By Zephyria 
“I-I’ll do it.”
Seo Yi-kyung unbuttoned his jacket. As he did, his white dress shirt and vest, soaked with water, were revealed. Han Seung-jae’s gaze lingered on Seo Yi-kyung’s slender wrist. Because he had been tied with a necktie yesterday, red line marks remained.
The wrist fumbling to remove the vest was thin. It was a wrist so fragile that it would bruise if gripped too hard or break easily enough to require a cast; he had tied it with a necktie last night so that it wouldn’t get hurt by moving unnecessarily. After all, it was a hand meant for painting. However, seeing how deep the red marks were, it seemed unlikely that bruising could be avoided.
“Aren’t you taking that off too?”
Han Seung-jae was pointing to the white dress shirt Seo Yi-kyung was wearing. Even though it was already soaked and clinging to his body, revealing his pale nipples, he was stubbornly keeping it on.
As if pretending not to hear, Seo Yi-kyung scooped up water with both hands and rubbed his face. He splashed water on his face repeatedly, struggling to awaken his memories. Warm water swept across his pale cheeks and dripped down onto his knees.
He had no idea what on earth had happened yesterday. He just knew that his body hurt even with the slightest movement, and his entire body throbbed. Especially the inner thighs where he kept his legs closed, and his buttocks. And his jaw and throat…
Filled with doubt, Seo Yi-kyung stole a glance upward. Perhaps he would know. Then, his eyes locked with Han Seung-jae’s. Wearing a dark-colored vest, the man looked perfectly composed.
But what was this state he was in?
Seo Yi-kyung scooped up handfuls of water. His dress shirt was already soaked up to the collar. Lowering his eyelids, he spoke.
“Yesterday.”
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t remember a thing.
“I remember drinking wine and going up to the second floor… but that’s it.”
“…”
Han Seung-jae listened in silence without interrupting. However, no matter how long he waited, the sentence didn’t continue. Water dripped from Seo Yi-kyung’s cupped hands.
“You don’t know what happened after that?”
Eventually, Han Seung-jae filled in the blank. Seo Yi-kyung, whose hands were still half-full of water, nodded. Then, he subtly lifted his chin and looked at Han Seung-jae. He truly couldn’t understand why he was in this condition.
“You don’t remember at all?”
Seo Yi-kyung blinked. Han Seung-jae leaned his upper body forward. His sharp features drew closer. He slid his hand inside Seo Yi-kyung’s dress shirt, which had already lost its function. Seo Yi-kyung’s shoulders flinched.
Han Seung-jae gathered the bare skin and slowly brushed over the exposed nipple. It became pointed, as if hardening. His hand then parted the shirt, which was spread like scales, and caressed Seo Yi-kyung’s slender side. The watch Han Seung-jae was wearing was drenched in water, but he didn’t seem to care.
Seo Yi-kyung’s shoulders tensed up, but he could only stand there devastated by Han Seung-jae’s next words.
“You were shaking your hips, saying it wasn’t enough even after taking my cock in like that.”
* * *
With a sunken face, Seo Yi-kyung tied the belt of his bathrobe. The towel covering his head draped down to his shoulders. He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.
He had simply thought his body was heating up because he drank too much wine. But was it actually a heat cycle?
He had been complacent. A heat cycle was an Omega’s heat period. An Omega who entered their heat period was left with nothing but the desire to have sex. As long as it was an Alpha drawn in by the pheromones, it didn’t matter who the partner was. Since they were nearly unconscious, they often couldn’t even remember who the person was.
He had been so busy adapting to the environment that changed overnight that he hadn’t even checked his heat cycle. He had been far too careless. A heat cycle is something an Omega must absolutely be aware of.
Especially here, in ‘Omega’s World,’ the standing of an Omega was even narrower. Moreover, there were countless people in this house yesterday.
If something had happened…
He remembered the looks those many people gave him when he first entered the house the previous day. Those gazes that watched from afar without a single person approaching him.
Goosebumps rose on the back of Seo Yi-kyung’s neck. He shuddered just thinking about it. He shook his head violently as if to shake off the thoughts and looked forward.
He stared at the back of Han Seung-jae, who was sitting on the sofa with a phone to his ear. Had he stayed here all night?
Seo Yi-kyung rubbed the towel covering his hair with his left hand. Then, he slowly massaged his right wrist, where the red marks were. Just then, Han Seung-jae’s voice drifted over, as if the call with Secretary Park had connected.
“Bring a change of clothes and some porridge. And while you’re at it, kick Butler Do out.”
“!”
In an instant, Seo Yi-kyung froze like ice. Han Seung-jae’s words continued.
“Why are you asking me that? I don’t give a damn where he goes. Tell him to go wherever he wants.”
Seo Yi-kyung’s feet moved instantly. His body reacted before his mind, stepping forward. Han Seung-jae lowered his phone as if the call had ended. At that moment, Seo Yi-kyung, with the towel still over his head, approached his side.
