Once I accepted and adapted to this situation, Jung Inhyuk also didn’t touch me during work hours. He simply kept me locked under the desk. He probably wanted me to learn resignation and submission under there.

I slowly blinked sleepy eyes and let out a small yawn. Not long had passed since the heat cycle, and my stamina was at rock bottom. Since there was nothing to do even if I stayed awake, I folded my arms and dozed off.

Then my forehead bumped against his knee, crossed as he sat. I opened my eyes in surprise, but I didn’t have the energy to sit up, so I closed them again. He didn’t move his leg or push me away either.

When I opened my eyes again, Jung Inhyuk’s leg was gone. The chair had been pushed back too, and the room was as quiet as if a mouse wouldn’t dare breathe. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and crawled out from under the desk.

I poked my head out to look around the office. Jung Inhyuk was nowhere to be seen. I patted my stiff shoulders and stood up. I stretched and waved my arms and legs around.

Suddenly the door flew open without a knock. I jumped and immediately ducked down, crawling back under the desk.

“Stop running like a rat.”

“……”

“Come out and eat.”

Jung Inhyuk’s voice was rough with fatigue. And it made sense, since he had recently taken rut leave, and because of my heat cycle he had to take leave again, so he had mountains of work piled up. I slowly came out from under the desk and walked to the table. The moment my body touched the soft sofa, a groan escaped me on its own.

“Ugh…”

Jung Inhyuk didn’t even spare me a glance and was too busy looking through approval documents. Could I eat by myself? When I opened the bag, there was a lunchbox and a banana inside.

I briefly glanced at Jung Inhyuk, then opened the lunchbox lid and started eating. As I poked through the seasoned squid with my chopsticks, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

When I had come in a while ago, Jung Inhyuk’s pheromones had still been lingering in the air, but today I couldn’t feel anything. It was just scentless. There wasn’t even the smell of air freshener. I tilted my head and shoved a spoonful into my mouth.

After eating about half, I put the spoon down. Maybe because I had no appetite, the rice grains felt dry and gritty like chewing sand.

I packed the lunchbox back into the bag and took out the banana. I frowned at the banana, still green and under-ripe. It was thick and big, clearly substantial, but it wasn’t ripe, so it gave off only a raw, grassy smell. When I set the banana on the table without eating it, Jung Inhyuk stared at me.

“Peel the banana.”

“…Huh?”

Out of nowhere he was telling me to peel a banana. I thought it was a weird thing to say. Scratching my head, I picked up the banana. When I peeled off half the skin as usual, Jung Inhyuk stood and came over in front of me. Sitting on the table, he snatched the banana out of my hand. It’d taste bad because it’s still green…

“Open your mouth.”

I opened my mouth without understanding what was going on. Then the banana was shoved into my open mouth. The grassy smell vibrated at the tip of my nose. The flesh scraped against my teeth, and the astringent taste seeped onto my tongue.

For some reason it felt like semen, and that made me recoil. Before I knew it, Jung Inhyuk was sitting on my thigh. I couldn’t move my lower body at all.

“Suck it like you’re sucking my cock.”

“Mm, khk!”

The banana was so large it kept hitting my uvula. Jung Inhyuk grabbed my hair and, as if thrusting with his hips, shoved the banana deep inside before pulling it back. The banana, gradually entering deeper and deeper, eventually reached my throat.

I instinctively tried to push Jung Inhyuk’s hand away and flailed, but he hooked a finger under my chin and kept me from closing my mouth. The foreign object sealing up my throat made it hard to breathe. Heat rose in my face and my vision spun.

When the banana tried to pull back, I desperately opened my throat to help it slide out more easily. The banana that emerged from my mouth was a soggy mess, wet with saliva. Jung Inhyuk put the banana into both my hands.

“Use your tongue. Lick it.”

I was afraid that if I hesitated, Jung Inhyuk might grab the banana again and shove it down my throat, so I quickly closed my lips around it and started sucking. The front of the banana was mashed now, and the astringent taste was much stronger.

When I gagged with the banana in my mouth, Jung Inhyuk grabbed the back of my head and pushed me down. The force trying to resist and the force pressing down collided until the banana snapped in half with a sharp crack.

Jung Inhyuk clicked his tongue and tapped at the banana, half inside my mouth and half outside, with a finger. Then he shoved it into my mouth so the flesh would crush. The fruit that pushed through my lips pressed against my teeth and mashed. The thick, raw taste made nausea rise in my throat.

Apparently that still wasn’t enough for him, because he stuck his fingers into my mouth and stirred it up ruthlessly. The mashed fruit overflowed down my chin. He crushed the pulp against my teeth, stirred as much as he liked, and toyed with me. The thick mashed flesh flowed down my throat.

