Chapter 32

“Let go.”

“…”

Jo Yeon-oh didn’t answer. Because Gi-hyeon had been entirely consumed by his own abnormal state, he hadn’t noticed, but Yeon-oh’s condition was clearly just as derailed. Sensing something profoundly wrong, Gi-hyeon finally turned to look at the Alpha.

“You…”

He immediately swallowed the words dying in his throat. The collar of the polo shirt Yeon-oh was wearing was completely ripped open. The buttons hung loose by a few threads, looking as though he had violently torn them apart himself. His massively thick pectoral muscles heaved visibly with every ragged breath he took. Thick, pulsing veins bulged violently against the thick column of his neck.

So Gi-hyeon felt as though he had just locked eyes with a feral beast at point-blank range. He sensed the exact same primal threat in the bulging masseter muscles of the jaw Yeon-oh was currently clenching hard enough to crack teeth. Despite his massive frame, Yeon-oh had always possessed a refined, almost delicate face, but right now, an unmistakable, raw ferocity had completely overtaken those features. Without even trying, Gi-hyeon intrinsically realized that the dark emotion soaking into that flawlessly sculpted face was pure, unadulterated lust.

It was the first time he had ever felt this kind of terrifying energy radiating from Jo Yeon-oh. Without realizing it, Gi-hyeon completely stopped breathing. It was a pathetic, futile rebellion to prevent the Alpha’s heavy scent from sinking deep into his lungs, but it didn’t last long. Because the skin on the inside of the wrist Yeon-oh was gripping was starting to itch maddeningly.

“I said, let go.”

He tried to yank his arm away in a frantic spasm, but it was useless. Whenever they arm-wrestled or wrestled in the past, Gi-hyeon usually won at least one out of every three matches. But right now, Jo Yeon-oh didn’t even budge a millimeter, holding Gi-hyeon in an iron grip.

Alarm bells began shrieking in So Gi-hyeon’s brain once again. He didn’t even know what exactly they were warning him against this time. He only knew, with terrifying certainty, that this was going to end very badly.

Initially, his only coherent thought had been to hide his condition from Jo Yeon-oh. He desperately wanted to conceal the fact that his backside was soaked and some slippery substance was actively oozing down his thighs. Even though he had no idea what it actually was.

…If he finds out, he’ll… His thoughts had cut off there, and he had simply concluded he needed to escape the bedroom. But now, the danger felt entirely different. He couldn’t stay here another second. The suffocating scent of unknown flowers grew so dense it actually constricted his nasal passages, burning with a sharp pain.

Gi-hyeon was completely unaware that his pupils had blown wide, fully dilated and unfocused. Jo Yeon-oh still hadn’t said a single word, and Gi-hyeon felt like he would do absolutely anything just to get out of this room right this second. But his lover and oldest friend, the man who knew him far too intimately—

“So Gi-hyeon.”

“…”

With that single utterance of his name, he bought all of Gi-hyeon’s resistance for dirt cheap. Having surrendered even his ability to refuse to the Alpha, Gi-hyeon violently regretted selling himself so cheaply, yet he had no choice but to stumble forward as he was dragged away.

Ironically, their final destination wasn’t the bed.

“What are you…”

Baffled when Yeon-oh abruptly dragged him toward the vanity console in the corner of the bedroom, Gi-hyeon stammered the question. Trapping Gi-hyeon between his own body and the wooden furniture, Yeon-oh seized his waist. As the console was shoved roughly, the large mirror attached to the wall rattled violently.

“What the hell are you… Hey…!”

He couldn’t help but scream in shock. Jo Yeon-oh had suddenly shoved a hand straight down his pants.

It was the first time in his life someone else’s hand had ever invaded that area. When he was young, his relationships had been little more than childish pranks, and as an adult, he had never looked at anyone but Jo Yeon-oh. The sheer shock of having such an intimate place touched—a sensation he hadn’t even experienced during manual physical therapy training—completely wiped out his panic over his abnormal physical state.

The invading hand dug ruthlessly into the slick cleft of Gi-hyeon’s glutes. He swallowed a sharp, desperate gasp. It was impossible to comprehend what was happening to him right now.

Squelch. An obscene, viscous sound echoed as a puddle of thick liquid pooled in the narrow crevice before dripping down. The fact that such a sound was coming from his own body was the most horrifying thing he had ever experienced. Unable to believe it, Gi-hyeon’s eyes trembled wildly. Gripping the edge of the console, his knuckles turned a deathly white.

