By Zephyria 
I am a person ignorant of sexual matters. In my previous life, I was too busy taking care of Seo-joo to even be interested, and in this life, I felt no attraction to such things after becoming an Omega.
For someone like me, who was preoccupied with mere survival, it was outside my sphere of interest. Perhaps because of the characteristics of being an Omega, my sexual desires themselves were dimmer than those of ordinary men. Or perhaps it was because my pheromones weren’t flowing smoothly.
So, what on earth did someone like me think I knew to act so impulsively? Where did I get the courage? First, I want to emphasize clearly that I’m not doing this just because Joo Min-hyeok bought me a house in the countryside in my name. Ahem.
Anyway, perhaps because I only knew the theory and lacked practical experience, after leaning in toward Joo Min-hyeok’s face, I ended up delivering a clumsy collision of lips rather than a lovely kiss.
I just grabbed Joo Min-hyeok’s face and lunged… What’s even funnier was Joo Min-hyeok’s reaction to being subjected to such a ruthless lip-clash. He actually responded to this awkward, tasteless kiss.
As proof, pheromones were now pouring frantically from Joo Min-hyeok’s body. In truth, ever since I first smelled Joo Min-hyeok’s pheromones, the scent had lingered at the tip of my nose, refusing to leave. It was an unforgettable fragrance. I didn’t know how much better Joo Min-hyeok’s pheromones were compared to other Alphas.
Perhaps because my own pheromones weren’t flowing well, I had never smelled the pheromones of another Alpha, so I had no basis for comparison. The scent I smelled from Joo Min-hyeok was the first and only one.
But it really is an excessively wonderful scent. The smell of summer grass drenched in water. How could that scent, which wafts out every time the leaves sway, not be pleasant? I liked this pheromone scent of Joo Min-hyeok. I wanted to hold onto him and keep smelling it.
The moment I desired his scent more, a sweet acacia fragrance was released from my own body. I had learned how to suppress them from the physician, but as soon as I smelled Joo Min-hyeok’s scent, everything I had learned vanished like bubbles, and I poured out my pheromones just as they were.
And in that instant, Joo Min-hyeok suddenly opened my mouth, and something unexpected slid right inside. Huh? What? Startled, I instinctively tried to pull my body away from him, but Joo Min-hyeok’s arms tightened around me, pulling me in even more tightly without a single gap.
My body, surprised by the visit of this soft and warm intruder, flinched several times, and Joo Min-hyeok stroked my back as if to soothe me while indulging in my mouth. I wasn’t pretending to be innocent; I truly hadn’t imagined that something other than food would enter my mouth.
This is so different from the theory. What do I do? Should I just stay still? Should I do something? While running through all sorts of thoughts, I soon realized. I didn’t have to do anything. A heated Joo Min-hyeok was handling everything well on his own, and I just had to be held in a state of mental blankness as we entered the hotel room.
My worries had been futile. Once Joo Min-hyeok laid me down on the bed, his pheromones became fully and seriously stronger. As if responding, a large amount of pheromones poured from my body, and upon smelling them, Joo Min-hyeok’s face changed from the one I usually knew.
That cold and indifferent face was now filled with heat. My own expression as I looked at him was likely no different. In my hazy state of mind, a thought occurred to me. Are we doing this now because we are an Alpha and an Omega reacting to each other’s pheromones? Or is it because there is a small amount of affection?
Since there’s no way the emotion of love exists, it couldn’t be affection, yet strangely, I had no desire to pull away. And right now, I didn’t want to weigh such things. I just wanted to let things go as my heart desired. To think there’s a side of me like this… I was truly surprised by myself.
While I was internally conflicted with a head spinning from complexity, Joo Min-hyeok’s soft lips descended to the nape of my neck. Th-this, what is this now? The sensation and feeling, which I was experiencing for the first time, were so intense that my stomach felt ticklish, as if I were riding a Viking ship.
My head felt dizzy from the unfamiliar experience, so I hugged Joo Min-hyeok’s head and shoulders tightly. However, whether he couldn’t control himself or was simply too excited, the force with which he bit and sucked my neck grew stronger. Though it was impossible, it was almost scary, as if I were about to be eaten.
“Um, Your Majesty, you’re too strong…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence, and Joo Min-hyeok didn’t answer either. How should I describe this? It might break the mood to put it this way, but I felt like I had become soy-marinated crab. Yes. Soy-marinated crab! The kind that gets sucked on.
