Director Yeon straightened his back with a grimace. As he instinctively brought a hand to the corner of his eye, his fingertips brushed the faint scar there. Maybe it was because he’d met Chairman Jung, memories that had long since faded came clinging back through a dream.
They were horrific memories, but the only emotion he felt now was discomfort.
It was a memory from over a decade ago. He wasn’t the sort to let the past weigh him down with rage or despair. The recollection had dulled over time, worn down by the years he’d spent living as a low-level thug, then as a glorified bodyguard in a gang, a private security firm director, and eventually a weapons dealer.
There was no need to feel anger when he was already prepared to wrap his hands around that old alpha’s throat. The discomfort he felt came solely from having to see that revolting face even in his dreams—nothing more.
Easily back to his senses from sleep, his unguarded body and heightened nerves awakened an old instinct of alphas. The moment he sensed the presence of someone who shouldn’t have been in his bedroom, Director Yeon moved without thinking. At the same time, the alpha’s large body loomed over the intruder.
“……!”
The hand that had definitely been reaching for the intruder’s throat came to a sudden halt. The old habit had been interrupted by an inexplicable sense. His heart began to pound violently, more ferociously than when he’d first sensed another presence.
“…Haa.”
Looking into those gently blinking brown eyes, Director Yeon let out a short, breathless chuckle. It was fortunate, at least, that his body hadn’t pinned the other down like it would have in the past, out of old habit. That small, delicate body lay peacefully on the bed, no different from how it had been from the start.
“Director.”
Jung Heeyeon looked up at him with bright, alert eyes and called out softly. He had woken just a little while ago, stirred when the man who had been holding him turned his body away. Even before he could feel upset, he had noticed that the man was having a nightmare.
He’d debated whether to wake him, but then the man had suddenly sat up. Jung Heeyeon was just about to rise up following him. If it hadn’t been for the sudden movement of the alpha’s body blocking him, he would’ve been sitting upright by now. The fleeting change in Director Yeon’s unusual expression had come and gone in an instant.
Carefully, Jung Heeyeon lifted his arm and slipped his fingers between the man’s. The hand that had been lurching forward like it might strike a vital point flinched unexpectedly at the feel of his slender fingers weaving through it. A moment later, long fingers moved gently over the back of Jung Heeyeon’s soft hand. Despite the tenderness of the touch, Director Yeon’s expression seemed slightly troubled.
“…I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”
His voice was barely audible.
Having spent most of his life crawling through the muck, Director Yeon had developed a heightened sensitivity to others’ presence. It wasn’t something he should feel guilty about. But the problem was that the person lying in front of him was Jung Heeyeon.
The omega must have been frightened. The man had never acted like this until now. Especially for someone like Jung Heeyeon, whose past experiences with abuse would make him all the more sensitive to an alpha’s aggression.
As he fidgeted with the small hand that had offered him comfort, guilt and unease gnawed at Director Yeon.
“I’ll leave the room now. You stay here and rest.”
Had it been anyone but Jung Heeyeon, he would’ve done more than lashing out already. Fortunately, he hadn’t laid a finger on him—but even so, the small omega lying beneath him would’ve surely perceived the alpha’s rough movement and overwhelming size as a threat. That’s what an alpha was to an omega. He should’ve been more careful. His nerves had been so on edge that he hadn’t had time to stop his body from reacting on instinct.
“Ah…”
After a few seconds of silence, Jung Heeyeon finally opened his mouth. At the sound of his breath-soft voice, the alpha’s arm, which had been supporting his weight, twitched with tension. He needed to leave now. And just when Director Yeon began to pull away.
“Director.”
Jung Heeyeon hesitated slightly, then spoke. He had only been quietly watching, fascinated by the rare, fierce expression on Director Yeon’s face—something he’d never seen outside of sex. He hadn’t been scared or surprised, but it seemed like the Director had misunderstood.
“I wasn’t scared.”
