Ian, who had been standing like a faithful wife, belatedly came to his senses and approached Ganghyuk. Not even knowing what to say, he rashly grabbed hold of Ganghyuk.
“Executive Director-nim.”
At the timidly flowing voice, Ganghyuk’s feet hesitated. Ganghyuk, who had exhaled lengthily, turned to look at Ian.
Their gazes collided sharply. Ian’s eyes narrowed as he kept his lips pressed tightly shut after calling out. Ganghyuk’s face, seen up close, looked more tired than expected.
Cold sweat was even beaded on his straight forehead. His expression was so indifferent that Ian had noticed late.
“Are you sick somewhere?”
The heart that had been standing up sharply just moments before became round. Had he been unable to come home because he was sick? Just as that thought occurred to him, the woman’s voice echoed in his ears, making his heart feel heavy as if weighted down.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
He’d mustered courage to ask, but a cold answer returned. At the annoyed-seeming gaze, Ian bit his lip.
Wasn’t it too much to make him worry and then tell him not to? After not coming home for several days without any contact, having some woman answer his phone, and finally returning looking sick.
“I am worried.”
Ian didn’t back down and took another step closer to Ganghyuk. That’s when a thick musk scent stabbed at Ian’s nose.
Instantaneously, the strength drained from his legs. The concentration of pheromones flowing from Ganghyuk was thicker than usual, to a degree that made it questionable why he’d only just noticed it now.
“Executive Director-nim, could it be……”
He was about to ask if his rut cycle had come when Ganghyuk’s upper body swayed. Startled, Ian quickly supported Ganghyuk. Ganghyuk’s head drooped powerlessly onto Ian’s shoulder.
“Haah, ha……”
Hot breath crumbled over Ian’s nape. At the sensation of all his body hair standing on end, Ian froze with his eyes wide open.
He’d thought something was off when he saw the cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but this was the first time he’d seen Ganghyuk in such a powerless state.
The man who had always seemed solid and impenetrable was now breathing as weakly as a beast caught in a trap.
“……It’s dangerous, so get away from me.”
Ganghyuk clenched his teeth and forced his body upright. His vision kept spinning dizzily. When he caught the delicate yet distinctly present floral scent, his reason was snipped away bit by bit.
You crazy bastard. In this state, where the hell did you think you were crawling into?
Self-loathing made his stomach churn. He pushed Ian away and headed for the room. In this state he couldn’t even go outside, so he planned to go into the room and take more of the suppressants he’d brought.
He’d already taken more than the prescribed amount, but maintaining his reason was harder than expected.
Tae Minjae.
When the face with its vile impression flickered before his eyes, murderous intent surged. The succession fight that had been dragging on—the bastard had finally made a reckless move. He’d slipped a heat inducer that triggered an alpha’s rut into a drink and handed it to Ganghyuk.
Since the drug was colorless, odorless, and scentless, he’d been slow to notice anything wrong.
The bastard had joined hands with Chairman Tae’s youngest daughter, Tae Nayeon. It was to drive out the eldest son, Tae Minsu. Though his disposition was gentle, the background of being the eldest son was a wall the two of them could never easily overcome.
They’d orchestrated this scheme with the intention of using it as leverage to pull Ganghyuk and the other directors to their side if Ganghyuk, who’d gone into rut, spent the night with Tae Nayeon.
As soon as he felt his physical condition becoming strange, he’d taken a suppressant. To be properly effective, it had to be taken before the rut burst forth, but first he had to put out the urgent fire.
Ganghyuk had always controlled his rut cycle by taking suppressants before it came. A dominant alpha’s rut cycle was something that betas, whether male or female, couldn’t handle.
And since he felt extreme aversion to omega pheromones, he couldn’t embrace an omega either, so he had no choice but to endure it raw.
Especially since this time it wasn’t his natural cycle but had manifested suddenly due to the drug, no one could guarantee how effective the suppressants would be.
