed Soonyoung whose eyebrows rose.

"Secondly, you panicked, you were shocked, that's completely fine, the least I could do was help get you out of there." Jihoon explained before looking away and Soonyoung sighed as the tension in the air tripled along with their silence.

"So, should we establish some rules?" Soonyoung asked, desperately wanting to talk to Jihoon. The silence was deafening and tormenting, a reminder of the absurdity of this whole situation.

Jihoon, intrigued, glanced at Soonyoung, his eyes squinting as he tilted his head. "Rules like?" He questioned and Soonyoung smiled, happy that Jihoon decided to respond.

"Well, first, you have to follow me to all my public events and we have to act like a real couple in public, all the time."

Jihoon's face creased as his head fell to the side, "Isn't that in the contract already?" He asked and Soonyoung pursed his lips, with no reply as they stared at each other in silence.

Yes, it's in the stupid contract. I'm just looking for ways to talk to you!

"But okay, I'll follow your rules so here are mine, I get a separate room and for as long as we live together, we mind our business unless a matter concerns the both of us." Jihoon requested and Soonyoung nodded, although he hated the idea.

"Sure but we have to eat breakfast and dinner together whenever we are in the house at those times." Soonyoung retaliated, crossing his legs, a playful smirk on his lips as he did.

"What? Why?"

"Because those are just the rules."

Jihoon sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. If I do that, I can go wherever I want, at any time and do whatever I want to do."

"Sure, as long as the bodyguards I assign to you follow along." Soonyoung agreed and Jihoon's eyebrows ruffled, his facial expression sour as he shook his head.

"No. Jun is enough." He protested, his tone suddenly changing to an annoyed one. Soonyoung sighed, also shaking his head in disagreement. He didn't like Jun but that had nothing to do with him wanting more security for Jihoon.

"No, he isn't. Being my husband makes you a target Jihoon, you have to be extra safe." He alerted Jihoon who scoffed, the disbelief obvious in his expression.

Now he was a target? He started to wonder if there were any real benefits to being Soonyoung's husband and after proper contemplation, he found out...

There weren't any.

"You act like I chose to be your husband." Jihoon pointed out, his words slowly starting to hurt Soonyoung who ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"It doesn't even matter." He countered, already sounding fed up with the random argument.

"Yes it does. I didn't choose to marry a literal murderer but you chose to marry me. So I'll do what I want Kwon Soonyoung. After all, we are only married on paper." Jihoon's final statements were like gunshots straight to Soonyoung's heart.

As he turned away, Soonyoung sat there, speechless with absolutely no words to say back. Speechless but not surprised by how harsh Jihoon could be.

"And I hope you never forget that we are not a real couple, and we will never be." Jihoon reminded him before completely facing away from Soonyoung, his gaze on the streets and buildings outside.

Maybe he was a little too harsh but it was needed. He needed to set boundaries for his safety. He didn't know what Soonyoung's other intentions were but he had to protect himself and that meant proper distancing.

He was Kwon Soonyoung's husband on paper and on paper only. Nowhere else.

And he needed it to stay like that, until the day their contract ended and he could return to being his semi-free self again.

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Ⓒ︎𝙾𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈𝙾𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈𝙾𝙷
𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝙳 - 11•01•2025
𝙴𝙽𝙳𝙴𝙳 - 𝙽•𝙰