Fortunately, there was no knotting either. Even so, the risk of pregnancy existed. He had not the slightest thought of wanting to block the bright future of a young kid’s life with pregnancy.
Though he didn’t feel good that the method was telling Ian to take emergency contraceptives.
“Rest a bit more. I’ll buy the medicine.”
Looking at pupils that shook greatly as if it was an unexpected statement, Ganghyuk roughly threw on clothes and left the room. The rut had clearly ended, but seeing Ian in an unguarded state, his body reacted like a conditioned reflex.
When he opened the front door, the cold wind cooled his body that had started to heat up. When he finished going down the stairs, Jaehyun, who had been waiting nearby, quickly ran over.
“Executive Director.”
The gaze examining his complexion while calling Ganghyuk was meticulous. Though his pheromones were well-managed as always, somehow his gaze touched the second floor.
Because while Ganghyuk’s pheromones weren’t felt, there was a faint floral scent. Though light, it was clearly an omega’s pheromones. And one he knew well at that.
Though it was something he’d anticipated from when Ganghyuk went to find Ian while in his rut cycle, somehow it was a feeling that made his face heat up.
“Get some emergency contraceptives. Something that’s as gentle on the body as possible.”
Jaehyun’s pupils widened for an instant then returned to normal.
“Yes. Understood.”
After Jaehyun bowed his waist to Ganghyuk in greeting, he took out his phone and moved his steps. In principle, emergency contraceptives could only be purchased with a prescription. But there were plenty of ways to obtain them.
Ganghyuk stood in place and took out his lighter. Click, the lid opened with a sound. When he turned the wheel, a blue flame rose up.
He repeated the meaningless action of closing and opening the lid again. Suddenly, the current situation of being sandwiched between the Tae siblings and being used in the succession fight grated on him.
Until now, he’d moved while maintaining loyalty to the collapsed Chairman Tae. Either way, he was a benefactor who had taken in Ganghyuk and allowed him to make a living like now.
Though he didn’t particularly feel affection for Taehyun Construction, the years spent helping Chairman Tae grow the company weren’t meaningless either.
So he hoped the company would be inherited by the most capable person among the three. That was also Chairman Tae’s wish.
But Tae Minjae had crossed the line. Very much at that.
Click. This time, as soon as he opened the lid, he turned the wheel and lit the cigarette. The end of the cigarette burned down crisply and held a soft glow.
Flames rippled inside Ganghyuk’s quietly sunken pupils. Acrid smoke rose up and hid his flashing eyes.
His physical condition was better than usual. Sex with an omega whose pheromones weren’t nauseating was dizzyingly good, and thanks to that, he could release his pheromones to his heart’s content.
He tapped off the ash with his fingertips. When he raised his head, he could see the second floor with the lights on. When he thought of the one person who would be bustling around inside, a corner of his heart stirred.
Tear-soaked cheeks, pupils distorted with pleasure, a body that snuggled softly into his embrace.
Ganghyuk closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He had an ominous premonition that Ian’s lingering presence wouldn’t disappear for a very long time.
ლ
“Hmm…”
At Soyeon’s voice heard by his ear, Ian pretended not to hear and headed to the table where a customer had just left. He put empty dishes on the tray and vigorously wiped the dirty table with a cloth.
Was it because he put in too much strength? The moment strength entered his waist area, he felt a twinge. Cold sweat trickled down his back.
A tingling dull pain rang through his waist and the unspeakable place throbbed. While maintaining a smiling expression as much as possible, he carried the heavy tray and headed toward the kitchen.
A persistent gaze stuck to his back. Knowing how quick Soyeon’s wits were, Ian desperately managed his expression.
But even that became useless when Okjeong joined in too.
“Ian-ah, come here and sit down.”
It was around the time to close the store. Okjeong, who had closed the supermarket and come over, grabbed a table and sat tilting soju glasses back and forth with Soyeon, then suddenly called Ian.
