With a voice mixed with tears, Sanho whispered. The concierge shook his head firmly. He placed his hand on the doorknob as if to block the narrow gap of the door, but soon withdrew his hand. He thought that the sound of the door closing might catch Siwoo’s attention. Sanho bit his lip hard.
“…It’s okay… …to the hospital… for now… …I’ll….”
The sporadic voice was as gentle as ever, just like Siwoo. It seemed a bit more emotional than usual, but still infinitely kind. Why? Was it because he was speaking to his fiancé? Or was it because his fiancé had just been roughly choked? The smell of earth, as if soaked in sunlight, spread more intensely in the air. The alpha’s pheromones rose like a mirage, as if he had finally found his mate. Was it because he had met someone he had shared a rut with? Is that why this pheromone felt so desperately intense?
“……the suppressants… it’s okay… …let’s go….”
Siwoo grasped the arm of the man leaning against him. As they took a step forward, he slightly turned his head to say something to the man in the black suit. As their steps grew distant, only the backs of the guards following them were visible.
“……ha.”
As the tightly bitten gap in his lip finally relaxed, a breath mixed with sobs spilled from Sanho’s lips. At some point, his heavily bitten lips seemed to have split, and he tasted a sharp tang of blood. After a while, when Siwoo and the man in the sky-blue suit, along with the man in the black suit, had crossed the lobby and were far away, the concierge finally relaxed his body that had been blocking the door.
“Mr. Baek Sanho. If you’ve been following the news lately, you would know.”
“…….”
“Director Jin Siwoo’s situation is more complicated than expected. Both his relationship with the chairman and his engagement with WT are involved.”
The concierge paused for a moment. Exhaling a shallow breath, he slowly continued.
“When Mr. Baek Sanho was in the secret room, the director asked me… to do my best to avoid any encounters between you and the JR family. I don’t know the details, but it must have been a request for your sake.”
“…….”
“I believe it was said with your well-being in mind. So, Mr. Baek Sanho, you wouldn’t want to put the director in a difficult position….”
“You thought of me…?”
Sanho raised his unfocused eyes to look at the concierge.
“…Why?”
“Mr. Baek Sanho…?”
“Why do you think of me?”
“…….”
“Then why haven’t you come to see me all this time…? You said you would definitely come, so send me a message.”
That was not a question directed at someone else. Rather, it felt like a question thrown at Sanho himself.
“I held back and let you go. But it was all a lie… now there’s another Omega….”
“Mr. Baek Sanho.”
Sanho’s dark pupils began to converge into a single point. As the blurred focus sharpened, Sanho firmly lifted his head.
“…I won’t wait anymore. Don’t send me away. Absolutely not.”
Suddenly, Sanho took a step forward. He pushed past the concierge, who was relaxing his body, and flung the narrow door wide open. He took a deep breath of the warm earthy smell still lingering in the lobby. The scent pouring into his lungs made his heart race uncontrollably. Sanho’s hurried steps began to quicken. Soon, they transformed into a run. The large transparent revolving door at the end of the lobby came into view.
“Hyung.”
And beyond that, he found the person he had been longing for.
“…Hyung.”
He watched as the body facing the man in the black suit stiffened. He stepped into the revolving door. Trapped inside the triangular glass corridor, Sanho gasped for breath. Each moment felt etched like a frame. Finally, he stepped onto the street outside the hotel.
“…….”
Sanho opened his mouth toward the back profile that stood like a nail about five meters away. He stared at the ring on the fourth finger of his turned back. The sound of a car engine echoed from afar.
“Hyung.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“I came to find you because you didn’t come to see me.”
“…….”
“So please… just look at me.”
He did not turn around. With his back turned, his thumb carefully caressed the ring on his fourth finger. The small diamond on the ring reflected the sunlight and sparkled faintly.
***
[Three days ago]
Siwoo stared intently at his phone. He was anxiously waiting for the moment the screen would light up. Although there was no particular expression on Siwoo’s face, his fingertips nervously tapped on the table.
Every minute and second tightened around his heart. He must be waiting. For a whole month, sitting in a dark, cramped room. Even at this moment. He recalled the image of that porcelain doll-like boy sitting idly in the small room. It felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on his heart.
Finally, the phone vibrated, and the screen lit up. Pressing the call button, Siwoo bit his lip.
– Director. I’ve confirmed it. It’s in three days.
The breath he had been holding burst out all at once. It was a sigh of relief. Siwoo asked.
“What about Sanho?”
– He’s at home. From what I gather, he seems to be holding up well so far.
“……so far.”
Siwoo muttered to himself. A month felt incredibly long. It must have been even more so for Sanho. He had not been able to provide any explanation to Sanho other than his promise to come. He could only hope that Sanho would believe until the end that he would come. Three days from now. Just three days.
– He should be fine.
Siwoo was planning to leave Korea with Sanho. Avoiding his father’s gaze to secure a place to stay was quite a hassle. Since their conversation at the club, Chairman Jin had been monitoring Siwoo’s every move. Securing a place to stay itself wasn’t difficult, but escaping this watchful gaze was extremely tricky. If his father found out where they were staying, it would be meaningless.
As long as he could safely hide Sanho where his father’s reach wouldn’t extend, everything else would be resolved. Siwoo was confident he could eventually persuade his father. He could make his father accept Sanho. He just needed time. Even if that time was so long that it felt like a lifetime.
