By Zephyria “I-It’s just a cold.”
Yu-jin hurriedly lied.
“I have a fever, so the pheromone scent is getting stronger… Don’t worry.”
The employees, including the Butler, were all beta or gamma, and the only special type they had ever seen was extreme alpha, so they probably didn’t know much about Omega. He was inwardly nervous and watched their reactions, and the Butler said, “Is that so?” and then added.
“I’ll call the family doctor. You can’t just take medicine recklessly…”
“It’s okay.”
Yu-jin forced a smile, feeling the heat spreading more and more.
“I’ll be better soon. There’s no need to call a doctor.”
“But.”
“I want to rest.”
Yu-jin deliberately cut him off.
“I’ll be better after I sleep. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
His voice was full of exhaustion, even to his own ears. His cheeks were probably flushed with fever blisters. And his heavy breathing was also indicative of his unusual condition. The Butler hesitated for a moment at the symptoms that resembled a cold, and then nodded.
“I understand. Then I’ll check on you later. Call me if you need anything.”
After giving him one last word of caution, he left the room. Only after he was finally alone did Yu-jin let out a sigh of relief. Only then did his reason seem to return little by little.It’s been two days, huh.
Christmas was already right around the corner. Once Christmas passed, it would finally be D-day. And today of all days was Christmas Eve. For some reason, Winston had said he would be back early, and tomorrow was a holiday. To have to spend the whole day with him right before D-day was just my luck, he thought, but it was a condition, so he had to accept it.
I need to take a suppressant.
He didn’t know if it would work since his heat cycle was approaching, but it was the only option. He roused his heavy body and went to the bathroom, taking out a suppressant and swallowing it. It was probably because his heat cycle was approaching. There was no other reason to suddenly smell pheromones.
Yes, that’s the only answer.
Yu-jin nodded as if making a resolution, then lay back down on the bed. Without even realizing he was falling asleep, he passed out as if losing consciousness. And he slept without waking once until Winston returned.
* * *
“A cold?”
Winston, who had returned home just as the short winter sun was beginning to set, paused at the Butler’s words. The Butler replied, “Yes,” and immediately continued his report.
“I was going to call the doctor, but he said he wanted to rest, so I stopped myself.”
The Butler added with his usual expressionless face.
“Since she is pregnant, I couldn’t give her any medicine, so I’ve been keeping an eye on her. Shall I call the doctor now?”
Winston was silent for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about something, then replied, “No.”
“I understand, put that aside for now. So, what is Yu-jin doing right now? Is he awake?”
At his master’s question, the Butler mechanically replied.
“Yes, he is with Angie in her room. He seems to be in better condition than before, but…”
He trailed off as if worried about whether to call a doctor now or if Angela might catch a cold. But Winston didn’t say anything more and readily went up the stairs.
“Wait a moment.”
Winston stopped the Butler, who was about to follow him, and continued.
“I’ll bring Angie down soon, so finish up first. Quickly.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The Butler had no choice but to remain there. Behind his master, who was striding quickly up the stairs as if impatient, he wore a bewildered expression, but soon returned to his expressionless face, scanned the busy servants around him, and then began his work.
Winston reached Angela’s door in an instant. He raised his hand to knock, but suddenly a mischievous curiosity arose. What were Yu-jin and Angela doing right now? He stealthily grabbed the doorknob and turned it, opening the door. Thankfully, the door quietly cracked open, revealing the inside. There, the scene was as he had expected. Yu-jin, sitting on the floor playing house with the child, was no different from what he had already experienced. The only difference was that this time, Angela was holding a baby doll.
“Duke, the baby isn’t eating well, I’m worried. Why is she doing this?”
Saying that, Angela brought a small toy teacup to the baby’s mouth. After pretending to feed her water, Angela put down the teacup and said,
“She always only wants to eat soup like this. Should I spank her butt?”
Suddenly, Angela turned the doll over and lifted its skirt. As she pretended to spank the doll’s butt, which was wearing panties, Yu-jin gently soothed the child.
“Angie, you can’t do that. You have to soothe her, not hit her.”
“You have to slap kids who don’t listen.”
“I told you, you can’t.”
Yu-jin scolded the child with a very flustered face.
“Hitting someone or breaking things is very bad. I told you not to do that, right?”
“Yes.”
Angela nodded and replied.
“You mustn’t break things.”
“That’s right.”
Angela firmly added to Yu-jin, who was smiling in relief.
“Because it costs money to buy new ones.”
“That’s not why.”
For a moment, Winston barely managed to stifle a laugh by covering his mouth with one hand. Unaware of his reaction, Yu-jin said to the child in a stern tone.
“It’s the same as hitting someone else. Doing such violent things is bad. What if you throw things around when you’re angry? What would your other friends think? Wouldn’t they be scared?”
