By Zephyria 
The constant humming vibration was irritating. Frowning, Jeong-min reached out and touched the phone screen to stop the vibration. Then, as he crawled back under the covers, he felt something unfamiliar and snapped his eyes open. This wasn’t the texture of the blanket he knew. Even the scent coming from the blanket wasn’t his own. As he threw off the covers and bolted upright, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him, and he closed his eyes again.
He took a couple of deep breaths until the dizziness subsided and slowly opened his eyes.
“Haa….”
As expected, it wasn’t his room. Though whether he should be relieved that it wasn’t a completely strange room was another matter… It was Kim Ju-hwan’s room. Recalling his last memory, after exchanging some useless conversation, Jeong-min had received the injection Ju-hwan gave him. He felt a bit dizzy and closed his eyes, and he had no memory of anything after that.
The only saving grace was that nothing hurt, and no clothes had been removed other than the jacket he had taken off earlier. The only problem was that he didn’t know how he ended up in this room… but he decided not to dwell on it.
Anyway, does this huge house not even have a guest room? And where did the owner go? He wondered if it was a relief that they weren’t lying in the same bed. Pressing his brow, Jeong-min sat on the edge of the bed.
Looking at the clock, it was 10 PM. His body felt so heavy that he wanted to just lie down and sleep, but he would rather sleep in a hotel than in Kim Ju-hwan’s house. Just as he was about to stand up with his phone, he was startled to see a missed call notification from ‘Shin-woo hyung’ on the screen.
He quickly clicked the screen and saw that messages had also arrived from him.
I said I’d call, but I didn’t hear from you.
Are you hurting a lot?
Turns out you were more fragile than I was?
You’re not answering. I hope you’re getting plenty of rest.
Seeing the messages filled with worry made his heart flutter and itch. Jeong-min pressed the call button.
─ Hello?
The signal didn’t last long before he answered. It was as if he had been waiting.
“Hyung.”
─ Haa….
A long sigh. It wasn’t a sigh of worry, but of relief.
─ Thank goodness. I feel a bit more relieved hearing your voice.
“Sorry I couldn’t answer.”
─ Ah, I didn’t wake you up, did I?
“No, no. I was already awake.”
─ So you were sleeping.
“I said I wasn’t. I was a bit tired, but… I didn’t wake up because of your call.”
─ Right.
“Um… sorry for making you worry.”
─ So you know I was worried?
His chest… his heart was beating so hard it almost hurt. He knew he shouldn’t expect too much, but he kept hoping. He loved that Yu Shin-woo worried about him… he wanted him to keep worrying, making him want to keep complaining of pain and act spoiled. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to cause him worry.
“Thank you.”
─ Thank you for what? Don’t get sick, you brat.
“Hyung too….”
─ But where exactly does it hurt?
“Oh, just some drug side effects while doing a trait examination….”
Because he had already agonized over how to answer if Yu Shin-woo asked, the response came out immediately. Trait examinations are done once every five years; although they are meaningless for Alphas, the drugs used are so potent that about 30% of examinees complain of side effects such as allergic symptoms. In other words, it was common. And when such symptoms appeared, treatment was received at the manufacturer’s research institute rather than a hospital. The drug currently used at Jeong-min’s hospital was manufactured by Cal Front.
─ Really?
“Yeah.”
─ I see… that’s a relief. No other abnormalities now?
“Fortunately.”
─ Ah, I’m being discharged tomorrow. Want to grab a meal together?
“Really? They said you could be discharged?”
─ Thanks to you.
“That’s a relief. Hyung, I’m really glad.”
─ So, are you eating or not?
“I’ll eat. Where should we go? Ah, I know a great place—”
“Where is that place?”
Jeong-min was startled by a voice that suddenly cut into the call. Simultaneously, the lights in the dark room flickered on, revealing the bleak interior and the owner of the room. Kim Ju-hwan was standing at the door. And Jeong-min wasn’t the only one who heard that voice.
─ …Who is that?
“Ah, um….”
“Please take me to that great place too, Jeong-min Sunbae.”
Kim Ju-hwan approached slowly and held out a tray with a glass of water to Jeong-min. Jeong-min reflexively took the glass. Kim Ju-hwan sat lightly beside him.
“I assume this is Yu Shin-woo Sunbae? Keep talking. Don’t mind me.”
─ Uh… Kim Ju-hwan?
“Uh, yeah. Kim Ju-hwan.”
─ Where are you? Aren’t you at home?
“Um… I’ll tell you later. Hyung, sorry.”
Jeong-min quickly hung up.
