“……”
Though startled, Haejin rose slowly, his body moving far more sluggishly than his thoughts. In his mind, he recalled that afternoon when the butler had knocked on the door. The news that had followed that knock surfaced one after another, and his head grew faint.
The knock sounded again, polite and measured. Only then did Haejin gather himself and walk unsteadily to the door. There was no one who would come looking for him. Two more weeks remained on the lease; the landlord would have no reason to appear.
As he hesitated before the door, the knock came once more, as if the person outside were certain someone was inside.
After a moment’s deliberation, Haejin opened it. A familiar face stood there.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bright.”
“……”
It was Lyle’s personal secretary, someone he had seen several times—during the signing of the contract, or when Lyle had summoned him. He recognized him immediately.
Such an unexpected visitor made Haejin frown without meaning to.
“I came urgently because there is something I must convey.”
As he spoke, the secretary politely offered his business card. He looked exactly as he had the first day he came to propose the contract.
Haejin accepted it almost reflexively and looked at him slowly. The secretary gave a small nod, as if he understood something, and continued.
“Mr. Vermouth wishes to discuss the contract once more.”
“…The contract?”
“Yes. He said the terms will be more generous than before. If there are any specific conditions you desire, he is willing to state them explicitly in the agreement.”
“……”
The secretary continued speaking at length, saying things Haejin could not quite process. Seeing that he remained silent, he even tried to hand over a draft contract for review. The documents thrust before him faintly reminded Haejin of the first time he went to see Lyle.
He felt no interest.
“Tell him I refuse.”
“…Understood.”
Fortunately, the secretary withdrew without resistance. As soon as he closed and locked the door, Haejin dropped the business card into the nearby trash bin.
He lay back down on the sofa, inhaling the smell of dust, and the familiar gloom wrapped around him.
It seemed that would be the end of it.
***
The click of the door closing sounded heavy. For the fifth time now, Haejin tossed the secretary’s business card into the trash and narrowed his eyes.
“……”
Each time he came, the secretary’s face remained expressionless. But gradually, he added more and more conditions, attempting to persuade Haejin. After once noticing his discarded card in the trash beside the door, he made sure to press one into Haejin’s hand every visit.
At the secretary’s incomprehensible persistence, Haejin’s sluggish thoughts turned slowly. At first, he assumed they had searched for a new contract partner and grown desperate, returning to him as a last resort. But the increasingly favorable conditions exceeded even what an ignorant man like him could attribute to the secretary’s authority. It had to be Lyle’s direct instruction.
Which made it even harder to understand. When Haejin had said he would quit, Lyle had turned away without hesitation. And the terms now being offered would tempt even an Omega living comfortably. It did not have to be Haejin.
Something was off.
But that was as far as his reasoning went. Even if something was strange, he had no intention of accepting the contract. Not even if it promised him a stable life while he wandered without direction.
He was not particularly angry with Lyle. Astonishingly, Haejin felt no motivation for anything. Anger required more energy than one might think.
Two days passed after the secretary’s last visit without incident. Haejin resumed his lifeless routine on the sofa.
When someone knocked again, he simply assumed the secretary was persistent. What could he possibly want from him?
But the harsh pounding on the door was nothing like the secretary’s polite knocks. And at the voice that followed, Haejin was startled for the first time in a long while.
“Jin. Open the door.”
***
Lyle dreamed.
It had been the same dream for several days now. The scenes differed slightly, but one element remained constant: Haejin.
Haejin stepping out of the car with a sorrowful expression unfolded before him. It was a memory distorted by time. That day, Haejin had gotten out of the car with a remarkably calm face. The sorrowful expression had flashed only afterward, like a flicker of lightning, before disappearing.
But why had he made that face?
‘Mr. Bright’s adoptive parents passed away last night.’
The butler’s voice echoed. And Haejin, wearing that sorrowful expression, looked straight at him.
