(14) Side Story 1. Pregnancy

As soon as the cherry blossoms fell, news of rain came. The weather forecast that the monsoon season would start soon was like a signal flare announcing the start of summer. The weather will be getting hotter soon, so shouldn’t I take out the fan soon? Just as I was thinking that, the nurse called my name.

“Lee Yoon-woo-ssi.”

Following the nurse, I entered the doctor’s office and saw a doctor with a face I had never seen before sitting there. Unlike the businesslike person who used to work there, he was unnecessarily friendly and kind.

“First of all, the test results are not much different from last time, and your pheromone is steadily increasing. Your heat cycle has also returned to normal, right?”

“Yes.”

Nodding, I focused my gaze on the chart the doctor was scribbling on. Squiggly letters were being drawn over the pheromone test results.

“According to the chart, there are no major problems. It’s not common, but there are cases where pheromone increases due to the influence of dominant traits. That’s because your partner is so dominant, and it’s actually a positive influence, so you don’t have to worry.”

At the words ‘your partner’, I swallowed a laugh inside. If Choi Tae-gyeom heard those words, he would have been beaming with joy. Thinking of him dying at work right now, the corners of my lips slightly lifted.

“Yes, thank you.”

The reason I came to the hospital was purely because of Choi Tae-gyeom’s concern. Since my pheromone first started increasing during college, my pheromone had been increasing periodically every year. Since the start was so recessive, the process was also recessive, but after 5 years, my pheromone had increased as much as ordinary Omegas.

‘It’ll be a big deal if you get sick like before.’

Anyway, he’s just so worried when it comes to my affairs. Even then, I just had a heat cycle, it wasn’t that painful.

“Do you have any questions?”

“Um, that……”

Suddenly, a small question came to mind. Something that had passed through my mind whenever I felt the deepened pheromone.

“Will I be able to get pregnant easily?”

Since my constitution has changed, maybe I’ll be able to get pregnant easily. It wasn’t that I wanted to have a child, but I was curious anyway.

“Ah, that’s……”

The doctor smiled awkwardly and turned his gaze away from me. It seemed like I could somehow predict the answer he would give me.

* * *

It had already been 5 years since I had been living with Choi Tae-gyeom.

On my twenty-fifth birthday, we promised to live together, but we couldn’t find a suitable studio apartment until we were in our fourth year of college. There was also the issue of the contract period for my one-room apartment, and there were also financial issues. The time that passed vaguely didn’t change until we turned twenty-six and he took a leave of absence from work.

Of course, that didn’t mean we lived separately. Choi Tae-gyeom steadily stayed in my studio apartment, and later, my aunt even said, “Shouldn’t you be giving Yoon-woo rent?”

We officially started living together right after his internship ended. Choi Tae-gyeom as a company employee, and me as a freelance translator. He got promoted to assistant manager at work, and I graduated from graduate school and translated a couple of English books. The cohabitation that started when we were fresh out of college had continued until we both settled down.

Beep beep beep—

I was washing rice to prepare dinner when I heard the sound of the door lock being pressed from outside. I wiped my hands and went to the entrance, where Choi Tae-gyeom was taking off his shoes.

“You’re home early?”

Choi Tae-gyeom held his jacket in one hand and loosened his tie. The ring on his left ring finger sparkled, reflecting the light.

“I came straight home after an outside meeting.”

He had been assigned an important project recently, so his face was visibly tired. His smooth face had become rough, his eyes were covered in fatigue, and yet, he still smiled at me as if he were melting. It all felt so pitiful.

“You must be tired.”

As soon as I reached out, he hugged me tightly. Not that I meant for him to hug me, I just wanted his jacket. Instead of pointing it out, I hugged him back. Softly released pheromone poured out.

“Dinner’s not ready yet, right?”

“Yeah, I’m hungry.”

“It’ll take a while for the rice to cook, so go wash up and rest. I’ll make dinner.”

“Okay.”

He was definitely nodding, but he didn’t seem to want to loosen his arms around me. Rubbing his head against my neck like a puppy trying to mark its scent. I gently stroked his back and spoke in a voice mixed with laughter.

“I can’t make dinner if you don’t let go.”

“Just a little longer…”

His voice was sweet. Choi Tae-gyeom rubbed the tip of his nose against my neck and lightly pressed his lips against my collarbone. I carefully ruffled his hair as his hand groped my waist playfully. At the same time, a pleasant pheromone flowed from him.

And soon, his face came closer. He gently bit my lower lip and kissed me lightly, like a bird pecking at its food. A soft tongue pushed into the gap between our deeply intertwined lips.

“……”

Our tongues intertwined familiarly. He supported the back of my head and waist, continuing the kiss slowly. I shuddered at the tingling sensation, and he gently explored the inside of my mouth. My mind melted as pheromone mixed with our breaths.

Unexpectedly, Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t prolong the kiss. Rather, I was the one who was impatient, but he just smiled languidly. My disheveled hair and the languid look in my eyes left me with lingering regret.

“I’m going to go wash up.”

He kissed me once more and then stepped away. I could see a hint of regret in the way he pressed his eyes.

“I don’t think I can hold back if we do more.”

The meaning of those words was obvious, so I couldn’t hold Choi Tae-gyeom back any longer. He had come home early for once, and I couldn’t waste time in the entryway. I wanted to feed him well and let him rest.

* * *

“Kimchi stew?”

Choi Tae-gyeom came back to the kitchen with a towel on his head after showering. He peeked over my shoulder as I took a spoonful of the stew I was making. He wrapped his arms around my waist, rested his chin on my shoulder, and moaned contentedly.

“You’re getting good at making it now.”

“Thanks to whom.”

When we first started living together, Choi Tae-gyeom was in charge of most of the cooking. He would make breakfast before going to work and dinner after coming home, so I couldn’t bear the guilt and eventually decided to learn how to cook.

But it seemed that cooking was also influenced by genetics to some extent, and I was terrible at it. Choi Tae-gyeom, who had been happy to teach me at first, eventually gave up with both hands raised.

Lee Yoon-woo, you’ll never be able to live alone, he said with a hint of a smile on his face. Just as Choi Tae-gyeom had inherited his chef father’s blood, I must have inherited my parents’ inability to cook.

“It took me three years to master kimchi stew, so I should aim for two years for soybean paste stew.”

“Okay, and then let’s aim for one year to make seaweed soup.”

Choi Tae-gyeom smiled sweetly and rubbed his lips against my cheek. The subtle scent of shampoo and Choi Tae-gyeom’s unique pheromone wafted over me. It must be because we use the same shampoo, but it always feels different.

“What did the hospital say?”

Dinner started after Choi Tae-gyeom set out the spoons and side dishes (made by my uncle) and I served the rice. He poured me a glass of water and pushed my favorite side dish forward.

“They said everything’s normal. They said it’s because you’re dominant, and it’s actually a positive influence, so don’t worry.”

The doctor’s words echoed in my head. Among them, there was a story that would make Choi Tae-gyeom smile happily if I told him.

“The doctor called you my spouse.”

“Spouse?”

As expected, Choi Tae-gyeom smiled with his eyes curved like a crescent moon. The smile on his lips showed his excitement. We weren’t quite at the stage of being called spouses yet, but he seemed so happy to hear it.

“Lee Yoon-woo, you’re in my clutches.”

Not long ago, Choi Tae-gyeom, who had gone to the hospital with me, playfully called me ‘honey.’ It was just a joke, but when I went for a checkup next time, he was already my husband. Not only that, but thanks to my question today, we seemed to have earned the title of ‘young couple who can’t have children.’

“Was there anything else?”

“Hmm…”

I hesitated for a moment. I had asked the question casually, but Choi Tae-gyeom might be worried about it. But there was nothing to hide.

“I asked if it was likely that I could get pregnant.”

At the brief introduction, Choi Tae-gyeom stared at me blankly. Fortunately, there was no expectation in his light-colored eyes. I forced myself to clear my throat and spat out the rest of the words.

“They said it would be difficult.”

I wasn’t even nervous, but my throat was dry. As soon as I said the words, the pheromone sank low. Choi Tae-gyeom must have felt the heavy air, but he lowered his eyes nonchalantly.

“Is that so?”

That was it.

“…Are you okay?”

The question popped out reflexively. Choi Tae-gyeom squinted at me.

“About what?”

I was speechless at the short question. If I asked what, there was nothing to say. I couldn’t ask if he was okay with me not being able to have children, because he had never expected that in the first place.

Seeing me like that, Choi Tae-gyeom opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“I’m okay if you’re okay. I didn’t really want kids, and even if I did, it would have been okay.”

Pregnancy isn’t an obligation.

Choi Tae-gyeom looked at me only after he finished speaking. He put down his chopsticks and frowned, looking more serious than when he was listening to my story. Then, he asked in a very worried voice.

“Are you upset that you can’t get pregnant?”

“No… it’s not that.”

I felt strange. I thought it would be okay, but I felt dazed when I heard that he was really okay with it. I had been nervous, so I felt a sense of relief.

“Then it’s fine.”

He resumed eating as if nothing had happened. He ate the kimchi stew and praised it, saying it was really delicious. But even so, when I was still blank, he gently released pheromone.

“Our honey must have wanted to have a baby.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his playful voice.

If it was a child who resembled Choi Tae-gyeom, it would surely be pretty and lovely. I belatedly felt a little disappointed.

After clearing the table, we sat side by side on the sofa and watched a movie. It was the last episode of a movie we had watched at Choi Tae-gyeom’s house a few years ago. I was still confused about which guy was which, when a random guy got shot and died, and Choi Tae-gyeom laughed at my bewildered expression.

