Maybe that’s why—his movements as he undressed were a bit rough. With a vague sense of unease, Ha-jin glanced around, gauging the mood.
Two secondary-gendered individuals, and lovers at that, had stepped into a bathhouse full of Beta men. No wonder he felt self-conscious. The best Ha-jin could do was pretend nothing was wrong and put on a composed expression.
Just as he turned toward the bath entrance after Tae-seong had finally undressed, he felt a sharp gaze pierce his backside. It wasn’t just his imagination—he clearly heard Tae-seong muttering something about his ass. Ha-jin shot him a side-eye glare and entered the bath.
Still, he didn’t entirely dislike coming to the bathhouse together. In fact, he kind of liked it. Just like the thick steam surrounding them, his mood felt warm and fluffy, like something was gently tickling him from the inside.
On the other hand, Tae-seong was far more miserable than he’d expected—it was downright hellish. He finally understood why secondary-gendered people didn’t frequent public bathhouses. Honestly, shouldn’t it be banned by law at this point?
What if that creepy landlord of Ha-jin’s had shown up at this bathhouse in the past, pretending it was just a coincidence? The thought flitted through his mind. Grinding his teeth in secret so Ha-jin wouldn’t notice, he followed him into the bath.
As soon as the two of them stepped in, all eyes turned toward them. Everyone pretended not to look, sneaking glances instead—but every single one was picked up by Tae-seong’s hypersensitive radar.
“Fuck… You seriously shouldn’t live around here.”
“What?”
Ha-jin hadn’t heard him clearly over the water and leaned in to ask again. His bare skin brushed lightly against Tae-seong’s. Mixed with the steam and scent of soap, Ha-jin’s natural body scent hit Tae-seong hard, making him dizzy.
“……”
Without answering, Tae-seong just stood there. Ha-jin pointed toward the large hot bath.
“You have to shower before getting in there.”
Whatever momentary comfort he’d felt instantly vanished. Looking at the crowd of men already soaking in the bath, Tae-seong made a disgusted face—it reminded him of meat floating in broth.
“I’m not getting in there. Ever.”
“…Okay, then.”
Less than ten minutes later, Tae-seong ended up soaking in the bath with Ha-jin. The hot pool, with bubbles rising in the center, was pretty spacious for a neighborhood bathhouse—Ha-jin loved this place. No matter how short on time he was, he always made sure to soak in hot water. Of course, that wasn’t why Tae-seong joined. He simply couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Ha-jin alone among the four strangers who’d already been in the bath when they arrived.
“Not your thing?”
Misreading Tae-seong’s tense expression, Ha-jin tilted his head and asked.
“…No. I love it. It’s great.”
With his face flushed red and wet hair clinging to his skin, who could possibly give a negative answer to that face? Especially when the person being asked was someone fantasizing about putting Ha-jin in his mouth right that very second.
The only saving grace was that his rising lust had completely deflated. Just the way those men kept sneaking glances at Ha-jin was enough to snap him back to reality. Even if they were Betas, did they still know something? …Couldn’t he just gouge out all their eyeballs?
While Tae-seong was having such deranged thoughts—
SPLASH—Ha-jin flicked a bit of water at him playfully, even giggling a little.
“Not as bad as you thought, right?”
“Yeah, well… bathing together’s actually kinda nice.”
He secretly decided—Next time, I’m stripping him down in my own damn house.
By the time Ha-jin’s face had turned as red as a ripe persimmon, the two of them left the bath and headed to the changing room. They could have stayed longer, but neither could keep their composure anymore, so they had no choice but to get up.
For Tae-seong, his heart had been a mess from the start. But Ha-jin cut their bath short because the calmness he’d started with had worn off too fast.
Washing up with Tae-seong in a public place, with people watching, started to make him feel… strange. Even though he was the one who’d warned himself not to do anything weird.
After toweling off, Ha-jin changed into a light, casual outfit he’d packed just in case. Then he bought a banana milk and handed it to Tae-seong. He even opened the straw wrapper and stuck it in with a satisfying pop. Tae-seong, looking like he’d never tasted one in his life, brought it to his lips.
Ha-jin laughed again at the sight.
“I… really enjoyed it.”
“Yeah?”
“I used to wonder what it’d be like to go to the bathhouse with Yushin… and now, coming here with you, I think I kind of understand.”
