“He thought he must have seen wrong.”
The man, who had muttered in a low voice, swept back his hair and laughed. It seemed he had rushed over alone after seeing Haon.
“What are the odds of meeting you here?”
Before the frozen Haon could say anything, he stepped into the elevator. Tak, tak. The doors closed as the man quickly pressed a button.
Haon, caught off guard by the unexpected situation, blankly stared at the man. As the elevator doors closed, he turned to Haon, a deep smile on his face.
“It’s been so long. Over a year? Ah, maybe even longer.”
The man’s gaze, laced with a smile, scanned Haon’s pale face. His expression genuinely conveyed his delight at seeing Haon.
“You look like you’ve lost more weight. You were thin even back then.”
He narrowed the distance to get a closer look at Haon.
Startled by this, Haon took a step back and was about to rush out when the elevator chimed, announcing their arrival on the first floor.
“Come on, you can at least say hello.”
The man blocked Haon’s path. He stood in front of the door with his large frame and showed interest in Haon’s shopping basket.
“Did you come by car? It looks heavy, want me to hold it for a moment?”
“N-no, it’s okay…”
The man frowned, hearing Haon’s thin, weak voice trembling. He reacted as if he were truly hurt by Haon’s blunt attitude.
“Is this how you’re going to be? I was so happy to see you that I ran over.”
Speechless at his brazen attitude, Haon looked up at him. He had been trying to avoid making eye contact until the very end, but he couldn’t simply let this go.
“We’re not exactly… on greeting terms, are we?”
Doing his best to glare at him, Haon moved past his large frame and got out of the elevator. He didn’t want to be in the same space as him for even a moment longer.
Haon clutched the shopping basket to keep from dropping it and looked for the exit. However, his vision had narrowed due to the tension, making it difficult to find the way out.
“Let’s talk for a bit.”
Just then, the man who had followed Haon tried to forcefully snatch the shopping basket. Surprised, Haon hugged the basket even tighter and resisted his hand.
“I have nothing to say to you. Please leave.”
“Don’t misunderstand anything strange. I was separated when I met you.”
The man spoke confidently. He forcefully took Haon’s belongings and grabbed his wrist.
“You didn’t bring your car, did you? Follow me, I’ll get you a taxi.”
“I-I don’t need it…”
As Haon tried to raise his voice, the man, frowning, wore a menacing expression.
“So, you don’t need my help anymore, is that it?”
He quickly composed his expression, mindful of the gazes of passersby. Lowering his voice so only Haon could hear, he forced the corners of his lips up.
“When you were in heat, you begged me to save you like that. And now you treat the person who saved you like a bug, huh?”
The man pulled Haon’s arm and forcefully draped it over his shoulder. He even patted Haon’s shoulder hard as if they were close, feigning intimacy. A shiver ran down Haon’s spine, and he gritted his teeth, trying to shake off his arm.
“I slept with you back then because I genuinely liked you.”
As Haon, overpowered by his strength, gave up resisting, the man lowered his head and whispered. His eyes, gleaming, looked at Haon’s pale cheeks and slender neckline. Haon’s Adam’s apple, bobbing with tension, still looked beautiful to him.
Haon glanced around, wondering if he should ask for help. His heavy lips parted and then closed without making a sound. He didn’t think anyone would listen to him anyway; past experiences had made Haon shrink further. It seemed better to just quickly get a taxi.
“Where are you living now? Did you come here alone?”
The man deliberately led Haon away from the exit, continuing the conversation. Even though Haon kept his mouth shut and didn’t respond, he stubbornly continued to ask questions.
“Looks like you’re living with someone.”
He peered into the shopping basket he had forcefully taken as if it were hostage. It clearly held more food than one person would eat, and he looked puzzled.
“Are you perhaps living with your lover?”
At those words, Haon, thinking of Inho, clenched his jaw and bit his lower lip. He felt a surge of anger and resentment at being dragged along like this.
“Yes, I live with my lover.”
Haon answered firmly and pulled his shopping basket back. His eyes red, he glared and raised his voice, demanding it back. His trembling pupils were filled with anger.
“Just… please go. Before I… before I tell your wife.”
His stiff tongue kept twisting. The sound of his own wavering voice made his stomach churn even more. Fighting back nausea, he pulled on the shopping basket with all his might, only to fall over when the man suddenly loosened his grip.
