Love Born of Pity Chapter 44

“Did you eat?”

“I ate, I ate.”

His sleepy voice cracked. While Kwon Jiho cleared his throat, Do Yeonjae cupped his cheek. Forehead to forehead, he gazed into Kwon Jiho’s light-colored eyes and rubbed their noses together.

Kwon Jiho’s sleepy eyes slowly blinked closed, and their lips met. Do Yeonjae’s moist flesh pushed into the small opening between Kwon Jiho’s soft lips.

“Mm……”

Kwon Jiho’s moan, mixed with a sweet sigh, was swallowed whole by Do Yeonjae’s mouth. His thick tongue licked Kwon Jiho’s wet inner cheek and slowly entangled with his. It was a small, cautious tongue, much like its owner.

Do Yeonjae wrapped his hand around the back of Kwon Jiho’s neck and grazed his teeth, making the body trapped in his embrace tremble. As Do Yeonjae’s tongue traced Kwon Jiho’s pale pink gums and retreated, Kwon Jiho’s grip on his pajamas tightened.

Do Yeonjae stroked the back of Kwon Jiho’s head and released his pheromones. The slick inside of Kwon Jiho’s cheek was coated with them. The small thing whimpered in his arms. His eyes, flushed and looking up at him, were glazed with pleasure.

“You’re enjoying this too much today. Trembling just from a kiss.”

Do Yeonjae stared intently at Kwon Jiho, who was swallowing the pheromones mixed with saliva, before pulling away. His tone was gentle, especially suited to the dark night.

“……I like it.”

“What do you like so much?”

He asked, pecking Kwon Jiho’s already swelling lips. Kwon Jiho, instead of pulling away, lifted his head and opened his mouth.

“Your… tongue. It tickles.”

Was it a pleasing answer? Do Yeonjae’s eyes curved into a smile. Since he rarely smiled like this at Kwon Jiho, he closed his eyes, feeling a surge of emotion. At Kwon Jiho’s whispered request for more, Do Yeonjae willingly lowered his head.

♬⋆.˚

They spent the night with ticklish touches and a gentler intimacy than ever before. The sex, which continued until dawn, was closer to pleasure than pain, and Kwon Jiho, for the first time, urged Do Yeonjae to take him. The pheromones had a profound effect on Kwon Jiho’s body with each repeated encounter.

Kwon Jiho, who drifted off to sleep at dawn, couldn’t see Do Yeonjae off to work and woke up well past 8 o’clock. He stared blankly into space with one eye blurry and hazy, then reached out to grope the empty space beside him. The spot was cold, its owner long gone. He vaguely remembered hearing Do Yeonjae say he was going to work, but he wasn’t sure.

As he lay in bed a little longer, he suddenly remembered his 10 o’clock appointment with Kang Gyumin. Kwon Jiho sat up in surprise. If he hadn’t remembered the appointment in his hazy state, he would have been hopelessly late. He jumped out of bed, grabbed the eye drops from his bag, put them in his eyes, and swallowed the supplements on an empty stomach without even water.

He rolled his stinging eyes under his eyelids for a moment. Recalling the doctor’s words that the eye drops wouldn’t make much difference, he went to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, Kwon Jiho carefully examined his eyes, which looked no different despite the blurry vision.

Except for his poor eyesight, there was no other inconvenience in his daily life. The thought that no one would know unless he told them calmed his restless heart. Kwon Jiho rolled his eyes back and forth for a while, checking if his movements looked natural, before finally stepping into the shower.

He finished showering faster than usual and left the house with his hair still wet. The sun was already hot from early morning. Even though it was past the end of summer and autumn was just around the corner, it felt like the scorching summer would never end.

The sky, which looked both blurry and clear, was bright. They said it would rain. Muttering that the weather forecast was never right these days, Kwon Jiho hurried across the yard. As he stepped out the gate, he saw a car waiting, unsure how long it had been there. Before he could approach, Secretary Park, whom he had seen last night, got out of the driver’s seat.

“Hello.”

“……Ah, hello.”

“The CEO told me to drive you to the academy. Please, get in.”

I didn’t hear anything about that… With a bewildered expression, Kwon Jiho got into the back seat and brushed back his wet hair.

With the increasing heat, Kwon Jiho had become sleepier, and there were many days when he woke up later and went to the academy alone than when he went with Do Yeonjae. The house and the academy weren’t far, so it was fine to walk or take the bus, but maybe Do Yeonjae was worried that he hadn’t slept well. Or maybe he was still pleased with last night.

