Come Looking for Flowers Chapter 7.3 - Moonlight

There were no words after that. Even as they stitched up wounds in a nearby emergency room and headed to the penthouse, neither of the two men opened their mouths. Only the driver glanced cautiously at them.

“Mr. Lee Yoonjo.”

The long, heavy silence was broken when they stood before the entrance. Manager Jung tightly gripped a card key he pulled from his pocket, spitting out each word as if chewing them.

“The CEO is currently in his rut.”

Yoonjo’s eyes stiffened slightly at the unexpected words. Manager Jung’s voice continued.

“It was the CEO’s will to bring Mr. Lee Yoonjo to the Seojeong villa. He ordered that you be kept from coming here until his rut is over.”

“…….”

“As you know, an alpha’s rut, especially Woosung’s, is violent. It’s a state where reason is gone, and only instinct remains, so it will be dangerous.”

Despite the clear warning, Yoonjo felt relieved. It was absurd. The fact that the man hadn’t sent him there to torment him instantly quelled the anxiety that had been building up.

Yoonjo stared past Manager Jung at the massive iron door. Behind it was the man. An alpha undergoing a rut, stripped of reason, driven by instinct alone.

“What Mr. Lee Yoonjo has experienced so far might pale in comparison to what you could face.”

“…….”

“Go back now. This is your last chance to turn back. After this, even I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

Manager Jung’s face was filled with genuine concern. Yet Yoonjo’s resolve remained unshaken. He still wanted to meet the man. Perhaps today, he might finally understand where this uncertain life was headed.

Yoonjo quietly looked down at his bandaged hands. A burning sensation began to emanate from the wound as the anesthesia slowly wore off. Ignoring it, he clenched his fists tightly.

“You saw earlier, didn’t you? I’m not in my right mind.”

His muttering voice trailed off faintly.

“If I go back like this, I might do something even worse. No, I definitely will.”

“…….”

“If every path leads to hell, I’d rather be in a place where I can at least breathe.”

His amber eyes gradually clouded over.

“If I die here, then that must be my fate.”

Exhaling a long breath, Yoonjo slowly raised his head. His gaze was resolute, showing no hint of retreat.

After a moment of hesitation, Manager Jung silently handed the card key to Yoonjo. The one receiving it said nothing either.

The firmly shut door opened the moment the card was swiped. Darkness seeped through the slowly widening gap.

“Mr. Lee Yoonjo.”

Just as he was about to step inside, Manager Jung urgently grabbed Yoonjo. Without turning, Yoonjo waited for the words to follow.

“If, by any chance—truly, if—your life is in danger, scream.”

“…….”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to help you.”

Instead of answering, Yoonjo pushed the door open a bit more. The man’s pheromones slithered out, creeping along his skin. Yoonjo took a slow, deep breath and exhaled.

“I’ll take the sentiment.”

“…….”

“Thank you for your concern.”

The raw, unfiltered pheromones brought not fear but relief. Ha, Yoonjo’s face, as he inhaled and exhaled, was more at peace than ever before.

Maybe today he really would die. It wasn’t a bad ending. His life was already in the man’s hands, after all.

No reply came from the one stepping inside. Manager Jung could no longer hold Yoonjo back. The massive house finally swallowed Yoonjo whole. Thud, the heavy iron door closed with a weighty sound.

Yoonjo took off his shoes and slowly walked deeper into the house.

Following the trail of pheromones, their scent grew stronger. Yoonjo’s breathing began to tremble as it enveloped him completely.

He passed through the hallway and entered the bedroom. The sound of dripping water, initially mistaken for tinnitus, came from the bathroom attached to the bedroom. Yoonjo didn’t stop and continued forward.

The bathroom door wasn’t locked. Passing through the powder room, Yoonjo stood before the door, steadying his dizzy mind against the thick pheromones pouring out.

In the short time it took to get from the entrance to here, his body had heated up to the point of burning. His exhaled breaths were hot, and Yoonjo briefly closed his eyes tightly to rein in his faltering reason.

