Dolls Chapter 2.9

Noah’s gaze lingered on Joy’s still-reddened nipples. Feeling his face flush again, Joy turned his body and buttoned up his shirt. Watching him, Noah smirked and patted his head.

Just moments ago, Noah had been staring at him with cold eyes, but now his touch was as gentle as if he were petting a cute puppy, leaving Joy bewildered. The master, Noah Saifried, was so different each time Joy saw him that he couldn’t figure out how to handle him.

Noah had recoiled at the word “darling,” yet last night, hadn’t he called Joy “darling” so tenderly?

“Let’s go.”

Seeing Joy now dressed in pants, Noah extended his hand. That hand could be cold or warm, and though Joy hesitated, he had no choice but to take it. There was no other option.

In the dining room, AE70 and OE70 were already seated, in the middle of their meal.

“Master!”

Unlike OE70, who greeted Noah with a flushed face, AE70 merely glanced at him and gave a curt nod. Paying no mind to their behavior, Noah took the head seat and tapped a nearby chair, signaling with his eyes for Joy to sit.

Joy hesitated before taking a seat, and Lionel brought out warm potato soup and soft white bread. As the spoon, fork, and knife were set in turn, Joy stared blankly at the scene.

Watching AE70 and OE70 across from him skillfully use their spoon, fork, and knife, Joy felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.

“OE01, I’m glad you’re back.”

OE70 was the first to speak. Having been unable to see AE70 or know Joy’s whereabouts for a while, OE70 had secretly worried. Despite having the same face as Noah, his delicate features made him seem like an entirely different person. He was kinder and warmer than anyone. Even at the lab, OE70 had cared for OE01 like a younger brother.

On the other hand, AE70 looked and moved so similarly to Noah that it was hard to tell them apart without conversation. Seeing AE70, Joy tensed up unconsciously and dropped the spoon he was holding.

Noah clicked his tongue at Joy and signaled Lionel to bring a new spoon. AE70 looked at Joy with concern and said,

“OE01, are you okay? You look really tired…”

At AE70’s words, Joy smiled and said he was fine, then scooped a spoonful of potato soup and put it in his mouth. The soup was delicious, but his mouth felt rough, and honestly, he didn’t want to eat anything. As Joy struggled to eat spoonful by spoonful, AE70 spoke kindly.

“It’s quite different from protein drinks, isn’t it?”

“Hm? Mm…”

“It was hard for me and OE70 to get used to food at first too. But eating proper meals definitely gives you more energy than before. So try to eat a bit more.”

Seeing AE70, who had Noah’s face, speak so kindly and smile, Joy nodded and hurriedly worked his spoon. Watching them, Noah smirked and took a bite of his steak. He didn’t like any of the fakes, but this alpha, in particular, was increasingly irritating.

If he had known they’d be this similar, he would’ve kept them in those ragged lab clothes. Sometimes, when he faced AE70, a chill ran through him, making his hair stand on end.

Is this what it feels like to meet a doppelgänger? How could the Purse family face this eerie experience every day and act so unfazed? Noah shook his head and sliced his steak.

“Master…”

OE70’s voice broke the silence, filled only with the clinking of cutlery.

“What?”

“I… I want to be with AE70.”

At OE70’s words, AE70 put down his spoon and looked between OE70 and Noah.

“Why?”

“Why… we’re mates.”

“And?”

“Huh?”

“Are you saying you want to spend your heat together?”

At Noah’s words, OE70 looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if it were an obvious question.

“That’s… how I’ll have a child.”

OE70 spoke shyly, his face slightly flushed, but Noah’s expression hardened noticeably, and he set down his fork and knife with a clatter. OE70 fidgeted under Noah’s icy gaze, and AE70 gently took OE70’s hand, stroking it softly. The tension in OE70’s face eased, and he looked at AE70 with adoration.

“Fakes.”

“……”

“Listen carefully. I have no intention of seeing my heirs come from you.”

“What?”

OE70 looked at Noah with a shocked expression. Ignoring his gaze, Noah continued.

“From the start, I never wanted copies of myself mating to produce my clones. I brought you here because I’m an executive at Purse Corporation. I had to take custody of the lab’s products.”

“But…”

“So, while I brought you here, I have no intention of using you for your original purpose.”

“But, Master… we were born into this world to bear your children.”

OE70 spoke with tear-filled eyes, and Noah sighed deeply, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Fakes.”

“……”

“You wouldn’t understand, but once your purpose is fulfilled… No, never mind. Do you even need to know that? For that reason, I have no intention of letting my alpha and omega meet.”

