DHG Ch 35

Even without the two arms blocking him like that day, Heewoo couldn’t escape. Lips descended towards him, trapped within the shadow that enveloped him, just like that dawn. On his forehead, his cheek, the bridge of his nose. 

peck, peck 

They touched with a ticklish sound.

Jang Seungyung smiled as he pressed his lips against the round tip of Heewoo’s nose.

He had only thought of Kwon Heewoo while they were apart. He was so frustrated from not seeing this face that he almost flipped Chairman Jang’s office. He hadn’t been able to find a moment free, but thankfully his lunch appointment today fell apart due to the other party’s circumstances. That was the reason for this unexpected visit to Beni.

He had planned to catch up on some paperwork and wait since the employees would still be asleep, but who knew Kwon Heewoo would be up early like a diligent bird? Jang Seungyung continued to kiss him, his hands clasped behind his back, then spoke in what he considered a cautious voice to the silent face.

“I don’t smell like alcohol anymore.”

He touched their foreheads. He whispered, gently rubbing the tip of his nose against Heewoo’s soft nose as if to say, check for yourself. As if the reason Kwon Heewoo had refused the kiss before was because of the smell of alcohol. As if now, with that condition removed, there was no problem.

“So, can I suck on your lips?”

“…….”

Heewoo remained silent. It would be more accurate to say he couldn’t answer. At some point, he had started staring at the man in front of him.

It wasn’t the alcohol that made him avoid the kiss that dawn. Unlike other sexual acts, kissing….

“Huh? I’m going to do it.”

The man urged and declared simultaneously, fiercely exploiting the gap in the moment of conflict and hesitation. Their lips met.

Perhaps because there were no words of permission, at first, only light peck, peck sounds echoed over their lips. Occasionally, the rustling sound of plastic accompanied Jang Seungyung’s movements.

Jang Seungyung continued to kiss him, hands still clasped behind his back. As if nibbling on something soft and delicious, he gently nipped and sucked on Kwon Heewoo’s lips and breath. Then, sensing a slight parting, he paused. He slowly pressed their lips together and sucked, sighing, “I’m going crazy.”

I’m really going crazy.

It was the first time he had tasted these lips in almost a month. He vaguely remembered touching himself and cumming in his hand that drunken night, but the memories of that dawn were hazy, frustrating enough to make him jump. Anyway, fragmented memories like that couldn’t compare to this kiss.

Jang Seungyung was now deeply engrossed. Every time Kwon Heewoo parted his lips slightly, the hours he had slaved away dealing with the Taegang aftermath seemed to vanish. Nothing else mattered. Except for this cautious flesh finally entwined with the tip of his tongue.

“Nn…”

At the faintest escaping sound, Jang Seungyung gripped the plastic bag in his hand as if he would tear it apart. He wanted to grab Kwon Heewoo, thrust his tongue in, suck on the throat that made the sound, but he held back, afraid this barely-there moment would flee.

However, he couldn’t help but push him against the wall as if to trap him, and he couldn’t help but start pouring pheromones all over his body.

With each entanglement of their tongues, pheromones progressively poured out. The intense exhilaration expressed itself through pheromones. It didn’t matter that the other person was a Beta and couldn’t read pheromones. He released them, imbued with the feelings of, you’re beautiful, I’m crazy about you.

And only Heewoo, unwittingly, read those feelings that Jang Seungyung himself wasn’t even aware of.

Heewoo blushed crimson as he mindlessly accepted the hot, thick tongue. Even though pheromones were called the second language of those with secondary genders, unless they were text, not every emotion could be accurately conveyed. However, the feeling that this Alpha was overwhelmed with affection for him was clear.

A kiss that felt like being loved.

Like real lovers.

“…Nn.”

He moaned, continuously dealing with the hot tongue and lips. To Heewoo, kissing was an act between lovers. Especially the kiss he had shared with this man just once before felt even more so.

That’s why he had avoided it that night.

He felt that if he shared such an emotionally charged act, one that transcended mere sexual pleasure, his feelings for the man would become even more uncontrollable. Just like now.

“Hnn, mm….”

“Hah…”

Heewoo almost lost himself in the low breaths that spilled over his lips as they delved into them. He definitely would have, if not for the sudden, subtle pain.

His closed eyelids fluttered open with difficulty. Confusion began to creep into the dark eyes that had been swirling with arousal.

Somewhere beneath his skin throbbed. He had experienced this pain before. The day the drunken Jang Seungyung had visited, his body temperature had dropped, and after the man left, his whole body had ached. Like a sudden sour taste causing a sharp ache in his salivary glands, it was a pain as if tiny, unnoticed pores all over his body were opening.

Heewoo suddenly realized what this pain was.