The door opened silently. The dense pheromones swallowed Yoonjo in an instant. His wavering gaze fixed directly on the man under the water.

One step, he entered. Sensing his presence, the man turned toward him, and Yoonjo, meeting his eyes, took another step forward.

“Get out.”

The sinister voice pierced his ears painfully. The closer he got to the man, the thicker the scent became, and the scorching heat radiating from him brushed against Yoonjo’s cheeks. Water splashing off the man’s body soaked Yoonjo’s white socks.

The man was completely naked. Water streamed down his chiseled, solid body. The icy water, cold enough to freeze everything, couldn’t cool the alpha in rut.

“Ugh…!”

The moment he stood close, a hand shot out and grabbed Yoonjo’s collar. Won Kangho slammed Yoonjo against the wall with a bang. Yoonjo’s face crumpled from the pain shooting through his back.

Water poured from the ceiling, drenching both of them. The soaked clothes clung to Yoonjo’s body, revealing every contour. The gaze raking over him was relentless.

“Can’t you hear me?”

“I… hear you.”

“If you hear me, why are you standing there like an idiot?”

The murderous aura the man exuded choked Yoonjo’s breath. Grimacing in pain, Yoonjo gripped the man’s hand over his own. The scalding body heat seared through his skin.

“Why? Did you come here to die?”

“…Yes.”

“What?”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly at the retort that burst out with a ragged breath. Yoonjo, still clutching the man’s wrist, struggled to continue.

“Anyway… I can’t live without you, mister.”

“…….”

“I’m all broken, like you said, an idiot who can’t do anything alone.”

The moment he uttered the old title he once used, tears finally spilled over. Mingled with the water, they fell to the floor beneath their feet.

Won Kangho said nothing. Whether he had nothing to say or didn’t want to, he just stared at Yoonjo with an unreadable expression.

“If you’re going to abandon me like this, just kill me. Don’t hold back.”

“…….”

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

His words broke off as he tried to hold back sobs. Even with tears pooling in his eyes, Yoonjo didn’t avoid Won Kangho’s gaze. Facing him head-on, he poured out everything he wanted to say.

His palm stung. Blood seeped from the reopened wound, rendering the bandages useless. Mixed with the water, it took on a pinkish hue.

More painful than the reopened wound was the heart and emotions the man had torn to shreds. Physical pain would heal with time or could be ignored, but those two could not.

His life was no longer in his own hands. The man held his lifeline. All Yoonjo could do was cling to that hand, waiting for an unknown end.

The man remained silent for a long time. The sound of rushing water filled the void. Yoonjo’s breathing was so ragged it seemed he might stop breathing any moment.

“Fine.”

The voice that finally emerged was more sinister than ever.

“If that’s your wish, I’ll grant it.”

“Ah, ugh…!”

Pheromones of an entirely different intensity enveloped Yoonjo’s body. His legs, barely holding him up, trembled pathetically.

The alpha’s eyes gleamed fiercely as he inhaled the sweet pheromones of the omega. Won Kangho slowly licked the blood-soaked bandage, never taking his obsessive gaze off Yoonjo.

“Baby, Yoonjo-ya.”

His words were muffled, lips pressed against the palm. The man, savoring the sweet scent of blood, added, “You still don’t know how scary the CEO can be.”

“Hn, ngh…”

“You kept climbing because I called you pretty, huh? No end to it.”

The kisses that began at the palm crept upward. He nibbled on the soaked earlobe, then recklessly probed the ear with his tongue.

The man blocked Yoonjo’s flinching body. Grabbing both of Yoonjo’s wrists, he pinned them against the wall and whispered low.

“I’ll make sure that mouth of yours never begs to be killed again.”

His voice was like that of a serpent.

“Just try begging to be spared.”

Clothes were torn off. The man kissed Yoonjo roughly, as if to devour him entirely, tossing the wet garments to the floor. In an instant, Yoonjo was naked, stumbling back against the wall with nowhere else to retreat.

