By Zephyria 
It was one day when he had been drinking alone after seeing Shin-woo hyung with Young-min.
He wondered why on earth he liked hyung so much. By now, it should have been time to give up. There must be someone better than hyung in the world, so why did it have to be him?
He thought about it while emptying several bottles of soju in one sitting, but there was no conclusion. He just liked him. He just… liked him because it was Shin-woo hyung, for no particular reason.
He liked that kindness, he liked the slight wrinkles that appeared around his eyes when he smiled, and his large hands…. He loved his low but soft voice. Especially those eyes. He loved that warmth—clear and clean, as if it could embrace all his faults. So after that, he decided to stop wasting time with useless thoughts like ‘Why must it be Shin-woo hyung? Why do I like him of all people?’
He just… just, Shin Jeong-min liked Yu Shin-woo. Very much.
✽✽✽
He felt suffocated. It felt as if his entire body was being crushed, like sleep paralysis. Feeling a threat that he would be trampled to death if he didn’t open his eyes, Jeong-min struggled to open them to survive.
“Huu….”
Was this what people meant when they said they were being consumed by darkness? As pale smoke drifted, he felt goosebumps all over his body at the sensation of facing pitch-blackness. A strange feeling. As the pale smoke drifted again, he realized it was the scent of cigarettes, and Jeong-min desperately tried to see the owner of this cold air that was pressing down on him. The moment he locked eyes with the owner, he knew the cause of this sharpness was pheromones, and he recognized the owner instantly. Pheromones that he couldn’t forget even if he tried.
“What… are you doing.”
Jeong-min spoke with difficulty.
“Ugh.”
Whether that sounded like defiance or not, the Alpha pressed down on Jeong-min further, making his mood more apparent. He dropped the cigarette that had burned down to his fingertips onto the floor and crushed it with his sneaker. There were already three or four crushed cigarette butts around that sneaker. Just how long had he been doing this?
“Ah….”
As his gaze followed the cigarette butts, he saw Yu Shin-woo at the end. Seeing him slumped over, naked, Jeong-min realized how this situation had come to be. Yu Shin-woo had reacted to Young-min’s pheromones and held him. He remembered enduring the pain while being knotted, but he had no memory of what happened after that.
“Shin-woo….”
As he tried to reach out to Shin-woo, another hand suddenly intervened, snatching Jeong-min’s hand and interlocking their fingers.
“Sunbae.”
Why… is this bastard here?
“Kim Ju-hwan….”
Hearing his name, he gave a soft smile and kissed the back of Jeong-min’s hand. The sensation was too cold. As if he were casting a curse.
“Are you awake?”
“Why….”
“Why, you ask… I felt pheromones in heat from somewhere, so I came to check, and I saw two males mating. Under the already unconscious sunbae—that son of a bitch was shaking his hips so much.”
Kim Ju-hwan shifted his gaze slightly toward Yu Shin-woo.
“…Was it that good? Huh? I guess it was? To the point of losing consciousness?”
“Ugh!”
Kim Ju-hwan squeezed Jeong-min’s hand as if to crush it. Then he stood up abruptly and forced Jeong-min’s dysfunctional body to stand. He shoved the staggering Jeong-min into the shower and turned on the water.
“Wha- what are you—!”
Kim Ju-hwan rolled up his sleeves, pinned Jeong-min against the wall, and twisted one arm behind his back. Although he could easily repel this much, his body was not in a normal state, so he couldn’t move properly, and above all, Kim Ju-hwan’s pheromones continued to attack Jeong-min. So fiercely that it made him want to gag.
“…!”
Soon, Kim Ju-hwan’s fingers entered the swollen hole and ruthlessly stretched it open. Jeong-min bit his lip at the feeling of semen streaming down. The pale semen mixed with water and flowed down the floor. Things that could never be held within his own body. Unproductive things vanished just like that.
“Why? Do you miss it? It couldn’t have become yours anyway.”
Ridicule was felt in the locked voice. He had accepted all of this. He had been prepared for it. But what was with Kim Ju-hwan? Why did he suddenly appear and say things that gouged out his heart? Why did this bastard always pin him down in such miserable moments?
Jeong-min tried to use the arm leaning against the wall to push Kim Ju-hwan’s stomach back, but his body only staggered and failed to reach him.
“Haa….”
