The man, wearing a soft smile as if it were nothing special, watched Haon’s reaction closely. Naturally, Haon nodded enthusiastically up and down, signaling that he could ask anything.
“What name did you save my number under?”
The man continued speaking while staring straight ahead. Haon blinked, then let out an “Ah,” and hurriedly rummaged through his pocket.
“I saved it as ‘Boss.’”
He pulled out his phone to show the saved name directly.
“…Boss?”
The man tilted his head slightly toward the window and rested his chin on his hand. He seemed to mutter, “I’m not a boss, though,” but it was too quiet to hear clearly.
“I didn’t really know what else to save it as, so I just…”
Haon had saved it as “Rich Boss.” In his phone, everyone except for Seong-gu hyung was either saved as “Boss” or “Manager.” So after a bit of deliberation, he’d labeled the man as just another “Boss.” It was a polite enough title to use for someone you didn’t know well.
It felt a bit too awkward to call him “Handsome Boss,” so he went with “Rich Boss” instead. He figured even if the man saw it, he wouldn’t be offended. Not that he’d expected to actually have to show him like this.
“Look.”
Haon confidently tapped the man’s number in his contacts. “Rich” was a compliment, so he figured the guy wouldn’t mind. Haon himself would’ve been happy if someone thought he was rich.
“Wow, you really did.”
But the man didn’t seem all that pleased. Still resting his chin on his hand, he glanced at the screen with a faintly dimmed expression. The corners of his lips, which had been smiling moments before, seemed to droop slightly.
‘Do actual rich people dislike being called that?’
Haon gulped nervously, a tremor flickering in his pupils.
“Should I change it? What do you want me to save it as?”
He was ready to type in whatever the man said, but the man simply rubbed his lips in silence.
“I saved yours under your name, Haon-ssi.”
Their eyes met briefly before the man looked away again, and Haon’s discomfort doubled. He would’ve liked to save the man’s number under his actual name too—but he didn’t know it.
‘Would it be okay… to ask his name?’
There was a reason Haon was hesitating. The Alphas he’d slept with before—after sharing heat together—rarely cared to ask his name, nor did they ever offer theirs. Naturally, Haon stopped wondering about their names too.
Of course, it hadn’t always been like that. A year and a half ago, when he was much more naïve, Haon had thought the first Alpha he went into heat with would become someone special to him.
And who could blame him? That first man had been incredibly gentle in bed, and when Haon couldn’t eat, he’d shown genuine concern. A salaryman Alpha, he’d spent his entire weekend with Haon, even taking a day off on Monday to stay in the motel room with him.
Haon had genuinely believed that the man stayed with him because he liked being around him. The way he kept touching him, holding him, whispering “just one more time”—Haon had taken it all as a confession of affection.
That’s why he’d wanted to get to know the man better. He hadn’t realized that their connection would end after Monday night. Naïve and young, Haon had simply wanted to learn more about him.
“I’m Haon. Jung Haon.”
He’d wrestled with whether to ask his age or name first and decided on the latter. Introducing himself first, even though the man hadn’t asked, Haon had then asked what his name was.
In truth, he already knew it. He’d caught a glimpse of the man’s business card sticking out of his wallet when he ordered delivery. But since he hadn’t heard it directly, he pretended not to know.
“Ah, I’m—”
But the man had given him a name completely different from the one on the business card. A name that wasn’t his real one at all.
And then, he’d left Haon behind, burdened with all kinds of toxic thoughts. That man had been the first button sewn on wrong in Haon’s life.
“Haon-ssi.”
The man called his name. His eyebrows drooped low, but the corners of his lips curled up into a wide smile. Like he’d accepted defeat, he let out a deflated chuckle and lightly tapped on Haon’s phone.
“You weren’t listening, were you?”
“Huh?”
Had he said something? Lost in thought, Haon mumbled an apology. The man smiled gently and waved it off.
“It’s a sleepy hour. And you’ve been working hard again, haven’t you?”
He must’ve thought Haon was too tired to listen and offered a forgiving smile before continuing the conversation.
“Save me under my name too.”
