AOA 25

The groundskeeper arrived thirty minutes later. As soon as he fiddled with the electronic lock, the door opened right away.

Only then did Baek Mugyeong release my hand and offer a very brief thanks.

“Thank you, Jeong Minchae.”

I just nodded silently. No matter how you looked at it, Baek Mugyeong didn’t seem to want to talk about what had just happened. In times like this, pretending not to know anything was the best way to build trust.

I decided to just forget about the whole thing.

Though the groundskeeper had arrived, the breaker issue wasn’t easily resolved. Even after taking a few measures, the circuit tripped again.

Since it would take time to identify the cause, Baek Mugyeong and I ended up heading to a hotel. The power outage had also stopped the boiler, so it was impossible to sleep at home.

Even though it was past midnight, Baek Mugyeong quickly made a hotel reservation after a short phone call.

We packed lightly and headed to the hotel. We drove separately, but since I drove safely, Baek Mugyeong arrived first and was waiting in the lobby.

“It’s room 2723.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll be sharing the room.”

“…What?”

I looked up at Baek Mugyeong in surprise just as I was about to take the key card. We had stayed in separate rooms even during our honeymoon, and we used separate bedrooms at home. And now he was saying we’d share a room? I shot him a look asking what he meant.

“There are two bedrooms, so we can use them separately.”

Of course. Still, I wondered why he booked a room with two bedrooms, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to just get separate rooms altogether?

As we walked, I glanced at him and asked cautiously,

“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to have separate rooms?”

“There’s a reason for this.”

That was all he said before falling silent.

“No further explanation?”

“The Chairman will hear we stayed at the hotel. It’s an HW Hotel. The Chairman doesn’t like gossip.”

“I see.”

Since Cebu was abroad, no one would have known if we had separate rooms. The same applied to the secluded newlywed home.

But an HW Hotel was a different matter. It was part of the Daesong Group, so news traveled fast. If a newlywed couple booked separate rooms, rumors would start.

The Chairman of Daesong Group, Baek Mugyeong’s grandfather, hated that sort of gossip. The fact that he had yanked Baek Mugyeong back as a shock tactic because the eldest grandson was constantly making trouble said a lot about him.

A question came to mind: if Baek Mugyeong was this careful about the Chairman’s mood, why was he so unwilling to have a child?

That time in Cebu was an accident, and if he truly couldn’t sleep with men, then marrying me was an enormous risk. He wouldn’t be able to produce the alpha son the Chairman wanted.

It was the same doubt I’d had on the day of our wedding.

Still harboring that growing curiosity, I followed Baek Mugyeong up to the 27th floor in the elevator.

“You can take this room.”

Baek Mugyeong gave me the larger bedroom. He really was a considerate man in some ways.

“Baek Mugyeong.”

“Is there something you want to say?”

Standing in the living room, I looked at him. There were so many things I wanted to ask, but only one question wouldn’t provoke him.

“I’ve been curious, what were you going to say on Monday?”

The words came out all at once. I knew there was a high chance he wouldn’t answer, but I still hoped.

Under the bright lights, I saw his brow furrow slightly. He took a breath and shrugged once.

“Jeong Minchae.”

“Yes?”

“You already know what I was going to say.”

“No. I don’t.”

I didn’t have the ability to read minds.

Baek Mugyeong sighed openly, as if he couldn’t believe me.

“Even if we agreed not to interfere with each other’s lives, it’s not polite to reek of another alpha. Since you showed it off so openly, I figured there was no point saying anything.”

His voice was cold, almost cynical. But I blinked, confused, I had no idea what he was talking about.

The look in his eyes was filled with disdain. I’d seen it once or twice before the regression, and it made me want to cry.

“Did you say I reeked of an alpha’s pheromones?”

“To be exact, you had another alpha’s pheromones on you.”

“What do you mean they were on me? That doesn’t just… wait, no. That’s right.”

I remembered something from a pamphlet on trait carriers. An omega emitting pheromones meant they wanted sex. And if an omega was carrying an alpha’s scent, it implied they had had sex.

Confusion turned into understanding. The only alpha I’d met on Monday was my English conversation teacher, Lee Jeongwook. He had asked me what scent I gave off, reeking of some harsh cologne. That must’ve been what Baek Mugyeong had noticed.

“You’re not seriously saying I didn’t know that, are you?”

Baek Mugyeong’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he crossed his arms.

“I did know, but I honestly didn’t notice any scent. No, that’s not it. It’s really not what you think. I swear, it’s not like that.”

Ugh. I swore internally but restrained myself from snapping back.

“I have an English class at four on weekdays, and the teacher asked me about my pheromone scent since I presented as an omega. He probably rubbed his own scent off when he got too close. But it’s not what you’re thinking. I didn’t even hold his hand.”

I explained frantically, feeling completely wronged. We had just talked about pheromones, and there was no physical contact. I hadn’t expected alpha pheromones could cling to me like that.

“Fine, let’s say that’s true.”

“It is true.”

His tone, dismissing my words like it was just my opinion, made me furious. I wanted to pry open my skull and show him what was really in my head.

“Most people would have noticed.”

“Well, I just assumed it was strong cologne that lingered.”

“It happened again today.”

“In the classroom, the scent was still there.”

When I went to class today, Lee Jeongwook had already arrived, and the room was filled with his pungent pheromones. He said alphas needed to release their pheromones now and then. We aired out the room and the scent faded quickly, so I didn’t think much of it.

“You smelled pheromones?”

“Yes. He said alphas need to release pheromones regularly.”

“Ha. That bastard.”

It was the first time I’d ever heard Baek Mugyeong curse so harshly. His handsome face contorted in anger.

“Is there a problem?”

“That so-called teacher is toying with you.”

“What?”

“Omegas are bound to react to alpha pheromones. In that way. He was harassing you in plain sight.”

Thinking back to Cebu and how I’d responded to Baek Mugyeong’s pheromones, it made sense. But Lee Jeongwook’s scent, though harsh, hadn’t affected me at all.

“I didn’t react to it.”

“That’s probably because you’re a dominant omega.”

“How do you know that?”

“My grandfather told me.”

Apparently, once my biological father found out I was a dominant omega, he couldn’t wait to brag to Baek Jinseok, who then told Baek Mugyeong.

“So? What does being a dominant omega have to do with anything?”

“It varies per individual, but dominant omegas are less likely to react to alpha pheromones.”

That was news to me. I hadn’t heard that before.

Still, it wasn’t a good idea to bring up what had happened in Cebu. I pushed aside my curiosity and nodded.

“There’s a lot I didn’t know. I’ll be more careful from now on. But I’ll say it again, I really didn’t do anything. I mean it.”

All of this had happened because of my ignorance. Still, I couldn’t let it stand that I’d returned from the honeymoon only to look like I’d been fooling around with another alpha.

I met Baek Mugyeong’s gaze firmly. He gave me a strange look, as if he didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed. But I didn’t look away, this was something I had to clear up.

His broad shoulders moved slightly, and his expression finally relaxed a little.

“Okay. I understand.”

“…Did it smell that strong? On Monday, and today too?”

I’d driven home from class today, but I had run into a few people at the academy. If any of them were trait carriers, they might’ve thought I’d had sex.

When I asked, Baek Mugyeong let out a long sigh.

“Not too much. That’s all.”

With that, he turned to leave. I didn’t stop him and headed to the opposite bedroom.

As soon as I shut the door, I rubbed my face with both hands.

“Aaaargh.”

All kinds of things happen in life. Like accidentally inhaling during lunch and spraying milk out your nose in front of your friends, or tearing your gym shorts while playing soccer so your underwear shows.