“……”
Director Yeon silently watched the omega’s retreating profile as he walked away without hesitation. Even though the warmth should have lingered inside the car rather than outside, the atmosphere that had been soft and warm just moments ago quickly turned cold.
“Drive.”
After checking a message from Kang Seoui, he gave the order curtly.
***
“If you had called, I would’ve come down. Was it difficult to come up?”
Steam rose from the mug in Lee Haejin’s hand.
“It was fine. And Director Yeon says I should practice doing things on my own.”
“Mm, that makes sense. It’s best to try things yourself to get used to them.”
Jung Heeyeon sipped the tea Lee Haejin had brought him and quietly looked around. It was a familiar scene—similar to Director Yeon’s home. The spacious living room contained nothing but a large sofa and a low table. There wasn’t a trace of warmth or personal touch in this space.
In the dramas Kim Jiwon had shown him, living rooms were always filled with decorations, but both Director Yeon’s and Lee Haejin’s homes felt oddly empty. Jung Heeyeon took another sip of warm tea, pushing aside the pointless thought.
“You didn’t take any suppressants, right? Your pheromones are leaking.”
“No. The director told me not to take them.”
“The state of your pheromones… It looks like you will go into your heat soon.”
Lee Haejin studied Jung Heeyeon’s face carefully as he murmured. He was also a dominant omega. Leaving aside the fact that he had been raised under Chairman Jung, he had dealt with many omegas before, so he could detect even the subtlest changes in pheromones.
The omega who had once saved him from a cage had joked that he could probably sense heat coming even better than the alphas.
“Heat?”
“You don’t know what that is?”
“I do, but…”
The answer that came back was vague.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never gone into heat before?”
“No.”
Lee Haejin bit the soft flesh inside his mouth. That was impossible. Even if he wasn’t sure exactly when Jung Heeyeon had first presented, he was already twenty years old. There was no way he had never experienced heat. A dominant Omega who had never gone into heat? Half-lowering his eyelids, Lee Haejin started piecing things together.
“You haven’t had your first heat…”
It wasn’t hard to guess what was happening inside Jung Heeyeon’s body. Someone must have deliberately suppressed his heat for a twisted reason. It would be difficult for him when it finally hit. Lee Haejin felt a twinge of concern but quickly redirected his thoughts to Director Yeon. That man must know Jung Heeyeon’s condition and would have already prepared a solution. Even if the situation made it impossible for him to take suppressants, Jiwoo had plenty of pheromone management specialists.
Heat wasn’t something Lee Haejin as an omega could help with. Instead, he decided it would be best to start with sex education.
“Heeyeon, there’s something you really need to know.”
Jung Heeyeon nodded silently and slid a paper box toward him. The logo suggested it was from a dessert shop.
“…Did you buy this for me?”
“Yes. I brought it so we could share, Hyung.”
“Ah… Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
In truth, Lee Haejin wasn’t particularly fond of desserts. In fact, the only indulgences he could genuinely say he enjoyed were cigarettes and alcohol. Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse Jung Heeyeon’s thoughtful gesture, so he took a bite of the cake. It wasn’t too sweet, yet, for some reason, it felt especially soft. Only after that did Jung Heeyeon finally start eating his own cake. Watching him chew, Lee Haejin eventually spoke.
“No matter how intense your heat gets, if anyone touch you without your consent, it will count as rape.”
“Rape?”
Jung Heeyeon furrowed his brows slightly.
“But I was told that word doesn’t apply to omegas…”
He suddenly recalled Director Yeon telling him to forget everything he had been taught, and his words trailed off belatedly.
“That’s bullshit. A proper alpha would give you suppressants, not force themselves on you.”
“Yes.”
“When heat hits, it’s basically the same as being in rut. You won’t be able to think straight. The only thought in your head will be that you want to do it. But you need to remember this—sex without consent is always rape.”
“Then… should I always take suppressants during heat?”
The question seemed obvious, but Lee Haejin clamped his mouth shut. Taking suppressants was the standard solution. If Jung Heeyeon had experienced a normal heat before, Lee Haejin would have given him that answer without hesitation. But Jung Heeyeon’s heat had been forcibly delayed. There was no telling what might happen if he took suppressants now.
