By Zephyria 
“Mr. Miller, you called for me.”
One of Nathaniel’s five secretaries, a man, arrived without hesitation to carry out the necessary task as soon as he received the owner’s call, regardless of the turbulent weather. Since his duties involved executing Nathaniel’s personal instructions rather than company business, he immediately set to work after surveying the room, where part of the front window glass was shattered and in shambles.
“The wound on your hand—will you be alright without going to the hospital?”
As he asked, not missing the blood flowing from the owner’s hand, Nathaniel gave a short shake of his head.
“I can handle it. I’d prefer it if you just cleaned up.”
“Understood.”
The secretary did not waste any more time and focused immediately on his work. While he arranged for the materials needed to repair the window and dealt with the messed-up furniture and floor, Nathaniel personally took out a first-aid kit, disinfected his hand, and wrapped it in a bandage.
I’ve been utilizing my major quite often lately.
He thought emotionlessly as he checked the bandaged hand. Just as he wondered if it was ‘a bit too tight,’ his phone rang. The moment he habitually checked the caller, a sigh escaped him involuntarily. After letting out a short breath, Nathaniel pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear.
“Yes, Father.”
After his brief response, a voice spoke from the other end after a pause.
“I heard from Abbott. He sounded very angry, saying that you messed things up…”
Ashley Miller, trailing off meaningfully, asked in a voice that had dropped an octave.
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing much.”
Nathaniel continued smoothly.
“Things changed from the original plan, but the result will be the same. Please do not worry.”
For a moment, Ashley Miller said nothing. Nathaniel also remained silent and waited, as if his father were gauging whether his son’s words were true.
“I assume you had a reason.”
“Of course.”
Nathaniel lied nonchalantly.
“It will be sufficiently settled, so do not be concerned. There will be no delays beyond the schedule.”
As long as the results were delivered without error, he wouldn’t care about anything else. As expected, Ashley Miller muttered in an indifferent tone.
“Fine, I shall watch. And…”
Nathaniel, who had been about to hang up, paused and waited for the next words. Is there something more to say? While he wondered, Ashley Miller posed an unexpected question.
“I noticed you haven’t been managing your pheromones at all. What is going on?”
Oh boy.
Nathaniel almost let out a deep sigh unconsciously. He had forgotten. The thing Ashley Miller gave his children the most attention and strictest warnings about was, above all, pheromones.
To ensure they never accumulate, and to release them according to the cycle.
Because of this, the children of the Miller family had received tedious pheromone education even before their manifestation, and Nathaniel himself had voluntarily attended pheromone parties upon manifesting. Since then, releasing pheromones had been a completely natural part of his daily routine…
He had already ignored the scheduled dates several times. Perhaps he was reaching his limit. Moreover, if this had reached Ashley Miller’s ears, he could no longer postpone it. Sigh. Finally letting out the suppressed sigh, Nathaniel answered in a voice that sounded uncharacteristically tired.
“I was busy; as you know, there was a lot of work.”
Then, he added quickly before Ashley Miller could speak.
“This incident is unrelated to pheromones. I remember everything I did, perfectly.”
At the last word, which he added on purpose, Ashley Miller remained silent for a moment before finally speaking as if reluctantly.
“If you say so.”
However, he did not overlook the possibility that his son might be lying to him. Ashley Miller followed up with a warning in his usual stern tone.
“Still, make sure to release your pheromones soon. There are many ways to do it.”
He didn’t necessarily have to wait for a party. There were plenty of ways to buy someone to release pheromones to. The only reason he went to pheromone parties was that it was the easiest and fastest method. Furthermore, for Nathaniel, who was sensitive about cleanliness, neither bringing someone into his home nor using a hotel to release pheromones was appealing. Since a party was a space dedicated solely to that purpose, he could simply pour it out and leave. Even now, he had absolutely no desire to do anything immediately. However, such reasoning didn’t work on Ashley Miller, and since the tedious effort of persuading his father was bothersome, Nathaniel answered readily as always.
“Yes, I will do so.”
After a strange silence lasted for a few seconds, his father spoke over the phone.
“Then I shall await the results. I will hear the progress from Abbott.”
“Yes, do not worry. I will finish it soon.”
Nathaniel then added formally.
“Goodnight, Father.”
Ashley Miller said a short “You too” and hung up. In truth, it was already well past midnight. Both of them were past their bedtime. Nathaniel could easily imagine Ashley Miller sitting alone in his study after receiving a call from the FBI Director and putting Koi to sleep, calling him. He probably already knew about the pheromones. He had simply been waiting for the right time to bring it up.
Until now, his father had generally granted his children whatever they wanted. The instructions or restrictions he gave were mostly about basic etiquette or common sense for living in human society; as long as it wasn’t anti-social behavior, he left them alone to do whatever they wished. Nathaniel had always thought of it as something close to indifference or bystanderism, but because of that, he had grown up quite freely. There was only one thing his father controlled strictly: pheromones. What would happen if he left it like this?
He might throw me into a hospital.
A smirk escaped him at the sudden thought. Nevertheless, he couldn’t understand why he was remaining without releasing his pheromones until things reached this point. He knew clearly in his head, so why was he not acting?
Of course, he knew. Because he didn’t want to.
Nathaniel then frowned and questioned himself.
Why?
He had done it just fine until now, so why was he reluctant now? It was simply a matter of going and ejaculating into any hole, and it would be over. What on earth was it about that—something so trivial.
‘Help me, Daddy…’
Suddenly, Chrissy’s wailing face flashed before his eyes. Nathaniel covered his distorted face with one hand. He had been up for nearly two days, yet sleep would not come. Instead, his consciousness only became clearer, so he closed his eyes and stood there for a moment before finally taking out a cigarette.
Whew…
Cigarette smoke was exhaled longly along with a sigh. Despite breathing out all the smoke he had inhaled deep into his body, his chest still felt stifled. Nathaniel, with his brow deeply furrowed, brought the cigarette to his lips again. As he inhaled the smoke irritably, he suddenly heard footsteps. Turning around, he saw the secretary who had come down to the living room, speaking with an ever-expressionless face.
“Mr. Miller, the cleanup is complete. The window has been temporarily patched, and I will install the new glass tomorrow afternoon. Do you have any further instructions?”
Nathaniel remained silent for a moment as if thinking, then spoke.
“No, you may go.”
“Understood. Then, goodbye.”
Leaving a short greeting, the man stepped outside. Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet. Nathaniel lingered in that spot for a while before lifting his head. After glancing up at the second floor for a moment, he put the first-aid kit back in its place and headed upstairs.
Upon opening the bedroom door, the first thing that entered his sight was Chrissy, asleep on his large bed. Nathaniel looked down at him for a while, slowly inhaling cigarette smoke, as the other lay with his eyes closed like a dead man, his face still pale and bloodless.
…Whew.
Exhaling a breath that could have been either smoke or a sigh, he ended up covering his face with his remaining hand. Only after moving a chair to the bedside and sitting down was he finally able to see Chrissy’s face properly.
What on earth am I doing?
He felt himself becoming pathetic for some reason, yet despite that, he remained motionless, simply staring at the sleeping face of Chrissy.