“Take it out right now, you son of a bitch.”

“…”

But the Alpha remained completely silent. Even as Gi-hyeon thrashed against him, Yeon-oh only tightened his crushing grip on his hips. Something heavy and club-like pressed firmly against the upper part of his buttocks. Unaware of exactly what it was, Gi-hyeon continued to struggle, inadvertently grinding his ass directly against it. Yeon-oh clicked his tongue. Narrowing his eyes to dark slits, the bastard finally spoke.

“You aren’t So Gi-hyeon.”

“…What?”

Hearing the utterly absurd accusation, Gi-hyeon froze completely. With a slick squelch, Yeon-oh pulled his hand out of his pants. Because the hand was drenched, the thick liquid clung to the hem of Gi-hyeon’s t-shirt, creating a sickeningly wet sensation as it slapped against his lower back.

Even seeing it in the mirror, Gi-hyeon couldn’t believe his own eyes and whipped his head around. Jo Yeon-oh was staring intently down at him while slipping his own tongue between his index and middle fingers—fingers dripping with whatever fluid had soaked Gi-hyeon—and slowly licking them clean.

“What… what the fuck are you doing, you crazy bastard!”

The curse tore from his throat. Gi-hyeon began fighting back with feral desperation. Completely unfazed after tasting the unknown slick, Yeon-oh delivered a stinging slap to Gi-hyeon’s ass with his wet hand before mercilessly kneading the flesh.

The nape of Gi-hyeon’s neck burned a brilliant, humiliating red. Shame? Could you even call this shame? His spine felt as though it were being incinerated, and a chilling fury ripped through his chest, yet he couldn’t form a single word. Living his entire life as a Beta male, So Gi-hyeon had never experienced an emotion like this before.

Yeon-oh abruptly pressed down hard on Gi-hyeon’s back, as if swearing to ensure he never stood up again. Gi-hyeon’s cheek smashed flat against the console top. At the cold shock of the surface against his face, Gi-hyeon blinked wildly.

“Our Gi-hyeon doesn’t leak stuff like this.”

“…”

“But you aren’t So Gi-hyeon, anyway.”

Without warning, his pants were violently shoved down. The waistband of his boxer briefs caught around mid-thigh, restricting his legs entirely. Something continued to steadily ooze down his inner thighs. Refusing to believe reality, Gi-hyeon could do nothing but blink continuously in sheer denial.

Chuckling softly, Yeon-oh rubbed his thumb against the dimples just above Gi-hyeon’s ass.

“Having dimples right here is exactly like our Gi-hyeon, too.”

“…”

“You smell fucking amazing, too.”

Utterly dumbfounded, a hysterical laugh actually escaped Gi-hyeon. Perhaps hearing that breathy scoff, the hand that had been ruthlessly kneading his ass shot forward and clamped onto Gi-hyeon’s jaw. That hand—still drenched in whatever fluid had poured out of Gi-hyeon—reeked of thick vanilla and rum. Overcome by the dizzying wave of his own scent, Gi-hyeon could only squeeze his eyes shut before forcing them open again.

Staring at that desperate, panicked face, Jo Yeon-oh muttered.

“What. You don’t smile much, either?”

“…”

“Well, you better start smiling. Because we’re about to do something really good.”

He didn’t want to ask what that meant. Gi-hyeon knew the definition of the word ‘bleak,’ but this was the very first time the letters felt as though they were being physically driven deep into his sternum. Bleak. The shock was so profound it felt as though every consonant and vowel of the word was being separated, held against his breastbone like a chisel, and hammered in with brutal force.

Jo Yeon-oh’s hand swept down the cleft of his glutes. The tip of a blunt thumb pressed hard against the exact spot Gi-hyeon didn’t even want to think about. Jo Yeon-oh smiled. Forgetting the horrifying reality of the situation, Gi-hyeon stared blankly at that smile.

You always smile so easily. You manage it so well even when looking at me… Yeon-oh. At some point, I lost the ability to smile easily. I’m definitely the one who gained more from this relationship. Maybe my conscience is just guilty, because I don’t find any of this funny.

The fleeting thoughts vanished as quickly as they came. Overwhelmed by the dizzying pheromones, Gi-hyeon squeezed his eyes shut. His wrist was yanked backward. The next destination would undoubtedly be the bed. Even with absolutely zero experience, Gi-hyeon inherently knew exactly what was about to happen.

***