Smack!
The ringing in his ears, which had been gnawing at him on the empty road, crashed through his head once more.
As his teeth scraped together, his lip split, and he tasted blood on the tip of his tongue. He’d been struck while held by the back of his head, so he didn’t fall, but staggered wildly to the side.
“You disrespectful brat!”
Chairman Jung swung his hand again with force, shouting furiously. The omega, tossed about like a rag doll under that coarse grip, landed limply on the bed. It was some small mercy that he’d landed on the soft mattress rather than the cold marble floor, had he hit the hard ground, he might have blacked out and been dragged off to somewhere unfamiliar.
“Haaaa…”
As the old man let out an irritable sigh, Jung Heeyeon struggled to stay conscious. It wasn’t the first time he’d been hit, yet the pain was far worse than he’d expected, making it difficult to stay conscious. Time should have taken some of the old man’s strength. Even if Chairman Jung was still healthy for his age, and no matter how strong an alpha’s grip was compared to a beta’s, the pain shouldn’t have been worse than in the past.
Then why did it hurt more now?
Even as the blow rang through his skull, no tears came. He must still be clinging to that old habit of holding the tears back, of refusing to cry every time he was struck.
“Ah…”
And at that moment, Jung Heeyeon understood. Why the violence felt harsher than ever. Why the wounds it left seemed to cut deeper now.
It was because of Director Yeon, who had spoiled him with too much care, just as the old man had said.
Director Yeon had never laid a hand on him. The only marks the man had ever left were ones of affection. In just a few short months, Jung Heeyeon had gotten used to that kindness. The comfort he felt in the man’s arms had become normal. So normal that he had forgotten years of abuse, just like that.
“I never imagined my grandson would turn out to be such a disobedient, spoiled brat.”
Reason was beginning to drain from the elderly voice. Jung Heeyeon, who had always obeyed and tried to appease him, could sense it immediately. Still lying on the bed, he tilted his head slightly upward. He could see the surveillance camera. He swallowed hard, the metallic tang of blood scraped down his throat.
“Fine. If you won’t listen, then you need to be disciplined.”
The omega, sprawled almost face-down, twisted his body with effort. The old man, hair white and eyes bloodshot, glared at him as if ready to kill. The title of ‘Chairman’ was nothing more than a hollow shell—what it really concealed was a base, vulgar nature that now bared itself in full. All it had taken was one small act of defiance from the omega for that ugliness to surface completely.
Strangely, Jung Heeyeon didn’t feel afraid.
“I, ugh…”
His words were slightly slurred from the swelling in his cheek. Jung Heeyeon steadied his ragged breathing, trying to speak clearly.
“Until now… I used to think you, ugh… were scary.”
Chairman Jung’s grey brows shot upward, bewildered at the nonsense he was hearing.
“Other people used to cower in front of you too… So I thought you must be someone powerful.”
Within those walls, the old man had been the absolute ruler. Even when he screamed abuse at the young omega, slapped him, or locked him inside the hutch in the name of punishment, not a single person stepped in to stop him.
So Jung Heeyeon had always been afraid. Whenever he faced Chairman Jung, his gaze would drop automatically, his shoulders shrinking inward as if by reflex. The omega, raised behind those walls, had simply believed that was how someone like him was supposed to live.
But after meeting Director Yeon, Jung Heeyeon realized it had all been a lie. And it hadn’t taken him a long time to understand that.
“But now, I’m not afraid at all.”
“Not afraid?”
“I’ve been outside, and I get it now. You’re nothing.”
And Jung Heeyeon could tell that this old man did fear someone.
“That’s why you’re trying to run. Because you’re scared of Director Yeon.”
Perhaps he had once again struck a nerve in the old man’s pride. The pheromones leaking from the alpha grew heavier, darker. Jung Heeyeon let out a faint cough. The foul scent weighed the air down until it was hard to breathe. Even so, he didn’t feel afraid.
“The director isn’t scared of you. So I’m not either.”
“You arrogant little…!”
The old man climbed onto the bed, one knee pressing into the mattress, and began to choke the omega’s fragile neck.
“Ghk!”
Jung Heeyeon gasped harshly. The oxygen thinned, cutting off his breath. But it wasn’t the choking that suffocated him the most, it was the flood of alpha pheromones crashing down on him. Aggressive and refined, they seemed powerful enough to tear apart his omega pheromone glands.
“If your pheromone glands are ruined, that bastard Yeon Woobeom will throw you away too.”
Chairman Jung began to strangle his grandson with his own hands, forcefully flooding him with an overwhelming amount of pheromones. Having spent decades selling off alphas and omegas, the old man knew more about pheromones than anyone else. He wasn’t a doctor, but he was confident that, when it came to pheromones, he knew more than they did.
Pheromones between blood relatives, regardless of whether one was an alpha or an omega, were fundamentally incompatible. Genetically engineered that way to prevent incest. That was also why the probability of pheromone shock, rare as it was, tended to be slightly higher between family members.