“I don’t know how you managed to be a teaching assistant.”

“The kids always say their student ID and name first if they have something to say.”

During the two and a half years I spent as an administrative assistant in graduate school, all I learned was how to distinguish students by their intuition. Whether they were freshmen, current students, or returning students. You could roughly tell by the way they looked. If you could classify them that much, there was no difficulty in dealing with the students.

We were watching the movie for a while when Choi Tae-gyeom, who was leaning on my shoulder, looked up at me. The gaze that I couldn’t ignore was persistently scanning my profile. I pretended not to notice, but I couldn’t ignore the pheromone that was full of intention.

“……”

Sparks flew at the end of his gaze. Without either of us making the first move, we reached out and I found myself clinging to Choi Tae-gyeom. Choi Tae-gyeom, who had picked me up, strode towards the bedroom.

“Ugh…”

He kissed me and took off my clothes with hurried hands. He ran his hands over my bare skin and gently pinched my chest. He gave me his neck as I hugged him and took off his pants and underwear at once.

I thought my exposed lower body was too bare. It had been a while since we had a proper relationship because we had been busy and didn’t have time. It had only been a few days, but it was definitely different compared to the old days when we mixed our bodies every day.

“Lift your legs.”

A growling voice whispered in my ear. As he led me, I gave him one of my legs and a familiar finger dug into my lower area. The slender and straight middle finger was quite thick, unlike its shape.

“Ugh… hurry…”

“Why are you in such a hurry, huh?”

My body had been restless since we kissed in the living room. No, it had flared up once before as soon as Choi Tae-gyeom got off work. It was outrageous to light me on fire and then ask why I was in such a hurry.

“Ah, there…”

Two fingers pressed down on the inner wall accurately. My senses were more sensitive than usual because my heat cycle was not far away. Come to think of it, Choi Tae-gyeom’s rut cycle seemed to be around this time as well, but I couldn’t remember when it was because he always passed it off without showing it.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Heut!”

The thoughts that led to thoughts didn’t last long. Choi Tae-gyeom, who noticed that my thoughts had jumped to another place, put on a condom and matched his glans.

I was about to say that I didn’t feel quite ready yet, when his thick penis entered me deeply.

“Heue…”

My lower area opened tightly. Choi Tae-gyeom’s insertion was one of the things I couldn’t get used to even after time passed. That unfamiliar feeling of my body being forced open could not be adapted to without being intoxicated by pheromone. It was probably because his penis was much larger than average. Choi Tae-gyeom also knew this, so he was carefully releasing pheromone.

“Ugh, heu… wait…”

“Okay, I’ll stay still.”

I hugged his neck and rubbed my forehead against his collarbone. My hair, which had been soaked with sweat, fell back damply. Choi Tae-gyeom kissed me here and there while still half-inserted. Pheromone poured out like rain every time his soft lips touched me.

“Now… I’m ready.”

I said in a trembling voice. It wasn’t because it hurt, but because of a slight expectation and excitement. The act of having sex after a long time had the power to sublimate even the slightest pain into pleasure.

“You can put it in.”

At the same time as my permission, Choi Tae-gyeom let out a short breath. He held my pelvis tightly with both hands and glanced at my face. He seemed to be checking if I was really okay or not.

“Agh…!”

My open lower area wriggled and swallowed his thick pillar. He was about to act rough, but he was surprisingly patient and advanced little by little. The penis that wriggled in slowly scratched my inner wall.

“Heu…”

It was a maddeningly tantalizing sensation. I wouldn’t feel like this if he came in all at once. I was as impatient as I was overwhelmed.

“Hurry… okay?”

So I wiggled my thighs without realizing it. I wrapped my legs around Choi Tae-gyeom’s waist and rubbed my lower area softly. As soon as the remaining pillar was inserted all the way, he hugged me as if he would crush me.

“Wait…”

Choi Tae-gyeom stopped me in a deeply sunken voice. He gritted his teeth as if he was enduring something and even cut off the pheromone that had been pouring out. I could feel his heart beating as if it would burst from his chest.

“Wait a minute, just stay like this.”

It was a strangely precarious atmosphere. When I carefully turned my head, I saw Choi Tae-gyeom’s two eyes with blurred focus. He frowned his handsome eyes and bit his lower lip, closing his eyes so tightly that wrinkles formed around his eyes.

“…Choi Tae-gyeom?”

“Ha…”

A suppressed groan leaked out through his teeth. The way he trembled his eyelashes and twitched his eyebrows was excessively lewd. Perhaps it was because his appearance had improved over the past few years, but I couldn’t help but admire him just by looking at him.

“…Hoo.”

While I was calming my fluttering heart, Choi Tae-gyeom took a breath. The gaze that met me again didn’t feel the same impulse as before.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Because you’re handsome.”

He chuckled and kissed me on the forehead. His lips, which had moved to my eyelids and cheeks, soon nibbled at my earlobe. A breathy voice flowed in close to my ear.

“I’m going to move.”

With those words, Choi Tae-gyeom lifted my legs. A pillow naturally came under my rounded waist. He bent over and raised his knees, slowly moving his waist back.

“Ah…!”

The penis that had come out just a little bit pierced through the inside. The sensation that cut off briefly as if to give me time to adjust made my tailbone tingle. My body, which was already used to the pleasure that he gave me, demanded even greater pleasure.

“Do it more…”

As I struggled and reached out, Choi Tae-gyeom intertwined his fingers with mine. He lightly bit the tangled fingers and pressed his lips firmly against the ring.

“Don’t rush me, Yoon-woo.”

It was more of a warning than a comfort. His two eyes, shining fiercely, seemed to be about to lose their reason. It seemed that Choi Tae-gyeom’s patience was shorter than usual today.

“Heut, ugh… ah-eut!”

After that, it was a series of hectic acts. He faithfully moved his waist as I requested. Faster, deeper, there, here. He filtered out the pleas for a moment or please, and sometimes he would stop moving and bite his lip.

At times like that, his lips, which were red as if they would burst, looked more erotic than ever. Could this be what a work created by God would be like? All I could do was swallow the surging pheromone and cling to him desperately.

“Ah, Tae-gyeom… Tae-gyeom-ah…”

Just before reaching the climax, he frowned as he looked at my face intently. His face, which was lightly frowning, was serious as if he was suppressing something. He blinked once, twice, and then overlapped his lips and inserted his penis to the root.

“Ugh… heu.”

A tingling pleasure filled my whole body. My prostate was being pressed down hard, and it felt like something was popping inside my stomach. Just as I was stretching my toes and hugging Choi Tae-gyeom’s back tightly, the penis that had been rubbing against his firm abs spewed out a milky white semen.

“…Ugh, heu.”

Saliva flowed from the gap between my lips. Choi Tae-gyeom, who was holding me as I was about to lose my mind while wriggling, also ejaculated slowly. Although he didn’t knot, I could tell by the way he groaned lowly. He leisurely enjoyed the afterglow of ejaculation and nibbled at my lips.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, it was already noon. The surroundings were clean, and the suit I had hung in the closet was also gone. Choi Tae-gyeom must have gone to work without waking me up, exhausted from the acts that had continued all night.

Honey♥: [Are you awake?] am11:02

Honey♥: [I stir-fried rice in the kitchen, so heat it up and eat it. Your back must hurt, so don’t overdo it by cleaning] am11:03

As expected, a sweet message had arrived on my phone as usual. The last time I checked the time was 4 a.m., so Choi Tae-gyeom must have gone to work without sleeping even three hours. In the midst of all that, he had even prepared breakfast for me to eat when I woke up.

Honey♥: [I love you] am11:10

The name and message that he had unilaterally saved kept tickling the corners of my mouth. It had been five years since we started dating, but I still felt excited when he said he loved me. I’m really addicted. It’s like I’m falling in love for the first time every day.

I habitually touched my ring and called Choi Tae-gyeom. The sweet voice came over the phone after the signal rang about three times.

—Yeah, Yoon-woo.

Ah, so sweet. Really. This is why I feel like this.

“Oh, are you busy?”

—No, everyone’s smoking after lunch.

Choi Tae-gyeom doesn’t smoke, so he’s probably standing nearby drinking coffee. He hates the smell of cigarettes, but there’s no way to stop his colleagues from smoking.

“I’m about to get up and eat.”

―Are you okay?

“Yeah, whatever. You’re more tired than I am.”

Choi Tae-gyeom chuckled at that.

―I’m fine, not tired.

His voice was casual, but I could sense the fatigue beneath the surface. Should I get him something to boost his energy? Or at least abstain from sex until the project is over?

“You should have woken me up when you left.”

―I kissed you while you were sleeping and left.

“Says who?”

A burst of laughter escaped me. There must be colleagues around, but he’s so good at saying embarrassing things. I was a little worried about what Choi Tae-gyeom’s image might be at the company.

“Are you going to be late today?”

―A little? Don’t wait up, just have dinner.

He chatted about a few trivial things and hung up. Before hanging up, he whispered that he loved me. When I replied, “Me too,” a ticklish laugh seeped into my ear.

“…I should refrain for a while.”

I shouldn’t pester him like yesterday until he’s less busy. I’m a freelancer with a flexible lifestyle, but Choi Tae-gyeom isn’t. I need to feed him well and let him sleep well so he can maintain some energy.

The problem is how to persuade Choi Tae-gyeom…

But, contrary to my resolution, nothing happened that would allow me to persuade him. After that day, Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t lay a finger on me.

“Hey, over here!”

A familiar bulk raised a hand high. A familiar face was next to him. As I slowly approached them, the guy holding a beer glass tilted his head.

“Long time no see, Oppa.”

