By Zephyria Seo Jeong-won’s hand groped his stomach. The skin underneath throbbed. What if he was injured, or even pierced through? Wouldn’t it be stranger if he was perfectly fine?
Each time he exerted himself, something sticky trickled between his buttocks. His lower body was damp and wet. It felt as if he was bleeding. He didn’t want to check. He was scared.
Alphas and Betas could have sex, but… if he had to do that again, he might actually die.
With trembling hands, he pulled back the blanket covering him. Contrary to his gruesome fantasies, his groin… was a mess, but not stained with blood.
“This is…”
Lifting the shirt that had slid down to the back of his hand, the exposed area was covered in hideous bruises. There were even round, scabbed marks as if someone had bitten down hard with their teeth.
“This is…”
Did he bite him? Did he really… get bitten? It was hard to imagine. He hadn’t seen it, so it was even harder to believe. Maybe he bit himself because it hurt too much. To endure the pain.
Seo Jeong-won unconsciously opened his mouth and tentatively placed it over the mark, only to be surprised by the woefully inadequate size.
He didn’t know a Rut was like this. If it was like this, shouldn’t he complain to Kwon Tae-hee that he couldn’t do it a second time?
He didn’t know if he would listen, but it was too much for his Beta body to handle…
But he was told that he couldn’t refuse anything. Then that might include the Rut.
Seo Jeong-won roughly ran a trembling hand down his face. He thought he had escaped the despair. He thought he had escaped the terrible situation, but there was more to come.
He thought about quitting, but soon realized the reality. He could suffer alone as much as he wanted, but he could never go back if he thought about Seo Gyu-won.
His gloomy thoughts, which had been chasing their tails for a long time, were interrupted by a cheerful knock on the door. Startled, he snapped his head towards the closed door.
He wondered if he had misheard, but the tightly closed door opened. It was Chief Jung who appeared.
“Good morning. I see you’re awake. The Executive Director sent me.”
He stood far away and bowed politely. As soon as he confirmed that Seo Jeong-won was sitting awkwardly crumpled on the bed, Chief Jung approached.
He checked the amount of Intravenous drip that had been administered and reached out to Seo Jeong-won. Turning his head towards Seo Jeong-won, who flinched in surprise, he realized his mistake and added an explanation.
“I’ll take it out for you.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
Seo Jeong-won extended the arm he had been hugging. He frowned slightly at the sight of the arm, which had no undamaged spots, but soon composed himself. He nonchalantly removed the connected needle.
He pressed the alcohol swab firmly on the crook of his arm, then peeled off the round bandage on the side table and stuck it on.
“All done. The Executive Director will be here soon.”
“Thank you.”
Chief Jung bowed lightly and organized the Intravenous drip and needle. He asked if he needed anything, and as soon as he heard that he didn’t, he turned around.
Seo Jeong-won, left alone again, barely managed to get out of bed. He had only been sitting there blankly after waking up, but he was already anxious at the news that Kwon Tae-hee was coming back.
He groaned as he removed the dirtily wet sheets and put them in the laundry basket, then went into the bathroom and struggled to wash himself again.
He remembered what he had learned from Kwon Tae-hee about how to clean up afterwards and removed all the accumulated fluids inside.
Seo Jeong-won leaned his forehead against the bathroom wall and breathed heavily. The hand that had parted the swollen wrinkles trembled.
* * *
It was a long time before he left the bathroom, exhausted. Seo Jeong-won took out the clothes he had brought and tried to put them on, but then put them down. He felt like he had to cover the exposed areas with long clothes, but all he had brought were short sleeves and shorts.
His neck, which he checked in the mirror, was also a dark purple. He felt like he had to cover this up.
He took the liberty of rummaging through Kwon Tae-hee’s closet and found something long that looked suitable. The pants were fine after folding the hem several times, but the top looked like he was wearing a sack.
He had no choice but to put on the T-shirt he had brought and find the cardigan of Kwon Tae-hee’s that he thought he would least likely wear. It was a light sky-blue cardigan. It was better after folding the sleeves a few times.
Still, his neck was not covered, so he found something that looked like a scarf where the ties were hanging and wrapped it around his neck. He had no idea what it was for, but judging by the fact that it had no signs of use, it didn’t seem to be something Kwon Tae-hee used often.
