PIA 58

“I’m sorry for making you misunderstand.”

Ji-an’s heart was pounding. Even though he tried to keep it together, his eyes kept getting hot. Jeong Hee-seo’s cold face showed no immunity. After only a month of knowing him, this man who had given off an extremely intimidating first impression had reduced him to such a naive fool.

Jeong Hee-seo still remained silent. His gaze was focused on Ji-an. The elevator moved painfully slowly, and the inside seemed to get hotter by the minute.

In the end, Ji-an couldn’t hold back his impulsive nature that often burst out.

“Why did you even ask me to come to the company…I didn’t meet Han-joo hyung because I wanted to, but if you think about it, this whole situation is—”

It was before Ji-an finished speaking. Suddenly a hand entered his field of vision and his head was forced to turn to the side.

His tightly gripped cheek throbbed painfully. Jeong Hee-seo’s gaze became more intense and pierced into him. Ji-an felt fear for the first time in a long time as Jeong Hee-seo’s pitch-black eyes looked down at him.

“…Hyung-nim.”

His voice trembled slightly. It seemed like he was really, truly angry at him, so Ji-an got scared. He wanted to run away.

“I guess it would be better if I just go home.”

Ji-an could clearly see Jeong Hee-seo’s pupils dilating. While fully capturing him trembling in fear, those eyes rippled darkly like a predator zeroing in on its prey.

“Your pheromones work on any Alpha, but where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m a recessive Omega, I don’t know how that happens…”

At that moment, their lips crashed together. It was such an intense contact that it made him momentarily forget the painful sensation of his gripped cheek. Ji-an’s eyes were wide open at the rough sensation of their lips roughly rubbing together.

“Mmph!”

He hurriedly pushed at Jeong Hee-seo’s shoulders with both hands, but the other man didn’t budge an inch. Instead, displeasure flared up even more fiercely in the eyes locked with his. The eyes looking down at him glistened slightly, outrageously yet with a hint of madness. Ji-an unconsciously shrank back, turning his head away as far as he could.

Their lips, tightly pressed together, finally parted, and Ji-an gasped for air.

“Ah-haah, Hyung-nim! What’s this! Let go!”

He raised his hands to push against Jeong Hee-seo’s chest. But it was a futile resistance. Jeong Hee-seo pulled him close, his back arching, holding him tightly against him. He was lifted helplessly like a child in one arm, his toes dangling off the ground.

“Tell me where you think you’re going.”

Jeong Hee-seo held on to Ji-an and slammed his fist into the elevator’s emergency stop button.

Ji-an’s eyes widened. As Jeong Hee-seo pressed up against him again, he was as immobilized as a trapped animal. Perhaps it was because of the look in those eyes. Taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, his lips were captured once more.

The hands that had been trying to push Jeong Hee-seo away went limp. A trembling spread to the very tips of his fingers, leaving him unable to muster any strength. The sensation of that hot tongue licking and sucking on his lower lip was terrifyingly vivid.

“Mmm…ahh!”

Ji-an had always scoffed whenever he saw people in novels or dramas unable to breathe while kissing. Having only experienced romance through writing and videos for so long, he had thought he would do just fine in the real thing. But here he was, pathetically gasping for air.

Their lips parted with a smacking sound. He could see every detail as his swollen, reddened lips were pulled from Jeong Hee-seo’s mouth. The sight was outrageously lewd, instantly flushing his eyes bright red.

Huff, huff. Panting heavily, Ji-an looked up at Jeong Hee-seo. He tried to glare at him defiantly, narrowing his eyes, but Jeong Hee-seo acted as if he had completely lost his senses over Ji-an’s lips. Jeong Hee-seo’s expression of licking his lips with relish was unfamiliar.

Feeling afraid, Ji-an tried to push him away again by reaching out his arms, but instead found himself being grabbed. In the moment his tilted head flinched back, their lips crashed together once more. His heart pounded erratically and his vision spun dizzily. This first kiss was rougher, hotter, and more disorienting than Ji-an had imagined.

As if sucking Ji-an’s lips wasn’t enough, the tip of Jeong Hee-seo’s tongue tried to come inside. The closed lips parted easily, and what was left was only the barrier of his clenched teeth, which also seemed about to crumble.

Each time Jeong Hee-seo tried to deepen the invasion further, Ji-an twisted his head to evade it repeatedly. His breath became a tangled mess and his whole body flushed red-hot.

“…Let me…breathe a bit–“

Finally, Jeong Hee-seo pulled his upper body back, separating them. Ji-an seized that chance to protest. The swollen sensation on his lips felt strange when he spoke.

Jeong Hee-seo was still watching Ji-an with those piercingly bright eyes. Ji-an tried to move away from him, but his waist was still gripped tightly.