It was the day I had decided to have a drink with Min-jeong-ssi and Park Seong-jae. I hadn’t seen them since graduating from graduate school, so it was the first time in almost a year. Park Seong-jae’s face was quite gaunt, as if he had been through some hardship.

“Looks like studying is hard.”

At my casual remark, Park Seong-jae lowered his eyes. A gloomy shadow fell over his once clear eyes.

“I lost 10kg…”

In the last semester of his senior year, Park Seong-jae suddenly started preparing for the civil service exam. He said that graduates with bad grades like him would end up opening a fried chicken restaurant anyway, so he was going to take a different path now.

I wanted to support his grand ambition of skipping the 9th grade and aiming straight for the 7th grade, but I was a little taken aback when he shaved his head and went into a study center. I didn’t think he would put his plan into action so quickly.

I later learned that Park Seong-jae had started cramming like that even before taking the college entrance exam.

“What, you lost 10kg and this is it?”

“Hey, you…”

Park Seong-jae grumbled softly and threw a lettuce leaf at Min-jeong-ssi. The lettuce didn’t fly far and landed between them. Somehow, these guys haven’t changed in years.

“Where’s Tae-gyeom hyung?”

“Working late. He’s been very busy lately.”

“Wow, working late on a Friday night. Min-jeong-ssi, do you work late too?”

“Are you making fun of me right now?”

“Caught you.”

I heard that Min-jeong-ssi was on a fast track to success with her unique sales skills and work ethic. She studied a second foreign language while working at the company, and now she speaks Chinese at a native level.

“Ah, Oppa. I’m thinking of changing jobs.”

“Change jobs?”

“I got an offer from another company. It’s a place that mainly deals with European travel… they’re offering a 120% raise in salary. The work will be tougher than now, but I think it’ll be better for my career. …And the boss where I am now is annoying.”

Min-jeong-ssi made a face as if she was disgusted and sighed deeply. Seeing her so fed up, it seemed like the boss was really giving her a hard time.

“The boss? Why? What does he say?”

“I don’t know, he’s terrible at his job but stubborn and nosy. He keeps telling me to get married.”

“Hey, how old are you that he’s telling you to get married?”

“I know, right? And what does it matter to him whether someone gets married or not?”

She said that she was annoyed just by looking at his bald head and protruding belly, and then she blinked at me out of the blue.

“Aren’t you going to get married, Oppa?”

Didn’t this girl just say that it doesn’t matter to her whether someone gets married or not?

“You’re saying something different than before.”

“Are we strangers?”

Her cool mouth drew a soft curve. I didn’t find her nonchalant way of pouring me a drink unpleasant.

“I’ll do it when the time comes.”

Actually, I had thought about marriage. We had talked about it casually, and I had a vague feeling that I would spend the rest of my life with him. However, since we already lived together and were living a life like newlyweds, I just hadn’t taken action on my end.

Judging from the fact that Choi Tae-gyeom hadn’t said anything special, I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as me.

“How long have you been dating Tae-gyeom hyung?”

“About five years?”

“Don’t you get tired of each other?”

I couldn’t bring myself to answer. I could have just said yes, but a thought flashed through my mind for a moment. Just in time, an employee came with the pork belly, and I nodded, picking up the tongs.

“I don’t get tired of him. Not at all.”

Park Seong-jae moved on naturally, but Min-jeong-ssi gave me a subtle look. It seemed like the quick-witted girl had noticed the hesitation I had shown. I handed the tongs to Park Seong-jae and parted my lips.

“Actually, Choi Tae-gyeom…”

The eyes of the two guys sparkled at the same time. I felt burdened by their curious gazes.

“…Never mind.”

“Ah, hyung!”

Park Seong-jae shouted. Min-jeong-ssi took out new chopsticks, flipped the meat over, and asked casually.

“Why, has he become neglectful?”

“No, it’s not that.”

I know how rude it is to start a sentence and then stop. In fact, Park Seong-jae had a look on his face that said he was dying of curiosity. But even so, I was hesitant to say anything.

“Is it something you’re uncomfortable talking about?”

I nodded instead of answering. Min-jeong-ssi seemed to have a rough idea, but Park Seong-jae had no idea. As expected, Min-jeong-ssi spoke in her usual indifferent voice.

“You’ve been dating for several years, it would be weirder if you were still burning with passion.”

I flinched, my shoulders twitching. They were like friends, but I was still embarrassed to be talking about this in front of my younger siblings. Well, it was already water under the bridge, so it was too late to regret it.

“Tae-gyeom sunbae is busy these days, right? Then that could be the reason.”

She really was a quick-witted girl. Is this what happens when you get a taste of the working world? No, even in college, she had an extraordinary sense of awareness.

“I think so too…”

I slowly started, searching my memory. Park Seong-jae was still listening quietly, even though he still looked clueless.

“The timing… it was just so sudden.”

Choi Tae-gyeom had been acting strange lately. To be exact, it was after that day when he went to work after sleeping for less than three hours. He often spaced out, and he didn’t lay a finger on me at night. He even once woke up in the middle of the night to find him sleeping on the sofa.

I had intended to refrain from having sex, but I didn’t intend to cut off even the slightest physical contact. He didn’t even lightly kiss me or hug me to sleep.

“It’s not a mid-life crisis, is it?”

“No, absolutely not.”

He’s never once gotten angry at me, even when he’s tired. Even in the midst of his busy schedule, he always prepares breakfast for me and leaves for work without a sound, so as not to wake me up. He had just told me to call him when he was done with work today, so he could pick me up.

“Are you sexually incompatible?”

“…!”

Park Seong-jae’s eyes widened. The low exclamation told me that he had finally realized the topic of the conversation. Min-jeong-ssi clicked her tongue and scolded him for being so clueless, even though he had a lot of dating experience.

“No… it’s just that it feels weird for Yoon-woo hyung to be talking about that.”

“What about me?”

“It seems like you’re not interested in that kind of thing.”

Park Seong-jae gave a sheepish smile and neatly distributed the meat. In the meantime, the golden-brown meat was piled up on the plates. I also gave a sheepish smile and mumbled.

“It’s not that I’m not interested…”

“Isn’t it because you’re afraid you won’t be able to hold back?”

At Park Seong-jae’s words, Min-jeong-ssi glanced at me. The guy who had put meat in front of Min-jeong-ssi wrinkled his nose.

“Why, it’s okay not to do it from the beginning, but it’s hard to stop once you start. If the fire starts, you can’t hold back, so you might just cut it off completely.”

That made a lot of sense. Except that the other person was Choi Tae-gyeom, who was second to none when it came to patience.

“Just ask him directly. Ask him why he’s suddenly acting like that.”

“Ah, that’s a bit…”

“Are you embarrassed?”

“…Yeah.”

I could feel my ears getting hot. I hadn’t said it, but it had only been a few days since he had stopped touching me. It feels like I’m acting too horny to talk about it with just that.

“Oppa, you’re dating so cutely, it doesn’t suit you.”

Min-jeong-ssi let out a dumbfounded laugh. She was saying it sarcastically, but her face was full of amusement. Park Seong-jae, who had been staring at me intently, muttered gloomily.

“Seeing you guys makes me want to date.”

Since he’s studying, it’ll be difficult for him to even meet people, let alone date. He probably knows that better than anyone else.

“Come to think of it, everyone’s dating these days.”

“Who else is dating?”

“Do-hyun. He’s been busy dating since last year.”

Kim Do-hyun was a sophomore when I was working as a teaching assistant. His impression had matured a bit after serving in the military, and he was now busy preparing for a job.

“I scolded him for seducing a freshman when he was a returning student, but it seems like they’re doing well.”

“Ah, Woo-yeon?”

Even now, Kim Do-hyun’s love life made me want to call him a thief. He was twenty-four years old, and she was only twenty years old. It’s only a four-year difference, but the difference between a ‘freshman’ and a ‘returning student’ was like that.

“Ew, he has a girlfriend?”

“Update your news. They’ve been dating since last year, why don’t you know when Yoon-woo oppa knows?”

I was working as a teaching assistant at the time, so I unintentionally ended up watching their love story.

Time really flies. It feels like just yesterday that I was giggling at the hat that said ‘Youngest’, but now he’s a senior who’s wearing the ‘Boss’ hat. Kim Do-hyun, who was a freshman, is now a graduate, Choi Tae-gyeom would be surprised to hear that.

As the drinks went down, we talked about deeper updates. Park Seong-jae sighed, saying that studying was hard, and then teared up, saying that he missed his parents. Looking at the number of bottles of alcohol next to him, it was clear that he had quickly made progress in a short amount of time.

“Hey, drink in moderation. You have to study again tomorrow.”

“I don’t care… I’m going to rest tomorrow too…”

“Do that if you want to rest for the rest of your life.”

Min-jeong-ssi didn’t change her expression and kept pouring soju into her mouth. She was originally a strong drinker, but she said that her alcohol tolerance had increased unnecessarily while working. I couldn’t help but laugh when she said that her liver wasn’t the same as before, so she was taking nutritional supplements.

“Oh, it’s raining.”

As the drinking party was about to end, it started to rain. It had been cloudy for the past few days, and it seemed like the rainy season had finally started. The raindrops, which had thickened in the blink of an eye, tapped on the window with a cheerful sound.

“What, I don’t have an umbrella. Do you have one, hyung?”

“I have Tae-gyeom…”

Just in time, the phone on the table rang. The guys who had reflexively turned their eyes saw the name on the screen and frowned at the same time.

[Honey♥]

Embarrassment washed over me along with a bit of silence. Min-jeong-ssi’s gaze that said I was doing all sorts of things, and Park Seong-jae’s envious gaze. I wanted to hide in a rat hole if there was one. Min-jeong-ssi snorted and gestured to the phone.