“Butler Do? Are you talking about Butler Do, the one I brought with me?”
Han Seung-jae looked up at him. On Seo Yi-kyung’s lower lip, which was spitting out words as if chased, a faint wound remained.
Having approached without hesitation, Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes widened. He discovered his white suit pants and drawers thrown on the floor beneath the sofa. And on the sofa, a black necktie was tied in a long knot.
“That’s right.”
But that wasn’t what was important right now. He stood in front of the clothes, hiding the suit and underwear, and looked down at Han Seung-jae.
“Why, why?”
Han Seung-jae rubbed the screen of the phone he was holding. The bite mark left by Seo Yi-kyung grew more prominent.
“Someone has to take responsibility.”
“What responsibility?”
Seo Yi-kyung repeated Han Seung-jae’s words like a parrot. Usually, when Han Seung-jae spoke, others simply listened. And then they executed it.
“Did I… make a mistake yesterday?”
Seo Yi-kyung gripped the chest of his robe with his palm. He couldn’t remember, but the person who had definitely entered the terrace was Han Seung-jae. He hadn’t seen his face clearly, but the scent—the pheromones remaining on his hand—was definitely Han Seung-jae’s.
“No, if you had, it wouldn’t have ended with just this.”
“My heat cycle has nothing to do with Butler Do.”
“Why wouldn’t it? That’s why I let him into my house.”
Wearing slippers, Seo Yi-kyung shifted his weight.
“Butler Do is a Beta.”
“…”
“He wouldn’t know about those things.”
“If he doesn’t know, then he should leave all the more. He’s completely useless.”
Han Seung-jae’s eyes narrowed. It was a bad sign. Moreover, he wondered if the man would ever reverse a decision once made.
Was this what it felt like to talk to a wall? Above all, Han Seung-jae seemed resolute.
Because he knew his personality, his options were narrowing. The longer the conversation lasted, the more disadvantaged Seo Yi-kyung became.
Han Seung-jae was a businessman and an investor. He was a man who always gave orders, surrounded by people begging for help.
He believed only in what he saw with his own eyes. He had no desire to know others’ intentions, nor did he show consideration. Such things were nearly unnecessary to him. Persuading such a person with words was impossible for the current Seo Yi-kyung. Nevertheless, he did not back down.
“I’ll take responsibility.”
Han Seung-jae, who had been rubbing his phone, dug in his nail. Seo Yi-kyung grabbed the towel covering his head and pulled it down.
“I can just take responsibility for you, Seung-jae.”
* * *
Entering the townhouse located in Seongbuk-dong, Secretary Park took his phone out of his inner pocket. He faced Butler Do, who was standing there holding a shopping bag with a suit and a bag containing porridge.
“…Yes. I will do so.”
Having finished the call, Secretary Park put the phone back in his pocket. Butler Do held out the shopping bag with both hands and asked.
“But, the thing you said you wanted to tell me…”
Secretary Park shook his head as he took the shopping bag.
“It is nothing.”
Secretary Park did not say what was on his mind. Han Seung-jae had called since early morning and ordered him to kick Butler Do out without any further explanation. And then, he had suddenly changed his mind. Normally, he was not one to backtrack, but Secretary Park had a hunch.
Hadn’t this happened before? Like the time he decided to invest in a person who had blindly barged into a Chinese restaurant. It was a similar situation.
“Is the Young Master doing well?”
Butler Do, who had returned first, had been worried about Seo Yi-kyung. The unkind attitudes of those many people had particularly weighed on his mind. Because Seo Yi-kyung had said he was fine, Butler Do had no choice but to turn back, but he hadn’t been at peace all night.
Holding the shopping bag, Secretary Park spoke.
“Are you aware that Omegas have heat cycles?”
Although a whim had occurred today, if the same thing repeated in the future, he would never be able to stay in this house again.
Doubt appeared in Butler Do’s eyes, but he answered as if he immediately understood Secretary Park’s meaning.
“I am aware.”
Secretary Park’s expression became meaningful. He wondered if he should relay what he just heard to Director Han. Then, Butler Do added.
“Since I am a Beta and cannot smell the scent, I once mistook the symptoms for a cold and gave him cold medicine. When the Young Master saw me being scolded by the Father, he took care of it himself. Since then, the Young Master has never made a mistake.”
‘Seo Yi-kyung,’ whose fiancé had already been decided since childhood, had meticulously managed his heat cycles to ensure no accidents occurred.
“By any chance, did something happen to the Young Master?”
Butler Do asked with a face full of worry. Secretary Park stepped forward as if withholding his words.
“I think it would be better to ask him directly when he arrives.”
* * *
Han Seung-jae lowered the phone from his ear. Then, he looked at Seo Yi-kyung, who had been standing to his right, looking down at him.