Heavy Rain Chapter 11

The sight of Haejin forced to get out of the car with a sorrowful face unfolded before him. This was merely a memory that had been distorted in the meantime. Back then, the fellow had stepped out of the car with a rather calm face, and that sorrowful expression had only flickered like a flash of lightning afterward before vanishing.

But why did he make that face back then?

“I am told that Mr. Bright’s parents passed away last night.”

The butler’s words echo and ring. And then Haejin, wearing that sorrowful face, looked straight at him.

Lyle flailed within the massive gaze of resentment that washed over him once again. His body would not obey him, and he was swept up in emotions that felt like a vast, trackless ocean.

As if a mere expression could possibly mean this much.

“…”

Lyle, barely managing to sit up, looked out the window at the early dawn and irritably ran a hand through his hair. His body was drenched in sweat. Just like the image of Haejin soaked to the bone in the rain, which was the last thing he had seen.

“Ha.”

It was a recurring occurrence, yet it remained absurd. During the five years he actually kept Haejin in this mansion, he had never once seen him in a dream; what was happening now?

Furthermore, his head felt incredibly heavy. Normally, his mind should have been clear for a while after a rut ended. This time, too, he had certainly returned after successfully finishing an important meeting with such a refreshed feeling. However, his physical condition was threatening to collapse earlier than expected.

To be precise, ever since the butler reported that Haejin had left.

Pheromone congestion is a common symptom for Alphas. If pheromones are not released for a long time, the pheromones bound in the pheromone glands affect the brain. Simply pouring out emotional pheromones to the outside is useless. It was a peculiar phenomenon that could only be resolved through sexual intercourse between an Alpha and an Omega.

Normally, pheromone congestion is not particularly fatal. Even if it affects the brain, it is merely a phenomenon of becoming dazed, as if sleepy. Moreover, Alphas usually resolve this naturally by dating or sharing their bodies with Omegas.

However, Lyle’s status as a dominant type held him back. Superior pheromones make for a superior body, but they also caused pheromones to congest faster than in others. And the biggest obstacle was that the brain did not simply go dazed, but rather suffered from agonizing headaches.

If Lyle, like a typical Alpha, had no qualms about embracing an Omega, even this would not have been a problem. Because Lyle loathed the act, his own traits had essentially created a situation where he was trapped by his own nature.

“Whew…”

Naturally, this phenomenon is a secret. Even though his position was secure, the collateral branches of the family were still constantly eyeing his seat. Dominant types were rare, and a dominant type who loathed Omegas like Lyle was even rarer, so it could be kept a secret.

Likely, his body was showing an abnormal reaction because there was no immediate way to resolve the pheromones.

While drinking the cold water provided in the room, Lyle judged his condition. He told himself that seeing Haejin in his dream surely meant nothing.

However, the moment he faced an Omega to establish a new contract the next day, such thoughts of Lyle’s were shattered.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

“Shall we look for a different Omega?”

“…Fine.”

The pheromones of the Omega he encountered during the brief meeting were truly nauseating. One could tell what that person wanted, dressed up so ostentatiously, even without them saying a word.

It was no use even as he tried to endure by ignoring it. The moment the smiling Omega released their pheromones toward Lyle, he burst up from his seat.

“Throw them out.”

The Omega tried desperately to cling to him, but the bodyguards were one step faster. Thinking that even the voice was grating to his ears, Lyle left the scene.

Even after that, more than five Omegas visited the mansion, but Lyle’s symptoms did not improve. On the contrary, they only grew more severe, to the point where he could not even stand the fact that an Omega was in the same space. No matter how much he loathed Omegas, it had never been to this degree; it was a bizarre thing.

Consequently, while suppressing the urge to run to the bathroom and vomit immediately, Lyle had to order his secretary.

“Find Haejin. Tell him let’s make a new contract.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Haejin’s pheromones, which surely should have been so faint they lacked any presence, were strangely remembered with extreme clarity.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

“He refused again?”

“Yes. It seems he truly has no intention, so perhaps looking for a new Omega would be…”

“…”

However, Haejin, who had been obedient throughout the contract period, would not go according to Lyle’s wishes this time. Even though Lyle had sent the secretary several times and offered conditions that seemed excessive, he did not budge.

He knows that money is no longer desperate for the fellow. However, what Lyle offered were matters that even people not desperate for money would consider at least once. Furthermore, according to the secretary, Haejin rejected the offer without even contemplating it for long.

Just what is he aiming for?

Haejin’s financial status was obvious. Unless a miracle on the level of receiving back all the hospital fees paid until now had occurred in the meantime, it was obvious he was broke. There couldn’t be many things a fellow with no house and no money could do.

He had even heard that Haejin left the mansion the moment the contract ended, yet he was staying in a short-term room just a stone’s throw away. Seeing that close distance, Lyle could only be suspicious. He suspected that Haejin was rejecting his proposal for the sake of negotiation.

“Ha. Is he telling me to come in person?”

“…”

The secretary shifted his eyes, observing Lyle’s anger. As a Beta, he could not empathize with the pheromone problems of Alphas and Omegas, but he knew well the sight of his boss suffering. Thus, he also knows how important a contract to find an Omega is.

However, the Haejin he met in person looked too different from the one he saw five years ago. That pitifully thin and darkened face clearly showed that the past five years had not been easy. To make matters worse, had he not recently heard the news of his parents’ passing late while being with Lyle?

While looking over the contract in his hand again, the secretary fell into thought. Of course, even considering all those events, these conditions were undoubtedly a very tempting proposal. It reached a point where he had to double-check with Lyle, who gave the direct order, whether he had misheard him for the first time in a long while.

Even so, Haejin seemed to have no lingering attachments. No, more than that, it truly seemed as though no desire remained in Haejin.

“Are you going to go yourself?”

“…No. Look for another Omega.”

“This time, I will look for an underdog type.”

“Fine.”

Naturally, his arrogant superior was not the type of person to fall for such a push-and-pull tactic. If Haejin was thinking so naively, it would be a useless effort.

The secretary, judging that his superior’s Omega phobia, which flared up like a seizure, had simply become more difficult, looked for an underdog Omega with faint pheromones this time. Naturally, even if some conditions were removed, there were plenty of applicants.

However, Lyle could not overcome his repulsion this time either. The secretary, watching from the side, felt the matter was a bit serious. This was because the intensity of the repulsion seemed to be gradually getting stronger.

In the end, Lyle could not help but walk with his own feet to the place where Haejin was staying.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

“Jin. Open the door.”

Now the sound of knocking on the door grew loud enough to echo through the room. Haejin exhaled a sigh and approached the door.

When he opened the door, Lyle was indeed standing outside.

“…”

“…”

When their eyes met suddenly, Lyle momentarily lost his words. Even though it had only been less than two weeks, it felt like it had been a very long time since he last saw him.

Because there was absolutely nothing inside Haejin’s pupils, to the point of being transparent, Lyle was actually flustered.

Wasn’t seeing me come in person what you wanted?

“What is the matter?”

Lyle, who had knocked violently on the door yet did not say a single word, was strange. Only after Haejin asked calmly did he put strength back into his eyes. The unpleasantness he had forgotten begins to well up.

“Why won’t you do the contract?”

“Because I do not want to.”

“…”