Chapter 88: Residual Heat

“…!”

Hyunwoo looked down and froze.

For some reason, his erection was clearly pressing against his pants.

Even though he was fully dressed, it jutted out visibly, and Hyunwoo panicked.

“W–Why is this… ugh…”

“Hyung!”

The moment he became aware of it, the situation worsened.

Heat pooled low in his abdomen, tightening everything below, and Hyunwoo bent over instinctively.

Seunghyuk bent with him to support him.

He probably did it out of simple concern, but because of that, Hyunwoo could smell Seunghyuk’s pheromones even more strongly.

In the bathroom earlier, they had helped calm his body.

But now, they only made it unbearable.

“Wait, just… step back.”

“Why? Are you going to throw up?”

“No, that’s not…”

“……”

Hyunwoo couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Seunghyuk’s gaze lingered, and he realized Hyunwoo was more aroused because of him.

Hyunwoo’s face turned red, and he wrapped his arms around his stomach, unable to handle the situation.

He had already been strangely sensitive ever since they came out of the bathroom.

Seunghyuk frowned.

Hyunwoo had been fine until they left.

Sure, he couldn’t look directly at Seunghyuk’s newly cut hair and sometimes flushed, but it was clearly different from this.

The pheromone in the air was thick with raw arousal.

Sweat dampened Hyunwoo’s brow, and his expression was twisted in helpless need, like someone overwhelmed without wanting to be.

Something had definitely happened in that bathroom with that man.

‘Damn it.’

Seunghyuk swore under his breath.

He should have gone sooner.

He never imagined someone here—another alpha, not an omega—could drive Hyunwoo into heat like this.

Especially not someone besides himself and Cha Kwon-oh.

Seunghyuk clicked his tongue and reached out.

He had to calm Hyunwoo down before it became torture.

“Wh–what are you—!”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“No, stop.”

“It’ll be faster than you doing it alone.”

“……”

The words were strangely logical, leaving Hyunwoo momentarily speechless.

Normally, he would have swatted Seunghyuk’s hand away, telling him to cut the nonsense.

But he couldn’t think straight through the fever burning his body.

“Ah…!”

Seunghyuk’s hand came to the front of his pants.

He gently brushed the bulge with his fingertips, and Hyunwoo bit down to stop a sound from escaping.

“I’ll finish it quickly.”

“Hnn…”

“Once you release, you’ll feel better.”

“W–wait… ah…!”

Seunghyuk smoothly unzipped his pants and slipped his hand inside.

He wrapped his fingers around Hyunwoo’s half-hard length, heat throbbing against his palm.

“That bastard did this to you?”

“No… ugh.”

“Don’t lie. You’re covered in his pheromone.”

“A—ah!”

Strangely, Seunghyuk’s voice against his ear was more stimulating than his hand.

Low, rough, almost growling, vibrating right against his skin, making every hair on Hyunwoo’s body stand up.

“Don’t… say pheromone…”

“Haa…”

Seunghyuk lowered his head and pressed his lips to Hyunwoo’s neck, exhaling hot breath.

He was so angry that holding back his own pheromones was becoming impossible.

All he could think about was wiping the other alpha’s scent off Hyunwoo.

“Lee Seung… hyuk— mmph.”

Hyunwoo accidentally let out a louder sound and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Even in the haze, he kept reminding himself where they were.

The small private room.

The thin walls.

The sound of strangers laughing just beyond them.

“Haa, hyung.”

“Nnh…!”

Seunghyuk’s hand moved steadily, faster, tighter, stroking Hyunwoo’s fully hardened length.

His other hand pulled Hyunwoo’s hand away from his mouth and covered his lips with a kiss instead.

A wet sound followed—soft, deep, absorbing the sounds he tried to suppress.

Their tongues tangled, and Seunghyuk’s hand quickened.

“Mm—!”

Hyunwoo came, trembling, his release spilling over Seunghyuk’s hand.

He braced himself against the table with one hand and clutched Seunghyuk’s arm with the other.

His vision blurred.

Between the struggle in the bathroom and being overwhelmed by Seunghyuk’s pheromones now, he had no strength left.

“Hyung?”

“Ugh…”

His body went limp.

Seunghyuk realized he had passed out.

He quickly wiped his hand with a tissue and supported Hyunwoo, confirming he was only unconscious, not hurt.

“…Good.”

“……”

It was better that Hyunwoo didn’t see what happened next.

Seunghyuk adjusted him in a chair, then stood up.

His eyes, warm just moments ago, went cold.

The man from earlier was still collapsed in the small bathroom at the back of the room.

Seunghyuk looked down at him.

Then reached out.

“Ugh…”

“……”

The man was still stunned under the pressure of Seunghyuk’s alpha pheromones.

Blood dripped from his nose—probably from Hyunwoo’s punch.

Even that irritated Seunghyuk.

Hyunwoo could settle the score later.

But Seunghyuk needed to deal with this now.

“Brace yourself. I’m going to beat you until you don’t remember any of this.”

“Ugh—!”

He shoved a roll of toilet paper into the man’s mouth to muffle the sound.

The man struggled too late.

It didn’t matter.

Soon, the closed bathroom door echoed with the dull thuds of impact.

Hyunwoo woke up to daylight.

He was in his own room, staring up at a familiar ceiling.

“…Haa.”

Lately, he was blacking out more often than he liked.

He sat up.

Click.

“Hyung!”

“…!”

Hyunjin entered with a tray holding water and a glass.

He quickly approached.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh…”

“I heard from Seunghyuk. You two were eating, then some drunk tried to pick a fight?”

“Ah… yeah.”

“You’re really alright? Nothing hurts?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Good…”

Hyunjin set the tray on the bedside table with an annoyed expression.

“What the hell was wrong with that guy? If you’re drunk, go home. Why pick a fight?”

“Seriously.”

“I called Director Kang. He’ll make sure the guy gets punished properly.”

“Oh… I mean, I did kind of…”

“I know, I know. You beat him up pretty bad yourself. But he started it, and you passed out because of the pheromone situation.”

“…Huh?”

Beat him up?

Me?

Hyunwoo tilted his head.

He had thrown a punch, yes.

But that alone shouldn’t have left the guy in that condition.

Something had definitely happened after he fainted.

“Where’s Seunghyuk?”

“He went out again. Seems like he’s busy lately.”

“…I see.”

Did Seunghyuk go back and hit him?

No—why would he?

He would have been busy bringing Hyunwoo home and taking care of him.

Most likely, the drunk guy woke up and picked a fight with someone else.

If there was another victim, they’d just press charges and add more on.

Hyunwoo nodded and reached for the glass of water.

Hyunjin immediately poured it for him.

“I’ll do it, hyung.”

“Ah… thanks.”

Hyunwoo accepted the glass, smiling awkwardly.

“Hey, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Why were you eating with Seunghyuk alone yesterday?”

“Pfft!”

“You stayed out together until late?”

“……”

Hyunwoo choked, coughing into his hand.

When he looked up, Hyunjin was smiling—but his eyes were very, very cold.