However, Director Yeon would surely have a plan in place. Thinking so and carefully choosing his words, Lee Haejin spoke a beat later than usual.
“Not always, but usually. Either you take suppressants, sleep with your lover, or have an agreement with an alpha beforehand.”
“Agreement?”
“A sex partner.”
“Oh. I understand.”
Jung Heeyeon nodded with a serene expression on his face. It was an unfamiliar term, but once he pieced together its meaning, it wasn’t difficult to grasp. Director Yeon didn’t seem to have a lover… Did that mean he spent his rut with a sex partner? It was an awkward question, one he couldn’t ask Lee Haejin outright.
“If anything happens when your heat comes, make sure to tell me. No exceptions. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Jung Heeyeon nodded obediently, even though he had no idea what Lee Haejin was so concerned about.
“There are some alphas who use their pheromones to forcibly trigger an omega’s heat, but since you’re a dominant omega, it’s unlikely you’d fall victim to that. Though, right now, you’re in a dangerous state.”
“Because I can’t control my pheromones?”
“Yeah. So the first thing you need to learn is how to control them.”
Director Yeon had told him to take things slowly, but Jung Heeyeon couldn’t help feeling impatient. He didn’t like the thought of his pheromones disrupting Director Yeon’s daily life.
“The strongest concentration of an omega’s pheromones is in the neck. …Can I touch you for a moment?”
“Yes.”
After getting permission, Lee Haejin slipped his hand inside Jung Heeyeon’s turtleneck. As soon as his fingers pressed lightly over the spot where the pheromone gland should be, the fair body flinched.
“Sorry. Did that hurt?”
“No, it’s not that…”
He had only been startled because the touched area was where Director Yeon had left marks as he was giving Jung Heeyeon affection.
“Wait a second. Can I take a look?”
The way Jung Heeyeon visibly tensed made Lee Haejin instinctively sense that something was off. He swallowed a sigh and cautiously asked.
“Yes. It’s fine.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Jung Heeyeon willingly exposed his neck. Since Lee Haejin was also an omega and there were many things he himself didn’t know, asking what this mark was didn’t seem like a bad idea. Lee Haejin pulled down Jung Heeyeon’s turtleneck to check the nape of his neck. The design of the sweater wasn’t particularly tight around the neck, so it wasn’t difficult to pull it down.
“……”
As expected, though the color had somewhat faded, it was unmistakably a kiss mark. After readjusting Jung Heeyeon’s clothes, Lee Haejin began running through Director Yeon’s personal details in his mind.
How old was that man again? Even Director Yeon himself wouldn’t know his exact age. Even the name Yeon Woobeom was something he received and he only had his birth officially registered long after he was separated from Chairman Jung.
One thing was certain—he was in his early to mid-thirties. A kiss mark on an omega over ten years younger than him? There was no other word for it—it was daylight robbery.
“Heeyeon, did Director Yeon leave this?”
“Do you know what is this?”
“…A kiss mark.”
“A kiss mark?”
This thief. Lee Haejin let out a sigh.
“It’s… basically a bruise from someone biting you.”
–
Even on the way home, Jung Heeyeon was lost in thought, wondering why Director Yeon had bitten his neck.
“Director.”
Instead of heading straight to his room, he called out to Director Yeon. Rather than agonizing over it alone, it seemed better to ask directly.
“Yeah, Heeyeon?”
“Why did you bite me?”
Director Yeon immediately understood what he meant. Lee Haejin must have seen the kiss mark and explained how it got there. His mood had already soured from the unfamiliar omega pheromones lingering on Jung Heeyeon, and now his expression unconsciously darkened even further.
“My Heeyeon…”
Instead of answering the question, he called Jung Heeyeon’s name in a slow, deliberate tone.
“You didn’t even call me.”
“Oh.”
“What am I supposed to do if you show your bare skin to someone else? This director is jealous.”
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AHahahahahahaha i love their chemistry so much!!! Thank you so much for the update💗