By Zephyria 
Eun-myeong lay on the bed, blinking his eyes. Behind him, the man was exhaling while holding him in an embrace.
Huu, huu… He breathed out slowly, like a beast. Eun-myeong could see the man’s hand wrapped tightly around his stomach, just below the navel. A Medi-X patch was sloppily attached to his tanned skin.
“…….”
Eun-myeong quietly took in the sight.
He had assumed that once the man returned, he would naturally be told to leave. After all, the man’s goal was simply to collect the debt. He had slept with Eun-myeong to drive up his value, and as a result, Eun-myeong had eventually become an Omega.
The man would have to sell him off quickly to clear the debt. Yet, the man left Eun-myeong alone again tonight.
Eun-myeong himself couldn’t bring himself to say he wanted to leave. Someone might call him shameless or selfish, but he didn’t want to stir up trouble for no reason.
Eun-myeong curled his body up quietly. The hot body heat touching his back warmed his spine. In this winter, it was the perfect temperature.
Even if he might have to leave tomorrow, for now, he wanted to stay here just a little longer.
The man left the room at the crack of dawn, and Eun-myeong also moved quickly. He tidied the bed and swept and wiped the room. He wiped down the dust-free furniture once more and organized the laundered clothes one by one.
While the man’s things were placed back in their spots without hesitation, Eun-myeong fell into a dilemma while holding his own clothes. It was as if he had become confused about where the ‘proper place’ for these clothes was.
“…….”
In the end, he gathered them all together, made a bundle with his other miscellaneous belongings, and shoved it deep into the corner of the closet.
By the time he finished tidying up, it was already time to go to work.
Screech, he carefully opened the hotel door. He poked only his head through the gap, glancing around quickly. He wondered if Jjangja had come looking for him again today, but the hallway was empty.
‘What can those things even do to me? They wouldn’t even be able to lay a finger on you.’
The words the man had let slip last night soaked into Eun-myeong like water. They were just words, so why did they become such a firm belief?
Eun-myeong bit his lip hard. He slowly stepped out the door.
When he arrived at the sashimi restaurant, a flashy car was parked in front of the shop. The red car, glittering to the point of being an eyesore, looked almost menacing. Eun-myeong blinked as he looked at the front of the car. There was a logo of a yellow horse rearing up on its hind legs.
…Is that President Kang’s car? Who else in this neighborhood would drive such a conspicuous car if not that man?
As he hurried inside, a sweet scent brushed past the tip of his nose. It was a body scent that smelled like crushed grapes, similar to wine.
As Eun-myeong flinched at the pheromones brushing past his nose, Noona Hyojin came out, closing the room door.
“Wow, seriously, what a lunatic, a total lunatic.”
With a face redder than usual, she kept fanning herself with her hand as if she were furious. Eun-myeong wondered if a difficult customer had come in and quickly approached her.
“Noona.”
When he called her softly, Hyojin shook her short bobbed hair.
“I can’t believe there are still people who make others run cigarette errands these days.”
“I’ll go get them.”
Eun-myeong quickly stepped forward. He remembered receiving help from Hyojin in many ways. She was the one who had stepped in for him when he was struggling because of the man in the beginning.
“Ah, I’d be so grateful if you did. They want Camellia 88.”
Looking completely drained from the inside, Hyojin slumped her shoulders and handed him a ten-thousand won bill.
“Okay.”
After taking the money, Eun-myeong ran and returned with the cigarettes, which had a strangely flamboyant wrapper. Between the cigarettes and the car, he had a feeling that the customer in the room was the owner of that glittering red car.
But who could it be? Judging by the pheromones, they were likely an Alpha or an Omega. Why were they causing a scene at a rural sashimi restaurant in broad daylight?
Eun-myeong knocked on the room door with his fist.
“Customer, I’ve brought the cigarettes you ordered.”
“Customer?”
A voice mixed with laughter was heard. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, causing Eun-myeong to frown slightly.
“Come in.”
Permission followed from inside. When he opened the door, smoke leaked out from the interior, which had become like a raccoon’s den. He waved away the white smoke with his hand.
Once his vision cleared, he saw her.
Eun-myeong stood there dazed for a moment without realizing it, his mouth hanging open slightly. He swore he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life. Was she an actress?
“Are you staring at me right now?”
“Uh… .”
As Eun-myeong belatedly became flustered by the teasing, the woman burst out laughing.
