By Zephyria 
[The first person to rush into the painting studio at the sound of the gunshot ringing out as the trigger was pulled was Min Ra-hyeon. This was only natural, as Min Ra-hyeon’s room was close to the studio, while Han Seung-jae was on the second floor.
Reaching ‘Seo Yi-kyung,’ who was bleeding in front of the canvas, Min Ra-hyeon examined him with a panicked face and then threw himself into the arms of Han Seung-jae, who entered shortly after. He even sobbed aloud, as if he had witnessed something he shouldn’t have.]
“……Bang.”
Min Ra-hyeon, who had been hiding behind the door, made the sound with his mouth and then let a smile play on his lips. Butler Do, who discovered this too late, was terrified and dropped the tray he was holding.
“Young Master!”
Clink. The long glass hit the floor and shattered into pieces. The water that had filled it splashed in all directions.
“Pfft, hahahaha—.”
Min Ra-hyeon lowered the gun he was holding to his waist and laughed loudly. It was a laugh so great that his bare upper body heaved. His hair was still damp, as if he had just finished showering. A long towel was wrapped around his waist where the muzzle of the gun rested.
Something similar had happened in the original story. Back then, Min Ra-hyeon had played the same prank on ‘Seo Yi-kyung,’ who had entered the room carrying coffee as Min Ra-hyeon desired. Startled, ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ had spilled the coffee all over his chest and fallen to the floor.
While watching him suffer from the burns of the hot coffee, Min Ra-hyeon had shown him the unloaded gun and laughed like this.
After laughing and laughing, Min Ra-hyeon had looked him in the eye and said:
“Were you surprised? It was a joke. Look. The gun is empty.”
Min Ra-hyeon’s tone was still laced with a deep sense of amusement. He showed Seo Yi-kyung the unloaded gun.
“It’s for Omega self-defense. Don’t you have something like this, Yi-kyung? If you don’t, shall I give this to you as a gift? It’s small, but it’s more useful than it looks.”
Min Ra-hyeon transferred the gun he was holding into Seo Yi-kyung’s palm.
“Here. This is how you use it.”
At that, Seo Yi-kyung felt as if a cold snake were slithering around his fingers. The slender gun was small, as if custom-made for the user, yet it possessed a weightiness provided by the metal.
Butler Do was at a loss, overwhelmed by embarrassment. It was clear that the young master was also so shocked that he couldn’t say a word. Just as Butler Do instinctively felt it was time for him to step in and move in front of Seo Yi-kyung—
“I don’t need it.”
Seo Yi-kyung handed the gun back to Min Ra-hyeon. He had no need for such a thing.
There was no one he wished to die. Moreover, he wasn’t alone in his body right now. Because of that, Seo Yi-kyung wanted to live even more.
“And stop these kinds of pranks from now on. It’s not funny at all.”
The behaviors Min Ra-hyeon had displayed before his eyes flashed like a panorama. As he did, he watched the smile on Min Ra-hyeon’s face gradually fade.
『Wow, Yi-kyung. You’re completely different from what I heard.』
Min Ra-hyeon spoke fluently in English, then corrected himself in Korean.
“Alright. Since you say it wasn’t funny, I guess I’ll stop. Let’s try to get along ‘amicably’ from now on.”
Min Ra-hyeon emphasized a particular part of the sentence. As Seo Yi-kyung turned to leave through the open door, the sound of shattered glass crunching under his slippers echoed.
Butler Do belatedly went outside to gather tools to clean up the fragments scattered on the floor and returned.
Seo Yi-kyung slowly brushed past him. He placed the gun Min Ra-hyeon had given him on the suitcase and walked toward the bed.
Butler Do was surprised once more, staring at the gun sitting brazenly on the suitcase. With his eyes cast down, he cleared the glass shards while retracing Seo Yi-kyung’s actions. Despite seeing the gun, there wasn’t a trace of surprise or panic. Wasn’t it Butler Do himself who had been so terrified that he broke the cup?
Having spent so much time with Director Han, it seemed that in moments like this, he was becoming frighteningly like that man.
* * *
Click. After changing into pajamas in the dressing room, Seo Yi-kyung headed to the second floor. He stepped off the elevator and walked down the long hallway.
He didn’t know what he had been thinking when he said those words. He only knew that seeing Min Ra-hyeon’s smiling face made his chest feel hot. Just like the scene in the original story where ‘Seo Yi-kyung’ spilled coffee on his chest.
