Chapter Text
“You’re fucking joking” Kihyun swore into his hands as he rubbed his face, frustrated.
“Language!” His mother reprimanded.
“Sorry, Kihyun.” Hoseok apologised. Even though he couldn’t really choose, he still felt somewhat responsible. The doctor confirmed that his wife is carrying a son.
Like most great dynasties, the house of Yoo had a long history they took pride in, and great wealth they have amassed through the years; there was even an ancestor who married into the royal family they can boast about. Amongst their long list of traditions that are still practiced, the current predicament that Kihyun found himself in is most bizarre indeed. As the legend goes, one infamous second-born Yoo son was so hellbent on inheriting that he plotted the murder of his older brother and sister-in-law, fathered several bastard children, and devastated the family fortunes. Little is known on what happened to him but what he left in his wake so badly shook and wrecked the house of Yoo fortunes that it took several generations to recover from the shame and misfortune he brought upon them. Since then, this distinguished but bizarre tradition has been practiced: If the eldest son becomes father to a son, his younger brothers must marry a male in order to prevent disputes over family succession.
“Honestly, mother, you are handing me a death sentence – the least I’m allowed to do is swear.” Kihyun wanted to cry.
“Death sentence? Son, don’t be dramatic.”
Kihyun groaned, “You are arranging my marriage to a stranger! Some poor dude who will probably be forced into this like I am and will resent me his whole life.”
“Well, you are very welcome to marry a nice boy of your choice,” his mother tried her best to put a positive spin to it, “but since you don’t have a boyfriend, your father and I will have to consult the family shaman. Don’t worry, we will find you a pretty boy.”
“How pretty he is isn’t what’s worrying me” he whined, as his older brother rubbed his back trying to console him. He shooed Hoseok’s hand away.
“We’ll find you the perfect boy from a thoroughly vetted list of candidates of the lesser-known branches of the clan.”
“Great! Not only am I marrying a stranger, but incest ? Thank you, mother. That cheered me up to no end.” He truly could cry. Why was he cursed by fate? It’s the 21st century for fuck’s sake. This weird practice should’ve been abandoned decades ago. It wasn’t like he had his eyes on the family riches, he was in school for music for crying out loud. Really, there was not a single ambitious bone in his body. None at all. Hoseok can hoard all the family gold like some weird cave dragon for all he cares. He just wanted to live a normal life, working his normal job, maybe marrying the person he chooses who comes from a normal family.
Within 2 months, they’ve chosen his future spouse without much consulting him. Why they rushed it was beyond him. He was past the point of asking; he knew that the marriage was inevitable and fighting it was futile. During that time, he did briefly entertain the thought of running away and becoming a monk in a remote monastery or becoming a sailor in those huge vessels that travelled the world, but ultimately knew he didn’t have the life skills or aptitude for that kind of hard life. Perhaps he can strike some sort of a deal with his future spouse where they didn’t interfere with each other’s lives and kept all interactions to a minimum – surely, he too must be forced into this marriage.
“Sit up straight, Kihyun” his mother chastised him, whispering. Today was the day he was to meet his fiancé. Historically, this was also the day both families would come together to exchange dowries, but Kihyun insisted to do away with dowries because it made him feel like cattle – it was the only input they considered from him. They were in the great function room of the main house – he has only ever been in this room twice: once for Hoseok’s wedding and the other time for his grandfather’s funeral – waiting for his fiancé who was running a bit late from work. With him were his parents and a woman he assumes is a Bhikkhuni* from the local temple judging from her khaki monk’s garb. Kihyun was too busy moping to join the polite conversation between his father and the Bhikkhuni; they were probably only talking about the wedding ceremony.
The elderly butler – they affectionately called Secretary Kim – walked in and announced the arrival of his fiancé, and behind him entered...
“Hyunwoo hyung?!”
“Oh good, you both know each other.” His mother commented. Hyunwoo smiled sheepishly at Kihyun, shyly scratching his head as the tips of his ears turned red. Hyunwoo bowed at his parents and sat next to the monk, across from Kihyun, “The ceremony is in a month and Hyunwoo will be living here from today onwards to get used to the family customs,” she continued.
