A9 15

“Sorry, but please just have the car stand by at the main gate.”

Minhyuk set his cup down and spoke impassively.

“Grinning away without even realizing the bugs have gathered around him. I suppose it would be better if I stepped in personally.”

With that, Minhyuk rose from his seat and approached Suho. The sight of Suho struggling desperately against the pheromones pouring from him, yet still reacting sharply to Minhyuk’s every movement, was quite pleasing. Minhyuk stopped at Suho’s head. Instead of helping him up, he released even more pheromones. As expected, Suho’s breathing grew ragged, as if a little more stimulation would make him black out.

…Should I just knock him out?

“Im Suho. Lift your head.”

“Hngh…!”

“Lift your head and look at me.”

I wonder how long you can endure. I also wonder how long you can keep rejecting me.

“You promised. You said you would stay with me all day today.”

With a languid gaze, Minhyuk slowly scanned Suho, who was thoroughly soaked in his pheromones. A strange sense of fullness welled up inside him.

“So stay with me.”

It’s going to be a very enjoyable Christmas.

At his low murmur, Suho’s body jolted. The blatantly undisguised pheromones wrapped around him, as if Minhyuk no longer cared to hide them. It was hot. His entire body felt like it was burning, as though he had fallen into a pit of fire. Whenever fabric brushed against his skin, his body twitched involuntarily, and heated breaths spilled from his lips without him realizing it.

Trying to cling to consciousness, Suho bit down hard on the soft flesh inside his cheek. Still collapsed on the floor and trembling, he shook his head weakly, repulsed by Minhyuk’s hand reaching toward him. Each time, Minhyuk tapped the floor lightly with his index finger, as if telling him to focus.

“Im Suho.”

“Ugh….”

“Say you will stay with me.”

“Shut… Shut up…!”

“Do not resist unnecessarily. One word is all it takes, and I will back off quietly. So hurry.”

Even then, Suho stubbornly held his breath to the very end. Displeased by the sight, Minhyuk furrowed his brow.

“Im Suho.”

Along with his low voice, Minhyuk’s pheromones rushed straight into Suho’s nose.

…That was the limit.

“…Ah.”

With a short sigh, his eyelids slid shut. The tension he had been forcing himself to maintain loosened all at once, and his body went limp as he lost consciousness. Minhyuk stared for a long while at Suho, flushed with heat and fainted, his expression blank.

“It would have been better if you had done this sooner. It would have been less painful for you, too.”

A strange feeling stirred within him. The fact that his own pheromones, blatant and coercive enough to horrify anyone else, were brutally swallowing Suho whole did not feel bad at all.

“…No, I think it actually feels good.”

Minhyuk muttered as he withdrew his pheromones. Only then did the others, who had retreated to avoid them, begin to approach one by one.

“Young master. The vehicle is ready.”

“Understood. Let’s move immediately.”

“…Before that, there is something I need to report.”

“What is it?”

Minhyuk replied as he placed a hand over Suho’s head.

“As you instructed, the vehicle believed to be carrying student Lee Jaeyoung is approaching this location. It seems he has come to pick this person up…”

“I see.”

Replying casually, Minhyuk slipped a hand beneath the waist of the now docile Suho and carefully lifted him up, nodding as he did. For an Omega, Suho was fairly tall, but compared to that, the weight he felt was negligible. Was he always this thin? It felt like his bones were almost palpable. …It seemed he would have to feed him plenty of food he liked. Japchae, for instance, or sweet desserts that were good for putting on weight.

“Proceed as planned. Ignore it.”

“…Yes, Young master.”

Minhyuk paid no attention to the response and carried Suho gently in his arms toward the entrance. As Secretary Kim opened the door in sync, cold air immediately swept over Suho. Minhyuk frowned slightly and quickly headed for the back seat of the waiting car.

Just as he was about to leave before Suho could wake up, a vehicle approached at the worst possible timing. It was undoubtedly Lee Jaeyoung, clinging on without knowing his place.

“You’re late. Very late.”

Minhyuk deliberately stroked Suho’s cheek with his index finger as he held him. After sending a sneer toward Jaeyoung, who was probably watching through the tinted glass, Minhyuk got into the car.

“Let’s go.”

If possible, very slowly.

Minhyuk watched the vehicle behind them through the rearview mirror as he pulled Suho closer into his arms. At some point, a smile unlike any he had worn before settled on his lips. It was the sense of satisfaction he had not felt in a long time.

* * *

Everything around him was quiet, as if nothing had happened. His ears felt muffled, like he was submerged underwater, and the sensation wrapped around his hands was soft and warm. As weight pressed down onto his curled-up body, he felt an awkward, unpracticed touch. Though his slowly awakening mind wanted to keep his eyes closed a little longer, and he shifted restlessly, an unpleasant premonition made his eyelids tremble.

With no choice, Suho slowly lifted his eyelids and inhaled. Instead of the biting cold air of winter, air carrying a pleasant scent filled his lungs and roused his senses. Still dazed, Suho blinked sluggishly and curled his body as if throwing a sleepy tantrum.

