* * *
“What did the Chairman mean, saying you should disclose something?”
The moment they got back to the hotel, Wookyung asked what had been weighing on his mind.
Chairman Choi’s cryptic remark kept echoing in his head.
The more he got to know Saheon, the more he realized how much he didn’t know.
“Let’s change first, Wookyung. Then we’ll talk.”
That roundabout response meant it would be a long conversation.
“Alright.”
He backed off without fuss.
Saheon kissed his forehead lightly before pulling away, and Wookyung stroked his cheek before heading into the room.
After a quick shower, Wookyung came back out to the living room dressed in comfortable clothes.
The scene looked just like the night before, except this time, Saheon was holding a steaming teapot.
“Let’s go out to the terrace.”
“Sure.”
Like yesterday, the two of them sat side by side at the table on the terrace.
Saheon poured them tea.
The fragrant but clean aroma reminded Wookyung of his pheromones.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Saheon began to speak.
“I first presented at fourteen.”
He was talking about his secondary gender.
“You weren’t a Beta even back then?”
Wookyung was referring to the time when he’d nosily approached Saheon.
Back then, Saheon had been bullied by a group of delinquent Alphas because he looked like a scrawny, spaced-out Beta.
“Yeah. I wasn’t.”
“Then why…”
He trailed off, answering his own question.
Probably because it was easier that way.
Or maybe he’d just stopped caring.
Considering what Saheon had been like back then, it wasn’t surprising.
But even knowing that, Wookyung felt a weight pressing down on him.
“Why would you do that? It’s upsetting.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize… it’s not your fault.”
It was just how he felt.
But Saheon apologized immediately, which somehow made it worse.
He’d been at the age where losing his parents and having no one to care for him would’ve made the loneliness unbearable.
‘If only I had known earlier. I could’ve been there for him. I wouldn’t have left him to suffer alone in some distant place.’
“Even my family didn’t know.”
“How? People usually know right away when someone presents.”
“It happened on the same day my parents died in an accident.”
He said a dump truck had slipped on black ice and crossed into the opposite lane, crashing straight into their car.
The collision was so intense that the vehicle slammed into a wall and was practically torn in half.
“The truck hit the driver’s side. My dad died instantly. I was in the back seat and survived because my mom shielded me. I didn’t even know that until I woke up after a month in a coma.”
Did he know how devastating it was to wake up and hear the funeral had already passed?
Wookyung couldn’t hold back—he stood abruptly.
Saheon looked up at him, calm as ever, and that only made it worse.
Wookyung pulled him into a hug. Saheon hesitated, then wrapped his arms around him in return.
“When I opened my eyes, they told me the funeral was already over. But what hurt more was not being able to see it for myself.”
Saheon said he’d spent another six months in the hospital undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.
That’s why no one realized he’d presented during that time.
He hadn’t even known it himself.
It wasn’t until after he was discharged that he noticed something strange.
“Not long after I got out, I started to catch this faint scent. I thought it was an air freshener or something. But when I looked it up online, I realized it was pheromones.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I didn’t know how my family would react.”
Even in the hospital, Saheon hadn’t had the luxury of assuming his presentation was good news.
“And it’s a good thing I didn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because being seen as a Beta was the only reason I could keep my parents’ inheritance.”
If they’d known he was an Alpha, there’s no way they would’ve left him—or his future children—alone.
Saheon said it all with an eerie calm. Wookyung let out a heavy sigh.
“Seriously.”
How cruel could the world be to a child?
“But now everyone knows you’re an Alpha. Ah… is that what she meant? That you’re an extremely dominant Alpha?”
“That too.”
Saheon pulled away slightly as he said it.
That alone would’ve made him a target for the other relatives.
Maybe even the CEO hadn’t known.
‘No… He probably kept that a secret from them too.’
If he had known that he was an extreme-dominance alpha, he was certain he never would’ve invited him over.
“I just want to make it clear—not just about my trait, but that I have no interest whatsoever in their business. More precisely, in HK Group.”
He had heard about business talk before.
