AOA 33

Baek Mugyeong had gone to find the newly manifested Jeong Minchae in Cebu after getting a call from the hotel, confident he wouldn’t be swayed by the pheromones. Just in case, he even took an extra suppressant.

But everything had gone off the rails. The suppressant had no effect against the torrent of pheromones Jeong Minchae was emitting.

Back then, and now again, things kept happening beyond his expectations, and he kept letting out sighs. He never imagined he’d end up having sex with Jeong Minchae again.

“We can’t even live apart.”

After dressing Jeong Minchae in pajamas, Baek Mugyeong looked down at him and murmured quietly. Unlike before the regression, Jeong Minchae had manifested early as an omega. If they continued living in the same house, accidents like this were bound to keep happening.

Living separately was out of the question. He still couldn’t go against his grandfather’s wishes. When he came to Korea from the US, the contract with his grandfather was for five years. It had only been two, meaning he needed to maintain the marriage quietly for at least three more years.

“Mmm…”

Lost in thought, Baek Mugyeong came back to himself when he saw Jeong Minchae stir. He had already cleaned him up and dressed him, now it was time to return him to his own room.

Carefully, he lifted Jeong Minchae into his arms. Though he let out a soft groan and squirmed slightly, he didn’t wake up.

Striding over to Jeong Minchae’s room, Baek Mugyeong found the lights still on. Without hesitation, he laid Jeong Minchae down on the bed.

“Uh…”

That was when it happened. Perhaps because something touched his back, Jeong Minchae cracked open his eyes. He blinked a few times before suddenly sitting upright in surprise.

“Right now! Ugh…”

He cried out, then clutched his waist and groaned. Baek Mugyeong couldn’t bring himself to ask if he was okay.

“Baek Mugyeong?”

Jeong Minchae furrowed his brow and barely managed to lift his head. His face showed confusion, embarrassment, and a hint of not knowing what to say.

Suppressing a sigh, Baek Mugyeong started by explaining. He told him that a sudden rut had been triggered by exposure to Jeong Minchae’s pheromones.

“A rut?”

“Yes.”

“Rut as in… wasn’t it a rut in Cebu too?”

“It was. That time, and this time, both were unexpected ruts.”

“It can happen twice in a row?”

“It’s possible.”

Baek Mugyeong clicked his tongue inwardly as he replied. He hadn’t expected to experience two back-to-back surprise ruts either.

“Uh… is there something wrong with your body?”

“There’s nothing wrong. More importantly, I’m sorry, Jeong Minchae. This time, the sex was one-sided.”

“Well, um… it’s weird to say it’s fine. I’ll just think of it as an accident. Since the situation in Cebu was my fault, let’s just call it even… a one-for-one.”

Baek Mugyeong instinctively furrowed his brow at the generous forgiveness. Jeong Minchae’s voice, asking after his well-being, was so gentle. And despite the nearly one-sided sex, he was brushing it off like it was no big deal.

“Do you mean that?”

“Yes.”

It was strange. The man with the clear face had once seemed lifeless and gloomy, like a flower wilting before it bloomed.

But the Jeong Minchae he met after the regression was somehow different. Whatever the reason, he was no longer quiet, nor silent, nor gloomy. At times, he pushed back and spoke up.

The eyes now looking at Baek Mugyeong were clear and assertive, something he had never seen before. It was oddly fascinating.

Still, Baek Mugyeong didn’t like the kind-hearted forgiveness.

What happened in Cebu and today had both been accidents. Between alphas and omegas, pheromone-triggered, unwanted sex was not uncommon.

Even so, no matter the cause, what happened today was practically rape. Even though he had some rationality left, he still grabbed Jeong Minchae’s wrist, driven by the instinct to relive that euphoric sweetness.

He wanted to tell Jeong Minchae it was wrong to just dismiss it like it was nothing. At the same time, he also wanted to sarcastically ask if the sex had really been that good.

Conflicting emotions made Baek Mugyeong’s head go cold.

The Jeong Minchae in front of him had done nothing wrong. He was different from the one before the regression. But that didn’t mean the murky feelings sunk deep in his chest had vanished.

Baek Mugyeong alone remembered the betrayal from before the regression. Though resentment and hatred remained, he couldn’t demand retribution from the current Jeong Minchae.

