NAME 33

When the memories of the man’s body—filled with dark desires as he rifled through his interior—came rushing back, Seowon’s shoulders hunched reflexively.

“I’m telling you just in case you’re curious, because if Assistant Manager Jeong is curious, I’m perfectly willing to tell you.”

“… .”

“Let me tell you in advance: it definitely wasn’t by force.”

Seowon thought about screaming at him, but chose instead to keep his mouth shut. He was far too exhausted, both in body and mind, to argue with this man. Having no desire other than to kick the man out of his house and collapse as soon as possible, he looked at Baek Kanghyun and pointed toward the door.

“Get out, please.”

“I stayed behind on purpose because I thought we might have things to talk about, and you’re telling me to go?”

“Let’s talk later. Right now I… want to rest.”

Seowon barely managed to speak before clutching his stomach. His entire lower abdomen began to throb with stinging pain. A chill ran down his back and sweat poured out; his physical condition was clearly not normal. His head spun as if he might lose consciousness at any moment, and he even felt a wave of nausea.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, what’s wrong?”

But instead of leaving, Baek Kanghyun lowered himself to sit in front of Seowon. Not wanting to show his wretched state, Seowon buried his face in the blanket. However, Baek Kanghyun wouldn’t allow it; he grabbed Seowon’s chin and forced it up.

“Let go of me… .”

“Assistant Manager Jeong, your face looks terrible. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”

It was laughable that the man who was the very culprit behind his current state was worrying about him. If he looked that bad, he should have at least cleaned him up properly. To dare show concern after leaving him abandoned while he was unconscious—it wasn’t even funny.

Seowon furrowed his brow deeply and pushed him. Of course, he had no strength in his hands, so Baek Kanghyun didn’t budge.

“I’m fine, so let go of me.”

“Do you know what you look like right now? You’re barely breathing; you look exactly like a corpse, so what do you mean!”

Anger flared up so hot that the back of his neck felt scorched. Seowon shook off his hand with all his might and glared at Baek Kanghyun as he spoke.

“It’s! Because of! You!”

That shout seemed to be the last of Seowon’s strength. Suddenly, his vision spun. Seowon, swaying for a moment, collapsed right there and lost consciousness.

Baek Kanghyun reflexively caught and shook the collapsing Seowon, who had gone out like a blown fuse, and shouted.

“Assistant Manager Jeong? Assistant Manager Jeong! Wake up! Hey!”

“… .”

After the time of passion had ended, Baek Kanghyun had intended to roughly tidy Seowon’s body and just leave. However, his pale complexion had weighed on his mind, so he had waited with the intention of leaving only after seeing him wake up—but then this happened.

Baek Kanghyun forced down the blanket wrapped around Seowon’s body. Something was soaking out from between his legs. Because the color was a light pink, looking as though it were mixed with blood, Baek Kanghyun’s heart sank. Then, as he saw Seowon’s deathly pale face and parched lips, the hair on his head stood on end.

“Damn it… .”

He thought he had handled the cleanup to some extent, but for things to be in this shape.

Bright red bruises were stamped like brands on his pale cheeks. Looking at his body closely again, there wasn’t a single spot left unharmed. They were all traces he had made himself. It was the first time he had seen a person turned into such a wreck, so Baek Kanghyun’s thoughts momentarily came to a halt. Then, seeing Seowon’s hand thud onto the floor, he snapped back to his senses.

“First, the hospital. Right, the hospital… .”

Without even thinking of calling 119, Baek Kanghyun wrapped Seowon back up in the blanket and ran outside. He hurried to find his car, laid him in the passenger seat, and started the engine. Only the thought that he had to get to a hospital, that he had to see a doctor as soon as possible, dominated him. He took out his mobile phone and hurriedly called someone.

“Doctor, it’s me. I need you to come to my house right now. It’s an emergency.”

The hand starting the car trembled violently. He glanced at Seowon lying in the back seat and then gritted his teeth.

Damn it, I didn’t intend for it to be like this. Why is this… .

‘He just won’t listen, as usual.’

He had been compliant during sex, but now, even while dying, he refused to listen to him. A strange guy—no, it wasn’t just Jeong Seowon who was strange. He himself was certainly strange too. Why did Jeong Seowon keep bothering him? Could it be because he liked him?

‘There’s no way. Why would I… for someone like that… .’