“Answer the phone. It seems like it’s definitely not a mid-life crisis.”

“…Be quiet.”

My face flushed slightly. I tried to pretend it was the alcohol by rubbing my cheeks, but I couldn’t escape their gazes. I had no choice but to ignore their blatant gazes and answer the phone.

“Hello?”

I pretended not to hear the whispers of ‘Yes, it’s honey.’ The two guys were giggling and exchanging drinks, as if they were enjoying the way I was glaring at them.

―I’m leaving now.

The voice sounded muffled, so it seemed like he was calling from the car. I could picture him rolling up his sleeves halfway and holding the steering wheel.

―It’ll take about 30 minutes if the road isn’t blocked. Where exactly is the restaurant?

“It’s a pork belly restaurant at the intersection in front of the station… Hey, Seong-jae, what’s the name of this place?”

Park Seong-jae pointed to a corner of the menu instead of answering. The name of the restaurant was written small in the corner.

―That two-story building?

“Yeah, there’s a pig drawn on the wooden sign.”

―I know where it is.

I could hear the sound of rain hitting the car window over the phone. The rain that could be seen through the window was also much heavier than before. So I started to say, ‘Since it’s raining a lot…’, but I heard the same words over the phone.

―Since it’s raining a lot…

We both stopped talking at the same time. After a slight pause, I made a whooshing sound, and the guys sitting across from me gave me a puzzled look.

“…Drive carefully.”

―Yeah, don’t come out, just wait.

A giggle escaped me. Choi Tae-gyeom was the same. He laughed ticklishly for a long time and then whispered, ‘I’ll be there soon,’ before hanging up.

“It’s definitely not a mid-life crisis.”

Min-jeong-ssi, who had said it again, shook her head. She picked up the soju bottle, filled my glass and Park Seong-jae’s glass, and smiled.

“Let’s go until Tae-gyeom sunbae gets here. It’s polite to drink until you’re completely drunk when someone comes to pick you up.”

“Choi Tae-gyeom won’t think so.”

“I know him better.”

With that nonchalant answer, the soju glasses clinked. Park Seong-jae, who had quickly joined in the toast, drank the soju with an excited face.

Well, I didn’t care. It had been a long time since I had met these guys, and Choi Tae-gyeom wasn’t the type to say anything if I got a little drunk. Even if I couldn’t drink until I was completely drunk like Min-jeong-ssi said, I could still match the mood to some extent.

“Cheers, cheers!”

Before I could even put down my empty glass, the transparent liquid filled it again. The transparent soju glasses clinked with a cheerful sound.

Choi Tae-gyeom arrived after about 40 minutes. It was around the time when Park Seong-jae was completely drunk and Min-jeong-ssi’s face was about to change color. I had also drunk quite a bit in the meantime, so I was also feeling tipsy.

“I was looking for you for a while.”

Along with a familiar pheromone, a large hand stroked my hair. The guy who sat down next to me with a thud smelled faintly of rain. He put the umbrella he was holding under the table, loosened his tie, and gently rubbed my cheek.

“Did you drink a lot?”

“Um…”

His touch, which was usually warm, felt cool now. When I blinked without answering, Choi Tae-gyeom let out a helpless laugh. The complaints came from the two people across from me.

“Wow, it’s like we’re not even here.”

“That’s unfair, that’s unfair.”

“It’s not unfair.”

Choi Tae-gyeom replied casually and took the water glass in front of me. He carefully fed me water and wiped my lips with his thumb. Only after leaning my head on his shoulder did his gaze turn to the two people.

“You two haven’t changed at all.”

“He said he lost 10kg.”

“…Really?”

Even in my drunken state, I could feel the damp pheromone. There was also a slight chill, probably because he had the air conditioner on in the car. When I raised my hand and placed it on his firm thigh, his broad shoulders twitched.

“Hyung, you’ve gotten more handsome than last time!”

Park Seong-jae blinked and stared intently at Choi Tae-gyeom. His usual sparkling eyes were blurry yet clear. Choi Tae-gyeom gave a bland smile and ignored Park Seong-jae’s words.

“You’re more drunk than last time.”

“I’m not that drunk!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, then.”

It was an insincere answer that anyone could hear. Park Seong-jae, who was quite drunk, said ‘really’ about five times out of frustration. In the end, Min-jeong-ssi, who was still somewhat sober, stuffed a perilla leaf into Park Seong-jae’s mouth.

“You’re always picking on me.”

His grumbling appearance hadn’t changed at all since college. He was still a bear-like figure, just a little thinner. No, he even looked a little more pitiful because his face had become slimmer.

“He’s going to cry.”

Trying to stifle my giggles, Choi Tae-gyeom clasped my hand under the table. It was the very hand that had been resting on his thigh. After interlacing our fingers and rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb, he grabbed the bill from the table.

“Let’s go if you’re done drinking.”

I ignored his mumbling about how much we’d drunk, pretending not to hear. Choi Tae-gyeom added as he rose halfway from his seat, “I brought the car, so I’ll give you a ride.”

He had brought one umbrella he’d used and one completely dry, new umbrella. If he’d only come to pick me up, he wouldn’t have brought two umbrellas, so he must have intended to give Park Seong-jae and Min-jeong-ssi a ride from the start.

“Where do you both live?”

“We’re okay,” Min-jeong-ssi said, waving her hand dismissively at Choi Tae-gyeom, who was halfway up. She pointed to the half-empty soju bottle with her thumb and winked.

“We have soju left.”

“That’s right! We need to drink more!”

A look of disbelief crossed Choi Tae-gyeom’s face. I, who had also stood up to follow Choi Tae-gyeom, felt the same. No matter how much weight Park Seong-jae had lost, Min-jeong-ssi was only half his size.

“…Can you carry him?”

“Of course not, why would I carry him?”

Min-jeong-ssi, making a face of utter disgust, reassured us, saying, “I’ll just abandon him somewhere appropriate, so don’t worry.” No, that sounded like something to worry about in a different way.

“Ah, if it’s okay, could you lend me one of the umbrellas?”

Her straight finger pointed to the umbrella at her feet. And then it moved to the bill Choi Tae-gyeom was holding.

“It would be nice if you paid too.”

I couldn’t argue with her innocent smile. Helplessly, I pitied the dazed Park Seong-jae and told them to at least abandon him somewhere out of the rain.

* * *

Choi Tae-gyeom’s car was parked not far away. The sleek sedan was a gift from his parents when he got a job. He mostly used it for commuting, but I borrowed it from time to time.

“Did you have fun?”

Choi Tae-gyeom, after fastening my seatbelt, carefully swept my hair back. Usually, he would have touched my eyes or forehead more, but today he quickly withdrew his hand. I felt a little disappointed by the receding warmth.

“Yeah, it was nice seeing them after a long time.”

He started the engine right away, so the conversation ended there. The rain pattering against the car window sounded like the sky had a hole in it.

“Min-jeong-ssi is preparing to change jobs.”

“Why? Doesn’t she like her company?”

“She doesn’t like the CEO of her current company, and she happened to get an offer from somewhere else.”

“Well, she’s been there a long time.”

I leaned my head against the window and looked at Choi Tae-gyeom’s profile. It was rare to see him looking straight ahead like this except when he was driving. The light breaking in his shallow eyes sparkled as if they were wet with rain.

“When you think about it, time really flies.”

He had everything one could ask for in terms of eyes, nose, and mouth, but his neat facial lines were especially visible from the side. Below the straight bridge of his nose, his slightly closed lips looked so tempting I wanted to poke them. Maybe it was because the corners of his lips curled up, but looking at him made me feel good.

“Why?”

Choi Tae-gyeom asked softly without looking at me. He knew better than anyone why I was looking at him like this. He clearly wanted me to confirm it with my own words. Of course, giving him the reason wasn’t difficult.

“Because you’re handsome.”

He gave a languid smile and tapped the steering wheel. It seemed to make him feel good to hear it from me, even though it was a compliment he always heard. That made him seem cute and a little strange.

“You don’t have work tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, it’s Saturday.”

Since we didn’t turn on the radio, a pleasant silence filled the car. The sound of the wipers ticking, the sound of rain hitting the car window, and the sound of Choi Tae-gyeom muttering to himself.

“It’s raining a lot…”

As he said, the rain showed no signs of letting up. Now that the monsoon season had officially started, heavy rain would probably fall for several days. I was glad that Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t have to go to work for at least two days.

“Yoon-woo, did you close the windows at home?”

“Yeah, I closed them before I left because they said it would rain.”

“You closed the windows, but you didn’t bring an umbrella?”

Choi Tae-gyeom smiled faintly as he entered the apartment complex. Fortunately, there was an empty parking space right near the entrance. He lowered the window halfway, put the car in reverse, and skillfully turned the steering wheel.

“Well, you were going to pick me up anyway.”

“That’s true.”

Even the way he parked looked cool. Perhaps because the rain made it hard to see, even the slight wrinkles on his forehead looked sexy. While I lowered my gaze slightly to admire his prominent neck, he finished backing into the parking space perfectly.

“Stay here.”

Before I could answer, Choi Tae-gyeom got out of the car with an umbrella. He walked around the car, opened the passenger door, and held up the umbrella.

“Watch your head.”

Even though we’d been dating for years, Choi Tae-gyeom’s consideration never changed. He was getting his shoulders soaked, but he didn’t want a single drop of water to splash on me. That’s why I could never think about getting tired of him.

‘Isn’t oppa going to get married?’