But back then, it didn’t sound like it was simply about inheriting some family wealth and calling it a day.
“So there is more.”
“I tried a few things. Turned out I was good at managing them, and I accumulated some assets.”
Saheon spoke about founding a company and successfully running it like it was nothing.
Wookyung stared at him in disbelief.
“So when the hotel’s general manager called you ‘CEO’ before, that’s what he meant.”
At the time, he’d just brushed it off with mild curiosity.
He probably should have asked more.
Though, granted, with the early signs of heat cycle kicking in, he hadn’t been in the right state of mind.
Then a bunch of things happened afterward, and it slipped his mind entirely.
“You knew?”
Why did he look so caught off guard?
If he was going to look that guilty, he should’ve just told him before Wookyung had to hear it from someone else.
Annoyed but charmed, Wookyung poked Saheon’s annoyingly handsome forehead with his index finger.
“Not really. Not in detail. What exactly did you do?”
He had a lot to say, but he kept it short.
“Nothing major. A few interior design-related businesses, some real estate and stock investments.”
He said it like it really was nothing.
Now that he thought about it, when Saheon had started working, the group chat among the assistant managers mentioned business experience related to his field.
Those must’ve been the businesses he meant.
‘So that wasn’t a lie after all.’
If anything, he’d probably played it down.
There were likely other ventures he didn’t disclose, possibly to stay under the radar of CEO Choi or other relatives.
While Wookyung was silently lost in thought, Saheon intertwined their fingers—his hand still resting against Wookyung’s forehead—and opened his mouth.
“Just barely enough to get into the 10 billion dollar club.”
The moment their fingers laced together, Wookyung heard something unbelievable.
“…What?”
His jaw dropped.
‘The 10 billion dollar club?’
He thought that was a term reserved for foreign financial magazines.
If that was true, it meant Saheon’s personal wealth easily surpassed that of HK Group.
“You’re seriously loaded.”
Is that what being an alpha is like?
He knew alphas were stronger and more intelligent than most—but this was another level entirely.
It didn’t even feel real.
All he could think was how impressive it was.
“I was just lucky.”
It probably wasn’t because he was an alpha.
More likely, it was because he worked for it.
But the fact that he never bragged about it made it all the more admirable.
“Want me to be honest?”
Wookyung looked down at their joined hands and then up into Saheon’s eyes.
That opening made him suspicious.
What was he going to say this time?
“I started working harder after I found out about you.”
“…Huh?”
Why was he being mentioned now?
Wookyung blinked in confusion at the sudden shift.
“I had that thought on the way back after meeting Woohyun hyung. That if I ever stood in front of you again, I wanted to be someone I could be proud of.”
What the heck.
Why did he make it sound like his success was all because of him?
And why did his heart keep pounding like this?
His cheeks, ears, and even the back of his neck started to heat up.
Wookyung squirmed in Saheon’s grasp.
But inside, his heart fluttered.
Whether Saheon knew it or not, his calm but impactful words kept coming.
“I left you after showing you only the worst of me. So at the very least, I wanted to be better if we ever met again.”
“I’m not the kind of person who cares about that sort of thing, you know.”
Wookyung forced a sulky tone to cover up his shaken feelings.
“I know. It was just my selfish desire.”
“A bit much for a selfish whim.”
“I couldn’t help it.”
“It’s not something you ‘couldn’t help’—you just worked hard for it.”
He snapped back, only to realize he was basically complimenting Saheon.
And sure enough, when he glanced down, Saheon’s face was lit up with a bright smile.
“You’re acknowledging it?”
“It’s not like I have any say in it.”
“I want you to acknowledge it.”
Why did he look like an overgrown puppy?
Wookyung looked at those hopeful eyes and eventually nodded.
The moment he did, he was suddenly pulled downward.
Startled, he grabbed Saheon’s shoulder with his free hand.
Their faces were now close enough to touch.
Their eyes met in the air, and it wasn’t hard to guess what would happen next.
Their lips met and melded together, and it didn’t take long before the kiss deepened, swallowing everything between them.
* * *
