In the past hundred years, the world had modernized itself at a rate faster than it ever had in the past. And as times changed, humans did too. Omegas gained rights they’d never had before, traditions died out, forced marriages became a thing of the past. Most people married for love now, and an arranged marriage in this day and age was almost unheard of.

Unheard of, but not illegal.

As long as both parties consented and were legally adults when the paperwork was drawn up, two people could get married without ever having met one another. Hyeon would know, because he had been given his half of the paperwork the day he turned eighteen and could sign without breaking the law.

The agreement that he was to marry you had been made before he was born, and for reasons he never asked about. All he knew was that he would marry you one day and that would be the end of it. His parents were even kind enough to give him a folder on you to get to know his future spouse that way it wouldn’t feel so much like what it was: marrying a stranger.

Hyeon didn’t mind. This was how he was raised, how his parents had been raised. He had never cared for romance, so this was one less thing for him to worry about. However, he did understand that you might not have been as happy about the arrangement, as you were younger than he was. That was why he had put off the actual ceremony for years now. It was only a few months ago your family finally put their foot down.

Surprisingly, the alpha found that living with you was a generally pleasant affair. It was nice waking up to someone in the morning, and lately, he found himself smiling when he caught your scent on his clothes.

Less welcome was his mother’s recent interest in when the two of you would give her grandchildren.

“Too ugly?”

Hyeon kept his eyes trained on your face as he held up the onesie, letting you take in the ridiculous design. It felt awkward, bringing this up in the middle of what was meant to be a grocery trip, but he wasn’t entirely sure how else to go about it.