Marriage Mate:41

The strong scent of mint filled his nose. The sound of wet lips brushing together tickled his ears. At the same time, the pheromones of the two, heightened as if about to explode, began to intertwine thickly.

This was probably the best method for matching pheromones in a short period—his words had been right. Yu-young thought so as he slowly closed his eyes.

A hot tongue delved deep inside his mouth. It was even bolder than when they had kissed at the hotel before. Yet, the gentle and meticulous consideration remained the same. Though Do-won kissed him without hesitation, he never treated him carelessly.

“Haa… mmph.”

Breathless, Yu-young weakly pushed against Do-won’s shoulder with hazy eyes. At the slightest movement, Do-won obediently pulled back. But the moment their gazes met—Yu-young looking up at him with a flushed face—Do-won leaned in once more and captured his lips.

Yu-young, barely regaining his breath, refused to back down. He grabbed the collar of Do-won’s shirt with both hands and pulled him closer. Just because Do-won was an Alpha and he was an Omega didn’t mean he would let him take the lead in everything. He had been the one to suggest this first. That meant he wanted to face Do-won as equals.

As Yu-young responded provocatively, the kiss naturally deepened. Their hot breaths mingled, and the air in the room became increasingly dense. His slightly trembling hands, which had been gripping Do-won’s shirt, soon found their way behind his neck. Meanwhile, Do-won held Yu-young, who clung to him, in a gentle embrace.

‘Just from kissing… it’s already like this? This might be a bit dangerous…’

As the kiss continued, Yu-young thought with a flushed face. His body was heating up like a pre-warmed iron, and he could feel the heightened sensitivity of certain areas. Just as he started to tremble slightly, Do-won’s firm and heated body suddenly pulled away.

“…Let’s stop here for today.”

Do-won wiped Yu-young’s lips with the hand that had been supporting the back of his head. His tone was the same as when he told his team members to wrap up their work. The only difference was the unmistakable desire flickering in his eyes, despite the strict composure he maintained.

“It seems to be working.”

Do-won murmured in a low voice. As he said, the pheromones filling the room were undeniably different from usual. Before, they had been like oil and water, refusing to mix. But now, while maintaining their distinct scents, they blended harmoniously.

“…Yes. This should be enough.”

Yu-young forced his voice to remain steady. Unlike Do-won, who had already regained his usual calm expression, his own gaze kept drifting to Do-won’s lips, still glistening with saliva.

Come to think of it, he had wiped my lips, but he didn’t wipe his own.

As Yu-young absentmindedly stared at his face, he impulsively reached out and touched him. His palm softly brushed over Do-won’s damp lips, wiping them clean.

For a brief moment, Do-won’s eyes wavered.

“…….”

“…….”

Yu-young had expected him to immediately scold him with a “What are you doing?” But Do-won said nothing. He only gazed at him with a depth that sent a chill down his spine.

‘What the hell am I doing?!’

Snapping back to his senses, Yu-young panicked and tried to pull his hand away. But at that instant, Do-won caught it. His large palm wrapped around Yu-young’s wrist, his warmth and pulse radiating intensely through his skin.

At that moment, the trembling sensation that had been unsettling Yu-young from earlier suddenly intensified with a heavy thud. His eyes widened instinctively. He didn’t know why he felt so flustered, but one thing was certain—this couldn’t go on.

“Wait… Team Leader…!”

Almost crying out, Yu-young shook off Do-won’s hand. Surprisingly, his wrist was released without any resistance.

“…….”

“…….”

An awkward silence settled between them. Uncertain if he could meet Do-won’s gaze, Yu-young fixed his eyes somewhere near his shoulder. He hesitated before stammering, “Then… I’ll be going now.”

But before he could finish, Do-won spoke first.

“Good work. See you at the office tomorrow.”

His tone was cold and formal to the extreme. Hearing it, Yu-young bit his lower lip. He gave a small nod, turned around, and bolted out of Do-won’s apartment.

It took only a few seconds to reach his apartment right in front of him. Bursting into his bedroom in a daze, Yu-young collapsed onto his familiar and cozy bed, clutching his wildly pounding chest.

His heart, which had been tightly wound with tension, felt as if it had suddenly been released from its bindings. Yet, at the same time, a slow, creeping sense of humiliation and bitterness seeped in, making Yu-young exhale sharply into his blanket.

‘What a bastard. I mean, we kissed…’

He had never expected to be treated like a cherished lover. So it wasn’t as if he had wished for a tender farewell at the door. It was just that the contrast annoyed him. He had been so affectionate during the physical contact, yet the moment the kiss ended, he switched back to a strictly professional demeanor as if cutting it off with a knife.