“Couldn’t even wait a moment before calling the primary wife. Ha, this is why the life of a concubine is miserable. Even though the husband collapsed, I brought him to the room, gave him my bed, and even served him water.”
“Right, thanks for that, but I’m leaving now.”
Jeong-min placed the untouched glass on the side table and stood up from the bed.
“Uh.”
He felt dizzy. Eventually, as his body began to collapse before he could even stand properly, Kim Ju-hwan, who had been sitting on the bed, quickly supported him.
“I thought you were leaving.”
If he was going to help, why couldn’t he just do it nicely instead of being so sarcastic? Even as Jeong-min tried to tell Kim Ju-hwan he didn’t need help, his spinning head couldn’t find its normal orbit. In the end, he was dragged along as Kim Ju-hwan pleased and forced to lie back down on the bed.
“Rest. I’ll let you use the bed just for today.”
“Why are you being like this… it’s unsettling.”
“What is?”
“Why are you being so kind?”
“We’re going to be sleeping in the same bed from now on, so wouldn’t this be better? I told you. Whether it’s sex or whatever, let’s make it pleasant while we’re at it. So, Sunbae, try showing me some kindness too. I’m not even asking for as much as you give Yu Shin-woo Sunbae.”
Honestly, Kim Ju-hwan wasn’t wrong. If they had to do it, it would be better to get along. However, the words to agree didn’t come easily. Instead, Jeong-min closed his eyes, pretending to sleep, and soon fell into a deep slumber.
Watching Jeong-min fall asleep with steady breaths, Kim Ju-hwan climbed on top of his body. Then, he slowly leaned down and pressed his nose against the nape of Jeong-min’s neck.
He felt a repulsion toward the faint scent of the Alpha leaking out. And yet, was it because of the drug? Was it actually effective? It felt a bit sweet. To the point where he wanted to keep smelling it.
Soon, that desire was broken by the vibration of the phone in the living room. Kim Ju-hwan looked down at Jeong-min once more and stepped off the bed. The action of turning off the light and closing the door was clean and efficient, yet unusually slow for him.
Seeing the phone stop vibrating and then ring again, he could tell the caller was persistent.
“Yes, this is Kim Ju-hwan.”
He gave a sharp greeting as soon as he answered.
─ Kim Ju-hwan.
“Yes, Yu Shin-woo Sunbae.”
He had expected this man to call.
─ What are you thinking?
“Why are you curious about that?”
─ Why do I smell your pheromones on Jeong-min? Why did you mark him?
While a common person wouldn’t notice, he expected that Yu Shin-woo, who had pheromone hypersensitivity, would have felt it. He must have noticed when he hugged Jeong-min at the research institute earlier.
“Ask Jeong-min Sunbae. Why I did it.”
─ Don’t play any tricks on Jeong-min.
“Who are you to tell me such things, Sunbae?”
As Ju-hwan spoke with a laugh, a silence followed from the other end of the line. That made sense. He probably had nothing to say.
“You’re not in a tender relationship with Jeong-min Sunbae, nor are you someone who knows his heart and intends to accept it. Why?”
─ Kim Ju-hwan….
“Yes, my name is indeed Kim Ju-hwan. The director of the research institute treating you, Sunbae.”
─ You, don’t think of playing with Jeong-min. He’s not that strong of a person.
Kim Ju-hwan’s movement, as he poured whiskey into a glass, stopped. It was laughable how Yu Shin-woo spoke as if he knew everything about Jeong-min.
Kim Ju-hwan looked toward the bedroom where Jeong-min was sleeping.
He knew better than anyone how weak the Alpha inside was. A person who was fragile to the core, yet pretended to be strong because he had nowhere to lean.
“I wonder what kind of misunderstanding you have. If you’re worried that I’ll devour Jeong-min Sunbae, you can rest assured. I have more refined tastes than you think, Sunbae.”
─ …You’re an arrogant bastard.
“I’ll gladly take that as a compliment.”
Kim Ju-hwan hung up and threw the phone far away. Then, drinking whiskey, he headed to the study. As he gazed at the night view where all the lights of the world had vanished, his eyes fell on the contract on the desk, reflected through the window.
Yesterday, a researcher who checked Jeong-min’s information at the German research center had spoken with some concern.
‘Maximum of seven times. You must not administer the drug more than that. Unlike flexible Omegas, he is an Alpha; if that trait cracks once, there’s no telling what will happen.’
“Seven times….”
‘What are you thinking?’
The reason he had countered Yu Shin-woo’s question was that Kim Ju-hwan himself didn’t know his own thoughts and intentions. That was why he decided to help Jeong-min become an Omega to find the answer. Once that happened, he would know. What the correct place was.