It was almost comical, how Ji-an was left dangling with only one toe tentatively touching the floor. Ji-an reached out his arms to grab onto the safety railing behind him.

“Let go, please let go.”

Ji-an’s voice trembled uncontrollably. He had been greatly mistaken in thinking an Alpha’s pheromones would only arouse simple excitement.

“This is the company, Hyungnim. First… ah, control your pheromones… If you keep going like this, I’ll, it’s too hard for me.”

“You’re finding it hard? What is?”

Jeong Hee-seo blinked. The grip on Ji-an’s waist loosened slightly, allowing a gap for Ji-an to step back. Clinging to the safety railing with both hands for support, his legs felt like they were about to give out completely.

“Huh? Seo Ji-an. What’s so hard that you’re about to collapse like this?”

Jeong Hee-seo wiped Ji-an’s face with his large hand and looked down at him.

Ji-an choked up at his calm demeanor. He tried to speak, but his jaw and throat went stiff.

“… It’s my first time.”

Jeong Hee-seo leaned his torso forward, “Huh?” as if doubting what he’d heard despite Ji-an not speaking that quietly.

“What did you say?”

“Ah, I said it’s my first time!”

Ji-an felt so wronged that his anger came out without a filter.

Ji-an touched his red, swollen lips and glared at Jeong Hee-seo.

“…”

The large body froze. Time itself seemed to stop, the elevator falling still. Ah, the elevator had already stopped earlier. Ji-an’s mind blanked as bewilderment, indignation, and outrage jumbled together. Tears even welled up slightly in his eyes.

For so long, while harboring feelings for someone, and then developing new feelings for yet another person, Ji-an had imagined and dreamed so much about sharing a sweet first kiss. But his first had turned out to be nothing like what he’d envisioned.

“Haah…”

Jeong Hee-seo looked down at Ji-an with an expression of disbelief, then raised his gaze, his eyes taking on a complex light as if reminiscing about that night when he had gotten someone pregnant.

Whether he believed it or not, whatever “first” Ji-an was referring to, for him this was undoubtedly his first experience. Jeong Hee-seo’s thoughts didn’t matter. Right now, Ji-an’s shock-addled mind was the top priority.

Sniff, Ji-an sniffled sadly.

＊＊＊

Ji-an ate lunch sitting at his desk, having the tonkatsu lunchbox brought by Secretary Yoon. Even after the lunchbox arrived, Ji-an didn’t get up from his seat, so Jeong Hee-seo placed it on Ji-an’s desk. The two quietly had their meal sitting at their respective desks in the same office, gazing at their computer monitors.

Originally, Jeong Hee-seo would have lunch with the staff from the subsidiary office. But as soon as lunchtime started, he pushed away the youngest staff member who had poked his head in to call Jeong Hee-seo, and asked Secretary Yoon to buy two lunchboxes on the way in.

It seemed he was being considerate of Ji-an’s dazed state. Still, he didn’t forget to ask what menu Ji-an wanted and released some pheromones on the top of his head. While doing so, Ji-an’s eyes were strained from staring intently at the monitor, but regardless, he was diligent about his responsibilities.

“…”

Ji-an couldn’t taste the tonkatsu. He blankly shifted his gaze to the white plastic packaging. Beyond the advertising line “99 layers of aged sirloin, deep-fried in clean oil,” Jeong Hee-seo came fuzzily into view.

Secretary Yoon’s expression when delivering the lunchboxes had been ambiguous. He seemed perceptive in an indeterminable way, appearing to have clearly sensed that something had happened between Jeong Hee-seo and Ji-an while he was out visiting Chairman Kim.

‘Ugh…!’

Why did he suddenly… Ji-an couldn’t even complete the thought in his mind without feeling embarrassed and wanting to punch the air. If he was at home, his blanket would already have holes punched through it.

Well, it wasn’t like there hadn’t been moments over time when it seemed like something might happen. But there was always context involved. Whether it was the atmosphere at the time or the content of the conversation, Jeong Hee-seo had moved within predictable bounds that allowed Ji-an to evade, preventing this level of catastrophe with his own hands.

Ji-an suddenly realized he had completely forgotten the image of Jeong Hee-seo depicted in dramas, with how gently the real man had been treating him lately.

No matter how close they were emotionally, the way pheromones could make one go crazy was frightening because it’s like wild nature itself.

And what about that kiss?

‘I thought I was going to be devoured…’

Lost in thought while eating, his phone suddenly rang with a buzzing sound. 

[ ♡Han-joo hyung♡: Ji-an, are you eating lunch? 1:27 PM]

Ji-an was so startled by the message that appeared on the screen when he absentmindedly glanced at it that he dropped his phone. It wasn’t just the sender or content that shocked him, but more than anything, it was the saved contact name.