“Is that what you want?”
The man, his forced smile gone, flashed a chilling look in his eyes. He seemed taken aback that Haon would mention his family, and his expression visibly hardened.
“Then I should tell your lover too. That you spent the whole weekend having sex with a married man with a child.”
“I-I didn’t know…!”
Haon, his eyes wide, pushed him away. The more he did, the tighter the man gripped Haon’s thin forearm, sneering.
“Save your excuses for your lover.”
Excuses? Haon swore to the heavens that he had no idea the man had a family. If he had known, he would have run out of the motel immediately.
“It’s not like I was the only one who liked you and clung to you. Besides, you were the one who wagged your tail first. Don’t you remember?”
The man, his face darkening, pushed Haon against the wall and suddenly reached into Haon’s pants pocket. It happened before Haon could even react.
He deliberately shoved his hand deep into the pocket and nonchalantly took out the cell phone. The moment he read Haon’s flustered expression, he became even more emboldened.
“G-give it back…!”
“Don’t raise your voice. Can’t you see there are people around?”
He raised his hand as if to strike him, glaring at Haon, and then tapped on the phone screen. Remembering that Haon’s old phone was outdated, he sneered, asking if his lover had bought him this one, and continued to tap the screen.
“I said give it back!”
Haon’s face turned bright red, and he shouted. It was the first time in his life he had yelled like that. At the same time, he swung the heavy shopping basket towards the man. The moment he mentioned the word ‘lover,’ Inho’s face flashed in his mind, giving him unexpected strength.
“I’ll… I’ll report you to the police!”
The commotion between the two drew the attention of the people around them. Aware of this, the man deliberately smiled brightly, making it seem as if Haon was just playfully angry.
“Alright, alright. I get it. Calm down.”
“Don’t touch me! Don’t lay a hand on my body…!”
Having shouted loudly, Haon suddenly clutched his throat and coughed violently. In that instant, his vision went white, and his legs threatened to give way.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
The man quickly grabbed Haon’s waist and supported him. He subtly covered Haon’s mouth and increased physical contact, pretending to check his complexion. The more he did this, the more violent Haon’s cough 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?”
She deliberately asked Haon. The way the man was forcibly holding Haon looked suspicious.
Haon, his body limp, had lost the strength to answer and could only pant. His arms and legs wouldn’t respond. His lower abdomen felt as if it were burning.
“He’s fine. His partner’s heat cycle is just unstable.”
“Partner? Doesn’t look like it to me.”
“Yes, yes, he is. Thank you for your concern.”
The man gave a kind smile and held Haon even closer. The middle-aged woman couldn’t leave, her expression doubtful. She had witnessed Haon pushing him away with all his might just moments ago.
“Then why don’t you go to the hospital together?”
As the middle-aged woman persisted, the man slowly began to get annoyed. He was subtly releasing his pheromones so that only Haon could sense them. Of course, the beta middle-aged woman was unaware of this.
“Ugh.”
Just then, Haon, whose mouth was covered, struggled violently. The man, momentarily distracted by the woman, ended up losing his grip on Haon.
Haon collapsed onto the floor, retching. The startled middle-aged woman, asking if he was alright, tried to grab Haon’s shoulder.
“Don’t touch me!!”
At that, Haon, screaming at the top of his lungs, stood up, his body trembling violently. Then, without looking back, he ran straight ahead.
He felt like the man was chasing him, and he mumbled for help as he searched for the exit. Just as his face was completely soaked with tears streaming down his red eyes, his underwear was also quickly wet with the fluid flowing from below.
“Hnn, ah….”
A hot, sticky liquid was oozing from between his buttocks. Haon clutched his stomach at the familiar sensation and ran without stopping.
The moment he recognized his body heating up, he gave up on the thought of asking for help from others. He was afraid that seeking help from strangers might lead to something even worse. Only the worst kind of alphas had always been attracted to Haon when his heat started.
Fortunately, the exit came into view not long after. Haon, panting heavily, burst outside. He immediately ran to the taxi stand and looked for a sign with the beta symbol. He had to get home right away.
“Please, hurry…”
Clutching his stomach, Haon laboriously gave the taxi driver his home address and closed his eyes, not even realizing that he had given the wrong address.
The moment the taxi started moving, thin raindrops began to fall.