Min-jeong-ssi’s words suddenly came to mind. I didn’t think much of the question when I heard it, but now that I thought about it, I wanted to get married. If we were bound together not as lovers but as husband and wife, if he and I could enter the fence of family, I felt like I could talk about what happiness was.

“Yoon-woo.”

I was about to casually ask Choi Tae-gyeom’s opinion. ‘Tae-gyeom, will you marry me?’ Just as I was about to ask a light question like that, he quietly started to speak.

“I’m going to sleep in a different room for a while.”

“…What?”

It felt like the noise had disappeared. I could still hear the heavy rain, but the voice I had just heard was playing in my ears. My mind was cleared as if I were sobering up.

For a while… what?

“For a few days, or just over the weekend, I’m going to sleep separately.”

He answered calmly and pressed the entrance password. As always, he shook the water off the umbrella only after I had entered first. I stared blankly at Choi Tae-gyeom before snapping back to my senses.

“Do I snore?”

That was the only reason I could think of. It had been five years. We had slept in the same bed for five years, so it didn’t make sense to suddenly sleep somewhere else. Unless I snored or ground my teeth, and he couldn’t sleep because of me.

“Snore?”

But instead of agreeing, he let out a light laugh. His softly curved eyes were full of gentle light. He was laughing so hard that his shoulders were shaking, so it seemed like he wasn’t just denying it out of politeness.

“It’s not because of you.”

Choi Tae-gyeom’s hand gently ruffled my hair. A faint pheromone was lightly felt on my skin.

“Then why?”

As he hesitated to answer, the elevator stopped with a ding. Choi Tae-gyeom held the elevator door with his hand and slowly stepped inside.

“I think I’m going into rut.”

It was an unexpected answer. It was also a very random thing to say. Watching me get on the elevator after him, Choi Tae-gyeom took his hand off the door.

“I forgot to go to the hospital after taking all the suppressants. The ones they sell at the pharmacy don’t work.”

As an extremely dominant Alpha, Choi Tae-gyeom also received a prescription from a doctor for rut cycle suppressants. He had said that the amount of pheromones that could be suppressed with common suppressants was limited. He had been diligently taking them without forgetting, but he must have missed it recently because he was busy with work.

“…So?”

But what did that have to do with sleeping separately? He was in trouble because he didn’t have any suppressants, he was worried about going into rut, and I understood all of that, but I couldn’t understand why he was avoiding me.

“What’s wrong with going into rut?”

Since meeting Choi Tae-gyeom, I hadn’t been too concerned about my heat cycle. After all, it was insignificant compared to other Omegas, and if it became unbearable, I could just have sex with Choi Tae-gyeom. Once if it was mild, three times if it was bad. After mixing our bodies that much, the heat would be gone as if it had been washed away.

“Then we can just… do it.”

Our eyes met in the air. He probably knew what my words meant. Was that why Choi Tae-gyeom’s expression was gradually changing subtly? After looking at my face silently, he opened his mouth just as we were arriving on our floor.

“…How do you know how many times I’ll do it?”

A smiling face was etched at the end of my gaze. Choi Tae-gyeom, lowering his eyebrows as if he were troubled, warned in a very serious voice.

“You’ll regret it.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to that. It was because I felt the lust in his dark eyes and felt a genuine sense of crisis.

* * *

Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t take back his words until I was all ready for bed. Once by saying there wasn’t a suitable room, once again by the fact that there were no extra blankets, and once again by acting cute and saying I was scared to sleep alone (he was quickly caught lying), but none of it worked.

“I’m really okay.”

“I’m not okay.”

He was like Choi Tae-gyeom, who never gave in once he started to insist. Once he became this firm, nothing I said would work.

‘Isn’t it because he’s afraid he won’t be able to hold back?’

Park Seong-jae was right.

This was probably an extension of the way he had acted in the past. His powerless confession that he didn’t want to control me with pheromones must still be holding him back.

A hollow breath escaped. The biggest worry I’d had for the past few days was ultimately because of the rut cycle. We’d been touching each other for years, but my heart ached at the fact that he was still shrinking back.

“……”

So, when I lowered my eyes slightly, Choi Tae-gyeom, who was standing by the door, smoothed his hair back. He smiled awkwardly, as if he couldn’t help it, and came closer to the bed.

“Don’t make that face.”

Choi Tae-gyeom’s hand gently rubbed the area around my cheek. Choi Tae-gyeom was Choi Tae-gyeom, but I was also me for feeling better at his gentle touch.

“It’s because I really don’t think I can hold back.”

The pheromones I occasionally felt told me that he was enduring a lot. He touched my earlobe, breathing unevenly.

“Think about when you were in heat before. I’ll be even worse than that, so how can Lee Yoon-woo handle it?”

By before, he must have meant the day when my pheromones went wild. The day when I was barely holding on to my sanity and grabbed Choi Tae-gyeom and clung to him.

“What are you going to do if you’re always having a hard time and I keep you from sleeping?”

“……”

“I can’t be gentle.”

The more he spoke, the darker Choi Tae-gyeom’s gaze became. Before I knew it, the pheromones that had been surging up were filling the surroundings. I couldn’t bring myself to say that I didn’t care. I also knew what he was trying to say, so I couldn’t show that kind of confidence.

“…Then just stay with me until I fall asleep.”

I reached out and pulled on Choi Tae-gyeom’s sleeve. I had accepted his words, but I still felt like acting cute. It felt like the flashpoint of my emotions had lowered, and I felt sad that we couldn’t sleep together.

“…Right, you drank alcohol.”

He muttered softly and swept my hair back. He seemed to think that I was being so persistent because of the alcohol. It was hard to deny everything, but this feeling wasn’t just because of the alcohol.

“Okay, I’ll leave when you fall asleep.”

Choi Tae-gyeom, who answered unexpectedly obediently, got on the bed. As he settled down and lay down on the pillow, he naturally pulled my arm over. He hesitated, but he couldn’t bring himself to push me away.

“……”

Even breathing could be heard in my ear. I could hear his heart pounding from the chest I had buried my face in. Choi Tae-gyeom, who awkwardly wrapped his arm around my shoulder, whispered softly.

“Let’s sleep……”

It felt like the alcohol was rushing in late. The fact that it was later than usual also played a part. The pheromones filling the surroundings were getting stronger, but I felt not excitement but stability.

It was like when I had fallen asleep at Choi Tae-gyeom’s house sometime ago. My whole body was relaxing comfortably, as if I were nesting and staying inside. Half alcohol, half sleep. My languid head was turning slowly.

“……Choi Tae-gyeom.”

I moved my lips haltingly. Choi Tae-gyeom’s hand had stopped at some point. I burrowed further into his arms and mumbled slowly.

“I like whatever you do.”

I don’t know if I said those words out loud. With his lips landing on my hair, my mind went blank.

* * *

The next day, Choi Tae-gyeom wasn’t lying next to me. It was still raining outside, and the dark room made it impossible to tell what time it was. Should I sleep a little more……? I buried my face in Choi Tae-gyeom’s pillow with that thought, then jumped up.

“……Where is he sleeping?”

The words that there were no extra blankets weren’t just words. It wasn’t like we had guests over often, and we were sleeping in one bed together, so there was no way we would have a suitable blanket. It was cool because of the rain, so where could he have gone, even leaving his pillow behind?

I hurriedly got out of bed and left the bedroom. I didn’t even have time to make the bed. Choi Tae-gyeom wasn’t in the living room either, and the same was true of the room we used as a storage room and my studio. However, the strong pheromones that remained told me that he was in the house.

Is he in the bathroom?

I turned in that direction with that thought. I couldn’t hear any sound from the bathroom attached to the bedroom, so he was probably in the other bathroom. I stood in front of the bathroom door and knocked carefully.

“Tae-gyeom, are you in there?”

It sounded like he was inside because I could hear the sound of water, but strangely, I didn’t get an answer. I wondered if he couldn’t hear me, so I knocked again, but it was the same this time.

“Tae-gyeom.”

Suddenly, a bad thought crossed my mind. What if something happened to him?

“I’m going in.”

I grabbed the doorknob without hesitation. Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked, and an enormous amount of pheromones poured out through the wide-open crack in the door. Barely holding my breath, I looked inside and saw Choi Tae-gyeom getting hit by the water coming out of the shower without even taking off his clothes.

“Choi Tae-gyeom!”

I was startled and ran to Choi Tae-gyeom. He was leaning his forehead against the wall, looking like he was about to collapse. The water wasn’t even warm, it was so cold I could feel the chill.

“What are you doing right now!”

I quickly turned off the water and grabbed Choi Tae-gyeom’s arm. His body, which had collapsed helplessly, was held tightly in my arms. His body temperature, which had been so warm, had turned cold from being in the water for so long.

“What is this……”

The parts of me that were touching him were getting wet. His body was so cold that I was scared for a moment. I thought that if I left him like this, something bad would happen to Choi Tae-gyeom.

“Let’s get out of here first, let’s get out and……”

Just as I was about to hug him tightly and head out of the bathroom, Choi Tae-gyeom suddenly pushed me away roughly.

“……”

“……”

Drip, a drop of water fell. The water that had been on his hair was flowing down his cheek. I couldn’t say that my back hurt from hitting the wall, or ask him why he was doing this. He grabbed both of my wrists and opened his mouth in a low voice, panting.

“……Yoon-woo.”

It was a voice that was submerged as if it were wet. The gaze that was looking down at me was no different. His deep, gloomy eyes became shackles and bound me.

“Yoon-woo……”

It was closer to a mumble to himself than calling me. He came close to me, making his Adam’s apple bob, and rubbed his face against my neck. Unlike his cold body temperature, his breath was hot enough to burn.

