* * *
Upon hearing the test results, my eyes welled up with tears. I was so sure I hadn’t been expecting anything at all….
“Jeong Yiyeon, can you see the screen?”
At Dr. Kim’s voice, I quickly pulled my drifting mind back together.
Only then did I return to reality. I had come into the examination room with Cha Hyunwoo and heard the results of my presentation. Dr. Kim’s detailed explanation was now underway.
I needed something to hold onto, so I quietly reached over and took one of Cha Hyunwoo’s fingers. Fortunately, Cha Hyunwoo left my hand alone without a word.
Only now could I finally focus on the screen Dr. Kim was pointing to.
“You can see the pheromone concentration and hormone levels here, yes?”
“…Yes.”
“When compared with Jeong Yiyeon’s most recent health examination data, the change in pheromone concentration, the sharp rise in hormone levels — and the positive result on the designation presentation test I just mentioned — all indicate….”
I stared at Dr. Kim, unblinking. His lips moved slowly, as if in slow motion. His voice reached my ears a beat behind.
“Jeong Yiyeon, you have presented as a dominant omega.”
In the same instant, I understood. That I had, just as Cha Hyunwoo said, been hoping with everything I had.
I don’t know how much disappointment I was bracing myself for by hoping that big — but thankfully, this time, my wish had come true.
‘This can’t be real. Me, a designation holder. And a dominant omega at that…!’
I couldn’t stay seated. I shoved back my chair and stood up. The chair slid backward, and Cha Hyunwoo caught me as I swayed. I turned my head and looked up at him right then and there.
“Pinch my cheek.”
Cha Hyunwoo immediately scowled.
“What if this is all a dream….”
Dr. Kim answered in his place.
“Looking at the test numbers, this absolutely cannot be a dream.”
My fervent gaze snapped toward him. I clearly needed a little more certainty.
“In your case, Jeong Yiyeon, you didn’t present at the typical age. So unlike a normal presentation, this happened suddenly without any symptoms — which may make it even harder to believe.”
Dr. Kim’s words read my feelings so accurately that my head nodded on its own.
“However, cases of presentation occurring after adulthood do exist. So please don’t worry too much — the early stages of presentation can be disorienting, but let’s work through the adjustment together with our support.”
Dr. Kim’s confident tone and reassuring smile wiped away every last trace of doubt.
Hh-eup. Overcome with emotion, I pressed my hand over my mouth. My head nodded furiously. Then, unable to contain myself, I lunged toward the doctor.
Don’t try to stop me. This was the kind of feeling that could only be calmed by throwing my arms around the doctor and spinning around at least ten times.
But in reality, Cha Hyunwoo’s thick forearm blocked my path and I could only flail.
“Why, hold on — I need to have one proper deep embrace with the doctor right now…!”
“If there are any precautions or other matters to relay, please contact me directly.”
Left behind was Dr. Kim, chuckling warmly with a kind smile, as I was seized by Cha Hyunwoo and dragged out.
I was wriggling trying to get free from his hold by any means possible, but the moment we stepped out of the examination room, Cha Hyunwoo let me go without protest.
“Take your medication first.”
Well — his tone, at least, was anything but without protest. It was low and heavy, like a warning.
“You right now, your pheromones are still….”
Cha Hyunwoo covered his face with his palm as if shielding his nose.
“Ah, sorry. This is my first time presenting, so….”
After saying it, a silly grin slipped out. Me, actually a designation holder. Me, having actually presented….
And so, in a haze like walking through a dream, I let myself be led by Cha Hyunwoo’s hand and got into the car.
Then, all of a sudden, I grew curious. What would my pheromones feel like to someone else?
Cha Hyunwoo’s pheromones back at the apartment had smelled nothing but wonderful. Right now, whether because he was holding back on my account, I couldn’t sense them at all.
“What are my pheromones like?”
Everything was so new and wondrous that I asked out of pure curiosity — but Cha Hyunwoo said nothing in return.
Even after taking the pheromone suppressant, my pheromones were apparently still drifting around, because while driving, he silently rolled down the window. The summer heat rushed in in a wave, but he drew a deep breath as if he could finally breathe again — and seeing that, I felt suddenly guilty. Why did he have to insist on driving me….
Having presented as a designation holder, I needed to go to the family home and tell them. Cha Hyunwoo had heard that and offered to take me, so we were traveling together. I was deeply grateful, but seeing him look strained like this made me add something despite myself.
“That’s why I said I’d get to my family home on my own.”
“In that condition, where do you think you’re….”
Cha Hyunwoo’s sharp gaze shot toward me — then the moment our eyes met, he looked away first. His ear, now naturally in view, was red.
He must be hot. Fair enough — no matter how the air conditioning was on, it was still summer, and having the windows open while driving must be stifling. What a nuisance I was in every way.
I’d taken my medication, so I should behave myself now. Like Cha Hyunwoo, I fixed my gaze straight ahead and sank back deep into the passenger seat. About three seconds passed, maybe. Fresh things to say kept bubbling up.
“Sitting like this reminds me of when we used to play house as kids.”
