The amount was so slight that Jung Inhyuk, sitting across from me, hadn’t noticed it, and only Seo Jimin, sitting beside me, seemed to have caught the scent. Jung Inhyuk wrapped an arm around my shoulder and drew a hard breath.

“Whether Lee Shinjae is an omega or a beta has nothing to do with you. I’ll handle it myself.”

“Handle what yourself? What if something serious happens? Do you have any idea how many lowlifes there are in this business?”

“Get out before I say something ugly.”

Noh Jiwook, who had been watching the situation closely, quickly took Seo Jimin’s bag and led her out of the private room. After the two of them left, only a heavy silence remained. Jung Inhyuk hooked a finger around his tie knot and loosened it.

“Come closer.”

I hesitated and stepped up in front of Jung Inhyuk. He bent his head like Seo Jimin had earlier and buried his nose in my neck.

“The medicine.”

“…I took it this morning.”

“……”

“I’ll b-be careful from now on.”

More than Seo Jimin finding out I was an omega, what weighed on me most was that I had upset Jung Inhyuk. Every bit of my attention was on his movements and his breathing. Frowning fiercely, he left the private room. I let out a small breath and followed after him.

✿ • ✿ • ✿

“Mr. Shinjae has such good projection and pronunciation, and his expressions are pretty good too, so there’s no big problem with the acting itself. But since the role is a prosecutor, you need the intimidation that comes from spitting out clear words, that kind of force that can encompass people, and I feel like that’s lacking. It’ll help if you keep practicing speaking confidently, making sure to push from your lower abdomen. Good work.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed politely, clutching the script covered in index tabs to my chest. The closer filming got, the stronger the burden of my role became. Kim Je, the character I was playing, was someone who mocked and toyed with people and had sharp wit. But I was shy by nature and easily awkward around strangers, so the more I practiced, the more awkward my lines and expressions felt.

That was why I was taking separate lessons from the teacher who had first taught me acting. When the lesson ended, Park Suwon, who had been sitting at one side of the practice room working on a tablet, packed up and stood. For the past few days, he had been following me around and basically providing close protection.

After that day’s meal, on the drive home, Jung Inhyuk hadn’t said a word, as if lost in thought. And the next day, when I opened the door to leave for acting lessons, Park Suwon was waiting with the car parked in front of the house.

“Manager Jung just called to say he got off work.”

“…Already?”

I glanced at my watch and frowned. It was too early for Jung Inhyuk to be leaving work.

“Looks like his condition isn’t great.”

“…Ah.”

I already knew his condition wasn’t good. He had stopped taking suppressants because of his heat cycle. On the day he stopped, he seemed fine, but from yesterday onward he had been irritable, and his pheromones filled the whole house.

Because of that, I couldn’t even move in my room. The moment I opened the door, Jung Inhyuk’s pheromones hit hard, and going out of the room was torture. I lowered the car window a little and took a deep breath.

I took the pill bottle from my pocket and fiddled with it. I’d originally planned to take the medicine at night, but Jung Inhyuk’s condition was worsening faster than expected. If I was going to take it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to take it sooner? If I dragged it out, the heat might last longer.

I stared at the pill bottle for a long time before making up my mind and pouring the pills into my mouth. I took a bottle of water from the door pocket and drank. I could feel the tablets going down my throat.

Thinking that I had to go through a heat cycle while taking medicine like this made me bitterly miserable all over again. I looked out the window for a moment, then leaned forward suddenly and called to Park Suwon.

“Suwon.”

“Yeah?”

“Go to the company.”

“What are you talking about? Jung Inhyuk’s off work and at home.”

“I know. I know that, so drive to the company.”

The car happened to stop at a red light, and Park Suwon turned to look at me. I leaned back in my seat and fiddled with the seatbelt. I was full of unease, but a stubborn streak had risen up in me.

“Call Jung Inhyuk and get his permission. I don’t want to be misunderstood over something like this.”

“I’ll make sure you won’t be inconvenienced, so do as I say.”

“This isn’t just any other thing. It’s Jung Inhyuk’s rut. Are you seriously out of your mind?”

I didn’t answer and turned my head away. If I thought about it one way, this might be the only moment when I could talk back to Jung Inhyuk. And I had absolutely no intention of trembling under him without even getting washed up.

If he was leaving work in the middle of everything, that meant the warning signs had already appeared. Fine, then. Let him hold out as long as he could.

I packed two rolls of kimbap from a snack shop and went up to his office. Since Jung Inhyuk had left work, the secretary’s office was empty. With an unwilling expression, Park Suwon followed behind me. I opened the office door and went straight to the bookshelf.