The heat wasn’t just on his skin. The breath slipping through his lips was also scalding. As Yoonjo reached for the man’s shoulders, he yanked his startled hands away.

The fragile wrists were caught in one hand. Won Kangho bound them above Yoonjo’s head and devoured his lips freely. The wet sound of tongues mingling was drowned out by the water, unheard by anyone.

True to his rut, Won Kangho was driven by instinct, and Yoonjo, firmly caught in his grasp, surrendered everything.

As Manager Jung had warned, Won Kangho was dangerous now. Instinct screamed to flee, but Yoonjo couldn’t. He was incapable of it.

“Ugh, mmph…!”

A merciless hand rummaged behind. His already heated body released slick fluid, welcoming the man’s intrusion. Yet the tightly closed rear entrance clamped down hard on the invading fingers in surprise.

“Fuck, that sweet smell…”

The man growled, lips locked with Yoonjo’s. Blood seeped from the bitten lips. Won Kangho sucked greedily at the torn wound, intent on tasting all of Yoonjo.

Sweet. Maddeningly sweet. After going to the trouble of locking this omega deep in the mountains, here he was, coming to him, dripping with that sweet scent. The alpha wanted to chew and swallow him whole, bones and all.

The slender, soaked body gleamed white. The man devoured Yoonjo’s lips, kneading the trembling body as he pleased. The pliant skin under his palms sent electrifying shocks through his brain.

The man, roughly probing the heated interior, suddenly pulled his hand out. Catching the collapsing body, he hooked an arm under Yoonjo’s knee and lifted him.

“Ah, ahh…!”

The force of the organ entering the unprepared rear was ferocious. Unable to bear the pain, Yoonjo’s body lurched forward. The man, pleased by the body falling into his arms, buried his nose in Yoonjo’s nape.

“Wait, ngh… Wait, ah, not yet, hah…!”

The pain outweighed the pleasure. The tight, stretched entrance and the heat of the organ filling it burned through the mucous membranes.

The merciless movements continued. The scorching organ relentlessly thrust into the fully stretched hole. As the tense body stiffened, the man fully unleashed his pheromones.

The alpha’s rut pheromones, designed to excite an omega, enveloped Yoonjo. A ragged breath burst out in the thick scent. Won Kangho pinned Yoonjo to the wall, grabbing his chin to force eye contact.

“Breathe it in.”

“Ngh, too… much…”

“Breathe.”

Their locked gazes burned. Yoonjo struggled to inhale and exhale. The pheromones filling his lungs spread through his body, softening his rigid frame. Ha, his exhaled breath was hot.

As if in a heat cycle, his rear quickly grew wet. The clear, slick fluid oozing from within clung to the man’s organ.

His body heated up at a terrifying pace. The excited omega’s cheeks and eyes flushed red. Wet sounds rolled around his ears.

The thrusting became smoother. The man nibbled Yoonjo’s nape, bucking his hips. The sweet scent from the pheromone-drunk omega clouded his mind.

“Ah, ugh, slow… down, please, ngh, ahh!”

The sound of wet flesh colliding mixed with Yoonjo’s moans, turning the bathroom into a mess. His body, barely balanced on one leg, teetered as if it might collapse.

When the grip on his wrists released, Yoonjo immediately wrapped his arms around the man’s neck. The man tightly embraced the one clinging to him, thrusting rapidly. Like someone drugged, Yoonjo’s moans never ceased, each one fueling the man’s desire.

“Lee Yoonjo, Yoonjo-ya. Baby.”

Their faltering reason blurred further. Only instinct remained, reveling in the act of thrusting and being thrust into. Pain gradually transformed into pleasure.

The flushed, tight hole eagerly devoured the man’s organ. The slick inner walls clung to the dark, menacing thing, greedily stealing its heat.

“Ngh, ugh, ah, hah…!”

“Fuck…”

Their heated gazes locked. Without hesitation, they sought each other’s lips. The rough kiss, teeth clashing, and the relentless thrusting below sent pleasure surging.