“Master! We… we’ve never been apart before. Please… please… I’m… I’m so scared…”

As OE70 sobbed, AE70 hugged and comforted him. Noah clicked his tongue at the sight.

“So, isn’t this a good chance to get used to being apart? It’s not like you’ll never see each other. You’re eating together like this. Stop being so spoiled. You’re not a toddler.”

As Noah stood up, AE70 glared at him and, without realizing, released a threatening pheromone.

“That’s offensive.”

Noah frowned, and AE70, startled, reined in his pheromones. As Noah calmly walked out of the dining room, AE70 stared at his retreating figure and muttered with a blank expression.

“Why… does he notice? He’s supposed to be an ordinary person…”

*

“Chairman, wake up.”

Adrian pulled the owner of the lips gently kissing his cheek closer. Kim, tumbling onto the bed, was caught in Adrian’s arms in the blink of an eye.

“Seowoo.”

Adrian called Kim’s name and kissed him. Their hot tongues tangled, savoring each other’s saliva. Adrian pulled away, breathing heavily, and gazed at Kim’s slightly flushed face.

Jet-black hair, deep and unfathomable black eyes, and red lips panting heavily blended with his fair skin, making him look even more mysterious. Unlike Caucasians, Kim, with his delicate features despite being male, was one of the few surviving Asians.

“Chairman, you need to get ready…”

“I know.”

Adrian replied and kissed Kim’s lips again. Their hot breaths mingled wetly.

“Maybe… I should’ve been the test subject…”

Kim’s eyes wavered at Adrian’s words, sighed out after pulling away. Even if Adrian participated in the mutation experiment, Kim, a mere commoner, could never be his omega. The thought of Adrian being someone else’s alpha was unbearable. Reading Kim’s hesitant gaze, Adrian hugged him and whispered in his ear.

“Don’t worry. I’d never abandon you first, Seowoo.”

“Chairman…”

Kim buried his face in Adrian’s broad chest, hiding his reddening eyes.

In a world where humans had lost the ability to reproduce, gender didn’t matter much. With no reproductive ability, there was no need to distinguish between male and female in relationships, and unfulfilled desires could drive one mad if not properly expressed, rendering gender meaningless in this world.

Even so, male-male couples who weren’t alpha and omega were rare, and the gap between the chairman of Purse Corporation and his secretary made Kim endlessly anxious. When Adrian brought his alpha and omega into the household, Kim volunteered to be a test subject.

It was another experiment at Purse Corporation’s lab: the “natural pregnancy serum.”

While creating alphas and omegas relied heavily on capital, the natural pregnancy serum targeted ordinary people who lacked such resources. Unlike alphas and omegas who replicated their master’s superior genes, the serum enabled pregnancy—whether for male-female, male-male, or female-female couples—allowing them to have children together.

The experiments kept failing, and the high-risk serum faced limitations in clinical trials. Most volunteers remained infertile, and late-emerging side effects often halted the trials.

Still, Kim had secretly volunteered and was taking the serum. He didn’t hope for much—just to carry Adrian’s child, not just Adrian’s but theirs together. Adrian, born and bred in the elite, probably wouldn’t want that.

Kim stepped away from the bed and approached Adrian, who was now perfectly dressed in a luxurious three-piece suit, tying his tie.

“Let me tie it for you, Chairman.”

“Seowoo.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want my secretary hiding things from me.”

“……”

“The same goes for my lover.”

“…Yes.”

“I believe you won’t disappoint me, Seowoo.”

Seowoo’s fingertips trembled as he tied the tie.

*

“No… this can’t be.”

Joy approached OE70, who was sobbing with a tear-streaked face, and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. The small, trembling body was so pitiable that Joy tightened his embrace. Not being able to be with his mate, who was like part of himself, was too cruel.

Joy held OE70 for a while, patting his back. As OE70’s sobs subsided and he gave a wistful smile, saying he was okay, he slipped out of Joy’s arms.

“Hyung… are you really okay?”

“No… but… there’s no way around it…”

“……”

“Why… does Master dislike us? We were born for him.”

“Hyung…”

“Having a child who looks like Master is the reason I was born.”

“……”

“What am I supposed to do… if he tells me not to?”

“……”

OE70’s despairing words tore at Joy’s heart. Joy hugged and stroked OE70 again.

“OE01.”

“Yes.”

Responding to OE70’s low voice from within his embrace, OE70 looked up at Joy after a while and asked.