However, he succeeded in his primary goal: pushing him away. He brushed back his wet hair and looked at Jeong-min. He didn’t know what he was thinking. It was just that the eyes he had always thought were deep had become even darker. That’s why he didn’t want to lose even more. If no one else, he didn’t want to be dragged along by Kim Ju-hwan.
“Right. What a waste. It could have been mine. But why did you step in? Ah, surely you’re not mistaking it for yours just because you’ve put it in once? Ha, I hate it. I have no interest in Alphas other than Shin-woo hyung. Especially you, Kim Ju-hwan. Bastards aren’t my type.”
Kim Ju-hwan’s expression remained unchanged.
“I’m glad I don’t fall within the range of your perverted hobbies, Sunbae. And I have no interest in your hole. I told you then. Who would want to shove something into a disgusting Alpha hole? Your pheromones aren’t my taste either, so they give me a headache. You’re quite delusional.”
Speaking as if tossing the words away, Kim Ju-hwan left the bathroom.
“Haa.”
As he slumped down, the floor vibrated. It seemed to be a makeshift shower booth. Thank goodness. At least this room has a shower… Jeong-min stared at the stream of water flowing from the showerhead and closed his eyes. He had slept with Shin-woo hyung—or rather, Yu Shin-woo. He had been held by him. He couldn’t cry out like an Omega, and he had to struggle through the pain and endure a physiological repulsion, but his heart had been happy. No, he thought he was happy, so why did he feel so sad?
✽✽✽
Kim Ju-hwan stepped out of the shower, closed the door, and looked down at his own groin.
“I guess it’s because it’s a hole that’s been used before, so I know the taste.”
He let out a bewildered laugh at his slightly erect member, but his expression hardened instantly as he looked at Yu Shin-woo lying face down on the floor. Shin Jeong-min probably thought he was asleep, but in reality, Yu Shin-woo was unconscious. Ju-hwan had used a few tricks to keep him out, fearing it would be troublesome if he woke up.
“What should I do…?”
He kept thinking. Continuously. Something was beginning to sprout in the dark depths of his mind, but he couldn’t quite identify what it was. He wondered if he should pull it out by the roots or simply watch it grow. He pondered for a long time but couldn’t reach a decision.
Shin Jeong-min had finally slept with Yu Shin-woo.
Based on the pheromones of Shin Yeong-min remaining in the room, he could roughly guess what the situation was. Regardless of the cause, this was what Jeong-min had wanted. But look at the state of him. You are an Alpha, yet you were held by him as an Alpha. Acting as a substitute for someone else.
How ridiculous. To become an Omega for him, he had forced his legs open for an Alpha he hated; to be with him, he volunteered to be the stand-in for the person he loved. It was a complete melodrama.
Kim Ju-hwan looked at Yu Shin-woo and took a cigarette from his pocket, placing it between his lips. He had thought this since they first met, but this man was truly irritating. To the point where he wondered if he should just kill him.
However, he couldn’t quite grasp the nature of this irritation.
“What should I do…?”
He thought silently while checking his watch. Outside the window, the sun was gradually rising. If he left Yu Shin-woo like this, someone would eventually find him. Seeing Jeong-min emerge from the shower, someone else might spread strange rumors—a mix of truth and lies.
When faced with those looks, what decision would those two stupid Alphas make? He didn’t know about Yu Shin-woo, but Shin Jeong-min might step forward and say he would take responsibility. If pushed, he might even try to take all the blame upon himself.
“Phew…”
Kim Ju-hwan exhaled a cloud of smoke and took his phone out of his pocket. The bodyguards his parents had sent out of concern for him were nearby, and he called them. Soon, men in black suits entered and carefully carried Yu Shin-woo away. As soon as he was gone, Ju-hwan opened the window to ventilate the room.
“Uh…”
Jeong-min, who had just come out of the shower, blinked in surprise to see the room tidied up. Then, he frowned as he saw Kim Ju-hwan leaning against the window.
“Smile, Sunbae. I’ve cleaned everything up.”
This time, he didn’t drop the cigarette on the floor; instead, he took out a portable ashtray from his pocket and neatly placed it inside.
“Save your thanks. I’ll definitely collect on this debt someday.”
Then I’ll keep making it a debt so you can’t step away. With that thought, Kim Ju-hwan patted Jeong-min on the shoulder and left the room.
Later, recalling that day, Kim Ju-hwan said that he had severed the threads of two people who were destined to be terribly entangled.
It was the best choice he had ever made in his life.