From the moment he inhaled the man’s pheromones, Yoonjo’s erect organ released what it had been holding back. Cloudy fluid splattered across their stomachs and chests.

Grinding his teeth, Won Kangho hooked an arm under Yoonjo’s other knee. The light body lifted into the air. Startled by his feet leaving the ground, Yoonjo let out a frightened gasp.

“Put me… down, ahh, ngh…!”

The man’s eyes were fiercer than ever. Before Yoonjo could finish begging to be lowered, the man pinned him to the wall, pounding below. Between the spread legs, the massive organ appeared and disappeared repeatedly.

His body had just climaxed. As another wave of stimulation hit the oversensitive body, his mouth gaped, and his head kept falling back. Red marks bloomed wherever the man’s lips touched.

The alpha’s eyes, fixed on the omega crying out in ecstasy, were red with desire, consumed by pleasure.

Shaken in the man’s arms, Yoonjo couldn’t think. He only felt the organ filling him, the body heat and strength of the one holding him, and the reality of being alive.

Joyful. In this moment, he was more joyful than ever. Drunk on sensation, forgetting purpose, he willingly clung to the other. The simple fact that he could breathe was enough to fill him with happiness.

“Hot, it’s hot… Ngh… Too, ugh…!”

His body trembled as if convulsing. Another climax followed. The man, unconcerned by Yoonjo’s release, pressed him against the wall. Burying his lips in the exposed chest, he teased the protruding bud with his tongue.

The sound of sucking flesh was raw. Even more intense was the sensation. Every time the man sucked, licked, or nibbled the sensitive area, Yoonjo’s body jolted. Clutching the man’s head, he let out ragged breaths.

“Don’t… bite, ngh… Hah, ah!”

He was trapped. Pulling back deepened the penetration; leaning forward made the man’s lips and tongue too vivid. Unable to move either way, his overwhelmed body spilled fluids and sounds.

The man’s movements grew faster. Each deep thrust made his body quiver. The heat felt like it would melt his mind. His dangling feet shook. The loosening bandage trailed long tails.

“Ah, too fast…! Ngh, ahh! Ahh!”

The movements grew fiercer. The erect organ drooled with each thrust. The man’s growls grew louder.

The relentless pounding felt like it would ruin his insides. Yoonjo wailed, clinging to the man with every ounce of strength to avoid falling.

“Ahh…”

“Haa, fuck…”

Finally, all movement stopped. Trapped between the man and the wall, Yoonjo felt the hot liquid filling him below. Their ragged breaths filled the bathroom.

Hot. Swelteringly hot. Every point of contact with the man burned, pooling heat until it felt like he would melt. Trapped in the man’s tight embrace, Yoonjo exhaled overwhelmed breaths.

“What, ngh…”

Without warning, the man moved. Still buried inside Yoonjo, each step made the unyielding organ prod his insides.

At some point, the man stopped speaking. Though he surely heard everything, he acted deaf or unwilling to talk, lips sealed, observing only Yoonjo’s reactions. His mouth opened only for kisses or to mutter suppressed curses.

“Ah…!”

His limp body collapsed onto the bed. The man, tossing Yoonjo onto it, swept back his wet hair and exhaled deeply. His pitch-black eyes were darker than ever.

Terrified, Yoonjo scrambled across the bed to escape. He would have, if his ankle hadn’t been grabbed.

“Wait, ugh!”

“Shut up.”

He didn’t get far before his ankle was seized, dragging him back down. Blood streaks stained the white bedding.

The man’s hands grabbed Yoonjo’s waist, pulling him up. Before Yoonjo could flee, a large hand pressed his hips down. White semen leaked from the hole, and the man aligned himself again. The thoroughly worked entrance swallowed him easily.

“Ngh…”

The semen pooled inside was pushed out by the organ. Won Kangho, thrusting to the hilt, let out a satisfied breath.

Exhausting. Overwhelming. Was it because it had been so long, or because of the rut’s unique intensity?

