* * *
— If it’s truly difficult for you, I can inform the director and have him pick it up tomorrow…
“No, I’ll head up now and leave it there myself.”
Junhee swiftly changed his mind and replied.
If Ki Taeryu wasn’t at the hotel, this was his chance.
The daunting five-star quest had suddenly been downgraded to a half-star beginner’s tutorial mission.
Wrapping up the call, Junhee walked into the hotel with a newfound sense of confidence.
The enormous building, like a castle ready to swallow him whole, opened its glass doors wide.
But without the lord of the castle, it was just an empty shell.
After retrieving a temporary card key from a waiting staff member, he switched elevators.
As the elevator ascended endlessly, a sinking feeling began to settle in Junhee’s chest.
“…He’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
The meeting with the much-coveted “fervent omega” was already set.
It was only natural to attend since that was the agreement between them from the beginning.
Junhee pulled a small medicine packet from his pocket, recalling what had happened a month ago.
Back then, at Kim Daeheon’s request, Junhee had personally delivered it as well.
It was hard to believe so much time had passed already.
Ki Taeryu’s rut cycle seemed to be about a month.
Was that why he hadn’t come looking for Junhee despite the latter’s persistent avoidance?
“Well, it’s none of my business anyway.”
When the elevator reached the top floor, Junhee stepped out.
Though it had been a while since he’d last visited, the surroundings were familiar—he’d been here too many times to count.
Walking along the long carpeted corridor, Junhee reached his destination.
He held the card key to the lock, which clicked open without resistance.
With a soft creak, he turned the doorknob and stepped inside, only to startle and flinch.
“What the…?”
The place was a disaster, as though a burglar had broken in and ransacked it.
It was hard to believe this was the same spotless space, always immaculate without a speck of dust.
As he hesitated, the door behind him clicked shut.
Junhee cautiously stepped further inside without taking off his shoes.
“It doesn’t look like a robbery…”
The scene resembled the aftermath of a violent storm—a whirlwind that had swept through and left chaos in its wake.
Items that should have been on the table were scattered on the floor, amidst empty liquor bottles.
Some of the bottles were broken, their jagged edges glinting in the dim light.
Amidst the heavy, oppressive air, Junhee instinctively held his breath as he detected Ki Taeryu’s pheromones.
Just standing in this space made him feel flushed.
“Damn…”
If he dared to walk barefoot across the room, his feet would surely be shredded to pieces.
The deep purple carpet only added to the impression that it might be soaked with actual blood.
“Should I report this?”
Junhee’s hand, poised to call Yeo Daeyun, froze mid-motion.
“Why should I?”
He decided not to concern himself.
Whether it was the aftermath of a robbery or Ki Taeryu’s own destructive rampage, it had nothing to do with him.
The medicine packet in his hand crumpled slightly, as though reflecting his inner turmoil.
“If I leave it here, he’ll find it himself.”
Placing the medicine on a table littered with bottles, Junhee turned to leave.
He didn’t touch anything else, retreating with only his body intact.
Only after reaching the foyer did he breathe freely again.
“Phew…”
Even the air he exhaled carried Ki Taeryu’s maddeningly sweet pheromones.
Once inhaled, the damn pheromones clung to him like their owner—relentless.
They coursed through his body, raising his temperature, and triggering memories of their past proximity.
It felt as though his feet were glued to the ground, trapped as if by melted asphalt in the summer heat.
With difficulty, he took a step forward, cold sweat running down his back.
“…Damn it.”
Only after he pushed the door open and escaped into the hallway did he lean against the wall, gasping for air.
Even thinking about him felt like being strangled, so Junhee tugged at his tie, loosening it.
As he closed his eyes, an image flashed in his mind—a seductive alpha pulling on his tie with their teeth.
“Shit.”
Snapping his eyes open, he decided he couldn’t linger here any longer.
He quickly made his way to the elevator, only to freeze when its doors opened like a monster’s maw.
From beyond the doors, a true monster appeared.
A towering figure stepped out, looming over Junhee, and muttered his name.
“Yoo Junhee.”
With a single stride, the man closed the distance and grabbed Junhee by both shoulders.
“It really is you.”
Poking Junhee’s cheek with his finger, he repeated, “Yoo Junhee,” as if confirming his existence.
The man reeked of pheromones and alcohol, his breath heavy with the sharp tang of liquor.
Junhee frowned, attempting to push him away, but the man didn’t budge.
“It’s you, Yoo Junhee.”
“…Let go.”
Ignoring him, the man muttered incoherent drunken ramblings, his hand lingering on Junhee’s cheek.
“Junhee, it’s really you.”
