By Zephyria 
After confirming that Hae-joo was completely asleep, Min-hyeok lay down beside him as if collapsing. He sighed as he looked at the wound on his arm, where his own teeth marks were clearly visible. The wound was deep, but he hadn’t even felt the pain. Suppressing the temptation of the pheromones had been far more urgent.
“He’s the only one getting a good night’s sleep. Someone else was breaking a sweat because of him…”
Min-hyeok clicked his tongue while looking at Hae-joo, who was wrapped snugly in the blankets. He was relieved that the medicine had worked. He had never imagined that pheromones would erupt in such a manner. As far as Min-hyeok knew, Hae-joo had been identified as an Omega during his first manifestation at the age of twelve.
Of course, because of his young age, he didn’t emit pheromones that attracted Alphas, but he was certainly a normal Omega. Consequently, the marriage proceedings moved quickly, and as he grew, his appearance became even more Omega-like. However, even when he turned sixteen—the age when a typical Heat begins—there was no sign of a Heat, nor even a trace of pheromones.
It had reached a point where Min-hyeok and the Late Emperor’s couple suspected he might be a Beta and intended to conduct separate tests. Afterward, no matter how much Min-hyeok released his pheromones, Hae-joo couldn’t feel them, and Min-hyeok used that as an excuse to delay their first night together.
Min-hyeok was dumbfounded by the fact that Hae-joo’s Omega pheromones had suddenly erupted like this. When Min-hyeok had entered, Hae-joo was wearing an expression he had never seen before while looking at Hyun-wook. Unlike his usual blunt and annoyed expression, he looked gentle and comfortable.
Within that comfortable expression, there was even a subtle tension and excitement. It wasn’t just Hae-joo whose face was flushed; Kang Hyun-wook was the same. Because of that, Min-hyeok’s stomach twisted for a moment. It wasn’t just that Cha Hae-joo was facing a man other than himself; the feeling that they were communing in some way brought a wave of unpleasantness.
Their gaze was deep, like people who had known each other for a long time. But there was no point of contact between them. Hae-joo spent almost all his time in the Grand Imperial Concubine’s Imperial Pavilion, and Hyun-wook had only recently entered the palace. Therefore, it was incomprehensible that they could commune with such a gaze—unless it was love at first sight.
“Kang Hyun-wook isn’t exactly the type to fall for at first sight.”
The moment he felt an inexplicable unpleasantness at the sight of the two, pheromones mixed with irritation and possessiveness flowed from Min-hyeok’s body. Since there was no one else who could detect them anyway, he hadn’t bothered to restrain them.
But of all things, Hae-joo had reacted to Min-hyeok’s petty pheromones. To think that his Omega pheromones erupted in response to pheromones laced with jealousy… He didn’t know whether to be happy about this or not.
The first time he smelled an Omega’s—and specifically his spouse’s—pheromones, it was utterly ecstatic and seductive. Since he knew all the theory, he thought suppressing such desire would be nothing. But he was completely wrong. It was Min-hyeok’s arrogance and delusion. He could not resist Hae-joo’s pheromones.
The moment he smelled Hae-joo’s pheromones, his reason was completely paralyzed, and his mind was filled only with the thought of wanting to hold him and possess him. The only Omegas around Min-hyeok were his mother, the Queen Dowager, and Hae-joo. Pheromones do not act on blood relatives, and since this was the first time Hae-joo’s pheromones had appeared, it was Min-hyeok’s first time experiencing Omega pheromones.
It wasn’t as if Min-hyeok had sought out other Omegas to embrace, nor did he have the heart to embrace anyone in the first place, so Min-hyeok was a virgin as inexperienced in sex as Hae-joo. Thus, when the situation hit, he had no remaining reason to handle it properly.
Hae-joo is mine anyway, and we are legally married, so why not just embrace him? That would actually be normal. Such thoughts dominated his mind. An Omega’s pheromones could neutralize an Alpha in an instant like this. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
To make matters worse, Hae-joo was driving him crazy with behavior he never usually showed, so it was nearly a miracle that he managed to endure the urge. Overwhelmed by pheromones, Hae-joo’s rational functions were lost, and he was nearly out of his mind. It was obvious that once he regained his senses, he would regret all his actions. Min-hyeok disliked that kind of relationship, and he didn’t want to see Hae-joo regret it.
At the very least, he wanted to embrace him when Hae-joo could maintain his memory and control his pheromones. Therefore, rather than coldly pushing Hae-joo away, he let him bite his own arm to snap him out of it. On the other hand, he wondered if Hae-joo had felt the same desire toward him due to his own pheromones.
Just as he was thinking it was a relief that Hae-joo’s pheromones were coming out normally, another problem suddenly surged up. As those practical issues hit, Min-hyeok’s momentarily excited mind turned cold.
‘The Prime Minister must not find out that Hae-joo’s pheromones erupted.’
If the Prime Minister found out about this, he would surely use it to pressure Hae-joo to produce an heir. If Hae-joo didn’t comply, he would even use his brother, Han-bin. Then the situation would just go in circles again. The same thing would repeat without anything being resolved. He had to prevent that at all costs.
At least for a few days, while Han-bin was completely separated from the Prime Minister’s side… He could silence the people who witnessed today’s events and strengthen the security around Hae-joo. He needed to wrap up the matter with Cha Han-bin first.
