Chapter 26: The Overwhelming Heat

“Ugh… huff….”

Hyunwoo gasped, letting out heavy breaths.

His head spun and burned, making it hard to breathe.

Like a deflated balloon, he barely lifted his head.

For a moment, Hyunwoo couldn’t understand why he was in this place.

The wallpaper and calm tone of the room vaguely resembled home, but something was off.

Hyunwoo lay sprawled on the sofa, only moving his eyes to examine the surroundings.

Something came to mind.

Rut.

He barely remembered that the rut had come suddenly.

That explained why his body felt strange.

It moved uncontrollably, stiff and unfamiliar.

At the same time, a strong urge surged inside him.

The sensation of reason being overtaken by an alpha’s instincts was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

It was a feeling he had never experienced in previous ruts before regression.

If an omega had been here, Hyunwoo would have collapsed without resistance.

The only reason he could still hold onto his rationality was that he was alone in the hotel room.

If he could just hold on a little longer… the suppressant… if only he could take it…

But who… was supposed to bring the suppressant?

“Ugh….”

He couldn’t remember at all.

Someone’s figure flickered in his mind, but the more he tried to recall, the more his head throbbed.

Hyunwoo clenched his teeth tightly.

Anyone… please… this is unbearable…

Unable to control his pheromones, a strong minty scent filled the room.

Even Hyunwoo sensed the unusually strong force of his pheromones, but he couldn’t control it.

Letting out muffled groans through clenched teeth, he curled his body into a ball.

“…Hyunwoo hyung!”

“Ha….”

Someone shouted his name loudly.

Hyunwoo lifted his hazy eyes to see the figure looming over him.

Who is it…?

He let out a hot sigh and slowly opened and closed his eyes.

The person in front of him continued speaking.

“Hyung… can… you… take this?”

“Wha…?”

What was he saying?

Hyunwoo frowned irritably.

The person in front hesitated briefly, then lifted a small container.

“Quick… take… this….”

“Haah….”

What was going on?

Hyunwoo exhaled a deep, heavy sigh.

His body felt unbearably hot.

On top of that, the person in front smelled strangely pleasant.

He couldn’t identify it exactly, but it was subtly enticing.

Hyunwoo’s body leaned forward unconsciously.

“…Hyung!”

“You… smell… good….”

“Ugh…!”

Hyunwoo, muttering in a daze, reached out.

He grabbed the man’s collar tightly.

Perhaps startled, the man was pulled closer.

“Hyung, focus…!”

Hyunwoo quickly lowered his head to silence his own lips.

He didn’t realize what he was doing, acting purely on instinct.

The man in front exuded a fragrant scent, and Hyunwoo couldn’t resist.

The closer he inhaled, the hotter the sensation surged from his stomach through his body.

“Haah, ha… ugh….”

Gasping, Hyunwoo pressed his lips to the man’s face repeatedly.

Only instinct remained; his aroused body moved as it pleased.

He just wanted to satisfy this urge, believing that it would ease everything.

“Hyung… damn it.”

Seunghyuk, under Hyunwoo, muttered a low curse without realizing it.

The intense alpha pheromones pressed down on him.

It was the first time he had faced the rut of another alpha head-on.

Hyunwoo, usually in perfect control of his pheromones, now overflowed like a broken dam.

Even a dominant alpha could not predict what would happen when another rutting alpha’s pheromones surged.

But he didn’t want to be treated as an omega.

And more importantly, he couldn’t stay passive while Hyunwoo attacked him as if wanting him.

“…You won’t even remember this anyway.”

Seunghyuk gritted his teeth, feeling resentful.

If this continued, he might lose his own rationality under Hyunwoo’s rut.

He couldn’t allow that.

He had to remain composed to avoid hurting Hyunwoo.

Even amid this chaos, Seunghyuk opened the suppressant container he had been holding.

The lid clicked open, and white pills spilled out.

Without hesitation, he placed a pill in Hyunwoo’s mouth.

He held Hyunwoo’s flushed cheek and kissed him.

“Ugh…!”

“Ha….”

The small pill slid down Hyunwoo’s throat.

