By Zephyria 
The morning sickness lasted longer than expected. He hadn’t thought it would be over in three or four days, but he also hadn’t expected it to continue for nearly three weeks. According to what he’d read, it could last up to three months in some cases. It was utterly miserable.
As a result, Eun-soo was losing weight rapidly. It was only natural, as he couldn’t eat even a third of his usual amount. Consequently, Do-kwon was incredibly worried. Seeing him so gaunt, his team members also constantly expressed concern, asking if something was wrong.
With a face that looked like he was on the verge of death, Eun-soo made lame excuses, claiming he was on a diet. To which the team members responded:
“Goodness, Team Leader, where on earth do you have fat to lose that you’re dieting!”
“My god, even for a diet, losing weight like that is worse for your health than obesity.”
“Goodness, do you know how beneficial fat is for the human body? Why would you want to lose it!”
And so on. They offered all sorts of varied concerns.
Eun-soo didn’t dislike the attention. Of course, his stomach felt greasy, as if he had swallowed a barrel of oil, but he was happy to know there were people who cared for him.
Eun-soo sucked hard on the straw in his ion drink. Such drinks were the only things he could manage to consume. As he let out a sigh through his nose and clicked his mouse, a small notification popped up in the corner of the monitor.
[Come to the Director’s office.]
It was a message from Do-kwon. Eun-soo stood up abruptly without hesitation. He had been craving Do-kwon’s scent anyway.
As soon as the office door opened, Eun-soo dove into Do-kwon’s arms. Startled and fearing he might fall, Do-kwon quickly hugged him back.
“You shouldn’t run. The marble floor is so hard. What if you fall?”
Do-kwon scolded him gently while stroking Eun-soo’s back. Regardless, Eun-soo was preoccupied, burying his nose in the crook of Do-kwon’s neck and inhaling deeply.
With a small sigh, Do-kwon carried him to the sofa and settled Eun-soo on his lap. Eun-soo wiggled around to find a comfortable position.
“What about breakfast?”
Do-kwon asked.
“Just… a banana and…”
“A banana and?”
“Lemon candy…”
“…That’s it?”
Eun-soo nodded. Do-kwon’s expression turned serious. He was deeply worried about Eun-soo’s inability to eat. He gently brushed back Eun-soo’s fine hair. What on earth should he feed him? Even when he brought various foods, it was useless because Eun-soo couldn’t even stand the smell.
The only things he could eat were fruits or drinks, but it was difficult to get sufficient nutrition from those alone.
To be pregnant and unable to eat. To be pregnant and losing weight. In Do-kwon’s mind, this was unthinkable. It was something that should not be happening.
While Do-kwon was agonizing over how to overcome this critical problem, Eun-soo murmured in a barely audible voice.
“Still, I’ll be having lunch with you, Do-kwon, so I think I’ll be able to eat a little.”
At those words, a look of awkwardness clouded Do-kwon’s face. He rubbed his eyebrow and murmured.
“Ah, about that… I have to head out soon.”
“What?”
“I have some business outside.”
“Then we can’t have lunch together?”
Eun-soo, who had been burying his face in Do-kwon’s neck, snapped his head up. He had been looking forward to eating together since last night. To think they couldn’t have lunch. Disappointment filled Eun-soo’s eyes.
Seeing this, Do-kwon bit his lower lip slightly before letting go.
“Probably dinner too…”
“Dinner too?”
Eun-soo asked back, almost screaming. Not only lunch, but dinner alone as well. This was the first time since his morning sickness started. This couldn’t be. He didn’t have the confidence to eat without Do-kwon’s pheromones.
As Eun-soo’s face grew increasingly tearful, Do-kwon’s expression distorted in sympathy.
“I’m sorry. It’s an important buyer. It was scheduled suddenly, so I tried to refuse, saying my schedule didn’t allow it. But they said if I meet them today, they’ll adjust several parts of the contract to match our side’s opinion.”
“…”
“Go to my house after work. I’ll finish as quickly as possible and head there. I’ll be there before 8.”
“…”
“I’ve pre-portioned smoothie ingredients in the fridge. Just put the containers into the blender and blend them. I bought cookies, and various types of ion drinks…”
“I know, I know.”
Eun-soo cut Do-kwon off. Whether there were smoothie ingredients or a whole cow in the fridge, he wasn’t particularly interested. No matter what was there, without Do-kwon, he would have to force it down his throat as if swallowing filth. Just imagining it made his stomach churn.
As Eun-soo stared at a geometrically shaped sculpture in the corner of the office to soothe his stomach,
“…Are you angry?”
Do-kwon asked cautiously.
“No. It’s work, so it can’t be helped.”
Eun-soo shook his head in denial. However, his expression didn’t look like he accepted it. He looked as if he might smash the sculpture at any moment. Feeling anxious, Do-kwon quickly added.
“Still, I’ll be with you all this weekend. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and late-night meals—we’ll eat them all together.”
“Yeees…”
Eun-soo replied indifferently. A bleakness still lingered on his small face. He looked as if he might storm out if things went south.
Do-kwon’s long eyelashes stiffened with tension. He tapped Eun-soo’s cheek.
“…Look at me.”
Finally, Eun-soo’s gaze drifted toward Do-kwon. Do-kwon swallowed hard.
“Should I… just cancel the meeting now? Even if we take a bit of a loss?”
“How much is the loss?”
“Well, probably around tens of billions of won. It’s fine. I can just earn it back another way.”
Do-kwon spoke as if it were no big deal.
“…”
Eun-soo took a deep breath. Tens of billions. It was a number that frequently moved around in large contracts. Thus, it didn’t feel realistic. It wasn’t money going into his own pocket anyway, and Seongjin wasn’t a company that would collapse over a loss of tens of billions.
But that was from Eun-soo’s perspective; shouldn’t Do-kwon feel differently? It was his company. Even if not right now, it would be his one day. How could he say he’d give up that much money so easily?
Eun-soo gazed at Do-kwon. Do-kwon looked completely miserable. That sight was… incredibly cute. A lover who was so anxious over him. He couldn’t help but find him lovely.
Eun-soo grabbed Do-kwon’s cheeks and gave him a light, quick kiss on the lips.
“I’m not angry. I’m not a child; I’m not going to get angry just because you can’t eat with me. I would have been angry if you’d forgotten about me or lost interest in me and made me eat alone, but that’s not the situation right now.”
“But…”
“It’s for work. I’m a working professional too. I’m not so immature that I’d get angry over something like that.”
“…”
“Go on. I’ll wait at home.”
Eun-soo hugged Do-kwon’s neck tightly. He murmured while deeply inhaling Do-kwon’s scent, which he wouldn’t be able to smell for the next few hours.
“But you have to come back quickly. As quickly as possible.”
“Yes.”
“You can’t be late. I might die of hunger.”
“I know. I’ll come back as fast as I can.”
Do-kwon chuckled and hugged Eun-soo back.
* * *
5 PM. It was the time when the atmosphere at the company became strange. People who were excited because there was one hour left until clock-out, people who were anxious because they didn’t think they could finish their work by then, and people who had accepted their fate of overtime and were typing slowly—they all mixed together, letting out sighs of varying weights.
Eun-soo was someone who belonged to none of those groups. He had finished his work and didn’t need to stay late, but he wasn’t particularly happy about leaving. The thought of being alone in Do-kwon’s house without Do-kwon made his throat feel dry.
Still, he tried to cheer himself up, thinking it would be better than this desolate office since the place was filled with Do-kwon’s scent.
Eun-soo rubbed his dry eyelids vigorously. He didn’t know why his body felt so stiff. His muscles felt tight as if they were contracting, and a light headache had been bothering him all along.
Could he be feeling sick because of the morning sickness? Or was it a cold due to lack of nutrition?
While stretching by turning his head widely, Eun-soo inadvertently looked at the calendar. Then, he let out a short gasp.
“Ah…”
There were only three days left until his heat cycle. It seemed that was why his body felt so stiff.
A heat cycle… It was the first heat cycle he would face since becoming pregnant. He felt he should probably visit the OB-GYN. Previously, he would have just spent several days rolling around excitedly with Do-kwon, but he wouldn’t be able to do that with a pregnant body. Nor could he take heat cycle medication during a time when he had to be careful even with suppressants.
As Eun-soo was organizing his thoughts while rubbing the back of his mouse,
“Team Leader Yoo. I’ve sent the draft. Please confirm it.”
One of his team members said, stretching their arms wide.
“Ah, yes.”
Eun-soo moved his mouse toward the shared folder. It was then. A message flashed in the corner of the monitor.
It was Seong-heon.
Eun-soo arrived in front of the fancy Hotel H. It was to meet Seong-heon. Seong-heon, who had messaged him an hour before clock-out, suggested they have dinner together since it had been a while.
[Are you busy, Eun-soo?]
[I noticed Do-kwon has been away from his desk all day because of a contract. If you don’t have dinner plans, join me.]
[I’ll buy you something delicious.]
After contemplating for a moment, Eun-soo accepted the offer. It had been nearly a month since he had been repeating the cycle of company and home due to morning sickness. Some might say it wouldn’t make a difference eating outside, but who knew? He might be able to eat something. If not, it couldn’t be helped.