‘You may experience pain when your pheromone glands start to reactivate.’

The advice from the doctor at the general hospital who first diagnosed his symptoms. Those words washed over him like cold water.

No. He finally pushed Jang Seungyung away. Thankfully, the man understood as Heewoo turned his head to avoid the kiss, repeatedly hiding his face filled with bewilderment and fear, just like before.

“Why?”

Jang Seungyung, his brow furrowed, questioned in a voice that barely masked his agitation. If he had followed his instincts, he would have kissed Kwon Heewoo again, regardless of his fidgeting. His hot hand gripped Heewoo’s slender wrist tightly.

Heewoo, barely managing to compose his expression, looked up again. Even now, he found the Alpha’s appearance beautiful, despite the man’s habit of showering him with pheromones, constantly looking, touching, kissing, and suddenly appearing to stir his heart without ever explaining his actions.

Beautiful enough to make him think foolishly that it might be okay if his Omega status was revealed.

He avoided eye contact, afraid of being swept away again. He gently pushed away the hand holding him. He hated having to push the man away.

Why did he lose himself? He shouldn’t have kissed him. Embarrassment turned to regret, regret to self-reproach.

“It’s nothing.”

“…….”

“I’m just… tired.”

He trailed off, taking the cleaning supplies from Jang Seungyung’s other hand. His lowered body temperature was rapidly rising again. The precursory symptoms of pheromone reaction drove Heewoo into a state of urgency.

“Goodbye.”

In the end, he had no choice but to blurt it out and flee.

Jang Seungyung was left standing alone in the corridor where Heewoo had disappeared.

With an impassive face, he loosened his tie. He opened his mouth slightly, relaxing the jaw he had clenched tight, the muscles standing out as he uncharacteristically suppressed the urge to be rough.

Rejected again.

In the cold silence, the contours of his face slowly distorted. Jang Seungyung raised the hand that had touched Kwon Heewoo and pressed it against his temple. Something was throbbing as if about to explode.

A frustrated sigh finally escaped through his clenched teeth.

✮⋆˙

It was near the end of January, after the blizzard had subsided, that one of the large men who had been guarding the establishment since Beni’s reopening in September, nicknamed Lightning, voiced a subtle complaint.

“At first, you clearly said three months. I’m not a nightclub tout, what the…!”

Lightning grumbled. He had just returned from putting the used calcium chloride bags and shovel in the MDF room because of the annoyingly swirling snowflakes.

A month of the new year had already passed. It meant he had been working security for a nightclub for almost half a year. He often heard the teasing remarks from the headquarters guys saying, “Those guys are having it easy,” since they barely had anything to do, but Lightning felt differently.

Getting comfortable with this uneventful routine… it wasn’t like him, a man born with dreams of a life of adventure, who had joined Jang Seungyung’s ranks.

On the other hand, Hornet, who had been working alongside him for the past six months, sharing the same hardships and carrying out the mission, seemed to have a different perspective.

“A tout? So, was what you were doing under Big Door Clan’s Woo-dool, selling gum?”

He had finally voiced his complaint after much deliberation, and his colleague was giving him flak. He was even being petty enough to bring up his dark past, his former affiliation, and job description. Hornet shrugged as Lightning cringed.

“It’s nice and peaceful, man. My mom’s been sleeping soundly these days. Her son, who used to barely scrape by through gangster shit, is now subcontracted to a corporation.”

“Hey! You weren’t a gum-selling bastard like me, you grew up under the boss from the start, without any ‘connections’–”

“Oh, those damn ‘connections,’ ‘connections.’ Do ‘connections’ get you a job? Do they get you health insurance?”

Hornet cut Lightning off.

“And, huh? That boss you’re talking about has been a director at Geumsan for a while now, you know? How long are you going to keep playing gangster? If you want to cause so much trouble, just leave!”

A kick flew. Lightning brushed off his suit irritably as Hornet’s boot left a gray dust mark. He changed the subject, not wanting to admit that Hornet had a point.

“You should stop drinking with Pyo Mingeon, man! And I heard you badmouthed him pretty badly too? If the director finds out, he’ll deal with you.”

“That bastard is headquarters material, that’s what. The director keeps an eye on him. The guy is quick-witted, maybe because he’s young…”

“Well, a bastard with no ‘connections’ should at least be quick-witted!”

Lightning nitpicked and shouted. His voice echoed between the pillars of the empty parking lot. “Hey, don’t badmouth our future junior.” Hornet, who had been clicking his tongue, suddenly sharpened his gaze.

Screech. A car entered, crunching over the calcium chloride scattered on the driveway. The radio crackled.

—Boss.

A short message arrived from their colleague managing the entrance booth at the parking lot.