* * *

It felt like I wasn’t in my right mind.

No, if this went on, I might actually lose it.

I never thought I’d be the one to fall apart over just a kiss.

He nibbled at my flushed cheeks as his large hand slid beneath the loose robe.

“Not there—!”

Startled, Junhee’s eyes flew open, and he tried to clutch the robe shut, but his wrists were swiftly pinned above his head.

He looked up at Taeryu with tear-filled brown eyes.

Taeryu, staring intently, bent down to graze his lips over the damp lashes.

Junhee’s voice came out in a breathless whisper.

“You said… just a kiss…”

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what a proper kiss was anymore. It felt like I was being consumed.

From the inside out, I was hollowed, leaving me feeling completely empty.

The only thing filling that void was the heat and desire pouring from Ki Taeryu.

It filled me so completely that I felt like I might float away.

Taeryu’s fingers, which had been idly circling my stomach, pressed down softly against the tender flesh.

A jolt shot through me, and I let out a stifled sob as my body trembled.

He leaned in close, his lips brushing my cheek as he whispered.

“I told you to kiss me. I don’t recall saying I’d stop at that.”

His fingers lazily traced circles around my navel, sending electric currents throughout my body.

Junhee tried to gather his scattered thoughts, his voice trembling.

“You’re… unbelievably shameless…”

“And?”

Taeryu smirked.

I couldn’t look away from the crooked smile that deepened on his face.

I stared, forgetting even to blink.

“Don’t get too close. Don’t fall too deep. Don’t give him your heart.”

Hong Yeonggyeong’s barbed words resurfaced suddenly, striking my chest with a dull thud.

You’ll break.

As Taeryu’s lips drew near again, Junhee turned his head.

The kiss missed its mark, sliding down to his flushed cheek before nibbling sharply at his earlobe.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared now?”

“…”

“You followed me here, showered clean, slipped into that pretty white robe, and laid yourself out on my bed. How could I not get turned on?”

His breath trailed along my neck, hot and heady with pheromones.

My mind began to blur again.

Junhee bit down on the soft flesh inside his cheek, tasting the metallic tang of blood.

If I didn’t snap out of it now, things could spiral further.

Not just for Ki Taeryu, but for me too.

As I clung to the bitter taste of iron, I forced out an unsteady voice.

“You… won’t take it further, will you?”

“What?”

“You never intended to go all the way.”

Junhee avoided Taeryu’s piercing gaze, focusing instead on the empty air as he struggled to catch his breath.

Don’t let him control you.

He’s just a lunatic pretending to be a sex fiend, Junhee reminded himself.

For a moment, silence settled, as if someone had pressed pause.

I exhaled a shaky breath, thinking the worst had passed.

“You’re mistaken about one thing, Junhee.”

Taeryu’s dark eyes locked onto mine, sending my heart into a wild rhythm.

“It’s not that I couldn’t before. I just hadn’t found what I was looking for.”

“Can’t find it? Find what?”

While Junhee’s thoughts drifted for a moment, Taeryu buried his face in Junhee’s nape, rubbing hard enough to make the skin sting as he muttered under his breath.

“The omega who’ll bear my seed.”

Junhee felt as though the blood drained from his fingertips.

Right.

He hadn’t expected anything from the start. And yet, why…

From beginning to end, there wasn’t a shred of sincerity in any of it.

The fairy tales he had read to his younger siblings until the pages were worn out had no happy endings for him.

If only, like before, Taeryu had spouted empty words, even pretended to feel something for him, it wouldn’t have been this humiliating.

Each time Taeryu’s lips pressed against Junhee’s stiff, rigid body, it left a mark, as if branding him with a red seal.

“Stop talking nonsense and get the hell out…”

Junhee’s words were cut short as Taeryu’s fingers invaded his mouth, silencing him.

Thick fingers bound his tongue like shackles, scraping against the roof of his mouth.

Junhee flailed, grabbing Taeryu’s hand and trying to push it away with all his strength.

When that failed, he clenched his jaw with enough force to crush bone, determined to bite down.

He heard the unmistakable crunch of flesh being bitten, but Taeryu didn’t even flinch.

The metallic taste of blood spread across Junhee’s tongue, causing his grip to falter.

“A fierce little rabbit, aren’t you?”

Taeryu withdrew his bloodied fingers, observing the crimson trails running down his wrist with a low murmur.

“Then again, it’s more satisfying to tame a wild one.”