Entering the hotel lobby, Eun-soo took out his phone to leave a message for Do-kwon.
[I’m having dinner with the Executive Director. I’ll head back around the time you arrive.]
Just as he finished writing the message and was about to press the send button, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Eun-soo instinctively turned off his phone and whipped around.
“Eun-soo.”
Seong-heon stood there in a suit.
“Executive Director.”
Eun-soo greeted him with a bright smile. This was the first time they had met since seeing each other a few times by chance at the company after their meal at the traditional Korean restaurant.
“It’s been a while. Thank you for making time for me.”
“Not at all. Since you’re buying dinner, of course I should come.”
The two of them settled into a restaurant inside the hotel in a friendly atmosphere. The place Seong-heon had reserved was a high-end restaurant on a high floor. There were separate private rooms for dining, and pleasant classical music gently tickled their ears.
Eun-soo carefully examined the menu, picking out foods he might be able to eat. He narrowed down the options to dishes that likely lacked fishy smells or strong spices.
The meal proceeded peacefully. Since it was a course meal, whenever a dish had a strong smell, he could just pick at it slightly until the next course arrived. There were things he could eat and things he couldn’t. Still, perhaps because it was an expensive place, there was nothing so repulsive that it made him gag.
Meanwhile, casual conversation flowed between him and Seong-heon. They talked about the company, people, and even social and economic issues. Then, as dessert was being served, Eun-soo asked.
“Executive Director, aren’t you going to get a girlfriend?”
“Me?”
“Yes. Ah, or do you have one and I just don’t know?”
“Pfft, no. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Seong-heon shook his head. Eun-soo tapped a macaron with his fork and asked again.
“Really, why don’t you? It’s not like you can’t. Because of work?”
“Well, there are various reasons. There is someone I like.”
At those words, Eun-soo’s fork poked the macaron. The crisp shell shattered helplessly. Eun-soo put down his fork without hesitation. He then placed his hands on the table and leaned his upper body forward. Curiosity sparkled in his clear eyes.
“Wow, really? Who? No, no, I probably wouldn’t know even if you told me.”
“Why? You might know them.”
Seong-heon raised an eyebrow while sipping his wine. Eun-soo’s eyes sparkled even more. After all, other people’s love lives were an inevitably interesting topic—especially if the protagonist was Seong-heon.
“Someone I know? No way. Who could it be? If it’s someone both you and I know, it would have to be someone from the company. But I don’t know anyone at the company other than my team members. Who is it?”
Eun-soo thought deeply, even knitting his brows. But no one came to mind. Someone Seong-heon would like, yet someone with whom there had been no significant progress so far.
As Eun-soo pondered, tapping the floor with the ball of his foot, Seong-heon, leaning back loosely in his chair, said softly.
“They’re an Omega.”
“What?”
“The person I like is an Omega.”
“Uh… but…”
“Yes. I’m a Beta.”
Eun-soo blinked rapidly. To think the person he liked was an Omega. It was something he had never imagined. Of course, it wasn’t strange or surprising for a person to like another person, but he was a bit flustered. He realized he had been a narrow-minded person.
After biting the inside of his cheek and letting go, Eun-soo quickly beamed a wide smile.
“Well, it’s not like there’s a law saying Betas and Omegas can’t date. It’s not impossible.”
“I thought so too, but it’s not easy. After all, a Beta can’t give or receive the things an Alpha and Omega can.”
“Ah…”
Eun-soo sighed. Yes, that kind of deprivation could be felt. There were many things a Beta would find hard to understand, like pheromones and heat cycles. Since Omegas are beings for whom an Alpha’s pheromones are essential, Seong-heon must have felt a lot of misery.
In truth, he was a man who had been given so much. Good looks, height, ample wealth, and a high social position. Yet, to love an Omega. It made Eun-soo feel bad for him.
Eun-soo swallowed the remaining half of his water in one gulp and looked at Seong-heon.
“If it’s someone I know, is there anything I can do to help?”
“You?”
“Yes. If you need help, just tell me anything.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s your love, Executive Director. I can help as much as I can.”
Eun-soo nodded with a determined expression. Finding Eun-soo cute, Seong-heon chuckled. He then called the waiter and asked for water. The waiter bowed and poured the water. Glug glug. Eun-soo’s empty glass was filled again.
Seong-heon stared intently at the glass, his lips parting.
“But I was a bit late. That Omega has another man now.”
“Ah… Are they married?”
“No. Not that. They’re probably dating.”
“Hmm… Then isn’t there still a chance? What’s more common than couples breaking up while dating…”
“Do you think so? Could that person become single again?”
“Yes. There are far more couples who break up than those who marry. People even break up after getting married.”
Eun-soo nodded convincingly. Unless dating leads to marriage, it is done to eventually break up. Dozens, hundreds of couples meet and part every single day. There was no reason why the person Seong-heon liked couldn’t become single again.
In the end, the choice would be up to that Omega Seong-heon liked.
Regardless, Eun-soo thought it would be great if Seong-heon got a partner. They could go on double dates with Do-kwon. They could travel together. The Omega Seong-heon liked must be a wonderful person. Since it was someone Seong-heon liked, it was only natural.
As he let his imagination run wild, Eun-soo smiled and lifted the heavy water glass. Just as he was about to swallow the water, a strange smell brushed the tip of his nose. Eun-soo, who had been bringing the glass to his lips, pulled back and frowned.
“The water… smells like medicine.”
“Medicine?”
Seong-heon asked back with a surprised face.
“Yes. It didn’t smell like that before.”
Eun-soo sniffed again, smelling the water. It was definitely the scent of medicine. He didn’t know what kind of medicine it was, but the water carried that dry, bitter aroma that lingers in the throat if a pill isn’t swallowed immediately.
“Is that so? I can’t tell,” Seong-heon said, tilting his head. Then, as if to prove a point, he took a drink of the water.
“…….”
Eun-soo bit his lip. Was his nose overly sensitive because of the morning sickness? Frowning, Eun-soo took a small sip, holding about half a mouthful of water. As he swallowed, there was definitely a strange taste. It left his tongue feeling astringent.
Quickly setting the glass down, Eun-soo gulped down some orange juice to rinse his mouth.
“Shall I ask them to change the water?” Seong-heon asked kindly.
“No. I’ve finished it anyway.”
Eun-soo shook his head as if it were fine. He took out his phone and lit up the screen. It was already nearing 8 o’clock.
[Are you home?]
[I’m almost finished.]
There was a message from Do-kwon. Come to think of it, his own message—saying he had come to the hotel to eat with Seong-heon—had remained in a sent state without a reply. If he left now, he could probably arrive before Do-kwon. He needed to go back quickly.
“Shall we head out now?” Eun-soo suggested, trying to end the meeting.
“Already? I was planning to buy you dessert.” Seong-heon smacked his lips as if disappointed.
“Let’s have it next time.”
Eun-soo smiled brightly and reached for his jacket. At that, Seong-heon sprang up from his seat.
“I’ll just use the restroom. Let’s leave together.”
“Ah… okay.”
Eun-soo, who had been sliding his arm into his jacket, nodded. He pulled his arm back out and sat quietly in the chair. Seong-heon walked around the table, lightly patted Eun-soo’s shoulder, and made eye contact before leaving the room.
Left alone, Eun-soo stared at a broken macaron. The bright red one was presumed to be strawberry flavored. Should he eat it or not? Since it was strawberry, it probably wouldn’t be nauseating.
Mmm, as Eun-soo hesitated, his Adam’s apple bobbing, he reached for the macaron.
“Kh…!”
Suddenly, his heart constricted violently. It felt as if someone had grabbed it with both hands and was wringing it out like laundry.
Under the immense pressure, Eun-soo’s upper body lurched forward. The macaron he was holding dropped to the floor with a thud.
He couldn’t breathe. His chest ached, and a suppressed groan escaped his throat. He wanted to scream, but only the sound of distorted, gasping breaths leaked through his parted teeth. Eun-soo clutched his chest, trying desperately to catch his breath. In that moment, a searing red heat ignited in his heart.
“Haa…!”
It was an incredibly hot and intense heat. Not only did it scorch his entire chest, but it spread to the tips of his limbs at a ferocious speed. It felt as if his veins were sizzling. No, more than sizzling, it felt as if they would burst through his skin.
The breath he exhaled in ragged gasps was hot as fire. It felt as though his heated uvula was about to surge back out of his mouth.
In an instant, Eun-soo’s bloodshot eyes darted wildly from side to side. Scorching breath. Heat so intense it stung. A body temperature entirely different from a cold or the flu. Pheromones bursting through every pore. A stinging sensation below and a tingling in his rear.
It was a familiar sensation.
A heat cycle. It was a heat cycle.
“Why… why all of a sudden…?”
There were still three days left. This shouldn’t be happening.
As Eun-soo gasped for air, consumed by confusion, his body suddenly tilted diagonally. While he could only let out stupid sounds like “Uh, uh…”, he collapsed straight down. There was no strength in his limbs. It was as if his muscles had melted; he couldn’t control a single part of his body.
