But he hadn’t pounced on Seunghyun like an animal in heat. It seemed his alpha instincts weren’t as strong as before due to his extremely low pheromone levels.
Suhwan had just been flustered and didn’t know what to do. Seunghyun, who still looked at him with obsessive eyes, only returned to the study room after receiving a call from his classmates.
Left alone, Suhwan contemplated intensely. Honestly, being a man himself, he wasn’t completely uninterested in that side of things. But strangely, when he was with Seunghyun, he felt no desire. Even though it went against his instincts. He even felt reluctant to embrace Seunghyun. Unconsciously, Suhwan rubbed his lower abdomen, which had been dully aching lately.
“What’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting again?”
“Yes, a little.”
His stomach had been hurting frequently, perhaps due to stress. Since Seunghyun had been busy with exams lately, they rarely ate together, and Suhwan often skipped meals because he didn’t feel well. He knew this was bad for his health, but he couldn’t help it.
It wasn’t like this when Seunghyun was taking care of him. Now that he was spending more time alone, he was starving himself and causing worry to those around him. He felt embarrassed, like a child who couldn’t even take care of himself.
“You’ve been like this a lot lately.”
“I’m just not feeling well, that’s why I seem out of it.”
“Hmm.”
Normally, stomach pain is caused by stress. Yunhyun narrowed his eyes. Then he casually asked:
“Do you have time today?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Well, we couldn’t properly have our company dinner last time. How about after work today?”
“But I’m not feeling well today…”
“You don’t have to drink. And I think you should eat something, Suhwan. I’m worried.”
“Ah.”
Suhwan lowered his head, clasping his hands around the coffee can. Yunhyun’s kind tone reminded him of someone. Barely holding back tears, he answered:
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“I’ll find something easy to digest.”
“Thank you.”
Suhwan, smiling faintly, suddenly remembered something and took out his phone. He checked for messages, but there were none. Seunghyun was naturally busy during exam period, but he used to leave messages occasionally. Somehow, things seemed awkward between them since that day, and it hurt his heart.
He debated whether to contact Seunghyun first, but thought he might be in the middle of an exam. So he just left a simple message saying he would be having dinner out and come home afterward.
By the time he left work, there was still no reply from Seunghyun.
***
“Hello, Professor Lee Jaehyun.”
“Hello, Chairman.”
“…”
Hwalyeon paused at Jaehyun’s quiet greeting and spoke in a gentle voice.
“I’m not the chairman yet.”
“But your inauguration ceremony is just around the corner.”
Jaehyun, trying to appear calm, looked at Hwalyeon with a slightly tense face.
When Hwalyeon’s secretary first contacted him, Jaehyun had been quite surprised. The future chairman of Hwamyeong wanted to meet him. Even for someone like Jaehyun, it was impossible not to be nervous and flustered.
But they were bound to meet eventually. Hwalyeon was the cousin sister of Suhwan, to whom his brother was engaged. In fact, they had lived together when they were young, so they were as close as siblings.
‘They look quite alike…’
Being cousins with the same bloodline, and even both being alphas, Hwalyeon and Suhwan resembled each other enough to pass as siblings despite their different genders. Even their cold impression was similar. But the atmosphere they exuded was completely different.
If Suhwan gave off a frosty coldness that seemed fleeting, Hwalyeon before him was a glacier. It was like looking at solid ice. It was inevitable to feel intimidated by someone who gave such a chilling impression.
“Congratulations on becoming chairman.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
Hwalyeon smiled faintly at the perfunctory greeting. She looks even more like him when she smiles. Jaehyun was strangely finding traces of Suhwan in Hwalyeon.
Could I be seeking familiarity in Suhwan’s bloodline? The thought sent chills down Jaehyun’s spine.
“Professor? Are you uncomfortable?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
He cleared his throat unnecessarily and drank his tea. Then he carefully set the teacup down, watching her reaction.
“But why did you want to see me? I heard you had something to say about the children’s engagement.”
Jaehyun let his words trail off, feeling uneasy. They hadn’t even wanted to see his face when demanding the engagement, but now everyone seemed desperate to meet him.
A dark thought crossed his mind. Suhwan had requested a meeting to impress him, but Hwalyeon might be different. What if she wanted to meet to cancel the engagement…
Jaehyun paused at that thought. He too had disliked his brother being matched with an alpha of ill repute. He had even thought about breaking them up. But now that such a situation might actually unfold, he felt strangely displeased.
Perhaps it felt like giving something and then taking it away. Jaehyun frowned, not understanding this uncomfortable feeling.
“I should have greeted you earlier, I apologize. I understand that the engagement matter must have been unpleasant for you.”
“Suhwan… said the same thing.”
“You’ve met him, I see.”
“Yes.”
Jaehyun nodded with a disgruntled face and cleared his throat quietly. The term “that child” somehow felt awkward to him.
“Suhwan seems to like Seunghyun very much.”
“Well, Seunghyun is no less intense.”
Recalling the incident at the Korean restaurant, Jaehyun frowned slightly. Hwalyeon tilted her head, noticing his expression.
“The engagement period will likely be extended. They’ll have to wait at least until Seunghyun graduates, and pharmacy students tend to graduate later.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
While other departments allowed graduation after four years, pharmacy school was different. Students had to complete a six-year program. It would be at least five more years before they could hold the wedding.
“Of course, things might change if those boys cause trouble before then.”
“Hmm.”
Hwalyeon also nodded in agreement. It was entirely possible. According to Suhwan, they had managed to get through this heat cycle safely, but there was no guarantee it would always be the case.
“Isn’t it natural for problems to arise when an alpha and omega live together?”
“…You know about that.”
“I had to find out.”
Jaehyun replied indifferently, stirring the inside of his teacup with a teaspoon. From the beginning, they had never agreed to the engagement. They hadn’t even heard about them living together. Even if Seunghyun hadn’t mentioned it to avoid causing worry, it was quite vexing that Hwamyeong had kept quiet about it.
“I apologize, Professor.”
“Well, it’s over now. All in the past.”
Until very recently, he would have been furious and thrown a fit, but now he didn’t feel like it. No matter how strongly he opposed, Seunghyun was already deeply in love with that tall, recessive alpha. The fact that he had given away their mother’s bracelet said it all. He clicked his tongue inwardly at the thought.
“What matters is what happens from now on, right, future Chairman?”
“…”
Hwalyeon was momentarily silent at his weighty words. She too picked up the teacup in front of her. Staring at the small tea leaves floating in it, she spoke again.
“Actually, I didn’t ask to see you today about that matter.”
“What?”
“You’re developing a new drug, aren’t you?”
“…!”
Jaehyun’s eyes widened in surprise. Then he immediately frowned.
With Hwamyeong’s information network, they could easily know about the drug development. But he didn’t like that she had hidden this and used his brother’s engagement as a pretext to meet. Noticing Jaehyun’s displeased look, Hwalyeon slightly bowed her head.
“I apologize for not telling you in advance. I heard that you dislike discussing the new drug with corporations.”
“Hah…”
Jaehyun sighed and ran his hand through his long bangs. His thin eyebrows, which made his face look more irritable, were deeply furrowed.
Though he was momentarily angry, it seemed best to decide after hearing what Hwalyeon had to say. Jaehyun deliberately calmed himself.
Normally, he would have spat out scathing remarks without hesitation, but strangely, he couldn’t do that in front of Hwalyeon. Thinking of her as Suhwan’s blood relative automatically put the brakes on in his mind. And he couldn’t understand why he was behaving this way.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Is Suhwan pregnant or is it just stressed?
😆😆لدي شعور بأن سو هوان حامل