* * *
“Have you been well?”
It had only been two days, at most. Siho blinked rapidly, and Kang Taeyun smiled gently.
His lips, visible through the smile, were split as if someone had hit him.
“I heard the others came by.”
“Ah, yes.”
“That must have been hard for you. Seeing all the pheromones rubbed onto your body, it must have been quite explicit.”
At Kang Taeyun’s words, Siho quickly raised his arm and sniffed.
But far from pheromones, he only caught the scent of his body wash.
“It’s moments like this that I’m glad you’re a Beta. If you weren’t, you’d probably be a mess.”
“…”
“I’m injured. Would you mind treating it for me?”
Unlike Moon Dowon and Yoo Joohwan, Kang Taeyun did not act coercively; he politely and courteously asked if he could enter the room.
It was a space he didn’t want to let anyone into, but Kang Taeyun’s clear smile kept him from looking away.
The raw scrape on his lip persistently bothered him.
“Siho.”
Following his gentle voice, Kang Taeyun offered a soft eye-smile.
Along with the slight curve of his lips, Kang Taeyun lightly tapped the injured area, sending a suggestive gaze.
Siho felt his heart growing heavy at the sight of him, every movement seeming to flow in slow motion.
“I’m in pain…”
He narrowed his eyes slightly and put on a pathetic expression.
Since he was asking for permission until the very end, Siho stepped aside, allowing him entry.
“If it’s just for a moment, come in.”
“Thank you.”
Kang Taeyun entered the doorway with a gentle face and neatly took off his shoes.
Kang Taeyun, who was always impeccably dressed, was so neat his clothes were without a single crease.
Seeing him, radiating an inherent nobility, Siho didn’t want to show him any ordinary spot.
“It’s small, isn’t it? Do you want to sit on the bed for a bit?”
Since his rooftop room was a studio apartment, there was naturally no sofa, and the only seating spaces were the bed, the floor, and the table.
Siho felt slightly awkward about his cramped home.
“Are you sure? It’s the bed you sleep in.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
Siho quickly went to the drawer beneath the television and took out the first-aid kit.
He collected bandages and ointment and turned back, meeting Kang Taeyun’s eyes on the bed.
Thump—
His crazy heart leaped once again.
‘Emotional synchronization’, they said.
It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced from the other two.
Without knowing whose emotion it was, he slowly approached him.
“How did you… get hurt?”
He knew he wouldn’t get an answer, but he asked out of politeness.
However, contrary to his expectation, Kang Taeyun smiled kindly and answered in a quiet, subdued voice.
“I was hit, by my father.”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you pity me?”
“No.”
Siho quickly shook his head and squeezed the ointment onto his index finger.
Since he didn’t have a cotton swab, his heart raced uncontrollably as he attempted to apply it to his lip with his hand.
“Siho, you need to apply it. I’m waiting here.”
Seeing Siho hesitate and falter, Kang Taeyun slightly offered the injured side of his face.
If he felt a sexual charm from Moon Dowon, he felt a restrained sexiness from Kang Taeyun.
His lips felt dry, and his throat was parched.
Unable to muster the courage to reach out, he offered him the ointment.
“I’ll get you a mirror. You apply it.”
“That’s so harsh, Siho.”
“…”
“Is your boyfriend injured and you don’t care? I thought I might get some comfort.”
Kang Taeyun put on a pitiful expression.
Siho quickly denied it, rushing closer to him, unable to bear his distressed, pathetic face.
“You should go to the hospital tomorrow so your face doesn’t get worse.”
“If you go with me, I will.”
“…”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and apply it.”
As he smiled softly, the heat inside Siho’s body slowly spread.
Fearing his expression might betray him, he suppressed his emotions and slightly bent over his upper body.
“…You need to tell me if it hurts.”
He cleared his trembling voice and applied the ointment to the wound.
Looking closely, the cheek around the cut on his lip was red.
“That must have hurt.”
He mumbled unconsciously, then realized that Kang Taeyun’s face was right in front of his nose.
As he blinked with a flustered expression, Joohwan chuckled.
“This is the first time we’ve been this close. Has anyone else been within this range?”
“…No.”
“Then I’m the first.”
He curved his eyes beautifully, as if he was pleased.
His monolid eyes gently folded, making Siho’s heart flutter.
His long eyelashes created a soft curve, and his healthy skin was clear, as if he received regular care.
As Siho stared intently at his flawless face, Kang Taeyun smiled deeply, as if assessing him.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you fall for me again?”