Eun-soo groaned, rubbing his cheek against the floor. He did it unconsciously because the cold floor felt like salvation.
The way he writhed on the floor was like a snake. He looked like a newborn foal, or perhaps a lifeless fish. Regardless, he didn’t look human.
Eun-soo felt something was wrong. In nearly thirty years of life, he had experienced countless heat cycles. But he had never felt a sensation this agonizing.
The air brushing against his body felt as painful as knife blades. Every scent drifting into his flared nostrils was simultaneously nauseating and ecstatic. This was because he could faintly sense the pheromones of some unknown Alpha somewhere.
The heat felt as if it were melting his brain, and his eyes burned as if they were on fire.
Was it because he was pregnant? Was that why it was more fierce and ferocious than the first heat cycle he had ever experienced?
“Haa-ugh…!”
Writheing, Eun-soo looked up at his jacket draped over the chair. In the inner pocket, he carried a small portion of suppressants. He didn’t know if they would be effective against a heat cycle, but there was nothing else he could do right now.
First, he had to take the medicine and then contact Do-kwon using the phone on the table.
With trembling hands, Eun-soo grabbed the edge of the jacket. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the jacket down. The chair tipped over along with the jacket. The heavy restaurant chair struck Eun-soo’s shoulder.
“Kh…!”
Unable to even scream, Eun-soo swallowed his groan. It hurt. It felt as if his bone had snapped like a cracker. However, Eun-soo pulled himself together. He fumbled for the jacket that had fallen nearby and found the pill bottle.
He wanted to open the lid, but his clumsy fingers kept slipping. Then, finally, the tip of his nail caught the edge of the lid, and with a hollow clink, the pills were revealed.
Bang, the door opened.
At the same time, a familiar pheromone began to pour over Eun-soo like a rainstorm.
It was Do-kwon’s pheromone.
“Do-kwon… Mr. Do-kwon?”
Lifting his head, Eun-soo tried to look toward the door. But Do-kwon, who had entered, was faster. Striding forward with long legs, he crouched in front of Eun-soo. Then, he brought something in front of Eun-soo’s face. It was a spray in a whitish canister.
As Eun-soo squinted to identify it, pssh-pssh. A cold liquid sprayed from the canister.
“Ah…?”
It didn’t hurt or sting. It just felt cool, like mint. Eun-soo blinked rapidly. Then, his vision began to fade into a milky white. His already blurry sight became completely distorted.
The boundaries of objects vanished, and he could only distinguish light, the ground, and the ceiling. The person in front of him became a blur, like a shadow.
Eun-soo closed and opened his eyes tightly, trying to clear the milky haze as if milk had been spilled before his eyes. But it didn’t improve at all.
“Mr. Do-kwon… hng… it is you, right, Mr. Do-kwon?”
“…….”
Do-kwon said nothing. Feeling anxious, Eun-soo waved his hand. This was because Do-kwon’s pheromones felt strangely different from usual.
They were somewhat murky, a bit damp, and light. It was as if they were old pheromones. Was it because he was pregnant and in heat, making him more sensitive to them?
No. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t smelled Do-kwon’s pheromones once or twice before.
Yet, there was no way the person in front of him wasn’t Do-kwon. No one else could emit pheromones like these.
Just then, the hem of Do-kwon’s trousers brushed against Eun-soo’s fingertips. Eun-soo quickly grabbed it and held on tight. His white hand trembled violently.
“Mr. Do-kwon, please… please hold me… Mr. Do-kwon….”
Eun-soo cried out to Do-kwon in a completely broken voice. It didn’t matter why he was here, how he knew to come, or when Seong-heon would return. He simply needed the presence—no, he needed Do-kwon—to lower this heat and quench his thirst.
Eun-soo squirmed, pulling Do-kwon toward him.
“Mr. Do-kwon, please….”
The surging lust made him feel nauseous. He wanted to strip off his clothes right now and take Do-kwon inside him. He wanted to soak his entire body in those pheromones and shake his body until his spine grew damp. If he didn’t, he felt as if he would simply drop dead.
He kept suffocating. His nostrils, faithful to instinct, constantly inhaled Do-kwon’s pheromones, but his tightly closed mouth wouldn’t let the breath out, making him dizzy.
But Do-kwon remained strangely devoid of any reaction or movement. He simply looked down at Eun-soo.
Unable to wait any longer, Eun-soo braced himself against the floor with shaking arms. Forcing his upper body up, he tried to make eye contact with Do-kwon, who was crouching before him. He didn’t actually make eye contact; he just stared with hazy eyes at where the eyes should be.
“Mr… Do-kwon….”
Eun-soo pleaded while looking at him. A red tongue hung limply between his plump lips. His heavy eyelids covered half of his pupils, and his cheeks were beautifully flushed a deep pink. His short, ragged breaths were fragile yet overflowing with eroticism.
An Omega. He looked every bit the Omega.
“…….”
Do-kwon gazed down at Eun-soo. Even so, he did nothing for him.
“Ah….”
Unable to bear the lingering silence, Eun-soo began to collapse back onto the floor. At that moment, a large hand snatched Eun-soo’s elbow. It was a rough, powerful grip.
Eun-soo’s thin body was lifted effortlessly. Do-kwon supported him, wrapping one arm around Eun-soo’s waist.
As if he had been waiting, Eun-soo was sucked into Do-kwon’s embrace. Out of habit, he buried his nose in the crook of the other’s neck. That was where Do-kwon’s pheromones were strongest.
But for some reason today… he couldn’t particularly feel the pheromones from the neck. Eun-soo pressed himself deeper into Do-kwon’s embrace, even lifting his heels. He needed Do-kwon’s pheromones, his scent, his warmth. Because he couldn’t feel them as strongly as usual, he grew desperate.
And the fabric touching his body was strange. It wasn’t a suit or a dress shirt; it was a vinyl-like material. How should he describe it? Yes, it felt like a sports track jacket worn during exercise, or perhaps a raincoat.
While Eun-soo was tilting his head in confusion, Do-kwon readjusted his grip on Eun-soo’s waist. Now, Eun-soo was clung to Do-kwon like a cicada to an old tree. His powerless legs merely flailed between the floor and the air, serving no real purpose.
Do-kwon carried Eun-soo out of the restaurant. Then, he took the elevator down to the 20th floor.
The 20th floor was silent. Do-kwon supported Eun-soo and headed toward the room at the very end of the floor.
While passing through the long hallway carpeted in red, Eun-soo rubbed his body against Do-kwon, pressed his lips to the tip of Do-kwon’s chin, and stroked Do-kwon’s thick forearms or slender waist with his hands.
His body had long since reached its limit; he was not in his right mind. Regardless of where this was or who was there, he had only one desire: to strip off his clothes and be held by Do-kwon.
He had even forgotten his shame, loosening his own tie in the hallway.
And finally, held in Do-kwon’s arms, Eun-soo entered a spacious guest room.
Leaning against the wall like a drunkard, Eun-soo unbuttoned his dress shirt. Then, looking at the milky-white blur of Do-kwon before him, he stumbled toward him.
“Mr. Do-kwon. I want to kiss… I want to kiss you.”
Eun-soo pleaded as he threw himself into Do-kwon’s arms. They were no longer outside, and there were no other people. It was just the two of them. He could do any lewd thing he wanted.
But for some reason, Do-kwon did nothing. It was strange that he didn’t kiss him passionately enough to make his lips ache, nor did he mount him like a beast.
Eun-soo felt as if he were intoxicated by his own pheromones. Why was Do-kwon so composed today?
Eun-soo looked at Do-kwon with a hazy mind. However, he had no way of knowing what expression the blurry Do-kwon was making, what kind of eyes he was looking at him with, or if he was even looking at him at all.
He wanted to be touched. He wanted to be held. He wanted to rub his body against him without a single shred of clothing.
Desperate, Eun-soo reached out and cupped Do-kwon’s cheek. He intended to press their lips together by any means.
But. The face that filled his palm, the skin, the body temperature—it was somehow unfamiliar.
Normally, he wouldn’t have noticed. But now he was in heat, and his senses were heightened to the extreme, to the point where even the floating air felt sharp.
Eun-soo pulled his sagging body closer into Do-kwon’s embrace. Then, he took a deep, long breath.
It smelled like Do-kwon. Without a doubt, it was Do-kwon’s scent.
But it wasn’t a scent coming from Do-kwon. Rather, it was a scent as if someone had drenched themselves in Do-kwon’s pheromones to pretend to be him. The pheromones weren’t seeping out of the skin; they were clinging to the vinyl clothing.
It was a scent like someone had sprayed Do-kwon’s pheromones on like perfume.
Eun-soo stumbled backward.
“You… you’re not Seo Do-kwon, are you?”
“…….”
The fake Do-kwon, the unknown intruder, gave no answer. That silence was as good as an admission.
Shock filled Eun-soo’s eyes.
It wasn’t Do-kwon. Then who was it? Another Alpha?
Who is it? What on earth were they thinking, doing this… No, it was obvious. Seeing as they had taken an Omega struggling through a heat cycle and brought him to a hotel room, the purpose was clear. Given that they had even mimicked Do-kwon’s pheromones, the intention must be foul.
