DOTH Volume 4 Chapter 14.1

“Sweetheart, does it taste good?”

Nam Soohyun shook her glass of whiskey side to side and suddenly leaned her head in. Jung Heeyeon had been sipping from a short wine glass, and only slowly raised his head at the alpha’s unexpected voice. The woman looking down at him was swaying like someone heavily drunk, grinning brightly.

“Yes. It’s good. It tastes like coffee milk.”

“Yeon Woobeom doesn’t give you stuff like this, right?”

Jung Heeyeon hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. He was familiar with fruity beers and bitter liquor, but he hadn’t known there was an alcohol drink that tasted like coffee milk. As he sipped the light chocolate-colored drink, a sweet flavor spread across his tongue, laced with the distinctive smell of cocoa powder.

“I told you to come hang out more, didn’t I? I’ll get you something tasty every time, okay? Director Yeon doesn’t really let you drink, right? Now that you’re twenty, you’re supposed to drink practically every other day.”

Her tone sounded like that of a kidnapper trying to lure a child with treats. Though it was said in jest, it carried an undercurrent of slyness that made Jung Heeyeon fidget slightly with the fingers holding his wine glass.

“The director doesn’t give me drinks because I haven’t said I wanted any. And drinking too much isn’t good for your health… You shouldn’t drink too much either, Chief Nam.”

In a space overwhelmed by loud music and conversation, only Jung Heeyeon’s voice flowed out composedly.

“And I don’t think he likes me going to another alpha’s home… Apparently alphas don’t like it when their omegas get close to other alphas. I came here today because I begged to.”

His gentle eyes swept behind Nam Soohyun. Director Yeon had stepped away, saying he had something to discuss with Kim Chulwoo.

“Ah, no wonder. I was wondering why you’d show up at my place.”

Nam Soohyun leaned her cheek, instead of her chin, against her hand and frowned with annoyance. Jung Heeyeon sipped his cocktail while making small talk with the host.

Nam Soohyun’s house was a detached home with a garden. The garden was so large it didn’t initially make the house seem that big, but once inside, the place was quite spacious. Thanks to that, Jung Heeyeon had been able to sit near the home bar and quietly watch people come and go. The place was still crowded with visitors, but the bar area remained relatively quiet thanks to the size of the venue.

There were far too many people and the noise from music and voices was overwhelming, but the mood wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“So today’s your first and last visit to my place, huh, sweetheart?”

Leaning against the bar, Nam Soohyun murmured regretfully. When someone called for her, she disappeared without a trace.

“Heeyeon, do you feel dizzy?”

Filling the space Nam Soohyun had left behind, Lee Haejin approached with an exhausted expression and sat down beside him. Jung Heeyeon glanced at the large mug Lee Haejin was holding. Clear liquid swished inside, it looked like soju.

“It’s chaotic because there are so many people, but I’m not dizzy. It’s my first time at something like this, so it’s kind of fun.”

“You’re not getting a headache from all the pheromones? Oh, right, you said you’ve been imprinted.”

Lee Haejin wrinkled his nose as he raised the mug to his lips. He’d already expected the place would reek of pheromones when Nam Soohyun invited him. Everyone was drunk, and no one seemed able to regulate their scent anymore.

He was practically forced to attend because Nam Soohyun had half-threatened to raise hell at one of his businesses, Suryeo. As expected, while omega pheromones weren’t too bad, the muddled scent of mixed alpha pheromones made him so queasy he thought he might throw up at any moment.

“I didn’t think Director Yeon would bring you here, it’s unexpected.”

Unlike Lee Haejin, Jung Heeyeon looked perfectly fine.

“He wasn’t really keen on me coming, but I told him I was curious and wanted to see it. Chief Nam said this would be like a party. It’s fun in its own way, but it’s too hectic. I don’t think I’ll come again.”

It was hard to tell whether Jung Heeyeon was the scary one for persuading that man to come, or if it was the man himself who was frightening for giving in so easily to Jung Heeyeon’s words.