“Sorry.”
“But if you distance yourself, I’ll be sad.”
As Siho hastily tried to get up, he gently pulled his arm.
Siho’s body was helplessly pulled down, landing on his thigh, and his butt twitched against the firm muscle.
“I told you, I need comfort.”
“J-just a moment.”
“Just for a little while, let’s stay like this.”
Unlike Siho’s panic, his voice was calm.
Siho felt a cold sweat breaking out, watching him ask for comfort while being unaware of the state of Siho’s lower body.
Siho clenched his muscles tightly, trying not to feel his thigh, but his focus was entirely directed downwards, generating heat.
“Siho.”
The affectionate tone of his voice was unusually subtle.
Perhaps because of the subdued atmosphere, it felt sensual.
Siho clamped his lips shut, unable to answer, and Kang Taeyun lightly wrapped his arm around Siho’s waist, bringing his lips close to Siho’s earlobe.
“You have to answer.”
“…Uh.”
“Why are your ears so red? They look like ripe apples.”
Every time he spoke, his moist breath touched and withdrew from Siho’s earlobe.
Siho shuddered at the delicate sensation, as if being tickled by a feather.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what? I haven’t done anything.”
“…Taeyun-ah.”
“Yes, Siho.”
As Siho exhaled a hot breath, he called Siho’s name and gently stroked his ear, as if pushing back his hair.
A tingling sensation seemed to run through Siho’s body at the action.
“You’re too red. Enough to make me want to take a bite.”
“…”
“I wonder if I can.”
Even with his words inviting a question, Siho couldn’t answer.
He felt that if he opened his mouth, the suppressed groan would spill out.
As he struggled to remain silent, Kang Taeyun playfully pressed on his earlobe.
“When did you get your ear pierced? There’s a mark.”
“D-don’t touch me…”
“Why? Is this an erogenous zone?”
Siho wanted to argue that that spot was sensitive for anyone, but his hand, large despite his appearance, trailed down his earlobe, followed his neck line, and rubbed his jaw.
His hand gently tilted Siho’s chin up, making their eyes meet.
“Were you holding your breath this whole time? What if you pass out?”
“…”
“Ah, should I kiss you?”
The moment he finished speaking, Siho took a large gulp of air and shook his head vigorously.
He felt that if he was provoked any further in this state, he wouldn’t be able to hold onto his reason.
The saving grace was that, unlike the lust he experienced earlier in the day, he could control this.
“You don’t know that strongly denying something only makes me want to do it more, do you, my Siho.”
“…No, we haven’t been dating for very long.”
“The pace is too fast?”
As the quick-witted Kang Taeyun answered preemptively, Siho hastily nodded.
Compared to the rude Moon Dowon and Yoo Joohwan, Kang Taeyun was quite gentlemanly.
Seeing his considerate manner, Siho felt an inexplicable fluttering in his heart.
“It’s because you’re a Beta. If you were an Omega, you’d be on the bed right now, not on my lap.”
“…The pace is that fast?”
“Yes. Dating, you see, is more honest when it’s done with the body.”
While answering kindly, the hand resting on Siho’s waist brushed his pants.
Siho flinched, straightening his back, and his eyes curved into a long arc.
“Your body is so honest, but why is your face so frozen? Where did the boldness of the person who stalked me go?”
“I’m truly sorry about that time.”
“I wasn’t looking for an apology. I, too, let it happen, thinking I might just get rid of you if you became too bothersome.”
“…”
“I’m kidding. We’re dating now, aren’t we? Then you should be happy.”
‘But why is your expression so restrained?’
With that, he firmly grasped Siho’s buttock.
‘Hmpf.’
A reflexive moan escaped Siho, and his eyes fluttered.
It was his first time experiencing such a touch, yet his body twitched, as if asking for more.
He hated how sensitively he was reacting, even though he wasn’t an Omega, and he slightly pushed Kang Taeyun’s shoulder away.
“Stop it…”
“You don’t like it?”
“Yes. I don’t like it.”
“You said you liked me. You stalked me for that reason, and now you don’t like me?”
His warm face instantly turned cold.
Siho hadn’t noticed because he was always smiling, but without the smile, his eyes were as sharp as a blade.
“Tell me, Siho. Do you dislike me?”
He seemed determined to relentlessly question him until he got an answer.
Siho thought he was the most gentle of the three, but he was indeed a fitting protagonist for an R-rated novel.
“It’s not that I dislike you… I was just flustered because the pace is too fast.”
* * *
