Ha-jin turned his head away from Cheon Tae-seong’s dazed stare and looked straight ahead. His palm was still pressed against Tae-seong’s chest, held there by Tae-seong’s hand, so he could still feel the heavy thudding of his heartbeat.
“……”
That’s why he couldn’t stop the heat from rushing up to his ears. The air conditioning was definitely blowing cool air, but the warmth that started from his back quickly spread to his throat, and soon even his forehead was flushed with heat.
Fidgeting, Ha-jin twisted his wrist and managed to free his hand. Tae-seong’s gaze, burning hot like it might scorch him, still clung to his cheek, so he turned his head further—to look out the window. But then his eyes met Tae-seong’s reflection in the glass.
Tae-seong didn’t show much of a reaction; he just stared straight at Ha-jin. For a moment, Ha-jin wondered if he hadn’t heard what he’d said and was about to turn back—
“Ah!”
Without warning, Tae-seong moved in, closing the distance in an instant. One arm wrapped around Ha-jin’s waist, supporting him firmly, and Ha-jin was pulled helplessly into his embrace. As he instinctively clutched at Tae-seong’s shoulders, heat flared up around them, thick with pheromones.
“You can’t say stuff like that in the car. That’s cheating.”
Tae-seong’s low voice made Ha-jin tense without thinking.
“…How would it be different somewhere else?”
Was he supposed to say it in some romantic setting or something? Ha-jin frowned slightly, uncertain. Tae-seong smirked, lifting the corners of his lips.
“It’d be different.”
But Ha-jin didn’t get the chance to ask how it would be different—his words caught in his throat as Tae-seong’s lips closed in. Eyes widening in surprise, Ha-jin clung to him, and in that moment, all of his senses were overtaken.
He’s not even in a heat cycle right now.
But Ha-jin couldn’t focus at all under the overpowering pheromones of a dominant Alpha. The days when he’d felt nothing now seemed unreal.
Their bodies had heated up quickly, and even their breaths were hot. Dizzy and overwhelmed, Ha-jin clung to him—and maybe Tae-seong mistook that for encouragement, because he suddenly bit down on Ha-jin’s lips, sucking them hard.
The kiss robbed Ha-jin of all breath, making it hard to breathe. Every time he tried to find a gap with his trembling lips, Tae-seong pressed in harder, covering his mouth, plunging deeper.
As their bodies pressed together, Ha-jin’s back hit the car window. Even in a spacious, high-ceilinged luxury sedan, with the two of them entangled, it suddenly felt too cramped.
Panting, Ha-jin wrapped his arms around Tae-seong’s neck. His legs had long since spread open, and Tae-seong’s body pressing in between them only made the erection in Ha-jin’s pants throb painfully. When Tae-seong scraped the roof of Ha-jin’s mouth with his firm tongue, a stifled moan escaped from deep in his throat.
“Nggh….”
As Ha-jin struggled against him, short of breath, Tae-seong finally pulled away. But even then, Ha-jin’s legs and body remained pinned beneath him, completely restrained. Ha-jin gripped Tae-seong’s shoulders, gasping.
Tae-seong, his face buried against Ha-jin’s chest, gave a visible shudder. His excitement was obvious. When he lifted his head, his eyes were burning with heat.
“You’re the one who started it.”
Cheeky. Ha-jin slapped his back, and Tae-seong just blamed him.
Then he dove back into Ha-jin’s arms again. Bringing his damp lips to the soft skin of Ha-jin’s neck, he kissed and sucked greedily. The heat pooling there spread like wildfire throughout Ha-jin’s entire body.
There was no doubt—he was completely under Tae-seong’s spell. Drenched in pheromones, his body had gone soft, willingly yielding itself. And yet, it didn’t feel bad. That was the strange part.
The warmth of Tae-seong’s hands touching his body was perfectly in tune with his own temperature. The scent rolling off him was one Ha-jin could inhale again and again, and it only ever felt good.
It was like being drunk without a drop of alcohol.
His chest heaving with excitement, Ha-jin went hazy and let his body be swept up in it. He knew Tae-seong would pull back the moment he said no—but he didn’t want to.
On the contrary, he wanted more.
Like being buried in a massive, fragrant flower, Tae-seong’s presence surrounding him felt fresh and intoxicating.
Ha-jin suddenly wondered—how did Tae-seong perceive his pheromones?
Hugging the large frame draped over him, Ha-jin took in a deep breath.
