TSG 57

– Sir!

“Too loud.”

Shin Tae-oh squinted one eye and complained of a headache. He felt like his head would be split in half by Lee Jin-ho’s shout over the receiver.

As he raised his eyes to check the time, the view was bluish-gray. It was still before dawn before the sun even rose. What kind of situation would call for contacting him after he had taken suppressants and even sleeping pills because his cycle wouldn’t settle down?

“If you’re going to say some nonsense, be it senior or junior…”

Shin Tae-oh’s threatening mumble trailed off dully. He listened to Lee Jin-ho’s voice and his expression disappeared as if he had never had one before.

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun looked at his face reflected in the mirror. He had struggled through the night with a fever after being exposed to Shin Tae-oh’s pheromones last night.

“Is it obvious?”

He examined his face under the bathroom light, but he couldn’t confirm if the flush had subsided. At a glance, he seemed no different from usual.

Still, he was so worried that his face kept getting so red at night that he couldn’t even take a step away from the mirror.

“This is all because of that punk Shin Tae-oh…”

To be precise, it was because he hadn’t avoided the room filled with amplified pheromones from that man’s rut cycle. That’s what it was.

When he returned home, he tried to wash off all the pheromones that had clung to his body, but a considerable amount must have already seeped in, as he kept feeling parched and struggling. He went out for fresh air, and took cold showers. Even after taking matters into his own hands in an attempt to relieve the arousal, he still felt he hadn’t fully purged it.

“I have to go to work…”

He stuck out his tongue and moistened his lips. He worried about going out like this in case it got a reaction.

After checking how much time he had left, he reached for his waistband.

Since he was in the bathroom, he could take care of it right away.

He undid the buckle and put his hand inside his underwear. He lightly caressed his p3nis, which had begun to react just by thinking about it.

“Nngh.”

A few strokes of the p3nis elicited a moan. When it was fully hard, he gripped around the girth, realizing it wasn’t a modest size, yet felt somehow lacking compared to someone else’s that came to mind.

“Huff.”

The difference in the size of the testicles was palpable too. How did Shin Tae-oh even fit everything in his pants normally…

“What am I even doing right now?”

Why was he rubbing himself while thinking about Shin Tae-oh’s d*ck?

“I’m going crazy.”

The real insanity was that he’d kept thinking about Shin Tae-oh all night too.

Figuring he might as well get it over with quickly, Se-hyun started moving his hand faster.

“Hah, ahh.”

Even as he saw his face flushed in the mirror, he didn’t stop his hand.

Just a little more…

At that very moment, an image that seemed to stimulate his sense of smell passed by. Shin Tae-oh’s lewd expression disheveled with thick pheromones from his climax.

“Ah.”

He cupped his hand to catch the spurting semen, finishing cleanly without letting a single drop escape. He exhaled a sigh afterward. Why did Shin Tae-oh’s expression keep coming to mind at the moment of climax each time? He didn’t have the courage to face Shin Tae-oh.

“Let’s avoid running into him as much as possible today.”

If he just trailed behind Shin Tae-oh, he wouldn’t have to face him directly. Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, but today Se-hyun didn’t feel composed enough to deal with him.

If he has time, it would be a good idea to go to the hospital and get prescribed medication. His heat cycle was still a ways off, but getting suppressants beforehand also seemed prudent.

All the thoughts coming from various directions volatilized the moment he opened the front door.

“Why are you here?”

“Surprised?”

He couldn’t help but be flustered when the first thing he saw after opening the door was his boss’s face right there.

“You don’t look surprised at all though.”

“Well…”

He tried not to overreact no matter what situation arose. Though his heart did skip a beat.

“What brings you here, sir?”

He quickly racked his brain but couldn’t recall any special appointments for today.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

In fact, he had assumed Shin Tae-oh wouldn’t be coming into the office today after his rut cycle yesterday.

“I’m feeling better after my cycle, so I came.”

Se-hyun looked at Shin Tae-oh’s reaction as he was turning his arm and loosening his stiff shoulders, and then realized. He couldn’t detect any pheromones from him.

Even if Se-hyun thought about it, it wasn’t to the extent that the pheromone level would calm down in just one day.

“You should rest today.”

He just said he’s feeling better now.

Se-hyun was staring at him because something seemed incoherent, but Shin Tae-oh smiled brightly. Was that all? He stepped closer, invading Se-hyun’s personal space to peer directly into his face.

“Your face is flushed.”

Se-hyun covered his face with his palm when Shin Tae-oh’s gaze reached him, making him restless. Recalling the reason for his flush made it hard to look Shin Tae-oh in the eyes.

“Is it difficult to look at my face?”

If Se-hyun were to be honest, his flush was from taking care of himself before leaving, but it was also true that he found it difficult to look at Shin Tae-oh’s face.

Yet Shin Tae-oh was the one bringing up yesterday’s incident so brazenly.

And he clearly knew Se-hyun would be leaving but didn’t give him any room to avoid this confrontation.

‘When I think about it, it’s ridiculous.’

The person who changed his pants yesterday wasn’t him. If anyone should feel embarrassed, shouldn’t it be the person responsible?

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry, sir.”