Looking at the hidden door behind it, I placed my finger on the fingerprint scanner. A first unlock sound rang out soon after. To think the day would come when I’d open a secret room with my own hand… I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“Tell me the password.”

“…10281108.”

Ridiculously, the password was Jung Inhyuk’s birthday and mine. Click, the door opened. I gave a bitter smile and turned the handle to open it, only for Park Suwon to stop me.

“Think again. Manager Jung is waiting.”

“I’m not going to stay long. I’m just going to wash up and eat the kimbap before I leave.”

“Ha, you came all the way here just to do that?”

“I haven’t even had breakfast. If I go now… never mind. Talking to you about this is uncomfortable. I’ll be out within an hour, so wait.”

I brushed away his hand on the door and stepped inside. Just then, Park Suwon’s phone rang. He grabbed my shoulder and showed me the name on the screen. The caller was Jung Inhyuk. Park Suwon answered, exchanged a few words, and then handed the phone to me.

“Take it.”

I swallowed hard and took the phone, bringing it to my ear.

“Hello?”

[Look at that. A long life is worth living, to see Lee Shinjae open the secret room door of his own accord.]

“I’m not staying long. I’ll wash up and come in within an hour.”

[What’s the point of washing a body that’s only going to get dirty again? You seem smart, but you’re dumb too.]

The mocking tone was the same as ever, but his breathing was rough. I lifted the plastic bag in my hand slightly and let out a small sigh.

“I’m coming now,”

[Show up within an hour.]

I handed the disconnected phone back to Park Suwon and went into the secret room. I turned on the lights with practiced ease and set the plastic bag on the desk. Jung Inhyuk’s pheromones still lingered faintly in the room.

I opened the wardrobe, took out underwear and a shower robe, then pulled the kimbap from the bag and laid it out. I stuffed a few pieces into my mouth and went into the bathroom.

Jung Inhyuk spent most of his heat cycle here. Unlike other alphas, he went into rut with me, a beta, not an omega. There was no pheromone coming off me to soothe his heat, and still he spent rut with me, which made him seem absolutely insane.

Because he was aroused, he had carelessly shoved a weapon-like thing into my too-tight hole more than once, and there had been blood more than a few times. Remembering the smell of semen and blood from then made me lose my appetite instantly. At the very least, I wanted to prevent something like that from happening. That was why I had been so stubborn.

After showering, I took the lube from the bathroom cabinet. Even if I had become an omega, it would still take time before I was fully wet. He probably wouldn’t care about my situation and would try to ram in without thinking. Better than getting torn open down there.

I lay down on my stomach, pressed my cheek to the floor, and lifted my hips high. I pushed the pointed tip in and squeezed out the gel. I clenched my teeth at the sensation of the cool liquid spreading inside. Suppressing the humiliating feeling, I kept the position for a while and then got myself together.

Sitting at the desk, I took off the wet bandage and wrapped a new one around my wrist from the first-aid kit. I secured it neatly with a clip and moved my hand around a little. It didn’t hurt much, but there was still some pain.

I finished the kimbap and changed clothes. Maybe because my mind felt heavy, everything I did was slow. I dawdled until I got a call from Park Suwon and finally managed to stand.

With a long sigh, I put the empty lube container into the plastic bag and picked it up. The moment I stepped out of the secret room, Park Suwon urged me on.

By the time we got home, my heart was a mess of worry and unease. As the car neared the house, I got ready to get out. I gathered my bag and water and waited for the car to stop.

“Get out.”

“…Drive safely.”

When I got out and stood in front of the gate, my stomach felt tight and suffocating. I took a deep breath and pushed the gate open. After a brief glance at the well-kept garden, I slowly walked toward the front door. The moment I reached for the lock, the door suddenly burst open from the inside, and Jung Inhyuk, half-naked, shoved me over as if he was throwing himself on top of me. Before I could even process what was happening, thick alpha pheromones crushed down on me. The inside of my nose and throat burned at once.

“Ugh, Manager.”

Jung Inhyuk yanked my shirt open almost like he was tearing it off and buried his lips at my shoulder. The strange sensation of his tongue licking my skin made goosebumps rise all over me. He already looked completely lost to his rut, far gone in his head. I struggled to push away the body pressing me down, but he only tightened his hold and kept me pinned.

I knew all too well how vicious his rut could get because I had lived through it. I had to calm him down somehow and get him inside the house, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

After a moment’s hesitation, I lowered my hand and grabbed his waistband, then rolled my body hard to the side with all my strength. My wrist, which still wasn’t fully healed, throbbed painfully. I barely managed to pin Jung Inhyuk beneath me and end up lying on top of him. The pheromones pouring from his body made my head spin.