PIA 152 Side Story 1 END

As Ji-an admitted defeat while slapping his forehead, Hae-yi promptly placed his hands on the floor. He put both hands on the ground and lowered his head, attempting to look at Ji-an between his legs.

“Oh my, Ji-an! That’s the position for looking at a younger sibling,” Jeong Hee-young exclaimed dramatically.

Startled by her outburst, Hae-yi bumped his head with a thud and rolled to the side. Even with the mat, it was enough of a shock that Ji-an jumped up in alarm, but Jeong Hee-seo was a step faster. He quickly scooped up Hae-yi in his arms and scolded Jeong Hee-young, asking what nonsense she was spouting.

“Noona, are you getting senile? You’ve been saying such strange things lately.”

“No, it’s true! They say that’s the position for looking at your younger sibling! Grandmother, you’ve heard of this too, right?”

“Hmm?”

Myeong Hyun-sook choked on her tea and started coughing. Still, she seemed to like the idea, smiling and nodding in agreement. She tilted her head slightly, looking back and forth between Ji-an and Jeong Hee-seo with eyes so affectionate they seemed to drip with honey.

“If there were to be a second child, it would be so adorable too. Yes, it would be so very cute.”

On a day before the wedding, during teatime in Myeong Hyun-sook’s courtyard, Jeong Hee-seo was appalled while the two women painted a very joyful picture.

Of course, the couple, who were meticulously using condoms according to Jeong Hee-seo’s wishes, just laughed it off as a scientifically impossible fantasy.

The second child that the two women hoped for would only be possible after the stubborn Jeong Hee-seo had enjoyed “dating” to his heart’s content. Plus, they would need to be mentally prepared to welcome another baby. That preparation was necessary for both Ji-an and Hae-yi.

The three of them were already forming a perfect triangle, overflowing with happiness at this moment. That’s why Jeong Hee-seo could draw such a firm line.

So Ji-an thought of it as a distant future, or perhaps an impossible one. He had never felt any particular regret about it, so the talk of a second child ended up being just a passing incident.

* * *

That is, until he caught the dangerous scent Jeong Hee-seo was giving off on the morning of their wedding day.

The night before.

The butler had strongly advised them to get plenty of sleep and do nothing else so they could enter the wedding venue with fresh faces the next day. Sharing the desire to be in good condition for this once-in-a-lifetime event, the two obediently followed his instructions.

Then, it was Ji-an who woke up before the alarm, excited for the day ahead.

Up to that point, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

“Hyung, why are you so warm…? I think you have a fever.”

Surprised that Jeong Hee-seo was waking up later than him, Ji-an checked his temperature and found it was over 38°C (100.4°F). As Ji-an was making a fuss over the red LCD display on the thermometer and reaching for his phone, Jeong Hee-seo wrapped an arm around his waist and stopped him.

“It’s fine. It’s nothing serious.”

“…Hyung.”

The forehead buried in his shoulder was scorching hot. The arm wrapped around his waist was also burning up. Despite this, Ji-an immediately understood what Jeong Hee-seo meant. It wasn’t a fever from illness, but realizing this through scent made Ji-an feel rather beastly.

Ji-an turned to look at Jeong Hee-seo with a face that had instantly turned red.

“Hyung, are you going into rut now?”

The moment the word left his mouth, his ears felt hot. In an instant, his cheekbones flushed hot. He could clearly feel his temperature rising, to the point of disbelief. Moreover, Ji-an was a bit flustered as his own body seemed to be showing symptoms in response.

“…”

No, could it be a misunderstanding?

“Suppress your pheromones. If you start reacting too, we won’t be able to have the wedding today.”

It wasn’t a misunderstanding after all. His body was trying to respond in kind to Jeong Hee-seo. At this rate, his own heat would not be far behind.

As he was sniffing at his own robe with an embarrassed face, Jeong Hee-seo got up and walked to the bathroom. Maybe it was just his imagination, but even his gait seemed languid. Ji-an felt his mouth going dry and found himself unconsciously wetting his lips repeatedly.

After showering with cold water, Jeong Hee-seo came out and immediately took suppressants. He insisted that this would be enough to get through the day and didn’t waver in his determination to go through with the wedding.

Previously, the doctor had said that during an Omega’s pregnancy, not only their own heat cycles but also their Alpha partner’s rut cycles are naturally suppressed. It was a natural occurrence, so after Hae-yi was born and some time had passed, both of their cycles should have returned to normal.

