PIA 37

Ji-an was only able to be alone after a bandage that was much larger than the wound was firmly attached to his forehead. Ji-an entered the room and threw himself on the bed. The torn wound, which was less than 5mm, throbbed painfully.

“I’m already tired… ”

With such discomfort, could this even be called a home? From the seated position to lying down; there wasn’t a single comfortable spot, almost as if he was in a dungeon. It was even cold and unsettling.

Lifting his head, Ji-an checked the room’s thermostat, which showed perfect temperature and humidity. He wondered why it felt so cold, and then realized it was because of the handkerchief he was holding. The pheromones that had filled the hotel room with Jeong Hee-seo’s scent were not present here.

Ji-an took out his phone from his bag. There has been no contact from Jeong Hee-seo yet. Maybe it was just his mood that made him feel a little lonely…

He had to endure what lay ahead, despite the fact that the path was long and arduous, but the instant he resolved not to think about being weak, a voice appeared as if giving him medicine.

―Looks good. Even though you were ignoring my advice.

“…”

Ji-an was furious, but since he had nothing to say, he kept his mouth shut. As if reading Ji-an’s thoughts, the voice continued to speak to him.

―Why is it that when people defy the predetermined path, life becomes so tiresome and things start falling apart?

“…There is no such thing as a predetermined path.”

The only thing Ji-an could come up with as a refutation was the obvious.

―If you go down such a rough path, I can’t help but feel sorry for you.”

“Do you really?”

Ji-an tightly held Jeong Hee-seo’s handkerchief, which had lost all of its pheromones due to the smell of his own blood.  It seemed unlikely that he would find comfort in this dungeon-like home in the future.

He wondered if he would be able to sleep tonight at all.

* * *

After sending Ji-an home, Jeong Hee-seo continued to stay in the hotel for several days. Secretary Yoon, who was in charge of a lot of work nearby, and his family, found this behavior very strange, but Jeong Hee-seo himself did not think deeply about why he was doing it. Not until now.

The spacious drawing room was extremely empty.

For workaholic Jeong Hee-seo, the hotel desk was uncomfortable. Unlike the family home, where servants provided meals and snacks regularly, having to order room service or go out for even a simple meal was terribly inconvenient.

Every piece of furniture that didn’t suit his taste irritated him. Especially the uncomfortable chairs that focused solely on design without any functionality..

Jeong Hee-seo was sitting crookedly with his hands on his temples, absentmindedly scratching the laptop’s trackpad. His expression reflected on the dark screen was expressionless.

[ Yoon Woo-young: Sir, what should we do about the house you looked at? The real estate agent has contacted us.]

A message flashed at the bottom of the screen. Jeong Hee-seo’s expression, which seemed to be looking somewhere beyond the monitor, subtly changed. At the same time as he was interrupted from what he was thinking, the topic that Secretary Yoon brought up was closely related to his concerns.

“…”

After a momentary pause, Jeong Hee-seo opened a chat window and told Secretary Yoon to proceed with the purchase without change.

[ Yoon Woo-young: How should we inform the interior design company about the schedule? ]

“Hmm…”

Life, which was once simple, began to become complicated. Since the person he wanted to spend time with was gone, it became difficult to make decisions. Should he order according to his own taste to live alone? He wasn’t that enthusiastic.

Jeong Hee-seo did not reply to Secretary Yoon, but rested his chin on his hand and was lost in thought.

‘You seem like a person who doesn’t have any worries.’

That being said, now he was wasting time fretting over buying a house alone.

‘Hyung-nim, there’s never been a time when something didn’t go your way, right?’

He had thought so, and he thought it was easy this time too, but it wasn’t.

Was it because Seo Ji-an is young, or was it because he was born that way? Or maybe it was just typical of people his age. Thinking about it, even if he recalled his own childhood or Jeong Han-joo’s, it wasn’t quite like that.

Ji-an had an unusually innocent and naive side, as well as a sloppy and humble side. It was amusing to see him try to hide his interest and curiosity with his innocent eyes. It was absurd how he had already done everything with him but still seemed unbelievably shy.

There was a time when Jeong Hee-seo deliberately tried to make eye contact because he was stimulated by the fact that Ji-an kept trying to run away. Gripping Ji-an’s puffy cheeks with one hand and turning his face towards him, the two glass-like eyeballs rolled outward as if trying to escape.

