DOTH Volume 4 Chapter 14.6

“The director is having a rut, and he’s staying at a hotel.”

“Pardon? A rut?”

The unexpected word made Jung Heeyeon blink. The tears gathered in his eyes spilled down his cheek.

“Then why did you lie about a business trip?”

“Alphas are dangerous during rut.”

Unable to watch from the sidelines anymore, Lee Haejin stepped in to rescue Kim Chulwoo. Jung Heeyeon wiped his cheeks with his hand, frowning in confusion.

“But isn’t a rut supposed to be spent with an omega?”

“That’s true, but during rut things get much rougher. I think he was worried about you.”

“He’s worried?”

Once again, Jung Heeyeon couldn’t understand. One of the things he had properly learned from Lee Haejin’s lessons was about an alpha’s rut. The fact that only their animal instincts remained, and that alphas usually spent it with their partner.

“You could get hurt during sex.”

“But I’m strong….”

Lee Haejin barely managed to not retort back with, “Sure, you are.”. Whatever Director Yeon’s sexual preferences were, just the sheer difference in build made it seem like Jung Heeyeon would be crushed. Even if that man acted gently, it looked like the omega would be struggling, so how could he really withstand an alpha in full rut? The thought worried Lee Haejin.

“Heeyeon-ssi, Director Yeon is used to handling ruts on his own… so he’ll be fine.”

“Just because he’s used to it doesn’t mean it’s not hard on him.”

His clear, logical reply left Kim Chulwoo speechless.

“Look, Heeyeon. Director Yeon probably kept it from you because he didn’t want you to worry. Rut is just a regular cycle… Why don’t you stay with me for a few days instead?”

Jung Heeyeon glanced once at the flustered Kim Chulwoo, then again at Lee Haejin rubbing his forehead in concern. He didn’t fail to understand why Director Yeon had lied about a business trip, but the sting of hurt still rose up sharply. They had already been intimate several times, so he couldn’t understand why a rut was different.

Even if the sex was rougher, it didn’t change the essence of who the man was. Jung Heeyeon could love even that side of him.

“I want to go to Director Yeon.”

“Heeyeon.”

“Haejin hyung. I’m not a child.”

Lee Haejin, who had straightened to stop him, froze at the firm words.

“This is something between me and Director Yeon.”

He was right. With a weary sigh, Lee Haejin rubbed his lips. When they had first met, he really had seemed like a child who knew nothing. When had he grown enough to assert his own will like this? Kim Chulwoo shot him a pleading look to stop the omega, but Lee Haejin ultimately ignored it.

“Take him, Secretary Kim Chulwoo. Ah, but maybe it’s uncomfortable since he’s your boss. Then I’ll do it.”

“Ha… even you, sir? You know why the director left Heeyeon-ssi in your care.”

“As Heeyeon said himself, this is between them.”

Despite questioning whether this was the right choice, Lee Haejin reached for his car keys.

“Adults shouldn’t run away.”

Director Yeon couldn’t spend his whole life spending ruts alone. It was a problem he would have to face sooner or later.

—

Jung Heeyeon fiddled nervously with his hands. The hotel manager who had brought him here had already left on the elevator. The floor seemed to belong entirely to this suite, as only one door lined the long hallway. He had been allowed to come this far only after promising to go straight back down if Director Yeon didn’t open the door.

The pheromones had been noticeable the moment they stepped out of the elevator, and they grew thicker with every step toward the door. His marked body was especially sensitive to the scent of the alpha who had imprinted him. Instead of hesitating, Jung Heeyeon pressed the bell.

“How long should I wait….”

Should he wait for a few minutes first to keep his promise, then leave? He was still thinking when the door suddenly burst open, without a sound to warn him.

“Ah.”

Jung Heeyeon looked straight up at the man who opened it. He was fresh out of the shower, water droplets falling from the alpha’s jaw, his body loosely wrapped in nothing more than a bathrobe. The overflowing pheromones mixed with the raw, primal atmosphere, sending an unfamiliar shiver down Jung Heeyeon’s spine.

