* * *
Minhyuk collapsed beside Haejoo, who was now deeply asleep.
He looked down at the clear bite mark on his own arm and sighed.
The wound was deep, but he barely felt the pain.
Resisting that pheromone surge had taken everything he had.
“Must be nice, sleeping like that while I’m sweating bullets…”
He clicked his tongue as he looked at Haejoo, wrapped snug in the blankets.
At least the suppressant had worked.
He never expected the pheromones to burst out like that.
As far as Minhyuk knew, Haejoo had been classified as an Omega at age twelve during their first manifestation.
Since he was still a child, there weren’t any enticing pheromones yet, but it was clear he was a typical Omega.
That’s why the marriage happened quickly, and as he grew, his appearance became more classically Omega-like.
But even after turning sixteen—the usual age for heat to begin—there were no signs of it.
Not even a whiff of pheromones.
It got to the point where Minhyuk and the previous emperor started to wonder if Haejoo might actually be a Beta.
They’d even considered running another test.
No matter how much pheromone Minhyuk released, Haejoo never reacted.
That became his excuse to keep avoiding the wedding night.
That same Haejoo, suddenly overflowing with Omega pheromones today—it was shocking.
When Minhyuk walked in, Haejoo had been looking at Hyunwook with an expression he’d never shown before.
Usually so blunt and disinterested, his face was now soft, even peaceful.
And within that serenity, there was tension… anticipation.
That glow wasn’t just on Haejoo’s face.
Hyunwook, too, looked lit from within.
That made something twist in Minhyuk’s gut.
Not only was Haejoo facing another man, they seemed to be connecting.
That sparked a flare of unpleasant emotion—disgust mixed with possessiveness.
Their gaze held depth, as if they’d known each other forever.
But they hadn’t.
Haejoo rarely left the Crown Prince’s residence, and Hyunwook had only recently arrived at the palace.
So how could they share a look like that?
Unless it was love at first sight.
“Hyunwook’s not even that good-looking.”
At that moment, unable to place the emotion fully, Minhyuk released pheromones of his own—laced with jealousy and possessiveness.
Not that it mattered.
No one around could detect it anyway.
But of all things, Haejoo reacted to Minhyuk’s petty pheromones.
Not just any pheromones—but jealousy-tainted ones.
To think his Omega pheromones were triggered by that… should he even be happy about this?
The first Omega scent he ever experienced—especially from his mate—was overwhelmingly euphoric and seductive.
Since he theoretically knew everything there was to know about it, he thought suppressing those desires would be nothing.
But it wasn’t.
That was Minhyuk’s arrogance—his delusion.
He couldn’t resist Haejoo’s pheromones.
The moment he caught the scent, all rationality short-circuited.
His mind was consumed with the desire to hold him, to have him.
The only Omegas around Minhyuk were his mother, the Empress Dowager, and Haejoo.
Pheromones didn’t work between blood relatives, and since Haejoo had never emitted them before, this was Minhyuk’s first real encounter with Omega pheromones.
It wasn’t like Minhyuk had gone out looking for other Omegas to embrace.
In fact, he never intended to embrace anyone.
He was just as inexperienced and clumsy as Haejoo—just another virgin, clueless about sex.
So when it happened, he had no composure left to deal with it properly.
He thought, ‘Haejoo is mine anyway, my legal spouse—should I just go ahead and take him? Wouldn’t that be the natural thing to do?’
That thought completely took over.
Omega pheromones could disarm an Alpha in a heartbeat.
He had never felt anything like this before.
To make things worse, Haejoo started acting in ways he never had before, driving him insane.
Resisting that urge was nothing short of a miracle.
Haejoo, overtaken by his own pheromones, had completely lost rationality.
Once he came to his senses, he would definitely regret everything.
That kind of intimacy—Minhyuk didn’t want it that way either.
He didn’t want to see Haejoo regret it afterward.
He wanted to embrace Haejoo only when he could control his pheromones, fully conscious and aware.
That’s why, instead of coldly pushing him away, he bit down on his own arm to snap himself out of it.
And deep down, he wondered—’did Haejoo feel the same lust toward him, driven by his own pheromones?’
Just as Minhyuk was relieved that Haejoo’s pheromones were finally functioning properly, another issue suddenly rose to the surface—a very real, pressing one that immediately brought his fevered thoughts crashing back to reality.
“If His Majesty the Crown Prince finds out that Haejoo’s pheromones have awakened, it’s over.”
If the Crown Prince found out, he would definitely use it to pressure Haejoo to produce an heir.
And if Haejoo refused, he would use his brother, Hanbin, to get his way.
Then it would be a vicious cycle all over again.
Nothing would be resolved—just the same things repeating endlessly.
That had to be stopped at all costs.
He had to at least keep Hanbin completely away from the Crown Prince for a few days.
As for today—he could silence the witnesses, tighten security around Haejoo, and first wrap up the matter with Hanbin.
As he mentally sorted through what needed to be done, Minhyuk carefully tried to slip out of bed and looked down at the sleeping Haejoo.
