Chapter 36: End of the Chase

The long-awaited Friday.

He absolutely had to head to Euigeon’s place after everything was finished today.

He had successfully spent the week avoiding him at every turn, but… he couldn’t live like a fugitive until he got pregnant.

His life was a mess because he was constantly looking over his shoulder.

Everything was being handled haphazardly because of his efforts to avoid Euigeon, and at this rate, it was going to affect his graduation.

More than anything, he was exhausted.

He thought it would be better to discuss the schedule again and find a middle ground.

But what if the schedule Euigeon wanted was every day?

He worried about what he would do if they couldn’t reach an agreement.

Whether it was because he was a dominant Alpha or not, Euigeon didn’t seem particularly tired after s*x, unlike himself.

After Chaewoo fell asleep in a state of near-collapse, it seemed Euigeon would lie down only after cleaning up.

Enduring such exhaustion every day was impossible.

Just imagining himself sprawled out after s*x with him made his muscles ache.

‘No. Let’s not look at it so negatively.’

Chaewoo massaged his forearm, which felt phantom-sore, and shifted his thoughts in a more positive direction.

Surprisingly, Euigeon might also agree to once a week.

He hadn’t contacted him so far, nor had he tried to catch him or talk to him by force.

Even when there were plenty of opportunities to speak, like in front of the department office or when forming groups during the general education lecture, hadn’t the man ignored him?

“If you’ve all warmed up your throats, let’s get started.”

Before he knew it, the opera rehearsal began in earnest.

At the musical director’s words, Chaewoo pushed aside his intrusive thoughts.

Today was the day to practice the scene where Paolo and Tinto meet at the same time.

Since the minor and supporting roles had practiced separately until now, it was the first time they were performing as a duet in one place.

After the other singers’ turns passed, the scene for Paolo and Tinto approached.

Just like Chaewoo, who was wearing his tailored costume, Euigeon also participated in the rehearsal wearing his Paolo costume.

The costume for Paolo, a wartime soldier, was a deep navy-blue uniform that evoked an officer.

The military duffle coat was overall angular, with rank epaulettes hanging all over the chest, making it look quite authentic.

The hat he wore, adorned with an eagle insignia, also had excellent detail.

Honestly, he could understand why the professor had recommended Euigeon for the role of Paolo.
To anyone, Euigeon was the epitome of Alpha Paolo.

When Paolo appeared in uniform, exclamations of “it suits him well” erupted from various parts of the rehearsal room.

It only quieted down once Paolo’s solo part began with the accompaniment.

“Tinto enters here.”

At the musical director’s signal, Chaewoo, who had been looking at his score, stepped onto the stage.

It was his first time being the center of attention for all the singers, so he was nervous.

Contrary to his nerves, his body responded just as he had practiced.

After standing with Paolo and blending in behind the crowd for a moment, Tinto’s lines followed.

“My lover Paolo, you said you loved me! After desiring my body like that last night, how can you say you’re leaving? I gave my soul, my youth, my body all to you!”

“Since the country calls me, how can I not go, Tinto? I have no more time to hesitate.”

“I think it would be good if Paolo’s pheromones came out a bit more here. To leave a strong impression on the audience as well.”

The director added a direction in the middle.

Paolo pushes away the clinging Tinto and leaves by train for a country that is both an aggressor and where his wife is.

After that, Tinto’s short solo part begins.

Since the lyrics were all in Korean, it was easy to breathe, and his diction was, of course, good.

Chaewoo sang without any hiccups, just as he had prepared.

Although he had been uncomfortable during the week avoiding Euigeon, the condition of his throat, which he had preserved thanks to that, was top-notch.

As the atmosphere heightened, he forgot even to take a deep breath and went straight into the climax.

Even though he was slightly out of breath, he had no problem performing until the end.

The thrill of pushing his breathing to its limit was even exhilarating.

As soon as Chaewoo stepped down after finishing his solo part, Paolo’s next scene began.

The minor team below gave a small round of applause to Chaewoo as he returned to his seat.

“Good job, Tinto. How do you not make a single mistake for your first time?”

“Damn. Even I was a bit overwhelmed.”

“Weren’t both Tinto and Paolo students? If students do this well, what are the professional singers supposed to do?”

“But by the way… isn’t Paolo’s body really good?”

“Isn’t it just his shoulders? He might have soft flesh, unexpectedly.”

“Where’s the soft flesh? Are you kidding? It looks firm even at a glance.”

“How was it, Tinto? You were practically in his arms during the duet.”

Chaewoo, moistening his throat with bottled water, looked uncomfortably at the whispering minor actors.

At first, he had worried about what if he made a mistake because Paolo was Euigeon, but once he got on stage, he was so immersed that he didn’t even notice such things.

Even when he was clinging to Paolo in uniform, nothing but the song and the acting came to mind.

“Hmm.”

“Think carefully. Soft or hard?”

“Now that I think about it, it felt a bit hard…”

“Gasp, he says it’s hard! Was I right or what?”

“Exactly. That’s all muscle; where do you see soft flesh? How tall did they say Paolo is?”

“It said 186cm in his profile.”

Leaving them to chatter happily among themselves, Chaewoo got his phone and checked for notifications.

There was only the vocal department group chat and a few meaningless individual messages.