“Is there anything I should be worried about?”

“There will be.”

Se-hyun’s cryptic response seemed to confuse Shin Tae-oh before he turned to leave. If Shin Tae-oh fully remembered last night’s events, he would likely just brush off the remark. But if not…

“Is there something I’m unaware of?”

He took the bait.

Having gotten his petty revenge by brazenly referencing yesterday’s incident, Se-hyun’s commute to work felt refreshing.

⍣⍣⍣

His commute unexpectedly turned into a business trip.

As the car drove further from the office, Se-hyun glanced over at the passenger seat. Instead of his usual driver, it was Shin Tae-oh behind the wheel, occasionally glancing over with a smile.

“Is there a schedule I’m unaware of?”

Se-hyun wondered if this was how he would get his punishment for making fun of Shin Tae-oh, but when he saw his bright face, he couldn’t ask any more questions.

Shin Tae-oh should still be resting, but he looked energetic at first glance.

‘Ah, no.’

He could sense hints of lingering pheromones here and there. It seemed Shin Tae-oh hadn’t fully recovered from his cycle yet.

“If you sense my pheromones, open the window.”

Sensing Shin Tae-oh’s gaze on him, Se-hyun hurriedly turned his head.

“It’s not like that.”

His voice came out a little hoarse from the sudden response, so he smoothed his tie while clearing his throat. He had thoroughly settled himself after the bathroom earlier but now felt feverish again somehow.

“Doesn’t seem that way though.”

As Shin Tae-oh brought the car to a stop at a red light and turned to look at him, Se-hyun tried harder to keep his expression neutral but received an unexpected reply.

“Well, there hasn’t been much time for us to ride side by side like this.”

That’s not a consideration at all.

“I’m also nervous because I’m driving with my secretary next to me.”

After that accident. Se-hyun would rather do it himself.

“Maybe it’s because I’m conscious of Secretary Ahn, but it’s a little hot?”

Don’t say that to yourself. No, just outright say you want to open the window.

Se-hyun pressed the button, feeling like he would rather just open the window. It wasn’t because he disliked Shin Tae-oh’s strange comments, but once the breeze came in, it seemed to cool his body which had grown heated, so he remained still.

“Do you know where we are going?”

When he asked about it earlier, Shin Tae-oh didn’t answer.

“Here.”

Shin Tae-oh completely turned off the engine and got out of the car. Seeing his sudden reaction, Se-hyun also hurriedly unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car. He should have expected it to come when he rolled up the window, but it was so arbitrary that he missed it.

Se-hyun hurriedly got off with his bag in his arms and raised his head. He looked at it because he was wondering where on earth Shin Tae-oh had driven himself.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Ah…”

He hadn’t eaten yet. But…

“Let’s eat together. This cycle has been so strong that I haven’t been able to eat, so I’m hungry.”

Shin Tae-oh gestured for him to come in quickly and went in first.

It was not easy for Se-hyun to follow him.

“King crab for breakfast?”

Wasn’t he the one ending up as a crab here?

He had only thought it but already felt like the fishy smell was permeating his body.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“…I’ll come in.”

Contrary to the thought that it was not suitable for breakfast, his mouth was watering uncontrollably in an instinctive reflex.

“This way please.”

Normally Se-hyun would make the reservation and guide Shin Tae-oh, but he couldn’t do that today. Following the staff who took the lead, he saw Shin Tae-oh already seated waving at him.

“It just came out, so it’s a good timing.”

Se-hyun decided not to think of it as a big deal because it seemed like Shin Tae-oh was just saying that everything was okay no matter what. As Se-hyun sat across from him, Shin Tae-oh was holding crab-specific scissors and a stick.

“Were you planning to do this yourself, sir?”

He couldn’t help but ask after seeing the tools. Has Shin Tae-oh ever done something like this before?

“Secretary Ahn seems to be thinking I’m a toddler who needs looking after.”

In other words, he’s saying even a toddler could handle this, why can’t I?

“The leg is crushed. Be careful, you can eat the shell on this. No, I’ll eat it.”

He’s acting like a toddler.

“I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure you want to?”

Se-hyun took the tools from Shin Tae-oh and deftly cracked open an untouched portion. Remembering they had ordered extra last time feeling it wasn’t enough, they had ordered two crabs from the start this time, so it took a while to prepare them properly.

“Here you go.”

“Secretary Ahn eats first.”

“Please go ahead.”

“…”

“Please go ahead and eat it.”

Seeing Shin Tae-oh’s hesitation, Se-hyun emphasized it twice more before he finally picked up his chopsticks. Since Shin Tae-oh was the one saying he was hungry enough to come here, Se-hyun served the neatly cracked portions to him first.

“I ordered enough for us to eat together though.”

“I’ll eat slowly. Have some of this too.”

After taking a bite in the middle, Se-hyun found it delicious yet not as appetizing as expected. His body likely hadn’t fully returned to normal, leaving his appetite lacking.

“…”

“…”

“I wanted to eat crab stew rather than steamed crab.”

He didn’t know how Shin Tae-oh could finish the extra crab he ordered.

He hadn’t even drunk yesterday, so why was he acting like this?