Eun-soo became terrified. He didn’t know what the intruder in front of him would do to him.
He had to escape.
But he couldn’t tell where the door was. He couldn’t even see the face of the intruder; there was no way he could see the door. He couldn’t even distinguish if the blurry light was from a lamp or coming through a window.
Eun-soo flailed his arms, heading toward an open space. It was a desperate struggle to escape anywhere. Then, something angular slammed into his hip with a thud!
“Ah-ugh!”
At the unexpected pain, Eun-soo collapsed forward. Judging by the position and size, it seemed to be the entryway console.
As he rolled on the floor, his sense of direction completely collapsed. All he could feel was the freezing temperature of the marble floor.
Eun-soo’s face, which had been flushed red with heat, turned pale. He was scared. He was terrified. In all the heat cycles he had experienced, this was the first time he had been delivered like a piece of meat before an Alpha he didn’t even know, and the terror was immense.
The most frightening part was that he might actually be aroused by this Alpha’s touch.
As Eun-soo struggled forward through his blurred vision, his ankle was grabbed. Tears welled up in Eun-soo’s eyes. Gritting his teeth, he kicked his legs wildly, but his muscles, soaked in heat, would not move as he wished.
He was dragged along and then his body was lifted into the air. The destination was the bed. Terrified, Eun-soo thrashed his body.
“No, you can’t… please don’t….”
But the intruder still didn’t answer. He seemed like someone who couldn’t speak. Or perhaps a robot that had been ordered not to speak.
The intruder pressed down on the shoulders of the struggling Eun-soo. Eun-soo pushed the intruder away with loose fists. But it was useless.
Gasping for air, Eun-soo bit his lip. Then he opened his mouth wide. He intended to scream. Sensing this instantly, the intruder pressed his hand firmly over Eun-soo’s mouth.
The large palm covered Eun-soo’s nose as well. Eun-soo’s face, which had been pale with fear, began to turn red again. He was suffocating. His lungs ached, and his heart, pounding with terror, pumped blood violently.
“Uhu… ugh….”
With trembling hands, Eun-soo beat the intruder’s shoulder. His eyelids flickered rapidly, indicating a precarious state on the verge of asphyxiation.
Seeing this, the intruder abruptly withdrew his hand. Eun-soo took a massive breath, his chest swelling. Then he let out a series of heavy coughs.
Then, the intruder gripped Eun-soo’s chin and lips tightly with one hand and whispered.
“Shh….”
Tears streamed down Eun-soo’s face. Every time he sniffled through his nose, his small Adam’s apple moved up and down with difficulty.
The two of them spent a terrible moment in silence. Once Eun-soo’s breathing had calmed down somewhat, the intruder withdrew his hand. Then, he moved his hand to Eun-soo’s half-unbuttoned dress shirt.
Eun-soo’s body trembled. His body, completely consumed by the heat cycle, found it difficult to move even a single finger. His vision was damp, his breath was short, and the intruder before him was terrifying beyond measure.
Eun-soo was on the verge of fainting. But he couldn’t. If he closed his eyes now, he didn’t know what kind of tragedy would swallow him whole.
It would be a relief if the intruder simply wanted his body. But what if they did something evil? Something unspeakable. What if they killed him to prevent future harm? With those large hands strangling his neck, it would take no more than two minutes to die.
Just as the assailant had undone one of Eun-soo’s shirt buttons, Eun-soo spoke haltingly, staring at something—whether it was the chandelier on the ceiling or the man’s face, he couldn’t tell.
“I’m… I’m pregnant.”
“…What?”
The assailant’s movements stopped.
“I’m pregnant… In my belly, there’s… hic, a baby…”
“…”
“So please… don’t do this…”
Tears streamed down the corners of Eun-soo’s eyes. He had never been afraid of death. After his parents passed away so hollowly, it would be fair to say he had become detached from the idea of dying.
Before meeting Do-kwon, his life had been one of complete solitude, so he had no lingering attachments. He had unconsciously thought that since he was alone in this world, it might be better to die and be with his parents.
Indeed, after his parents died, there were times he had taken pills or slit his wrists. The death of one’s parents at the age of twenty-two was not something easily endured.
But then he met Do-kwon. For the first time in a very long while, living became joyful and happy. And then Bomi came to be in his belly. Though he struggled with morning sickness lately, he was still happy. Because Bomi was his own flesh and blood, his family, the most beautiful and precious life in the world that he had to protect.
Therefore, he had to overcome this horrific situation.
It was just as Eun-soo twisted his body to escape from beneath the assailant’s frozen shadow. The man pressed down hard on Eun-soo’s chest. Then, he abruptly yanked up the shirt.
Terrified, Eun-soo flailed his limbs wildly. However, an Omega intoxicated by a heat cycle could not defeat a robust man. His stomach was exposed.
A belly that had just entered its fourth month of pregnancy, faintly but noticeably rounded.
“…”
Eun-soo felt the man exhale a heavy breath, as if he were nauseated. Eun-soo quickly covered his stomach with his hands. He curled his body into a ball, desperate to protect the baby.
The assailant remained frozen for a long time. Even when Eun-soo sensed an opening and crawled off the bed. Even when he fell to the floor and cried out in pain. Until he clumsily hid under something—whether it was a table or a chair, he didn’t know. The man said nothing and did nothing.
Eun-soo pulled his knees up to his chest. He crumpled his body as small as possible.
As he lay there, dizziness washed over him. He felt lightheaded. His stomach churned, and his already blurred vision began to spin. His heart pounded abnormally loud and fast. A ringing noise surged in his ears.
His body felt as if it were breaking, having collided with a chair, hit a console, and tumbled across the floor. It felt as though his displaced joints were about to pierce through his skin like bars.
Eun-soo clenched his fists tightly.
I can’t lose consciousness. I have to endure. I don’t know what that Alpha will do. I have to protect Bomi.
But his body would not follow his will. His eyes fluttered shut. Something far beyond mere fatigue dripped down the nape of his neck. It felt as if wet cement were enveloping his entire body.
Eun-soo was confused. During a heat cycle, the body might feel languid, but it shouldn’t feel sleepy. One cannot fall asleep during sex with an Alpha.
So why was this happening? Was this also because of the pregnancy? The fact that his heat cycle had come three days early, the fluttering in his chest, and the overwhelming sleepiness as if he had overdrunk—everything was different from usual.
Just as Eun-soo was wondering how he had ended up in this situation, why he was hiding under a table, and how he could escape this mire…
A dark shadow cast over him.
“Ah…”
Eun-soo lifted his trembling head toward the shadow.
The assailant was standing there.
Tears surged like waves over Eun-soo’s pupils. And in that moment, a white cloth abruptly covered his lips. It smelled musty and pungent.
Eun-soo was sucked straight into a deep darkness.
* * *
“Ahhh…”
Eun-soo grimaced. It felt as if his head were splitting. No, it felt as if it had already split, pouring out all its blood, leaving only a cold, dead brain behind.
That was because his body was excessively cold. It felt as if he had slept on ice.
After gathering his senses for a moment, Eun-soo slowly opened his eyes. Light blurred across his cloudy retinas. But it was only for a moment. The sky, the ground, and the objects around him gradually regained their outlines.
It was a clear world, seen for the first time in a while.
Eun-soo slowly looked around. He was lying on the floor of an unfamiliar space. However, it wasn’t some damp place like an abandoned building, a factory, or a basement; it was a hotel room.
A room roughly the size of a semi-suite. The living room and bedroom weren’t separate, but it was quite spacious, with a sofa, a table, and a bed.
Due to the rumpled bed and the overturned console, Eun-soo seemed to still be in the same hotel room he had been dragged to by the assailant.
He felt no presence of another person. The assailant seemed to have disappeared. Realizing the situation belatedly, Eun-soo bolted upright. Then,
“Ah…”
He let out a deep groan and lowered his head. His shoulders hurt terribly. His pelvis hurt too. His wrists, which he had used to brace himself when falling from the bed, and his knees, which had hit the floor, were also in pain.
Eun-soo subtly lifted his trousers to examine his pelvis. A bruise, so dark it was almost black, had bloomed large like a lotus flower. Seeing it, tears leaked out from a sense of injustice and sorrow.
But that sorrow did not last long. A heavy surge of nausea rose from within.
“Ugh…”
Covering his mouth, Eun-soo scanned the area. Upon spotting the bathroom, he crawled toward it like a toddler who hadn’t yet learned to walk.
Eun-soo poured everything in his stomach into the toilet. The sour gastric juices were disgusting. Even though it was coming from his own body, it was so unpleasant that he gagged and dry-heaved repeatedly.
After clinging to the toilet for a long time, he collapsed onto the bathroom floor. He had never felt this tired or heavy in his entire life. It felt as if he had overdrunk every night for a week, worked like a madman during the day, and then performed twelve hours of grueling manual labor at a construction site without a break.
His body didn’t feel like his own.
Eun-soo stared blankly at the ceiling. A clean light fixture looked down at him. It had an expression that seemed to say, I’ve seen all sorts of people here, but you’re a first.
