The confined office space gradually filled with the scent of pheromones—moist, woody, and reminiscent of a dense forest. Unlike Cha Iheon’s, which seized the breath from one's lungs upon contact, this scent felt comforting as it brushed against Heemin’s nose.
It was the only Alpha’s pheromones that Seo Heemin had ever accepted without resistance.
As meticulous and gentle as his personality, his pheromones lacked the usual ferocity of an Alpha’s presence. Because of that, Seo Heemin had maintained a cordial relationship with him, expressing genuine human warmth toward him as a senior and junior.
Heemin didn’t know why only Do Junyoung’s pheromones were tolerable to him. Perhaps the author had given him this trait to serve as a counterbalance to Cha Iheon.
But Heemin had no intention of welcoming Do Junyoung like Seo Heemin once did.
The seventh point he had just written on the paper refused to leave his mind.
If Cha Iheon saw this scene, one of them would die.
No matter what, he had to make Do Junyoung leave.
“Heemin... I—”
“Please leave.”
He deliberately responded coldly. Since it wasn’t a face he personally recognized, the words came out more easily than expected. Do Junyoung's face turned deathly pale, stricken by Heemin’s icy demeanor.
“Hurry up and leave. Before the owner of this office arrives.”
“Why are you acting like a stranger, Heemin?”
“I’m begging you. Please go. I have nothing to say to you, senior.”
Junyoung bit his lip, suppressing the emotions welling up inside him, then spoke in a desperate tone.
“I searched for you like a madman. Do you have any idea how much I worried that you might have gotten into an accident somewhere? That the loan sharks might have gotten to you first? I kept going in and out of the morgue, thinking I might have to retrieve your body, just to see your face one last time.”
“......”
“What happened to you all this time? And what’s your relationship with the new CEO? Are you two dating?”
Time had slipped away while he was pleading.
In this tense situation, every passing second felt like a risk. Heemin couldn’t afford to stay here with Do Junyoung any longer.
Seeing that Junyoung had no intention of leaving, Heemin stepped past him and strode toward the door, gripping the handle firmly. If he insisted on staying, there was no choice but to force him out.
“Don’t ask anything. Just leave, senior.”
He turned the handle and pushed the door forward. The bright fluorescent light of the hallway should have flooded in, but instead, a shadow loomed.
Puzzled, Heemin slowly lifted his head.
And then—his gaze met a pair of chillingly sunken, three-whites eyes.
“...Hhk.”
The shock was so great it felt as if his heart had stopped.
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In the end, the very thing he had dreaded had come to pass.
“Well, well. Seems like we have a guest.”
Cha Iheon’s lips curved into a lopsided smile. Like a beast baring its fangs just before sinking them into its prey’s throat, his grin was sharp, deliberate—terrifying.
A frigid chill, reminiscent of a winter night, seeped into Heemin’s bones.
“Do Junyoung, Deputy Manager.”
His piercing, ice-blue gaze raked over both Heemin and the man standing behind him. No—more precisely, his eyes locked onto the employee ID hanging around Junyoung’s neck.
“CEO, I... I’m Heemin’s senior from university...”
“Get out.”
The single, clipped command carried an undeniable weight.
Growing frantic, Heemin darted his eyes toward Junyoung, silently urging him to leave.
Sensing the dangerous undercurrent in the atmosphere, Junyoung hurriedly bowed toward Cha Iheon before exiting the office. After all, Cha Iheon was his superior. Junyoung had no authority to refuse an order from him.
As soon as Junyoung disappeared, Iheon stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
He adjusted the slats of the blinds, ensuring that no one outside could see in. Then, moving slowly yet with unwavering precision, he stopped directly in front of Heemin.
“So that adorable little stunt you pulled...”
Iheon’s voice was dangerously low, his words curling at the edges.
“...Was it all for that bastard?”
It felt as if his throat had been torn raw. Heemin barely managed to shake his head, dropping his gaze to the floor. He didn’t have the courage to stand face-to-face with those burning, madness-tinged eyes.
Iheon looked down at Heemin, who was avoiding his gaze, then slowly parted his lips again.
"You shouldn’t lay all your cards on the table from the start. First, you act friendly, make them let their guard down... and then."
His voice was flat, devoid of inflection, repeating Heemin’s own words word for word. A strange sense of unease crawled up his spine at the eerily formal tone.
It had been a thoughtless remark, made only to get through the immediate crisis, but now it had come back to bite him.
Heemin stood frozen, unable to say anything. Iheon leaned in slightly, his voice a quiet whisper.
"Were you planning to send me off to a deep-sea fishing vessel too?"
“......”
"Stab me in the back and run off with that goddamn Alpha of yours, huh? Is that it?"