Won Kangho was never gentle. His sexual preferences were rough, and it rarely ended with Yoonjo conscious. Most times, he passed out or fell asleep from exhaustion. Today’s intensity was beyond comparison, raw and overwhelming.

The size of the organ filling him, the pressure from the hands pinning his hips—it was too much. The man gave no time to adjust, thrusting immediately.

“Ugh, it’s hard… Ngh, a bit, ah! Too deep… Ngh!”

It felt like the man’s organ would burst through his throat. The wet bodies collided with wet slaps. Yoonjo gripped the sheets tightly, enduring the violent sex.

The bandages tightly wrapped around his hands were gone. Blood seeped from the torn wounds, staining the white bedding with red. Yet the pleasure spreading from below dwarfed the pain of the wounds.

“Ngh, stop… Stop…”

His muscles melted. The inner walls, molded to the man’s organ, felt like they would dissolve in the heat. The stretched hole eagerly devoured the organ.

Surrendering to pleasure, his body let out sobbing sounds. The resolve he’d had when deciding to meet the man vanished, leaving only pleas to stop. The boiling heat threatened to consume him.

Yes. Now he understood. He didn’t want to die. He came to the man because he wanted to live. To breathe, to live like a person.

He didn’t expect to live normally like others. He just wanted to mimic it. To sleep, eat, breathe, wake with the sunrise, and sleep at night. He wanted to achieve those mundane, meaningless things.

All of that was possible when he was with the man. Even if he couldn’t be happy, at least he could pretend to be ordinary. That was all he wished for.

“Haa, wait, just… Ah, please…!”

He wanted to say something, but the man gave him no chance. Won Kangho was not in his right mind. As was typical for a Woosung alpha’s rut, the man had already lost all reason.

In the end, the man won. Every moment, Yoonjo had never once defeated him. It was the same now. The man inevitably snatched victory from him.

“Ah, ngh!”

Trying to stop him, Yoonjo grabbed the man’s thigh, but it only provoked him further. A large hand seized his slender wrist and yanked it back. His bent-over body was pulled upward, swaying precariously in the air.

Won Kangho dragged the other wrist as well, binding them behind Yoonjo’s back. The struggling palms, slick with blood, flailed helplessly.

Yoonjo’s organ glistened, soaked with an unknown fluid. The impact of the relentless thrusting snapped his head back and then forward. Waves of unbearable pleasure crashed over his fragile body.

His entire body trembled as if convulsing. The precise strikes to his sensitive spots caused his vision to shatter white and return repeatedly. His body grew hotter and more sensitive.

“Haa…”

With another climax, his body collapsed completely. The man didn’t catch him. He pulled out his slick organ, flipped Yoonjo over, and climbed on top of him.

“Ugh…!”

His jaw was forced open, and the dark, engorged organ plunged in. The grip on his jaw was excessively strong, as if it could crush bone.

His trembling hands clutched the man’s wrists. It was a touch devoid of strength, merely contact.

“Open your throat. Before I tear it apart.”

Even as he made pained sounds, the man showed no mercy. He ruthlessly drove his organ deep into Yoonjo’s throat. The throat swelled and contracted unnaturally.

His bloodshot eyes seemed ready to spill tears of blood. Despite his agonizing state, the man paid no heed. For his own satisfaction, he buried his organ deep in Yoonjo’s throat, exhaling a long, “Haa.”

“Ugh, ngh, kuh…”

Just before he lost his breath, the organ filling his mouth withdrew. Yoonjo coughed violently, squeezing his eyes shut. Tears that had pooled fell, wetting the bedding and his temples.

Like a doll, Yoonjo was dragged around by the man’s hands. Won Kangho forcibly lifted the limp body, sat him on top, and aligned his organ with the hole, pushing in.

“Aah, haa…”

After a few movements, the man suddenly stopped. Fear slowly crept over Yoonjo’s bewildered face.