‘Practice will be over soon.’

He was nervous about what kind of message would come from Euigeon.

Or should he contact him first?

It wasn’t even their first time sleeping together, so why was he so concerned?

Chaewoo sighed as he put his phone back.

Of course, Euigeon couldn’t send a message now since he was practicing on stage, but… the silence actually made him more anxious.

“Good work today, everyone. Those whose parts are finished may change and go home early. Please be considerate of each other as the dressing room is small.”

As soon as they heard the announcement, everyone ran to the storage dressing room, eager to go home first.

Rather than waiting in line to change, Chaewoo decided to go in a bit late.

As he killed time meaninglessly on his phone, the singers crowded in the dressing room quickly cleared out.

Even then, no contact came.

‘Do I really have to be the one to do it first?’

Glancing at the stage, even the supporting cast with small parts had almost finished their practice, and only the leads remained.

Putting his phone in his pocket, Chaewoo also walked toward the storage room to change.
The area in front of the cluttered storage room had become quiet, as if it had always been that way.

Chaewoo, pushing open the slightly ajar storage room door and entering, soon stopped in his tracks.

He had spotted Euigeon sitting on a prop chair.

The man also sensed a presence and turned his head.

Chaewoo managed to speak first with some difficulty.

“…Is there someone in the dressing room?”

“Yes.”

‘So that’s why he was waiting.’

Nodding, he waited for his turn to change, staying as far away as possible.

The atmosphere was awkward.

Whether only Chaewoo felt that way or not, Euigeon was wearing wireless earphones, nodding his head and humming lightly.

“Paolo. Sorry for making you wait so long. This dress is so small it’s driving me crazy. It’s a battle every time I put it on or take it off.”

A supporting singer suddenly popped out of the dressing room.

She complained that the waist was made too tight, then spotted Chaewoo and gave a short greeting.

Then, she hung her costume back in its place and left in a hurry, saying she had an appointment.

Suddenly, they were left alone together.

Chaewoo’s heart rate spiked rapidly as he stared at the blankly closed door.

The words Euigeon had spoken in the storage room last time came back to him, and his body froze.

He wanted to run away anywhere, like a person who had committed a crime.

As the silence stretched, he felt more and more like he was being held tightly by an invisible hand.

‘To think there’s no team dinner on a day like today. And where did all those many people go, leaving only Beom Euigeon?’

“Why?”

“Huh?”

Chaewoo flinched at the word Euigeon spat out without warning.
The man, who had been humming lightly in his uniform, was now staring directly at Chaewoo.

“Try running away more.”

It was a weighing tone, as if to say, ‘Let’s see how far you go.’

“I didn’t… run away.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Food? Why?”

“I’m going to feed you now so you won’t say you can’t do it because you’re hungry while we’re f*cking.”

Chaewoo gasped at the blatant words.

Euigeon stood up leisurely with a serious face.

His long shadow stretched toward Chaewoo overbearingly.

Euigeon, observing Chaewoo who was flustered and couldn’t find a place to look, clicked his tongue.

“You don’t look hungry.”

“…….”

As he took off his uniform hat, his flawless, sharp eyes were revealed even more clearly.

Chaewoo felt like he had been dropped right in front of a predator that had just begun its hunt, feeling its hunger.

Every part of his skin where the man’s gaze touched prickled.

“But if not now, you’ll only be able to eat my cum later, Senior Seol.”

****

“Haah… haah.”

His vision was blurry.

It felt as if every drop of moisture had been drained from his body, leaving nothing but skin and bone.

As Chaewoo slumped down powerlessly, Euigeon layered his body on top of him.

“I’m tired…”

A barely audible voice managed to leak out.

He had to wash up and leave quickly, but for now, even lifting his eyelids was a struggle.

He had felt like he was being dragged to a slaughterhouse until he arrived at Euigeon’s studio, but when he regained his senses, he was already actively and messily intermingling his body with the

Alpha before him.

The beginning was fearful.

Today was especially so.

But although it was a bit rough and the frequency was high, Euigeon was not a lawless person who only looked after his own pleasure by inserting unilaterally or skipping foreplay.

Rather, he was more the type to enjoy watching Chaewoo lose himself in ecstasy.

“Do you want to eat something?”

Euigeon, who had been fiddling with his chest and ribs, finally pulled away.

Picking up the phone that was lying haphazardly on the floor, he climbed back onto the sofa and embraced Chaewoo’s sweat-soaked body like a pillow.

He turned on a delivery app and told him what food was available for order right now.

Separate from being tired, Chaewoo didn’t feel hungry.

Rather, he felt bloated.

Just as Euigeon had warned, his lower abdomen felt like it would burst because of the semen.

The itchy yet saturated feeling of a foreign object inside his belly was something he found very difficult to adjust to.

“I don’t want to eat anything.”

“I guess you don’t usually eat well. That’s why you’re so thin.”

A warm hand toyed with his waist.

It wasn’t as if Euigeon, who said that, had much flesh on him.

Rather, he looked slightly lean, but because his bone structure was entirely large and his muscles were well-balanced, he looked much more robust than Chaewoo.

“It hurts when you touch there.”

Frowning, Chaewoo pushed Euigeon’s hand away.

At that, Euigeon paused.

A faint bruise was surfacing near his pelvis.