#104

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Kwon Jung-hyun slowly slid off the plain silver ring from the ring finger of his left hand.

The thin piece of metal, which had felt so much like a shackle, slipped off with a hollow ease, unlike when it was first put on. Had it always been this simple? A sense of emptiness and bitterness washed over him simultaneously.

They were at Kyung Seung-hee’s studio in Paju. In the vast, open-concept studio, unfinished canvases, half-carved marble, and jagged steel frames were scattered about, alongside tools like grinders, saws, and hammers strewn across the interior.

When Jung-hyun tried to hand over the ring, Kyung Seung-hee merely stared at him with a stiff, frozen expression. Jung-hyun waited for a moment, but Seung-hee showed no sign of reaching out. Left with no choice, Jung-hyun placed the engagement ring on the workbench.

Kyung Seung-hee asked in a low voice.

“…What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s exactly what I told you earlier. I want to call off the engagement with you, Seung-hee.”

“…….”

“Send the bill for the annulment alimony to me.”

Jung-hyun spoke in a flat tone and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. Perhaps because of the wide-open space, a chill seeped in.

“……Are you serious? Our wedding is only a month away. The interior of the honeymoon house is almost finished; we just need the furniture to be delivered. I heard your mother personally picked out those pieces, Jung-hyun.”

“…….”

“Don’t you think doing this unilaterally is incredibly rude?”

“I’m sorry about that. You always treated me with sincerity, while I failed to do the same for you.”

Kyung Seung-hee let out a hollow laugh.

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying you’re ‘sincere’ about wanting to break up with me?”

“Yes.”

“Is that the only reason? That you weren’t sincere with me? Look here, Kwon Jung-hyun. Why are you acting like a child? We both know we aren’t entering this marriage based on affection like other people do.”

Jung-hyun didn’t respond. Kyung Seung-hee’s eyes twitched. Perhaps because of his thick eyelashes, even a slight frown was clearly visible.

“Wasn’t I a more than adequate partner for you?”

“…….”

“You know my parents haven’t been pleased with this marriage since that last article, don’t you?”

Jung-hyun looked at Kyung Seung-hee with an expressionless face.

“I entered this marriage knowing all that, deciding that I would take you on regardless. I’ve had to endure my parents’ disapproval for the first time in my life.”

“…….”

“Do you really not understand what that means?”

“I do.”

“And you’re acting like this?”

“Because I’ve come to know things beyond that.”

Jung-hyun’s voice remained calm throughout.

Kyung Seung-hee furrowed his brow as if asking what he meant. Looking at him, Jung-hyun continued in a slow but clear tone.

“That your attending physician lied to me about my check-up results.”

“…….”

“And that you gave me medication to terminate the fetus in my womb.”

Lee Hong-eun had brought the results in a single day, as promised. The outcome was exactly as expected, without a single margin of error.

Since blood tests had been performed during the check-up, there was no way Kyung Seung-hee didn’t know about his manifestation and pregnancy.

If he had told the truth and reprimanded him, Jung-hyun might have felt sorry. However, instead of telling the truth, he had lied and handed over an abortion pill.

“……And so what?”

After a long silence, Kyung Seung-hee replied with a smirk.

“Isn’t it only natural? Jung-hyun, you’re the man who was supposed to be my husband.”

Speaking one syllable at a time, Kyung Seung-hee began to growl.

“Surely you weren’t planning on bringing someone else’s child into my family? You aren’t that shameless, are you, Jung-hyun?”

“…….”

“I simply chose the best method for your sake. If the child was going to be erased anyway, it’s better that you didn’t even know it existed.”

“…You sound just like my mother. You two would have had a much better relationship if I hadn’t been around.”

“Stop changing the subject. So, are you saying you can’t give up on that child now?”

“I wonder.”

That was a question he still hadn’t found an answer to. He had simply come up with this as the only way—a way that would make his father angry.

“……You really know how to make a person anxious, Jung-hyun.”

Kyung Seung-hee muttered, his pretty face twisting.

“I tried to handle this nicely with words.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kyung Seung-hee, who had been sitting on a long stool, suddenly lunged at Jung-hyun. Startled, Jung-hyun tried to step back, but he tripped over a power cord on the floor and fell with a loud crash.

Kyung Seung-hee quickly climbed on top of the fallen Jung-hyun.

“You have a real talent for pissing people off. Tell me, Jung-hyun. Whose child is it? You wouldn’t even let me touch a single hair on your head, so who did you open your hole for? Was it that bastard Shin Ho-jae? Huh?”

Kyung Seung-hee spoke while gripping Jung-hyun’s neck.

Being pinned down put him at a disadvantage. Unable to defend himself properly, Jung-hyun was immediately strangled by Seung-hee.

“It would have been so much better if you had just quietly taken the medicine, wouldn’t it? If you had returned to a clean body, I was going to forgive everything….”

His airway was blocked, and it became increasingly difficult to breathe. Jung-hyun began to tremble in slight spasms.

Being strangled in this position reminded him of his childhood. Of Kwon Ki-hyuk, who used to sneak into his bed every night.

“Is it hard? But you’re the one in the wrong this time, Jung-hyun. You have to be punished.”

“Kuh, hukk….”

“The Jung-hyun I imagined wasn’t a person like this. You were someone more beautiful, intelligent, and praised by everyone than anyone else…. I even liked that you were a Beta. Because I could be the only Alpha for such a wonderful person.”

The strength in the fingers gripping Kyung Seung-hee’s wrists began to fade.