Haon, suddenly back in focus, parted his lips and fidgeted with his phone. He wondered if maybe the man had told him his name before and he’d just forgotten. Frustrated, he combed through their past conversations in his mind, hoping the name would surface.
“It’s Seo Inho.”
The man, seemingly waiting for Haon to ask, finally said it first. His voice carried a laugh that sounded like a sigh, soft and faint.
He told Haon to save it however was comfortable—whether it be Inho-ssi, Seo Inho, or even Inho-hyung. He didn’t mind any of them. But one thing he firmly rejected was “Boss.”
“I’m not that old, you know.”
Haon quickly waved his hands, realizing how it might have come across.
“I didn’t call you ‘Boss’ because you looked old or anything. It’s just… I’m used to calling people that.”
He tried to hold out his phone again to show him the list of contacts labeled ‘Boss,’ but hesitated mid-motion. Suddenly, his phone wasn’t responding.
“Uh…”
Was the battery dead? Flustered, he pressed the power button firmly, hoping the black screen would light up again. But the phone, which had shut off without warning, stayed completely still. He was sure there’d been plenty of battery left.
“What model is that?”
The man, gazing curiously at Haon’s phone, asked about it. Haon had bought it at a phone shop, picking the cheapest model available, so he didn’t actually know the name.
“It’s just a budget one,”
he said vaguely, slipping the powered-off phone back into his pocket.
“I’ll save your number again once I’m home.”
Seo Inho. He repeated the name silently to himself, determined not to forget it. Seo Inho. Seo Inho. Seo Inho.
Inho-ssi…?
While Haon secretly practiced the unfamiliar honorific, the car had arrived at the parking garage. After telling Haon to try and get some rest, Seo Inho didn’t say another word. Haon assumed he was focusing on driving, but even after unbuckling his seatbelt, Inho just sat there, silent. It seemed he was sorting out his thoughts before speaking.
Haon, who had just undone his seatbelt as well, sat tensely, waiting for him to say something. Before the silence became too heavy, Inho finished thinking and finally opened his mouth.
“Haon-ssi.”
His dark eyes, a stark contrast to his bright hair, shimmered warmly beneath the interior light of the car. Haon nodded and answered softly, “Yes.”
“Can’t you just… stay here?”
He asked it seriously, his tone gentle and sincere.
“I’m a lot safer than you think I am, Haon-ssi.”
Haon agreed with that. Placing a hand over his chest as he spoke, Inho truly did seem harmless—just as he claimed. Except for the first day, not once had Haon thought of him as someone to be wary of. If anything, he believed the dangerous one might be himself.
“Haon-ssi.”
Inho’s voice became even more cautious, softer.
“You said you’d be going back to your hometown in a year and a half, right? Just stay here until then.”
He added that he wouldn’t charge him rent. All he asked for was one simple thing.
“Let me visit your home too someday. A year and a half from now.”
He smiled, saying he’d always wanted to visit the countryside, and the sincerity in his expression was unmistakable. It didn’t feel like something he was just saying to sound nice. He truly, honestly wanted Haon to stay at his place.
And Haon could feel that, loud and clear.
“Why…”
He stopped, then cleared his throat. It tickled unexpectedly, making his voice crack slightly.
“Why are you helping me?”
It still puzzled him that someone would go this far just because they liked helping people. Even someone as simple-minded as Haon had trouble accepting it. No matter how kind a person might be, this was… a lot.
“I told you—I like helping people,”
Inho replied, as if that were really all there was to it. Like the reason he was letting Haon live in a nice home for free and picking him up in the middle of the night was just because.
“People staying at my place for a while—it happens all the time.”
He kept his tone as gentle as possible, watching Haon’s face carefully. Then, as if sealing the moment with a promise, he added one last thing, his gaze firm.
“And I only date people with the same secondary gender.”
So there was no need to worry about that, he said. Again, his voice carried genuine honesty.
Haon had heard that some dominant Alphas only dated people with the same secondary gender. He just hadn’t imagined this man would be one of them.
Blankly, Haon turned over Inho’s words in his mind and slowly closed his lips. No immediate response came to him.
He doesn’t date Omegas…
I see.
