At that moment, he remembered his promise with Alexander today. He had to catch the bus. He wanted nothing more than to go straight home, but Alexander had gone out of his way to make time for him. He couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse to get out of it.
Yeon Yiseo boarded the bus and let out a long sigh as he looked out the window. His hands were still trembling, so he clasped them together and rubbed them over and over again to calm himself down. Fortunately, by the time he arrived at Alexander’s place, the shaking had fully subsided.
In the elevator on the way up to Alexander’s apartment, Yeon Yiseo rubbed his cheeks several times.
He had unwillingly taken in Ethan’s extreme-dominant Alpha pheromones earlier—would it be a problem to receive Alexander’s supply now? The question lingered, but he had no one to ask. He just wished Ethan’s pheromones weren’t still clinging to him. Brushing himself off, he shook his clothes out of nervous habit.
When the elevator doors opened, Alexander was already there. It seemed he’d been informed of Yeon Yiseo’s arrival. He worried for a moment—what if Ethan’s pheromones hadn’t fully dissipated? But judging from Alexander’s expression, that didn’t seem to be the case. With a gentle smile tugging at his lips, Alexander spoke.
“Welcome. You’re not too tired, are you?”
“…Ah, I’m fine. You must be the one who’s tired, sir. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“That’s the first time anyone’s said that to me. As you know, being an extreme-dominant, it takes quite a lot to tire me out.”
Alexander replied with a smile, and Yeon Yiseo chuckled weakly. He knew it was common knowledge, but he asked anyway—because if he didn’t, he felt like he might burst into tears.
The simple welcome—Welcome—had stirred something in him the moment he saw Alexander. An emotion he couldn’t name welled up, and for a split second, he almost cried. He was glad he didn’t.
If he had, it would’ve been a disaster. Alexander definitely would’ve asked why, and Yeon Yiseo would’ve scrambled for a lie. And in that fluster, Alexander might’ve picked up on something. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Blinking rapidly to erase the moisture gathering in his eyes, Yeon Yiseo moved toward the sofa and spoke naturally.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Not at all. If you were, I wouldn’t have asked you to come.”
“Ah, well… let me just change clothes first. I sweated quite a bit today.”
At his words, Alexander looked at his face for a moment. Feeling that gaze, Yeon Yiseo rubbed his own cheek.
Why is he staring like that? His smile was soft, but the longer Yeon Yiseo sat under that gaze, the more uneasy he felt.
“I just want to ask something, just in case… was it consensual?”
Alexander’s tone remained gentle.
“…Sorry? I-I don’t follow.”
Shit. He stammered. Yeon Yiseo clicked his tongue inwardly. He’d just handed a clue to someone as perceptive as Alexander. And his guess didn’t miss the mark.
“If you really didn’t understand, you wouldn’t ask back. That means I can take that as a yes, can’t I?”
“…”
Yeon Yiseo opened his mouth to deny it, then closed it again. There was no point trying to lie to someone who already knew. And underneath that decision was the raw fear that had surged through him the moment Ethan’s pheromones started pouring out.
“It must’ve been serious. You must’ve been scared.”
That quiet affirmation of his fear, that comforting recognition, made something ache deep inside his nose. His vision blurred, and he quickly lowered his head, blinking furiously.
Thankfully, he was able to hide the pathetic sight. A grown adult sniffling and crying wasn’t something anyone wanted to see.
“Um… I’m sorry to ask, but… nothing else happened, right?”
“N-no, nothing else happened. Just… just the pheromones, really…”
Yeon Yiseo muttered with his head bowed. It was taking all his strength just to keep his voice steady. When a gentle hand cradled the back of his neck, his shoulders jerked in surprise.
“My brother behaved terribly. Allow me to apologize in his place—would you accept that?”
The voice was soft and kind. As warm as body heat itself. When Alexander’s large, warm palm gently massaged the back of his neck, some of the tension began to ease from Yeon Yiseo’s body.
“…You really don’t need to apologize, sir.”
“But I’m Ethan’s brother.”