When he was younger, he’d wanted to go to the bathhouse with his dad. That wish to share something he loved with someone close. But now, after experiencing it with Tae-seong, Ha-jin realized—
I really do like this place.
I guess I do have things I genuinely enjoy.
When they stepped outside with their skin smooth and glowing like peeled eggs, the sun had long since set—it was completely dark. Tae-seong, now back in his crumpled, damp suit, felt a distinct lack of comfort but forced himself to hide it.
He felt—if he exaggerated just a little—on the verge of tears. But it wasn’t just because of the clothes.
He didn’t want to go home.
More precisely, he didn’t want to part ways.
“Ha-jin.”
At his gentle call, Ha-jin instinctively took a small step back. He was holding a plastic bag with his dirty clothes inside.
“Watch your pheromones. I’ll have to shower again if they flare up. And I don’t have any clothes left to change into now.”
“Ha…”
He finally understood why people get into fights over what’s more important to their partner. If he didn’t hold onto his reason, he’d be asking the exact same kind of questions.
Do you love your brother more, or me?—one of those ridiculous ultimatums.
Tae-seong clenched the hand he had extended toward Ha-jin, curling his fingers into a tight fist.
“Got it. I’ll be careful.”
Right then, a car pulled up and parked nearby. Kim Dae-hong stepped out from the passenger seat. He visibly flinched at the sight of the thoroughly disheveled Tae-seong but quickly straightened his expression and gave a polite nod, as a professional should.
It was clear now—they really did have to part.
***
“I need to wipe everything out.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Kim Dae-hong thought he must’ve misheard. He didn’t dare turn around to ask what Tae-seong meant—just silently took a glance.
The car was dead silent. There was no way he’d heard wrong.
Even while Tae-seong had stood there watching Ha-jin wave and jog up the alley, even after he finally disappeared from view, even as he got back into the car, his mood had seemed… good.
“I’m gonna clean out everything in that neighborhood that Ha-jin’s grown fond of…”
Tae-seong muttered to himself as he picked up a call. From the way he addressed the person on the line as “Secretary Jin,” it was probably his top aide—the one who handled confidential tasks with near-total autonomy. That person had access to extensive human and financial resources, and Tae-seong often gave them free rein.
“Set up a private meeting with Lee Yushin.”
As city lights blurred past the window, Kim Dae-hong thought, This isn’t it, sir. But it wasn’t his place to say so. His job was to ensure safety—nothing more.
And he was right to think that. While Ha-jin had been flushed with emotion, dreaming of the family memories he’d never had, Tae-seong had been filled with one singular thought: to rip Ha-jin right out of that neighborhood like pulling out a radish.
There was no reasoning with him right now.
***
Knock knock. A soft tapping at the door, and when Tae-seong answered, it opened. The secretary who entered looked visibly troubled. She glanced at Ha-jin, who was sitting on the sofa near the entrance, wrinkled her nose, and quickly made her way over to Tae-seong’s desk.
What’s going on so early on a Monday morning…
Ha-jin glanced toward them while looking over the pheromone data chart for Tae-seong.
The secretary leaned in to whisper something to him. They were too far away for Ha-jin to hear a single word. Still, judging by Tae-seong’s expression, he could guess—it wasn’t good.
Shit…
Looking at the data, Tae-seong’s rut cycle was about to start. His cycles weren’t normally this short, but after syncing up with Ha-jin’s heat cycle, the graph had spiked. Since then, the timeline had shifted forward rapidly.
Even though Ha-jin could no longer perform the duties of a true pheromone manager, he still wanted to help make the upcoming rut as smooth as possible. It was the only thing he could do now to justify being in this position, still drawing a paycheck.
Any major stressor before a rut could seriously wreck someone’s condition. That’s why Ha-jin’s ears perked up, concern clear in his eyes. When Tae-seong looked over and met his gaze, he managed a small smile—but the secretary’s face said it all: this wasn’t just “bad news.” This was big.
BANG! The door suddenly burst open, startling Ha-jin.
The man who came charging in was the same guy he’d seen just before Tae-seong’s rut last spring.
“Hey! Tae-seong, I need to talk to you. Now.”
Yeah… this kind of thing? Totally wrecks your body.
Ha-jin tensed as he looked up at the unwelcome intruder.
The Alpha, reeking of cheap, vulgar pheromones like a curtain around him—President Han—was so frantic that he completely failed to notice Ha-jin standing right there and brushed past without a glance.