“Swallow it.”

“Hhk, ugh, ghk.”

I barely managed to swallow the banana in several hard gulps while forcing back the urge to vomit. Jung Inhyuk extended a hand toward me. I opened my mouth and licked his fingers.

After licking them clean one by one, Jung Inhyuk got up and sat back down at the desk. I let out a small sigh and rubbed my lips clean. I never wanted to touch a banana again.

All of a sudden, I heard the sound of a belt unfastening. I lifted my head and looked at Jung Inhyuk.

“What are you staring blankly for? Come here and suck it.”

✿ • ✿ • ✿

I absentmindedly kicked at the ground and fiddled with my phone. Soon, a blaring honk sounded. The car slowly stopped, and the back door opened. I greeted Changseok and climbed into the warm car.

There was coffee waiting in the cup holder, prepared by him in advance. I wrapped both hands around the cup and warmed my chilled fingers.

“Hyung! What on earth happened to you?”

“…Huh?”

“Your already tiny face is about to disappear.”

“Ah…”

Embarrassed, I touched my face and smiled awkwardly. Even after the heat cycle ended, I kept getting called into his office, so I was in pretty bad shape. Because of that, I’d lost 3 kilos.

It wasn’t exactly hard to recover if I ate well for a while, but I still felt awkward for no reason. I pulled the hood on my padded jacket low enough to cover under my eyes and looked out the window.

“Why are your lips like that too?”

“Ah… this? It split when I yawned.”

“Whoa, really?”

For days I’d been stuffed under Jung Inhyuk’s desk and had his thing in my mouth, so my mouth corners had no chance of staying intact. Even if I put ointment on and took care of them, they’d split again right away, so I had stopped using it at all. I lightly rubbed the scabbed edges of my mouth with my fingertips and took out the script from my bag, placing it on my thighs.

“It’s been a while since you’ve gone to a reading. How are you feeling?”

“…I’m a little nervous, but I think I’m okay.”

“I’m so excited. It’s your first time playing a villain, hyung. On that pretty face too, with such a vicious streak! Just thinking about it already makes me tingle.”

Changseok kept chattering like a child on the night before a picnic. I halfheartedly responded and played along. I didn’t want to grumble at someone who would be suffering with me day and night for the next few months.

We exchanged casual conversation on the way to the reading location. After getting out of the car, I adjusted my clothes and pulled my ball cap down low. Changseok had said not to wear it because my already small face would look even smaller, but I couldn’t help it because I was prone to feeling awkward around people. Guided by the staff, I headed to the conference room where the script reading was being held.

There were already many actors seated inside. I took off my cap, bowed in greeting, and found my seat nearest the director before sitting down. Soon, Seo Jimin entered the conference room with a makeup-free face. She sat down directly across from me.

“Hi, Shinjae.”

“Ah, hello.”

“Isn’t your gap too huge, between when the camera’s rolling and when it isn’t?”

“I’m just a bit shy. Sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for.”

Seo Jimin smiled primly and took out her script, placing it on the table. I flipped through the script with a fully tense face.

Until then, after Jung Inhyuk got off work, I went straight home. I fed Odoi, then locked myself and him in the study and threw myself into the script.

I analyzed Kim Jaei and worked on building the character’s specific habits and personality. I spent entire nights searching for related books and movies. I worked to become Kim Jaei perfectly. And today was the day I would finally present Lee Shinjae’s version of Kim Jaei.

It wasn’t long before Director Yoon Pansu and the main staff entered the conference room. A staff member carrying an ENG camera busily followed the director around. It was a making-of camera.

Changseok, seated in the back, came closer and told me that there would be a short interview for the making-of video after the script reading. I rubbed my brow with my fingertips and nodded.

After the introductions from Director Yoon Pansu and the producer who handled the production, the actor introductions followed. I quietly slid my chair back and stood up.

“I’m Lee Shinjae, and I’ll be playing Kim Jaei.”

As I bowed, applause broke out. It had been so long since I’d done a formal introduction like this that I felt embarrassed. I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand for no reason and sat back down.

After the introductions from the lead actors, including Seo Jimin and Oh Jaehyun, the supporting cast introduced themselves one by one. But near the end of the introductions, an unexpected name reached my ears.

“I’m Oh Giju, and I’ll be playing Kim Jemin. I’m really nervous to be returning after such a long time, but I’ll do my best not to be a burden to the production.”

I set down the script in my hands and lifted my head. It really was Oh Giju. He must have felt my gaze, because he stared straight at me, then let out a small laugh. How is that bastard here?