“……Lee Yoon-woo.”

“You……”

A chill ran down my spine. Pheromones poured out like rain, and his breath trembled intermittently. And a voice that had sunk as if he had lost his mind.

It was the rut cycle.

“……”

The moment I realized it, our lower bodies touched. Choi Tae-gyeom, who was pressed tightly against me, pushed his thigh between my legs. My whole body stiffened in a position where I couldn’t move an inch.

I didn’t even have time to push him away. He bit my neck, panting, and when I reflexively cringed, I was already caught up in the violent pheromones. I desperately held my breath, but my weak body was already addicted to the Alpha pheromones.

“Gasp……!”

It felt like my insides were being crushed flat. It also felt like my heart was being held in one hand and squeezed back and forth. The desire that had risen from inside my stomach crushed my sternum.

Why didn’t I realize it sooner? The fact that there was more of Choi Tae-gyeom’s pheromones than oxygen in the air around me. I should have expected this future the moment I opened the bathroom door.

“Hngh……”

Heat blocked my vision. Through the blurry haze, I saw Choi Tae-gyeom, completely drenched. He wasn’t just nibbling at my nape; he was sucking on my tender skin as if drinking blood.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t careless. Choi Tae-gyeom always took his suppressant, which kept his pheromone levels consistent. Even when waves of pheromones occasionally crashed over me, he would quickly regain his composure.

“Haa…”

“H… Hng…”

So, this was the first time I was exposed to his raw pheromones with my bare skin. Tears streamed down, and saliva dribbled from my parted lips. Both front and back were soaked, and I couldn’t tell if it was water or bodily fluids.

If I could, I wanted to crawl on the floor. My limp body clung to Choi Tae-gyeom. I was the one panting, and I was the one grinding my lower body against him like an animal.

“Hng, h…”

“…”

Uncontrolled pheromones poured out of me endlessly. It was a small amount compared to Choi Tae-gyeom’s, but it was enough to make him flinch. As I frantically scratched his back, a slightly clearer voice escaped his lips.

“…Lee Yoon-woo?”

This time, it wasn’t a soliloquy but a call. It wasn’t a moan but an exclamation, not excitement but shock. Choi Tae-gyeom, who was trying to pull away, shut his mouth when he saw me staring at him with unfocused eyes.

“…”

Various emotions swirled in his dark eyes: confusion, impulse, a hint of apology, and lust. He was releasing so many pheromones, yet he was still clinging to the thread of reason. Soon, he would probably push me away and tell me to leave.

“…Tae-gyeom.”

But I couldn’t let that happen. It didn’t matter that this was the last of his patience or that my feelings were purely impulsive. The only thing that mattered was the thought of being intimate with Choi Tae-gyeom, which filled my mind completely.

“Don’t hold back,”

I lightly touched my lips to his. I couldn’t even feel his breath from where I was. Unintentionally, the rest of my words came out like a plea.

“Let’s do it…”

Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t answer but blinked. Once, twice, and three times.

When he lifted his eyelids for the fourth time, there was no reason left in his eyes.

I don’t know how I made it out of the bathroom. Choi Tae-gyeom devoured my lips ravenously, and his cold body had turned into a blazing inferno. Every time his scorching temperature touched me, my whole body reacted with a jolt.

“Ah, hng…”

Our lips didn’t part even as we crossed the living room. Alpha pheromones permeated me unfiltered through breath and skin. Pheromones even passed from our touching lips, making me feel like my body had become a part of Choi Tae-gyeom.

“Wait, uh, ah…”

He put me down on the sofa instead of the bed. He somehow managed to get me out of the bathroom, but he didn’t seem to have the patience to make it to the bed. I felt the same way, so I wrapped my arms around his neck without resistance.

“Ah…!”

As soon as I fell onto the sofa, Choi Tae-gyeom pounced on my neck. I didn’t even have time to cry out in pain as he bit down hard. He tore off my top and gently traced the area he had just bitten with his tongue.

“H, uh…”

My hips bucked. It was strangely arousing just to have my neck sucked. That feeling turned into an electrifying pleasure the moment he pinched my erect nipples.

“Hng!”

The pinched nipples twisted between his fingers. Choi Tae-gyeom rubbed them between his index and middle fingers, then scraped his fingernails across my areola. His other hand skillfully moved to my lower body.

“Ah, not there…”

My already erect member was dripping with precum. I felt like I was going to cum just from him caressing the wet tip through my pants. Before I could feel embarrassed, he pulled off my pants and underwear in one swift motion.

My thighs trembled. My attempt to close my legs was stopped by Choi Tae-gyeom’s hand. He grabbed both of my thighs, spread them apart, and lowered his head without hesitation.

“Haaah…!”

Over the past few years, Choi Tae-gyeom had taken my member into his mouth countless times. Sometimes leisurely, sometimes playfully, and sometimes urgently, as if quenching a parched throat. But I can say with certainty that Choi Tae-gyeom was never as hot as he was now.

“Ah, no, ah…!”

It felt like my member was being swallowed whole. His hot, wet mouth sucked from the tip to the base. My throbbing glans was pressed against his throat, and Choi Tae-gyeom rubbed his tongue underneath.

A pleasure that made my vision go white washed over my entire body. If he hadn’t been holding my thighs, I would have writhed and closed my legs. I must have grabbed his hair at some point, because his wet hair was tangled between my fingers.

“…Hh.”

He ate my ejaculate as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The bobbing of his Adam’s apple wasn’t as embarrassing as it once was.

While I was heaving and enjoying the afterglow, Choi Tae-gyeom took out his own member and rubbed it against my perineum. His member was also frighteningly erect.

The glistening glans traced a long line from my back to below my testicles. Choi Tae-gyeom rubbed his member in the opposite direction, then positioned the glans at my entrance and growled lowly.

“I want to go in.”

“…Ah, no. Not yet.”

Even in my irrational state, I knew this was dangerous. No matter how often we had sex, it was impossible to insert that huge thing without any preparation. At least two, maybe three fingers had to go in before it would even be remotely feasible.

“…No?”

Choi Tae-gyeom repeated like someone lacking. At the same time, he used his glans to pry open my entrance. It was already wet, but his member was still pushed back.

“Ah… It hurts…”

Tears streamed down my face. It wasn’t really because it hurt, but because my fading reason was belatedly sending out a distress signal. Fortunately, Choi Tae-gyeom immediately pulled back when he saw my tears.

“Don’t cry.”

Choi Tae-gyeom said softly and wiped away my tears with his lips. Eyes, nose, and lips. The lips that came down one after another were still gentle. Even though the fingers that had entered my rear were impatient, it was touching that he had taken a step back in this situation.

“Ugh…”

The fingers that had entered my rear groped and rubbed against my inner walls. It was a streamlined touch, as if he was trying to find the spot that would make me feel good right away. In the process of finding my prostate, the number of fingers increased to two, and he touched exactly the part that made me feel good with his middle finger.

“Haaah!”

A scream burst out. My senses were more sensitive than usual, and my rear loosened quickly. The entrance, which was wet enough to drip, was also one of the catalysts for advancing the insertion.

“H, ugh, hng…!”

My lower abdomen tensed up on its own. My member, which hadn’t died even after ejaculating, shook and trembled. Choi Tae-gyeom pulled out his fingers without delay and immediately grabbed his own member.

“…Ah.”

For a moment, Choi Tae-gyeom stopped moving. It was exactly the timing when he was about to insert. I, who had lifted my eyelids weakly, quickly realized what his hesitation was.

“…Just do it.”

A condom. He didn’t have a condom. The supplies were in the bedroom, so it would take too long to get them now. It was admirable that he even thought of contraception in this situation.

“It’s okay, hurry…”

I couldn’t get pregnant anyway. My extremely recessive Omega body wasn’t suitable for having children. All the doctors I had met so far had said so, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Put it in quickly, hng…”

I wrapped my legs around Choi Tae-gyeom’s waist as if clinging to him. As he pulled me toward him, my aching lower body slowly swallowed the glans. It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt, but it was more important to unleash this pleasure now.

“Tae-gyeom, please…, quickly…”

I scattered pheromones like crazy. I grabbed Choi Tae-gyeom’s shoulders and pulled him down toward me. Then, I kissed every part of his face that I could reach, and only then did he exhale a feverish breath.

“…!”

Thwack, my lower body was deeply pierced. Because he wasn’t wearing a condom, his hot skin filled my inner walls. My lower abdomen bulged, and the roughly scratched erogenous zones urged me to ejaculate.

“Haaak…!”

Another climax unfolded. The ejaculate that spurted from my member was scattered on my neck, chest, and sternum.

Before I could enjoy the afterglow, Choi Tae-gyeom suddenly moved.

My legs, which had fallen off the sofa, dangled. The position was awkward because I was lying diagonally, but neither Choi Tae-gyeom nor I cared. He hooked one of my legs over his arm and supported my waist with his other hand.

“Heueh, h, ah, hng…!”

Water droplets fell every time he moved. It was water that had condensed on Choi Tae-gyeom’s hair and skin. Because he was still wearing his clothes, everything I touched was wet.

“This, ah, hng! This, take off… Ah!”

I flailed and grabbed Choi Tae-gyeom’s clothes. He frowned for a moment and took off his wet top carelessly. Before I could admire his firm body, a long finger entered my lips.

“…If you don’t like it,”

A finger, whether it was his index or middle finger, pressed down hard on my lower teeth. He exuded pheromones, closed his eyes tightly, and then opened them, gnawing on his own lips as he said this.

“Bite me.”

Those words seemed to be Choi Tae-gyeom’s own warning. The movements that had stopped for a moment immediately became rougher.

