The phone buzzed in his hand, and Go Igyeol could only stare at it. Should he answer? Would it be better to pick up before going inside? Or should he just… ignore it?
Several thoughts tangled together in his head in the span of a few short seconds.
The vibration stopped while he was still hesitating. Maybe that was better. He stared at the darkened screen, then took a step forward again—
The phone started vibrating once more.
“…Hello.”
In the end, he couldn’t ignore the second call. Go Igyeol dragged the green button across the screen and lifted the phone to his ear.
“What are you doing?”
“Just… taking a walk on my way home.”
If this counted as a walk, then it was a walk.
“We should… meet, shouldn’t we.”
“……”
So it finally came.
Na Seonwoo had clearly realized he was hiding the pregnancy from Seo Dohyeon. Of course he would want answers.
But Go Igyeol still couldn’t forget Seo Dohyeon’s voice warning him not to see him again that night. He wandered aimlessly near the tall wall surrounding the house. Maybe he could put it off until later. He had already decided to leave anyway. If he pushed the date far enough back, there would be no reason to see Na Seonwoo at all.
“Go Igyeol.”
“…Yeah. I’m listening. We should meet. Okay.”
“When are you free?”
“I can’t really say anytime is fine. Um… I’m feeling really sick this week, so maybe next week…”
It definitely sounded like an excuse. He had just claimed he’d been out walking, and now suddenly he was saying he felt too ill to meet.
Still, it didn’t matter.
There were walks people took because they felt too sick to stay still.
“How about Wednesday?”
“Would Friday work?”
Go Igyeol wanted to push the meeting with Na Seonwoo back as far as possible.
“What about tomorrow?”
“…….”
“Now that I think about it, tomorrow’s probably the only day I’ll have time.”
As if he had sensed something, Na Seonwoo insisted on meeting the next day instead of letting it be delayed. Go Igyeol tried softening the refusal, saying he had things to do, saying he felt unwell, but Na Seonwoo refused to budge. Even though Go Igyeol was obviously uncomfortable, he kept pressing.
In the end, Go Igyeol reluctantly agreed. They settled on meeting around lunchtime before ending the call.
“Ha…”
Maybe it was fortunate, in a way, that he had already told Seo Dohyeon he would be going out again tomorrow.
Go Igyeol removed the baseball cap hanging from his wrist and tugged it low over his head before rubbing at his mouth and letting out a long breath.
Now even when there was barely any smell at all, the morning sickness still came.
The faintest trace of food drifting on the spring wind was enough to make his stomach churn again.
***
Seo Dohyeon was in a good mood that night.
As though granting a favor, he released the pheromones Go Igyeol craved in abundance and even gave him a full pheromone shower. When Go Igyeol hesitated at the thought of sex, still saying he was having a hard time, Seo Dohyeon let him off after some light petting and filling his mouth instead.
Go Igyeol liked being allowed to fall asleep without exhausting himself.
He liked not having to take all his clothes off, too.
He was grateful it ended with only his pants removed and his top merely pulled down enough to bare his shoulders.
Seo Dohyeon lay beside him until he fell asleep before finally heading to the study to finish the work he had left unfinished.
The moment the door closed, the eyes Go Igyeol had kept shut in feigned sleep slowly opened.
He listened carefully to the sound of footsteps outside the room. Only after everything had gone quiet did he cautiously slip out of bed.
Like a petty thief, Go Igyeol crept across the room and gathered Seo Dohyeon’s clothes from the bathroom laundry basket. No matter how exhausted he was, this was one thing he never skipped.
He stuffed the pajamas Seo Dohyeon had been wearing only moments earlier into the zipper bags he had prepared in advance. He packed away his own sleepwear too, the clothes he had been wearing during the pheromone shower.
The pile kept growing.
He hid tonight’s harvest deep inside the bag buried at the back of the section of the dressing room where his own clothes and shoes were stored.
As he changed into fresh pajamas, he decided he would strip off the pillowcase in the morning.
Once he finished everything he needed to do, exhaustion crashed over him.
He rubbed his eyes and turned off the light illuminating the bed. Darkness swallowed the room completely.
The bedroom, thick with Seo Dohyeon’s pheromones, gave Go Igyeol comfort at the same time it filled him with anxiety and restlessness.
And wrapped in feelings he had already become accustomed to embracing, Go Igyeol fell into a deep sleep.
***
He woke earlier than usual to see Seo Dohyeon off to work, but Seo Dohyeon had already left.