“WHAT?” Kihyun asked rather loudly forcing Secretary Kim to clarify, “July 16 – It’s the most auspicious date, young master.” Kihyun shot him an apologetic look. He didn’t mean to snap at the old man, but that was soon – less than 3 weeks soon.
“Your things have already been moved to the Hanare” Secretary Kim informed Hyunwoo, “and the preparations for the ceremony are underway.” He continued to list out the next important things they needed to prepare for the wedding, but Kihyun stopped paying attention.
It wasn’t long before everyone got up, he followed suit, thankful that this whole formality was over.
The Bhikkhuni approached him, “I leave Hyunwoo in your hands, Kihyun.” She bowed. He belatedly bowed back, unable to hide his surprise. He thought she was going to officiate their wedding ceremony. Hyunwoo approached the 2 of them, “Mom, Auntie says the family driver can take you back to the temple - unless you want me to drive you.” Kihyun silently chastised himself; he must’ve come off as indifferent or even rude to her.
“No, it’s alright, dear. You should stay and catch up.” She smiled fondly at them.
They saw her off. Before she said her goodbyes, she informed them, “I’ll see you both at the wedding,” and stroked, then kissed Hyunwoo’s cheek goodbye. Witnessing such a tender moment would normally embarrass Kihyun, but he was too distracted by the sharpness of Hyunwoo’s jaw. It afforded him a chance to finally look up at Hyunwoo. They were kids when they last met, and Hyunwoo now is much taller and more handsome than he recalled. He remembers always trying to tag along with Hoseok just to be able to hang out with Hyunwoo, and now they are to be married. This was surreal.
They watched as the car she was in get smaller and smaller, before slowly waddling back inside.
His parents left him with the unenviable task of showing Hyunwoo around the Hanare. The Hanare was a separate Hanok in the secluded east side of the estate, intended for newly wedded couples to live in for a couple of years. Hoseok and his wife lived there, and so did his parents when they were newly married. Kihyun didn’t have to move there until after their wedding ceremony but that feeling that his life has changed its course completely came when they walked in and saw boxes of his fiancé’s things in the living room. Somehow it was starting to feel very real.
It didn’t take long to look around the whole place. There was only 1 massive bedroom, 1 bathroom, and an open space living area with a decent-sized kitchen. It had a modest courtyard and was surrounded by a wall of bamboo, tall and thick enough to ensure privacy. For some, this may be a comfortable luxury, but compared to the other Hanok in the Yoo estate, this was a modest house, not intended for long-term dwelling.
“I’ve never been to this side of estate...” Hyunwoo said. They now sat across each other at the dining table, enjoying some tea and biscuits, Kihyun looking at everything else but Hyunwoo. “But I guess I’m not from the main family branch.” He supplied.
“No, it’s not really about the family branch… so of course, you haven’t. It’s...well...it- it’s for newlyweds,” Kihyun explained. “Thankfully, we might only be here a year.”
“I like it so far… we don’t really have to move if you don’t want to.”
“Hyung, you’re not quick on the uptake, huh?” Kihyun stated without malice but more in disbelief.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s for newlyweds so they can try to have a baby.” Kihyun groaned, wanting the earth to swallow him whole. He just told his future spouse that their house is just a temporary place where they are expected by his own family to copulate a lot and produce an heir, which is not possible no matter how much copulation occurs. “that’s why I don’t see the point of us living here…” he quietly added.
The redness of Hyunwoo’s ears spread throughout his whole face. An uncomfortable silence settled in.
Kihyun mumbled, “But why are you even here? You’re a Son!” He changed the subject hoping it’ll quickly remove the image he was sure Hyunwoo also thought of.
“My mom is uncle’s 4th cousin twice removed or was it,2nd cousin 4 times removed? I forget.” He absentmindedly scratched his chin and Kihyun’s gaze followed his hand. It was so close to his plump lips. In a brief moment of madness, Kihyun wondered if it’ll feel as supple as it looks. “I honestly didn’t think you’d remember me,” Hyunwoo told him, a small smile spreading on his face when Kihyun finally looked him in the eye.