As Taeryu licked his own blood mixed with Junhee’s saliva off his fingers, Junhee shuddered in revulsion.

He was completely deranged.

Junhee twisted and squirmed to escape, but his lower body ended up wedged between Taeryu’s thighs.

The harder he struggled, the tighter the snare seemed to close around him.

Just as their upper bodies pressed together and the overwhelming pressure threatened to make him black out—

A low vibration buzzed from the small of Junhee’s back.

Using it as an excuse, he managed to push Taeryu away slightly, forcing out a shaky voice.

“Someone’s calling. I need to answer.”

“Why?”

“It… it could be urgent.”

“I’m more urgent.”

“…It might be from Bodami…”

Taeryu scrutinized Junhee’s anxious expression before begrudgingly signaling with a nod.

Seizing the rare chance, Junhee groped around the damp sheets—damp from his sweat—and finally retrieved his phone hidden beneath the covers.

Turning his body away from Taeryu, he huddled defensively and pressed the phone to his ear.

The number wasn’t saved, but Junhee couldn’t afford to let this opportunity slip.

“Hello, this is Yoo Junhee.”

There was no sound from the other end.

“Hello? Please speak.”

He urged, desperate for the caller to say anything.

He’d even entertain a telemarketer at this point or fall for a scam, as long as it kept the call going.

As he was about to press further, Taeryu’s lips brushed against his cheek, making Junhee shiver.

“Please state your purpose…”

-Junhee…

A soft voice, fragile and trembling, called his name. Junhee’s breath caught in his throat.

-Junhee, it’s Mom… Can we talk? Just for a moment?

Junhee’s grip tightened around the phone until his knuckles turned white.

Had it been any other situation, he would’ve hung up immediately.

A hundred scam calls would’ve been preferable.

The heat on his cheek turned cold.

Sensing something was off, even Taeryu stopped his teasing for a moment.

Junhee’s mouth felt dry, his tongue heavy as he forced himself to speak.

“What do you want? It’s late.”

-Junhee, I… I’m sorry. I know I don’t have the right to ask, but… could we meet? Just once. Please, just once…

Her voice cracked, breaking into sobs.

It wasn’t pitiful. It didn’t move him.

But he was curious.

“Why…”

Why dig through the trash for something discarded?

He swallowed the biting words and asked something else instead.

“Whatever your reason, don’t contact me again.”

His hands, slick with sweat, almost dropped the phone.

Switching it to his other hand, he pressed the end call button.

Before he could fully react, Junhee’s throat was seized.

“Ugh… What are you doing…?”

Taeryu’s pitch-black pupils had dilated, his dark gaze fixed on Junhee’s panicked reflection, then shifting to the gray phone in his hand.

“Where did you get this?”

The chill from Taeryu’s glare seeped into Junhee’s neck.

Clawing at Taeryu’s hand, Junhee gasped for air, his vision blurring as tears pooled in the corners of his eyes.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Taeryu abruptly let go.

Coughing violently, Junhee rubbed his sore neck, glaring at Taeryu as he tried to steady himself.

Those piercing black eyes followed his every move like a blade aimed directly at him.

“What the hell is your problem?”

“That phone—where did you get it?”

Snarling, Taeryu shoved the phone in Junhee’s face.

Junhee snatched it back, snapping, “It’s mine. What’s your deal?”

“Yours? Really?”

“Yes. Is there an issue?”

Taeryu’s eyes flickered, as though peering deep into Junhee’s soul. Then, he tilted his head slightly.

“That can’t be right.”

Does he know something?

Junhee’s stomach churned with unease as he held the phone behind his back.

“No, it’s definitely mine.”

His heart raced wildly, threatening to burst.

Taeryu’s unreadable gaze lingered before he finally spoke again, his tone oddly calm.

“Then I must’ve been mistaken.”

“…”

“My brother used to have a phone just like that.”

Junhee’s heart sank like a stone.

---

The rest of the night passed in a haze.

Junhee barely recalled how he made it home.

Claiming he had urgent matters, he fled, and for once, Taeryu didn’t stop him.

Fumbling into his clothes, Junhee bolted, collapsing into a taxi.

Staring at the gray phone in his palm, his mind echoed with Taeryu’s words.

‘My brother had a phone just like that.’

If Taeryu’s brother was…

Murmuring to himself, Junhee sat on his bed, half in a daze.

“Ki Taeseong…”

The man who had disappeared—he used to have this same phone?

* * *