Yeon Yiseo closed his mouth again. Earlier, when Ethan’s pheromones had been flooding the air, he’d bit the inside of his cheek just to stay conscious. Now it stung. Alexander seemed to notice the awkward movement of Yeon Yiseo’s cheek.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. I just… bit myself a little.”
Alexander clicked his tongue quietly at the honest reply. He didn’t ask why. He didn’t need to—he already knew.
“There should be some ointment for mouth wounds. Could you wait here on the sofa for a moment?”
Yeon Yiseo instinctively grabbed Alexander’s sleeve just as he was about to step away—then startled himself and quickly let go.
“S-sorry! It’s just… I was hoping you could start the pheromone supply sooner…”
Only after he spoke did he realize how much he’d been craving the warmth of Alexander’s pheromones.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
Alexander asked, as if assessing his condition. Yeon Yiseo blinked up at him in confusion.
“I’m an extreme-dominant Alpha too.”
Only then did Yeon Yiseo understand. Alexander was concerned that he might be repulsed by pheromones identical to Ethan’s. But to Yeon Yiseo, their pheromones couldn’t have felt more different. That was exactly why he wanted Alexander’s pheromones so badly.
“Ah… your pheromones are fine, sir.”
“I see. Understood. …I’ll take it slow, then.”
As Yeon Yiseo lowered his gaze slightly in anticipation, Alexander responded as if in answer. True to his word, the pheromones spread more slowly than usual. He released them gradually, giving Yeon Yiseo enough time to adjust.
The moment Alexander’s soft pheromones reached him, Yeon Yiseo felt himself begin to calm. It was hard to believe two extreme-dominants could be this different.
As the pheromones enveloped him gently like they were sinking into his skin, Yeon Yiseo’s breathing gradually grew heavier. A rising heat pooled within him.
He would’ve brushed it off as a typical reaction—except this time, something felt… off. The heat wasn’t just spreading aimlessly through his body—it was coiling, concentrating, somewhere lower. He furrowed his brows and looked at Alexander.
“W-wait, sir… something’s… wrong…”
His breathing was too ragged to speak properly.
“Yeon Yiseo? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know… it just… doesn’t feel like it normally does…”
Yeon Yiseo struggled to find the right words.
“…Yeon Yiseo.”
“Y-yeah?”
Even answering properly was hard—his pronunciation slurred. Alexander gently touched his cheek and said:
“You’re in heat cycle right now.”
“W-what? No, that can’t be right.”
Yeon Yiseo couldn’t believe it. A heat cycle? There was no way it could come on so suddenly—not when his pheromones hadn’t even stabilized yet. The doctor said nothing about this. If it were possible, they would’ve prescribed suppressants already.
“No, no… that’s not possible…”
Yeon Yiseo shook his head weakly, resisting the words.
“I’ve heard that excessive exposure to Alpha pheromones can sometimes trigger it.”
He fell silent at Alexander’s explanation. It made too much sense. He abruptly rose from the sofa in a panic.
“Then… I’ll just… I should go now…”
But Alexander stopped him, and he collapsed weakly back onto the sofa. Panting, he looked up at him in confusion.
Alexander had to know what kind of state Yeon Yiseo was in—he was the one who’d identified the heat cycle. Then why was he stopping him from leaving? Yeon Yiseo couldn’t understand it. All he could think was that he had to get out of there, fast.
“I—I really need to go…”
“And what are you going to do out there in that condition?”
“…Go to the pharmacy and get emergency meds.”
“Suppressants strong enough to suppress a heat cycle with just one pill? They’re expensive.”
Yeon Yiseo froze. He’d never had to buy them before—he had no idea.
But Alexander wouldn’t lie about something like that. If he said they were expensive, they probably were.
Still, even if they cost a lot, he’d have to buy them if he needed them. There was no other option.
“It’s… fine. I just need to go quickly…”
The only reason it was this manageable was because he was a recessive Omega. Now he could really imagine how unbearable it must’ve been for Alexander to go through rut as an extreme-dominant.
Right now, Yeon Yiseo was on the verge of clinging to the extreme-dominant Alpha in front of him, begging for more pheromones, unable to pull himself away.
