Prologue: Gates of Hell

Faith.

Have faith, they said. Have faith that everything is going to work out in the end.

If it was up to Hyunjin he wouldn’t be attending a Catholic school, not that he had anything against it, but he would much rather lose himself in the arms of literature. There were times he would be simultaneously fascinated and repulsed by the things he read. Some pieces he got caught reading were considered so outrageous that he got himself detention after detention, enraging his parents to no end. What on earth was he doing reading these blasphemies? The only thing he needed to read, repeatedly for that matter, was the Bible. End of story.

Hyunjin didn’t need to be one of those adults to deduce that this was as hypocritical as it could get. He was taught not to act on lust—ergo, it shouldn’t have been a problem if he was solely reading about it. Yet, did all that chastising stop him from seeking more springs to satisfy his curiosity? 

No.

Because if you deny a person something, that’s going to be the only thing they are going to crave. 

Hyunjin went ahead and bought a tiny notebook for himself along with an ornate fountain pen and started spitting words on it in absolute secrecy whenever the urge hit. The only person who knew about it was his best friend Yeji, the daughter of the Hwangs’ closest family friends, but not even she was allowed to take a peek. No one was to read his lines. No one was to call him a sinner based on fucking poetry since whatever happened between his God and him was not up for discussion. She, with capital S, knew his true intentions. She knew Hyunjin would never do something against Her wishes in practice. She would see no harm in this young soul seeking to scratch an itch through words only since that was all he was trying to do. 

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help wishing that maybe he could one day move people through his lines. Not the most private ones, but… At least some of it. Under a pseudonym maybe. Some day. In an unknown future. Or an alternate reality.

Because his future was pretty much decided for him already.

Hwang Sungjin was a reputable bespoke tailor whereas Hwang Taeji owned several establishments that sold textile goods, which was what forged their friendship in the first place all those years ago. Since they coincidentally shared the same last name, the town differentiated these families by their ancestral hometowns as Gyeonggi Hwangs and Jeolla Hwangs respectively. With Sungjin and Taeji being this close, their only children naturally grew up together and ended up being best friends. Yet it was sort of an unspoken agreement between the families that once Hyunjin and Yeji turned of age, they would marry each other. Hyunjin would take over both businesses, and Yeji would be the mother of the third-generation Hwang offspring.

“Give me my notebook back, Yeji!”

Yet, this scenario that took place in a very much adult context seemed unlikely from time to time. Watching their almost-of-age children chase each other in the huge garden like two kids, the mothers contorted their faces in slight disapproval while sipping on their Earl Grey tea.

“Catch me if you can, Hyunjin!”

“GIVE IT BACK!!!”

“Maybe we should send them back to kindergarten instead. Good Lord,” Byeol sighed as she watched her son run after a notebook.

After their guests left that day, the husband and wife sat their son down to finally break some news to him.

“Listen, Hyunjin, you’re about to turn eighteen, but you’re still… a boy,” Byeol spoke with worry in her voice, “That’s not a very desirable quality in a prospective husband.” 

“Prospective… husband?” Hyunjin looked at his mother all confused, “What’s that supposed to mean, Mother?”

“It means you need to become a man already,” Sungjin declared with a firm voice, “You are soon to take Yeji as your wife.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened in shock, completely incredulous of the words that came out of his father’s mouth.

“I beg your pardon?!”

“I don’t think I stuttered, son.”

“Father, are you hearing yourself? Yeji is like a sister to me!” Hyunjin instinctively jumped to his feet.

“I didn’t realize I offered choices for His Excellency,” Sungjin retorted and grabbed the little notebook Hyunjin was squeezing, “And you are to stop with these frivolous indulgences. You are the heir to both thrones, Hyunjin. It’s high time you acted like one.”

Seething in his frustration, Hyunjin bit his tongue in the literal sense of the word and extended his hand to ask for his notebook back.

“If you’re finished, I’d like to go back to my room, sir.”

Sungjin slapped the leather-bound piece of stationary into his son’s palm and watched him leave the living room with quick, angry steps. 

“What are we going to do about this, Sungjin?” Byeol asked, helplessness dripping from her voice, only to be met with resigned silence.

“My lady, may I approach?”

The husband and wife both turned to the source of the voice to see the head housekeeper peeking through the corner of the room.

“Come, Jaehyun. What is it?”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, my lady,” the woman walked into the living room with timid steps, “but I might have a suggestion for the young master’s situation.”

