#42
But if he did that, Han Hyunyong’s side, or more precisely his mother’s side, would certainly not remain quiet. It wasn’t fear that bothered him. It was irritation at the thought that this fight, which he wanted to end as quickly as possible, might drag on endlessly.
Hyun-oh moved toward the small noise coming from outside, erasing the thoughts that had filled his mind.
“V-Vice Chairman…!”
When Hyun-oh, who had changed his clothes, came out, Han Hyunyong’s secretary was attending to him with a pale face. The secretary looked up at the shadow cast over him and his shoulders stiffened with a start.
He seemed to know that Hyun-oh was responsible for Hyunyong’s condition, and a momentary flash of resentment crossed his eyes. It wasn’t as if Han Hyunyong was the type of person who commanded respect from his subordinates.
It appeared that if anything happened to Han Hyunyong, the secretary would face repercussions. Whether from Han Hyunyong himself or his mother.
To Hyun-oh, it was a trivial matter not worth any concern.
“It would be best to get him out of here as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I’ll assume you want this situation to become public.”
Quite some time had passed since both Hyun-oh and Han Hyunyong had left the party venue.
This was a party hosted by TH Group. With both hosts absent, people would undoubtedly be creating a commotion with all sorts of speculation.
Hyun-oh had released his pheromones with the intention of nearly killing Han Hyunyong. He likely wouldn’t regain his senses until after the party ended.
And his clearly broken hand was too severely injured to show to people.
“Just in case you’re wondering,” Hyun-oh remarked casually as he passed by Han Hyunyong and his secretary. The secretary, who was putting Hyunyong’s arm over his shoulder to help him up, gritted his teeth at Hyun-oh’s cold gaze.
He felt as if his entire body was being crushed by Hyun-oh’s pressure. Even if he wanted to say something, his lips seemed sealed shut, and whatever words he tried to speak only pounded against the inside of his mouth.
“It would be best not to even think about securing CCTV footage or covering up what our hyung did.”
“…”
“Your only job is to get hyung out of here away from other people’s attention.”
The secretary’s gaze trembled violently.
He was an unfamiliar face among those Han Hyunyong kept around him. Hyun-oh had been wondering why Hong, the director who had attended to Han Hyunyong since childhood, wasn’t here instead of this stranger.
What happened today was something that Director Hong would never have allowed. Director Hong was firmly on Han Hyunyong’s side, but he also knew Hyun-oh’s personality very well.
While Hyun-oh didn’t react to most things, there were definitely areas that triggered a sensitive response. Exactly like what had just happened.
Today, Han Hyunyong had done something he absolutely should not have done.
He had touched Eunsol. Not just anyone, but Hyun-oh’s person.
Hyun-oh didn’t have special feelings for Eunsol. That’s not to say he didn’t care about him. If he didn’t, he would have immediately taken advantage when Eunsol came to him, fevered and leaning against him.
Eunsol was someone Hyun-oh felt guilty even touching because of their significant age difference. Today, Han Hyunyong, not knowing his place, had tried to touch such a person.
As the scene he witnessed when he opened the door flashed back in his mind, a murderous intent appeared in Hyun-oh’s eyes. The secretary unconsciously swallowed. The tingling sensation on his skin might not be his imagination.
“I suppose we’ll be seeing each other again soon.”
Hyun-oh lightly patted the secretary’s shoulder. Despite the gentle force, the secretary’s legs trembled like an aspen tree. Han Hyunyong, whom he was supporting, also shook.
After casting one last cold glance at Han Hyunyong, who was groaning pathetically, Hyun-oh left the room.
“Director.”
“Have people stationed and secure the CCTV footage from inside immediately. Also, search the room thoroughly for anything else worth examining.”
“Yes, understood.”
The person with the highest seniority among the secretarial staff after Kim Myungjun bowed respectfully to Hyun-oh. Hyun-oh passed by him and headed straight for the party venue.
From now on, he had to put on a mask again and deal with people. It was something he was best at, but today, strangely, he felt as if something heavy was weighing on his chest.
That was probably because of the one person he had sent with Kim Myungjun.
“Director, it’s been a while.”
The strange feeling immediately subsided as soon as he passed through the party room door. Hyun-oh put on a picture-perfect smile as he greeted the person approaching him.
“It has been a while, Director Lee.”
Looking at Hyun-oh’s face alone, it would be impossible to guess what situation he had just experienced. Hyun-oh used the party venue, where Han Hyunyong had disappeared, as his battlefield—neutralizing enemies and taking them as prisoners, while pulling those who remained neutral to his side.
