Chapter 10: The Scent Left Behind

“Ah, Vice President.”

Secretary Kang, who had been turning around, noticed Cha Hae-jun and lightly bowed his head. Cha Hae-jun waved his hand dismissively in greeting and spoke without stopping his steps.

“I’ll be away for a week, so handle that one properly while I’m gone. When we return to Korea, move him somewhere I won’t see him. We’ll have to match pheromones periodically… but aside from that, make sure we don’t cross paths.”

Secretary Kang, following behind him, ran through Cha Hae-jun’s schedule in his head before nodding. Now that he thought about it, it was the season of rut.

Even if medication helped him get through it to some degree, Cha Hae-jun was still a dominant alpha. There was no benefit in provoking him unnecessarily.

“Yes. Have a safe trip.”

Until the elevator arrived again, the two talked briefly about the schedule. Their conversation ended after Cha Hae-jun stepped into the elevator.

Looking at the round crown of his secretary’s bowed head, Cha Hae-jun suddenly thought of Si-hyeon. His unusually dark, shiny hair. Even if he possessed only the tiniest trace of the trait, an extreme-heat omega was still an omega.

Thinking that perhaps this was the difference between an omega and a beta, Cha Hae-jun suddenly remembered the wallet in the inner pocket of his jacket.

Glancing inside his jacket, he irritably ran a hand through his hair. Why was something so trivial considered so important?

It wasn’t made by a legendary craftsman, nor was it a luxury wallet worth tens of thousands of dollars, yet that man was risking his life trying to find it.

“Annoying….”

The way it had come into his possession was absurd as well. After the accident, they had luckily caught a habitual pickpocket, and the wallet had naturally been handed over to Cha Hae-jun.

At the hospital, Cha Hae-jun had been registered as Si-hyeon’s temporary guardian, and the accident had been mentioned several times in the news, which made the handover possible.

The item they had actually been searching for never turned up, and instead he ended up stuck with this annoying thing.

Pressing his fingers against the corners of his eyes, he took the wallet out again and looked through it.

No matter how he examined it, there was nothing of value inside. Only a few dirty receipts and a crumpled piece of paper wedged between them. There wasn’t even a single card, just a few Chinese-restaurant coupons that might barely be worth something.

People said you could tell a person’s character by their wallet, and Bae Si-hyeon’s personality seemed just as shabby as his behavior.

When Cha Hae-jun had first obtained the wallet, he thought it might be a way to keep the omega close. But that problem had already been solved in another way. In other words, the item had no more use for him.

Still, he figured he might use it someday, so he shoved the wallet back into his pocket. Then the image of Si-hyeon waving his hand came to mind, and his face twisted in irritation.

Annoyance surged up. There wasn’t a single thing about that man he liked.

****

Once the sound of footsteps completely disappeared, Si-hyeon slowly released the breath he had been holding.

When he inhaled again, a sweet scent clung heavily to his nose, almost making it feel crooked. At the same time, it was dizzying enough to make the tiny hairs on his skin stand up.

“Ah, damn….”

Every time he moved his legs, the rustling of the bed sheets sounded loud. Worried someone might hear, Si-hyeon squeezed his legs together as much as possible. Even then he kept rubbing them together. No matter how tightly he pressed his thighs, the heat wouldn’t calm down.

It was itchy and hot at the same time.

Unable to define the sensation, Si-hyeon lifted the bed sheet slightly. His vision spun.

What on earth should he call this phenomenon?

The smell was pleasant, but every time he inhaled it, he felt strange. Still, he couldn’t just tell someone, “Your scent makes me feel weird, so please stay away.”

After forcing himself to endure it, what returned was this bizarre bodily reaction.

He wasn’t ignorant. Despite appearances, he was a healthy adult man, and while working at the factory he had heard all sorts of stories from the older men. That was exactly why he couldn’t pretend not to understand.

It felt as though a subtle heat was gathering lower down.

Slowly sliding his hand downward, Si-hyeon squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the firmness at his fingertips.

The lingering scent the man had left behind seemed to burrow even deeper into his body.

If the man ever found out, Si-hyeon wouldn’t have a single excuse if he was treated like the worst trash in the world. How ridiculous would it sound, that merely smelling someone’s body scent made him react like this between his legs?

Si-hyeon pulled his knees up and hugged himself tightly.