“Ynrgh…!”

He must have pushed his finger in for the final brake. If I closed my teeth with all my might, the reason that had flown away would return for a moment. But one thing he overlooked was that I was so immersed in pleasure that I couldn’t even close my mouth.

“Haaah, h, hng!”

The pleasure given by the hot flesh far exceeded my imagination. The bare skin, which was usually blocked by a thin rubber, conveyed the body temperature completely. The hot, heavy member with bulging veins stirred up the inside every time it went in and out.

“Hng, too…, ah, fast…, hng…!”

I barely managed to form a few words, but they were buried in moans. The saliva that leaked out wet Choi Tae-gyeom’s fingers. Thwack, thwack, my mind went blank every time my prostate was crushed.

I felt like my heart was going to explode. All my blood vessels throbbed and showed their presence. Maybe dying from pleasure wasn’t that difficult after all. The thought that flashed through my mind soon turned into conviction.

“Ahng, h, ah, ah…!”

His thick member thrust deep inside. As my body twisted outward from the sensation of being split in half, Choi Tae-gyeom grabbed me tightly. He supported both of my knees with his arms and easily lifted my upper body. My legs, which were spread to their limit, screamed in protest.

Perhaps because the position was uncomfortable, he turned his body and leaned me against the back of the sofa. Because I was stuck between Choi Tae-gyeom and the backrest, the only thing I could cling to was Choi Tae-gyeom.

“Hng, h…”

Instead of his fingers, this time Choi Tae-gyeom’s tongue entered my mouth. I wondered if I could bite his tongue if it hurt. It was a thought that came out of defiance, but even if I bit his tongue, he probably wouldn’t blame me. He pushed me almost to the point of lifting me up and began to thrust deeply.

“Hng, hng…”

Now even my moans were being swallowed. Choi Tae-gyeom hugged me as if he would crush me and sucked up my saliva as if he wouldn’t let a single drop go. Thick pheromones ran rampant in the tangled breaths.

It was hot, stuffy, wet, good, but as good as it was, it was also painful. The lips that were pressed so close together without a moment’s rest swallowed my reason and left only instinct. As I panted and frantically scratched Choi Tae-gyeom’s back, he finally parted his lips slightly.

“Ha…”

“H, hng, ah…!”

I was almost floating in the air. Every time the weight shifted, his long member thrust in as if it would explode. Changing his target, his lips, which had been touching my ear, licked my earlobe and nibbled at it.

Ears, neck, and collarbone. My skin tingled every time his lips brushed against it. It was because he had left bite marks on every part of me, clinging to me without a gap. If he sucked like this, there would definitely be big marks left, but I couldn’t push him away or stop him.

“Hng, ah, gently…, haak!”

One part of my inner wall was violently pressed down. My ankles crossed and my fingertips tensed. As I groaned, Choi Tae-gyeom, who had inserted deeply, bit my shoulder hard.

“…Ah, ah!”

Bang, I felt like something was exploding. It felt like his member, which had been rubbing against my stomach, was ejaculating for the third time. The glans inside my body was also gradually increasing in size.

“Heok…!”

It was a sensation that I could never get used to, no matter how many times I felt it. Pheromones flooded like waves, and the glans got caught inside. I couldn’t see it, but maybe it had swollen to the size of a fist. The space, which had been narrow from the beginning, was forcibly widened.

“Ah, hng, it hurts…!”

Excessive pleasure was nothing more than torture. My prostate was pressed down hard, and physiological tears burst out. Choi Tae-gyeom hated seeing me in pain, but he couldn’t help it when he was knotting. He curled up his body, gritted his teeth, and ejaculated with feverish breaths.

“H, ah…!”

The ejaculation continued for a long time. Because he wasn’t wearing a condom, the wriggling of his member was excessively clear. As he vomited ejaculate, my whole body trembled with successive orgasms.

“…Ha.”

I could see him closing his eyes tightly and opening them. The glans, which had been swollen, returned to its original size, as if he had finished ejaculating.

The problem was that his member, which hadn’t gone soft, started moving back and forth again.

“Tae-gyeom, Tae-gyeom.”

Choi Tae-gyeom was still intoxicated with pheromones, but I had regained a little reason after three ejaculations. I couldn’t even think about having a second round in this position.

“I’m uncomfortable, my back hurts…”

So, I snuggled into Choi Tae-gyeom as if acting spoiled. He hesitated for a moment at my words that I was uncomfortable, then lowered his hand and traced the joint. The hole that had tightened up pressed against his hot member. If there was even a small gap, the ejaculate would leak out, but even that wasn’t possible because of his thick member.

“Don’t touch me…”

Despite my grumbling, he stubbornly traced the widened entrance. The gentle touch was hot and arousing. He rubbed his lips against my cheek for a moment, then supported the back of my head with his other hand.

“Hick…!”

Whoosh, my body floated up. Choi Tae-gyeom, who had easily picked me up, moved without hesitation. Every time he took a step, his deeply inserted member touched the inside.

“Scary, ah, hng…”

I clung to him tightly, feeling like I was about to fall at any moment. He must have thought it was a spoiled act, because he lightly swayed his body. I couldn’t help but wriggle again at his behavior as if he was handling a child.

The place he was heading to was the bed in the bedroom. He carefully put me down and lifted both of my ankles. I lay on my back on the bed, but Choi Tae-gyeom was still standing below the bed.

“Haak!”

Both legs were draped over Choi Tae-gyeom’s shoulders. It was definitely a more comfortable position than before, but as comfortable as I was, Choi Tae-gyeom’s movements were also freer. He thrust up hard enough to crush his hips and carelessly swept back his hair.

There was a time when I thought he was just pretty. Small, fragile, and so weak that I thought something terrible would happen if I didn’t protect him. But the sight of him looking down at me with a face covered in lust was so intimidating that my heart sank.

“Tae-gyeom, h…”

I stretched out my arms to hug him. Even in the midst of his lost reason, he faithfully fulfilled my request. He bent down and hugged me, pressing his lips all over my face.

“Ha…”

The kiss was tender, but his lower body was extremely ferocious. The inside felt like it was twisting from the rough thrusting that pushed my body back. My legs were hooked around his waist, and the fitted member wriggled inside.

“Hng! Ah, that, h…!”

The edge of the blanket was crumpled in my grasp. It was hard to endure the rising pleasure as the engorged member filled my inner walls, moving without withdrawing. I felt every detail vividly: the long shaft, the swollen glans, the rough texture.

“This, this I don’t want… Ah!”

I shook my head as desperately as possible. My spine tingled, and an awkward sense of floating filled my entire body. I even dug my nails into Choi Tae-gyeom’s back, but unlike usual, he completely ignored my pleas.

“Hng, ahn!”

Hot lips teased my chest relentlessly. They sucked deeply, as if nursing, then nipped with his teeth, causing a sharp sting. My lower half was still impaled, and his lips moved on to the other breast.

Everywhere my eyes landed was marked by Choi Tae-gyeom’s traces. The flushed, blooming marks seemed three times as intense as usual. He firmly held me as I writhed and twisted, then withdrew his member with a schluck.

“Heueh…!”

My body flipped over mindlessly. Instinctively, I crawled upwards, but Choi Tae-gyeom quickly caught me. As soon as my lower body dropped off the bed, something thick was inserted all the way to the root.

“Ahhk!”

My upper body sprawled powerlessly. My lower body, hanging off the bed, couldn’t muster any strength either. In the midst of all this, Choi Tae-gyeom gripped my pelvis tightly, found his footing, and slowly increased his pace.

There was nowhere left to escape. He bent down from behind in the same position as me, nibbling at the nape of my neck. He traced his lips along my spine and kissed one of my shoulder blades deeply.

“Hng, stop, ah…, ah!”

All pretense of gentleness was gone. Usually, I could at least catch my breath, but today he relentlessly pounded without pause. The pheromone mixed with my breath was painfully addictive.

“Please, ah, no…”

I grabbed the blanket and crawled upwards with my upper body. The constant stimulation of my sensitive spot made me feel like I needed to pee. I pleaded as desperately and sincerely as possible, but Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t listen to anything.

“Ha, Lee Yoon-woo…”

“Ah, no, no, hng…!”

Ploock, the member entered, scraping against my inner walls. My pupils dilated as I felt it reach deep below my navel. All the muscles in my body tensed, and the rising urge to urinate overflowed with a splash.

“Haaah…!”

His member, still inside me, spurted a thin liquid onto the blanket. It wasn’t semen, but it wasn’t urine either. The liquid streamed out, soaking the blanket and dripping onto the floor. A mix of shame and pleasure made my shoulders twitch, and Choi Tae-gyeom’s hand grabbed my member.

“Don’t touch, ah…, hng…”

A sorrowful sob escaped me. I told him not to, but he pushed me until I lost control. I didn’t even know exactly what this liquid was, and I resented his hands, which were now fondling my limp member.

“Hng, take your hand off, eugh…”

He gently rubbed my lower abdomen with his wet palm. With his other hand, he wiped away my tears. I shook off his touch and buried my face in the blanket, but again, he didn’t leave me alone.

“Ah, hng, ahn!”

“Yoon-woo-ya…, Lee Yoon-woo.”

It wasn’t “don’t cry” or “I’m sorry.” It was just a murmur, confirming that I was in his arms. My reason was already gone, and his comforting and tear-wiping seemed like nothing more than a semi-instinctive action.

“Haaah!”

The glans inside me began to swell again. Saliva drooled from my parted lips. Choi Tae-gyeom hugged my waist as if he would crush me, and soon after, he ejaculated deeply.

