His mind went blank like a sheet of white paper, then instantly tangled into chaos.
How does he know?
No... does he really know? Or is he just fishing?
His fingertips began to tremble, and Gyeol clenched his fist tightly. He forced himself not to look away from that relentless gaze.
Did he somehow catch me using my phone in the bathroom? No way. If that were the case, that would be a problem in itself. If there were cameras in the bathroom, then that would be—
“I can practically hear your brain working from here.”
And those pheromones. The ones he had encountered earlier that day. Don’t tell me...
“Go ahead, think as hard as you want. No matter how much you rack that little brain of yours, you won’t get much out of it anyway.”
The one who had sent him the card, the one whose pheromones had rendered his body completely helpless—the owner of that fifth pheromone, the late-entry twist...
Yo Han Sung?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“Yuli.”
The moment the child’s name was spoken, it felt as if his heart dropped straight to the ground. Shock tore through Gyeol’s entire body.
“Six years old. Beautiful Daycare. Whale Class.”
The image of Yuli came to mind—running quickly with a yellow daycare bag on his back. Running far ahead, then turning back and calling out brightly, “Dad!”
“Are you still going to deny it?”
Like a flame exploding, Gyeol shoved Yo Han Sung with all his strength. This was not a moment where reason could take the lead. Means and methods. Objectivity. All of it was blown away.
But Yo Han Sung did not budge an inch. He merely let out a small laugh and grabbed Gyeol’s arm again. Twisting his body roughly, Gyeol snapped in a low voice,
“You fucking bastard, what are you doing?”
“Now you’re finally showing your true colors.”
“I said what the fuck are you doing!”
“It’s nice that you’ve dropped that pathetic act. But you should lower your voice. The staff are swarming just beyond here—are you planning to advertise?”
“Fuck.”
Gyeol cursed and struggled to break free from his grip. But it was useless. The moment his body twisted, Yo Han Sung released him lightly—only to casually seize his arm again.
“Have you heard of metacognition? You’re lacking in that. If you’d had even a bit of it and bent over pretending to be nice from the start, I wouldn’t have had to bring this up.”
“How do you know? What are you planning? Don’t tell me you’re going to—Yuli—!”
“I have no intention of touching the child.”
Yo Han Sung replied shortly and pulled his arm. Gyeol tried to resist, but helplessly stumbled forward, collapsing into his chest.
Pheromones wrapped around his entire body. A crushing sensation.
Then, as if granting mercy, Yo Han Sung looked down at him with that unbearably beautiful face and smiled.
A chill ran down his spine. Just looking at his face made it feel like reason was being forcibly driven back into his head. His whole body began to tremble again. It was instinct.
This man... is dangerous.
“Yeah. That’s better. Stay still.”
“...What do you want?”
Barely managing to speak, Gyeol bit down on his lip in fear.
At that moment, clouds covered the moon. Darkness quickly swallowed the surroundings.
Looking up at those gleaming eyes in the dark, Gyeol felt like he was suffocating.
It didn’t matter if he himself collapsed.
But—
“What do you want?”
He wanted to prevent harm from reaching the child. That, at least, was non-negotiable.
It didn’t matter if Gyeol became a public spectacle, but Yuli could not be dragged into it. In a world where digging up someone’s personal information had become a joke, everything would be exposed too easily—whose child he was, where he lived, what daycare he attended.
Of course, there was also the option of revealing the truth right here. But since Yo Han Sung already believed Yuli was Gyeol’s son, there was a high chance he wouldn’t believe anything else even if Gyeol explained everything.
More than that, Gyeol didn’t want to take any risk involving Yuli. Even a single word from his mouth could twist into fake news or rumors. So he didn’t want to say anything about it to anyone.
Yuli believed Gyeol was his father. He didn’t want to confuse the child. He wanted to protect that belief. At least until the child became an adult.
“Please, just say something—!”
Unable to bear the heavy silence, he spoke again—
Something soft pressed down on his lips.
Gyeol’s eyes widened. He tried to push the other away instinctively, but a hand wrapped around his waist, pinning him in place as if telling him to know his place.
After brushing over his lips once or twice, the other parted them and pushed something warm and wet inside. Gyeol squeezed his eyes shut, suppressing the urge to bite down on that tongue.
Hot breath scattered over his saliva-wet lips. I hate this. I hate this so much. As the tongue pushed deeper inside, rubbing against him, a broken sound nearly escaped.
His brain slowly melted, his body temperature rising sharply.