He needed to make sure this strange reaction passed safely without causing trouble.

“East Sea… and Mount Baekdu…”

This had never happened before. Why was it happening now? Tears threatened to come.

Pulling the thin sheet over his head, Si-hyeon curled up and breathed through his mouth to escape Cha Hae-jun’s scent.

As the heat rising through his skin and the hardness between his legs grew stronger, he groaned softly while singing the Korean national anthem.

Even after finishing all four verses, he still couldn’t calm down, so he began muttering the work songs he used to hear at the factory.

Only after a long time, when the man’s scent had finally faded, did Si-hyeon manage to calm himself.

When he slowly pushed the sheet away and lifted his head, both of his cheeks were deeply flushed.

They were so red it looked as though someone had painted the color there.

****

Exactly one week passed since the first report had been filed.

People said lost items were a race against time, but the more Si-hyeon thought about it, the more it seemed like the police in this country simply didn’t work.

Anxiously tapping his foot, Si-hyeon looked at the nurse who entered the hospital room, and the man who came in behind her.

It was Secretary Kang.

“Secretary, did I get any calls?”

“How many times are you going to ask that?”

“I mean… I’ve only asked twice…”

“Am I the one responsible for finding your belongings? Besides, the reason your discharge has been delayed like this is entirely your fault, Mr. Bae Si-hyeon. Seeing how you keep making a fuss over that one item even after just getting your cast removed, you must have pulled something similar with the vice president too.”

The words pressed down heavily on Si-hyeon’s chest.

Unable to argue back, he only fidgeted with his lips while Secretary Kang tilted his head.

“Do you even feel guilty toward the vice president? The conveniences you’re receiving are purely out of his consideration. Yet instead of gratitude, you’re extending your hospital stay. That’s practically robbery. It would be better if you just stay quiet. Understood?”

It was painfully true.

Si-hyeon’s expression drooped as his eyebrows sagged downward. Fidgeting with his fingers, he lowered his head.

“Okay… I’ll be careful. But when will my bone fully heal?”

“…”

“Back when I fell off a ladder at the factory while moving boxes, I was totally fine. My health is basically my only strong point, but this one is taking longer… maybe the medical technology here is really backward.”

Ignoring the chatter, Secretary Kang glanced over Bae Si-hyeon’s medical chart that had been updated that morning.

Perhaps because he had been receiving dominant pheromones periodically, his pheromone levels had risen quite a bit.

Well, if their waves matched before any other measures were needed, that was fortunate.

Whether he knew his own future or not, Bae Si-hyeon’s behavior remained remarkably calm.

Well, except when he became anxious about not hearing news about his wallet.

But that was all.

“…Today I went up to the rooftop and became friends with one of the cleaning ladies. Even if this hospital treats patients like quacks, their welfare for cleaning staff is great. They get breaks every four hours. Stuff like that shows Korea still has a long way to go.”

Apparently that mouth would never close.

Even though he could barely speak English, he somehow managed to talk with locals easily.

His sociability seemed universal.

“So, Mr. Secretary.”

“Mr…”

Secretary Kang stopped mid-sentence and looked up. The nurse had already left the room.

“Go on.”

“Is the boss busy?”

The sudden question caught him off guard.

Secretary Kang paused briefly before reluctantly answering.

“He’s busy. Originally he planned to stay in New York for about a week, but the period was extended.”

“Then wouldn’t that mean he has more free time?”

That might be true for most people, but unfortunately Cha Hae-jun was not ordinary.

The longer the stay, the more work piled up. Projects he had intended to finish quickly now required deeper examination. Because of that, Secretary Kang had to remain on standby almost constantly beside his sleepless boss.

And now he also had to spend time with Bae Si-hyeon, leaving even less time.

Did this carefree omega even realize how much money moved whenever Cha Hae-jun made a single move?

“He’s busy. Far busier than you imagine.”

“Then how can I go outside? You said if I needed to go somewhere I should ask you or the boss… since he’s registered as my temporary guardian. And I want to see him. I’m not even reducing ten thousand won a day. I wish he’d buy more of my time…”

Let him correct himself.

This was not a blessing.

Watching Bae Si-hyeon constantly whining and asking for things made Secretary Kang hold his breath for a moment. Otherwise his face might twist with irritation.

Babysitting someone like this, it wasn’t sweet work.

It was a trap card.