As he organized his tasks and carefully tried to slip out of bed, Min-hyeok gazed at the sleeping Hae-joo. He had heard that people momentarily swayed by pheromones sometimes cannot remember the events of that time. Would Hae-joo remember this, or would he forget?
“However, I hope you do not lose your memory, Grand Imperial Concubine. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow.”
Leaving those meaningful words for Hae-joo, Min-hyeok quietly left the room.
∗ ∗ ∗
“…Ah, I’ve really gone crazy, I have. What on earth was I thinking, molesting the Emperor there? Are you insane, Cha Hae-joo?”
Waking up feeling strangely refreshed, unlike other days, I had forgotten the previous day’s events for a moment and was leaning against the bed with my eyes closed. Then, I remembered the incident where my pheromones erupted and I had to take suppressants.
Along with that, the face of Joo Min-hyeok as he frantically shoved the medicine into my mouth… How much must he have hated it? Were pheromones this scary? I kicked the blankets on the bed as I recalled my disgraceful behavior toward Joo Min-hyeok.
These pheromones had been completely silent until now, so why the hell did they erupt then? And of all days, today is the day I have dinner with Joo Min-hyeok. Dammit.
Unbelievably and horribly, I had wrapped my legs around his waist and pressed my lower body against him. I had clung to him as if hanging on, rubbing my mouth against his neck and shoulder, even acting spoiled, fuck.
How grateful should I be that he gave me the medicine? It’s a relief I didn’t get beaten up and pass out. If I were arrested for molesting the Emperor, what would be the minimum sentence? No, in the first place, has anyone ever actually molested an Emperor?
“Um, Palace Lord user…”
“What…”
“Sir Kang Hyun-wook has arrived and is waiting for you.”
“Huh?”
Ah, right! Hyun-wook was here! Because it was a matter of life and death, I had completely forgotten about the friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. Even if I’m going to die, I have to see Hyun-wook before I go. I told the court lady that I would wash up and come out, and to tell him to wait.
When I went out to the drawing room, I saw Hyun-wook waiting for me. Looking quite nervous, Hyun-wook stood up as soon as I appeared. It had truly been far too long.
I couldn’t believe that Hyun-wook was reacting to my appearance. After looking around and confirming that no one else was there, Hyun-wook quietly moved his lips toward me.
“Hae… Hae-joo. You’re Hae-joo, right?”
It had been several years since we last met. Even in the bizarre situation of meeting again in a novel after parting through death, Hyun-wook spoke more normally and plainly than I expected. I would have thought so if I hadn’t seen his trembling hands and wildly shaking pupils.
“…And you? How did you get here? When and why did you come all the way here!”
Forgetting to even say I was glad to see him, I asked the most important and curious point of this meeting. Anyone would. Entering a novel isn’t exactly easy. Though I came here because I died.
“How did you come—”
“I died too! I died there just like you and Seo-joo, Hae-joo. It happened fifteen days after you left. And when I opened my eyes, I was here.”
Hyun-wook’s words, which cut me off and answered my curiosity, were shocking. So, is he saying that Hyun-wook died there too? Really? He really came here after dying?
That clear answer to my curiosity was worse than not hearing it at all. Seo-joo and I became like that due to illness, but Hyun-wook had always been too healthy for his own good. Seeing me with my mouth agape in shock, Hyun-wook continued.
“You and Seo-joo were everything to me. You know. I was always neglected at home. My father and mother barely came home because of work, and my older brother and sister went to study abroad.”
“Star tutors are like that. They’re incredibly popular instructors.”
In our previous life, Hyun-wook’s parents were what people call ‘star tutors’ and were very famous. There was even a joke that every student in the country flocked to them. Because the two were busy without any days off, they actually made a room in the academy building and lived there, leaving Hyun-wook always alone.
“My father and mother only cared about other people’s children. They had no interest in their own. Of course, I know. I know it was because of work. But I was alone every day in that huge house. To me, you and Seo-joo were my real family. You two were my everything.”
“Hyun-wook…”
“When Seo-joo became like that, I felt like I was going crazy, but I thought it would get better if I leaned on you and endured. That’s what I thought. But then you, Hae-joo, suddenly became like that too, and it wasn’t just sadness… it wasn’t just that level of emotion.”
As Hyun-wook’s indescribable emotions reached me, tears burst forth. Even at the moment I closed my eyes, I had been worried about Hyun-wook. My heart had ached just thinking about how much he would struggle.
“I didn’t want to live…”
“Then, don’t tell me you—!”
“No! It’s not what you’re thinking. I went to the memorial park where you and Seo-joo are every day. Without eating, without drinking water, without sleeping, every single day.”
“Hey! Why did you do that! Did you get sick because of that?”
“…That day, it rained a lot. If you’re hit by rain, your tears don’t show, so I walked to the memorial park in the rain. I stood in front of you for a long time and then collapsed. To put it simply, the cause of death was malnutrition, pneumonia, and complications from a high fever.”
The shock was so great that I lost my words. Hyun-wook’s death was because of me and Seo-joo. I’m clearly happy to see him after so long, and it feels like a dream, so why am I crying so much? Hyun-wook just gave me a silly grin.
Was it because I was so distracted? I was staring blankly at Hyun-wook and didn’t hear the sound of Sang-seon, the Emperor’s secretary, coming and going.