A horrific pain filled his abdomen, and Yoonjo’s body lurched forward. The man’s snake-like arms wrapped around the trembling body.

“Wha, what, wait, ngh…!”

The man’s organ was growing inside him. Terrified, Yoonjo thrashed, but the man’s grip tightened, holding him firmly. His sobbing, mixed with ragged breaths, carried pain.

“My stomach, it’s tearing…! Ah, ngh, it hurts… It feels like I’ll die…”

“You said you wanted to die. It’s happening as you wished, so what’s the problem?”

“No, I don’t want it! It hurts…!”

Knotting. The word flashing through his mind turned Yoonjo’s face pale.

He begged no, pleaded to be let go, not to do it, but the man didn’t listen. Instead, he chewed Yoonjo’s cheek as if to flaunt it, savoring his own satisfaction.

Knowing the man had no intention of letting go, Yoonjo still struggled desperately. Even mustering his last strength, he couldn’t escape an inch from Won Kangho, who mocked him.

“You said you wanted to die. You didn’t even prepare for this much?”

“Ngh, ugh…”

“Stop crying. You should be begging now.”

A large hand wiped the tears clinging to his chin. Won Kangho stared at the blood-covered hand, then slowly licked the blood around the wound. Yoonjo, startled, tried to pull away, but the grip was too strong to shake off.

“Don’t… don’t do that…!”

“You know what? Even your blood is sweet.”

Like a cat grooming, the man kept licking the blood from Yoonjo’s palm. The red tongue clung to the even redder blood.

“You can’t stand being alone for a second.”

His muttering voice was thick with displeasure. After struggling for a while, Yoonjo gave up entirely, letting his body go limp. He had no strength left.

They say humans are creatures of adaptation. As time passed, the pain in his stomach seemed to ease. Leaning his cheek on the man’s shoulder, his blinking slowed.

If a rut came, knotting would naturally follow. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Consumed by what loomed before him, Yoonjo had missed the most important thing. Yet, he had no regrets.

Strangely, in this moment, Yoonjo felt relief. He was at peace knowing he could be by the man’s side, content with breathing his pheromones and touching his skin.

The man’s swollen organ slowly returned to normal. The fullness inside remained, but the pain subsided.

“Mister.”

As if responding to the whisper-like call, the man stroked Yoonjo’s back.

“Are you really not going to let me go?”

“…….”

“Will you keep me by your side forever?”

The man, who had been nuzzling Yoonjo’s nape, stopped. Raising his head slowly, he grabbed Yoonjo’s shoulders, pulling him back. A cold gaze met his face. Foreheads touching, the man growled.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Promise me.”

“What.”

“That you won’t let me go. That you’ll keep me by your side.”

He was anxious. With even the family who promised lifelong happiness gone, the man was all Yoonjo had left. This frail body craved him. Without him, Yoonjo could do nothing.

He was afraid. When he couldn’t fully enjoy his newfound freedom, when he could do nothing but sleep helplessly, tormented by unknown symptoms, when he realized the only thing left was the man who had plunged his life into ruin. Yoonjo felt the greatest fear he had ever known.

In truth, he wanted to live. The desire to die was actually a cry from within, desperate to live. A scream begging to be seen.

“I actually want to live so badly.”

“…….”

“But I can’t do it alone. I can’t do anything without you, mister. I said to kill me because I was scared.”

His tearful voice was sorrowful.

“Before you abandon me, I wanted to abandon myself first.”

Facing the truth he had avoided, it felt like everything fell into place, calm and still, like gazing at a ripple-less river.

“Can you promise not to abandon me?”

Tears, whose origin he couldn’t pinpoint, rolled down his cheeks. The man, lips tightly sealed, gazed at Yoonjo silently. The wait for a response felt endlessly long.

The man was indeed the cause of his fall, but the path to meeting him was paved by Yoonjo’s own choices. To Yoonjo, the man was both villain and savior, the only one who could embrace his fallen self.

If you could do that for me, I might find the courage to walk through this mire. I might find the strength to stand and move forward.

