Chapter 88: The Man in Black

“…Who? Me?”

Go Ha-jin glanced over his shoulder. For a second he wondered if there was someone else in the room. Of course, there was no one but him and Kim Oh-hyeon in the consultation room, and the doctor’s unwavering gaze forced him to collect himself.

“You know better than that. Why would you make a joke like that?”

“I’m not joking.”

Ha-jin had naturally assumed it was a joke, but Kim Oh-hyeon’s serious expression said otherwise.

“That can’t be possible. You saw my omega levels.”

“I did. But low levels don’t mean pregnancy is impossible.”

“Let’s not play word games.”

Ha-jin cut him off. What he meant was simple: Why are you suddenly saying something so absurd?

“The results of your blood test were a little strange.”

“What… was strange?”

“Your pheromones seem unstable. We often see this during early pregnancy.”

Kim Oh-hyeon explained in a calm, professional tone, and Ha-jin’s brain shut down again. He could hear the words, but his mind refused to process them. He had never seriously considered this possibility in his life.

“That can’t…”

He was about to deny it, but stopped. Kim Oh-hyeon was right. Even if his omega levels were low, he was still an omega. The possibility of pregnancy wasn’t zero.

He suddenly remembered hearing about a famous foreign celebrity, a recessive omega who had become pregnant with twins.

“Of course, it may not be pregnancy,” Kim Oh-hyeon continued. “Recessive omegas can also show symptoms like this when exposed to exceptionally high alpha pheromone levels.”

‘Should I just kill this bastard?’

For a brief moment, Ha-jin genuinely felt that impulse.

“You should’ve said that first, doctor. Why would you suddenly start talking about pregnancy?”

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak politely. If Kim Oh-hyeon hadn’t been his accomplice, a flood of curses would have poured out. For those few terrifying seconds, he had honestly believed he might be pregnant.

“It’s because this degree of pheromone synchronization is almost as rare as a recessive omega becoming pregnant. You and Director Chae must have a very… good relationship.”

Kim Oh-hyeon chose his words carefully. Ha-jin’s pheromones really had come back unusually unstable. In an ordinary patient, he would have considered it a medical problem. That was why pregnancy had crossed his mind at first.

But after talking with him, the more reasonable conclusion was that the bond between the two of them had become unusually strong.

Just look at him. The moment Chae Woo-seok’s name came up, Ha-jin’s face had turned bright red.

That was answer enough.

“Well… we’re not on bad terms, but we’re not that close.”

Oh?

Apparently this omega wasn’t actually very good at lying. His eyes darted around nervously, and the flush had spread from his face all the way to his ears.

Kim Oh-hyeon decided to get one more shot in.

“Be careful, my friend.”

“About what now?”

Ha-jin muttered without even turning around.

“If you’re being affected this much, there’s no way the other person is completely unaffected. He could go into rut at any time. You should prepare in advance.”

Even from behind, Kim Oh-hyeon could imagine Ha-jin’s expression, frozen stiff as a rock.

For the first time in a while, he felt genuinely satisfied.

Who would’ve thought he’d live to see the day he got the better of Go Ha-jin?

“Are you feeling sick anywhere? Like… is your heart racing, or are you short of breath?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

The moment he got into the car, Ha-jin began asking strange questions with an unusually serious expression.

“You don’t have a fever, right? Nothing feels different from usual?”

He even reached over and pressed a hand to Chae Woo-seok’s forehead, checking his temperature with obvious concern in his eyes.

Woo-seok had no idea where this was coming from, but somehow it was… cute enough that he wanted to play along.

“My heart might be beating a little fast.”

“Really? Since when? What else feels wrong?”

“I don’t know. Do I have a fever? My face feels kind of hot.”

Woo-seok gently took Ha-jin’s hand and held it against his own cheek.

He had only meant it as a joke, but his face really did feel warm. Ha-jin’s cool palm felt surprisingly pleasant against his skin.

Come to think of it, his chest was pounding a little harder than usual.

“You seem fine…”

“Really? That’s strange. I feel hot.”

Woo-seok turned his face slightly and kissed the palm resting against his cheek.

Not just a peck, he even brushed it with his tongue.

He found himself thinking that somehow, even Ha-jin’s palm felt exactly like Ha-jin. The soft skin against his lips almost felt like kissing his mouth.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Ha-jin jerked back as if electrocuted, yanking his hand away with all his strength.

“What?”

“Why would you suddenly… kiss my hand?”

“So?”

Woo-seok asked so calmly that Ha-jin briefly wondered if he was the strange one.

Had he overreacted to something trivial?

But by any reasonable standard, kissing someone’s palm was not normal.

“I’ve sucked your nipples and your di-”

“Stop! I got it, so stop talking and let’s just go eat! You’re really not sick, right?”

Only then did Ha-jin realize he had fallen right into Woo-seok’s trap.

A sick person wouldn’t be saying things like that.

The man never missed an opportunity to tease him.

“I’m perfectly fine. What’s with these weird questions? Did the hospital say something?”

Woo-seok decided to stop teasing him there and started the car.