“Haa, Yoon-woo-ya…”

Even after he finished, the sweet pheromone didn’t fade at all. Listening to his low voice, I instinctively realized that this might not end for the rest of the weekend.

* * *

Two days. It was exactly two days.

Except for the time I spent eating, going to the bathroom, and occasionally napping, Choi Tae-gyeom didn’t leave me. He was so persistent that I eventually had to bite his finger hard, begging him to spare me.

And at dawn the next day, Choi Tae-gyeom was still inside me. He held me tightly from behind, his breath buried in my back, calm unlike last weekend. Judging by the amount of pheromone and his moderately warm body temperature, it seemed like his rut cycle was finally over.

“Choi Tae…”

I was about to wake him quietly, but I stopped myself. Aside from the pain in my throat, my voice was too hoarse. It was so bad that it sounded like I had caught a disease, not just woken up from sleep. It was clear that this was the result of crying and moaning the whole time.

Reluctantly, I raised my weak hand and grabbed the arm wrapped around my waist. I pushed it away, and his firm body pressed even closer. Choi Tae-gyeom, familiar with pulling me into his arms, mumbled in a sleepy voice.

“Sleep…”

His hand patted my stomach awkwardly. Did this bastard even know what position we were in when he said that? Judging by how quickly his breathing became even, he probably didn’t.

“…Tae-gyeom-ah.”

I poked Choi Tae-gyeom’s arm with my fingernail. I could see the bulging veins twitching. After pressing it a few more times, he rubbed his lips against the back of my neck.

“Why…?”

A mumbled answer came back. Along with light kisses, tchock, tchock. A moment that would normally be comfortable was now extremely awkward.

Instead of answering, I squirmed and moved forward. It was difficult to move because I was in his arms, but my throat was too sore to explain further. When I made a groaning sound, Choi Tae-gyeom finally twitched his arm.

“…Ah.”

It was definitely an exclamation accompanied by realization. Sure enough, he silently moved back. The member that had been inside me all night (actually, for two days) slowly slid out.

“Eugh…”

I felt like my insides were still stretched open even after he pulled out, from being filled for so long. To make matters worse, every time I tensed my lower body, the semen he had released gurgled and flowed out. How could I have slept in this state? No, to be exact, it was closer to passing out.

“…”

Choi Tae-gyeom couldn’t say anything for a long time. The face he turned to look at me was full of embarrassment. I wondered if he didn’t remember, but the emotion I saw within him was clearly ‘guilt’. Judging by how stiff he was, he was clearly confused about what to say.

“This is…”

The arm around my waist felt awkward. So was the way he avoided my gaze and frowned. I carefully turned my body to face Choi Tae-gyeom.

“…Did you sleep well?”

My voice was a mess. Choi Tae-gyeom seemed to think so too. His face, twisted in a miserable expression, clearly showed what he was thinking. Honestly, it would be a lie if I said I didn’t blame him, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see him looking so apologetic.

“…Sorry.”

In the end, a short apology popped out of his mouth. An apology after sex. It was like people who made a mistake while drunk. Choi Tae-gyeom smiled awkwardly back at me as I chuckled.

“I’ll wash you.”

* * *

The bathtub finally did its job properly. Choi Tae-gyeom filled it with warm water, added the bath bomb that Min-jeong-ssi had given me as a gift, and then hugged me from behind and lowered us into the water. The water lapping around my chest gently loosened my tense muscles.

“Ah, that’s nice…”

A groan escaped me involuntarily. After crying, moaning, and running for two days, this rest was truly long overdue. My voice got a little better after drinking a glass of water, but other parts of my body were still screaming.

“Where does it hurt?”

Choi Tae-gyeom whispered, pressing his lips to my ear. His voice, as sweet as the scent of the bath bomb, was full of concern for me. His hands, carefully tracing the various marks, seemed to show it too. I could have said I was fine out of courtesy, but I decided to tell him the truth first.

“Everything hurts. It would be faster to list the places that don’t hurt.”

My back, legs, neck, there wasn’t a single part that didn’t hurt. My stomach was bloated, and my lower body was embarrassingly swollen. If I let my guard down even a little, something gurgling would flow out. To be exact, it wasn’t so much pain as discomfort.

“…”

Again, Choi Tae-gyeom couldn’t say anything. He just tightened his arms around me and rubbed his lips against my cheek. His behavior, as if he had become a criminal, was both cute and pitiful.

“Is that how all Alpha ruts are?”

If there was one thing I realized over the past two days, it was that he usually showed me a lot of consideration. Even while I came countless times and felt dry orgasms as my erection subsided, he came inside me until he was full. The fact that he usually only had sex once or twice was clearly a consideration for me.

“Well… I’m a dominant Alpha, so it’s usually more intense than other Alphas.”

“What did you do before you had suppressants?”

“I’ve never not had suppressants. This is a really exceptional case.”

Even as he spoke, he kissed my cheek several times. The hand that had been around my waist naturally intertwined with mine. A faint smile appeared as he pressed his palm against mine.

“Why were you standing in the cold water?”

“…I was hot.”

His embarrassed voice tickled my ear. Choi Tae-gyeom sighed softly and traced my thumb with his finger.

“I was trying to stay awake because I thought I would touch you while you were sleeping.”

“What if you caught a cold?”

“That would be better.”

Better than what. You’re the type to suffer from pain for a long time.

“Don’t do that again.”

“…That’s what I should be saying.”

He immediately retorted in a serious voice. Choi Tae-gyeom grabbed my chin, met my gaze, and lowered his eyes seriously.

“Next time, just hit me instead. I don’t want to rape you.”

“Why are you talking like that?”

I frowned and slapped Choi Tae-gyeom’s hand. The water in the tub splashed up. Choi Tae-gyeom pressed his lips together and blinked.

“Don’t talk like that. I liked it too.”

I said I didn’t like it several times, but none of them were real rejections. My only real rejection was the finger I bit at the end, and Choi Tae-gyeom stopped immediately. To be exact, he stopped moving, but he willingly allowed me to fall asleep.

“…It’s just, it was hard, that’s all.”

It was okay because it was just a fleeting moment. It wasn’t just a violent act, and he called my name the whole time. Even in the moment when his reason was gone, he was shouting that he loved me with his whole body, so there was no reason for it not to be okay.

Besides, even if Choi Tae-gyeom were to rape me, it would be okay because it was Choi Tae-gyeom. I know it’s a crazy thought, but it couldn’t be helped.

“…Haa.”

Choi Tae-gyeom let out a deep sigh. He buried his face in my neck and mumbled.

“You’re developing bad habits.”

It was a warning that wouldn’t work. If he was going to develop bad habits, he wouldn’t be acting like this in the first place.

“You should have said that five years ago.”

“I love you.”

I reflexively closed my mouth. Choi Tae-gyeom, who had loosened the pheromones he had been holding back, spoke in a slightly clearer voice.

“I love you, Yoon-woo-ya.”

Choi Tae-gyeom’s confessions were always full of affection. They were so frequent that I thought he was overdoing it, but every word was sincere. That’s why my heart always fluttered at his confessions of love.

“Me too.”

I answered happily and leaned back comfortably. His firm chest warmly wrapped around my back. The moment I relaxed into that comfort, something gurgled and flowed out again.

“…”

I frowned as much as I could and tossed and turned. It wasn’t just unpleasant, but I also thought the water in the tub would get dirty. Choi Tae-gyeom, sensing something strange in my movements, looked at my face worriedly.

“What’s wrong?”

“It keeps…”

What would be the right word to describe this situation? I can’t just say your semen keeps coming out.

“My lower body is… a little…”

Fortunately, Choi Tae-gyeom understood my words even with my awkward mumbling. He raised his eyebrows and looked flustered, then hesitated and asked.

“…Did I come inside?”

I nodded slightly. Choi Tae-gyeom quickly changed his expression. He looked like he wanted to die a little.

That day, Choi Tae-gyeom personally took care of the cleanup. The feeling of his fingers probing inside me was very strange, but he silently kept his mouth shut. I heard that it was like this the first time we slept together, but was he making such a self-loathing face back then too? I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

* * *

“Are you really going to be okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m just like a cold.”

Time passed quickly, and it was already summer. My body had been feeling unwell for a few days. The feeling of being chilled and losing my appetite was clearly the beginning of a body ache. It wasn’t a big deal, so I tried to hide it from Choi Tae-gyeom, but the perceptive bastard knew my condition like a ghost.

“I’ll leave the car, so go to the hospital today. Summer colds are nasty.”

I patted his tie to mean don’t worry. Once, I tied it for him as a joke, and now he begs me to do it every morning. It wasn’t a difficult task, so I woke up to match the time he left for work.

“I’ll be home early.”

Choi Tae-gyeom, who kissed me deeply on the lips, smiled and left through the front door. He successfully completed the project, so he would really be home early today. It would be nice to go out for dinner for once.

“Hospital…”

I muttered meaninglessly and fiddled with the phone in my hand. I was planning to go to the hospital today anyway, even if he wasn’t worried. Although it wasn’t a general internal medicine clinic like he thought.

About two hours later, I was sitting in the examination room. My palms were constantly getting wet, probably because I was too nervous. After wiping my hands on my pants a few times, the doctor opened his mouth quietly.

“Um… Lee Yoon-woo-ssi?”

The doctor’s voice was full of some kind of energy. He looked back and forth between the chart and my face with an unreadable expression. Then he looked at the computer monitor and smiled faintly.

“Congratulations.”

Koong, my heart seemed to sink. My throat was blocked and the back of my head was numb. Could it be…? That thought was only for a moment. The news that was like a bolt from the blue was delivered to me, who couldn’t show any reaction.

“You’re three weeks pregnant.”