After letting time pass meaninglessly for a while, Eun-soo suddenly remembered Do-kwon.
What time was it? It had already been 8 PM when he was with Seong-heon. At least a few hours must have passed. Do-kwon would definitely be worried.
Eun-soo forced himself up and left the bathroom. Then he paused. Where… was his phone? There was no way he had grabbed it while being dragged away during his heat cycle. It was likely still at the restaurant. Had Seong-heon taken it?
Ah, how bewildered Seong-heon must have been. Since he had vanished without a trace. He hadn’t even been able to thank him for the dinner. He worried if he had been marked as a rude person.
Just as Eun-soo was organizing his cluttered thoughts and heading toward the entrance, he saw a familiar piece of clothing crumpled under the sofa. It was his jacket made of smooth fabric, which he had bought last autumn while accompanying Do-kwon on a business trip to New York.
“…”
Leaning against the wall, Eun-soo stared at it. Had he brought that with him? No, that couldn’t be. Was he wearing it? Had he finished preparing to leave while waiting for Seong-heon at the restaurant?
He couldn’t remember. His memories, crushed by terror and the heat cycle, were a mess.
Regardless of the reason, it was a relief that the jacket was there.
Eun-soo felt around the jacket. He felt a flat, rectangular object. It was his phone.
Eun-soo’s complexion brightened noticeably. He hurriedly lit up the screen. Surely there would be a mountain of missed calls from Do-kwon. Sure enough, the main screen was full of all sorts of notifications. From messages to calls to emails.
The emails were work-related, and the messages and calls were… unfortunately, not from Do-kwon.
[8 Missed Calls from Director Seo]
[6 Messages from Director Seo]
It was Seong-heon.
“…”
Eun-soo stared silently at Seong-heon’s name, which he hadn’t yet updated from ‘Executive Director’. Then he checked the clock. 01:17 AM. It was 1 AM. He was supposed to meet Do-kwon at 8 PM; over five hours had passed.
But why hadn’t Do-kwon left a single message during that time?
Eun-soo slumped onto the sofa. His legs were shaking too much to stand any longer. His forehead was damp with cold sweat that had begun to seep out at some point. His physical condition was definitely strange. It was completely different from a normal heat cycle.
Just as Eun-soo was about to press the call button for Do-kwon’s number, the phone suddenly went black, then vibrated—brrr, brrr—displaying another number.
It was a call from Seong-heon.
Staring blankly at the name ‘Director Seo’, Eun-soo answered the phone a beat late.
“Hell… hello.”
Oh…
A short exclamation came from the other end. Seong-heon sounded surprised, as if he hadn’t expected Eun-soo to answer.
Eun-soo?
“Yes.”
Ah, Eun-soo. Where are you? Are you at home?
“…”
Eun-soo blinked slowly. Not knowing how to answer, he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He wasn’t at home. But he couldn’t exactly say he was in a hotel room beneath a restaurant.
He would definitely find it strange. What would he think of me?
He had known Seong-heon for quite a long time, but he had never revealed that he was an Omega. In truth, as long as one took the medication properly, it would be stranger to reveal it, but regardless, that was the case.
So,
‘I suddenly went into heat. I was panting on the floor, and then Do-kwon entered. I was sure it was Do-kwon. I smelled his pheromones. So I begged. I asked him to kiss me, to have sex. But like an idiot, I only realized he wasn’t Do-kwon after I followed him into the room. I pleaded while crying. I told him not to touch me. That there was a baby in my belly. My head hurts. I have a fever. I felt dizzy and threw up. I want to die.’
How could he say those words? If he told Seong-heon, Do-kwon might find out.
Ah.
Ahhh…
Eun-soo groaned silently and ruffled his hair frantically.
He couldn’t do that. He mustn’t. Hadn’t he heard from Seong-heon? About what the Omegas Do-kwon had met in the past were all like.
If Do-kwon found out about today, he would surely be disappointed in him. He would likely look at him with eyes of disgust, thinking, So you were just the same as those other Omegas.
Then what would happen? What if he broke up with Do-kwon? And Bomi? Surely he wouldn’t tell him to get rid of the baby.
He remembered the Do-kwon who had treated him after losing his memory. The cold, chilly, and fierce man. The man who loathed Omegas and frowned as if his scent were disgusting.
The thought of receiving that gaze again made him feel suffocated. He had to hide it. No matter what, he had to hide what happened today.
As Eun-soo bit his thumbnails nervously,
I was so surprised when you suddenly disappeared from the restaurant. The chair was overturned…
“…”
Nothing’s wrong, right?
“…”
Seong-heon’s calm voice tapped against his eardrums. At that plain yet kind voice, a surge of sorrow welled up. Eun-soo sobbed silently, covering his eyes with his hand.
Something is wrong. Please save me. Help me.
He wanted to say those words, but he couldn’t because he was worried about the future.
Unable to hang up the phone and unable to answer, Eun-soo just let the tears fall. Then, a few stray sobs that he couldn’t quite suppress seemed to leak through the receiver.
Eun-soo. Are you crying?
Startled by the words, Eun-soo quickly pulled the phone away from his ear. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his breathing. Once his hitching breath became somewhat regular, he brought the phone back to his ear and mimicked a neutral tone.
“It’s… it’s nothing. I’ll… contact you… later…”
Where are you. Tell me quickly.
“…”
I’ll come. I’ll be there soon. Wherever you are, I’ll be there within 30 minutes. I’m not lying. I can take a helicopter. It’s a company helicopter, but isn’t this exactly when one should use it?
Eun-soo let out a hollow laugh at the sly remark.
Eun-soo hesitated for a moment. Whether he could tell Seong-heon what he had experienced, and whether it would leak to Do-kwon’s ears.
But then he thought that if it were Seong-heon—a person like Seong-heon—he would keep the secret. The Seong-heon he had known for over five years was definitely that kind of person.
Ultimately, Eun-soo confessed where he was.
Seong-heon seemed a bit surprised, but without asking any further questions, he said he would arrive shortly.
After ending the call, Eun-soo stared at the wall with unfocused eyes. Then he suddenly looked down at his attire.
“…”
He had been in a suit when he was with Seong-heon. Now, his tie was nowhere to be seen, and more than half of his dress shirt buttons were undone. Even those were barely hanging on, the threads having come loose.
Startled, Eun-soo quickly buttoned his shirt. He also put on his jacket to hide his disheveled appearance. He tidied his messy hair and drank some of the water provided in the room.
Then, he noticed something strangely odd.
“…”
In just a few hours, his heat cycle had subsided without a trace. This shouldn’t be possible. An Omega’s heat cycle lasts at least half a day. And that’s only if they’ve rolled around with an Alpha; if they endure it without medication or sex, they usually suffer for three or four days.
But now, while his whole body ached as if he had a severe flu, the characteristic feeling of a heat cycle was gone.
Eun-soo stroked his forearm and headed toward the entrance. Then, he slid down the wall and sat on the floor. He intended to wait here until Seong-heon arrived.
Clutching his lower abdomen, he slowly closed his eyes. His dry eyeballs stung.
“Haa…”
Eun-soo let out a long sigh. Today, a day filled with nothing but strange occurrences, was overwhelmingly burdensome.
Until Seong-heon arrived at the hotel room, Eun-soo called Do-kwon over and over. But for some reason, the ringing wouldn’t stop. It was the same even after calling more than ten times.
“Is he angry…?”
Eun-soo sighed, staring at the phone with Do-kwon’s name floating on the screen.
No matter how angry he was, Do-kwon had never not answered the phone. No, in truth, he had never even been angry with him. It would be more accurate to say he got pouted. But since the current Do-kwon wasn’t the Do-kwon from back then, he couldn’t be sure.
Still, still, I wish he’d just answer. Just one “Hello.” Even if he scolded him in that characteristic low voice, even if he lectured him on what he thought a promise was—he just wanted to hear his voice.
I’m so desperate for your voice right now.
Eun-soo frantically pressed the end-call icon upon hearing the automated message saying the person could not take the call. Then he called again.
Ring, ring, the electronic sound continued, as tedious as the ticking of a clock. It was while he was making his fourteenth call to Do-kwon.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked. Eun-soo snapped his head up.
“…”
He stared at the thick entrance door without saying a word. He subtly shifted his eyes to check if the lock was engaged.
It was probably Seong-heon. At this hour, what reason would anyone else have to knock on a stranger’s hotel room? But he was scared. Scared that it might be that assailant. The man in the plastic clothes, with the large hands, the man of few words.
Just as Eun-soo gripped his phone as if to crush it,
“Eun-soo. Are you inside?”
Seong-heon’s voice came through the door, sounding muffled. Springing up, Eun-soo quickly opened the door. Seong-heon stood there, breathing heavily with beads of sweat on his forehead. It seemed he had run from far away.
“What… haa… what happened? Are you okay?”
Seong-heon asked with a faint smile.
At that question, Eun-soo…
“Uuhhh…”
Burst into the tears he had been holding back. Startled, Seong-heon quickly entered the room. And the door clicked shut.