Kihyun quickly looked away, “It’s been like what? 8 years…? 9?”
“ 12 ” Hyunwoo corrected.
“That long? It felt like yesterday… You know, you should’ve seen how devastated Hoseok hyung was when you moved away.” He chuckled as he recalled his then 13-year-old brother fighting back tears after finding out his best friend moved to another city.
“Yeah? It broke my heart too, but when dad got quite ill, we had to move closer to his hometown. Thankfully, I got transferred for work here and mom’s temple is close by and there’s nothing there for me anyway, so I moved back.”
“I’m sorry about your dad. Hoseok-hyung heard about it when it happened.” There was so much Kihyun wanted to ask Hyunwoo but restricted himself. He wasn’t sure whether Hyunwoo wanted to even share it.
And with that, the conversation died, and then the room filled with the deafening sound of the cicadas at the height of the summer heat.
There was no way to broach the subject that has been in the foreground of Kihyun’s mind. He kept thinking about how to say it and inwardly sighed. Here goes nothing, he thought. “Hyung, if you have a girlfriend, don’t get so hung up on this situation. It’s better if you continue to live your life. I won’t intervene.”
Hyunwoo looked wounded, “I won’t cheat on you,” He was so forthright with his delivery, forcing Kihyun to finally look up at him, “I’m happy as long as I have you.”
Of all the times Kihyun could’ve looked at Hyunwoo in the eyes, he chose that moment. What was wrong with him? “Right, well…I should let you get settled in.” He quickly got up, put his teacup in the sink. “Bye, hyung. I’ll see you around.”
He rushed out of there as fast as his legs could go without running. Rushing back into the main house where he spent the next 3 weeks trying not to bump into Hyunwoo. Fortunately, the vastness of the Yoo estate aided him in his quest to avoid Hyunwoo as much as possible before the ceremony. Unfortunately for Kihyun, every Sunday, the family gathered for dinner. Even Hoseok and his pregnant wife who didn’t live in town had to drive from the city to spend Sundays at the main house.
Kihyun sat next to Hyunwoo during dinner, mostly keeping to himself. Luckily, Hoseok and Hyunwoo were too busy catching up. The next 2 Sunday dinners were spent in a similar fashion: he sat in between Hyunwoo and Hoseok, barely making eye contact with his future husband, and only speaking the barest minimum of greetings. Hyunwoo, on his part, didn’t comment and remained polite to him and everyone else.
They got married on a Thursday. The shaman advised that it was the most auspicious date for a wedding. Kihyun was thankful it was on a weekday and needed an excuse not to invite his friends. Not that he advertised it to any of his friends. His 2 closest friends found out because Hyungwon’s cousin works for the family and Minhyuk found out from Hyungwon. He begrudgingly had to trust them not to let people know.
The traditional wedding ceremony was tediously long, taking up most of the day. It started early in the morning with a wedding procession. Kihyun stifled his laughter seeing Hyunwoo wearing his traditional bridal attire towering over the two female attendants that trailed behind him, helping him perform all the ceremony proceedings. The long day slowly wore on, and with it, Kihyun’s nerves drained on.
He spent the last hour of the wedding ceremony robotically thanking the extended family for attending. Their well wishes fell on deaf ears as Kihyun avoided eye contact, embarrassed by the whole affair. He didn’t think his parents would arrange for his wedding ceremony to be as grand and lavish as they did for Hoseok’s, considering this is a sham. The sun has finally set, all the wedding guests have left, and Kihyun, Hyunwoo, and their immediate families are gathered in one of the smaller halls for an intimate dinner. Kihyun sat next to Hyunwoo facing their families. Much to Kihyun’s relief, the wedding guests are long gone, and even the two female attendants who trailed by Hyunwoo the whole day weren’t around. He finally relaxed. They can have a chat amongst themselves without anyone close by to eavesdrop. Kihyun picked at his food having lost his appetite. He looked over Hyunwoo, who enjoyed his food with gusto almost enticing him to eat more. How can he be so calm about the whole situation? Does he not know that his life has changed?