However, Jeong Hee-seo’s heart had been deeply wounded by the incident where he almost lost Ji-an. As a result, it seemed that the return of his cycles was slower than expected, according to the diagnosis. Thus, the prescribed suppressants had been sitting in the cabinet for a very long time.

Ji-an’s body had always been recessive and tended to synchronize with him, so the two of them were approaching Hae-yi’s first birthday without experiencing any cycles.

Could it be that his heart had healed significantly as they approached the milestone of marriage? Ji-an looked at Jeong Hee-seo with a somewhat emotional feeling. Apart from the anxiety stemming from the wedding coinciding with the rut cycle, one worry had been lifted.

As people surrounded Jeong Hee-seo and helped him get ready, his dangerous scent grew stronger and stronger. Because of this, Ji-an felt weak in the knees. As he unconsciously rubbed his legs together, he felt a strange sensation building up layer by layer.

“Hyung. Can’t you suppress your pheromones a bit?”

“Hmm? Why, is it bothering you?”

“No… it’s just too much right now.”

Among the staff helping with the wedding, there were quite a few Omegas. They had sent out notices since early morning asking for understanding about the rut cycle.

However, they couldn’t control the blushing faces. It was a natural physiological response, but Ji-an became increasingly anxious about their reddened faces and the gazes fixed on Jeong Hee-seo.

Long forgotten were the musical singer performing a pre-wedding show that could be heard throughout the hotel, the excessive jokes of the MC, and the splendor of the fresh flowers and chandeliers filling the high ceiling.

“If you get jealous in this situation, it makes it even harder for me to keep my composure,” Jeong Hee-seo said, looking at Ji-an with a happy face and smiling. It melted away Ji-an’s tension, which had been a mix of jealousy and nervousness.

The preparations for both of them were complete, and the time came to countdown to the couple’s entrance.

Jeong Hee-seo approached Ji-an, who was standing there in his beautifully tailored clothes. His flushed face wasn’t just due to the rut. He slowly kissed both of Ji-an’s cheeks and then lowered himself, kneeling on one knee. Ji-an’s gaze naturally followed him downward.

“My young mate, Ji-an.”

His tone was somewhat dramatic. Whether it was due to the lavishly decorated waiting room or the music starting to play announcing the imminent beginning of the wedding ceremony, he couldn’t tell.

Jeong Hee-seo took Ji-an’s hand as if worshipping it and placed a long kiss on the back of it.

“Are you ready to walk in with me?”

If it was about being ready to be with him forever, he had been ready for a long time. Ji-an nodded, pressing his trembling chest with his hand.

Jeong Hee-seo stood beside Ji-an, flashing a picture-perfect, seductive smile, and firmly intertwined their hands. When they pressed their arms together as well, the hot body temperature felt even stronger. When Ji-an glanced up worriedly, a soft chuckle escaped Jeong Hee-seo’s lips.

“Don’t worry. We’ll board the private jet right after the ceremony.”

It took a moment for Ji-an to understand what he meant. When he did, his face turned bright red and he playfully slapped the back of Jeong Hee-seo’s hand, causing his smile to deepen.

If anything, it was fortunate that the tension dissipated with this playfulness. His heart, which had been trying to jump out of his throat, calmed down somewhat.

The large doors that had been tightly shut in front of the closely joined couple opened. The white flowers filling the entire venue sparkled countless times as they caught the light from the chandeliers.

“…”

He hadn’t expected the faces of the guests seated to wish for their happiness would appear so clearly.

In the distance, he could see Hae-yi, looking serious and out of place in a tuxedo despite his age, being held. His protruding chin seemed to be on the verge of breaking into a smile.

As Ji-an looked straight ahead with a lump in his throat, Jeong Hee-seo tightly squeezed his trembling hand.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Today, all of Ji-an’s answers were bound to be affirmative. If asked whether he would cherish and love him forever, he would answer “Yes,” and if asked whether he would marry him, he would answer “Yes.” Ji-an had no doubt that the same was true for Jeong Hee-seo.

Jeong Hee-seo was someone he had met after crossing worlds. He was special beyond special. His existence was the one and only for him. He would love and protect him with all his heart.

As the first note of the piano sounded, the two stepped onto the pure white wedding aisle together. Their hands remained firmly clasped, never to part.

Walking side by side, they seemed to share the same thought as if they had an agreement. That from now on, every step they took, from the first to the last, would be together forever.

<End of Side Story 1>