‘Hyung-nim. I’m fine. There is no need for pheromones to this extent.’

‘Are you sure it’s okay? Why can’t you look me in the eye? Don’t lie and tell me what you want.’

‘I’m really fine. The meal was delicious. Really.’

‘I just want to make sure you’re okay.’

Even to himself, he seemed unbelievably childish in constantly provoking the kid. The more Ji-an tried to escape from his embrace, the more it subtly irritated Jeong Hee-seo.

He wondered what it would be like when Ji-an hit a dead end and there’s no way to escape. Like a captured herbivore, it would obediently relax its shoulders and let its body hang down. When their eyes met, a strange thrill would run down his spine as he scrutinized every detail.

He had tried hard to read Ji-an’s expressions during their time together. It felt strange to see himself doing that.

‘Hyung-nim, I like it when you help me only as much as I need.’

Even at a glance, he could see that Ji-an was trying to hide his feelings.

‘Is that so? Why? Is that really what you want?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What if I say I want something different?’

‘…’

Whenever Jeong Hee-seo tried to say something, Ji-an would not be able to answer right away. He acted like a shy teenager. It was childlike to try to keep a firm expression while his white ears subtly turned red. Ji-an wasn’t even aware that the edges of his plump lips and the bridge of his nose were twitching cutely.

His large, round eyes, with their thick lashes casting shadows, made it hard to tell what he was thinking. The distinct philtrum below his nose made him want to touch his lips every time he saw it.

And what about the pheromones? Just by entering a club where Alphas gather, they will swarm around him like flies.

All Ji-an’s actions subtly aroused people’s competitiveness…

Jeong Hee-seo realized that Ji-an sometimes looked at him with warm eyes. There were times when he realized that even though he looked, he wasn’t aware of what he was doing. When asked why, he would be startled and then quickly hide his expression and laugh awkwardly, saying it was because Hyungnim was handsome.

He was a strange fellow. There were many differences between the Seo Ji-an he knew and this one.

Jeong Hee-seo picked up his cell phone and called Secretary Yoon.

“Secretary Yoon. It was when it was our founding anniversary. Are you sure Seo Ji-an didn’t know that Han-joo and I had switched rooms?”

-Yes. That day, Assistant Manager Jeong personally asked me to change rooms and said he would be using it with his lover… This is something only the four of us, including his lover, know.

“We still haven’t found out who put the aphrodisiac in the champagne.”

-Yes. We thoroughly questioned all the staff, but there were many external catering staff members that day, as well as interns and short-term part-time workers, so there was too much confusion in everyone’s memories. As a result, nothing specific has been determined.

According to what Secretary Yoon said, it was a situation where they didn’t even know if the person who brought the champagne into the room was an official staff member or not. Rut inducers were uncommon drugs.

Typically, dominant Alphas rarely have reproductive issues, so it had a reputation for being used as a substitute for narcotics due to its powerful effects. The fact that such an item had entered through unknown means was enough to send shivers down one’s spine. And to think it happened in a 5-star hotel, no less.

“If my sister found out, there would be an uproar.”

-Shall we formally notify her and request cooperation?”

“No. Stop. Let’s just cover that part for now. Hold off on the interior design company as well.”

-Understood.

A strange expression appeared on Jeong Hee-seo’s face after he hung up the phone.

When Jeong Hee-seo first found out that he had been subjected to a rut induction drug through a test after spending the night with Seo Ji-an, Jeong Hee-seo immediately realized that he wasn’t the target of the perpetrator. He and Seo Ji-an had no connection whatsoever.

Calculating who the culprit might be was easy when considering who they might have targeted. At first, he thought Seo Ji-an was targeting Jeong Han-joo, but looking at his younger brother’s actions and the circumstances so far, it seems that wasn’t the case.

Moreover, after being involved with the kid for about two weeks, Jeong Hee-seo began to think that the pregnant Seo Ji-an might also be a victim. How on earth did this happen, and who did this and for what purpose?

And why was he like this, wasting his time with these boring worries?

Jeong Hee-seo, bewildered by his own unusual behavior, stood in front of the refrigerator to fetch some water before narrowing his eyes as he noticed Ji-an’s trace. A round chicken coupon was pasted all over it.

“… He had ordered them a lot over the course of two weeks.”

He has a great appetite, but it was obvious that he would have run out of pheromones by now and was struggling. Just thinking about how miserable Ji-an looked when he was hungry gave him a headache.