Eun-soo poured out everything that had happened. He even told him about the pregnancy. He wanted to tell someone, anyone, no matter what. Otherwise, he felt as if he would die from the suffocating tightness and injustice in his chest.
Seong-heon comforted Eun-soo, occasionally offering words of acknowledgment, alternating between anger and worry. An hour passed quickly. In front of Eun-soo lay crumpled tissues and a water bottle used to moisten his throat.
Eun-soo wiped his tears roughly with the back of his hand and looked at Seong-heon.
“Thank you, Director…”
“Don’t mention it. Don’t let it weigh on you, Eun-soo. I’ll contact the police.”
“……It won’t matter. Most Omegas in heat beg for that kind of—that kind of act, so it doesn’t become a legal issue. I…… sigh…… I did, too.”
“You said you thought it was Do-kwon.”
“Yes. But you can’t see that on CCTV. I’ll just look like…… an Omega in heat, acting like an animal.”
As he spoke, Eun-soo’s emotions surged again, and tears began to fall. With a deep sigh, Seong-heon sat closely beside Eun-soo and gently wiped away his tears.
“I have a lot of money.”
“……What?”
“I have money, a wide network, and while it’s funny to call it power, I have things that could be described as such. With these kinds of qualifications in Korea, I can ignore the law or even make new laws. I’ll find that bastard and make sure he’s punished.”
“…….”
Eun-soo’s lower lip trembled. He felt lucky that Seong-heon was his friend and the person who had stayed by his side in this moment.
Eun-soo nodded and burst into tears again. Seong-heon tenderly patted Eun-soo’s shoulder.
Kindly, Seong-heon booked another hotel room for him. It was late at night, and since Eun-soo couldn’t take a car, he couldn’t even go home. Nor could he stay in the room where the incident had occurred.
Lying on a clean, spacious bed, Eun-soo spent the night drifting in and out of sleep. Even then, he stubbornly kept calling Do-kwon. But in the end, he never heard Do-kwon’s voice.
Early in the morning, Eun-soo parted ways with Seong-heon and returned home. He then hurriedly took a half-day off and headed to the OB-GYN.
His pelvis, shoulder, and wrist, injured from the fall, were aching. But more concerning than that was the constant pulling sensation in his abdomen. It felt as if his womb-sac was shriveling up like a dried persimmon. Then, it would swell up like a balloon on the verge of bursting, only to shrink back down abruptly.
The mild pain continued until it reached a point where he would repeatedly clutch his stomach and collapse with a cry of “Ah!”
He had to go to the OB-GYN immediately. Thus, Eun-soo rushed into the clinic dressed in his suit. He planned to go to the office once the examination was over.
Given his physical state, it would have been reasonable to rest, but he had to see Do-kwon. Even if Do-kwon wasn’t answering his calls, he would have gone to work. He would be able to find him at the office.
While Eun-soo was waiting for his turn, with Do-kwon’s number pulled up on his phone,
“Oh my, you came alone today?”
A high-pitched voice tickled the crown of Eun-soo’s head. Eun-soo slowly looked up. He wondered if she was talking to him, and sure enough, a familiar pregnant Omega was standing before him.
It was the pregnant Omega he had met the first day Do-kwon had brought him to the OB-GYN.
“Ah……. Hel—hello…….”
Just as Eun-soo shifted his hips to greet her,
“Where’s your husband?”
The pregnant Omega asked, glancing at the empty seat beside him.
“He—he’s at the office.”
Eun-soo stammered. Though he had done nothing wrong, his heart sank. He felt like a student being scolded by a teacher. Eun-soo repeatedly licked his dry lips.
“Hmm…….”
The pregnant Omega looked at Eun-soo with narrowed eyes. It was a look of suspicion. Feeling as though his dress shirt was choking him, Eun-soo tugged at the collar with his index finger.
“Well, let’s go with that. You’ve gotten very thin, Mr. Pregnant Omega.”
Holding her large belly, the pregnant Omega let out a grunt as she sat in the seat next to him. Eun-soo quickly helped her. He then let out an embarrassed laugh. To think that even someone he barely knew could tell he had thinned out. It seemed his recent failure to eat properly was quite serious.
Moreover, he had vomited what little he managed to eat yesterday, hadn’t slept all night, and hadn’t eaten this morning either, so he must have looked like skin and bones.
“Ah…… I’ve been having morning sickness lately.”
“Oh dear, you’re suffering. Have you found anything you can eat?”
“Uh, just, fruit and smoothies, candies, things like that…….”
“Try Western food instead of Korean food.”
“Pardon?”
“You know, things like pasta. Just the cream sauce, without meat or seafood. For me, those didn’t have much of a smell.”
“Ah…….”
Eun-soo nodded with a look of genuine surprise. Pasta. Without toppings. He chewed over those words. Just as he was thinking about going to eat pizza with Do-kwon for lunch, the pregnant Omega lightly patted Eun-soo’s gaunt hand.
“You have to eat well. What you eat is what stays with you. Your body has to be healthy for the baby to be healthy.”
“……Yes.”
Eun-soo smiled faintly. Just then, the nurse called Eun-soo’s name. Eun-soo gave a brief farewell to the pregnant Omega and stood up.
“Mr. Yoo Eun-soo. What brings you in today? It’s not your scheduled visit date.”
The doctor, who had a robot-like face as always, asked while staring indifferently at Eun-soo. Eun-soo swallowed hard. He had clearly prepared everything he wanted to say, but whenever he sat in the examination chair, his heart fluttered as if he were a child giving a presentation.
“Well…… my stomach hurts.”
“Is it pulling and cramping like muscle pain? That’s natural as the fetus grows…….”
“No. It hurts. It’s a stabbing pain, and it feels like my stomach is twisting. Like someone is wringing out a towel.”
Eun-soo explained his condition in detail. He even acted out the motion of wringing a towel with both hands.
“…….”
The doctor shifted her posture. Then, pushing up her glasses, she called the nurse.
“Mr. Yoo Eun-soo, we’ll start with a blood test.”
“Did something happen?”
Holding the test results, the doctor pressed him with a stiff expression. She wasn’t asking if something had happened, but rather stating that something had happened. After a moment of hesitation, Eun-soo honestly confessed what had happened at the hotel. Since she was a doctor, he judged that there was no benefit to hiding it from his own body.
As she listened to Eun-soo, the doctor stared intently at the test results over and over. Eun-soo was scared. It felt as though something terrible had happened to him, given that she—who rarely showed any reaction—was frowning.
Eun-soo clutched his stomach. Was Bomi in pain? That couldn’t be. The baby was only the size of a finger; what reason would there be for the baby to be in pain?
The doctor took off her glasses and looked at Eun-soo.
“Did you go to the hospital?”
“……I’m here, aren’t I?”
Eun-soo asked back with a puzzled look. He was in a hospital, so why ask if he had gone to one? He didn’t understand. To this, the doctor asked again with a frustrated expression.
“No, I mean reporting it. That Alpha bastard. Didn’t you report him?”
“Uh…… no. Not yet…….”
“You didn’t take photos either?”
“Photos? What photos?”
“Photos to submit as evidence of injury.”
Eun-soo shook his head. He had just…… let Seong-heon handle it since he said he would. He didn’t see how photos were related to the hospital.
“Sigh……. You need to gather evidence. You were caught by an Alpha while in heat, right? But as you know, in these cases…….”
“It’s hard for the perpetrator to be punished.”
“Yes. But looking at your current physical state, there are clear signs of violence and evidence that the act was attempted forcibly. You have to document that.”
The doctor looked at Eun-soo’s swollen wrist. One wrist was fine, but the other was so swollen that the dip of the bone was gone. It must have been sprained yesterday.
Because of the wrist, there would likely be similar marks elsewhere on his body.
Sure enough, Eun-soo stroked his shoulder over his dress shirt. The doctor’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“Take off your clothes. I’ll take photos for you.”
“H—here?”
“If you go to the police station, you’ll have to strip in front of strangers you’ve never seen in your life. Isn’t it better here?”
She wasn’t wrong. After hesitating for a moment, Eun-soo slowly began to undo the buttons of his shirt. After all, he desperately wanted to catch that son of a bitch and crush him.
Without calling a nurse, the doctor personally took Polaroid photos of various parts of Eun-soo’s body. She wasn’t shocked by the dark bruises, nor did she offer any pathetic sympathy. Thanks to that, Eun-soo was able to stand there calmly.
As he put his shirt back on after the photos, a question suddenly occurred to him.
“But my shoulder is from hitting a chair when I fell, and here, my pelvis is from falling while running away…… will that still count as evidence?”
“There is already plenty of evidence.”
“What do you mean by…….”
“Mr. Pregnant Omega.”
“Yes.”
“You took a drug.”
The doctor said as she carefully lined up the Polaroid photos.
“……What?”
Eun-soo asked back.
“A drug. A substance that could be called a hormone agent or a heat inducer.”
At those words, Eun-soo froze while fastening his buttons.
“Here. See this line graph? This is your pheromone level measured every time you visited the OB-GYN for check-ups.”
The doctor turned the computer monitor toward Eun-soo. Eun-soo sat beside her, finishing the remaining buttons. It was a calm line graph. There were only slight ripples, with no major changes. Then, the doctor slid the graph to the side.
