* * *

“Then I’ll have to make you one more.”

“I told you, I only accept gold or diamonds.”

“Have you even properly looked inside the box?”

Did he even have to ask?

I shook my head vigorously, and Doha pouted as if he were disappointed.

Did he think I’d fall for that cute face?

I had no intention of acknowledging that this man was, without a doubt, the biggest pervert in existence.

I needed to change the topic, but as I started to move my fingers, a sharp pain flared up in my lower back.

He’d washed me twice in the bathroom, dried my hair in the living room once, and finally moved us all over the room so many times I’d lost count.

In the end, I was lying there barely conscious, as if I’d just barely kept myself from passing out.

I almost wanted to applaud Doha’s seemingly boundless stamina.

Maybe he sensed I was dying and wanted to do CPR; he started massaging me with meticulous care, just like he did back at the villa. G

iving me both the “illness” and the “cure.” Thanks to that, I could at least stand and walk now.

Even in this state, Doha kept carrying me around, never letting me do a single thing for myself—not even eating or washing.

The room service food was unbelievably delicious, and just looking out at the beach from the open door was refreshing.

So this is what a true “hotel vacation” felt like.

It was more relaxing than the entire month-long break I’d taken recently.

Well, physically, maybe not.

“Could you take it a bit easier next time?”

“If I could, I’d have to be practically castrated. Should I go for it?”

“Well, you’re a bit oversized. Maybe just a little trim would do it.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be able to… well, make you scream in pleasure.”

I clamped a hand over his mouth, shaking my head slightly in warning.

He got the message, my look filled with the threat that I’d seriously kill him if he went on.

Kissing my palm, he carefully held me close, pulling me into his arms to face him.

Embarrassed to look into his eyes, I looked down, hesitated, then finally asked him something I’d been wondering about.

“When did you know?”

“From the beginning.”

“About me being an Omega… and the fact I’m a lingerie model?”

Doha’s gaze softened as he traced around my eyes, then smiled slightly.

“That you were an Omega, from the start. That you were a model, at the hotel.”

“…Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m not so shameless as to reveal every secret someone clearly wants to keep. And also…”

When he trailed off, I glanced up.

As soon as our eyes met, he began kissing me, over and over, each one so persistent that it felt like he might kiss my lips away entirely.

No, not just my lips. There wasn’t a single part of my body his lips didn’t reach.

“It was a game I knew I’d lose from the start. But it was me who couldn’t give up and kept betting. I hoped, maybe one day, you’d come to understand. And when your heat cycle started at the hotel, it felt like a miracle. I couldn’t pass it up—I couldn’t let it go. How could I not recognize the scent of the person I love most? No other scent registers with me but yours.”

“When did you start liking me?”

“Hmm…”

Doha seemed to consider it briefly before giving me a mischievous smile.

Something about that playful expression made me reach up and touch his cheek without even realizing it.

“I won’t tell. You lied too, didn’t you? You can let me have this little secret.”

“I like cute people. With XX chromosomes, that is.”

I pouted, mimicking his teasing tone.

It was something I’d said a long time ago.

As soon as I said it, Doha’s expression went completely serious.

“Didn’t you know? I have a genetic mutation, hyung.”

He added the honorific, hinting that he was about to say something ridiculous.

Narrowing my eyes, I leaned back to brace myself for whatever nonsense might come out next.

But then he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close, his warmth enveloping me entirely.

“I’m an Alpha, remember?”

“…So?”

“A dominant Alpha, too.”

I tilted my head, confused, and he smiled, bright as sunlight.

“Alphas are already mutations, genetically speaking.”

“…What?”

“And dominant Alphas are the product of even rarer genetic mutations.”

“…”

“So I am, in a way, a genetically ‘modified’ man.”

What kind of absurdity was this?

Apparently, humans could spout nonsense just as much as dogs could bark.

A faint laugh slipped from my lips as I recalled what I had once said.

“One day, I might end up by the CEO’s side. Ah, of course, your chromosomes would need to change by then.”

“Are you insane?”

“Yep, yep. I’m completely insane.”

“Han Doha!”

“Hyung, that’s exactly what this crazy Doha is asking you right now.”

“You…!”

“Can I kiss you?”

Of course, he’d do it even if I said no!

My hands trembled as I tried to pull back, and he gave me a harmless smile.

Not falling for it this time.

How many times had I already fallen for that face?

Determined, I closed my eyes tightly.

“Oh, that was a signal to kiss you, wasn’t it?”

He closed the gap with a kiss, practically devouring me, his movements intense, his tongue exploring every corner of my mouth.

The sheer force was almost overwhelming.

I struggled to catch my breath.

Even as I tried to turn my head away to steal a bit of air, it wasn’t enough.