“I’m listening?”

“You are familiar with the something borrowed tradition, correct, my lady?”

“Yes?”

“There are… certain mentor ladies the young master can consult to.”

“You mean like… like a prostitute?!” Byeol instinctively clutched her pearls.

“No! Goodness gracious, not like that!” the maid raised her hands in panic, “They are not common streetwalkers, my lady. They are considered manmakers.”

“Manmakers?” Sungjin questioned with doubt.

“Yes. They are commonly referred to as makeshift wives, my lord,” the maid explained further, “It’s not solely about laying together as man and wife. They teach young men about the institution of marriage and how to be a good husband.”

“This is outrageous. A woman is supposed to teach him how to be a man?” Sungjin roared in objection, “I’ll nip this in the bud. He is going to a brothel on the night of his eighteenth birthday.”

“Sungjin!!!”

“End… of… discussion.”

As scandalized at the thought as she was, Byeol knew for a fact that it wasn’t possible to change her husband’s mind once it was set on something. It was obvious where Hyunjin got it from.

“Fine. Do whatever you want, but if you fail, you will accept to do things my way,” she insisted.

As Sungjin retreated to his chambers, Byeol sat in silence for some time with her maid still by her side, thinking about how to best go about this whole ordeal.

“Where do we even find a makeshift wife?”

“I heard that the Lee boy was taught by one before his wedding, and she’s supposed to be very famous,” Jaehyun informed her lady, “I’ll ask their head housekeeper.”

“Please keep this discreet, I beg of you,” Byeol implored, her expression trapped between reserved and scared, “We don’t need more reasons to be a laughing stock to these people.”

Hyunjin had learned in his youth groups that he was supposed to save himself until marriage. No relations until you found that one person to share your life with because there was no union to consummate otherwise, which made complete sense to him. However…

“Don’t even think about abusing your body in any way. It’s not even the act itself that’s the sin; it’s the impure thoughts in your head. It’s the lust in your heart.”

He understood it in principle, but in practice, not so much. Even if you weren’t doing anything, it was quite literally impossible to have full control over thoughts since they kept cropping up out of nowhere. Why else would you get this irrational urge to laugh in the middle of a funeral? Why else would you think about what would happen if you jumped when you were looking down from a high place?

Nevertheless, they said no. They said it was a sin. There was nothing he could do but abide by it.

He couldn’t remember when exactly it started but at one point, Hyunjin started having what he called demon dreams. He wasn’t able to recall what he was dreaming about the next morning—only the fact that it felt like dying towards the end of it, but dying shouldn’t have felt that good.

Maybe it was because it felt that good that suicide was such a cardinal sin. Who knew?

Every time he had these dreams, he always woke up with a mess in his bed. The very first time, he thought he soiled himself, but upon closer inspection, he noticed the discharge was different. White. Thick. Pungent but not acidic. A part of him wanted to ask someone if they ever had these dreams, too, so that he would know how common of an occurrence it was, but he was so ashamed of it that he didn’t even know who to talk to about this. Instead, he kept praying to stop having these dreams every day to absolutely no avail. Every morning was still the same—waking up drenched in sweat, panting like he had just run a mile, and with an ample amount of thick, sticky fluid all over his crotch.

Luckily, or to his absolute misfortune, this torture was only reserved for the nighttime. He was still a functional member of society during the day.

On the night of his eighteenth birthday, Hwang Sr. had called over a bunch of Hyunjin’s older friends to accompany him to a secret location where his gift was awaiting. The whole way there, the young men surrounding him were playfully landing smacks on his back and talking in obscure sentences.

“We should have gotten him cherry champagne. It would be hysterical to pop by the door!”

“Try to last for ten seconds the first time.”

“You can ask for a backdoor entrance or shoot in the face, too. They are supposed to do anything you ask for.”

Hyunjin had no idea what they were grinning about as none of it made sense to him. At long last, they arrived at a decrepit building with dim lights streaming through all its windows. Faint sounds of different people moaning were melting into each other as if there was a torture chamber inside. Hyunjin thickly gulped as he walked through that door, having no idea why he was brought here in the first place. As far as he was concerned, he hadn’t done anything that bad that would warrant writhing in agony.

