* * *

The air filled with a faintly sweet chocolate scent, and their intertwined gazes quivered.

Though neither spoke, both knew the atmosphere had turned strangely intimate.

Heat surged through Jeongseo’s body, causing him to instinctively curl into himself and shuffle backward.

His breathing grew labored, and an unfamiliar tingling sensation spread from his throat to every part of him.

He quickly realized what was happening.

It was a heat.

In the closed room, with no one else around, Jeongseo’s trembling gaze darted around before locking onto Yoontae.

From the moment this started, Yoontae hadn’t said a word.

His golden eyes, usually bright, had darkened considerably.

“Y-Yoontae…”

As Jeongseo opened his mouth to speak, the overpowering scent of pheromones seeped through his lips, making his vision flash white and his legs give way.

Letting out a faint sound, Jeongseo’s instincts screamed that he needed to get away, but his body refused to cooperate.

Why now? Why another heat?

He’d been diligent about taking his pheromone suppressants, and he wasn’t due for another month and a half.

‘Recessive types with low pheromone levels can sometimes experience heightened reactions when in proximity to a strong, compatible mate.’

Was it because he was a Recessive, and Yoontae a dominant?

Though he knew control during a heat was nearly impossible, he couldn’t afford for this to keep happening.

It would disrupt his life.

But distancing himself from Yoontae was unthinkable.

For now, he knew he couldn’t stay here.

His breathing quickened, his thoughts growing hazy.

Summoning his last shred of focus, he tried to grab his bag—but Yoontae was suddenly in front of him.

“Don’t come closer…”

Jeongseo reached out, intending to push Yoontae away, but his hand was swiftly caught.

His widened eyes, tinged with fear, made Yoontae swallow hard and knit his brows.

“Damn it…”

Muttering under his breath, Yoontae pulled Jeongseo toward him.

With no strength left to resist, Jeongseo’s head ended up pressed firmly against Yoontae’s chest.

Enveloped in his embrace, the intense scent thickened, making Jeongseo’s heart pound erratically and his body respond in ways he couldn’t control.

Though he struggled, Yoontae only held him tighter, arms locking firmly around him.

The pressure against his cheek, combined with the pheromones, left him gasping for air.

A hot breath brushed against the nape of his neck, sending shivers across his skin.

Yoontae’s hand, resting against Jeongseo’s back, moved gently over the fabric of his uniform, the subtle motion making Jeongseo release a heated sigh.

“I-I have medicine… in my bag. Let me go…”

“Who told you to flaunt your scent like this?”

Trapped in Pyo Yoontae’s embrace, every breath Jeongseo took was filled with his scent.

It was the first time he’d been exposed to such an intense dose of pheromones, leaving his head feeling foggy and saturated.

Pyo Yoontae buried his face into Jeongseo’s nape, nuzzling persistently, until finally, black ears and a tail popped out.

The tip of Jeongseo’s black tail swayed gently on the floor as a faint purring sound rumbled from deep in Pyo Yoontae’s throat.

It was as though he didn’t want to let Jeongseo go, yet couldn’t take things further, simply holding him tightly in his arms.

As their pheromones thickened, Pyo Yoontae’s hold on Jeongseo tightened even more.

At one point, as if seeking affection, he let out a long sigh and pressed his forehead to Jeongseo’s nape.

Then, just as his hands, which were wrapped around Jeongseo’s back, began to creep downward, Jeongseo, who had unconsciously burrowed deeper into Yoontae’s arms as his mind went blank, suddenly snapped back to his senses.

“No, you can’t!”

Startled, Jeongseo pushed at Pyo Yoontae’s chest with both hands.

Thankfully, Yoontae pulled back easily.

As Yoontae, who had been pressing his face into Jeongseo’s neck the entire time, moved away, the sudden coolness on his damp nape felt oddly chilling.

“Jeongseo,” Yoontae said.

His voice was unusually low today.

Jeongseo, who was struggling to wriggle free, lifted his head.

The yellow eyes that met his gaze narrowed, then widened, exuding a primal sense of intimidation.

Jeongseo instinctively shrank back.

If I stay like this, I’ll be devoured, he thought, as his brown ears drooped and heat began to rise to his eyes.