“The CEO said he will pick you up personally this evening. He told you to wait for him.”

“……Okay.”

Secretary Park, who had been observing Kwon Jiho through the rearview mirror, admired his downcast face as he quietly replied. He was finally able to see Kwon Jiho’s features clearly, which had been obscured by the darkness the previous night. Kwon Jiho’s appearance, combined with a languid air, captivated his attention and even sparked his meager imagination.

Since he could only be in Kwon Jiho’s presence when something came up with his boss, Secretary Park, unaware of how suggestive his gaze was, kept glancing at him. His sun-kissed skin glowed translucently. His light-colored eyes sparkled, and his lips, the only part of his face with deep color, occasionally moved as if mulling over words.

He’s so fucking pretty. The secretary firmly closed his lips to prevent his thoughts from slipping out. He was certain that his boss’s lover in the backseat was far more beautiful than the Omega he was about to marry.

Kwon Jiho, oblivious to Secretary Park’s thoughts, was busy organizing what he had to say to Kang Gyumin as the car sped down the familiar road.

Should he explain how things turned out, apologize for the lack of alternatives, and beg to be a mistress who wouldn’t bother him as much as possible? Even his existence would be bothersome, so would that be too presumptuous?

“Ha……”

Secretary Park flinched at the sigh laden with worry and anxiety. With a slight frown, he wanted to ask what was troubling him and help him find a solution. He blamed the merciless road conditions, which didn’t offer a single red light, and silently pressed the accelerator.

Kwon Jiho looked out the window, hoping the academy wouldn’t appear so soon. He wished for multiple red lights to delay his arrival, but unusually, there wasn’t a single one. Secretary Park smoothly stopped the car in front of the academy building and turned around with a smile.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Thank you. Drive safely.”

Their brief, separate daydreams ended as Kwon Jiho pulled the door handle and stepped out. He habitually took out his phone and checked the time, realizing he didn’t have much time left until 10 o’clock. He hurried his steps.

His plan to choose the most polite words while tidying up the academy was abandoned. He entered the cafe, chose a relatively secluded spot, and ordered drinks in advance. Remembering Kang Gyumin drinking a latte that day, he placed two pre-ordered drinks on the table. How long did he wait?

“You’re early.”

Kang Gyumin’s voice resonated in his ears, which were echoing like a windy cave. Kwon Jiho, startled, quickly stood up and bowed his head deeply.

“Ah, hello.”

As Kang Gyumin walked past him to sit across from him, Kwon Jiho caught a sweet scent. The same citrusy, fresh, and sweet fragrance that had mingled with Do Yeonjae’s pheromones. Was Kang Gyumin the reason for Do Yeonjae’s lateness that day?

“I tried to come early, but I’m a little late.”

As if trying to shake off his presumptuous jealousy, Kwon Jiho shook his head slightly.

“……No. I just got here too.”

Kang Gyumin, who had to squeeze this meeting into his morning schedule, glanced at his wristwatch before speaking. Then, his expression crumpled. Kwon Jiho was covered in Do Yeonjae’s pheromones, a testament to what they had been doing all night. Again, as always.

He wondered if it was really possible to marry him when Do Yeonjae was acting like this. He also wondered if Do Yeonjae would let Kwon Jiho go, even if he asked him to break up, even if this stupid Beta agreed to break up, given his obsessive behavior. He felt a surge of irritation in many ways.

“Since I don’t have much time, let’s quickly hear what you wanted to say. I postponed a meeting to be here, so I can’t spare much time.”

“……About what you said before.”

“What was that?”

“My brother’s hospital bills.”

Kang Gyumin hummed as if remembering. At his short “And?”, Kwon Jiho swallowed dryly. He avoided Kang Gyumin’s knowing gaze. He wondered why he felt so apologetic, having to tell him that the threat he’d made was now useless.

“My brother… he found out everything…”

“What did he find out about everything? Why do you talk like that, Mr. Kwon Jiho? You went to college, even if you didn’t graduate, right? So why, a grown adult, do you speak so vaguely? Is that Mr. Yeonjae’s preference, too?”

“…….”

“Speak clearly so I don’t have to ask again. I’m not sitting here because I’m free. I tried to be nice and said I came to make time for a mistress, did you mistake that for a friendly atmosphere?”