NAME 44

“…”

His lower body remained in contact with Seowon’s crotch. His desire, which had swelled to a threatening size, pressed down from Seowon’s groin to his thighs. The space between his buttocks, craving the Alpha, repeated a cycle of opening and closing as if breathing. All the while, his damp underwear wedged between his cheeks, causing Seowon to squeeze his eyes shut. He resented his own body for being so desperate to receive him.

“Please move.”

From his hoarse throat came a sound mixed with a metallic rasp and a groan. Seowon turned his head away, avoiding the gaze looking down at him. He was on edge, fearing the man might pounce again instead of moving.

“Fine, today isn’t the only day anyway.”

Muttering those words, Baek Kanghyun slowly withdrew his body. Huuu, he exhaled deeply and swept back his disheveled hair.

Seowon kept his mouth firmly shut and slowly steadied his breathing. The pheromones had quieted down, but his body was still hot. His entire scalp tingled as if he had just pulled his head out of a fiery pit.

“Then, shall we finish the conversation we were having earlier?”

“What conversation?”

Seowon glared at him with sharp eyes. However, his rounded eyes, raw and red, only served to further stimulate Baek Kanghyun’s sadistic streak. Saliva pooled beneath his tongue, and his pupils wavered.

“It’s no use pretending not to know. You know what I’m talking about. If you specifically want to hear it from my mouth again, of course, I can do that…”

“That—that’s enough. There’s no need for that.”

To think he had to become pheromone partners with Baek Kanghyun just because of a little drinking game. But since the man even had the recording, there was absolutely no loophole to escape through. If Seowon tried to back out of being partners, he didn’t even have a clue what that crazy Alpha might do.

“It’s best not to think about backing out. An oral contract is still a contract. If I had to categorize it, it’s something like a blank check contract. Isn’t it?”

He wondered if punching that face, so intoxicated with victory, would make him feel any better. He questioned why the man was so obsessed with being his pheromone partner. However, Seowon had no intention of asking why. He expected an answer intended to make his blood boil.

“I have no intention of backing out.”

“Well, that’s a relief then. I tend to hate complicated things too.”

Though trembling with humiliation, Seowon tried to view the situation positively. Since Seowon absolutely had to find a pheromone partner anyway, the situation wasn’t the absolute worst. He just had to maintain the relationship with Baek Kanghyun until his pheromone glands developed enough for suppressants to work. No, he didn’t even want to call it a relationship. This was merely pheromone therapy, nothing more than treatment.

The kiss with Baek Kanghyun too.

The sex too.

“I have conditions instead.”

“Conditions? Like what?”

“I want us to set some promises to keep between partners. Since this is a relationship solely to take advantage of each other, I think there should be some rules. There were rules when I was with Jaehwan too…!”

While he was speaking, Baek Kanghyun suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked it. It was a brutish force that made his upper body stagger. With narrowed eyes, he brought his face right up to Seowon’s and gripped his chin.

“I have zero interest in what you did with that bastard. So, it would be best if you didn’t let that guy’s name out of your mouth.”

Eyes like hidden blades scratched at his face. A hard thumb pressed down on his lower lip. Soon, a thick finger invaded his mouth and pushed down on his tongue. Turning pale, Seowon barely managed to shake off his hand and shouted.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“It means don’t say useless things.”

“Why? It’s all in the past; there’s no need for you to react this sensitively.”

“Comparing me to a measly Alpha like that is offensive in itself.”

Seowon snorted at the comment full of elitism.

“I suppose you think of yourself as someone very special, Team Leader. Is it because you’re a Dominant Alpha?”

After retorting with full sarcasm, he felt refreshed. But then, Baek Kanghyun’s expression suddenly shifted entirely. It was a face looking at something utterly pathetic. Twisting his lips into a sharp diagonal smirk, he poked Seowon’s chest and said lowly.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, you pretended not to be, but it seems you’re actually quite interested in me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How did you know?”

“I said, what?!”

Seowon raised his voice. Staring at Seowon as if he were laughable, he smirked. Then, he pressed his lips close to his ear and whispered.

“That I’m a Dominant. I don’t recall ever mentioning it.”

“Th—that’s…”

Pointed out on a detail he hadn’t considered, Seowon’s mind went blank. He only then realized that the man had never even publicly disclosed the fact that he was an Alpha. Trait information is a private matter, so it’s naturally difficult to know unless the person reveals it themselves. It was just that people with traits recognized each other. Even then, these days, the effect of suppressants is so excellent that sometimes you don’t even know someone has a trait. Except for Seowon, for whom suppressants didn’t work well.

“Why can’t you explain?”

Baek Kanghyun also usually gave off almost no pheromones. Except for when he intentionally emitted them, he was almost like a regular person. It was just that Seowon reacted a bit sensitively to his pheromones.

“I just… said it because I assumed it would be so.”

He had found out the man was a Dominant back in university. It was information that no member of Psykers could possibly be ignorant of at the time. From his uncommon looks and wealth to his personality that acted detached toward everyone. He was superior in everything, not just genetics.

“To say you guessed it, you sounded far too certain.”

“…”

Seowon chose silence rather than adding an explanation. A suffocating silence followed.

“Well, fine. We have to live as partners from now on anyway. It’s better than having no interest.”

“Think whatever you like.”

He swallowed a sigh that was about to escape. Then, Seowon turned his head away to avoid the eyes that wanted to dig through his every detail.

“I want to talk about the rules between partners again.”

“Go ahead and speak first.”

Speaking with a hint of a laugh, he stood crookedly with his arms crossed. It was an arrogant attitude, as if telling him to bark as much as he liked.

“It would be best for us to not touch each other’s private lives.”

“…”

Baek Kanghyun merely tilted his head without an answer.

“If either one of us starts seeing someone seriously, the relationship is to be ended.”

“You mean a lover?”

“Yes.”

Those two were the same rules he had applied when being partners with Jaehwan. Baek Kanghyun didn’t seem to have a different opinion on this part either, as he didn’t add any particular comment.

“In the case of… pheromone exchange.”

Finally, the most important part was mentioned. Baek Kanghyun’s face twisted unpleasantly. Seowon took a short breath to steady himself before speaking.

“It should be done by mutual agreement…”

“Isn’t that a bit difficult?”

Baek Kanghyun cut in abruptly before the sentence was even finished. Then, scanning Seowon’s entire body, he spoke.

“The one who needs pheromones isn’t me, it’s you, Assistant Manager Jeong. I’m just the one providing them. Am I wrong?”

“Ha, but…”

“So, it would be right to give the right of choice regarding pheromone exchange to me at the very least. That would be fair, wouldn’t it?”

It was astounding that he was talking about things like fairness. Hadn’t the relationship between the two of them been tilted to one side from the start anyway? Furthermore, this partnership was by no means happening because Seowon wanted it, so if Baek Kanghyun himself didn’t like it, he could just not do it.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it.”

“It’s troublesome if you act like that. A promise is a promise.”

“Then what do you want me to do?!”

Seowon ended up shouting. This man apparently had a special skill for provoking Seowon’s anger.

“It seems Assistant Manager Jeong feels it’s unfair for only me to have the right of choice…”

His gaze was drawn to the man’s lips. He was worried about what kind of bomb would come out of that mouth.

“It would be best to do it if even just one of the two wants to.”

“That sounds to me like I also have the right of choice.”

“Exactly.”

After answering clearly, the man smiled brightly at Seowon. Ah—a small sigh escaped through his parted lips. It was that smile that had made Seowon fall for him a long time ago.