At the thought that he could no longer avoid it, Ian squeezed his eyes shut then opened them. The two people had been watching Ian since he was very young.
Moreover, Soyeon knew that Ian had feelings for Ganghyuk. In the midst of that, he didn’t open the store without any word, and only appeared the next day with a haggard face.
It would be strange if they didn’t notice that something had happened between Ian and Ganghyuk. Ian put down the tray and trudged over to the table where the two people were sitting.
Okjeong’s gaze was not ordinary. His grandfather had raised Ian with indulgence. Ian’s personality was gentle and he didn’t cause trouble, but sometimes he acted spoiled.
Even then, his grandfather couldn’t properly scold Ian. Busy soothing with gentle words lest he cause hurt. At such times, it was Okjeong who stepped forward.
Saying the kid’s habits would turn bad, she occasionally scolded him until tears completely fell from Ian’s eyes. Even though he’d grown up now, seeing Okjeong’s stern face reminded him of memories of being scolded as a child.
Though he sat in the chair as told, Okjeong and Soyeon just stared piercingly at Ian’s face without saying anything. Under the silent pressure, Ian, who had only been swallowing dry saliva, subtly pointed at the empty bottle.
“Should I bring one more bottle of soju?”
Though there was a bit left, it wasn’t enough for two glasses. He tried to divert the topic like that, but Soyeon leaned her upper body toward Ian and brought up the subject he’d wanted to avoid.
“You closing the store yesterday, it’s related to Executive Director Tae, right?”
At the words that hit the mark, Ian’s lips trembled finely. During the time he should have been opening the store, he’d had sex with Ganghyuk like crazy. As a result, he’d only woken up after the sun had set.
After that, he took the emergency contraceptives Ganghyuk bought him and fell asleep again. All the strength had drained from his body so he couldn’t endure.
Fortunately, today he woke up on time and opened the store early. The problem was that his physical condition still hadn’t returned to normal.
His hole was still swollen, and every time he moved, the muscles in his waist cramped.
Just in case, he also bought pheromone deodorant and sprayed it on his body. Most customers were betas, but just in case a manifestor might come to the store.
“It’s not like that. I just felt a bit unwell. After taking medicine, I kept feeling sleepy so I couldn’t check my phone.”
It was a part he’d explained in a text yesterday and also explained this morning. But Okjeong and Soyeon’s hardened faces remained the same.
“That body ache seems to have come exactly because of Executive Director Tae. My intuition is almost never wrong.”
…You could even be a shaman.
At the thought that came to mind unconsciously, Ian let out an awkward laugh. He had little talent for lying. But he also couldn’t honestly talk about what happened with Ganghyuk, so he glossed over it with laughter.
“This time you’re wrong.”
Though he felt his face heating up, Ian stubbornly lied. There was such a thing as white lies in the world. He didn’t want to needlessly startle Okjeong and Soyeon.
“Our Ian has grown a lot. Now he even lies well.”
Soyeon linked arms and gave Okjeong a look. Ian was slipping away better than expected. Okjeong, who had been rolling the empty soju glass in her hand, opened her mouth that had been silent.
“The first time is important for everything. Especially when you’re young, you need to be careful about relationships. You can’t just befriend anyone. If you make the wrong move, your life can fall into a pit.”
It was sincere advice. She knew Ganghyuk wasn’t a bad person. But if someone asked whether he was okay as Ian’s partner, it was hard to readily answer yes.
Even setting aside that he did dangerous work, the two had quite an age gap. Ian had just turned twenty, and Ganghyuk looked to be at least in his late twenties.
Since he sat in a director’s position at Taehyun Construction, he was probably actually older. Not to mention he was an alpha.
Moreover, Ian owed him a great debt. Unconsciously, Ian would be psychologically intimidated by Ganghyuk, and that wouldn’t change even if the two became deeply involved. Rather, it would intensify.