With that, he jabbed Junhee’s cheek with his finger, like someone poking at a forbidden fruit they couldn’t eat.
Half-heartedly, he jabbed the other cheek again.
“Really, Yoo Junhee.”
Muttering to himself, the man exuded a strong scent of pheromones mixed with an overpowering stench of alcohol.
It was hard to tell how much or what kind of alcohol he had consumed, but it felt as if more than half of his breath consisted of pure ethanol.
“What… are you doing right now?”
Junhee frowned, attempting to push him away, but the man didn’t budge, as if he were a solid boulder.
“Yoo Junhee is here.”
“…Move this away.”
“Your face has grown two sides since I last saw you.”
The drunk rambled nonsensically, confirming his words by cupping Junhee’s cheek with his large hand and poking it again with his finger.
“You don’t answer my calls.”
Poke.
“You don’t read my messages.”
Poke, again.
“And yet, here you are, Yoo Junhee, who used to ignore me.”
Before the man’s finger could land on his cheek one last time, Junhee swatted it away.
Where had this man been drinking to the point of complete intoxication?
The fact that he still managed to find his way here, even in this state, was almost admirable.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Junhee noticed the man suddenly glaring at him with a serious expression.
“Do I look pathetic to you?”
“No. You’re remarkable.”
“Good. That’s how it should be.”
Satisfied, the man nodded before grabbing Junhee again.
The harder Junhee tried to shake him off, the more stubbornly he clung on.
If Junhee left him here and got into the elevator, the man would probably follow him to the ends of the Earth.
And with security cameras in every corner, the hotel owner, Hong Yeonggyeong, would undoubtedly see it all.
“…Ugh.”
In the end, there was only one solution: dragging this drunken Alpha into the room and leaving him there.
“Did you miss me?”
“No.”
“You told me to get lost, but now that I did, you missed me, didn’t you?”
Ignoring his words, Junhee trudged down the hallway, practically dragging the man along.
It felt like carrying several sacks of rice on his back.
‘At least sacks of rice don’t reek of alcohol.’
Compared to this leech of a human clinging to him, rice sacks would have been far more useful.
“Answer me, Yoo Junhee.”
Even as he swayed precariously, the man refused to let Junhee go.
If only he’d collapse onto the floor or completely pass out, Junhee wouldn’t have hesitated to leave him behind.
But the man clung to him stubbornly, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness without fully crossing over.
“Shut up already.”
Junhee grumbled, dragging him forward and opening the door.
He tried to peel the man off him and shove him inside, but the man’s weight caused them both to topple into the entryway.
“…Damn it.”
Junhee scowled in frustration, pushing the man’s face away, only for his hand to be caught.
“Don’t push me away.”
The man’s voice dropped to a dark, chilling tone that seeped into Junhee like cold water.
Junhee raised his gaze, meeting the man’s eyes without flinching.
It was more of a glare than anything else.
“You, don’t do this to me.”
“What am I doing?”
“Acting like a dog in heat.”
At Junhee’s biting words, the man let out a twisted chuckle.
“Then don’t look so damn tempting.”
Junhee had always known he was a bastard, but drunk, the man was even worse—a complete piece of garbage.
“I don’t even want to waste my breath on you, so get out.”
“Why?”
Why?
Did he really think he deserved an explanation for that?
Did he genuinely believe there was nothing wrong with him?
The audacity was infuriating.
Junhee ignored him and tried to wrench his hand free, but froze at the man’s next words.
“Is it because I’m a filthy bastard?”
“…”
“Or are you afraid you’ll end up broken?”
In the man’s eyes, Junhee saw an all-too-familiar emotion.
It was the same self-loathing that had always lurked within Junhee himself.
“Damn it, I’m asking you.”
The man growled, demanding an answer.
Junhee stared at him for a long moment, then took a deep breath through his nose.
The Alpha’s overwhelming pheromones assaulted him, electrifying his senses, stirring his desires, and tearing through his defenses without permission.
“I hate you because…”
Junhee’s quiet voice broke the tension, and the man fell silent.
“It’s not because you’re a bastard. It’s not because I’m afraid of breaking up.”
Junhee met his gaze head-on, steady and unflinching.
“It’s because you’re a goddamned dominant Alpha.”
That’s all there was to it.
That was the reason Junhee despised him.
Just as the man saw a recessive Omega as nothing more than a being incapable of reproduction.
This time, the man didn’t reach out to stop Junhee as he turned to leave.
With his hand on the doorknob, Junhee heard the man’s voice behind him.
“If I…”
Junhee’s hand paused briefly.
“If I weren’t a dominant Alpha…”
Would things have been different?
* * *
Gosh