The party Nam Soohyun had excitedly thrown was, in fact, titled ‘Celebration for Beating the Shit Out of That Bastard Jung Younggil’. While Lee Haejin had grimaced the moment he heard the phrase, Nam Soohyun had looked genuinely thrilled.

“You… went there?”

Lee Haejin leaned his upper body against the bar and asked. Jung Heeyeon, who had been peacefully watching the crowd with his usual gentle expression, turned toward him. Even though the entire house was reverberating with loud singing and shouting, the area around the home bar where the two were was relatively quiet and peaceful.

“Yes. I went with Director Yeon.”

That man took his imprinted omega there? Lee Haejin narrowed his eyes slightly. He was more shocked by that than by the man showing up at this pointless party. Director Yeon was someone who always kept up appearances in front of Jung Heeyeon. He’d thought for sure such low-life activities would be kept hidden.

“He didn’t seem to want me to go, but I insisted on following him.”

Perhaps his surprise showed too clearly on his face, because Jung Heeyeon answered while sipping his sweet drink.

“What about you, hyung?”

Despite what one might expect, his gentle face held nothing but calm resolve.

“…Today.”

Lee Haejin finally muttered after swirling the soju in his mug. Compared to others who had already been to the cage, his visit came rather late.

“It’s a good thing you saw him the earliest.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Jung Younggil was still alive. Although him being alive just meant his heart was still beating. Lee Haejin had stared at the old man’s pitiful state in silence before turning away. The aged skin was cracked from the biting cold, his lips crusted with dried blood, and his swollen eyes so puffy that his pupils were hidden—but none of it moved him.

Lee Haejin had only come to confirm it. The pitiful end of a man more vile than a stray dog, the one who had sold off Lee Haejin and countless other omegas.

He started downing soju like water, his mood utterly foul, when Jung Heeyeon, who had been staring at him, quietly parted his lips.

“Haejin hyung. You shouldn’t drink so much, please stop.”

Even Nam Soohyun didn’t nag him like that, yet here was an omega barely twenty years old scolding him. Lee Haejin hastily swallowed the liquid in his mouth. He nearly spat everything out in surprise.

“Khh… cough, cough.”

Jung Heeyeon even went so far as to pat his back as he choked.

“…Alright. I’ll stop drinking.”

He figured it would be ridiculous to snap at the young child for meddling, so Lee Haejin just wiped his lips roughly with his sleeve. Jung Heeyeon smiled brightly, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Lee Haejin felt like he could understand why Shim Soocheon hadn’t been able to turn down this boy’s request.

“Oh, there’s something I want to ask now that I get to meet you, Hyung.”

“something you want to ask?”

“I want to imprint on Director Yeon too, but it’s not working.”

The brutally honest statement brought on a pounding headache for Lee Haejin.

“Imprinting?”

“Yes.”

It made sense for Director Yeon, but a twenty-year-old asking about imprinting? Considering he was already imprinted, it would probably be best for Jung Heeyeon to imprint on that alpha in return, but… watching such a young omega chained down already made Lee Haejin sigh.

He groaned and rubbed his temple. Like many alphas and omegas raised in the cage, he had become adept at controlling pheromones. He had even taught quite a few omegas how to regulate their own pheromones effectively, mostly because he was well-versed in it himself.

But imprinting was an unknown frontier. Never mind his aversion to alphas, truthfully, a successful imprinting was extremely rare.

“I’m not really sure either. To imprint someone, you need to entangle your pheromones with theirs… Once you get better at controlling your pheromones, you might be able to do it.”

All Lee Haejin could offer was a textbook answer. If the alpha was willing to expose his neck and the omega had solid pheromone control, it wasn’t impossible.

“Yes, I’ll work hard to learn.”

“Work hard at what?”

A voice suddenly piped up behind them. Jung Heeyeon turned around.

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