By Zephyria 
* * *
Ah… this is truly the worst.
I didn’t intend to let Seo Baek-han approach just to vent my frustrations or to hurt him as if seeking revenge.
“I’ll be going ahead.”
What kind of expression Seo Baek-han would be wearing. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
Joo Tae-hyun, who had quickly left the spot with long strides, found himself running without even realizing it. The fact that he felt no presence behind him was a small comfort. If Seo Baek-han had chased after him, if he had caught him and insisted on making excuses. Then, I don’t think I could have maintained my composure any longer.
“Hey! Watch it!”
“Ah, sorry.”
He bumped shoulders with someone walking towards him from the opposite direction, unable to avoid them in time.
“Wait, your clothes…”
The other person looked troubled, seeing the coffee stains dotted across Joo Tae-hyun’s top.
“It was my carelessness, so don’t worry about it. Sorry.”
“Well… if you say so. Oh, and tell your partner to stop marking so much. It’s so strong I feel like my nose is going numb from 100 meters away.”
The man shook his head, pinching his nose. Hearing him mutter in a serious tone, “What if my partner misunderstands,” made it clear that the remark about marking wasn’t just a joke.
“…Partner? Marking?”
He knew that “marking” was slang for the act of liberally applying one’s pheromones onto another person. That’s why Joo Tae-hyun was even more puzzled.
He had no partner, and certainly no one to mark.
Could my pheromones be leaking severely? He knew his scent had been more noticeable than usual lately, so Joo Tae-hyun looked down at his body with concern.
But… that didn’t make sense either. Didn’t the stranger clearly mention “partner” and “marking”?
It meant that the result he felt wasn’t just a lingering trace of pheromones, but something from an act with a clear purpose that others perceived as “marking.”
Joo Tae-hyun sniffed his own arms absently before stopping abruptly.
Could it be, Seo Baek-han?
But… the imprinting was already broken?
Joo Tae-hyun froze for a moment, then dismissed the possibility that had just occurred to him.
It was true that he couldn’t sense his pheromones, but marking was impossible in the first place. If Seo Baek-han’s imprinting had remained intact, he would have gone mad before even meeting him.
Joo Tae-hyun knew this all too well, having experienced imprinting himself. Whether it was mutual or one-sided, the ‘imprinting phenomenon’ was something that human will could not possibly control. Everything that made up his body, from the smallest cells to the sensation of complete subservience to the other person.
He could barely last three hours without Seo Baek-han, so how could he endure over three months without sensing his imprinted partner’s pheromones?
Joo Tae-hyun shook his head briefly. The Seo Baek-han he met again seemed perfectly fine. Although his face was a little thinner than before, and he looked extremely tired, he seemed as relaxed as ever.
Most importantly, his wounds weren’t healing. Even after a major surgery from a stab wound, he had recovered quickly thanks to his pheromones, but even a scratch from a cart hadn’t healed yet…
Yes, Seo Baek-han was definitely not it. His imprinting was clearly broken too.
With a slightly lighter heart, Joo Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. Then who could it be? Were there any Alphas around… Ah, perhaps it was Liam’s doing? He had been sticking close to him lately, so it was a plausible possibility.
Perhaps because he had liked Seo Baek-han for so long, Joo Tae-hyun unconsciously limited the person who marked him to an Alpha. But naturally, an Omega could also mark an Alpha. Or rather, this might be slightly more natural.
Joo Tae-hyun clicked his tongue lightly and patted his body. He had let it slide until now, not wanting to get involved in the subtle power struggles within the research institute, but if Liam kept acting this way, he might need to draw some lines.
“Tae-hyun!”
Speak of the devil.
Liam, running noisily from the end of the path, clung to Joo Tae-hyun. He linked arms and swayed them, looking like a child.
Are all Omegas like this?
Knowing it was a bad prejudice, Joo Tae-hyun glanced at the Omega, who seemed overjoyed to see him, and observed him.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Working.”
As he casually disentangled their arms and replied indifferently, Liam pouted in dissatisfaction.
“But you still have to eat. Spare some time tonight. We’re having a casual pool party at my place, and a lot of people from school are coming.”
Liam ticked off his fingers, listing faculty members from various departments, professors from his current lab, and key personnel. It was a dazzling lineup that made it difficult to refuse outright, even though there were a few people who looked down on him.
“And this is a secret, but it’s not just people from the school. They said quite a few people who work at the ‘White House’ are coming too. I’m sure it will be helpful for you, Tae-hyun.”