Yet Hyunwoo didn’t even realize he had swallowed it.

He clung only to the warmth that eased him.

“Ugh….”

Dizzy, he groaned and buried his face deeper into Seunghyuk’s chest.

“Next time, I won’t hold back either.”

“Ugh….”

“Understood?”

“….”

Hyunwoo had no strength to reply to the dreamlike voice.

He whimpered softly, burying his face in the broad chest.

“…Hyung?”

Seunghyuk called his name softly.

Hyunwoo, eyes closed, still panted in his embrace.

The wildly surging pheromones calmed.

The suppressant had worked.

“Haah….”

Seunghyuk exhaled in relief.

He almost failed to stop Hyunwoo from losing control.

He couldn’t allow that.

This time, he vowed to treat Hyunwoo with care.

To make him never escape.

Seunghyuk whispered in his heart, his eyes low and slightly dark.

“Ugh…”

“….”

Hyunwoo, now calm, squirmed slightly on the cramped sofa.

Two grown men on a small sofa made positioning uncomfortable.

Seunghyuk clicked his tongue and lifted him carefully.

He placed Hyunwoo on the bed, covering him with a white blanket.

Finally, Hyunwoo’s expression relaxed.

Seunghyuk gazed at his sleeping face for a long moment.

“…Hm?”

Hyunwoo blinked.

Regaining consciousness, he realized he was tying a tie.

Looking at the navy tie, he tilted his head.

What had he been doing just a moment ago?

As he tried to think, his mind went blank.

Frowning, he looked into the mirror.

“Uh….”

A familiar yet unfamiliar sight.

His reflection resembled his past self but felt strange.

Five years had passed; he looked slightly more mature.

Dark circles extended beneath tired eyes, a result of constant work.

His usual expressionless face now seemed even colder.

Back then, he lived mechanically, doing only what needed to be done.

No dreams of a bright future.

Every day had been the worst.

“Ha….”

Hyunwoo scanned the room.

It was eerily identical to the room from memory.

The home he shared with Seunghyuk.

Decorated according to Seunghyuk’s taste, yet the room resembled his childhood home.

This place was the only space where he could truly breathe.

Sighing, he remembered his task.

Today was the shareholders’ meeting.

But it felt more like he was going there to be scolded.

Munseong’s influence had waned, largely due to L&S’s growth.

And the person responsible was his husband, Seunghyuk.

He could imagine the shareholders’ criticism.

Suppressing a sigh, he finished tying his tie.

Calmly, he observed his reflection one last time and turned away.

Click.

Hyunwoo walked briskly down the corridor.

At the end, he froze at a figure.

“…Hyung.”

“….”

“Going out now?”

“…Yes.”

Hyunwoo hadn’t expected Seunghyuk to be home.

He nodded without showing surprise and tried to pass.

“Hyung, wait.”

“…Why?”

“Well….”

Seunghyuk hesitated, unusually.

Always assertive, he now struggled to speak.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Uh, well… it’s just….”

“….”

Hyunwoo glanced at his watch.

It was time to leave.

“I have to go now. Can we talk later?”

“Ah… okay, let’s do that.”

“….”

Seunghyuk nodded, and Hyunwoo turned away without regret.

Though Seunghyuk’s words lingered, he paid them no mind.

Even though events had gone poorly, Hyunwoo never blamed Seunghyuk.

His revenge was justified, and the fault was his own.

He had to bear that responsibility alone.

At the time, Hyunwoo had already resigned himself to it.

He no longer expected anything from Seunghyuk, thinking it natural that Seunghyuk resented him.

But Hyunwoo had never had a proper conversation with Seunghyuk.

Seunghyuk stopped coming home frequently, and Hyunwoo was busy with work.

When they met again on their fifth anniversary, Seunghyuk was back to his arrogant self.

“….”

Stepping outside, Hyunwoo realized it had all been a dream.

He recalled Seunghyuk’s anxious expression vividly.

If he had talked to him then… would things have been different?

No one could say.

And the past couldn’t be changed.

Now, even after regression, it was impossible to know.

Hyunwoo simply watched as the world before him turned to gray ashes and scattered.