It took a little longer than expected, but the end seemed to be in sight. He thought of the day he would go to find Sanho in three days. If he knelt down and begged him to leave with him, what would Sanho say? Would he suddenly ask where they were going, or would he nod without a question? Siwoo fiddled with the hard metal in his pocket. It was two rings. He had carried them like a talisman for the past month. Imagining the moment he would give them to Sanho when he found him again.
“The engagement ceremony tomorrow…”
The voice of Manager Jung came quickly over the phone.
– There have been no changes. The chairman intends to proceed.
“…Sanho can’t be completely unaware of the engagement ceremony news.”
– We can’t completely control the media. The news has already gone out to major outlets. Of course, at the chairman’s directive.
Siwoo slowly played with the two rings in his hand and spoke.
“Just in case, please keep checking around Sanho.”
– Yes, understood.
Manager Jung paused for a moment. Soon, hesitantly, he spoke again.
– How do you plan to send the rut?
At Manager Jung’s question, Siwoo also fell silent. Then, in a thoughtful voice, he quietly replied.
“My father probably set the engagement date according to my rut. He must have something in mind.”
– ……
“It’s okay, it’s actually better. After the rut passes, I’ll be able to leave with Sanho. If the rut had come while we were together, Sanho would have definitely been anxious.”
– I wasn’t… talking about Mr. Baek Sanho. I was referring to you…
Siwoo smiled faintly. His eyes curved into soft crescents as he smiled.
“I know you’re worried about me. I’m fine.”
– ……
“If Sanho is okay, then I’m okay with everything.”
***
In the smoothly moving car, Siwoo leaned back in the back seat. He was quietly staring at the pad in his hand. The screen was filled with live news coverage. The wedding hall, with its extremely high ceilings, was dazzlingly extravagant. The white marble was flawlessly smooth, and the same white lilies filled the space beautifully. On the raised platform, a large cake was placed. Flashes from all directions created a dazzling array of light.
Since the sound was turned off, he couldn’t tell what was being said. At some point, the flashes began to go off incessantly. Soon, the door at the end of the wedding hall opened, and a man in a light lilac suit walked toward the platform. It was the second son of the WT group, Hyun Jae-il. His face, smiling at the numerous cameras directed at him, was incredibly radiant.
How much time passed? Seeing the cameras flash a few times at the opposite door of the wedding hall, it was clear they were waiting for another main character. The firmly closed door did not open for a while. The smile on Hyun Jae-il’s face gradually faded. The door he had entered through opened slightly, and someone who appeared to be an associate quietly stepped in. She approached with quick steps and whispered something in Hyun Jae-il’s ear. His face momentarily stiffened, but soon he smiled gently. The camera flashes began to go off frantically again. He slightly bowed his head and greeted the cameras still capturing his image. He walked down from the platform and naturally headed toward the door he had entered.
The next moment, the screen changed. It was no longer the wedding hall but the studio where the announcer was seated. A subtitle appeared below the announcer.
[JR, WT Engagement Ceremony Decided to be Private]
The announcer’s lips kept moving, but Siwoo unhesitatingly flicked off the pad that was silent. It was enough to confirm this report about his engagement ceremony, which he had not attended.
“…….”
His father must have anticipated this situation. That he would ultimately refuse to attend the engagement ceremony. The sudden decision for the media to be private was likely a prepared scenario to some extent.
Siwoo set the pad down and looked out the car window at the city streets. He realized that the car he was in had arrived at the base of a tall building.
“Director.”
Manager Jung, who had parked the car at the luxurious building entrance, looked at Siwoo through the rearview mirror. Siwoo also raised his gaze to meet his.
“Yes, Manager.”
“…I’ll be waiting.”
Siwoo nodded at him. Then he opened the car door and stepped onto the ground, slowly making his way to the upper floors where JR’s headquarters and his father’s office were located.
***
In front of the black sedan parked in front of the building, Siwoo stopped. He had just exited the building. The two rings he had been nervously fiddling with during his conversation with his father slipped from Siwoo’s hand. He took a quiet breath. He felt a heat stirring deep inside him. Thanks to his alpha’s innate constitution, the wounds that had healed quickly began to throb again. The rut had begun.
Siwoo opened the car door.
“…….”
Manager Jung, who had been sitting motionless in the driver’s seat, turned his head to look at Siwoo.
“The conversation with the chairman….”
Manager Jung trailed off unexpectedly. Siwoo leaned back against the car seat and forced a smile.
“I did everything I could.”
“…….”
“Just one more day, and it will be over.”
Once tomorrow passes, and the day after that comes, Siwoo would be able to go find Sanho. Just one more day. Siwoo was smiling faintly, but he couldn’t suppress the changes in his body. He had already taken the suppressants. However, taking the suppressants didn’t mean all the pain would disappear. They merely suppressed it. The alpha’s pheromones, which had begun to glow fiercely inside him, flowed through his veins and spread throughout his body.
“Are you okay?”
The corners of his eyes, which had turned hot, curved round. Siwoo answered in a small voice.
“I’m fine.”
“Where should I take you… home?”
His eyes stung. Siwoo slowly blinked. With each blink, vivid afterimages formed in his dimming vision. At this moment, when the most primal desires surged due to the rut, it was an afterimage he couldn’t shake off even more. Siwoo opened his clenched fist. He stared intently at the two rings sitting side by side on his large hand.
“…….”