Once they passed the threshold of the anteroom, the young bunch were met with a large number of ladies inside, all clad in clothing that left very little to the imagination. All of them were looking at these new arrivals with predatory gazes and sleazy smiles, strutting their stuff to be the one to get picked.

“Go ahead, Hyun. Choose one.”

Hyunjin turned to his friend Christopher with complete bewilderment in his eyes.

“For–For what?”

“Geez, flustered already? Fine, I’ll choose one for you,” the older guy scanned the room with squinted eyes and landed on a delicious brunette, “You with gorgeous tits. Approach.”

The woman basically floated towards them while swaying her hips from side to side with a content smirk never leaving her face.

“Yes, my lord?”

“This handsome thing right here turned eighteen today,” Christopher threw his arm around Hyunjin’s shoulder, “His pops has strict orders that he is not to leave this establishment until he manages to ruin you. All night long if need be.”

“Oh, is that so?” the woman brushed her middle finger right under Hyunjin’s chin like she was petting a kitten, “Is this the little lamb we’re going to turn into a man tonight?”

“Don’t touch me!!!”

Hyunjin bolted out of the building completely as a fight-or-flight response as if he was in the presence of a tiger in a jungle. He didn’t even think about where he was going, just ran and ran and ran towards nowhere with complete trust in his feet. Maybe it was because he subconsciously wanted to wash the raunch off of himself that he ended up at the church to hide.

Once he managed to catch his breath, he stood up to walk towards the confessional, noticing a very small wedding ceremony going on inside with maybe only ten people present. He stopped dead in his tracks and watched Father Seojoon perform the ceremony as well as the couple holding each other’s hands with bright smiles.

“This is what it’s supposed to be like,” he quietly mumbled to himself, “In love.”

Yes, he did care about Yeji but nowhere near what this groom must have felt towards his bride. That look in their eyes of absolute adoration… It wasn’t something that could be acquired at will. Looking at Yeji like that would feel incestuous, to say the least. 

Hyunjin picked up his notebook and pen from the inner pocket of his jacket and hastily scribbled a clumsy haiku that popped into his mind before forgot.

Long for the moment their souls blend in a whisper these doting lovers.

“You are too hard on him as it is, Sungjin. Do not say anything that will hurt his pride any further.”

After the birthday night fiasco, Byeol took the matter into her own hands and set out to find a makeshift wife per the agreement with her husband. She was in two minds about whether to go through with this arrangement or not until the last minute because a part of her kept mocking her about what a ridiculous idea this was. Nevertheless, desperate times indeed called for desperate measures, and the long-awaited guest finally arrived on a Tuesday afternoon. 

“My name is Bora, my lady,” the woman politely bowed, “I’m the overseer of your person of interest.”

Byeol had prepared herself to meet someone of sordid nature, but this woman seemed very much deferential, from her looks to her manners. As the two women settled down in the living room exchanging pleasantries, Jaehyun swiftly arrived with two cups of tea.

“I have never done something of this nature before,” Byeol finally got to the point of this visit with a bashful smile, “All I know is that I need the best of the best. Whoever taught the son of the Lees.”

“Oh,” Bora silently put her cup down on the saucer, “I’m afraid she’s not available anymore, my lady.”

“Why not?”

“She came to find this duty very tiresome. Not to mention it’s the reason she couldn’t have a family of her own.”

“Please. If I weren’t in quite the predicament, I wouldn’t ask for them specifically,” Byeol pleaded while holding the hands of this stranger, “My son is supposed to get married next month, and the bride’s family is not willing to go through with it if he’s… if he’s not…”

She couldn’t even finish that sentence herself. If he’s what? Not man enough? Not tough enough like his father, roaring at every single inconvenience? Yeji seemed to be very fond of him, and these two were the ones to start a family, so why did anyone else’s opinions matter?

Nevertheless, Bora was able to see that glimmer of desperation in this beautiful woman’s eyes.

“Even if I bring the invitation to her, I’m sure she will have conditions, my lady.”

“Of what nature, may I ask?”

“I’m not quite sure, but there needs to be an irrefutable reason for her to take on an apprentice again.”

“Please extend to them that whatever conditions they may put forth, I am ready to accept. Money is not an issue,” Byeol started speaking fast when she saw that ray of hope, “I just want my son to be seen as a dependable head of the household.”

“I’m not promising she will readily accept, my lady, but I shall do my utmost best.”