He’d heard that sometimes, people under the influence of pheromones didn’t remember anything afterward.
Would Haejoo remember what happened?
Or would he forget?
“Still, I hope you remember everything, Your Grace of the Grand Consort’s Palace. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow.”
Leaving behind a cryptic message, Minhyuk quietly left.
“…God, I’ve really lost it. Seriously. What the hell was I thinking, molesting the Emperor? Have I lost my mind, Cha Haejoo?”
I woke up feeling weirdly refreshed, unlike other days.
Still half-asleep, I rested against the bed’s headboard with my eyes closed—until the memory came flooding back.
The pheromone surge, taking a suppressant…
And then the image of Joo Minhyuk’s horrified face as he forced the pills into my mouth.
He must have been disgusted.
Are pheromones really that terrifying?
I remembered how I humiliated myself in front of him and kicked the blankets off the bed in frustration.
Why the hell did my pheromones choose that moment to erupt after staying dormant all this time?
And of all days, today’s the one I’m supposed to have dinner with Joo Minhyuk again.
Just great.
Unbelievably—and I still couldn’t believe it—I’d wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to him like I was trying to fuse our bodies together.
I rubbed my face against his neck and shoulders like some needy brat.
‘Shit.’
And to think, he fed me suppressants.
I should be thankful he didn’t just knock me out cold.
What’s the sentence for molesting the Emperor?
Minimum a few years?
Has anyone ever tried to molest the Emperor before?
“Um, my Lord…”
“What?”
“Sir Kang Hyunwook has arrived. He’s waiting for you.”
“…Huh?”
Oh right! Hyunwook!
With everything going on, I’d completely forgotten about him.
After all this near-death crap, how could I forget about a friend I hadn’t seen in so long?
Even if I was about to die, I had to see him first.
I told the lady-in-waiting to let him know I’d be out after washing up.
When I entered the drawing room, I saw Hyunwook waiting for me.
He looked pretty tense, but as soon as he saw me, he jumped up from his seat. It had really been so long.
I couldn’t believe the way he looked at me—as if he recognized me.
Then, after checking the surroundings and seeing no one else nearby, he carefully moved his lips.
“H-Haejoo. It’s really you, right?”
It had been years.
A reunion after death, in the middle of some crazy novel-like world—and yet Hyunwook’s voice was surprisingly calm and steady.
If not for his trembling hands and darting eyes, I might’ve believed he wasn’t fazed at all.
“What about you? How did you even get here? When? Why?”
I skipped the pleasantries and blurted out the most urgent question on my mind.
Who wouldn’t?
It’s not like you can just walk into a novel.
I had come here after dying, sure, but—
“You…”
“I died too! Just like you and Seojoo. It happened two weeks after you were gone. And when I opened my eyes… I was here.”
He cut me off and answered what I hadn’t dared say out loud.
He died, too?
For real?
It was the answer to my question, but I almost wished I hadn’t heard it.
Seojoo and I had passed from illness, but Hyunwook was always frustratingly healthy.
My jaw dropped in disbelief, and Hyunwook continued.
“You and Seojoo were everything to me. You know that, right? I was always left alone at home. My mom and dad never came home—they were always working. My older siblings were off studying abroad.”
“They were top instructors, right? Super famous. Every student in the country wanted to take their classes.”
In our previous life, Hyunwook’s parents were what you’d call celebrity tutors—so in demand they practically lived at the academy.
They even had a room built inside the building and rarely came home.
Hyunwook was always alone.
“They only cared about other people’s kids. Never had time for their own. I get it—it was for work. But that house was so big, and I was always alone. You and Seojoo were my only family. You two were everything.”
“Hyunwook…”
“When Seojoo passed, I thought I’d go insane. But I had you, so I hung on, thinking I’d get better. But then you disappeared too. And what I felt after that wasn’t just grief… it was beyond that.”
His voice trembled with a pain I couldn’t describe, and I suddenly broke into tears.
Even when I closed my eyes for the last time, I had worried about him.
Just imagining how much he must’ve suffered made my heart ache.
“I didn’t want to live anymore…”
“Wait… don’t tell me—!”
“No! It’s not what you’re thinking. I went to the memorial park every day—where you and Seojoo are buried. I didn’t eat, didn’t drink, didn’t sleep. Every day.”
“Hey! Why the hell did you do that? Is that why you got sick?”
“…That day, it was raining hard. When it rains, no one can tell if you’re crying. So I walked all the way there in the rain. I stood in front of your grave for a long time, and then I collapsed. Long story short, they said the cause of death was malnutrition, pneumonia, and complications from a high fever.”
The shock was so intense I couldn’t speak.
Hyunwook died because of me—and Seojoo.
We were finally meeting again, it felt like a dream, and yet the tears wouldn’t stop.
Hyunwook just smiled at me like an idiot.
Maybe I was too overwhelmed, but I didn’t even hear the Emperor’s head eunuch come and go.
* * *
