By Zephyria 
The sigh was so heavy it felt like it could sink even solid ground.
Kim Hui-won listlessly rubbed his face. The texture of the skin beneath his palm was smooth. It was because he had consumed so much yang energy last night.
He glanced to the side. Kwon Young-je, who had woken up first, was tidying his appearance in front of the mirror. Unlike the naked Hui-won, he was in a perfect state, wearing a suit and tie. Judging by his composed face, it was as if nothing had happened last night.
As Kwon Young-je fastened his watch strap, he sensed the gaze fixed on him and slowly turned his head.
Seeing Hui-won’s world-collapsing expression, he smirked as if he had expected it. The smile was brief, and he returned to his usual cold face. He said curtly.
“Anyone would think I raped you.”
“…Executive Director.”
A metallic scraping sound came from his throat, and Hui-won covered his mouth with his fist and coughed a few times. Suddenly, a small bottle of water came flying.
“I think it’s time to come to your senses.”
“……”
“Are you still in heat?”
“No, it’s over…”
Hui-won forced himself to turn his head and hurriedly drank the water. As moisture filled his parched mouth, his mind became clearer. He was sure his heat cycle was over, but he didn’t know why he was sweating so much.
He had made so many mistakes that it was hard to list them all. The most terrible thing was that he had slept with Kwon Young-je, and the second was that he had peed in front of him.
Both the first and second were unavoidable. Since he wasn’t in his right mind, shouldn’t he be forgiven…? Ah, he also kissed Secretary Song in front of him, what a crazy bastard!
Hui-won buried his face in the blanket every time he remembered what he had done. Soundless screams and curses filled the thin blanket.
Kwon Young-je, who had finished preparing, watched Hui-won thrashing around on the bed for a while.
At first, it was somewhat amusing, but now he was starting to get annoyed. Kim Hui-won was clearly writhing in regret.
He tilted his head, his hands in his pants pockets. He didn’t have the patience to keep watching that.
“Need more time to wallow? I can give you about five minutes.”
“…Yes?”
“Stop talking nonsense and get ready to go. The flight is at 9 AM.”
The sharp voice snapped him back to his senses. Hui-won hurriedly looked for the clock on the wall. If the flight was at 9 AM, time was really tight.
Kwon Young-je must have rebooked the flight while he was sleeping. He also noticed the suitcase sitting alone in the room. When did he bring that in? He was so meticulous that it was scary.
There was no time to think, so he swung his legs off the bed. As he got up, a clump of semen trickled down between his legs. He froze at the eerie sensation.
Hui-won’s eyes rolled to the side. He glared at the person who had left this mess as if protesting, and Kwon Young-je slowly lowered his gaze. He was silent for a moment as if he also saw the semen dripping onto the floor.
Then he replied in his usual indifferent voice.
“It was an unavoidable situation. Don’t shift the blame.”
“Still, you could have come outside… No, it’s all my fault.”
Hui-won rubbed his troubled face for a long time. He pulled the blanket, which was still warm, and wrapped it around his naked body.
Kwon Young-je snorted inwardly at that. It was quite absurd that he was now hiding his naked body when they had already seen everything.
Throughout the long ride to the airport, a heavy silence hung in the taxi.
Because the space was cramped, the distance between the two was only about a hand span. It was a distance where they could feel each other’s presence and even hear each other’s breathing. Compared to Kwon Young-je, who was sitting comfortably, Hui-won was very nervous and had locked down his pheromones tightly. He didn’t know what face to show Kwon Young-je, and he didn’t know how to start a conversation.
While his head was full of complicated thoughts, the uncomfortable atmosphere continued endlessly. It had been six years since they had been so distant, so his heart was even more troubled. Even during Kwon Young-je’s rut, they had acted normally the next day.
As he was suppressing his feelings alone and looking out the window, he suddenly heard a low voice from the side.
“You can take the morning-after pill within three days.”
Hui-won turned his head, slightly flustered. He didn’t expect Kwon Young-je to still be thinking about that.
“I’ll take the pill… but I probably won’t get pregnant.”
A blatant gaze flew at him as if asking what that meant. Hui-won swallowed hard and revealed his situation, which he had been hiding until now.
“Professor Hong said I’m close to being infertile. That… the organ isn’t properly formed.”
“Then why are you looking so miserable?”
His expression was quite fierce. He wondered if he really didn’t know.
“That’s…”
“Is this your first time having sex?”
“It’s the first time I’ve caused such an accident.”
Hui-won was at a loss for the future. He was barely able to lift his face now.
Kwon Young-je looked at Hui-won with displeasure as his back was bent unnaturally and his voice continued to crawl on the floor. He let out a dull sigh as if he also had a headache. He turned his head straight and gently smoothed out his crumpled brow.