I didn’t check Cha Hyunwoo’s reaction, keeping my eyes forward as I drifted into reminiscing.
“Whenever we played house, I always played the omega and made you be the alpha.”
“…….”
“And now we’ve actually become an omega and an alpha….”
When even the trip down memory lane was met with silence from Cha Hyunwoo, I turned to look at the seat beside me.
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember? We even had two little rabbit children between us back then.”
Saying it playfully finally drew a reaction. The glance I caught of Cha Hyunwoo’s expression wavered as if to say what are you on about. I snickered and went on.
“You know. The two rabbit stuffed animals your mom brought back from a business trip as a gift. What did we name them back then….”
I rubbed my chin and rummaged through my memory with an air of deep contemplation, when a low voice came from beside me.
“…The first one was Cha Jeonghyeon. The second was Cha Iwoo. The third was Cha Yeon.”
Oh, right. Cha Hyunwoo and Jeong Yiyeon — names made by combining letters from each other’s names. The third was a set rule: if his mom ever bought another stuffed animal, we’d name it then.
I was smiling to myself without even realizing it, lost in the warm, fuzzy memory — and then it hit me. Wait, so he didn’t forget?
My gaze immediately sharpened as I studied Cha Hyunwoo closely. Now that I thought about it, it was clear he’d been pretending not to remember because he was embarrassed about their days playing house as snotty little kids.
I can’t just let this slide without a little mischief. I cleared my throat with a small ahem.
“Honey. The kids must be waiting.”
It happened at the same time.
Screech — Cha Hyunwoo slammed the brake hard and, on instinct, flung his arm out across my body.
Thanks to that, my body, which had lurched slightly forward, quickly righted itself. Fortunately, we had just turned into an alley with no other cars around.
“…You.”
Cha Hyunwoo’s gaze, burning like the summer sun, landed directly on me. But he couldn’t get the rest out, and gripped the steering wheel again.
Does he have an allergy to the word honey*, or something.* He disliked it so much that the veins on the back of the hand clenching the wheel were standing out. I made a quick judgment call. I need to actually be quiet for real now. Otherwise I might genuinely get hit.
In the uncomfortable silence, the family home came into view not long after.
The garage door opened and Cha Hyunwoo pulled in with practiced ease. He drove me to the family home often enough that his car was registered in the garage system, so driving straight in felt as natural as anything.
“Have a good visit. Don’t forget to take your medication.”
His tone was composed, but maybe he was still irritated — his face was faintly flushed. Instead of getting out right away, I undid my seatbelt and hesitated a little.
Then, the moment Cha Hyunwoo’s gaze touched me, I lifted my head with a snap. I curved my eyes into a playful crescent and answered his send-off.
“Honey. I’ll be back soon.”
The door shut with a thud and I stepped away from the car quickly. With that move, I was sure he was plenty annoyed — unable to even retaliate.
I was curious about Cha Hyunwoo’s expression, but since going back to the car right now would clearly mean I couldn’t guarantee my own safety, I decided to hold back.
Once the brief thrill passed, tension set in.
Now that it was actually time to tell my family about presenting, quiet worry crept up on me. It wasn’t like I’d presented when everyone else did, after all. I wondered if making a fuss over something so belated was unnecessary.
I found myself regretting the call I’d placed to Secretary Park — my father’s personal secretary — to arrange a dinner. Maybe I should have just told them over the phone.
I’d felt relieved when I heard that both my father and my brother could make time in the evening. But now, worry was what came first.
‘I wonder how Father and my brother will react….’
Carrying a question I had no answer to, I pushed my now-heavy feet forward.
* * *
‘Honey,’ he’d said….
Cha Hyunwoo exhaled a quiet breath. Jeong Yiyeon’s retreating figure grew smaller and then disappeared inside the house.
At the same moment, he covered his face with his hand as if to hide the heat rising in it. The breath against his palm was warm.
‘What are my pheromones like?’
The question from Yiyeon he hadn’t been able to answer came back to him.
When he breathed in Jeong Yiyeon’s pheromones, it was as if cascading blossoms were pouring down over his head in full bloom. On top of that, a sweetness was threaded through it. The intoxicating sweetness and floral scent called to mind acacia.
Acacia had bloomed in full flower from Jeong Yiyeon’s body.
‘Jeong Yiyeon has presented as an omega.’
What did that mean?
The gem he’d already wanted to hide away from the world was now giving off the scent of flowers and honey on top of everything else.
No matter how hard he tried to conceal it, it was something that could never be concealed.
That was why he was anxious. So anxious he felt like he might die from it.
His coldly settled gaze moved to the window. The hand gripping the steering wheel tightened again. As if trying to seize hold of something, wanting it all for himself.
‘If there is truly no way to hide it….’
At the end of a long breath, he made his decision.
‘Then I’ll have to make him mine.’
There was nothing to hold him back anymore. It was a chance that had come at the end of a long, long wait.
He stared in the direction Yiyeon had disappeared. The words he hadn’t yet managed to say were being conveyed in full by the intensity of his gaze.
That from now on, he would lay it all bare. His body, his heart, his desires — every last bit.
So, Yiyeon….
‘You’d better be prepared.’