That familiar emptiness settled over him again as he tidied the bed. The sheets, stiff with dried fluids, were rolled up and tossed into the laundry basket. The pillowcase sealed inside the zipper bag disappeared into the luggage.
After washing up, changing clothes, and gathering the things he planned to sell that day, Go Igyeol stood in front of the mirror for a long while.
Then, as though trying to snap himself back to his senses, he lightly slapped his own cheeks before leaving the bedroom.
“You’re awake?”
“…Good morning. Um… I changed the sheets already. Please just empty the laundry basket.”
“Understood. Are you heading out somewhere?”
“To consult with an academy. Seo Dohyeon said staying home all the time must be boring.”
After briefly explaining why he was leaving, Go Igyeol bowed his head politely and awkwardly passed the older man holding a cleaning cloth.
He was an omega who had managed Seo Dohyeon’s household long before Go Igyeol ever moved into the house. Somewhere in his memory lingered the story that he had married once, only to lose his spouse not long after the wedding.
His name was… Kwon Heegang, wasn’t it?
Go Igyeol stared for a moment at the fine wrinkles around his eyes before looking away.
“Be careful on your way out. Is there anything you’d like for lunch? Executive Director Seo has been worried because you haven’t been able to eat lately.”
“…Something cold would be nice. Or maybe sandwiches.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare a few things.”
Go Igyeol hurried past the bowing Kwon Heegang and headed straight for the entrance.
He barely managed to shove his shoes on before rushing outside, immediately clapping a hand over his mouth.
Just talking about food made his stomach twist violently.
He practically ran down the stairs, gagging over and over. Gripping the front gate with trembling hands, he shoved it open and stumbled out as though fleeing.
“…Ugh—!”
There was nothing to throw up. He hadn’t eaten anything.
I should’ve at least brought water.
Regret flashed through him, but he hurried away before anyone could see him like this. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and dragged in a deep breath.
And somewhere beneath all of it, resentment stirred.
This was all Seo Dohyeon’s fault.
Every single day was unbearable because he had to keep hiding this, while Seo Dohyeon knew absolutely nothing.
But he couldn’t tell him, either.
Biting his lip, Go Igyeol scrubbed away the tears gathering from the dry heaving.
“I’m not even eating. We only talked about food. So… please just help me.”
One of the pregnancy symptom posts he had read in an online parenting café had said morning sickness became severe when the traits of the fetus and the pregnant patient were opposites.
Then is this baby an alpha?
“If we get caught, both of us are finished… so please behave until we leave. Please.”
His voice sounded almost pleading.
He didn’t know whether the baby could hear him or not, but people said they already had ears by now, so Go Igyeol kept begging anyway.
“Just hold on a little longer. Please. Please.”
All the way down the hill, he alternated between gentle pleading and quiet threats.
The owner of the jewelry shop welcomed him warmly the moment he stepped inside again, as though she had been waiting for him.
Go Igyeol pulled three watches from the bag slung over his shoulder. All of them were expensive luxury brands with diamond-studded bezels.
Anyone could tell at a glance they were worth a fortune.
But Go Igyeol had no intention whatsoever of getting their full value.
He only needed enough money to survive. Enough to rent a tiny place, eat, and buy what the baby would need.
“Oh my goodness… no, these are too expensive… A small shop like ours can’t buy something like this. What am I supposed to do…?”
The owner’s high-pitched voice shattered the fantasy Go Igyeol had been drifting through.
“…What? Why?”
“They’re just too high-end… I didn’t think you’d bring things like this….”
“…Ah….”
“Even secondhand, these would still go for over a hundred million won. How could a tiny shop like ours possibly have that much cash on hand?”
In the end, Go Igyeol couldn’t sell a single watch. He packed them all back into his bag.
The owner smacked her lips regretfully several times before handing him a business card.
“Try taking them here. I’ll give them a call first.”
“What kind of place is it?”
“They specialize in buying luxury goods like these. You’ll probably be able to sell them there.”
“Is it far?”
Go Igyeol’s eyes brightened for a moment before dimming again as soon as he heard the location.
It was too far away.
And since he had already sold most of everything except the watches, he decided it would be easier to start taking cash advances from Seo Dohyeon’s card instead.
“Thank you. Goodbye.”
“Come again. We mainly buy jewelry and gold, so if you’ve got anything like that, come by anytime. Okay?”
“Okay…”
Go Igyeol bowed weakly before leaving the jewelry shop.
He stopped by the language academy he had tried to enter yesterday, forced himself through the placement test, and completed the registration process.
The moment he paid with the card, a payment approval text arrived on his phone.
“Ah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow.”