MIM 125

He looked like a puppy. Jae-seung ran his fingers through Shin-woo’s hair and lightly tugged on his round ear.

“You need to drop out. I’m not kidding.”

Shin-woo looked unimpressed, as he heard this every time they had sex lately. He didn’t seem to want to linger, so he got up, found his gown, and started making the bed.

“Are you on about that again?”

“I’m serious. Even if it’s not obvious usually, your scent changes when you’re aroused.”

“I’m not going to get aroused at school anyway.”

“How can I focus on studying when I leave you in a place crawling with wolves? The academy is only for Alphas in the first place, and you only enrolled to guard me, so you don’t have to keep going. Be honest. You’re just trying to keep an eye on whether I’m studying properly, aren’t you?”

“If you know that, get an internship next year. Stop worrying about useless things.”

Useless? Jae-seung bristled and raised his head.

“All those Alphas will go crazy if they see you!”

“Even if I go into heat in the middle of campus, that won’t happen.”

Shin-woo didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation, scoffing as he said something terrifying. Shin-woo experiencing heat in the middle of campus. It was a horrifying thought he couldn’t even imagine.

After periodic check-ups with a doctor who knew about the Transformation research, Shin-woo was gradually regaining his original Beta form as the drug’s effects waned over time. Fortunately, the amount of drug administered wasn’t large, so the side effects didn’t seem severe. However, when he was aroused and his body reacted, a faint scent similar to Omega pheromone would emanate, so it wasn’t a completely safe situation.

He even experienced symptoms similar to a heat once. It wasn’t to the point where he lost his mind and had to hole up for days and have sex like Jae-seung’s rut, but there was a time when his sex drive wouldn’t subside even after cumming five times in a row.

“Jokes can become reality, so don’t say scary things. Don’t you remember when you went into heat last time? What if that happens regularly in the future?”

“I told you, I didn’t go into heat.”

The memory of that day remained vivid. He had gone to school without anything special happening, then joined the flower arrangement club together and returned home. It was the first day, so the instructor gave each of the newly joined students a beautiful rose, and Shin-woo looked so cute holding it in his hand the whole time that he bought him a large flower basket as a gift on the way home. It was because he suddenly remembered that the guy had kept withered flowers for years.

As soon as he returned home with his arms full of the overflowing flowers, Shin-woo dragged Jae-seung to the bedroom and pounced on him. He was dragged away in front of all the employees, unable to save face, and couldn’t come out of the room even for dinner. He was captivated by the unusually proactive Shin-woo and lost his mind, but he was also worried. His sex drive was excessively strong, and he was wet like an Omega in heat, so he couldn’t help but think that it must be due to the influence on his form.

The doctor said that it was necessary to closely observe Shin-woo’s condition for at least another year. Bringing him to a school full of Alphas in this situation seemed to worsen his separation anxiety. He couldn’t take his eyes off him for even a moment.

“If it wasn’t heat, what was it? It wasn’t just a strong level.”

Shin-woo was indifferent while Jae-seung was anxious. He shrugged with an unconcerned face.

“I just liked it.”

“Liked what?”

“Dating you.”

Shin-woo fluffed the pillows and put them back in place, then straightened the blanket.

“I’m still not used to it, though.”

After adding that one small word, he deliberately moved busily while looking elsewhere.

It was the first time he had heard the word “dating” from Shin-woo’s mouth. Until now, Jae-seung would confess or constantly ask if they were dating, and Shin-woo would just nod indifferently. He was happy with just that, but when Shin-woo actually said such lovely words, he went crazy. Jae-seung stood firmly in front of Shin-woo, who was heading for the door.

Shin-woo raised his flushed face to meet Jae-seung’s gaze. Jae-seung, who had run out of patience, cupped the back of his round head and pulled him into his arms. He rubbed his lips against his warm temple and stood there quietly.

He was so shaken by just one word, “dating,” so it was natural that Shin-woo wasn’t used to it. They had always been together and had sex before and after they started dating. He only didn’t sleep in the same bed, but Shin-woo had guarded his bedside for a long time. The relationship had changed, and the feelings he felt were different, but superficially, not much had changed.

“We need to sort out our terms of address. Something more like lovers.”

Jae-seung came up with an idea after much deliberation. It was the simplest way to make a change at once.

“‘Dear’ and ‘honey’ are pretty standard.”

“……”

“How about it, dear?”

Shin-woo looked up blankly and then raised the corners of his lips in a smirk. When Jae-seung didn’t smile back, he narrowed his brow seriously.

“…Are you serious?”

“Don’t you like it? Honey.”

“That’s a term of address that’s more appropriate for married couples.”

“So? We’re going to get married anyway.”

Jae-seung tightened his arms around him and pressed his forehead against his as if he were being spoiled. It had been postponed because it hadn’t been long since the funeral, but a grand wedding was planned for the near future. He was aiming for a suitable time to not look like a bastard, as they were planning to hold a grand ceremony that everyone in the Yangtze River would know about.

It had been well over a thousand nights, and his desire to marry hadn’t changed, and Shin-woo hadn’t said anything different, so he naturally assumed they would. Jae-seung stared at Shin-woo, who was silent.

Despite the silent urging, Shin-woo finally smiled without answering. He broke free from Jae-seung’s arms and flung the door open. He had thought he heard small footsteps nearby from a while ago, and as soon as the door opened, Maro ran in.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Even though they had played together until last night, Maro jumped up and down, overjoyed as if he had met his owner after a long time. Shin-woo lifted Maro up and strode down the stairs. The early morning light streamed in from the stairs. The employees who were cleaning downstairs raised their heads one by one and greeted him.

A new house. It felt strange to see Shin-woo naturally blending into the changed scenery. He was happy, but it still felt awkward. He had demolished the existing mansion and built a new house of a suitable size on another piece of land he owned. It was a two-story house with a small garden and pool for Maro to run around in. He reduced unnecessary space and made the necessary space spacious. He brought in two desks so they could use the study together, and he had a large cabinet built to display his block house on one wall.

As the scale was reduced, he also had to lay off employees. That was the last task that Butler Hwang was in charge of. He left the necessary people to do the work and helped the remaining people find new jobs. The gardener and Woo-hee stayed again this time, but Butler Hwang finally decided to retire.

A new beginning wasn’t always easy. He missed Butler Hwang so much that he called him every day for the first week, bothering him. If Shin-woo hadn’t stopped him, he would have begged him to invite him to his house as well. He wasn’t that bad these days, but he still sent him text messages whenever he thought of him.

As he followed Shin-woo down the stairs, he ran into Woo-hee, who was bringing tea to the sofa table. As soon as their eyes met, Woo-hee smiled brightly.

“You’re awake?”

“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”

Jae-seung replied casually and took Maro from Shin-woo’s arms. He pressed his lips firmly against the small head of Maro, who was baring his teeth and growling, and then took them off. The dog, who was disgusted, and Shin-woo, who was smiling, were both very cute.

“I slept well. This place must have good energy. I used to have nightmares often in the old house.”

“That’s understandable. It was a crime scene.”

“Please refrain from saying such things even as a joke. Would you like some coffee?”

“Yeah. With milk.”

While he was talking to Woo-hee, Shin-woo disappeared to wash up. It was still a leisurely time, so Jae-seung sat on the sofa and leisurely enjoyed his warm coffee. He also logged into social media to find new news stories, and then he searched for Shin-woo’s name and carefully read through the numerous conspiracy theories related to the recent incident.