He had no idea when the car had come to a stop, but when he finally came to, they were in a dark underground parking lot.
***
Han Ki-taek stormed into his home, his face twisted into a vicious scowl. One of his secretaries, flustered and flitting around him, handed over an ice pack they’d gotten from who-knows-where, which he snatched irritably. Then he barked at them to get out, and the whole house fell silent in an instant.
“Fuck, did he have a steel rod in his neck?”
He’d slapped him in a fit of rage, and now his own wrist was torn to shreds. The tendons must’ve been strained—he was already swelling up, and the ice pack wasn’t helping.
Snarling, he tossed the pack aside and pulled out a pheromone cigarette from his coat. Lighting it, he took a deep drag to get the effect rushing into his system. The firestorm burning in his gut finally seemed to cool a bit.
A few more puffs, and his head spun—satisfaction started creeping in.
These weren’t available on the market—the smoke was extremely potent. Even Betas who couldn’t sense pheromones felt dizzy or even nauseated from them.
This was one of Han Ki-taek’s pet projects—he’d been developing this exact product, and the sample this time had turned out quite well.
He’d already known Tae-seong was digging around everywhere. But he hadn’t expected him to meddle in his project, the one he’d personally invested in and was currently pushing.
On the surface, it looked like a simple casino venture. But in reality, the venue was supposed to be the distribution hub for the “goods” he was co-developing with a business partner.
And now that it’d been disrupted, his rage knew no bounds.
He couldn’t hold back and had thrown a punch—so now, Tae-seong was probably swaggering with confidence, thinking he’d gotten a lead. It was only a matter of time before he started digging deeper.
Pulling a painting from one side of the study revealed a small hidden safe. Carefully turning the dial and entering the password, he opened it and retrieved one of the burner phones inside.
His fingertip trembled against the dial pad.
“Fucking hell… that goddamn son of a bitch…”
Fuck. Even as he cursed over and over, the tension didn’t fade. For the first time, he had a gnawing sense that things might actually go wrong this time.
Should I switch sides?
He shook his head fiercely at the thought.
After smoking two more of those harsh cigarettes, he finally managed to place a call.
***
Ha-jin finally managed to coax Cheon Tae-seong off him and escape the car.
He had no idea where Driver Choi and Kim Dae-hong had gone—they must’ve left while he wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t even know when the car had stopped.
They must’ve driven quite a long distance, but everything had passed by in a blur.
Ha-jin pressed the back of his hand to his burning cheek, trying to cool himself down.
He couldn’t exactly gauge the state of his own pheromones, but he had a strong feeling they were still spreading thick in the air. The fact that Tae-seong’s pheromones were wrapped tightly around him was proof enough.
And it was all just… overwhelming. Embarrassing.
In the elevator on the way up to Tae-seong’s penthouse, the two of them stood in silence, both staring up at the floor display as if it were something they’d agreed on.
“……”
He was so nervous, even his lower stomach ached. Maybe it was anticipation, too.
His pants felt soaked—there was no denying it now.
Ha-jin still couldn’t believe what was happening to him.
He had never—not once—imagined anything sexual while riding this elevator.
But when the elevator finally arrived and the doors slid open, none of the things he’d been imagining actually happened.
Instead, what greeted them was a hallway filled wall-to-wall with black-clad men.
Almost as if on cue, they all turned their heads in unison to look at the two of them.
Startled, Ha-jin instinctively pushed Tae-seong off and straightened his posture. His heart pounded so violently he had to cover his mouth with his hand.
One of the bodyguards standing directly in front of the elevator caught the closing door with a loud thud.
And at the far end of the hall, standing with a cane and a white fedora on his head, was Cheon Han-jo. His sharp gaze pierced right through Ha-jin.
“C–CEO…”
Ha-jin looked up at Tae-seong in panic. The guards all stepped aside in two rows, opening a clear path. Tae-seong casually draped an arm over Ha-jin’s shoulder and gave a silent, easy smile.
“Tae-seong, you’re here.”
Cheon Han-jo’s voice was low and commanding.
“You didn’t say you’d be visiting.”
Tae-seong’s tone had the air of someone greeting an unwelcome guest.
Cheon Han-jo’s gaze cooled immediately. The way he looked at his grandson made Ha-jin’s shoulders tense all on their own.
Whatever this was, it wasn’t a friendly visit. That much was certain. And more than that—Ha-jin could feel it. Cheon Han-jo hadn’t come here to see his grandson.
He’d come to see him.