He was an omega with nothing special about him. His looks and pheromones were all just average. On top of that, having a separate alpha pheromone partner, he didn’t even care about Baek Kanghyun. To that Jeong Seowon, why am I… .

‘Damn it.’

Even now, there would be dozens of omegas who would drop everything and run if he just called. Right, maybe the fact that Jeong Seowon was on his mind was just a side effect of living a chaste life for a while under the guise of being dedicated to his career. Because Jeong Seowon was the only omega he saw every day. Moreover, he had even tested the waters by occasionally leaking pheromones at him.

After drawing a conclusion he could accept, Baek Kanghyun gave a bitter laugh.

“Eung… .”

Just then, Seowon made a moaning sound. Relieved by that small sound, Baek Kanghyun gently pressed the accelerator.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

When Seowon opened his eyes, the surroundings were very dark. All he could see in his pitch-black vision was an unfamiliar ceiling; at the same time, he felt a foreign sensation in one arm.

What is it? Seowon fumbled at his arm. There was the rough texture of tape and a subtle sensation: an IV needle. One connected to a tube, at that.

‘Is it a hospital…?’

It was too dark to be a hospital, and the air felt a bit different. He couldn’t smell the characteristic scent of a hospital, and the temperature felt warm. Perhaps because of the IV fluids, his physical condition had improved. His mouth wasn’t dry and his eyelids moved easily. He even tried wiggling his legs, and except for the aching between his thighs and groin, he was okay. Above all, he liked that the unpleasant sensation he had felt between his buttocks was completely gone.

What happened? Earlier, Baek Kanghyun clearly… .

<It’s because of you!>

As he remembered shouting that at him and then fainting, he suddenly got goosebumps.

Seowon jerked upright, and just then, the surroundings brightened. The pheromones permeating the unfamiliar space were familiar. He didn’t even have to look at the man standing askew in the doorway to know. To know where this was.

“What happened?”

“… .”

The man was dressed in more comfortable clothing than when he had seen him at his house earlier. Wearing navy cotton pants and a gray knit sweater, he leaned against the doorframe and stared at Seowon. Then, he walked toward Seowon at a slow pace.

Seowon straightened his shoulders, which had slumped unconsciously. His cleared mind was shouting that there was no need to be intimidated by him.

“How’s your body?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking how your body is.”

Seowon hesitated without answering immediately. Aside from the marks stamped all over his body, his condition was almost too fine. His mind was clear like an autumn sky, and regardless of his fatigue, his physical state itself wasn’t bad.

There was no lingering unpleasantness in his body, but his heart felt considerably uneasy. He had said it was absolutely not allowed—he had vowed that no matter who else it was, he would never have sex with this man—yet he had slept with him. And quite intensely, at that.

<Faster, hurry… .>

Memories of the heat cycle were like a dream, with some parts blurred and others excessively vivid. And the one memory vivid to Seowon now was the image of himself wrapping his own legs around him and begging for insertion. The image of himself feeling euphoria while receiving the pouring pheromones was clear.

‘I’ve truly gone crazy… .’

“It’s not bad.”

“I’ll take that as meaning it’s good.”

Baek Kanghyun gave a smirk. He picked up the water and medicine placed on the nightstand and held them out to Seowon. Seowon took them reflexively and asked.

“What is this?”

“Plan B.”

“…!”

“Since the situation was what it was, I couldn’t use contraception. The doctor said you should take it as soon as possible.”

Seowon quickly put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp. Even if the probability of him getting pregnant approached zero, there was always that one-in-a-million chance. To think he couldn’t even use the condoms he had bothered to buy. Then again, Baek Kanghyun was never the type to care about contraception. Both in the past, and now.

“By the way, Assistant Manager Jeong, your physical condition was a complete mess. Are you eating properly? The doctor said it’s a relief you didn’t end up malnourished. Your pheromone state isn’t particularly good either.”

“… .”

“I don’t know what you’ve been doing to make your body such a wreck, but keep it in moderation and take care of yourself. You’ll be in your thirties soon.”

Words that were neither clearly concern nor criticism poured from his mouth. Seowon emptied the remaining water in the cup in one go and stood up abruptly. As the red stamps densely marking the space between his thighs caught his eye, he was reminded of the man’s greedy gaze as he had chewed on every inch of his body.