Then—

“You’re leaking pheromones.”

“……”

“Is that a habit, or are you just being fussy in your sleep?”

Either way, it seems dangerous. A voice came from near his head. That utterly indifferent tone sounded exactly like Minhyuk’s…

No, wait. It does not just sound like Kang Minhyuk. It really is Kang Minhyuk.

In that instant, his foggy mind snapped awake. As if on cue, warning bells rang in his head, and Suho’s eyes flew open as he pushed himself up. The moment he did, his head spun violently.

“Ugh…!”

Grabbing his head in a hurry, Suho staggered and let out a pained groan. Whether fortunate or not, Minhyuk immediately supported his back, allowing him to lie back down without taking a hard hit, but the pounding in his head refused to subside.

“Do not move. Just lie there. I will bring you some water.”

As always, Minhyuk spoke in an indifferent voice as he stood up from his seat. Feeling his presence recede, Suho cautiously opened his eyes and looked around. A familiar painting came into view. It was the one Hyunju had once boasted about, saying it had been difficult to obtain.

No way… Am I at Kang Minhyuk’s house right now?

Suho’s pupils wavered back and forth in confusion as he chewed on his lip. In the meantime, Minhyuk returned from the refrigerator holding a bottle of water and some unidentified pills.

“Take it.”

“…How am I supposed to know what it is?”

“Suppressants.”

“Why would I need that?”

“……”

Minhyuk offered no answer and simply held out the pills. Suho stared blankly at the medicine being handed to him, then slightly furrowed his brow. His heat was still far off, so why was he being given suppressants? More importantly, was that even the same kind of suppressant he knew?

“Do not tell me you… touched me?”

“It’s not like that, so just take it for now.”

“Then why are you giving me this?”

Even as Suho shrank back warily, Minhyuk ignored it and once again extended the pills toward him.

“I messed up my pheromone control, which is unlike me.”

“……”

“Moreover, they are the pheromones of an extreme-dominant Alpha, so the chances of triggering an unexpected heat are even higher.”

At his utterly shameless attitude, Suho scrunched up his face.

“You make me sick and then hand me the medicine¹병 주고 약 주다 (Gives disease/illness, then gives medicine) is a Korean idiom meaning to cause harm first and then pretend to fix it, often while expecting gratitude or taking the moral high ground. It is commonly used to criticize someone who creates a situation, then presents themselves as the rescuer, or uses the “solution” to justify the original harm., you crazy bastard.”

At those words, Minhyuk’s shoulders flinched almost imperceptibly. He seemed to have realized his fault, even if belatedly.

“…You were not going to come along quietly anyway.”

“Then you could’ve just left me alone. Why bother crushing me with your pheromones? That’s a crime, you know. That’s straight-up jail time.”   

Suho brought his wrists together and shook them as if he were wearing handcuffs, looking up at Minhyuk. In response, Minhyuk pressed his lips tightly together and lowered his head slightly.

But only for a moment—

“I didn’t want to go as far as saying this.”

Minhyuk placed the suppressants onto Suho’s gathered hands and handed him the cup of water.

“If my parents find out about this.”

“…What?”

“They probably already know everything. Who you have been meeting and what you have been doing. Even so, for your sake, they have turned a blind eye and let you roam freely until now. But if you met Lee Jaeyoung even today, the day you said with your own mouth that you would be with me…”

Trailing off, Minhyuk met Suho’s eyes and continued.

“Do you think they would have left you alone. Especially when you used me as an excuse to skip an important event.”

“……”

“If it were the two of them I know, they would not have let it slide. Maybe not even this business deal.”

At his barbed words, Suho’s chest tightened without fail. He did not want to admit it, but when he thought about it, Minhyuk was right. …He had known that and still pretended not to.

Without relaxing his hardened expression, Suho glared at Minhyuk. Minhyuk, too, looked back at Suho with a blank face, his mouth closed. Just as the meaningless battle of wills was about to continue—

“…Haa.”

Minhyuk squeezed his eyes shut and let out a sigh. Suho’s shoulders twitched, expecting another reprimand, but even at that small movement, Minhyuk only slightly furrowed his brow before returning to his usual indifferent expression.

“Fine, I will admit it. I know my method was wrong, and you’re right about making you sick and giving you the medicine. Still, try thinking about it a little differently. …I will make sure this kind of thing does not happen again.”

“……”

“Even if you do not want to answer, take the suppressants first. The room is full of your pheromones, so I am going to ventilate it now. Make sure you cover yourself properly with the blanket again, too.”

• 1
  병 주고 약 주다 (Gives disease/illness, then gives medicine) is a Korean idiom meaning to cause harm first and then pretend to fix it, often while expecting gratitude or taking the moral high ground. It is commonly used to criticize someone who creates a situation, then presents themselves as the rescuer, or uses the “solution” to justify the original harm.