He brushed his fingers gently over the man’s arm resting beside his face, speaking slowly. Normally, Director Yeon would’ve smiled and said something like, ‘Hmmm, you weren’t?’ But now, the man simply stared down at him in silence, gaze intense, like he was trying to read what Jung Heeyeon was really thinking.
“I mean it… I’m not afraid of you, Director.”
When he gripped the alpha’s arm with both hands, he could feel the muscle tense beneath his fingers.
“You’d never do anything to hurt me.”
“……”
“And it’s okay to react that way when you have a nightmare. Last time I had one, I cried, remember…?”
People react to nightmares differently, Jung Heeyeon thought. Some might cry. Others might lash out. It was natural. His words seemed to hold some weight, as the man finally, slowly opened his lips.
“Heeyeon, you really weren’t scared?”
“No. I wasn’t scared, because I trust you, Director.”
Director Yeon scanned Jung Heeyeon’s clear, open face with stubborn thoroughness. He couldn’t imagine this omega ever lying. Finding only sincerity in that gentle face, he let out a faint sigh and lowered his head toward Jung Heeyeon’s nape. The sweet scent of his pheromones seeped into his lungs. A scent completely unlike the foul, tangled stench of pheromones from his nightmare.
Jung Heeyeon carefully let go of Director Yeon’s arm and instead wrapped his arms around the man’s broad back, as if trying to hug him. The difference in their sizes made it difficult to do so with one arm, which was a bit frustrating. If he could, he would’ve used his left hand too and hugged him tighter, but that hand was still holding Director Yeon’s.
“Director, did you have a nightmare?”
Only then did Director Yeon lift his head slightly. His nose and Jung Heeyeon’s nose were nearly touching. Raising his body up a bit more, he gently unwove their fingers and reached to brush back the omega’s messy hair. The soft strands and warm, freshly-awakened skin felt so good it sent a shiver down his spine.
A nightmare, huh.
Director Yeon didn’t consider his dream to be one. It hadn’t brought him pain or tears, so how could it be called a nightmare? But the innocent omega seemed convinced that his edgy reaction was because of one.
“Should I give you some pats?”
“Pats?”
Director Yeon reenacted the words, as if tasting them. His low voice held a trace of a smile.
“Yes. I told you before, right? If you had a nightmare, I’d pat you gently.”
“If I say I had a nightmare, will you give me pats now?”
“Pardon? Yes.”
“Yeah, I had a nightmare.”
With shameless ease, he assigned that meaningless echo of the past the label nightmare and gave his reply.
“Then I’ll give you pats tonight.”
Jung Heeyeon reached out an arm and whispered. His voice, calm and quiet, suited the stillness of the night. Instead of leaning down, the man slipped a hand behind the omega beneath him. With ease, he lifted Jung Heeyeon and settled him onto his thigh.
Jung Heeyeon squirmed a little before realizing that sitting in Director Yeon’s lap was actually the coziest position to comfort him. He nestled closer, resting his chin on the man’s broad shoulder, which made the embrace feel even more secure. With a firm hug on the man, he began to slowly and rhythmically pat Director Yeon’s back. It felt a bit different from when the director did it for him, but this posture wasn’t a bad feeling. After all, he was still soothing the other’s back, just like he’d been soothed.
Director Yeon let out a soft laugh at the sensation of the small omega patting him as if to comfort him. Holding the warm, small body in his arms, the stickiness of his earlier irritation melted away without a trace. Surely, Jung Heeyeon was the only person who would treat him like a vulnerable person who needed tenderness.
“Heeyeon, what will you do after you’re done patting me?”
It was a light, meaningless question—but Jung Heeyeon began to think it over seriously. He had only vaguely thought that he’d stay with the director until he fell asleep. But when he considered what he could do next, the answer came faster and easier than expected, he’d just do for the director what the director always did for him.
“Should I adore you, Director?”
He stopped patting and looked into Director Yeon’s eyes. That fierce sharpness from before was gone, the man’s expression was full of gentle affection, an expression most familiar to Jung Heeyeon.
“And how are you going to adore me?”
Director Yeon’s voice trailed off as he felt the small fingers continue fidgeting busily across his back.
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