By Zephyria 
No matter whеn hе saw it, the sрaciоus hоusе lасkеd any sеnsе оf living, making it hard tо believe it wаs a sрaсe whеre sоmеоne aсtuallу resided. Thе hollow living roоm, the solitarу sofа аnd table, the TV filling onе side of the wаll, аnd thе flооr-to-cеiling glass windоws thаt offerеd а clear view оf the оutsidе.
Oncе fоr а studу sеssion, оnсe tо serve dinner, and todaу, oncе more fоr a different рurpоse. Hаving brоught Do-hyun hеre for thе third time аlrеadу, Wоo-уеon thоught thаt thе sight of him sitting on thе sоfa fеlt раrtiсularly unfamiliar. While his profile as he quietly watched TV was the same as usual, it was because a subtle tension had arisen within Woo-yeon’s own heart.
“……Is your lecture okay?”
In truth, asking him to stay the night was half a gamble. It wasn’t something to suggest while the sun was still up, and Do-hyun already had a scheduled appointment. Even by his own standards, it was a forced request, but a vague confidence had moved his lips. Fortunately, he had complied, getting out of the car and coming up to the house.
“It’s just a make-up class, so it’s fine.”
Regardless of what Do-hyun was thinking, Woo-yeon felt a small sense of comfort at those words. The thought that at least his plan wouldn’t fall apart improved his gloomy mood.
“And even if it weren’t fine, it’s too late now.”
Do-hyun tilted his head, shifting only his eyes to look at Woo-yeon. It was a gaze of blatant observation, but Woo-yeon didn’t mind much. However, curled up with his knees hugged to his chest, he looked like a small animal that couldn’t let down its guard.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
There were about four hours left until the effects of the suppression shot wore off. It wasn’t a very long time, but as he began to grow impatient, it felt endless. To Woo-yeon, who was anxiously checking the clock, a soft voice spoke.
“I guess it’s your mood that isn’t fine.”
“…….”
Woo-yeon shut his mouth tight and looked at Do-hyun. Because they were sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, an awkward distance existed between them. Do-hyun rested his arm on the backrest and leaned his head back diagonally.
“Because of that matter?”
He went straight to the point. Though he didn’t name it explicitly, Woo-yeon wasn’t so clueless as to not understand. Recalling Do-hyun’s upper body as he had seen it on the bed, Woo-yeon shook his head calmly.
“I don’t care about that anymore.”
Until this morning, Woo-yeon had been frantic because of that incident. He had actually lost sleep, and his mind had been entirely consumed by thoughts of Do-hyun all weekend. However, the moment he overheard the conversation between the two, those worries were completely forgotten.
“It’s in the past anyway……”
Rather, if it hadn’t been for that incident, he wouldn’t have been able to think this way. Even if it was a foolish action, it was the best Woo-yeon could do.
“……Is that so?”
Do-hyun replied lowly, vaguely covering his mouth. In his eyes, which returned to the TV, only the flickering lights were reflected instead of Woo-yeon. Do-hyun remained silent for a moment before asking in that habitually gentle voice.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
Since he had abruptly asked him to stay the night, Do-hyun must have felt something was strange. He likely knew from the moment he got into the car that the claim of being ‘sick’ was a pretense. The fact that he hadn’t asked anything for the past hour was probably his own form of consideration.
“I just didn’t want to be alone.”
Woo-yeon rested his chin on his knees, pretending to be nonchalant. He felt Do-hyun watching him, but again, their eyes didn’t meet. Instead, a voice that was barely audible filled the void between them.
“So, please just stay with me for today.”
“……You say the most interesting things.”
Do-hyun, who had been staring into space, suddenly muttered. Woo-yeon accidentally met his gaze and flinched, his shoulders jerking. Do-hyun had a persistent and thick gaze, like a predator eyeing its prey.
“Just for ‘today’?”
“…….”
Those pitch-black pupils flashed sharply. Whatever he felt, the atmosphere became ominous. Before Woo-yeon could even open his mouth, pheromones that sank heavily gripped his heart tight.
“Then from tomorrow?”
“……!”
For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped. Like a stone thrown into a calm lake, a tiny bit of pheromone created a violent ripple. Woo-yeon took a deep breath, unable to even blink.
It certainly wasn’t a large amount of pheromones. It wasn’t an intentional attempt to harm him, nor was it meant to pressure Woo-yeon. It was simply something that leaked out as his mood shifted—nothing more, nothing less.
And yet, his stomach twisted violently at just that amount of pheromones. His face turned pale, and his heart throbbed loudly as if it were about to burst. Sensing the abnormality, Woo-yeon curled his body, but the pheromones that had already begun to surge could not be suppressed.
“Woo-yeon.”
Do-hyun approached Woo-yeon with a rarely surprised expression. Closing the distance, he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and carefully examined his face. Woo-yeon gasped for air and looked up, and the moment their eyes met, he felt a sensation of something collapsing.
“Hngh……”
Pheromones that overflowed like a tide poured over Do-hyun’s entire body. A sweet and thick scent began to fill the surroundings densely. Exhaling breath that felt hot enough to burn, Woo-yeon instinctively burrowed into Do-hyun’s embrace.
“Ah, hng……”
His body didn’t feel like his own. Heat boiled in his stomach, and his chest fluttered wildly. The pheromones, having already lost control, shamelessly surged out, targeting only Do-hyun.
