By Zephyria 
“I thought I was seeing things.”
The man muttered softly, brushing back his hair with a laugh. He looked as if he had rushed over the moment he spotted Haon.
“What are the odds of meeting you here?”
Before the frozen Haon could utter a word, the man stepped into the elevator. Click, click. The doors closed the moment the man quickly pressed the buttons.
Dazed by the unexpected situation, Haon stared at the man. As the elevator doors shut, the man turned toward Haon with a deep smile.
“How long has it been? A little over a year? Ah, maybe longer.”
The man’s amused gaze swept over Haon’s pale face. His expression looked genuinely glad to see him.
“You look like you’ve lost more weight. You were thin back then, too.”
He closed the distance to get a better look at Haon.
Startled, Haon stepped back, and upon hearing the elevator chime announcing their arrival at the first floor, he tried to hurry out.
“Hey, you can at least say hello.”
The man blocked Haon’s path. Using his large frame to obstruct the door, he showed interest in Haon’s shopping bag.
“What did you take here? It looks heavy; want me to carry it for a bit?”
“I-I’m fine….”
The man frowned as he heard Haon’s thin, helplessly trembling voice. He reacted as if he were genuinely hurt by Haon’s blunt attitude.
“Are you really doing this? I ran over here because I was so happy to see you.”
Lost for words at such brazenness, Haon looked up at him. He had tried to avoid eye contact until the end, but he simply couldn’t let this slide.
“We aren’t… on greeting terms.”
Doing his best to glare at the man, Haon maneuvered around the large body and escaped the elevator. He didn’t want to share the same space with him for even a second longer.
Haon hugged his shopping bag tight so he wouldn’t drop it and searched for the exit. However, his vision had narrowed due to tension, making it difficult to find the way out.
“Let’s talk for a second.”
Just then, the man who had followed him tried to forcibly snatch the shopping bag. Startled, Haon clung to the bag even tighter, rejecting his hand.
“I have nothing to say. Go away.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I was in the middle of a separation when I met you.”
The man spoke confidently. With a surge of strength, he snatched the luggage and gripped Haon’s wrist.
“You didn’t bring a car, right? I’ll call a taxi, so follow me.”
“I said I don’t n-need it…!”
As Haon tried to raise his voice, the man’s expression soured into something menacing.
“So you’re saying you don’t need my help anymore?”
Aware of the eyes of passersby, he quickly smoothed his expression. He lowered his voice so only Haon could hear, forcing the corners of his mouth upward.
“You begged for your life like that when you were in heat. And now you treat the person who saved you like a bug? Really?”
The man pulled Haon’s arm and forcibly draped an arm over his shoulder. He even pretended to be intimate, patting Haon’s shoulder hard as if joking. Shuddering with disgust, Haon grit his teeth and tried to shake him off.
“I slept with you back then because I genuinely liked you.”
When Haon, overwhelmed by the difference in strength, gave up resisting, the man leaned down and whispered low. His glistening gaze lingered on Haon’s white cheeks and slender neckline. His Adam’s apple, bobbing with tension, still looked beautiful.
Haon glanced around, debating whether to ask for help. His heavy lips parted slightly, but he ultimately closed them without making a sound. He felt that no one would listen to him anyway. Past experiences had made Haon feel smaller. It seemed better to just get in a taxi quickly.
“Where do you live now? Did you come here alone?”
The man continued the conversation, deliberately leading Haon further away from the exit. Even though Haon kept his mouth shut and didn’t respond, the man persisted with his questions.
“I guess you live with someone.”
He peered into the shopping bag he had seized like a hostage. He looked puzzled, as it was clearly more than a single person’s portion.
“Do you live with a lover by any chance?”
At those words, Haon thought of In-ho and tightened his jaw, biting his lower lip. He felt a surge of anger and sorrow at being dragged around like this.
“Yes, I live with my lover.”
Haon answered boldly and yanked his shopping bag back. With reddened, wide eyes, he raised his voice, demanding it back. His trembling pupils were filled with rage.
“Just, just go. Before I… before I tell your w-wife!”
His stiff tongue kept tripping. He felt his stomach churn even more at the sound of his own shaking voice. Fighting back nausea, he pulled the bag with all his might, but the man suddenly let go, causing Haon to fall flat on his back.
“You want to do that?”
The man dropped his forced smile, his eyes flashing menacingly. His expression stiffened noticeably, as if he hadn’t expected Haon to mention his family.