“The other employees don’t know our situation, and I’ve thoroughly silenced Secretary Song, so there won’t be any problems. Just pretend you don’t remember.”
“…Will you forget about it too, Executive Director?”
“Maybe.”
“Please, can’t you just forget about it?”
At his desperate plea, Kwon Young-je only slightly twisted his gaze. There was still no smile on his face.
“Exactly what.”
“……”
“That Secretary Kim begged me to fuck him just once? That he climbed on top of me and fucked me? Ah, are you talking about breaking the bed?”
Hui-won squeezed his eyes shut at the calmly released actions of the past. Ah… just curse me, Young-je.
“You can tease me now. But please forget about it completely when we get back to Korea. You have to.”
“You’re really selfish. You’re trying to be equal with me just because we slept together once.”
Kwon Young-je slowly crossed his legs. Below his long legs, a pair of spotless black shoes tapped at the tip of his nose.
“I don’t really plan to remember. If Secretary Kim wants, we can pretend nothing happened.”
“……”
“Let’s just say I received help once. I’ll think of yesterday as paying off a debt.”
“Yes.”
He usually thought of it as a very heartless attitude, but now Kwon Young-je’s cold voice felt rather welcome. He also thought it was fortunate that he didn’t attach much meaning to it. Only then could Hui-won put down his worries.
“I’ll take care of the matter regarding Chairman Takano, so just know that.”
But that was only for a moment, Hui-won’s spine tingled at Kwon Young-je’s calmly spoken words. So he knew everything. Hui-won lifted his pale face.
“What… what are you going to do?”
He quietly glared. He was sparing his words, but judging by his coldly hardened expression, it seemed like he was planning to do something. Kwon Young-je had always been the type to pay back what he had suffered.
“He’s the chairman of Fujino Pharmaceuticals, not just anyone. If a conflict arises, it will obviously affect the business. I don’t want you to be in trouble because of me. There’s no harm… and if you think about it, he didn’t even touch me.”
“Keep talking. I’m curious to see how much I can tolerate.”
His lips were sealed shut at the stern warning. Hui-won swallowed his trembling breath. Kwon Young-je wasn’t the type to do anything rash, but he was still uneasy.
“It’s a matter related to me. I have the right to interfere.”
“What can you do? You can’t even disobey Chairman Takano’s words and you readily accept strange teas. Is that what you’re going to say?”
“……”
“Who is that old man to you? You don’t even care how I feel right now.”
“Executive Director.”
“Get your own mind straight. If you let yesterday’s events affect your work because you’re regretting it, I won’t let it slide anymore.”
Kwon Young-je turned his face away, signaling that he refused any further conversation. In the uncomfortable silence, Hui-won had to burn his anxious heart. He lowered his head and meaninglessly tore at his nails.
That he didn’t care, what nonsense. Where was there anyone he cared about as much as Kwon Young-je?
The next day, the two visited the hospital early in the morning. The regular check-up was still a long way off, but there was a more urgent reason.
After undergoing a simple examination, they were waiting for an interview with Professor Hong. They had agreed in advance to confide their secret only to Professor Hong.
Professor Hong was a little surprised that Kim Hui-won’s heat cycle had started earlier than expected. She couldn’t even hide her embarrassment when she heard that his partner was Kwon Young-je. She pressed her temple.
She had encouraged sex, but she didn’t mean for them to sleep together. Did she say something strange?
“I’m dizzy, really.”
She sighed deeply and focused on the examination chart again. As she examined the figures with her eyes, she widened her eyes as if surprised.
“Young-je, your rut is over?”
In terms of timing, Kwon Young-je’s rut was earlier than Kim Hui-won’s heat cycle. Whether it was a chain reaction or not, the pheromone levels accumulated in Kwon Young-je’s body were neatly organized.
“Is that so?”
Kwon Young-je didn’t react much even after hearing that. He thought to himself that something felt a little different.
Feeling a stinging gaze, he glanced to the side and saw Kim Hui-won quietly looking at him. The words contained in his eyes were clear. So I wasn’t the only one in heat?
Kwon Young-je nonchalantly averted his gaze. As he brazenly looked ahead, Hui-won had no choice but to turn his head straight.
Professor Hong grabbed her forehead and tapped the examination paper with the tip of her pen. Judging by her expression, it was hard to tell whether she was troubled or relieved. She probably didn’t know either.
“From now on, both of you will have similar cycles.”
“Just in case, you should have suppressants. What are you going to do if something like this happens again?”
“I’m tired of this, really.”
Professor Hong blew a long breath. Her fingers, which had moved to the keyboard, quickly began to issue a prescription. Soon after, the printer slowly spat out the paper. The warm prescription contained the morning-after pill and pheromone suppressants as requested.
“What are you going to do in the future?”
“About what.”
“Your cycles are the same now, so are you two… going to form a partnership or something?”