The whole way back home, Bora was still in disbelief that she just left the manor of Gyeonggi Hwangs. Never once in her career could she dream of visiting this place, much less delivering an invitation of apprenticeship coming from it. When she finally returned, she found you in the kitchen washing vegetables for dinner.

“You will not believe who extended an invitation for you!”

“An invitation?” you asked without looking at her, “You of all people know that those days are behind me. I hope you said no on my behalf.”

“I don’t think that snark will stay intact once you hear who it is.”

“I don’t care, Bora.”

“Will you listen already?” she insisted as if her life depended on it and turned you around to face her from your shoulders, “I guarantee you it’ll be worth it.”

“What’s so damn important about this invitation that I will be unable to refuse?” you lashed out at her, “And you better make it a good one.”

“They are willing to accept any condition you may pose.”

“So?”

Bora took a profound breath and looked dead into your eyes before continuing. 

“Your prospective apprentice is the son of the Hwangs. Young lord Hyunjin.”

The last name Hwang meant a great deal in this town as it is, but everybody also happened to know how ridiculously good-looking the Hwang boy was. The idea of teaching a prince for a change was indeed tempting, but then again, there was a reason you had quit being a makeshift wife. You could never be someone’s actual wife because of it since manmakers were barely seen as more than glorified prostitutes. You had made your peace with it, though. Maybe the fate you were destined to fulfill was just of a temporary companion.

“I don’t know, Bora.”

“Think about it! You can ask for as much money as you want. They will take care of you during your residence, and your sister will have enough to study the letters while you’re gone!”

Your sister… That was the one thing you could never ignore, and Bora of course knew about it, not that she was solely thinking about the commission she was going to earn. She genuinely liked that kid no matter what an aggressively rebellious phase she was going through. Should you accept this invitation, the Hwangs could basically cover all her schooling expenses, including room and board. When you thought about it that way, your decision became a no-brainer.

“Very well. I accept to take him as an apprentice, BUT—!” you pointed your finger at Bora threateningly, “I will not lay with him. That’s my condition.”

“How is he supposed to learn how to consummate the marriage?!”

“However the heck our fathers learned it,” you turned to your vegetables again, “I will only walk him through the fundamentals of a happy marriage and that is it.”

“You do know happy marriages require s—”

“Bora!”

“Okay, okay!” she raised her hands in surrender and broke into a wide smile, “I will let Lady Hwang know about your decision. She will be elated!”

It was only for one month anyway. The only request of the Hwangs was to keep this arrangement a secret so that the bride and her family wouldn’t hear of it. Per the nature of this agreement, once the schooling was over, no contact was to be established with the prospective groom. Everybody was going to go their separate ways, and you were basically going to inherit a fortune. 

Nevertheless, when you walked into the Hwang Manor that day for the initiation ceremony, you didn’t need to be a psychic to deduce that the young lord was utterly despondent about the circumstances. While he was still somewhat courteous, his expression was thoroughly abysmal like he was about to get a death sentence. He wasn’t even looking in your direction.

“The four pillars of a healthy marriage are love, respect, sharing, and communication. And passion is the beautifully ornate fountain right in the middle of them,” Bora spoke with a loving smile, “Father Seojoon, if you please.”

Per tradition, the ceremony required the blessing of a priest. Even though it was temporary, the arrangement still involved carrying out the duties of a husband and wife. The intentions may have been didactic at heart, but no one was going to risk going to hell for that.

“Do you take him as your apprentice?”

“I do.”

“Do you take her as your master?”

“Hyunjin!” Byeol pinched her son’s arm when he kept his silence.

“Fine, I do,” he responded with a deadpan voice.

“Do you bear witness to this union?”

“We do,” Byeol and Bora confirmed in unison.

“Then from this moment on, your master shall be your makeshift wife until your learning is complete. You are to honor each other just like a real husband and wife would do,” Father Seojoon blessed the union, “You may kiss your wife.”

“I will do no such thing,” Hyunjin sneered through his clenched jaw and left the room furious, slamming the door behind him on his way out.

You didn’t take offense at Hyunjin’s severe lashing out and let him process his emotions. This wasn’t uncommon with apprentices who didn’t agree to take a makeshift wife. If he insisted on sulking, it didn’t really have any consequences on your end as you didn’t promise to create a miracle. You would cross-stitch in your room for a month, collect your payment, and get the hell out of there. 

If only either of you knew what destiny had in store for you…

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