Opening the bedroom door, Seo Yi-kyung found Han Seung-jae inside and felt his thoughts vanish in an instant. Han Seung-jae, still in his suit, turned around and spoke.
“Where have you been?”
“I just… changed my clothes.”
Han Seung-jae sat on the edge of the bed, scanning the pajamas Seo Yi-kyung was wearing.
“Come here.”
Seo Yi-kyung took a few steps and stopped in front of Han Seung-jae. The man used his large hand to touch the area around Seo Yi-kyung’s side. It was the spot where Seo Yi-kyung had spilled water at the Ivory Pavilion. Han Seung-jae’s palm slid down to his thigh. That was also a place where he had spilled water.
However, Han Seung-jae’s hand lingered for too long for it to be just for that reason.
“If you’re going to have such an anxious face, do you want to go down and check?”
Han Seung-jae had merely said that, but Min Ra-hyeon’s smiling face on the floor below flickered before Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes. However, the place Han Seung-jae was referring to was likely the room where the ultrasound machine was located.
“No.”
Seo Yi-kyung slowly turned his body. He didn’t want to face Min Ra-hyeon again. Nor did he feel like it.
He escaped Han Seung-jae’s grip on his thigh and climbed onto the bed. Seo Yi-kyung slid himself under the covers. As soon as his head hit the pillow, fatigue rushed over him, making his entire body feel as if it were melting.
His forehead felt a bit hot, and his body felt heavy. Seo Yi-kyung let out a long, exhausted sigh.
Han Seung-jae reached out and touched Seo Yi-kyung’s forehead. His hand was cool and refreshing, like ice. The large hand moved down to cover Seo Yi-kyung’s eyelids. Without even thinking of pushing the hand away, Seo Yi-kyung closed his eyes.
He hadn’t suffered the humiliation of having coffee poured over him like in the original story, so why did his chest hurt as if it had been burned?
* * *
……Seo Yi-kyung opened his eyes. As he focused his blurred vision and turned his head, the ice pack resting on his forehead slid off. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed. He only felt that his body was still heavy.
As Seo Yi-kyung sat up, the blanket covering his chest slid down. He looked around the empty room before getting out of bed.
He had felt as if his body were being pressed down heavily during the night. Because of that, he felt sticky, as if sweat had flowed down to his neck.
Swoosh—
Seo Yi-kyung entered the shower booth and turned on the hot water. A thick mist of steam clouded the mirror. After showering, his heavy head felt much clearer, and he even felt refreshed. He had a bad dream last night.
He put on a robe and rubbed his wet hair with a towel. When he opened the door and stepped out, Min Ra-hyeon turned his head. Seo Yi-kyung’s legs felt as if they were nailed to the spot.
It was Min Ra-hyeon who broke the silence in the room.
“You take a really long time to wash. I’ve been waiting for a while.”
As if to ensure he wasn’t misunderstood, Min Ra-hyeon pointed to a tray on the table. There was a porcelain bowl with a lid and a glass of water. Even without opening the lid, one could guess it was porridge. Min Ra-hyeon had blocked Butler Do, who was bringing the tray of porridge from the dining room, and had come up saying he would deliver it himself.
“You could have just left it and gone.”
Seo Yi-kyung lowered the towel he had been using to rub his hair. He was barely holding onto the towel, which felt as if it might slip from his fingertips.
“Ah—I was going to, but I heard you were sick yesterday? Seung-jae told me this morning to tell you to stay home and not go anywhere because someone is coming in the afternoon. I waited to tell you that.”
Even as he spoke, Min Ra-hyeon stared at the disheveled bed. The traces of where Seo Yi-kyung had been were still there. Following the same gaze, Seo Yi-kyung spoke with a calm expression.
“Are you okay?”
Min Ra-hyeon turned his head away from the bed. The hair falling over his jaw swayed. He pushed his hair back with his palm and answered.
『I almost died because I couldn’t adjust to the jet lag.』
Min Ra-hyeon spoke in English out of habit, then smiled softly at Seo Yi-kyung and spoke in Korean.
“I couldn’t sleep until dawn. Is it that obvious?”
“Aside from that, this room is filled with the scent of white cedar; I see it doesn’t bother you at all?”
“…….”
Min Ra-hyeon’s face froze instantly. He was a recessive Omega. He often skipped his heat periods. Yet, he couldn’t be called a Beta, nor could he be called a complete Omega.
Because Min Ra-hyeon’s pheromone was the scent of withered flower petals.