* * *

After wrapping up a chaotic day, I decided to spend the night at Taeshin’s place. My parents asked me to come home, but I refused. If I went back, my brothers wouldn’t leave me alone for running away.

When I left home, the messages my brothers sent to Taeshin were intense. Their anger, initially directed at Taeshin, could have easily turned fatal for me in an instant.

I was so scared and insisted I wouldn’t go home today. My dad said he would talk to my brothers and asked me to return home tomorrow. With that, he and my mom went back.

Taeshin’s parents were out for work. They kindly told me to rest well after a tough day, and I thanked them politely before returning to Taeshin’s room.

“Whew, it was a long day.”

“Tired?”

“Yeah, I must’ve been tense. My whole body aches.”

After getting permission from Taeshin’s parents, the tension left my body. I felt like I had gone hiking with the exhaustion and muscle pain that followed. I lay down on the bed, letting Taeshin massage my aching body, soothing my soreness.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That we imprinted.”

Taeshin made a small sound as he massaged my legs. I hadn’t even imagined we had imprinted. If our parents had asked to check at the hospital, I planned to secretly confirm it beforehand, but my assumption was completely off.

“There wasn’t an opportunity.”

“Yeah, we were pretty busy.”

Taeshin answered as he gently massaged my swollen leg. I understood immediately. On my brother’s engagement day, I got into a mess with Taeshin, and things were hectic. I was confused after sleeping with Taeshin while drunk, and he had to deal with my chaos. Afterward, Haeju appeared unexpectedly.

“But how did we imprint? I don’t remember you biting me.”

“Sunwoo, you bit me.”

“I did bite you, but isn’t the alpha supposed to bite to imprint?”

As an omega, I didn’t understand how this related to imprinting. Taeshin explained as he rubbed my belly.

“Biting is just one way to reinforce the pheromone memory. There are plenty of cases where imprinting happens without biting.”

“Oh my… So I made you imprint by biting you?”

Is that why you acted strangely?

I asked, eyes wide in surprise at Taeshin’s revelation. I had no idea that I had caused the imprinting by biting Taeshin.

When I bit him, it triggered his heat. In retrospect, it was clear that I had imprinted on Taeshin by biting him.

“Yes, you bit me.”

I must have truly caused the imprinting. I felt terrible for blaming and scolding Taeshin when it was my fault. Instead of making him cry and take responsibility, it should have been the other way around.

“You should’ve told me regardless! I didn’t even know…”

“You chose me, so it doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter! I blamed you so much…”

I felt sorry for realizing this late, and Taeshin smiled, ruffling my hair. If I had known earlier, I could have defended him more confidently when everyone accused him of lying about not remembering the heat.

“Very few people end up marrying their first love. Considering that, I’m blessed to have imprinted with you, Sunwoo.”

“…Yeah.”

Feeling immensely guilty for everything Taeshin had silently endured, I sulked. He gently hugged and comforted me.

I resolved to treat Taeshin better from now on. He’s a gentle soul who silently endured all misunderstandings and scolding. No matter what happens, I’ll take full responsibility. No divorce, no separation, no sleeping in different rooms! Got it?

Although I made a firm resolution, Taeshin, who had no clue about my thoughts, just smiled brightly.

“Oh, right! But how did you know we imprinted…”

Just as I was about to ask, Taeshin touched my chin with the back of his hand. The smooth back of his hand tickled my soft chin. As I squirmed and wriggled, Taeshin’s eyes gleamed mischievously. He leaned down and lightly kissed me.

I blushed and muttered, feeling a bit unsatisfied as our lips parted. I grabbed Taeshin’s shirt, looking into his eyes.

“I think this is the moment to take a hint.”

“Yes, it’s time to take a hint.”

I agreed with Taeshin, who had caught on quickly, and he silently laughed.

“Should I lock the door?”

The suggestion of locking the door, implying more than just a kiss, made me realize how naughty Taeshin truly was in my life.

“…Yeah.”

You never know with people, or rather, it would be embarrassing if his parents saw us kissing… Anyway, with that excuse, I locked the door and kissed him.

