It took a moment for Prince Lee’s words to register properly.
Joo Tae-hyun having a Rut seemed plausible, but a Heat-stricken Omega?
However, there was no time to ask again. From somewhere on Joo Tae-hyun, who was leaning against Seo Baek-han, a viscous liquid was seeping out.
Seo Baek-han forgot about trying to support Joo Tae-hyun’s collapsing body and simply stared down at him as he let out faint groans. A fiery red flush was already spreading across his pale skin, and his shirt was gradually becoming soaked with the sweat he had profusely shed.
Once again, his body moved first. Seo Baek-han took off the overcoat he was wearing and wrapped it around Joo Tae-hyun’s body. Whatever was happening, he couldn’t possibly expose his partner, who seemed to be in Heat, to the public.
“…Yes, I think we should rest at Hibiscus Garden. I am grateful for Second Prince’s consideration.”
“Yes. That place is off-limits to even the palace staff… Chief Eunuch Jeong.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Just in case, double-check the access control to Hibiscus Garden, and Chief Eunuch Jeong, escort them right to the entrance. Seo Director’s car isn’t parked yet, is it?”
“No, Your Highness. I’ll move it immediately.”
“It’s alright, Your Highness. Palace regulations prohibit using visiting vehicles within the grounds…”
“There’s a patient. Let’s make an exception.”
Prince Lee waved his hand, telling them to skip the formalities and just go. Following Chief Eunuch Jeong’s hurried gestures, the car they had arrived in smoothly glided back.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
Seo Baek-han put one of Joo Tae-hyun’s arms around his shoulder as if giving him a piggyback ride, and wrapped his arm around his waist as he began to walk. Though he called it supporting him, it was more like lifting Joo Tae-hyun’s limp body with just one arm.
“Joo Tae-hyun. Get a grip and walk straight until we get to the car.”
Seo Baek-han muttered, burying his lips in Joo Tae-hyun’s hair, which was dangling near his collarbone. Even that small amount of contact seemed to be a significant stimulus, as Joo Tae-hyun gasped and kept trying to clench his legs together.
“If it’s too difficult, at least try not to show that you’re in Heat, and act like you’re just a normal, sick person. Hibiscus Garden isn’t far from here.”
Joo Tae-hyun flinched at the word “Heat.” A faint strength returned to his body, which had been as limp as a waterlogged rag. Even while struggling to breathe, Joo Tae-hyun tried to maintain some semblance of dignity. Like the youngest son of the DH Group, and like the spouse of the Royal Hospital Director.
In any case, even with this close contact, Seo Baek-han couldn’t detect anything unusual from Joo Tae-hyun. He could tell that his Pheromones were leaking out, unlike usual, but it didn’t feel like a Rut or Heat.
More than that, was such a thing even possible? Joo Tae-hyun was a normal Alpha. He had manifested very early, but his test results had never changed in the interim, and his Alpha Pheromone levels had remained consistently stable.
‘What should I say. An Alpha in Rut, no… more like an Omega in Heat? That kind of feeling.’
However, Prince Lee, who had witnessed all sorts of variables in Shifters, having noticed Joo Tae-hyun’s abnormality, it seemed necessary to heed his observation.
His male consort had his constitution changed to Omega due to the pharmaceutical company’s trickery. The Imprinting phenomenon of Shifters becoming widely known throughout Asia was also thanks to Prince Lee and his consort, and unlike the medical community’s assertion that pregnancy would be impossible due to the rare case of Shifter transformation, Prince Lee’s consort had given birth to two children after Imprinting.
So, he knew that he shouldn’t make hasty guesses or judgments right now… But why couldn’t he feel anything?
All possibilities had to be kept open when it came to Shifter issues. There might be another variable that he was unaware of. Even as he thought that, Seo Baek-han was puzzled that he was the only one who couldn’t detect Joo Tae-hyun’s abnormality, which even Prince Lee could sense.
“There’s a telephone in the Hibiscus Garden guest room that can be used to contact the palace staff quarters, so please call as soon as you feel better. We’ll send up a simple test kit and Shifter medication right away.”
“Thank you, Chief Eunuch.”
“Oh, there’s no need to thank me. I hope it’s nothing serious.”
The only saving grace was that this was Lotus Flower Palace, and also Pyongyang. Whatever the cause of Joo Tae-hyun’s physical breakdown, Seo Baek-han was confident that he could handle it well.
…He had to.
* * *
The sensor-equipped, layered paper doors opened and closed smoothly. After passing through a long corridor, the guest room that finally appeared was the innermost chamber, located in the highest and deepest part of Hibiscus Garden.
It wasn’t his first time visiting the Imperial Palace, including Lotus Flower Palace, but it was Seo Baek-han’s first time stepping into a space built for the purpose of sleeping.
However, there was no time to indulge in sentimentality. Seo Baek-han laid the sweat-soaked Joo Tae-hyun down on the bed. Even in this situation, he was quite surprised by how firm Joo Tae-hyun’s body felt, with muscles as hard as stone. He couldn’t believe how much his body had improved since he was a skinny kid whose formal attire hung loosely on him.