He’d escaped the villa, leaving behind Tae Nayeon who clung to him disgustingly. Jaehyun and Sucheol, who’d been waiting outside, approached in surprise.
He went to a nearby pharmacy and bought every dominant alpha suppressant they had and took them. When they asked if he was going to a hotel, he shook his head. It was because of what Nayeon had said, which kept circling in his ears.
‘The kid was looking for you like crazy, Ganghyuk-ssi. Was the rumor about you hiding a young omega like a honey pot in Hyoseong-dong true?’
Only then did he remember that he hadn’t been able to contact Ian for several days. That’s how hectic things had been.
He’d learned that Geumin and Mijung had infiltrated deeper into the Hyoseong-dong redevelopment than expected. It was information he’d obtained while teaching a lesson to the bastards who’d harassed Ian.
After that, meeting with stakeholders, having meetings with directors, entertaining government officials together with Chairman Tae’s eldest son Tae Minsu. In the midst of all that, meeting and dealing with Tae Minjae and Tae Nayeon, who were stirring up trouble.
Ganghyuk had two phones. One was for work, the other was personal. The number he’d given Ian was the latter.
During the time he couldn’t come home, he’d barely even taken out his personal phone. It had been in his jacket’s inner pocket when Tae Nayeon took it and answered Ian’s incoming call. He kept seeing the image of the kid who’d be home alone, and in the end, he’d come here.
“Don’t come into the room. Whatever sounds you hear inside, ignore them.”
Ganghyuk warned Ian, who stood there with his face gone deathly pale. Even in the middle of speaking, his breathing became raggedly short, forcing him to speak in fragments.
In this state, he was truly dangerous to Ian. Omega pheromones that weren’t disgusting were enchanting enough to an alpha in heat to make him want to commit any act.
As soon as he opened the door and entered, he fumbled in his inner pocket and pulled out suppressants. The suppressants he was taking now weren’t the ones bought at the pharmacy but the kind he’d been prescribed in advance.
Since they were compounded to match Ganghyuk’s constitution, they were far more effective than what was sold on the market. He chewed and swallowed several bluish pills without water.
The drug’s characteristic harsh bitterness struck his throat. Having barely swallowed them, Ganghyuk sat down with his back against the bed.
He placed his arms on his bent knees and hung his head deeply. His heart was beating too fast. His body temperature, which was already high to begin with, grew even hotter, and his nape was soaked with cold sweat.
Until now, even when his heat came, there had been no omega he wanted to hold. When his rut cycle came, his senses became even more sensitive, making the omega pheromones that were unpleasant even normally reach an unbearable level. For that reason, during his rut period, his subordinates including Jaehyun and Sucheol paid a lot of attention to keeping omegas from approaching.
Ganghyuk clenched his fist tightly. Even though he hadn’t touched it, his member had become erect. The philtrum above his lips grew burning hot from the breath leaking through his nose.
Each time he became aware that Ian was beyond the thin plywood door, blue veins bulged up over his nape.
His teeth ground together making a crunching sound. He belatedly thought he should have brought sleeping pills as well as suppressants.
His sensitized ears caught the sound of small footsteps. With a sinking feeling, he raised his head, and a knocking sound came from the door before it opened with a creaking sound.
“You……”
He’d thought he’d given warning clearly enough to be understood. Since pheromones different from usual were already flowing from his body, he’d figured that Ian, being dominant, would have noticed what was happening to him.
In his vision blurred with heat, he saw Ian with both cheeks flushed red. A meaning he couldn’t fathom—even determination—was reflected in those moist eyes.
“Get out quickly.”
Ganghyuk, who’d jumped up from where he sat, reached out his arm to close the door. That’s when Ian carefully grasped Ganghyuk’s hand.
Though only their hands touched, Ganghyuk frowned as if in agony. This was the first time Ganghyuk’s expression had been revealed so vividly, so Ian swallowed as if steadying his breath.
Sexual tension climbed up his spine. His instincts were warning him, but he put strength into his feet that wanted to step back.