The figure reflected in the mirror was ridiculous, but thanks to his best efforts to cover up, only his hands and feet were exposed. He finally had the courage to go out into the living room.
Seo Jeong-won limped across the bedroom. The living room, which he opened the door to, was filled with the light of the late afternoon sun.
It was filled with warm light, just like the owner of the house. A pleasant and refreshing air greeted Seo Jeong-won.
Unlike the smell in the bedroom, he slowly looked around the place, which smelled of a sweet and refreshing citrus scent. It was a smell he had never smelled before.
As he was wondering, he heard someone running. Seo Jeong-won, who was standing on the border between the bedroom and the living room, turned his head forward.
“Huh?”
“…”
“Jeong-won, you’re here?”
“…Hello.”
Song Hae-seop approached him as happily as if he had met someone he had known for a long time. Seo Jeong-won could tell who the smell in the living room was coming from. The closer he got, the stronger the scent became, as if he was wearing perfume.
“Wow, are you coming out of there now? You’re wearing Tae-hee’s clothes? Cute.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I guess that could happen. But… was Tae-hee in Rut? The Pheromone is so sharp and strong. Didn’t you say you were a Beta, Jeong-won? Did you know that before you came? On Friday? But why did he spend it with Jeong-won?”
It was hard to answer because it was ambiguous whether it was a question or not. As Seo Jeong-won froze with a flustered expression, Song Hae-seop smiled, as if even that was okay.
“I see. That could happen too. It seems like he’s having fun playing with Jeong-won these days. So he wanted to spend time with a Beta too.”
“…”
“Have you eaten? I haven’t yet. I wasn’t supposed to come this week, but I missed Tae-hee. It’s almost time for him to get off work.”
Song Hae-seop smiled, folding his eyes lovingly.
“I went to the hospital yesterday and got a Heat inducer and took it.”
He put his arm around Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder as if they were close friends. The refreshing smell was definitely not disgusting, but it turned his stomach.
He felt nauseous, as if he had motion sickness. He tried not to limp, but his heels dragged.
“If I get a Pheromone shower from Tae-hee, I think I’ll really explode this time. That’s how I feel. Even now, I feel a little… excited when I smell Tae-hee’s Pheromone.”
“…”
“You’re leaving today, right, Jeong-won?”
“…I think so.”
When he nodded to Song Hae-seop, who was smiling brightly, he smiled, saying that he was relieved.
“Because it’s a little uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter if you’re here, but it’s kind of… you know. It’s embarrassing if the sound leaks out. You’re not upset, are you?”
“No, no. Of course…”
Kwon Tae-hee was coming soon, so he thought he could just leave quietly. Seo Jeong-won’s head bobbed up and down.
“Oh, I heard from the housekeeper who works here that the person who was here before I came seemed to have developed feelings for Tae-hee. It seems like there was some trouble because of that. Tae-hee was very disgusted by it.”
Song Hae-seop raised his hand to Seo Jeong-won’s ear and whispered as if he was telling him a secret.
“We’re going to get married and have children anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to have feelings? Anyway, it’s weird. Well, I guess the person before didn’t know that Tae-hee would hate him so much, so he revealed his feelings?”
“He… liked him?”
“He liked him a lot? I want to thank him because I was saved by him giving up his spot, but how much would the person himself regret it?”
Song Hae-seop continued in a pitiful voice.
“So… I’m going to hide it until the end. If I fall in love with Tae-hee, I’m confident that I’ll never get caught. I’ll pretend I’m not interested and act indifferent.”
He giggled as if he was telling an interesting story. When he met his surprised gaze, Song Hae-seop gave him a gentle smile that was unique to older people.
He naturally led Seo Jeong-won to the dining table.
“I asked Chef Sik to make pasta.”
At the name he called so familiarly, as if he was calling him by a nickname, Seo Jeong-won realized what the sense of alienation he felt every time he was with him was.
Song Hae-seop’s attitude, as natural as if he was the owner of the house, made him feel like an uninvited guest, or an outsider. What was certain was that he was an obstacle between the two.
Now that he knew his subtly expressed feelings, he felt like he shouldn’t be here.
“Let’s eat together. Eat and go. You must be hungry. You’ve been through a lot these past few days.”
“No, I’m okay. I don’t think I…”
Song Hae-seop frowned at his refusal. The face he made, pretending to cry with his fingers under his eyes, was very lovely.