Won Kangho was silent. He merely locked eyes with Yoonjo, holding the silence for a moment. The hand he toyed with no longer bled.

“A promise…”

After a long pause, the man muttered to himself. His trembling gaze roamed busily over the impassive face.

“Should we write a contract?”

“…….”

“Is that what you want?”

A contract. That piece of paper from the day they first met, when Yoonjo, drugged and dragged to Hwayudam like a kidnapping.

Everything began with that paper. More precisely, it began with the paper his father signed to borrow money from the man.

Nothing was more solid or secure. That document was why he was in this state, but it was also the only thing Yoonjo could trust now.

He nodded slightly. Tears fell with the motion, clinging to his chin. The man’s gaze followed them.

A hand reached out, brushing his jaw. The man licked the tears clinging to his fingertips. Savoring the taste with a hum, he licked Yoonjo’s cheek.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. But, baby.”

Their foreheads touched. The lingering heat passed through their skin. The intensity of his gaze burned hotter than his body.

“Even without that, I’d never let you go.”

“…….”

“Think carefully before you speak. Don’t act childish.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Yoonjo cautiously extended his arms. Gently cupping the man’s cheeks, he kissed him briefly, like a child. The man’s body stiffened.

“I want to write it.”

“…….”

“It’s the only way I think I can live.”

Visible proof. He needed it. It was the only way he could endure. His amber eyes wavered precariously as they looked at the man.

Won Kangho said nothing. He stared directly into Yoonjo’s eyes, as if probing for hidden intentions, intensely so.

Say it quickly. Say you’ll let me live, that you won’t let me die. The words that couldn’t escape piled up in his chest.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”

Thankfully, the man’s response closely resembled what Yoonjo so desperately desired.

“I’ll write it. A contract or whatever.”

“…….”

“I gave you a chance. You made the choice, baby.”

Nodding, the tears that had pooled spilled freely. The man licked them away, laying Yoonjo on the bed. His scattered hair, reflecting his eye color, shone brilliantly.

“No take-backs later.”

“I won’t do that.”

The low chuckle was warm. Yoonjo slowly closed his eyes, willingly facing the darkness enveloping him. At last, his heart was at ease.

The fate of an omega who endured an alpha’s rut was brutal. Yoonjo couldn’t take a single step off the bed. Even when he briefly woke, he fell back into a faint-like sleep, trying to recover his drained stamina.

The man was always by his side. When he groaned in pain, a large hand gently patted his back, and when he tossed and turned, the man held him, whispering “shh” in his ear.

It was a time indistinguishable from dream or reality. When he fully awoke, it was as if it had all been an illusion; no one was there. Only the lingering pheromones proved the man had been present moments before.

“What’s this…?”

Shortly after Yoonjo regained consciousness, Won Kangho appeared with an unfamiliar man. Dressed neatly in a suit with silver-rimmed glasses, the stranger was a lawyer.

“You said to write a contract.”

“…This is a contract?”

The man nodded. Unlike Yoonjo’s troubled expression, he looked nonchalant, as if nothing was wrong. The document, brought with a lawyer in tow, was a marriage certificate.

“You wanted a contract that I wouldn’t abandon you.”

Where to begin explaining? He had asked for a contract, but not this. As always, the man exceeded his expectations.

Yoonjo carefully set the document down and faced the man. Displeased, the man crossed his long legs and arms, tilting his head arrogantly.

“You don’t like it?”

“The contract I meant wasn’t a marriage certificate.”

“Why bother making a new form when the state provides one right here?”

“…….”

“With our imprinting done, is there any reason we can’t use this?”

He wasn’t teasing. The man was quite serious.

Still, it wasn’t right. Yoonjo pushed the document toward the man.

“…It’s still not this. We did imprint, but that was an accident—”

“Accident?”

Cutting Yoonjo off, the man’s gaze was cold enough to freeze. The lawyer, caught in the middle, glanced nervously between them.

“You and I imprinting was an accident?”

“…It wasn’t intentional.”