Do-won hadn’t done anything wrong. He hadn’t forced himself on him, acted inappropriately, or tried to linger unnecessarily. He had held his wrist briefly, but when Yu-young asked him to let go, he had immediately complied. And yet, for some reason, it still left him with an inexplicable feeling.

But more than that, what frustrated him even more was his own reaction.

His heart was racing at an absurd pace. He had no idea what the problem was, when it had started, or why this was happening. He was just the team leader, after all. Just a workplace superior—so why…?

“It’s because of the kiss… It must be.”

That had to be it. Muttering desperately to himself, Yu-young rushed to the bathroom. He had already brushed his teeth earlier, but he grabbed his toothbrush again, squeezed out a generous amount of toothpaste, and scrubbed furiously. Then he splashed cold water onto his face.

It wasn’t that he found what had just happened repulsive or dirty. It was just that the intense scent of mint from the kiss, the musky fragrance of his body, the warmth of the hands that had embraced him so gently, and the feel of his neck as he had clung to him—those sensations still seemed to linger all over his body. And for someone with absolutely no immunity to such things, Yu-young wanted nothing more than to scrub them away.

This was strange. More than that, it was dangerous.

‘Get a grip. Choi Do-won and I… this is just business!’

Wiping his face with a towel, Yu-young reminded himself as he stepped out of the bathroom. They were only in this temporary arrangement for mutual benefit. At the end of the day, Do-won was still his boss.

More importantly, from the very first meeting, Do-won had been an alpha who looked down on him with undisguised contempt. And Yu-young had never, not even in his wildest dreams, considered forming a deep connection with an alpha. Even now, the moment the kiss had ended, he had immediately reverted to that authoritative attitude. It was entirely inappropriate for Yu-young to be feeling this kind of turmoil over him.

‘I just need to sleep.’

Hugging his pillow, he reached for the photo book on his bedside shelf. The book cover was smooth and worn from frequent handling. Flipping through the pages carefully, Yu-young tried to focus on the photographs.

Come to think of it, the last time this photographer had released a photo book was two years ago. Given how sporadic his work was, that wasn’t an unusually long hiatus, but still… Yu-young really wanted to see something new from him. If he did release another book, he would do whatever it took to get his hands on it.

As he turned the pages with careful fingers, he gradually lay down. This time of day—lying in bed with a photo book in hand—was usually Yu-young’s favorite part of the day.

Normally, it would have been the most relaxing moment. But for some reason, despite wearing his favorite pajamas and holding his favorite book, he couldn’t seem to calm down.

Instead, it felt like his insides were fizzing like a shaken-up soda bottle, bubbling with an unknown emotion.

‘I just need to forget about it and go to sleep… How am I supposed to keep doing this until Saturday?’

Contrary to that thought, Yu-young kept tossing and turning. Rolling from one end of the bed to the other, he sighed deeply.

This wasn’t going to work. Something about this felt… too dangerous.

“The location. That’s the problem.”

Mumbling to himself, he hugged his pillow tighter. Maybe the issue was doing this in such an intimate and comfortable space. Starting tomorrow, he needed to suggest meeting somewhere else. With that decision made, he forced his eyes shut, trying to will himself to sleep.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Good morning, Team Leader.”

“Good morning, Yu-young.”

In reality, it was far from a good morning. After greeting Do-won, Yu-young rubbed his exhausted eyes with his palm.

He had no idea why, even after deciding that his feelings had been caused by the location, he had still felt so restless last night. If he had sorted out his thoughts neatly, he should have fallen asleep easily. And yet, for some reason, his heart had kept pounding, and he had felt unsettled.

So he had tossed and turned until dawn. No matter how much he slathered on his best lotion, his sleep-deprived skin still looked dull and dry.

‘Why is it just me…?’

Yu-young secretly glared at Do-won, who looked as composed as ever, and sighed. Did that man even have emotions? Was he some kind of cold-blooded creature whose heart rate didn’t even budge from something like a kiss?

‘…But he did look at me differently yesterday.’

Even as he resented how unaffected Do-won seemed, Yu-young couldn’t forget that moment from last night. When he had instinctively wiped Do-won’s lips, and Do-won had grabbed his wrist. And the way he had looked at him then—slightly different from usual.

Why had he grabbed his wrist?

Yu-young was lost in thought when—

“Assistant Manager!”

A soft nudge on his shoulder accompanied by a cup of coffee being thrust in front of him snapped him back to reality.