When Kang Ye-ryeong approached and asked where the new kid was, thoughts of Eunsol briefly crossed his mind, but only momentarily.
After simply explaining that he had sent him home early because he wasn’t feeling well, Hyun-oh dealt with the people who swarmed around him like hungry perch.
All while giving a relaxed smile to Han Hyunyong’s mother, who was watching him with piercing eyes.
* * *
“Mmm…”
It was painful. From fingertips to the top of his head, his entire body felt like it was burning.
Eunsol curled his sweat-soaked body and clutched the sheets until they crumpled. The clothes the house staff had helped him change into clung to his skin, sticky with sweat.
After inhaling deeply of the pheromones he had so desperately wanted, his memories became fragmented.
He had lost consciousness with the rhythmic, warm touch on his back. When he came to, he found himself in a familiar space.
Even in his dazed state, he could tell he was lying on the bed in the bedroom he shared with Hyun-oh. As soon as he regained consciousness, the scent that gently entered his nostrils was familiar.
He liked that he could feel Hyun-oh’s presence even though he wasn’t there. But soon his eyes reddened with tears. He knew that what he was feeling wasn’t Hyun-oh’s actual presence.
It was then that he became aware of the heat pounding through his body. His lower back was damp with sweat, but he was too overwhelmed by the sensations to care.
As the sheets became soaked with the abnormal reactions of his body, Eunsol sniffled.
“…Hyun-oh.”
He wanted to see him. The thought that consumed his mind entirely was that he wanted Hyun-oh to touch him right now, even with his cold hands.
An omega’s body instinctively recognized that an alpha could subdue its abnormal state. For Eunsol, there was only one person he wanted to be sexually involved with.
“Now is not the time.”
He recalled the firm words that had coldly rejected him when he had clung to Hyun-oh. Why wasn’t it the right time? He wasn’t a minor, and he was legally Hyun-oh’s husband. …There wasn’t even a clause in the contract they had signed that said they wouldn’t share a bed.
Their wedding night had been the same. Hyun-oh had left the nervous Eunsol alone.
At the time, Eunsol had found it disappointing but thought Hyun-oh was being considerate. But even now, when they shared a bed, Hyun-oh still never touched him.
In his foggy mind, images of Hyun-oh at the party today surfaced like afterimages. …Along with the beautiful omega beside him.
Unlike Eunsol, that person seemed to have grown up surrounded by love, radiating happiness just by looking at them.
They naturally blended in with Hyun-oh, and unlike Eunsol, whose background was nothing more than a pretty facade, this person was incomparable. After all, they were the only child of the TH Industries president.
…Why had Hyun-oh married him?
Perhaps Hyun-oh… needed a powerless doll who wouldn’t oppose his opinions, while keeping the one he truly loved elsewhere.
He didn’t yet know the exact relationship between the omega he saw at the party today and Hyun-oh. All Eunsol knew was that the omega, Min Sehyun, had a background impressive enough to match Hyun-oh.
But judging by how gently Hyun-oh had stroked that person’s hair, it was clear that the two of them shared memories built up over the years they had known each other.
Eunsol… had almost no memories with Hyun-oh.
Despite living in the same house, the days when Eunsol even saw Hyun-oh’s face or had brief conversations with him were extremely rare. Hyun-oh was an incredibly busy person.
Eunsol had to wake up earlier than Hyun-oh, who rose at 6 AM, and be prepared in order to see him off to work. Without even that time, it would be virtually impossible to meet Hyun-oh, who practically lived at his company.
If they were truly a proper couple, perhaps he could have visited the company when he wanted to see Hyun-oh.
But Eunsol knew his place well. The only space permitted to him was this house.
If he were to intrude on Hyun-oh’s space beyond that, Hyun-oh would surely give him a cold warning with an expression too frightening to even imagine.
To Hyun-oh, Eunsol’s existence was worth less than Kim Myungjun, who was always by his side.
Eunsol couldn’t even feel resentful toward Hyun-oh. It was because he wasn’t someone who could be of help to Hyun-oh.
He knew this well. Usually, even when he recognized this fact, he would accept it as something he couldn’t change.
But why… now he couldn’t understand why his situation felt so miserable.
“I want… to see you…”
The strange sensation tormenting his body was not fading with time but growing even stronger. Eunsol felt as if the flames dancing around his body would consume even his blood and flesh.
He had a feeling that he could never suppress this sensation on his own.
Eunsol staggered as he rose from the bed. Looking around the spacious room with tear-filled eyes, he could sense no presence but his own.
“I wonder if he’s not back yet…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