“Hyung, you’re going to be entering my family registry as my wife. Does it not bother you?”
Hyunwoo smiled. “Not really,” he shrugged and continued between big spoonfuls of food, “I did ask to be considered to be your wife.”
It forced the food in Kihyun’s mouth to go down the wrong way, and he started to choke. Hyunwoo lightly patted his back as he coughed. “Here,” he handed Kihyun his glass to drink. Kihyun downed the whole cup belatedly realising it was chilled soju. It helped stop his coughing but he also hasn’t eaten anything solid the whole day, and so that glass of soju plus the cups of liquor he had earlier in the ceremony were enough to make him feel lightheaded. The food servers came rushing to fill his cup. “Can I have some water instead? Not...” he motioned at his cup.
“I’m fine,” he informed Hyunwoo, hoping it’ll stop him from being so touchy.
Hyunwoo affectionately patted his cheek, “That’s good, Kihyunnie” and went back to eating.
He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol to blame but he blushed a shade or two darker. He looked quickly back down at his food and forced himself to have some mouthfuls, hoping it’ll help get the buzz of the liquor out of his system.
He was thankful that the dinner didn’t unnecessarily drag on, and even more thankful that Hoseok and his wife, excused themselves early. It helped force the dinner to end earlier and he avoided Hoseok’s lighthearted teasing. He was already so embarrassed as it is. On their way out, His mom supplied “It’s good that you two are getting along.” His ears reddened. “Mom!” He inwardly groaned. He hopes his parents or anyone for that matter weren't counting on them consummating this marriage. It is after all an arranged marriage and just because they get along doesn’t mean, they’ll be sleeping with each other.
They silently walked back to the quieter wing of the Yoo estate – the Hanare: their home for the next year or so. Kihyun asked, “Did you want to use the bathroom first? Or can I use it?”
Once inside, Hyunwoo unabashedly started undressing in front of him. He undid the bow that tied the jacket of his hanbok, and removed his jacket as he kept walking into their home. “Why don’t we use it at the same time?” He asked, smiling. He had only his trousers on, leaving a trail of his wedding clothes on the floor.
“I-I don’t want to,” Kihyun said in a small voice.
Hyunwoo turned to Kihyun, who stood rooted by the front door. The poor thing looked like he felt the weight of the whole day on his shoulders, so tired and small. His first instinct was to hug him, instead, he walked up to him and kissed him. Maybe it was the booze, or impulse, or the pinkish glow of Kihyun’s cheeks.
Kihyun looked mortified. He forcefully pushed him away and ran out the door, into the darkness of their courtyard.
“KIHYUN!” He called out in a panic. Why the hell did he do that? He knew that he should’ve talked to Kihyun about his feelings before the wedding. It just got so hectic, and Kihyun was barely home in the main house. During their family dinners, they were never alone, and once dinner ends, Kihyun stealthily vanishes off. He tried to chase after him and nearly tripped on the skirt of his hanbok. He silently cursed. His tipsy brain thought he was being sexy and seductive, but now that he quickly sobered from the light shove from Kihyun, he realised that he must’ve looked silly, drunkenly shedding his clothes like a snake in front of his obviously terrified husband.
He ran out, but the darkness slowed him down. With only the far-off lights of the main house and the light from their Hanare, he could barely make out where Kihyun ran off to. He stopped as he reached the edge of their courtyard. “I’m sorry...” He croaked out, desperate. The tall bamboo grove surrounding them were large and loomed, swaying to the night breeze, indifferent to his predicament. He was barefoot and wearing only his trousers, he shivered. Should he chase after him? His husband who probably ran off to the massive main house that was like a labyrinth in the daytime - surely at night it would be impossible to navigate. Or should he go back into their house, put on something decent and go outside to look for Kihyun? What was he going to say to convince him to come back home? All this thinking made him miserable. After what seemed like forever, he slumped down, “I’m sorry... I was...” suddenly aware of how much he had to drink the whole day. He was so nervous and excited at the thought of marrying Kihyun, that he drank each time the attendants filled his cup, and throughout dinner, they made sure to always fill his cup. This was turning out to be much different than he envisioned. “I was so happy you agreed to marry me... I thought you liked me... and I thought...” tears started to well up.