“But fuck, that bastard Shin Ho-jae interfered from the start. This isn’t the picture I wanted.”

After pouring out his words like a rapid-fire gun, Kyung Seung-hee suddenly released Jung-hyun’s neck. A dry cough erupted from Jung-hyun’s mouth.

“It’s because you’re too kind, Jung-hyun.”

Kyung Seung-hee placed his palm on Jung-hyun’s lower abdomen and began to release pheromones. Soon, the air shimmered as Kyung Seung-hee’s pheromones surged. Jung-hyun, coughing violently, stiffened his body.

Even though the strangling had stopped, his chest felt tight as if his breath had been cut off, and cold sweat broke out all over his body.

“You feel guilty toward the life inside you, don’t you? Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of it for you.”

“Heh, ugh…….”

Then, he began to apply strong pressure with the hand on the lower abdomen. Along with the sensation of his organs being flattened, a violent urge to vomit surged. Jung-hyun struggled wildly to escape.

Slap!

After striking Jung-hyun across the face, Kyung Seung-hee released his pheromones again. Jung-hyun convulsed.

Due to the rising nausea, a single tear finally escaped from his bloodshot eyes.

Kyung Seung-hee stroked that face as if touching something precious.

“You’re beautiful even when you cry, Jung-hyun. I want to try sculpting this later.”

As the pheromones continued to expand, Jung-hyun writhed and finally vomited up what was inside. Ugh, ugh. Cough. He turned his head to the side, and vomit pooled on his cheek and the floor. Seeing this, Kyung Seung-hee frowned.

“Haa, ha….”

After the nausea subsided, Jung-hyun slowly caught his breath. He felt much better after vomiting.

At the same time, his hand groped the floor. Thanks to the earlier commotion, wires and tools were scattered everywhere.

His fingertips finally caught onto something. As soon as he gripped it firmly, Jung-hyun swung it toward Kyung Seung-hee’s head.

With a dull thud, Kyung Seung-hee staggered to the side. Taking advantage of the gap, Jung-hyun quickly crawled backward, escaping Kyung Seung-hee’s grasp.

He flung away the object he had been holding. The item that fell with a heavy sound was a rather menacing-looking electric grinder.

Jung-hyun pushed himself up on his knees and limped toward the door. He thought he had sprained his ankle. A sharp pain shot through him, but he didn’t slow down.

Before his hand could reach the round doorknob, he heard the click of something locking. He reached out a step too late, but the door would not open.

Turning around, he saw Kyung Seung-hee, blood streaming down his head, standing there holding a small remote. It seemed to be the lock control.

“…You’re not leaving here, Jung-hyun.”

Kyung Seung-hee walked slowly toward him, picking up a hammer that had been lying on the floor. Seeing this, Jung-hyun’s mouth went dry.

“I knew you weren’t an easy man, but you really aren’t. You could have just stayed quiet just now. Do I really have to break an arm or a leg for you to behave?”

Kyung Seung-hee spoke chilling words, his eyelashes fluttering softly.

Jung-hyun scanned the surroundings quickly, but there was nothing he could use as a weapon—only a giant statue standing on a wooden pedestal.

“Do you know why you keep vomiting in front of me, Jung-hyun?”

Step. Kyung Seung-hee’s voice grew closer.

“They call it a rejection reaction. Apparently, the child in your belly finds another Alpha’s pheromones disgusting.”

“…….”

So that was it. The reason he hadn’t shown any rejection reaction to his mother’s pheromones recently was likely because she was an Omega and they shared the same bloodline.

To think that the reason his body had suffered so much while by Kyung Seung-hee’s side was because the baby in his womb was fighting to survive. Why did he feel a strange sense of camaraderie?

“A thought just occurred to me. What would happen if I injected pheromones directly into your hole, Jung-hyun?”

“…….”

“Wouldn’t that thing in your belly trigger an immediate rejection reaction?”

In short, he was saying he was going to rape him.

Jung-hyun calmly steadied his breathing and stared at the iron hammer in Kyung Seung-hee’s hand. If he were hit by that, it would be a fracture at the very least. If it hit his head, it could lead to death.

“I get to have sex with you, and the baby is gone. Two birds with one stone…!”

It was just as Kyung Seung-hee, finally within range, swung the hammer in a wide arc. Jung-hyun swiftly pulled the arm holding the hammer and grabbed his collar with the other.

In that split second, he saw Kyung Seung-hee’s eyes widen. Jung-hyun immediately bent his waist and flipped Kyung Seung-hee over his shoulder.

If there was one thing Kyung Seung-hee had overlooked, it was the fact that while he had been fighting an incurable disease staring at a hospital ceiling, Kwon Jung-hyun had spent a long time practicing martial arts to become an Alpha fitting for Myeong-jeong.

As expected, Kyung Seung-hee didn’t even know how to break his fall properly and slammed straight onto the hard cement floor.

As Kyung Seung-hee tumbled with a loud noise, he must have hit the wooden pedestal, as the marble statue lost its balance and began to fall. Coincidentally, it was falling exactly in the direction where Kyung Seung-hee had landed.

Realizing this too late, Kyung Seung-hee covered his head with his arms and squeezed his eyes shut.

However, the statue did not fall on Kyung Seung-hee’s body. Jung-hyun had blocked the statue with his hands.

The marble statue was dreadfully heavy. Jung-hyun couldn’t hold it for long and pushed the statue over in the opposite direction of Kyung Seung-hee.

Boom! The statue crashed to the floor with a heavy thud.

105 – Puck Drop