Chapter 2: An Unexpected Savior

“…Seonbaenim. I have something urgent to attend to, so I’ll see you next time. I’m sorry.”

Yoonseo spat out the words urgently without even pausing for breath and bowed his head deeply.

Then, he quickly sidestepped Kim Injun and quickened his pace.

He racked his brain, trying his best to act unfazed, as if nothing was wrong.

‘Should I take the elevator down? Or the emergency stairs? Is it better to go straight to the dinner spot? Or should I hide somewhere and assess the situation?’

Yoonseo’s heart raced as he heard footsteps starting to follow him, and he walked down the corridor with hurried steps as if being chased.

“F*ck! Hey, Choi Yoonseo!”

A voice sharp enough to tear his eardrums echoed through the hallway.

But it seemed there was no one on the 9th floor to wonder about the commotion.

If there had been anyone, this heavy, crushing silence wouldn’t be weighing down on him like this.

Biting his lower lip hard, Yoonseo decided to use the emergency stairs instead of the elevator.

It would be great if he could get an elevator right away, but if not, he’d be caught helplessly.

First, he decided to go down to the lobby.

There would be more people there.

It was a decision made with the knowledge that the only thing Kim Injun cared about was the opinions of others.

His father was a congressman and party leader who wielded considerable influence in politics, so Kim Injun couldn’t act with complete impunity.

Kim Injun seemed to use his background to his advantage, yet at the same time, he seemed to feel pressured by it.

Perhaps not wanting to be a low-class Alpha who only harassed Omegas, he had even threatened Yoonseo not to tell anyone what he had witnessed.

He had said it would be nothing for him to ensure Yoonseo could never set foot in this industry again.

Recalling that voice, Yoonseo clenched his jaw.

He was already in front of the emergency exit door.

In that short time, Kim Injun’s pace had doubled, significantly closing the distance.

There was no time or reason to hesitate.

He had to get to the lobby.

He hurried down the stairs, occasionally grabbing the handrail, when he heard the heavy thud of the steel door closing behind him.

It seemed Kim Injun, having already lost his reason, was determined to follow him to the very end.

“F*ck… where did he go…”

An insidious voice mingled with the sound of angry footsteps.

Yoonseo gritted his teeth and ran down the stairs like a madman.

He didn’t have a moment to check which floor he was on, his feet just pounded on stair after stair.

The pheromones, reaching out like a demonic claw, were so repulsive they made his skin crawl.

He even felt dizzy from continuously spiraling down.

Yoonseo squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again, thinking he needed to check the floor number, his eyes darting around anxiously.

Just then, the closed steel door was suddenly flung open, and someone burst out, lightly bumping into him.

“Don’t get the wrong idea just because we slept together that one time…”

The man, who was speaking on the phone with a sharp tone, stopped abruptly and looked at Yoonseo.

Yoonseo was so startled he nearly fainted. As his legs gave way and he was about to collapse, the other person quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist.

It was a good thing the door opened inwards; otherwise, he might have been slammed flat by the steel door.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes… I’m, okay.”

His heart was already pounding from being out of breath, and the shock made it beat like crazy.

The man heard Yoonseo’s stammered reply and ended the call without hesitation.

Embarrassed by the blatant stare, Yoonseo flinched and stepped back, but he only ended up pressed against the hard wall.

Yoonseo barely managed to put strength back into his legs and stand up straight.

It was then.

In the moment he was distracted by the man’s appearance, the oppressive pheromones drew closer.

“Haha… found you…”

Yoonseo’s head snapped up.

Kim Injun, having closed the distance, was standing on the landing.

His eyes glinted more bizarrely than when they had first met.

There had been many times when Kim Injun had thrown disgusting jokes and attempted unwanted physical contact, but he had never chased him this openly while releasing his pheromones.

That was only possible because Yoonseo had always made an effort to avoid situations where he would be alone with him.

But today was different.

They had met in a place with no witnesses, and to top it all off, his rut had begun.

Although a stranger had chanced upon this space, it was uncertain what effect he could have on Kim Injun, who had already lost all reason.

He had to run.

That was the first thought that came to Yoonseo’s mind as he finally came to his senses.

But the man who had bumped into him was still holding his wrist.

Flustered, Yoonseo quickly lifted his head and looked at the man.

Only then did he realize how tall he was.

“Hmm… a lovers’ quarrel, perhaps?”