“…Liam, this isn’t just a casual pool party.”
“You don’t have to dress up elaborately.”
If it were in the past, he would never have shown his face at a casual networking event with no clear purpose, but this was America. A country that valued social activities above all else. And Joo Tae-hyun was in a situation where he had to obtain his degree as quickly and safely as possible.
“…I’ll see how it goes.”
“Wow, really? You mean it?”
“And Liam, don’t stick so close to me. We have different constitutions, so people might misunderstand.”
Liam pouted, making a “Tsk” sound. He could faintly smell Liam’s unique pheromones as the other followed him, walking with heavy steps.
A scent like scorched wood…
It was definitely not Liam.
It was a peculiar scent that even perfume couldn’t mask, so if he had attempted to mark him, he would have noticed it immediately.
Then who was it?
“Tae-hyun, did you hear me?”
“No.”
“Ah, really! Are all Alphas this mean?”
Joo Tae-hyun vaguely listened to Liam, who was chattering incessantly about the evening’s party, and counted down the days until his next appointment.
This time, it wasn’t something he could finish with a home self-test; he needed to get a proper check-up at a large hospital.
*
A blood-stained razor blade made the bathroom scene momentarily eerie. Crimson droplets fell drip by drip onto the white sink. Seo Baek-han examined his scratched hand from various angles before wrapping the blade in tissue.
Because even being near Joo Tae-hyun caused his wounds to heal, he had to inflict injuries on himself a couple of times a day. Joo Tae-hyun didn’t seem to pay much attention, but he still wanted to be prepared for any eventuality.
If Joo Tae-hyun found out he was maintaining the imprinting alone, he would be very distressed, given his personality. He would be bothered even while denying it, and might even feel unnecessary guilt…
In any case, he wanted to avoid such a situation.
What was so significant about being in a state of one-sided imprinting? It was exactly as Joo Tae-hyun had said. Could the suffering he was experiencing be greater than that of a child who was constantly denied by his father and eventually died? Could it be more painful than Joo Tae-hyun, whose body was breaking down from harsh words?
No.
Perhaps it was more like he was trying to dilute the harsh words he had spoken to Joo Tae-hyun by continuing this act, which wasn’t even self-harm, and he felt sorry for him.
After clenching and unclenching his hand to check the extent of the wound, Seo Baek-han left the bathroom.
The longer he stayed near Joo Tae-hyun, the faster his recovery became. Now, this frequency of drawing blood seemed insufficient… Should he perhaps wear bandages instead?
“Ah! Director, you were here. Just the person I… Gosh, did you hurt yourself?”
“A while ago. I’m fine.”
“Oh, didn’t you tear your hand a while ago? It seems to be getting infected because it’s a part you move constantly. It must be very inconvenient…”
“I’m really fine. What is it?”
Seo Baek-han pretended nothing was wrong and hid his injured hand. Hmm, was it unnatural enough for others to notice? If so, it was time to stop the meaningless self-harm.
Something was definitely broken. He found himself hesitating over things he would have settled long ago.
He could handle policy discussions or academic presentations without much preparation. But when it came to matters related to Joo Tae-hyun, his mind wouldn’t work.
When did it start? It wasn’t this hopeless even when he was focused on clearing Joo Tae-hyun’s name from the stigma he bore in Korea…
Yet, it was strange how he felt he could finally breathe when he was by his side. Even while discarding his rational judgment, which he prided himself on, and his social skills, which he was confident in, acting like a complete fool… he liked Joo Tae-hyun. He liked him so much he didn’t know what to do. The feelings he had suppressed and ignored for so long were swelling up like an explosion.
Amidst all the uncertainty, only the feeling of liking Joo Tae-hyun grew larger day by day. Like a pubescent boy with a slight fever, he was shamelessly finding happiness and suffering all by himself.
“About, Researcher Joo Tae-hyun.”
Seo Baek-han’s eyes, which had been softly curved as he thought of Joo Tae-hyun, instantly turned cold.
So that’s why he was watching me so carefully. Was this the topic he wanted to ask about?
He had always drawn a clear line, preventing anyone from gossiping about him in front of him. It meant they had been talking all sorts of nonsense behind his back.
Apparently, that wasn’t enough. Seo Baek-han pulled at the corners of his mouth and smiled brightly. He intended to show his true temper after a long time.
However.
“Is it true that you’re announcing your engagement tonight with Liam? From the same lab?”
Unbelievable words came from the policy researcher from Canada.