Angela tilted her head as if imagining it for a moment. Yu-jin continued patiently.
“You mustn’t scare other people, Angie. Don’t get angry, you have to talk calmly. Okay?”
After being gently persuaded, Angela nodded after a pause. The pout on her lips was proof that the child hadn’t fully understood, but her effort to accept it was worth praising.
“That’s right, Angie. Just be careful in the future.”
Yu-jin said that and stroked Angela’s cheek. This much was enough. Angela was much smarter than her peers, so she wouldn’t do this again in the future. He was smiling contentedly when suddenly, he heard a clearing of throat from behind. Startled, Yu-jin and Angela turned around to see Winston leaning against the door. Surprised by the unexpected situation, Yu-jin blinked his wide eyes and asked.
“Oh, when did you get here?”
“Not long ago. A little while ago.”
Winston deliberately blurred his words. Yu-jin’s face suddenly flushed. He felt like the faintly felt pheromone scent had intensified for a moment. At that moment, Winston fixed his gaze on Angela’s face. Fortunately, the method worked. Feeling the excitement subside quickly, he let out a small sigh of relief.
“Angie, were you having fun?”
Being careful not to make a mistake in front of the child, he deliberately focused his attention on Angela and asked. Only then did Angela straighten her posture and look up at Winston.
“You’re home early.”
“Yes, because it’s Christmas Eve.”
Winston said with a smile, but the reaction he received was lukewarm. Seeing the indifferent expressions of Yu-jin and the child, as if wondering what that was, Winston felt bitter instead. What kind of Christmases had they spent until now? He had already heard about it from Angela, but seeing such a reaction in front of him didn’t make him feel good.
“Angie, do you want to go see the tree?”
Forcing a smile and changing the subject, the child was soon hooked.
“The tree?”
“Yes.”
Seeing the child’s reaction, her eyes sparkling with excitement, Winston quickly checked the clock on the wall. By now, the preparations should be mostly done.
“Shall we go downstairs together?”
Winston said that and naturally held the child in one arm. Until then, Yu-jin was just looking at him with an indifferent face. He thought it had nothing to do with him, but suddenly Winston looked down at Yu-jin and said.
“You have to come too, get up.”
“Me too?”
Surprised by the unexpected words, Yu-jin asked, and Winston replied, “Yes.”
“It would be difficult without Daddy, wouldn’t it?”
Asking while looking at Angela, the child nodded. He felt like he was being held hostage by his daughter, but there was no other way. As he got up with a reluctant face, Winston suddenly reached out his hand. What is this? At the expression that revealed his emotions, Winston leaned over and grabbed Yu-jin’s hand instead of answering. Startled, Yu-jin hurriedly tried to pull his hand away, but Winston immediately intertwined their fingers and held on tight. In the blink of an eye, there were two hostages. Winston turned around, and Yu-jin ended up following him as if being dragged along.
What is he really thinking?
Winston took the elevator down to the lower floor instead of the stairs. As the doors opened, the lavishly decorated interior greeted him. A past memory flashed through his mind as he inadvertently exclaimed. Since a few days ago, the servants had been bustling around the house. He almost sighed when he realized that this was the result of their efforts. The large, high mansion was filled with decorations celebrating Christmas everywhere. Hanging around the chandelier was a large relief of Santa Claus riding in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Large and small beads that sparkled like snow were irregularly hung around it. Angela clapped and rejoiced at the cute frames and decorations hanging everywhere, but Yu-jin felt sorry for the servants when he thought about how much they must have suffered for this moment.
“Is it always like this?”
As if asking what he meant, Winston looked down, and Yu-jin asked in a low voice.
“Do you do this every Christmas?”
“We have to.”
“What?”
He frowned and asked back at the carelessly uttered words, but Winston didn’t answer and pulled on his hand.
“Wow!”
The person who made the scream-like sound was Angela. Yu-jin, who had turned his gaze along with the child’s wide-eyed gaze, also widened his eyes. A huge birch tree, taller than Winston, stood there. Overwhelmed by the overwhelming size and intimidation, Yu-jin couldn’t speak and just watched. Angela was the same.
“I’ve never seen such a big tree before.”
Winston smiled and asked Angela, who was staring at the tree in a daze.
“Will you put the star on top of the tree?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
As Angela looked at him with wide eyes, he moved the child into his arms as if he had been waiting for it. Thanks to that, Yu-jin’s hand, which had been intertwined until then, was left dangling. He inadvertently glanced down at his empty hand, then covered his hand with his other hand and turned his head to look at the child.
“Wow!”