He hated wasting emotional energy, but sometimes conflicting feelings got the better of him. He knew in his head he should ignore whatever Jeong Minchae did, but sharp words spilled from his mouth regardless.

Just like now.

“Are you ignorant, stupid, or both?”

“…?”

Startled by the sudden insult, Jeong Minchae’s eyes widened. Regardless, Baek Mugyeong continued.

“You should be angry.”

“Getting angry won’t undo what happened…”

“But it’ll make you feel a little better, won’t it?”

“So should I curse? You bastard! You goddamn dick-hosting asshole! Like that?”

Caught off guard, Jeong Minchae finally cursed, his face twisted with anger. He tilted his chin defiantly, his eyes challenging, as if to say, “I did what you asked. What now?”

It was definitely better than his usual lifeless gaze.

“Yes, I was ruled by my dick. So next time, don’t say it’s fine. If you meet an alpha in a frenzy, just run.”

“That’s… easier said than done.”

Jeong Minchae’s grumble was understandable, but Baek Mugyeong didn’t dwell on it. He told him to wait a moment and went to his room to fetch medicine and a small bottle of water.

“It’s a contraceptive.”

Before the regression, Baek Mugyeong trusted his self-control. He believed he wouldn’t fall for an omega’s temptation.

But after sleeping with Jeong Minchae, overwhelmed by newly manifested pheromones, he couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. That’s why he had contraceptives at home.

Just like in Cebu, Jeong Minchae looked back and forth between the two white pills and Baek Mugyeong’s face. Then, without a word, he took the pills and washed them down with water.

There was no need to check if the pills were swallowed. Jeong Minchae drank the remaining water completely, as if he were thirsty.

Jeong Suchan, Jeong Minchae’s father, wanted a child carrying the Daesong Group bloodline. But the person involved, Jeong Minchae, didn’t seem to have any such intention.

As Baek Mugyeong stared at him, Jeong Minchae looked up as if asking, “Is there anything else?”

Now that they’d finished sex and a shower, there was no scent coming from the omega.

But Baek Mugyeong, still affected by the residual effects of his sudden rut, remembered the sweet fragrance from earlier as he looked at Jeong Minchae’s clear face. The urge to sink his teeth into his shoulder and inhale that pheromone-laced scent until he suffocated surged up again.

This is insane.

Baek Mugyeong clicked his tongue internally. At thirty years old, this was the first time he’d been consumed by such instincts.

His desire erupting regardless of time or place was unsettling. Thankfully, unlike earlier, his rationality still barely held the upper hand.

“Get some rest.”

Baek Mugyeong took the empty water bottle Jeong Minchae had finished, told him to rest well, and left the room.

The sigh that nearly escaped, he forced back down his throat.

02. Intersection

My father was serious about Christmas trees. Ever since I was little, setting up a large Christmas tree in one corner of the living room and decorating it with ornaments on December 1st was a family tradition. Friends who visited around that time were always surprised by the grand tree.

But on Christmas Day itself, there was never much going on. We’d get presents from our parents and eat a strawberry whipped cream cake for dessert in the evening, that was about it.

Even after my parents passed away, I tried to keep Christmas as close to the same as possible. I couldn’t set up a huge tree anymore, but I tried to capture a similar feeling.

Last Christmas, I set up a small tree in the living room, gifted new sneakers to my younger brother, my aunt, and myself, ate cake, and took pictures.

This year was no different. My biological father’s art gallery, unlike others, closed on Sundays and holidays. And since I was an intern, I didn’t work weekends at all. Christmas fell on a Friday this year, so I had three days off from Friday to Sunday.

I made plans several days ahead. The only difference from last year was that I visited my aunt’s place around lunchtime on Christmas Day instead of on Christmas Eve.

We ordered pizza and chicken for lunch, wore our new sneakers, took pictures, and ate cake.

“But don’t rich people usually throw big parties or something?”

“Right?”

My little brother asked curiously after taking a big bite of cake. My aunt, sipping coffee, looked intrigued as well.

Under their gaze, I answered casually.

“Well, the chairman’s a Buddhist, so they don’t do that. Everyone just spends Christmas however they want.”

The chairman of Daesong Group was a devout Buddhist, so he didn’t celebrate Christmas, nor did the family hold any special gatherings. They had held something like a Christmas party the previous weekend, a charity concert. And while my biological father did go to church, we were already living separately since I got married, so it had nothing to do with me.