Pheromone shock occurred when a large quantity of pheromones was forcibly dumped into someone’s system and their pheromone glands couldn’t withstand the influx, ultimately leading to internal damage. These ‘accidents’ could happen even between those of the same trait, but the risk was notably higher between differing traits—or among those who shared bloodline.
“Let’s see just how much that dominant alpha of yours will still love a broken omega.”
“Huhk… Uh.”
Jung Heeyeon struggled, scratching at the wrinkled hands holding him, but it was a pitiful effort in the face of the old man’s fury.
His body, crushed atop the bed, trembled with small convulsions. For an omega, it wasn’t the lack of air that was hardest to endure, but the flood of pheromones, poured out with such violent intent. It felt as though a thick, viscous swamp was swallowing his entire body whole.
“D-Director…”
Calling out to Yeon Woobeom, Jung Heeyeon blinked weakly. Through his foggy vision, he caught sight of a face he knew well. The expression was unfamiliar, but that didn’t matter.
“Even if you call that bastard Yeon Woobeom now, it’s no use— Urk!”
Bang!
“Huhhk! Hahh, cough, cough!”
The hands around his throat fell away, and air rushed into his lungs all at once. His tears and saliva dripped down onto the dusty bedsheets.
“Heeyeon. It’s okay now.”
“D-Director, hhkk…”
Before Jung Heeyeon could even reach out, Director Yeon had already scooped the small body into his arms. He didn’t want to show the man his pale, sunken face, but the director looked straight at the omega cradled against him. It was because Jung Heeyeon had gripped his arm tightly, as if to confirm he was really there.
“Your neck is injured. It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. I’ll take care of everything…”
Director Yeon had to try hard not to curse through clenched teeth. That soft face was soaked with tears. His cheeks were badly swollen, his lips split and bloodied.
“Haa…”
And worst of all, his whole body was trembling from being doused in a flood of overpowering pheromones. Though Director Yeon was holding Jung Heeyeon tight, he couldn’t let out his own pheromones so easily. He had no way of knowing if even alpha pheromones would trigger something worse in an omega teetering on the edge of pheromone shock.
“I-I’m oka— uhh…”
Jung Heeyeon gasped desperately. Without hesitation, Director Yeon started walking. There was no way he could leave this quivering body in a space so tainted with these foul pheromones.
“Kim Jiwon says he’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Kim Chulwoo checked his phone and quickly glanced at his superior’s face. Director Yeon was entirely focused on soothing Jung Heeyeon. He acted as if Chairman Jung, still left behind in the room, didn’t even exist. But Kim Chulwoo instinctively knew. His superior was right on the verge of snapping.
“Director…”
“Yeah, I’m here, Heeyeon. I’m right here.”
Jung Heeyeon’s bloodied lips kept moving, trying to speak. Rather than telling him not to talk and risk hurting his throat more, Director Yeon simply leaned in closer. Each time those gasping breaths brushed his ear, the muscles in the man’s shoulders twitched.
“Shim Soo… is he… alright?”
“Shim Soocheon is fine. Don’t worry about him.”
It was just like Jung Heeyeon to ask after Shim Soocheon’s wellbeing, even in this condition. But it only made the man’s rage boil further. He wanted to tear the old alpha limb from limb for turning the kind-hearted omega into this state.
At the assurance that Shim Soocheon was alright, Jung Heeyeon seemed to relax a little. His long lashes fluttered, casting a soft shadow, and then his eyes slipped shut. Once Director Yeon saw that Jung Heeyeon’s eyes had closed, he exhaled a quiet breath and turned his gaze to Kim Chulwoo.
“…I’ll tell him to be here in five.”
Kim Chulwoo immediately raised his phone. Director Yeon drew Jung Heeyeon closer, gently burying his nose in the fragile curve of the omega’s neck. The veins in his hands bulged as he clenched his grip. As rage began to eat away at his reason, the pheromones he usually kept meticulously controlled started to seep out, slowly. He realized instinctively—he wouldn’t be able to contain it. The moment his composure broke, his pheromones began to surge unpredictably.
The same pheromones that used to soothe Jung Heeyeon might now poison him. Director Yeon softly patted the trembling body in his arms, then carefully laid him down on the sofa. He trusted Kim Jiwon’s treatment more than any hospital. Until the doctor arrived, he couldn’t afford to touch Jung Heeyeon again. His uncontrollable pheromones might swallow that weakened body whole.
“Director, your pheromones…”
“I know.”
Director Yeon muttered low in reply to Kim Chulwoo’s concern. Right now, staying too close might do even more harm to Jung Heeyeon. He had made sure to keep the omega in a space untouched by Chairman Jung’s pheromones, only for his own to spiral out of control. It seemed like he’d have to keep his distance until Kim Jiwon arrived. As fury blazed hot enough to scorch his mind, a new layer of anxiety crept in beneath it.
“Haaa, fuck. Fucking shit…”
The man ran a hand through his disheveled hair and turned away. He couldn’t calm the unease of not being able to stay beside his lover—but he could do something about the anger devouring him from the inside out. The chilling sound of his footsteps echoed as he walked toward the room where Chairman Jung had collapsed.
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