“Intentional or not, the fact of our mutual imprinting doesn’t change.”

“I know.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

His face showed genuine confusion. About to retort, Yoonjo quietly closed his mouth. His long exhale carried exhaustion.

The man was the same as ever. Yoonjo thought he’d conveyed his true feelings during the rut, that the man had understood him, but it seemed not. Nothing had changed; they were back at square one.

His amber eyes quickly lost their spark. He was tired. He wanted to return to bed, pull the covers over, and close his eyes. This place felt uncomfortable, and he wanted to escape as soon as possible.

“…I’m not feeling well, let’s talk later—”

“Sit.”

“…….”

“Did I ever say you could stand?”

Yoonjo’s face, rising from his seat, was tinged with disappointment. He had resented the man before, but never felt disappointed. Today, what he felt was unmistakably disappointment.

Since returning here, the man had kept the three conditions Yoonjo requested, in his own way. None were things he was asked to do; only things he was asked not to do.

“I said sit.”

At the repeated command, Yoonjo, still standing, clenched his fists tightly. His small lips slowly parted.

“…No.”

“What?”

“I said no.”

“Lee Yoonjo.”

He didn’t want to hear anymore. Yoonjo turned and left the room. Heading to the bedroom, he felt sharp eyes on his back but didn’t look back.

He had vowed not to expect anything, but that resolve had crumbled. And it brought disappointment.

He hated the man. He hated the man who gave him hope only to disappoint him. Knowing the fundamental fault was his own, Yoonjo still resented him.

“Lee Yoonjo.”

He had just entered the room, hiding under the covers. The closed door opened, and the man stepped in. Yoonjo curled up further under the blanket.

Anger laced the man’s voice. Fearing something might happen, Yoonjo bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. He was still afraid of the man.

The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder. Thud, thud. As they neared, his heart pounded wildly.

Past events flashed before his eyes like a montage.

He might get hit. His clothes might be torn off, pheromones poured to force arousal, piercing his body. And then…

Horrible scenes filled his mind. Trembling, he clenched his teeth to hide, but a heavy weight settled on the blanket. The voice that followed was low.

“Why are you shaking so much?”

Blink. He opened his eyes. None of the horrors in his mind had come true. The man’s body heat, embracing him over the blanket, was warm.

“Baby.”

“…….”

“Is asking for a response coercion too?”

“Huh?” The added question was almost tender. Just moments ago, his voice had been terrifying, but now it was simply gentle. It could almost be mistaken for affection.

The tension in his rigid body eased. Haa, with a heavy sigh, his eyes softened.

The pheromones the man released were kind and gentle. The sensation of all anxiety and fear washing away with each breath was unfamiliar but pleasant. He wanted to stay like this.

The blanket hiding his face was slowly pulled down. The man took in every detail of the revealed face. His deep, dark eyes studied Yoonjo’s expression.

“You’re getting harder to handle.”

“…….”

“It used to feel easier.”

Their eyes, locked on each other, were clearer than ever. His grip on the blanket tightened. His trembling lips parted cautiously.

“I was never easy.”

His voice quivered slightly at the end.

“You were mistaken, thinking I was easy.”

“…….”

“It’s not that I’ve gotten harder. You’re just starting to see me as a person.”

He had never been treated as a proper human by Won Kangho. To him, Yoonjo was merely a plaything, a tool to spread its legs whenever and wherever required.

The man who found everything easy now called him difficult. How long had it taken to reach this point? The past flashed by in a different light. Tears threatened to spill.

Yoonjo lowered his eyes quietly, trying to calm himself. He didn’t want to cry pathetically. Not in this moment.

“Why do you hurt yourself with your own words?”

A large hand gently stroked his cheek. Instead of telling him not to look away, the man lifted Yoonjo’s face to meet his eyes.

“Where did you learn such bad habits?”

“Ah…!”

His nose was pinched suddenly. Yoonjo winced, clutching his nose in stinging pain. A playful glint crept onto the man’s face.