“And this is what we measured today.”
“…….”
The graph had suddenly shot straight up toward the sky. It was as dynamic as a stock graph that had jumped 60% in a single day. Eun-soo was momentarily speechless at the bizarre graph. Then, he stammered.
“Since—since I was in heat, isn’t it natural for the pheromone levels to rise?”
“The human body doesn’t change this dramatically or quickly. As you know from experiencing heat cycles, you usually feel bodily changes three or four days in advance. From then on, pheromone levels increase little by little. Enough for the Alpha you’re with to notice.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Eun-soo nodded. Just as she said, his muscles usually started to tingle three or four days prior. If he normally took three suppressants a day, he would take at least five, and sometimes up to eight, during that time.
In the past, Do-kwon would also bury his nose in Eun-soo’s neck, asking, ‘Is your heat cycle coming up soon?’
“Therefore, for the levels to rise this much, it can only be due to a drug.”
“A drug…… you say…….”
“Do you remember how you took it? It could have been an injection, an inhaler, a pill, or a powder.”
“Uh…… I—I don’t know. I don’t have any such memory…….”
Eun-soo’s eyes darted around with a confused expression. A drug. He had no memory of it at all. Did that man drug him? But when he entered the restaurant room, I was already in heat and rolling on the floor. When on earth?
His head throbbed and his stomach churned. He felt like an idiot for not knowing he had taken something.
Seeing Eun-soo’s troubled face, the doctor added softly,
“Usually, these drugs are mixed with narcotics. Hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and tactile hallucinations occur simultaneously. Your memories will be jumbled. You won’t remember the circumstances clearly, and sometimes you can’t even remember who you were with or what you did. Unless you took it yourself, you usually don’t know when or how you took it.”
“Ah…….”
Eun-soo rubbed his face tiredly. He frowned briefly as his stomach hurt, then relaxed.
“Then is my body hurting because of the drug?”
“It’s pheromone shock.”
“Pheromone…… shock? There’s such a thing? Is it a disease?”
“Yes. Like acute alcohol poisoning or acute drug poisoning.”
“…….”
Pheromone shock. Eun-soo silently murmured the unfamiliar term. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but since it was listed alongside alcohol and drug poisoning, the severity was clearly felt.
“Even if you had only been given the drug, the levels would have been immense, but your original heat cycle…… is in two days, right? That pheromone combined with the drug resulted in such a high level.”
The doctor said, scrolling through Eun-soo’s information.
“Ah…….”
Eun-soo let out a foolish sigh. He had heard too much information at once for his brain to process. The term ‘pheromone shock’ just buzzed in his head like a mosquito.
“I’ll give you an injection for now, but it won’t have a huge effect. It’s not a level that can be brought down all at once.”
“Yes…….”
“First, we must lower the high pheromone levels.”
“Yes…….”
“It’s important to have continuous contact with an Alpha. However, deep pheromone sharing like sexual intercourse is not allowed; keep it to holding hands or hugging.”
“Ah……, yes.”
“Pheromone shock puts a strain on the body. Since you have to constantly process the pheromones, the caloric consumption is enormous, and you maintain a state of high tension. This reduces the nutrients going to the fetus. Because the body has to survive first, the fetus is pushed to the back burner.”
“Back…… burner…….”
“Eventually, the body might treat the fetus as another germ that needs to be eliminated from the system.”
“Ah……. I—I see…….”
Eun-soo nodded weakly. He knew he had to listen carefully to the doctor, but the words simply wouldn’t enter his ears.
The events that had suddenly befallen him still felt surreal. It felt like someone else’s story, something that would appear on TV, or the story of some ‘Mr. Kim’ or ‘Mr. Park’ commonly seen in the news.
As Eun-soo remained dazed, the doctor tapped the desk with the end of her pen. Eun-soo snapped his head up.
“Does the father of the fetus know?”
The doctor asked.
“Not…… yet…….”
Eun-soo murmured in a dying voice. The doctor stared at him intently. Under that gaze, Eun-soo’s head sank lower and lower.
The doctor tightened her lips before relaxing them.
“Well…… that’s not a part where I can tell you to do this or that.”
Eun-soo let out a heavy sigh. To have regular contact with an Alpha’s pheromones—meaning Do-kwon’s pheromones—he would have to tell Do-kwon the truth. What should he do? He already felt suffocated.
Seeing Eun-soo’s complexion darken by the second, the doctor let out a hum from her throat. Then, she suddenly stood up and poured warm water from a coffee pot, placing it in front of Eun-soo.
“If I may tell you one thing, this is not your fault.”
“……What?”
“These days…… it’s not a world where only account numbers and phone numbers are leaked. There are many Alphas who find out an Omega’s heat cycle through their medication records at the hospital and hunt only those Omegas.”
“…….”
“It seems you were caught by one of those bastards; you must report it and have a proper investigation.”
“…….”
“The bastard is the one who did wrong, not you.”
At those words, Eun-soo almost burst into tears. But thinking it would be unsightly to cry at the age of thirty, he held them back.
“Make sure to eat well. If you feel unwell, come back to the OB-GYN immediately.”
“Yes.”
Eun-soo forced a smile. He felt as though his stomach hurt a little less.
* * *
As soon as Eun-soo returned to the office, he worked frantically. Because he had suddenly been absent in the morning, there were more than a few tasks to handle. He had to run tests with the app development team and rearrange awkward motions, inconspicuous icons, and overly conspicuous icons.
Consequently, the time to leave approached without him even having lunch. His body ached, his sprained wrist throbbed, his stomach pulled, and his morning sickness made him nauseous; it was absolute misery.
Still, he endured it, thinking that he would see Do-kwon soon, and that he would feel much better if he could eat anything while held in Do-kwon’s arms.
The moment he sent the final email, it was time to clock out. As if he had been waiting, Eun-soo jumped up and said goodbye to his team members.
“I’m leaving first. See you tomorrow.”
Leaving first after having already taken a half-day was certainly something to be criticized for. However, Eun-soo decided to think positively, reasoning that the team leader disappearing early wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the team members.
Eun-soo went straight up to the director’s office. He saw Secretary Jeong. Eun-soo greeted him brightly.
“Secretary Jeong.”
“Uh…… Team Leader Yoo?”
Secretary Jeong looked surprised to see Eun-soo. After blinking a few times, he frowned slightly.
“Team Leader Yoo, weren’t you with the Director?”
“Me? No. Why? Is something wrong?”
Eun-soo asked, moving the jacket from one arm to the other.
“Uh…… that’s not good. I can’t get a hold of the Director.”
“……What?”
Eun-soo’s jaw dropped at the completely unexpected words. Secretary Jeong showed him his phone, where the battery was blinking red, and spoke lamentingly.
“He hasn’t answered since yesterday. No calls, no messages. I naturally assumed you were with him…….”
“Me… with you?”
“Yes. Your heat cycle… isn’t it coming up soon? Usually, you’re unreachable for about two days around that time, so I just assumed that was the case.”
Secretary Jeong cleared his throat, feeling awkward about the topic. A flush of red crept onto Eun-soo’s cheekbones.
“Ah… no. I came up here because I couldn’t reach him either… Uh, where could he have collapsed? Did he get another headache?”
“I don’t know. Since you weren’t with Team Leader Yoo… Should I report it to the police? As a missing person or a kidnapping? But if the board of directors reports that a company director has gone missing, the reporters won’t stay quiet. They’ll be thrilled to manufacture all sorts of rumors.”
“Ah…”
“But then again, I wonder if something that bad really happened… The Director… he’s a Dominant Alpha. Who in the world would dare kidnap him?”
Eun-soo nodded in agreement. This was Do-kwon, a man nearly 190cm tall. He was someone who could suppress anyone with his Dominant Alpha pheromones even if there were gun barrels pointed at his head.
No, in the first place, did a kidnapping even make sense? Why would anyone kidnap a director of a major corporation in the 21st century? It wasn’t as if this were some drug or smuggling syndicate.
Eun-soo’s fingers fidgeted restlessly.
So he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been able to contact Do-kwon since yesterday. Thinking that, ironically, his heart felt lighter. It meant Do-kwon wasn’t specifically avoiding only his calls. In other words, there was no reason for Do-kwon to be angry with him.
But then… where on earth was Do-kwon, and what was he doing?
A shadow fell over Eun-soo’s face again. Seeing this, Secretary Jeong looked as if he were on the verge of bursting into tears.
“Did you contact the Chairman?”
Eun-soo asked. Secretary Jeong shook his head.
“No. It’s only been half a day, so it felt a bit… uh, a bit soon… The Chairman is like a blade. If he finds out the Director has lost contact like this, the Director might be kicked out of the company. It’s only been a month since he returned to work after the accident, and at such a critical time…”
“…”
Eun-soo nodded understandingly. He was right. Myeong-hui was only soft toward him; toward others—no, even toward Do-kwon, who wasn’t exactly an ‘other’—she was like a freezing gale.
As he worried about what to do, Secretary Jeong let out a sigh.