It was ridiculous, but there was no other way to express it. Joo Min-hyeok gripped the nape of my neck and inhaled as if he were a person trying to suck out every single piece of flesh inside. B-but, this doesn’t feel bad… Huh? What is this? Joo Min-hyeok suddenly pulled his lips away and gazed at me with a look of regret.
Why is he doing that all of a sudden? I, too, feeling the loss of Joo Min-hyeok’s touch on my neck, lowered my eyes and looked up at his face. Joo Min-hyeok had a face that looked like he was struggling with all his might to hold onto his reason and endure something. Why? If you’re going to do that, why stop?
“You have a very high fever right now.”
“…What? A fever?”
“Wait. I’ll get a thermometer.”
No, wait a minute! You’re stopping because of that? Stopping this? Right here? I found this situation so absurd that I grabbed the wrist of Joo Min-hyeok as he moved off me.
“Your Majesty, did you perhaps find something about me displeasing? Did your mood cool down because I’m clumsy since it’s my first time?”
“What are you talking about right now?”
“Do people usually stop at this point? Was there something you disliked enough to stop?”
M-my pride as an Omega. What do you mean I have a fever! I don’t hurt at all, so I don’t understand why he’s reacting so sensitively to a fever. And at this timing, of all times.
“Cool down? Where did you learn to say things like that? Does my face look like a ‘cooled down’ face? I am currently enduring this with all my might. Naturally, the Palace Lord’s health is more important than this. Just how many times has your fever spiked this month alone?”
Joo Min-hyeok kissed the back of my hand that was holding his wrist, then laid me flat.
“I don’t know if people usually stop at this point. Because it’s my first time too. Just like you, it’s my first time. If you’re asking about my mood, I didn’t want to stop. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been able to leave this place until Monday, and that was the plan. But if your physical condition is like this, it could be a disaster. So this is the right thing to do. Just wait.”
When Joo Min-hyeok made a phone call, someone soon entered. Seeing that, perhaps because my tension relaxed, my body felt strange, as if I were under hypnosis.
“Oh dear… Palace Lord user. Your fever is quite high. Were you in the bath for a long time today?”
38.6 degrees. It’s true? I really have a fever? Why didn’t I know? I thought my body was heating up because I was intoxicated by Joo Min-hyeok’s scent.
“The fever is this high because of that? I did walk around quite a bit, but still…”
“You spent over four hours going in and out of the hot bath and cold water, and then spent a long time in the open-air bath facing the cold wind; even if the water was warm, it’s only natural you’d fall ill. I told you to stop, but you didn’t listen. To be precise, you didn’t hear me because you were too busy playing.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. At that level, even a healthy person would come down with a cold. I understand you were enjoying yourself, but since the user’s body is usually weak, you must be especially careful in hot springs like this.”
“…Will I be okay tomorrow if I get an IV?”
“We’ll have to see, but I’ll give you an antipyretic. Please take this and get some deep sleep. I will return when the fluid is almost gone.”
Watching the doctor’s retreating back, a hollow laugh escaped me. What is this? What kind of ruined mood is this? It would have been better if nothing had happened at all. Now it’s just embarrassing to look at him.
While Joo Min-hyeok went to get water, I stroked the nape of my neck where his lips had touched. Conscious of that spot, I felt my fever rising even more.
“Here, drink some water and lie down.”
Joo Min-hyeok, who handed me the water, looked completely unfazed as if nothing had happened, and staring at him, I asked what I was truly curious about. In truth, the fever was an excuse; I wondered if he just didn’t want to be entangled with me.
“Your Majesty. About a moment ago… it’s not because your heart cooled down because I’m the Prime Minister’s grandson, is it? Since it’s possible to feel that way once the intoxication of the mood wears off and reason returns. I’m sure it’s not because Your Majesty was scared since it’s your first time…”
Joo Min-hyeok, who had set the water glass aside, heard my words and climbed in beside me with a serious face.
“Grand Imperial Concubine. I swear I do not think of the Grand Imperial Concubine only as the Prime Minister’s grandson. You are simply you, and you are my Omega. I do not overlap ‘Cha Hae-joo’ with the Prime Minister. Haven’t you seen me striving to look good to the Grand Imperial Concubine lately?”
“I just wondered, just in case.”
“Don’t even ‘just in case.’ To me, you are not the Prime Minister’s grandson, but my spouse and simply Cha Hae-joo. But…”
Trailing off, Joo Min-hyeok’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me.
“Yes?”
“But besides that, I think I heard something strange? What? Scared because it’s my first time? Shall we talk about that part again?”
Uh… oh no. Joo Min-hyeok smiled brightly and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Did I perhaps touch an Alpha’s pride?