“I heard you’re good at your job? Polite and diligent.”
“Thank you.”
He shifted his gaze to the ashtray, which was overflowing with cigarette butts. They were jammed in without a gap, like a cactus. He had clearly replaced the tissues and dampened them with water yesterday. Had she smoked that many already?
“Have a drink.”
The woman flipped over an empty glass sitting to the side and placed it in front of Eun-myeong. Eun-myeong shook his head slightly.
“I’m currently working.”
“There are no customers outside, so what does it matter?”
At the following words, Eun-myeong bit his lower lip.
“And I’m the CEO here, so is that a problem? I can just give you permission.”
He had wondered, and as it turned out, this woman really was the CEO. Now he knew why the voice had sounded familiar. It was the voice that had leaked from the man’s cell phone.
What should he do?
If it were a difficult customer, he would have refused using work as an excuse, but the person in front of him was the CEO of the place where he worked.
“…Yes, then I’ll have just one glass.”
Eun-myeong eventually accepted the drink reluctantly. The transparent liquid filled the small glass, and Eun-myeong swallowed it with his eyes tightly shut.
Gulp, gulp, gulp. The feeling of it going down his throat was terrible. Why was expensive alcohol so strong and bitter?
“Cough, ugh.”
As Eun-myeong let out a ragged breath and coughed from the bitterness, the woman didn’t even try to hide her amused gaze. As if watching a monkey at a zoo, she slid her sunglasses down with her index finger and observed him.
His appearance was being scrutinized in detail.
He had intentionally worn old clothes, fearing that spicy fish stew might splash on them. The frayed threads on his sleeves looked particularly shabby and pathetic, making him feel diminished. He felt like a plucked chicken standing before a magnificent peacock.
If he had known, he wouldn’t have worn the hoodie he bought a long time ago. Eun-myeong gripped and released the apron printed with a soju commercial.
Eun-myeong grimaced and shut his eyes tight. His cheeks were flushed like a ripe peach, and his eyelashes trembled. The woman watched the whole scene without blinking once. Then, she let out a short laugh.
“You’re pretty. Slender waist, plump hips. Why does a kid like you work in a place like this?”
Eun-myeong blinked slowly. He didn’t know how to answer. He felt as if he were being swept away by a sudden current.
“Are you that poor?”
The woman clicked her tongue. The question was odd. She didn’t just ask if he was poor; she added the word ‘that’ in front of it. Eun-myeong’s heart throbbed heavily for no reason.
“Do you have a debt of about a billion won?”
She murmured as if talking to herself. Out of pride, Eun-myeong quickly shook his head.
“No.”
“You don’t, yet he hasn’t paid it off? I heard he dotes on you so much he wants to keep you in his bed, but I guess that’s not the case.”
Even though there was no clear subject, Eun-myeong immediately thought of President Kang. Could she possibly know that the President is keeping me with him?
As soon as he speculated, a sense of unease clung to his side like moss. If this person really was the President’s lover, the flow of this conversation was very strange.
His heart sank. Would it be okay for him to be known to the lover like this? Eun-myeong felt the blood drain from his body. He had only been in the room for a few minutes, but cold sweat poured down his spine. It seemed Noona Hyojin hadn’t been drained for nothing.
Eun-myeong stole a glance at the woman. Her sharp, slanted eyes felt strangely familiar, yet completely foreign.
“You seem to drink well, want another glass?”
The CEO picked up the bottle once more. Eun-myeong didn’t want to drink more, but he had no choice but to pick up the glass. Then, suddenly.
“But for someone with such a pretty face, your smell is…”
The woman covered her nose. As if a sewer smell were actually coming from Eun-myeong.
Smell? Eun-myeong’s shoulders jerked. Even if they were old, he washed his clothes every day. Was the smell of the sashimi restaurant apron strange? He was bound to smell like fish while working. But he couldn’t exactly lift his apron to smell it, so he became restless.
“It smells so cheap. That kind of perfume scent isn’t really Kang Pyeong-won’s taste.”
Only then did Eun-myeong remember the perfume he had sprayed on his body.
Since becoming an Omega, other people’s pheromones smelled stronger. He had intentionally sprayed it in case his own pheromones felt too strong, but he never imagined it would make him this embarrassed.
In the midst of this, he heard Noona Hyojin greeting a customer outside, “Welcome.” Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed, and the room door swung open with a bang.
And the one who appeared was President Kang.