The man groaned as if in a difficult situation, then brought his lips close to Yoonseo’s ear and whispered.

Even though he knew the situation could be misunderstood by others, hearing it directly made his brow furrow involuntarily.

In the meantime, Kim Injun was muttering grim curses as he staggered down the stairs one step at a time.

He didn’t even seem to care that someone else was there, trying to get closer as if he had lost all ability to judge the situation.

“Guess not.”

The man muttered to himself as he looked at Yoonseo, who couldn’t answer and was just biting his pale lips.

At that moment, the Alpha pheromones filling the space were steadily rendering Yoonseo powerless.

His vision blurred white and then sharpened repeatedly, his breath was trapped in his throat, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.

On top of that, he was exhausted from trying to control his own pheromones from leaking out.

The man seemed to observe the situation with amusement, then carefully took a step in front of Yoonseo.

Yoonseo was trembling so much he didn’t even notice his phone vibrating continuously in his hand.

He was simply bewildered, unable to understand the intention of the man who was still holding his wrist and had suddenly blocked his path.

“Please let go of my hand…”

“Just bear with it for a moment. It’ll be over soon.”

The man cut off Yoonseo’s voice with those incomprehensible words, seeming to be the only one at ease in this space.

Yoonseo, who furrowed his brow even more deeply, soon understood what he meant.

It was because the man had released an Alpha’s pheromones that were incomparably stronger and heavier than Kim Injun’s.

Yoonseo, who had unconsciously taken a sharp breath, held it and covered his mouth and nose with his palm.

‘This person was an Alpha too.’

The reason he wasn’t pleased to learn a stranger’s secondary gender was because it was obvious that he, an Omega, would react to his pheromones as well.

Naturally, the man would also realize that he was an Omega.

The moment he felt the man’s pheromones, an uncontrollably intense heat spread through his body as if to incinerate it.

It was strong enough to significantly affect even another Alpha.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Just as his consciousness was about to slip away from the potent pheromones, the man held Yoonseo firmly.

He then opened the emergency exit door and led Yoonseo out of that space.

There was no time to check what had happened to Kim Injun.

Once he was out of the space so densely filled with Alpha pheromones, he could finally breathe.

Yoonseo bent over, placed both hands on his knees, and coughed repeatedly.

As his breathing stabilized, his senses sharpened.

He was worried that he had left without checking on Kim Injun, and his mind was a mess, dominated by the thought that it would be safer to get out of this building as quickly as possible.

Yoonseo kept his head bowed, his right hand stretched behind him, gripping the doorknob tightly in fear that the door might open.

“Thank you, for your help… I have to go now…”

“Slowly, after you’ve caught your breath. At that level, he won’t be able to get up for a while.”

“…What?”

Yoonseo’s eyes widened, momentarily not understanding the man’s words.

The face of the man before him was smiling brightly.

The man who had surprised him with his height was also quite handsome.

As he stared, he seemed strangely familiar.

Even though he was clearly a stranger.

While Yoonseo’s gaze was fixed on his face, the man took the opportunity to glance at the employee ID hanging around Yoonseo’s neck.

His gaze was quite blatant, but Yoonseo didn’t have the clarity to notice.

The anxiety that the emergency exit door behind him might open again at any moment still lingered.

Yoonseo was hurriedly trying to catch his breath when he felt a vibration in his left hand and his shoulders trembled.

Only then did he check his phone and let out a choked sound.

There were two missed calls, and messages from Team Leader Kim, Chaewon, and Youngwoo.

Realizing people were waiting for him, Yoonseo bowed to the man again.

“…I really have to go now. Thank you for your help.”

“Just with words?”

Just as he was about to turn, the man tilted his head and asked back.

A flustered Yoonseo bit his lower lip hard.

Only then did he realize that his words might have sounded cold to someone who had helped him out of goodwill.

It was a mistake made because his mind wasn’t working properly, being consumed by anxiety.

“Ah, that’s not what I meant…”

“I’m kidding.”

Seeing Yoonseo’s flustered face as he opened his mouth, the man laughed lightly.

A lighthearted voice that matched his laugh was a bonus.

But the man’s eyes were not smiling.

“Hyung!”

As Yoonseo stood there, unsure of what to do, he turned his head at the voice coming from the end of the corridor.

Someone was running toward them.

It seemed they knew the man who had helped him, not him.

The man was looking in the same direction as Yoonseo and raised his hand slightly in acknowledgement.