“Mm, mmph…”

Our tongues intertwined, and every time our lips parted slightly, wet sounds echoed between us. The gentle and ticklish kiss heated my body as it continued.

“Uh, mm, mmph.”

As Taeshin touched my hips and pelvis, a shiver ran down my spine, and I felt a tingling sensation below. The front of my body grew hot while the back became moist, making me momentarily forget we were at Taeshin’s house as I pressed my body against his.

“Uh, Taeshin…”

More than just kissing. As I hugged Taeshin and begged, his phone on the bed started vibrating furiously.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.

The rapid and intense vibrations indicated messages, not calls.

“Ignore it.”

“Mm! Mm…”

Taeshin grabbed my buttocks firmly with both hands, eliciting a moan as he kneaded me. I was now soaking wet.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

“Mm, hurry…”

Buzz, buzz, buzz,

My body was wet, my chest was filled with excitement, and I urged Taeshin to move faster. I wanted him to do whatever he wanted with me right then. However, the incessant buzzing of the messages soon turned into a call. Even in the heat of the moment, the relentless phone made me uneasy.

“Uh, Taeshin… the phone… mm.”

“…Yeah.”

Taeshin, who had been kissing my neck while sliding his hand under my shirt to touch my bare skin, responded indifferently. Even though I told him that a call had come in, he prioritized kissing, touching, and undressing me, leaving me to answer the phone myself with trembling hands.

[28 Missed Calls]

[Moon Daewoo> You crazy bastard, tell your parents you’re not getting married…]

[Moon Geonwoo> You’re dead meat, even if you were reborn ten thousand times, you’d die again, so stop messing around and break up…]

[Moon Jinwoo> I’ll kill you]

[Moon Jungwoo> Call me]

“Ah… Ah…! Wait a sec, ah…!”

“Who is it?”

“It’s… It’s my brothers!”

The messages and calls flooding Taeshin’s phone were from my brothers. The content was filled with violent threats and curses, shocking me into alertness.

“They seem to know that our parents approved of us.”

“Is that why?”

My dad said he was going to tell them earlier, so he must have done it now. Although our parents accepted us, my brothers’ attitudes hadn’t changed at all. If anything, they were more vehement in telling Taeshin to get away from me.

[Moon Jinwoo> Come out]

“Ah! Moon Jinwoo must be here!”

When I gasped at the newly arrived message, Taeshin, who had been reading it silently, got up and fixed my disheveled clothes.

“Rest here. I’ll be back.”

“What? You’re going?”

“Jinwoo hyung is waiting.”

“If you go out there, you’re really going to get hurt! One punch and it’s over for you!”

I clung tightly to Taeshin as he tried to leave the bed. He might be physically fit, but fighting was a different matter. The thought of him meeting Moon Jinwoo made my heart sink.

“If you’re going, I’m going too!”

“Sunwoo, wait in the room. Jinwoo hyung will get even angrier if you come.”

“No! Who knows what Jinwoo hyung will do to you!”

“It’s okay, Sunwoo. I’ll just meet him inside the gate.”

“Still…!”

Despite my attempts to stop him, Taeshin reassured me with his gentle and warm pheromones before leaving.

Sitting on the bed, my heart raced. Just a while ago, I was happy that our parents accepted us, but now I realized we still had my four brothers to deal with.

I touched the bed where Taeshin and I had been, then grabbed his phone. I planned to delete the nasty threat messages from my brothers, but I noticed that the phone had suddenly gone silent. The barrage of texts had stopped. Even if Moon Jinwoo had come to kill Taeshin, the silence from my other brothers was unusual.

“Damn it!”

A sudden thought struck me, and I ran outside. I slipped on my shoes, rushed out the house, and crossed the wide garden to find the gate open.

Taeshin, you promised to talk inside the gate! Fueled by anger towards Taeshin for disregarding my words and fear that all my brothers might be here, I threw myself outside.

“Taeshin! Let go of that!”

“Moon Sunwoo?”

“Little brother!”

“Baby brother!”

Moon Jinwoo had grabbed Taeshin by the collar, and my third and fourth brothers were there too.

* * *