“No, nothing major. Kim Oh-hyeon said you might suddenly go into rut or something.”

“Me? Impossible. He must not know much about dominant alphas. I can always tell before my rut starts. I can practically predict the exact date.”

“Right? That scammer…”

Hearing that made Ha-jin feel a little more relieved.

Of course. He was a dominant alpha.

There was probably no need to mention the pregnancy comment.

Besides…

Woo-seok had never seemed enthusiastic about having children.

Ha-jin didn’t need to ask why.

The answer was obvious enough.

Their marriage had never been a love match to begin with. It had started with an expiration date. On top of that, this was a man who didn’t even want to inherit the company. Would someone like him really want the responsibility of a child?

Probably not.

Woo-seok and a baby.

The combination felt strangely incompatible.

Not every trait-holder was obsessed with passing on their bloodline, and Ha-jin knew that perfectly well.

For some reason, his mood sank.

Maybe Kim Oh-hyeon had been right after all.

Maybe it really was just his pheromones running wild.

Ha-jin turned his gaze to the scenery flowing past outside the window.

“Why… seafood all of a sudden?”

“You like it.”

“You do know you don’t really like seafood, right?”

The restaurant Woo-seok had brought him to specialized in seafood.

That was exactly why Ha-jin was confused.

Woo-seok loved meat to an almost ridiculous degree. The man was practically a carnivore. It was rare for him to eat a meal without some kind of meat.

So seeing him choose seafood was genuinely surprising.

“I just prefer meat. That doesn’t mean I dislike seafood.”

“How did you know I like seafood?”

Watching Woo-seok order so naturally only made him more curious.

The octopus dish, oysters, fish, every single thing was something Ha-jin liked.

“What? Did you think I wouldn’t know what you like because I supposedly have no interest in you?”

“Um… yes? That’s what I assumed.”

Good thing they were sitting across from each other.

For a moment, Woo-seok’s expression sharpened enough that if they’d been side by side, Ha-jin was sure he would’ve gotten smacked.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I was just curious how you knew.”

“How could I not know? Whenever there’s meat and seafood together, you always eat the seafood first.”

“I could just be saving my favorite food for last…”

A question mark practically appeared over Woo-seok’s head.

Right.

Rich people probably didn’t think that way.

They could just eat their favorite thing whenever they wanted.

“Anyway. Just remember that I’m more observant than I look. Consider this a special meal for Go Ha-jin.”

“A special meal? It’s not even a special occasion.”

“You lost a lot of fluids last night.”

“Watch your mouth!”

Woo-seok said it at full volume, and Ha-jin nearly threw his water at him.

Who talked about things like that in public?

The man had absolutely no sense of shame.

“You were enjoying it enough in bed.”

And he always had to get the last word.

Fortunately, the food started arriving one dish after another.

Ha-jin buried his face in his plate and focused entirely on eating, pretending he hadn’t heard anything about ruined bedsheets or not being able to work all day because he was exhausted.

Thankfully, Woo-seok also became quiet once they started eating.

“…Why are you eating so much? Did you skip meals today?”

Only after most of the dishes had been cleared away did Woo-seok speak again.

Ha-jin finally looked up.

He hadn’t even realized he was hungry.

The food had been so good that he’d spent the entire meal eating without saying a word.

“…Come to think of it… why are all the empty plates on my side?”

No need to ask.

He had eaten Woo-seok’s share too.

Embarrassed, he spent the next several minutes enthusiastically praising Woo-seok’s excellent taste in restaurants and menu choices.

“Enough already. Let’s go.”

“Should we? Want to pick up some fried chicken on the way home?”

“…Sure.”

Woo-seok seemed to hesitate for a moment.

Ha-jin deliberately ignored that brief silence.

After all, they had barely eaten any fried chicken the night before before Woo-seok had suddenly attacked him.

He was still annoyed about that.

“Wait, I’m going to the restroom for a second.”

“I’ll wait in the car. Take your time.”

They were just about to leave the restaurant when it happened.

A faint wave of nausea rolled through Ha-jin.

It wasn’t enough to make him vomit, but he wondered if he had eaten too quickly.

He sent Woo-seok ahead and went into the restroom.

He washed his hands slowly, taking deep breaths with his head lowered, waiting for the nausea to pass.

When he finally straightened up and looked into the large mirror in front of him, he saw something strange.

Someone was standing directly behind him.

The figure was dressed entirely in black.

Black clothes.

A black cap.

A black mask.

Even standing this close, the person gave off almost no presence.

No footsteps.

No sound.

But the distance was, too close.

It happened in an instant.

Ha-jin’s heart slammed violently against his ribs, screaming a warning.

Run.

As if hearing that warning, the figure moved.

Before Ha-jin could turn around, before he could even open his mouth, a powerful arm wrapped around him from behind.

“Mm-!”

The person dragged him backward with overwhelming strength and clamped something tightly over his nose and mouth.

A sharp chemical smell flooded his senses.

His limbs went weak almost immediately.

And with that, his consciousness began to fade.

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