Kihyun watched this all unfold from behind the trees. A barely audible Hyunwoo kept mumbling to himself in his gruff voice. It was almost comical seeing his massive husband slumped down occupying such a small space in nothing about his bridal trousers. He watched him mop, unable to catch anything coherent being said now. Hyunwoo was clearly upset. Oh god, is he crying...? He desperately hoped that Hyunwoo doesn't start wailing, because he’ll never hear the end of it from Hoseok, or worse, his parents.
He wordlessly walked up to him and crouched down to his eye level. “Hyung...” lightly nudging his arm so the man will look up at him.
Hyunwoo suddenly hugged him tight while profusely apologising.
They stayed crouched by the entrance of their courtyard hugging for enough time for Hyunwoo to stop crying. All the while, he engulfed Kihyun in a tight bear hug.
The ridiculousness of the situation was not lost on Kihyun. He wanted to laugh, but Hyunwoo would most likely appreciate not being made fun of right now. He couldn’t help but think the older man was cute despite his size.
Kihyun felt Hyunwoo shiver. The night air was cooler thanks in part to the thick bamboo wall surrounding their home. “Hyung... lets go home.” He felt his husband nod in agreement. They gingerly got up and walked back inside hand in hand.
Despite being exhausted, he found that he couldn’t sleep. He has been in lying in bed for the past hour with his back to Hyunwoo, who has been snoring. He turned to look at his spouse. How can the man sleep so soundly? An image of him slumped down, dejected on their garden walkway sniffling like a wounded puppy brought a smile to Kihyun’s face. This marriage hasn’t been anything like he expected – and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He watched him sleep for a while before he too drifted off into a dreamless night’s rest.
When he woke up, Hyunwoo was already up in the kitchen making breakfast. He didn’t want to startle him so he loudly greeted him “Good morning, hyung.”
“Good morning, Kihyunnie. Perfect timing – food’s almost ready”
He awkwardly stood by the edge of the kitchen, feeling like an outsider in his own home. “Do you need help?”
“Can you set the table?”
Grateful to be given a task, he started right away.
He sat on the table and watched Hyunwoo expertly make work his way around the kitchen. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long for Hyunwoo to finish cooking.
Hyunwoo cooked a hearty hangover soup. “Hope you like it,” he said spooning some into Kihyun’s bowl and handing it to him.
“This is such a heavy meal for breakfast”
“Do you not eat much for breakfast?”
“I tend to skip it.” he blew at the soup, before trying a spoonful. He almost moaned. God, it was good.
Hyunwoo looked at him, amused, “I’m glad you like it”
He smiled sheepishly, “Do you cook a lot, hyung?”
Hyunwoo nodded. “My dad was sick for a long time, and mom often worked, so I learnt how to cook. Simple meals at first. When his illness relapsed that was the worse, thankfully, I could take care of myself by then and my mom could focus on my dad.” Before it got awkwardly silent, he continued, “I’m sorry I attacked you, Kihyun.”
“It’s fine, hyung. You already apologised.” Kihyun waved him off.
“No, I- I want you to know that I’m sorry. Sorry if I’m coming on too strong, but I want you to know that I like you, Kihyun. I always have. Growing up, I knew I liked you before I even knew I liked men. I thought this was just a little boyhood crush. Maybe I was misremembering. Maybe our childhood was the one thing that wasn’t touched by my dad’s cancer that I remembered only the good things. But when I heard they were looking for your husband, I jumped at the chance. I applied to be transferred here for work even before I heard that I got considered.” He was normally never this eloquent but somehow found the courage to continue, “You don’t have to like me back. I just want you to know how I feel.”
He was so relieved to find that Kihyun wasn’t disgusted by anything he said. On the contrary, a small smile formed on his pretty face. It spurred him on to continue, “You never know, you might just like me back eventually.” His tone was cocky. He took Kihyun’s blushing as a positive sign and gave him a cheeky wink. He can wait. They had their whole lives to be with each other. He thought with great affection.
“Thank you for marrying me, Kihyun.”