My oxygen-starved mind grew hazy. I kept trying to push his tongue back but soon gave up and leaned away.

“Hah… Wait… just…”

He held the back of my head, closing the gap even further, and the wet sound of tongues meeting filled the space.

Just from this, I could feel the tingling sensation in my spine.

“I really don’t know what to do with myself, I like you so much.”

“Hah… hah…”

“Your gasping breaths, the tears at the corner of your eyes, your flushed lips, that red tongue, sweat-streaked skin, your body moving for air…”

“…”

“It’s all so beautiful. I’m madly in love with it.”

I shot him a warning look, as if to ask him to filter his words.

He responded by leaving a gentle kiss on my cheek, murmuring softly.

Who was this unhinged person, and was he really the Doha I knew?

“I do have a genetic disorder, after all.”

His thumb caressed my cheek, his eyes glinting with passion he couldn’t hide.

The hand holding the back of my head slid down, slowly tracing my back.

It was a deliberate touch, its purpose clear.

My body shuddered on its own.

“Then shouldn’t you stay by my side, be with me?”

I tried to push him away, patting his shoulder, but it didn’t seem like he was going to listen.

“Remember? You promised. When I changed my chromosomes, you’d stay by my side.”

But that was only if he changed his sex chromosomes…

Not that it even mattered anymore.

I opened my mouth, trying to say otherwise.

“No,”

“Or does that mean I believed a promise from Seonyul, that he’d make me twist my chromosomes just to keep him close?”

“…”

“Then what were you planning to do if I died? How would you live with that guilt? Or maybe… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. Then you’d be thinking of me, all the time. Whether your eyes were open or closed, I’d be there.”

Doha was far from sane at that moment.

His gaze had lost all reason, and while his words carried little sense, his intensity was enough to leave me feeling suffocated.

“So that’s your plan, huh? I wouldn’t get to see this beautiful face again or kiss that perfect body, but… it’s not the worst idea, I guess.”

Was he saying he’d die and leave me?

Did he really mean that?

I looked at him, wondering if I’d heard right.

Misinterpreting my reaction, Doha leaned even closer and muttered something like, “Doesn’t that sound good?”

I let out a laugh, completely taken aback.

It was pointless trying to reason with him while he was like this, so I raised my hand and lightly slapped his cheek.

“One.”

Slap.

“Two.”

“…”

“Are you back to your senses now?”

I looked at him, waiting for a response.

Seeing that he was still trying to understand what just happened, I leaned forward and left a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Stop thinking strange things.”

“…”

“I’m not going anywhere. Really.”

His hazel eyes, warm and focused, were entirely on me.

I gazed at his calm, clear face, committing each detail to memory, and let out a small smile.

It was a quiet, peaceful moment.

I lifted my hand to gently trace his soft lips, and a thought suddenly came to me.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Hm?”

“That whole ‘bet’ thing… Wasn’t it unnecessary? You said you inherited your mother’s estate.”

At my words, Doha’s fingers twitched.

I narrowed my eyes, wondering if the bet had been nothing but a ruse, and watched him closely.

He fumbled for a moment, searching for the right words, before responding quietly.

“I hadn’t fully taken over my share yet. I only got it after my rut was over, so it was recent. Even then, there were still conditions—if I didn’t see things through, they could’ve revoked it at any moment. It was an opportunity to show my mother, too….”

As he stumbled over his words, I watched him with growing curiosity.

So, he had gone through all that because of this ‘rut’?

I looked at him, urging him to continue.

Doha glanced up at me like a guilty puppy, playing with my fingers as he mumbled.

“Even if Han Jiwan and that woman were just pawns, if I hadn’t handled things right, I really would have lost everything. My parents wouldn’t have hesitated to take it all away. So, I had to go through with that ridiculous bet.”

“And what would’ve happened if you lost the bet? If… if CEO Han won?”

“It’s… nothing serious.”

For someone claiming it was “nothing serious,” he hesitated for a half-second, which made me suspicious.

Raising my eyes at him, I pressed for an answer.

Finally, Doha sighed and muttered.

“Install a professional CEO at Reed Co., withdraw from all front-line work, marry the person my father chose, have kids, and…”

Doha added, in a barely audible voice, “Fire you, and make sure you’d never appear by my side again.”

“…And you call that ‘nothing serious’?”

“I never planned on losing.”

Doha’s words were flat and unyielding.

His confidence showed he hadn’t seriously considered the possibility.

But hearing it was overwhelming.

Sure, the shares had been leaning in his favor from the start, and this had always been a predetermined game, but if, by some chance, he had lost…

The mere thought was devastating.

Unable to continue, I clamped my mouth shut.

Sensing my unsettled silence, Doha slowly patted my back.

* * *