“Ugh……”
He had never felt this sensation before. No matter if his heat cycle arrived, Woo-yeon had always maintained his rationality. It was partly because he took his suppressants diligently, and partly because his own libido was low. This was the first time pheromones had flowed out like this, soaking someone else.
“…Haa, ha……”
And yet, to feel this maddening sensation. The entire house was filled with Woo-yeon’s pheromones. The scent was so thick that he felt suffocated by his own trace. He writhed his whole body, pressing himself against Do-hyun, but his already overheated body could not be calmed by this much.
“……You.”
Do-hyun looked at Woo-yeon with a stiff face. Desire filled those pitch-black eyes, yet not a single Alpha pheromone was released. Furthermore, the way he bit his lower lip with his canines made it seem as though blood would appear shortly.
“Is this right now……”
Before he could finish his sentence, Woo-yeon looked up. Sure enough, blood began to seep slowly from Do-hyun’s lip. Woo-yeon tried to reach out, but before he could touch him, he was grabbed firmly.
With a flick, his vision flipped. Do-hyun grabbed both of Woo-yeon’s wrists and pinned them down onto the sofa. With his fingers curled and his head tilted back, Woo-yeon scattered feverish breaths into the air. Seeing him close his eyes without even resisting, a thin sneer played on Do-hyun’s lips.
“……No wonder it felt strange.”
The moment Woo-yeon decided to give up on him, a simultaneous thought occurred. If he was going to give up like this, he wanted to leave at least one trace. Unlike four years ago, he wanted to hold a memory intense enough to paint him in his heart.
‘Well, let’s just go for it……’
Since they had slept together once, the second time would be easy. Teacher is an Alpha too, so if I plead and cling, he’ll probably dive in while pretending he can’t win. Alphas are probably all the same, so I can just give up after that. That sequence of thoughts had brought Do-hyun here.
“What kind of nerve did you have to do something like this?”
Do-hyun spoke in clipped tones while holding Woo-yeon tightly. His blood-stained lips looked glossy and beautiful. The reason he blinked occasionally was likely to hold onto his remaining rationality.
“Just…… by chance……”
“By chance?”
A short, hollow laugh escaped. Not from Woo-yeon, but from Do-hyun. He lowered his head and muttered in a dry voice.
“Living up to your name.”
Woo-yeon was impressed that he was still maintaining his rationality. Any other Alpha would have lost their mind and lunged long ago, but Do-hyun didn’t even release pheromones. Though he was holding Woo-yeon’s wrists as if he might break them, even that was a means of controlling himself.
“……Seonbae.”
So, Woo-yeon called Do-hyun in a voice that sounded like a moan. Do-hyun blinked as if telling him to keep talking. The precariously remaining rationality was clearly visible beyond those pitch-black pupils.
“Sleep…… sleep with me.”
“…….”
“Since we already did it once……”
Tears mixed into his voice. It was because his instinctive intuition told him something was wrong. According to Woo-yeon’s original plan, Do-hyun should have lost his reason the moment he started pouring out pheromones. Instead of making such a complex expression, he should have had a face intoxicated by excitement.
“So just……”
“Having sex with you here wouldn’t be a big deal, Woo-yeon.”
Do-hyun spoke in an exceptionally languid tone. The way the syllables dragged out made it seem as if his mind was turning slowly.
Then, a voice that had sunk even further continued.
“We didn’t sleep together.”
The stiff voice was so unlike Do-hyun that it was hard to believe. Woo-yeon opened his eyes wide and ruminated on the words he had just spoken. Do-hyun was also kindly reiterating what he had said.
“I said we didn’t sleep together that day.”
Something he had built up piece by piece came crashing down. Instead of being happy that nothing had happened, he ended up frustrated by the fact that he was nothing. After confirming that Woo-yeon was dazed, Do-hyun released his wrists first.
“Did you think I would touch someone who isn’t even conscious?”
Asking that, he slowly stepped down from the sofa. He stumbled the moment his feet hit the floor, but he quickly regained his balance and shook his head. Looking at his hazy eyes, it seemed he was feeling dizzy from the constantly surging pheromones.
“Now that you know, today……”
“Why did you lie?”
Woo-yeon grabbed Do-hyun with hands that had no strength. At the action of clutching his collar, Do-hyun stepped back with a troubled face. It was just like four years ago, when he had rejected the confession.
“Knowing I would misunderstand…… why did you lie to me?”
Pheromones surged again, but in a different sense than before. It wasn’t simple lust, but a sense of unfairness and sorrow. With what heart, with what thoughts had he come all this way. He was about to lose Do-hyun in the end without any result.
Do-hyun answered such a Woo-yeon calmly.
“I simply didn’t say it.”
“You said if I don’t say it, you won’t know.”
It was a contradictory statement. In the midst of that, he even firmly held onto the staggering Woo-yeon. Watching him pull away once again, Woo-yeon grit his teeth, feeling a surge of emotion.
“In the end, that too……”
“Is a lie?”
Do-hyun, who stole the end of the sentence, slightly curled the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t a sneer, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile either. He let out a few hollow laughs and then spoke in that habitually gentle voice.
“Yeon-ah.”
Their gazes crossed. The pheromones stopped, and it felt as if his breath had ceased. The soft, gentle tone whispered almost like a resentment.
“You shouldn’t be the one saying that.”
Woo-yeon couldn’t say anything and opened his eyes wide. As the figure grew distant, various emotions became a tangled mess. The warm spring breeze was leaving his side.