“Then I should tell, too. Your lover.”
He forcibly hauled Haon up—who couldn’t stand immediately from the shock of the fall—and pressed his lips to Haon’s ear in a warning.
“That you spent an entire weekend having sex with a married man with a kid.”
“I-I didn’t know…!”
Haon’s eyes widened as he pushed the man away. In response, the man gripped Haon’s thin forearm tighter and sneered.
“Save your excuses for your lover.”
Excuses? Haon swore to heaven he had no idea the man had a family. If he had known, he would have bolted out of that motel immediately.
“It wasn’t like I was the only one clinging to you because I liked it. Besides, you were the one who wagged your tail first. Don’t remember?”
Pushing the pale Haon against the wall, the man abruptly reached into Haon’s pants pocket. It happened before Haon could even stop him.
He shoved his hand deep into the pocket and arbitrarily pulled out the phone. The moment he read the trembling expression on Haon’s face, he became even more overbearing.
“G-give it back…!”
“Don’t raise your voice. Can’t you see there are people around?”
Glaring at Haon with a hand raised as if to strike, he tapped the phone screen. Perhaps remembering that Haon’s previous phone had been old, he sneered, asking if his lover had bought it for him, while continuing to tap the screen.
“Give it back!”
Haon, his face bright red, screamed. It was the first time in his life he had ever shouted like this. At the same time, he even swung the heavy shopping bag at the man. The moment the word ‘lover’ was mentioned, In-ho’s face came to mind, giving him a sudden burst of strength.
“I’ll… I’ll r-report you to the police!”
The commotion drew the attention of people nearby. Aware of this, the man deliberately smiled brightly, framing it as if Haon were just pretending to be angry as a joke.
“Alright, alright. I get it, kid. Calm down.”
“Don’t touch me! Don’t put your hands on m-me…!”
Haon, who had been screaming, suddenly clutched his throat and burst into a coughing fit. For a moment, his vision went white, and the strength left his legs.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
The man quickly grabbed Haon’s waist to support him. He subtly blocked Haon’s mouth and increased the physical contact while pretending to check his complexion. The more he did, the more violent Haon’s coughing became.
“Excuse me. Are you alright?”
A middle-aged woman who had been watching them closely approached. Haon’s condition looked precarious.
“Should I call someone for you?”
She directed the question specifically to Haon. The way the man was forcibly holding Haon looked highly suspicious.
Haon, his body limp, had lost the strength to answer and could only gasp for air. His limbs wouldn’t obey him. His lower abdomen felt as hot as if it had been burned.
“He’s fine. My partner’s heat cycle is just unstable.”
“Are you really partners? Doesn’t look like it.”
“Yes, yes. We are. Thank you for your concern.”
The man gave a benevolent smile and hugged Haon even tighter. The middle-aged woman couldn’t bring herself to leave, her face filled with doubt. She had witnessed Haon trying his absolute best to push him away moments ago.
“Then why don’t you accompany us to the hospital?”
As the woman persisted, the man began to get irritated. He was subtly releasing his pheromones so that only Haon could feel them. Of course, the middle-aged woman, being a Beta, was unaware of this.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, Haon, covering his mouth, struggled violently. The man, who had been momentarily distracted by the woman, lost his grip on Haon.
Haon collapsed to the floor and dry-heaved. Startled, the middle-aged woman tried to grab Haon’s shoulder to see if he was okay.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!!”
Haon screamed until his throat tore, trembling violently as he stood up. Then, without looking back, he ran straight ahead.
Feeling as though the man was chasing him, he mumbled for help while searching for the exit. Just as his face was drenched in tears streaming from his reddened eyes, his underwear was quickly soaked by the fluid leaking from below.
“Hng, ah….”
A hot, sticky liquid was flowing from the crease of his buttocks. Recognizing the familiar sensation, Haon clutched his stomach and ran without stopping.
The moment he realized his body had heated up, he abandoned the thought of seeking help from others. Asking a stranger for help might only lead to something worse. Whenever his heat started, Haon had always attracted only the worst kind of Alphas.
Fortunately, the exit appeared shortly after. Haon burst outside, panting for breath.
He ran straight to the taxi stand and looked for a sign marked for Betas. He had to get home immediately.
“Please… just go quickly….”
Clutching his stomach, Haon struggled to give the taxi driver his home address and closed his eyes. He didn’t even realize that he had given the wrong address.
The moment the taxi departed, thin raindrops began to fall.