A9 16

Minhyuk handed Suho the pills and water once again. Knowing that holding out like this would only be to his own detriment, Suho reluctantly took the medicine, yet he still could not shake his suspicious gaze. This is suspicious, Kang Minhyuk… He could not understand why that insensitive man kept bothering him. Was there some kind of trigger? If there had been, he would have avoided him immediately, but there was not a single clue to latch onto. Even the water seemed questionable to him as Suho swirled the glass a couple of times and glanced sideways at Minhyuk.

“It is really not anything weird, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You did not put anything in it?”

“I did not.”

If you are suspicious, just get fresh water from the fridge and drink that.

With that, Minhyuk flung the window open. He could not say it to Suho, but he himself was extremely sensitive after being exposed to the pheromones Suho had unconsciously released in his sleep.

Suho watched him for a moment, then put the suppressant into his mouth and gulped down a mouthful of water. For some reason, the bitter taste unique to suppressants felt stronger than usual. Suho set the cup down on the table beside the bed and wiped the moisture from his lips. Then he stole another glance at Minhyuk, who had his back turned to him while letting in the fresh air.

It had to be fairly chilly, yet Minhyuk did not blink as he stared into empty space. It almost looked as if he were enduring it while deliberately trying not to be conscious of Suho. Maybe it was because the pheromones released by a dominant Omega, steeped in the pheromones of an extreme-dominant Alpha. …It probably created a synergy he did not want to imagine.

Shaking his head a few times at the unwelcome thought, Suho let out a sigh. Perhaps because the situation was so sudden, his mind still had not fully caught up, and no clear thoughts came to him. Should he lash out in anger at Minhyuk for handling him so roughly?

…No. As much as he hated to admit it, if he had left the house like that, both families would have found out. That did not mean Minhyuk had done the right thing. Even if Suho’s judgment had been short-sighted, it was also true that Minhyuk’s response was excessive and ultimately tried to resolve things in the wrong way. Either way, both of them were at fault.

Brushing aside his tangled thoughts, Suho flopped down onto the bed. Jaeyoung, who was probably feeling down because he could not reach him right now, crossed his mind. At the same time, he found himself wondering why Minhyuk was going this far. Nothing like a dramatic event from the novel had happened yet, but still, shouldn’t there be at least some degree of affection? After all, they were supposedly the main top and main bottom. Even though he had tried hard to ignore it, it was still a mystery why Minhyuk remained so conscious of him and placed excessive importance on a relationship that he would eventually have to reject.

As one unresolved question after another surfaced, Suho frowned as if displeased. After letting out a deep sigh, he spoke to Minhyuk.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Hey, Kang Minhyuk.”

“……”

“Are you ignoring me?”

Oh, so now he was not even going to answer? Suho slapped the bed repeatedly to draw his attention. His petulant voice spread through the room, which had grown cold from the ventilation, sounding oddly out of place.

Facing Suho like that, Minhyuk was flustered as well. He had expected Suho to get angry and hurl insults at him for a while, but instead, Suho’s momentum had suddenly fizzled out, and he was now speaking to him as if nothing were wrong. Letting out a small, hollow chuckle, Minhyuk finally turned his head toward Suho.

“…What?”

“So what is the plan, then?”

“What plan?”

“If you went as far as dragging me all the way to your place, then you must have thought of something, right?”

Suho rolled around on the bed for a bit, then suddenly stopped and sank into thought. Backing down like this was out of the question. Kang Minhyuk was being too infuriating, and his pride was already bruised.

Let’s think, Suho. There has to be a way to get out of this situation while still needling that bastard just enough. Come on, get your brain working. 

Suho shot Minhyuk a sideways glance. Minhyuk was still standing by the window, letting the air in, and when he turned his head at just the right moment, their gazes tangled in midair as if it were inevitable. A subtle atmosphere formed between them, as though they were naturally sizing each other up.

How much time passed like that?

“Hey.”

“What?”

“This is random, but do you like me?”

Suho abruptly sat up and lifted the corner of his lips into a smile. How about I really mess with him this time? With dark intentions hidden beneath his expression, Suho smiled sweetly at Minhyuk. Faced with a look that clearly had an agenda, Minhyuk turned his body fully and leaned against the wall, tilting his head. It was a gesture that said, ‘Go on, say whatever you want.’ The moment that unspoken permission was given, Suho mirrored his movement, tilting his head before getting to his feet. He brushed off his disheveled clothes with a few taps of his hand and headed toward the window where Minhyuk stood.

Click—

Suho closed the window that had been open for ventilation and looked up at Minhyuk without a word. The pheromones he had scattered while asleep had not yet faded, so Minhyuk narrowed his eyes, finding it odd that Suho would suddenly shut the window.

Just how long will that calm, unshaken expression last? Suho chuckled to himself and shrugged his shoulders as if nonchalant.

“The draft was kind of cold.”

“……”

“So, do you like me or not?”