As Winston stretched out his arm, Angela rose to a dizzyingly high position. Yu-jin almost fainted seeing the child becoming as distant as the star she was holding in her hand. But Angela was much braver and bolder than that. With a very excited face, the child raised the star and carefully placed it on top of the tree, beaming. Winston checked that the star was well fixed and put Angela down on the floor.
“Good job, Angie.”Winston paused, his hand hovering over the child’s head, ready to stroke her hair with a smile. Angela was sporting the pretty princess braid that Yu-jin had just done for her. As if afraid he would ruin her hairstyle, she quickly covered her head with both hands, and Winston awkwardly withdrew his hand. Their interaction created a strange feeling. Of course, Yu-jin was the only one who felt it. He was the only one who knew they were father and daughter.
A bitter taste filled his mouth, but he ignored it and turned his head away. Soon after, Winston looked down at the boxes piled on the floor and asked,
“Shall we decorate the tree together now? Angie, can you do the bottom part?”
He placed a box in front of the child, and Angela nodded enthusiastically, immediately grabbing an ornament. Yu-jin stood there awkwardly, and Winston looked at him and said,
“You take from here to here.”
Seeing him draw a line on the tree with his hand, Yu-jin asked with a reluctant expression,
“You want me to do it?”
Winston replied as if it were obvious.
“Decorating the tree is a family activity, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
With even the child chiming in, there was nothing he could do. Eventually, Yu-jin approached them with a disgruntled look, and Winston handed him another box.
“Here, this is yours.”
“Haaa.”
Yu-jin, who had sighed audibly, began to hang ornaments on the tree with a reluctant air. Naturally, the highest part was Winston’s domain.
“You better not cry, you better not pout.”
Suddenly, Angela started singing. Well, Angie was experiencing this kind of event for the first time. Yu-jin thought so and accepted the situation casually. The problem was what came next. Winston began to hum and sing along to the child’s carol.
“What’s wrong?”
Winston, as if sensing Yu-jin’s gaze on him, turned his head and frowned. Seeing that expression, Yu-jin realized how shocked he must have looked.
“Why are you suddenly singing?”
Winston replied to Yu-jin’s quiet question as if he still didn’t understand.
“Because it’s Christmas?”
Yu-jin blinked blankly, then shook his head hastily. He shook his head like a wet dog, ignoring the gaze that was still on him and focusing on decorating the tree. He resolved not to be swayed by any sound he heard from now on. But that resolution was broken in less than a minute.
“How’s your body?”
“Huh, uh?”
At the sudden question, Yu-jin dropped a bauble for a moment. Winston quickly caught it and held it out to Yu-jin. Yu-jin said a small thank you and picked up the bauble from his hand, but his heart was racing. What was this? Was he asking about the child? Winston stared intently at Yu-jin, who was at a loss, and said,
“You said you had a cold.”
Only then did Yu-jin remember, ah. Angela was still singing below. This time it was ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’.
“Shouldn’t we call a doctor? I heard you refused during the day.”
Winston’s voice came through the loud singing. Yu-jin tried to avoid his gaze and replied,
“I’m, I’m okay.”
He continued, trying to act as casual as possible.
“I feel better after resting for a while. There’s no need to call a doctor.”
Yu-jin was anxious but stubbornly did other things. As if decorating this tree was the most important thing in the world, Winston watched Yu-jin’s face silently and then opened his mouth.
“Okay.”
That was all. As if nothing had happened, Winston hung ornaments on the tree. Yu-jin glanced at him, and after confirming that there was no particular reaction, he let out a small sigh of relief.
Even though he had taken suppressants, he could still faintly smell pheromones from him. It was probably because his heat cycle was approaching.
At this rate, the medicine might not work.
It was a relief that he was calm for now, but it was only a temporary fix. If he got caught up in the atmosphere again like last time, it would be irreversible. Now he could smell Winston’s pheromones. Could he refuse Winston then?
‘Yu-jin’
Yu-jin gasped slightly, as if he had imagined Winston’s low whisper in his ear. His heart pounded as if it would break through his ribs. He reached out with a trembling hand to hang an angel doll on a branch, but just then, he met Winston’s eyes across the tree. And they stood there as if frozen, unable to take their eyes off each other.
Suddenly, Yu-jin’s pheromone scent became even stronger. As if to seduce Winston. That wouldn’t be wrong. An Omega’s pheromone is naturally released to seduce the Alpha in front of them.
“Daddy, are you sick?”
Even Angela seemed to smell the scent and looked up to ask. Flustered, Yu-jin tried to tell the child that he was okay, but soon closed his mouth. He didn’t know how his voice would come out, so he couldn’t answer. What if he moaned? The thought alone was terrifying. The child continued to look up at him with a worried face. It was when Yu-jin was at a loss and covered his mouth with one hand.
Suddenly, Winston picked Yu-jin up.