“Ah, eugh…”
As the damp overcoat rubbed against the silk bedding, Joo Tae-hyun curled up as if he couldn’t endure it any longer. Blood was trickling from the torn flesh where he had clenched his lower lip to avoid making any noise during the car ride.
“Joo Tae-hyun.”
He called out to him, but Joo Tae-hyun didn’t even flinch, his eyes tightly shut. Judging by the twitching of his eyelids, he didn’t seem to have lost consciousness…
Seo Baek-han took off his cumbersome jacket and hung it on the back of a chair, taking a deep breath. But he still couldn’t feel anything. Rather, the Pheromones that had lingered in the parking lot last Friday seemed much more intense.
“Whether you’re closing your eyes because you’re embarrassed or because you’re in pain, I know you’re not unconscious right now.”
“…”
“As soon as I get the kit from Chief Eunuch Jeong, I’m going to do a simple test with it, and then we’re going straight to Pyongyang University Hospital. I can’t call a personal physician to the palace. It shouldn’t happen, but if you show a Switch reaction, then it would be better to make an excuse about a Shifter abnormality and go straight back to Seoul.”
“…”
“I get reports on whether you took Switch and who you slept with, is there anything left to be ashamed of in front of me?”
As he approached Joo Tae-hyun to check on his condition, he flinched and turned to the side. He seemed to be trying to curl up as much as possible, but that didn’t make the tall guy any smaller.
“Since it’s not like you don’t know that you’re soaked front and back-.”
“That’s, not it…”
When he reached out to Joo Tae-hyun’s shoulder to turn him back, he finally spoke in a very small voice.
Because his shadow was cast long over Joo Tae-hyun’s body, he couldn’t see his expression in detail. But just seeing his long, sharply raised eyelashes trembling was enough to guess his troubled state.
“Apart from, hngh, me being embarrassed, I thought, it would look, disgusting, to you… You’re a man, an Alpha, not interested, no, that’s not it, anyway, you hate, hate it, eugh…!”
Moisture seeped into Joo Tae-hyun’s low, rambling voice. As if opening his mouth made it even more painful, his breathing gradually became rougher.
Seo Baek-han subtly backed away only after hearing Joo Tae-hyun’s plea.
Not to grant his request, but to observe Joo Tae-hyun’s changed body in more detail. As if well aware of Seo Baek-han’s intentions, Joo Tae-hyun curled up even more tightly.
Joo Tae-hyun’s black suit pants were already soaked to his thighs. Because they were high-end custom-made clothes that fit his body perfectly, the flow of liquid that had soaked his back was clearly visible. It was such a large amount of arousal fluid that Prince Lee could have mistaken it for an Omega in Heat.
“…Last week when you used the guest room alone. How long did it take to calm down properly then?”
“…”
“How long do I need to leave you alone for you to resolve it?”
When he grabbed Joo Tae-hyun’s waist and pulled him so that he could lie on his back and look him in the eye, he trembled as if he had been hit hard in the abdomen.
“…Hyung.”
Please.
His pleading voice was almost hoarse, close to panting.
And now, Seo Baek-han could clearly feel Joo Tae-hyun’s Pheromones. As if waiting for his touch, as if eagerly anticipating the moment when he would support his collapsing body, Joo Tae-hyun’s scent enveloped Seo Baek-han’s body.
“Ah, shit.”
Seo Baek-han reflexively covered his mouth with the back of his hand. The dense scent of greenery, as if crushing all the fruit scents, began to spread explosively.
He reflexively frowned at the aggressive Pheromones emitted by the same Alpha. It was so intense that even the vulgar curse words that he usually wouldn’t utter came out on their own. It was just a stinging sensation, like scraping his skin with shards of glass, so what was so good about Joo Tae-hyun rolling around with Alphas?
“I’m, sorry… My, body, is, now…”
Joo Tae-hyun covered his mouth and tried to hide his panting breath. Even in the midst of that, he must have been listening to Seo Baek-han’s curse, as he kept muttering apologies.
“Sor, hngh, ah…!”
At the same time, there was a sound of the soaked fabric tearing apart. Joo Tae-hyun froze, unable to even blink, and Seo Baek-han lowered his eyes slightly, following the direction of the sound.
“…What the hell.”
He had been trying to remain calm the whole time, but even Seo Baek-han couldn’t hide his bewilderment this time.
The area near his thighs, where Joo Tae-hyun’s genitals would probably be located, was bulging out, so much so that it was taut. With such a ferocious momentum that the expensive and delicate fabric was beginning to crack.
“…Ha.”
He couldn’t help but let out a dumbfounded laugh. If Seo Baek-han’s guess was correct, Joo Tae-hyun’s body was both soaking his rear like an Omega in Heat, and experiencing the Knotting phenomenon caused by Rut.