“It would be a relief if he were just laying low, but I simply cannot fathom the reason. He has never acted this irresponsibly in his entire life. He left the H Hotel yesterday after successfully closing the contract…”
“…What?”
Eun-soo’s eyes widened at a familiar word.
“Yes?”
Secretary Jeong asked back.
“H… Hotel? That’s where Do-kwon was yesterday?”
Eun-soo took a step toward Secretary Jeong, asking as if interrogating him.
“Yes. He was there from 11 AM until shortly before 8 PM. It was a major contract, so he stayed the whole time.”
“…”
Eun-soo blinked slowly. Yesterday, Do-kwon had been in the same hotel as him. The work ended before 8, and around that time, Eun-soo had entered his heat cycle and been held in the arms of an unknown man.
And since then, Do-kwon had been unreachable.
Had something happened? Had he seen something? Had he happened to see him? Had he smelled the pheromones Eun-soo had been pumping out shamelessly? Did he follow the scent? And, and… had he seen him clinging to the arms of some strange man?
Eun-soo’s shoulders began to tremble. He had a bad feeling. A chill ran down his spine, and his knees grew weak. Then, suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his lower abdomen. It was a dull ache, as if a thug had struck him with a powerful fist.
Eun-soo clutched his stomach and doubled over.
“Ah…”
His body turned cold in an instant. It felt as if all the blood was draining out to his fingertips and toes. Terrified, Secretary Jeong rushed to support him.
“Team Leader Yoo? What, what is it? Does your stomach hurt? Should I call the hospital? I’ll call an ambulance right now—”
“No, no… I’m… I’m okay…”
Eun-soo patted the startled Secretary Jeong. Then, he forced a neutral expression and straightened his back. His stomach still hurt, but he didn’t have time to stay here. He had already been to the hospital; there was no need to go again.
First, he had to find Do-kwon. He had to find him, ask what he had seen, and clear up the misunderstanding.
“I… I’ll go to Do-kwon’s house.”
With a pale face, Eun-soo put on his jacket. Out of habit, Secretary Jeong helped him put it on. Eun-soo offered a faint smile as a thank you.
“I stopped by a few hours ago, and he wasn’t home.”
“He might have arrived by now. If you hear from Do-kwon, please let me know as well.”
“Yes, I will.”
Eun-soo gave a light bow. Secretary Jeong bowed back. Eun-soo steadied his trembling legs and caught the elevator. Secretary Jeong’s puzzled gaze pricked at his back, but he didn’t look back.
* * *
As expected, Do-kwon was not home. Only a cool, empty air greeted Eun-soo. Judging by the faint scent of Do-kwon’s pheromones lingering throughout the house, it seemed he had been gone for at least a day. In other words, he hadn’t returned home since going to work yesterday.
Eun-soo wandered the house with a vacant expression. He checked the kitchen, the study, and the bathroom to see if Do-kwon was there, but there were no results.
Finally entering the bedroom, Eun-soo let out a long sigh as he looked at the pristine bed. The empty bedroom looked somehow cold, and just as he was about to turn and leave, he stopped.
“…”
Standing still with his hand on the doorknob, he walked slowly toward the bed. Then, he slowly laid his body down upon it. Do-kwon’s scent flowed over him warmly. His tightly wound muscles melted away.
Eun-soo buried his nose in the blanket and inhaled deeply. It was Do-kwon’s pheromone. Not the fake pheromone of the Do-kwon he had smelled yesterday, but the real one.
Eun-soo continued to breathe in Do-kwon’s scent for a long time. But since greed knows no bounds, he didn’t want just the lingering scent; he wanted the smell from Do-kwon’s skin, his nape, and his embrace.
Eun-soo tossed and turned, wrapping himself tightly in the blanket. Then, inside the blanket, he gently stroked his stomach.
His body hurt. His bruised shoulders and pelvis ached, his wrists hurt, and his stomach hurt. Because of the morning sickness, he hadn’t been able to eat anything, leaving his stomach raw. Above all, his pounding heart was the problem. It beat so violently that it made him gag.
Eun-soo was afraid. Afraid that Do-kwon had witnessed what happened yesterday. Afraid that was why he wasn’t answering calls and wasn’t showing up to work.
Eun-soo tentatively pulled out his phone. He entered the message window with Do-kwon. It was filled entirely with messages he had sent.
[Do-kwon, I’m sorry. I’m leaving work late because I’m busy.]
[Do-kwon, are you home? Should I come over now?]
[Why aren’t you answering the phone?]
[Are you angry? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be late.]
[Do-kwon. Where are you.]
Far from replying, Do-kwon hadn’t even read the messages. Staring blankly at the screen, Eun-soo pressed Do-kwon’s name and hit the call button. He knew he would likely listen to the ringing for a long time, but he did it just in case.
But this time was different. An automated voice informed him that the phone was turned off. Thanks to that, he didn’t even get to hear the ringing.
Just as Eun-soo was gloomily about to turn off the phone, it vibrated. Eun-soo snapped his gaze to the screen.
[Eun-soo. How are you feeling today?]
[Did you eat dinner?]
It was a message from Seong-heon. Eun-soo’s eyes crumpled with disappointment. Then, he slowly typed back.
[I’m okay.]
[I’m about to eat dinner now.]
Right. He hadn’t eaten a single meal all day. The doctor said he had to eat well. Eun-soo buried his nose in the blanket and took a deep breath. Then, as if stretching, he pushed himself up.
I have to eat. I have to.
Muttering “eat, eat” like a man possessed, Eun-soo left the bedroom.
Do-kwon’s refrigerator was full of food. Fruit, various syrups, sparkling water, ice cream, and more. Every single item was something Eun-soo liked. Things he could actually manage to eat despite the morning sickness.
On one side, small airtight containers were neatly stacked. Inside were smoothie ingredients, finely prepared for Eun-soo to blend.
Strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and apples were prepped, but one look showed it wasn’t the work of a professional. In other words, it wasn’t done by the regular housekeeper, nor was it bought from a store.
It seemed Do-kwon had washed, peeled, and cut each one with those large hands of his.
“…”
Eun-soo stared at them until the refrigerator emitted a beeping warning sound.
* * *
The company was in an uproar. It wasn’t the kind of chaos where the building shook or the news reported it every minute, but it was a crisis known to the executives, the Chairman Myeong-hui, and Eun-soo.
It had been three days since Do-kwon had gone missing. For a company director to be absent without leave for not one, but three days—it was a fact that couldn’t be hidden. For now, only the executives knew, but as more time passed, it would leak to the outside.
Myeong-hui had discreetly hired people to find Do-kwon’s whereabouts. They tracked his phone location and pulled his card statements, but for some reason, he wasn’t being caught easily.
Everyone told Eun-soo it would be okay. They said he’d be found soon, that it was only a matter of time, and that they would give him a piece of their mind once he was found.
Eun-soo said nothing. With a dry, withered face, he wore an expression that was neither a smile nor a cry.
Eun-soo just… he just felt embarrassed and ashamed that people were in such a fuss. It was because of the self-loathing that the reason Do-kwon disappeared might lie with him.
Eun-soo let out a long sigh through his nose. At that, Myeong-hui, who was sitting opposite him, shifted her hips with a surprised look.
“What? Does it taste bad? Can’t you eat it?”
Today, Eun-soo had lunch with Myeong-hui and Ki-ho. They had sweet seasoned ribs and cold noodles, and it was delicious. He didn’t feel any nausea, the gamey smell of the meat was masked by the seasoning, and the cool noodles slid smoothly down his throat.
He was now eating cookies with warm tea. It was then that he had unconsciously sighed while thinking of Do-kwon.
Eun-soo smiled faintly and shook his head.
“No. It’s delicious. Today is the day I’ve eaten the most in the past week.”
“…What does that mean? You could barely eat today either. And that’s the most you’ve eaten in a week?”
“Ah…”
Eun-soo’s expression turned to one of ‘oh no.’ It was a slip of the tongue. He shouldn’t have said that. While he wondered how to take back the words he’d spilled, Myeong-hui growled like a tiger.
“It’s because of that brat Do-kwon, isn’t it? You can’t eat because that brat bolted?”
“Mother, it’s not that.”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll catch him by the end of this week one way or another. I’ll cut his ankles or something… A man his age, abandoning his work and his pregnant lover…”
Myeong-hui’s nails scratched the armrest of the sofa. She looked as if she would truly break his legs if she found Do-kwon. Eun-soo didn’t know what to do and only chewed on his lower lip.
Then, Ki-ho, who was sitting next to him, gently wrapped his hand around Eun-soo’s.
“You have to eat well, Eun-soo. Don’t worry about Do-kwon, only think of yourself. Think about that guy’s size. He’s basically… just… a slender bear. At that size, he won’t die even if he starves for a whole month.”
At those words, Eun-soo let out an unintentional laugh. A slender bear. For some reason, it was a fitting description for Do-kwon.
At Eun-soo’s laughter, the faces of Myeong-hui and Ki-ho relaxed. Ki-ho pushed a tray piled with cookies, tarts, and macarons toward Eun-soo.
As if to show them, Eun-soo picked up the largest tart and brought it to his mouth.
It was sweet.
But it didn’t taste good.