The sharp slant of his narrowed eyes, the subdued gaze, and the languid yet oppressive atmosphere. The man was dominating the air.

“Director.”

Director Yeon parted his lips slowly. Standing in front of him should have been the hotel manager, not Jung Heeyeon. After all, the moment he had gotten into the elevator earlier, he had asked for alcohol and cigarettes.

“Why….”

The moment he opened the door without suspicion, a faint scent of gardenia sent a shiver through his fingertips. It was cloyingly sweet. Director Yeon brushed it off as nothing more than an illusion, thinking his body in rut was merely raging from the absence of the omega he had imprinted.

But standing before him was that very omega, the one he had imprinted—drenched in that intoxicating sweetness.

“Is my baby here….”

The moment he recognized Jung Heeyeon’s presence, his pheromones flared wildly out of control. Director Yeon’s gaze clung to the omega, heavy and unwavering. Some part of his mind told him he should send Jung Heeyeon away while he still had a shred of reason, yet every sense in his body reacted like a beast that wanted to devour him whole. His predatory focus traced down Jung Heeyeon’s hair, eyelashes, and the damp curve of his cheek.

“Heeyeon.”

His voice, drawn out and languid, slipped free. Hidden beneath his shower gown, his penis had already hardened the moment it recognized his omega’s pheromones.

“Who made my baby cry?”

Jung Heeyeon couldn’t even blink at the unfamiliar atmosphere surrounding Director Yeon. Dazed, he looked up at him as the alpha’s narrowed lips drew out that question. Only then did he remember the tears he had shed before coming to the hotel. Those tears hadn’t been from sorrow. They had come from needless worry that perhaps Director Yeon might not remember him after an accident.

Jung Heeyeon parted his lips and repeated words that Director Yeon had once teased him with.

“Director, do you have another omega hidden away somewhere?”

Those were the same words Director Yeon had used on the day Jung Heeyeon hid soybeans in the guest room to secretly make tofu.

“What?”

Half-crazed under the flood of his imprinted omega’s pheromones, Director Yeon didn’t even realize Jung Heeyeon was mimicking him.

“Who else would I let into my bedroom but you.”

The man’s voice grew rougher.

“Then why did you not say anything about your rut and lie? Lovers aren’t supposed to lie to each other.”

“Haa…”

Director Yeon let out a thin sigh as he pushed his damp hair back. It wasn’t a sigh of weariness from Jung Heeyeon, but a fragile breath to cling to his slipping reason.

“Because I don’t trust myself to hold back.”

“I’m strong, I’ll be fine.”

His gaze sank deeper, settling on Jung Heeyeon’s ankle.

“What if later, my Heeyeon gets scared and runs away…? This director is not such a gentle man.”

His voice dragged slower. Staring at that small, fragile ankle, Director Yeon struggled to keep his patience. His pheromones screamed at him to consume the omega at once. His nerves were taut, his fingertips trembling with force.

“It is alright. You’re gentle with me.”

“Rut is…”

Director Yeon’s cheek twisted. Confessing his raw nature to Jung Heeyeon of all people was far from easy. Yes, he had imprinted him, so the omega couldn’t run to another alpha, but if he ever grew afraid, Director Yeon wasn’t sure he could endure the aftermath. If Jung Heeyeon grew afraid and pushed him away…

“You can embrace me however you want. Even if the sex becomes rough, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a gentle person to me.”

The alpha’s oppressive possessiveness and hunger crashed into the steady, unwavering gentleness of that voice.

“It’s not just the gentle side you showed me that I love. I love you the way you are, Director.”

The line of his jaw tightened sharply, veins bulging against the back of his hand that covered his cheek.

“No matter what side of you I see, I don’t care. Director, I love you all the same.”

“Haha…”

A low laugh rumbled from Director Yeon’s throat. His face reflected surprise, a flicker of joy, and above all else, a vast, merciless possessiveness.

“Heeyeon. You can’t run away.”

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