Three days after Julian arrived in the big city, he immediately moved into Arcane's house. It turned out that the man had a fairly large house, even though he lived alone.
"Just treat it as your own home while you're here. I've tidied up your room, you can sleep in the room next to mine," said Arcane, who helped carry his suitcase.
"I didn't expect you to live in a house like this," said Julian, seeing how neat and beautiful the house was.
"Did you think I lived under a bridge?" asked Arcane, folding his arms across his chest and raising one eyebrow.
Julian immediately shook his head. He had only assumed that Arcane lived in an apartment. After all, most people chose to live in apartments rather than their own houses.
That was true, but Arcane preferred living in a house rather than an apartment unit, which he thought had too many unreasonable rules, was noisy, and sometimes had strange people as neighbors.
"But that doesn't mean you can live here without rules. My door is only open until 10:00 p.m. You can't bring anyone else over without my permission, except for Marshal, Ryan and Hans. You have to clean up your own snack trash." He began listing all the rules Julian had to follow in the house.
From there, he learned that he was allowed to look for another job even though he remained Arcane's contract husband. As long as he didn't come home later than the time set by the man.
"Plus, if I need you to come to school to prove our marriage, you have to be able to come. You have to be able to act like we're a romantic couple, you understand?"
"A romantic couple?" Julian asked, confused.
In his 22 years of life, he had never gone on a date with anyone. He was too focused on his own world of studying and reading comics.
He had never gone on a date with anyone. So he didn't know what it was like to be in a relationship.
Seeing Julian just standing there silently, Arcane seemed to understand that the man in front of him was so innocent.
"Don't tell me you haven't even had your first kiss yet," he said teasingly.
With a red face, Julian immediately protested. "So what if I haven't had my first kiss? Have you had yours? I bet you got your first kiss from your mother!"
He teased back with a laugh, but Arcane remained silent and didn't seem upset or laugh with him.
The man's eyes became so empty, as if something Julian had said to him had struck a chord. Feeling he had said the wrong thing, Julian apologized, but Arcane simply reverted to his usual irritating self.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that—"
"No need to apologize. I'm not you, who got my first kiss from my own mother. Or maybe your first kiss will be on the highway when you accidentally fall and kiss the asphalt," he replied.
Julian's forehead immediately wrinkled in annoyance, but he said nothing more except to take his things to the room Arcane had shown him.
Meanwhile, Arcane just watched the young man go to his room. He sighed and shook his head, then went to the kitchen.
That day, he invited Julian to go to the registry office where they would make their marriage license and marriage book.
Julian knew this was just an act and a contract marriage, but he felt nervous when filling out the registration form.
"I want this contract to look more real and for us to have a marriage book. Do you want to back out now?" Arcane asked him when he saw him hesitating to fill out the form.
He thought for a moment. Getting $1.200 a month just by being a contract husband was quite promising. Even though he had to stay in this lie for who knows how long.
'Plus, I also need a place to live in a big city like this. If he provides all the facilities, shouldn't I feel very lucky?' he thought at that moment.
"No, I haven't changed my mind! I'll fill out this form," Julian replied, then he took a pen and began filling in his details.
Even after he did so, he felt regretful because it meant his name would be registered in the country's records as having married Arcane.
Julian rested his head on the cafe table after they returned from the registry office. He was afraid that someone he knew would find out about this and report it to his parents.
He knew Marshal wouldn't do that because it was his idea too. But if his parents found out, he was worried they would force him to come home and forbid him from going to the big city again.
Arcane, who was sipping his coffee, immediately put down the cup and looked at his current contract husband.
"It looks like someone is regretting it. Didn't you look confident when you filled out the marriage form?"
"I'm just afraid that my parents will find out! They are very protective of me. Even going to this big city was very difficult to convince them," he replied weakly.
He didn't want to be forced to go home before he could even explore the city. Being there was his dream, and he didn't want to ruin it.
In the midst of his frustration after regretting what he had done, suddenly a man's hand reached out and gently stroked his head. When he lifted his head, he saw Arcane staring at him with a different look than when they first met.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure your parents don't find out about this, and you can stay safely at my place as long as you follow the rules I give you."
Julian's yellow eyes met the green eyes of the man in front of him, as if they were exchanging trust with each other.
"Oh right, even though this is a fake marriage, I prepared this for you." Arcane took out a ring box, then he pulled his hand back and put the ring on Julian's finger.
The young man stared at the ring on his finger, then looked back at him.
"It will only last a few months. After that, you will be free to live your life in this city. Just think of me as your temporary guide until you get to know this big city of your dreams."
Arcana grinned as he ruffled Julian's hair. He then pulled his hand away and went back to drinking his coffee.
Meanwhile, Julian touched his own head, where Arcane had stroked and ruffled his hair. This time, he truly felt at ease, though he still felt a little regret.
'I guess it's not so bad to trust him.'