The way his eyes curved softly, and the corners of his lips lifted, was strikingly alluring. Suho went a step further and subtly let his pheromones seep out. Like a flower bud that had been nurtured for a long time, finally blooming, a soft cream caramel scent flowed from the back of Suho’s neck. For a brief moment, his pheromones cautiously began to sweep over every corner of Minhyuk’s body.

At first, they coiled around Minhyuk’s firm wrist as if testing the waters. When there was no immediate reaction, Suho’s pheromones, seemingly annoyed by his composure, bloomed further, gently enveloping Minhyuk’s face, which drew admiration even with an indifferent expression.

In that instant—

“……”

Minhyuk, uncharacteristically, furrowed his brow and clenched his fist. The sweetness was stronger than usual, enough to provoke a reaction. Perhaps excited by that unfamiliar response, Suho slowly leaned closer to him. The scent emanating from him grew denser than before, heavily imbued with the distinctive sweetness of a dominant Omega.

Minhyuk belatedly held his breath, but his body, already engulfed in Suho’s pheromones, reacted sensitively to the overtly approaching scent.

Thump, thump—

The quickened sound of his heartbeat rang in his ears, and his breathing turned rough as it refused to steady. As if enjoying every single one of his reactions, Suho softly narrowed his eyes and let out a light, airy voice.  

“Why are you not answering? …Don’t tell me it is actually true?”

Emphasizing the last words, Suho winked one eye. Even though there was less than a palm’s width between them already, he moved in even closer, bringing their lips close enough to almost touch. Suho did not avoid Minhyuk’s gaze, which glinted as if he might devour him whole. Instead, he gently brushed his rounded nose against Minhyuk’s straight bridge and spoke in a soft, coaxing voice.

“If that were not the case, there would be no reason for you to act like this.”

“……”

“Isn’t that right?”

For a fleeting moment as he spoke, it felt as though their lips brushed. What kind of reaction would he get if he pushed things just a little further? Amused by his pointless curiosity, Suho slowly tilted his head as if he were really about to kiss Minhyuk. Growing even more rigid, Minhyuk barely managed to cling to his fraying reason and turned his head away.

Then—

“Do not hold your breath. And do not turn your head away.”

Suho tugged Minhyuk’s wrist and pressed his body against him. As if he could not endure it any longer, Minhyuk clenched his teeth and looked down at Suho, who radiated danger, and spoke in a low voice.

“Im Suho.”

“Yeah, Minhyuk.”

“Looks like the medicine has not kicked in yet, so… Stop it there.”

“Do not worry. The suppressant already took effect a long time ago.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

The way his voice sounded as if he were forcing himself to endure was strangely stimulating. Enjoying the situation, Suho smiled faintly.

“Why, is there a problem? If you do not like it, you can be the one to move away first.”

“And those pheromones of yours are… F*ck.”

Minhyuk spat out a curse, turning his head and covering his mouth. Seeing Minhyuk heated up by his pheromones was amusing.

So this is why Minhyuk used pheromones on me back then.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, Suho released an even denser wave of pheromones and leaned in, resting his head against Minhyuk’s shoulder as he looked up at him.

“This is what you are good at, you know. Rudely pinning someone down with pheromones so they cannot move.”

“……”

“I am doing exactly what you did to me, so why are you reacting like this. Hm?”

“…Im Suho.”

“If you do not like this, then answer me right now. Why are you going this far?”

“……”

“If you keep your mouth shut like that, it’ll be dangerous. I might end up addicting you to my pheromones.”

Does he even have rut suppressants at home? As he finished speaking, Suho brought the tip of his nose to Minhyuk’s nape, rubbing against him provocatively and letting out a precarious laugh. At that single laugh, Minhyuk released the breath he had been holding, regardless of his will. As if it had been waiting for that moment, Suho’s pheromones settled all over his body, coating him with a sweet scent and relentlessly teasing him.

Before long, as though he had been affected by the pheromones, the stiffness around Minhyuk’s eyes gradually softened. Even as he thought that this was probably enough, Suho felt a shiver run through him at the sight of Minhyuk coming undone.

“You are getting overly sensitive over a joke.”

As if wrapping up the teasing that left one wanting more, Suho laughed and lightly tapped Minhyuk’s waist a few times. Then he quickly withdrew his pheromones, stepped back a couple of paces, and reached toward the window.

At that moment.

Thud—

Minhyuk firmly grabbed the hand Suho had stretched out to the side. Feeling the heat of his body, hotter than expected, Suho flinched and shook his hand frantically. But Minhyuk did not budge. On the contrary, the more Suho tried to pull away, the tighter Minhyuk’s grip became.

“What… What is it?”

Completely flustered, Suho shook the wrist that had been grabbed once more and looked up at Minhyuk.

It was at that moment.

“F*ck, Im Suho.”

Minhyuk’s hand braced Suho’s back and yanked him in hard. Unfortunately, it was only then that Suho realized what he had done.

Ah… I am the one who is in serious trouble now.