Caught once more in that immense gaze of resentment, Lyle struggled. His body would not obey him, swept away in an ocean of emotion.
What was so powerful about that mere expression, to—
“……!”
Lyle jolted upright. Outside the window, it was still before dawn. He ran a hand irritably through his hair. Sweat soaked his body. Like Haejin, drenched in rain, the last time he saw him.
“Ha.”
Though it had happened several times already, it remained absurd. For five years that Haejin lived at the estate, he had never once appeared in Lyle’s dreams. Why now?
And his head felt unusually heavy. Normally, after a rut, clarity lasted for a while. This time as well, he had returned from successfully concluding an important meeting in a state of rare freshness. Yet his condition was deteriorating sooner than expected.
More precisely, since the butler reported that Haejin had left.
Pheromone congestion was common among Alphas. If pheromones were not discharged for a long period, those bound within the glands would begin affecting the brain. Simply venting emotional pheromones outward did nothing. It was a peculiar phenomenon that could only be resolved through intercourse between Alpha and Omega.
Ordinarily, pheromone congestion was not fatal. Even if it affected the brain, it merely caused dullness, like drowsiness. Most Alphas resolved it naturally by dating or sleeping with Omegas.
But Lyle’s Dominant Alpha phenotype worked against him. Superior pheromones made for a superior body, but also meant congestion accumulated more rapidly than in others. And instead of simple fogginess, it produced severe headaches.
If Lyle were like a typical Alpha, with no aversion to embracing an Omega, it would not have been a serious issue. But because he loathed the act itself, his phenotype became a genuine handicap.
“…….”
Naturally, this condition was secret. Though his position was secure, collateral branches still coveted it. Dominant Alphas were rare, and Dominant Alphas who despised Omegas even rarer. That rarity allowed him to maintain secrecy.
Perhaps his body was simply reacting because he had no immediate means to discharge.
Drinking the cold water placed in his room, Lyle assessed himself. The fact that Haejin appeared in his dreams likely meant nothing.
Yet the following day, when he met the Omega selected for a new contract, that assumption shattered.
***
“…Shall we look for another Omega?”
“…Yes.”
In the brief meeting, the Omega’s pheromones were nauseating. Dressed extravagantly, his intentions were obvious without being spoken.
Lyle tried to endure it, ignoring him. But the moment the Omega smiled and deliberately released his pheromones toward him, Lyle abruptly stood.
‘Throw him out.’
The Omega desperately tried to cling to him, but the security guards were quicker. Even the sound of his voice grated on Lyle’s ears as he left.
More than five Omegas visited the estate afterward, yet Lyle’s symptoms did not improve. Instead, they worsened. He could barely endure being in the same space as an Omega. He despised Omegas, yes—but never to this degree. It was peculiar.
Suppressing the urge to rush to the bathroom and vomit, Lyle gave the order to his secretary.
“…Find Haejin. Tell him to sign a new contract.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Strangely, though Haejin’s pheromones had been faint enough to barely register, Lyle remembered them with unusual clarity.
***
“He refused again?”
“Yes. It appears he truly has no intention. Perhaps it would be better to seek a new Omega—”
“……”
Haejin, who had been obedient throughout the contract period, did not bend this time. Lyle sent the secretary repeatedly, offering terms so generous they bordered on excessive. Yet Haejin did not waver.
Lyle knew Haejin was no longer desperate for money. Even so, what he offered would tempt anyone, desperate or not. According to the secretary, Haejin did not even deliberate long before refusing.
What exactly was he after?
Haejin’s financial situation was obvious. Unless a miracle had occurred and every hospital expense had been returned, he would be penniless. With no house and no money, there were not many options available to him.
He had left the estate immediately after their contract ended, yet was staying in a short-term room nearby. Seeing that proximity, Lyle could not help but suspect something. Perhaps Haejin was refusing the offer as part of a negotiation tactic.
“Ha. Is he asking me to come in person?”