Shaking, Jeongseo stammered, “I… I don’t want to… have any children right now.”

His flushed cheeks and tear-filled eyes made Pyo Yoontae’s eyelids tremble slightly.

Looking at him as he exuded sweetness, Yoontae felt his frayed patience not only evaporate but begin to suffocate him instead.

Pyo Yoontae took a deep breath to steady himself but realized that inhaling only made things worse.

Holding his breath, he tried to regain control.

He couldn’t tell whether the growing heat in his palms, which were resting against Jeongseo’s back, was his fault or Jeongseo’s.

When he looked at Jeongseo’s face again, he clenched his jaw.

His expression was on the verge of tears, unbearably cute, making Yoontae want to let him cry—but he couldn’t let himself do that.

Barely clinging to his reason, Yoontae finally let Jeongseo go.

The latter immediately bolted to his bag, pulling out a pill bottle.

His trembling legs barely managed to hold him upright.

As Yoontae stood, Jeongseo, hastily swallowing water and pills, flinched and turned wary eyes on him.

“It’s fine,” Yoontae said.

“I’m going outside the room. I’ll call the driver for you… just wait here for a bit.”

Leaving behind a quiet apology, Yoontae exited the room.

Only then did Jeongseo loosen the tension in his body.

Though the room still carried a faint chill of Yoontae’s scent, either because the medication was fast-acting or because Yoontae was gone, Jeongseo felt his scattered thoughts slowly return.

What was that just now?

Jeongseo sighed deeply, rubbing his warm face with a hand.

‘I just came here to do an assignment… Yoontae must’ve been just as startled. If he keeps getting caught up in my sudden heats, won’t he start feeling uncomfortable around me?’

Jeongseo, his mood plummeting, hugged his knees and buried his head.

Despite everything, he found himself unconsciously seeking the wintry scent still lingering in the air.

---

After Jeongseo made it home safely, Pyo Yoontae collapsed onto his bed, his face still flushed with heat.

The now-faint sweetness in the air left him yearning.

On a whim, he buried his face into the white plushie Jeongseo had fidgeted with, rubbing against it.

Somehow, it faintly smelled like chocolate.

“…I had a feeling.”

One of the reasons Yoontae had been reluctant to bring Jeongseo home today was because his rut period was approaching.

Though it wasn’t due to hit suddenly, and medication usually kept it manageable, Yoontae hadn’t anticipated Jeongseo’s heat aligning with it so perfectly.

Jeongseo’s heat cycle had been a mystery to Yoontae, though he knew Jeongseo was recessive.

Recessives typically only experienced heat once every six months to a year.

However, judging by Jeongseo’s reaction last time—and now—it was clear this was an unexpected heat.

Yoontae had once heard that recessives unconsciously align their cycles to the dominant traits they favor, though it wasn’t scientifically proven.

He’d always dismissed it as a silly rumor.

Now, he wanted to believe it.

If Jeongseo favored him that much…

“I… I don’t want to… have children right now.”

The trembling voice replayed in his head, stirring something deep within him.

Not right now, which meant later might be okay.

Thinking that, Yoontae decided he could wait until Jeongseo was ready to say it himself.

Even if Jeongseo didn’t feel the same way he did, it didn’t matter.

He’d just love him enough to make up for it.

Struggling against the growing heat in his body, Yoontae locked his door.

---

Jeongseo’s heat lasted longer than the last time, keeping him in an overwhelming haze for two full days before he could return to school.

Yoontae, on the other hand, had to take even more time off.

When Yoontae finally returned the following week, Jeongseo felt oddly self-conscious about seeing him again.

Though he’d messaged Yoontae to apologize for the sudden heat, the memory of Yoontae’s touch, his scent, and his warm breaths resurfaced vividly, no matter how much Jeongseo tried to suppress it.

He told himself to act normal—like nothing had happened.

If he overreacted, Yoontae might distance himself, and that was the last thing Jeongseo wanted.

Arriving at the classroom earlier than usual, Jeongseo sat at his desk, quietly composing himself.

As he was lost in thought, the sound of steady footsteps approached.

The front door opened, and Jeongseo’s eyes met Yoontae’s.

* * *