Iheon took another step forward, his palm brushing against Heemin’s pale cheek. At first, his touch was soft, stroking gently along the contours of his skin—but then, his grip tightened around Heemin’s chin, forcing him to meet his eyes.
The message was clear: tell the truth while I’m still being nice.
A moment ago, those hands had been warm. Now, they were cold as ice.
For a brief moment, Heemin had thought the distance between them had narrowed. But now, they had been pushed even further apart than before.
A lump rose in Heemin’s throat, and before he could stop himself, the dam broke. Tears welled up and spilled over as he protested.
"No! That’s not it. Never!"
"Don’t lie to me."
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Iheon’s dark irises burned with fury, the whites of his eyes flashing dangerously. His expression was unreadable, but Heemin swore he could hear a silent alarm ringing in his head.
It was already a volatile moment—his pheromones were surging dangerously.
Heemin needed to calm him down. Fast.
Growing desperate, he pushed forward, his voice trembling with frustration.
"It’s all a misunderstanding! He barged in here on his own, and I just opened the door to kick him out! I told you—I only think about you! Please, believe me!"
"Again. Another lie!"
Iheon’s hand shot up.
For a split second, Heemin thought he was going to strike him.
But the fist never swung.
Instead, Iheon clenched it in midair, his whole body taut with rage.
Heemin didn’t think. He simply moved.
He lunged forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Iheon’s waist, holding on for dear life.
He had no other way of convincing him—no words that could break through Iheon’s fury.
So, instead, he tilted his head up—toward those lips that kept spitting out venomous accusations.
Iheon’s eyes widened in shock.
A breathless moment.
Then, warmth—soft flesh pressing against his.
Heemin barely brushed their lips together before pulling away, but the impact was undeniable. He held Iheon’s gaze, his own filled with determination.
"Will you believe me now?"
It was the biggest gamble of his life.
A person who had never even experienced a crush, much less a romantic relationship—kissing someone.
And not just anyone. A man.
A man who wore the face of his real-life friend.
He wanted to die of embarrassment. It was mortifying, humiliating, utterly overwhelming.
But he needed to do this.
He didn’t want to be hated.
No matter what it took, he had to turn Iheon’s heart back in his favor and erase this ridiculous misunderstanding.
Iheon stood frozen, like a man trapped in time.
Even now, he didn’t seem to believe that Heemin had Alpha trauma—or that he had no connection to Do Junyoung.
Desperation clawed at Heemin’s chest.
He raised his voice, as if trying to shake Iheon awake.
"I’ve never done this with anyone before! You’re the first—ah!"
The hand that had been hanging in the air suddenly grabbed the back of his head.
Before he could even finish his sentence, before he could react—
Iheon yanked him forward.
Hard.
Their lips collided with a force that made Heemin’s breath hitch.
Unlike before, this was nothing like the light, uncertain touch he had initiated.
This was rough. Unyielding. Overwhelming.
There was no room to resist.
Heemin had no choice but to close his eyes and grip Iheon’s waist even tighter.
The heat between them was suffocating, burning past its boiling point and straight into vaporization.
With his vision obscured, his other senses sharpened.
Scent. Touch.
The sharp burst of Alpha pheromones clouded his thoughts, and the feverish heat of Iheon’s body pressed against his own.
As if, at this moment, Cha Iheon was the only thing that existed in the world.
"Hnngh...!"
A sharp pull. Teeth tugging at his lower lip, sucking, biting—devouring.
Then—
A tongue.
Slipping between the gap, invading his mouth.
For the first time in his life, Heemin felt what it was like to be entered.
A jolt of electricity shot down his spine, making his whole body tremble.
He wasn’t naive. He knew what separated a kiss from something more.
He had read explicit scenes between men without blinking an eye.
But knowing was different from experiencing.
His mind spiraled, too dazed to process anything properly.
There was no room for pretense. No room for control.
Iheon took over completely.
Heemin barely managed to stay standing, his knees weak, his hands gripping onto Iheon as if his life depended on it.
The taste of bitter coffee filled his mouth.
If only it had been sweet—like chocolate.
If only it had been more like a dessert, instead of something so dark and intense.
Iheon’s tongue curled, sweeping through his mouth without restraint.
Heemin’s head tilted back involuntarily.
But before he could escape, before he could even try to move away—
Iheon’s hand at the back of his head held him firmly in place.
There was no escaping.
No retreat.
As if to erase every trace of hesitation, Iheon’s other hand wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer.
And deeper.
"Hnn... Ngh..."
This wasn’t a kiss.
It was a devouring.
A claiming.
Any sound Heemin made was swallowed up before it could escape, locked between their mouths.