Chapter 118
After hearing the news of Jamie’s childbirth, Hyeon-woo handed over his turn to his mother who came to visit, and returned home only in the morning.
He was too exhausted to move a finger. He drew the blinds and went to bed, but the intense light characteristic of the southwestern region seeped through the gaps in the blinds, making the room slightly reddish. Perhaps that’s why, despite being incredibly tired, he couldn’t fall asleep.
Starting with a close-up of Jerome’s sapphire-blue eyes, memories began to surface in reverse order, as if someone was rewinding a projector.
Following the image of Jamie holding the baby, looking as if she had the whole world, came the pathetic sight of himself sitting blankly in the passenger seat of McRae’s car. Over McRae’s shoulder, who was urging him to get up after answering his phone, he could see an old CRT TV on top of a mother-of-pearl cabinet. Tae-geon’s image was being broadcast on the screen.
It was a memory he had tried hard to bury, but it was more vivid and clear than any other scene.
The image of him bowing and extending one hand towards someone sitting in the back seat of a limousine, wearing a light-colored tailcoat, was deeply etched in his mind like a branding iron.
‘…Amidst various opinions about which family’s child is the secret fiancé of the director…’
The moment when the announcer’s voice pierced his eardrum like an arrow was still clear.
“Haa.”
Hyeon-woo, who sighed deeply, eventually threw off the blanket and got up. It seemed unlikely that he would fall asleep. He headed downstairs where the refrigerator was. He poured cold water into a glass and drank two cups in succession.
He thought he was a bit better.
He had believed that even if he couldn’t be completely indifferent to the news of Tae-geon, which was no different from trauma, he had become strong enough to maintain a normal daily life of eating, sleeping, and carrying on. But that wasn’t the case at all.
He didn’t understand why he had lost his mind at that moment, knowing that whether Tae-geon got engaged or married, it had nothing to do with him anymore. In fact, even now, his chest felt tight for no reason.
He changed into workout clothes, went outside, and started running aimlessly. He ran and ran relentlessly, as if to burst his heart.
This was the first time he had run so desperately since leaving Korea. He wanted to empty his mind completely so that no thoughts would come. Although he pushed his body to the limit, constantly pounding the ground, the image of Tae-geon that had once emerged wouldn’t easily fade away.
*
“Didn’t you say you were taking the day off today?”
Ashley, who was at the counter, asked in surprise as Hyeon-woo entered the store. She had received a call from Maya in the morning. The message was that Ian and herself had some business to attend to, so they would take the day off, and asked Ashley to take care of the store with Marine.
“Are you sick?”
Ian’s face, which had come close, looked terrible. His skin was dry and his eyes were sunken, looking sick to anyone who saw him.
“Shouldn’t you be resting at home?”
“I’m fine.”
“…You don’t look fine at all…”
Leaving the worried Ashley behind, Hyeon-woo worked busily, going back and forth between the back room and the hall. As long as he kept his body moving without rest, he could avoid being consumed by thoughts of Tae-geon.
Even after the business hours ended and Ashley and Marine left, Hyeon-woo stayed at the store and continued with the closing cleanup. He meticulously organized even the pantry, which he wouldn’t normally do, and turned off all the lights in the store. After looking around the darkened hall once, he headed to the back room to change clothes when the bell attached to the entrance door rang behind him.
Thinking it was Ashley, who often came back saying she had left her wallet, Hyeon-woo turned his head slowly. At that moment, a large shadow suddenly attacked him. Pushed by the weight, he tumbled to the floor in an instant. Before he could scream, a firm hand covered his mouth.
“I was first. Before that bastard…”
“Hmph!”
“I discovered you first! I was first!”
The voice mixed with excited breathing sounded familiar somewhere.
No way…
Just then, the high beam of a truck passing by on the road illuminated the inside of the store. As the light passing through the glass door brightened the store, red hair came into view. It was Kevin.
“You didn’t come home last night, what did you do with that bastard.”
Kevin’s extremely excited voice penetrated his ear along with hot breath.
“The light in your room was off continuously. It didn’t turn on even once until morning.”
“Mmph…!”
Kevin’s tongue licked his earlobe. A chill ran down his entire body. Although Hyeon-woo kicked Kevin’s shin mercilessly, there was no reaction as if he felt no pain. It felt like being trapped under a heavy sack rather than a person.
“…I kept waiting.”
“Hmph!”
“I waited and waited. But then… you showed up in the morning?”
Kevin’s voice, muttering into the ear of the struggling Hyeon-woo, began to fill with anger.
“…Did you do it with that bastard?”
“……”
“Huh? You slept with that bastard!!”
The gaze he felt at Channing Station where he was supposed to meet McRae. It wasn’t an illusion. It was Kevin. The thought of Kevin watching his room window all night gave him chills.
Kevin’s nose dug into the nape of his neck. Hot and humid breath poured over the soft skin. His hair stood on end with instinctive disgust.
“Mmph-!”
Hyeon-woo resisted strongly, but it was useless. Kevin’s eyes were unfocused and dilated. He seemed out of his mind.
“Come on, release some pheromones. I’ve always been curious about your scent. It must be sweet, right?”
From Kevin, who was saying this to his face, Hyeon-woo could smell a terrible alcohol odor along with an unfamiliar and strange scent.
Hyeon-woo frowned at the stench that instinctively evoked unpleasantness. It was an acrid and pungent smell, like the remnants of something that had been burned. As it invaded his olfactory membrane and penetrated directly into his brain, Hyeon-woo instantly realized that this was some kind of drug.
He could understand why Kevin’s eyes were so dilated. This must also be why he didn’t feel pain despite being kicked in the shin multiple times, and why the grip restraining him was not the normal grip strength of a human. Kevin’s thoughts, muscles, and sensory nerves were all under the control of the drug.
That’s when fear began to set in. A vague fear swept over him that he wouldn’t be able to escape this situation no matter what he did.
“…I saw it in your bag. The white pill bottle. That’s how I was sure you were an Omega.”
Kevin’s eyes glinted as he began to rub his erect member against Hyeon-woo’s lower body.
“I also know that you hide in the school bathroom once a month to take that.”
“…!”
“It’s a new drug, isn’t it? It doesn’t let any pheromones through at all? Usually, during heat cycles, even if they take drugs, everyone melts when you release some pheromones, but you, fuck.”
“……”
“Fucking new drug. Why did they even make such a thing. It was much better before that existed. All that talk about Omega rights. What rights do Omegas have? Omegas are supposed to get wet when told to get wet and spread when told to spread.”
Muttering to himself while rubbing against Hyeon-woo, Kevin raised his knee to stimulate Hyeon-woo’s center. He thrust like that a few times, but the dry and withered fabric wouldn’t get wet.
“…Why aren’t you getting wet.”
“Mmph…!”
“Is it not enough?”
Kevin buried his nose deeply in Hyeon-woo’s neck, pressing his body close. Hyeon-woo felt something unpleasant creeping into his pores. This sensation of neural cells being scrambled throughout his body.
Alpha pheromones!
An incomparable disgust surged up. He struggled desperately with his whole body to escape from Kevin. As Hyeon-woo’s resistance intensified, Kevin’s hand covering his nose and mouth tightened. His already difficult breathing became even harder.
The color began to drain from Hyeon-woo’s face. As he gasped for breath and flapped like a fish, strength gradually left his body and even his consciousness began to blur.