Then, at the sudden noise from beyond the hill, everything stopped.
Pulling away, Yo Han Sung casually ran his thumb across Gyeol’s lips, wiping away the saliva.
Holding both of Gyeol’s shoulders gently, he whispered into his ear.
“Curious why I’m doing this? What I want?”
“......”
“That’s something you’ll have to figure out yourself, Gyeol.”
At last, Gyeol was released from his grip. As the moonlight returned, illuminating them clearly, Gyeol could see Yo Han Sung’s face.
He was as noble as his name suggested. With a gaze that looked down on something lowly from a high place, with a beauty that didn’t seem human, he finished his words.
“Look forward to what’s coming.”
***
He didn’t know how he made it back to the lodging.
Gyeol had run in a daze, unable to suppress his racing heart. Only when the cameras started capturing him again did he barely manage to compose himself.
Fortunately, Isu Yoon wasn’t there. Gyeol went straight into the bathroom. He took out his phone with trembling hands and turned it on, about to check on Yuli—then stopped.
It felt like a bad idea to do anything reckless.
Stepping into the shower booth, Gyeol didn’t even take off his clothes before turning on the cold water.
For a long time.
Until his startled heart, his racing pulse, and the heat that had surged up from the Alpha pheromones finally calmed down.
“Fuck...”
He splashed cold water on his face several times. But the heat didn’t subside easily. Below, he was damp in a way he couldn’t deny.
He hated it. Truly.
And yet, there was no choice.
Outside the bathroom were cameras everywhere. Isu Yoon would return soon. Somehow, he had to calm the heat pooling below and leave the bathroom.
With trembling hands, Gyeol undid his belt.
Thud. His pants and underwear dropped to the floor together. Bracing one hand against the wall, he steadied himself so he wouldn’t slip.
Then he reached down.
“...Haah...”
As expected, what filled his hand was sticky fluid. His breath came uneven as he moved his hand for a while—then suddenly, Gyeol slammed his forehead against the bathroom tile.
“...Ugh!”
Out of everything disgusting about this—
What he hated the most was that, even at the very end, Yo Han Sung’s face had come to mind.
***
Using the excuse that he felt like he was coming down with something, Gyeol crawled into bed early.
But even after several hours, sleep wouldn’t come.
In that kind of situation, getting turned on like some fucking kid...
“Damn Omega...” He raked his hair repeatedly and rubbed his face dry.
How does he know about Yuli? How? Since when?
No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find an answer.
Judging by the card... tomorrow, definitely...
And so, he was afraid of tomorrow.
***
The morning of Day 3 arrived.
Despite barely sleeping, his body woke early. But he couldn’t bring himself to get up. In the end, Gyeol stayed curled under the blanket, pretending to sleep until well past ten.
After preparing himself enough to show a clean face on camera, he reached the lounge around eleven.
Everyone except him was already gathered.
The first to notice him was Isu Yoon, who gestured to the seat beside him.
“Gyeol, are you okay? You look tired.”
Concerned words drew several gazes.
Gyeol waved his hand and shook his head.
“I’m fine.”
“Really? Are you sick or something?”
Hee Jun Kang leaned forward to examine his face. Behind him, Sun Choi and Jun Shin also looked at him, waiting for an answer.
“I felt a bit under the weather yesterday, but I’m really fine now.”
“Oh no. You shouldn’t push yourself today.”
Gyeol nodded lightly and picked up a banana, half-heartedly eating it. The cast chatted cheerfully, but Gyeol’s mind was elsewhere.
Yo Han Sung wasn’t there.
He glanced repeatedly among the staff, but no matter how much he looked, Yo Han Sung was nowhere to be seen.
All participants, please change into swimwear and gather at the beach.
At the announcement, the cast stood up. Gripping his uneasy chest, Gyeol followed behind them.
Day 3 on Pheromone Island.
Today’s event is the Alpha “Death Save Match.”
The reward is an “Ivory Mansion Date Ticket.”
“Finally, Ivory Mansion.”
“Wow!”
Cheers erupted among the cast.
The Alphas, topless and revealing their muscles, stood at the starting line, each brimming with determination.
The Alphas participating in today’s game—
are not four, but five.
“Huh? What?”
“I think I know. Isn’t it the late-entry twist?”
“No way. Really? At this timing?”
The Omegas reacted with excitement, all seeming genuinely unaware.
A heavy tension gripped Gyeol.
“They’re coming!”
All eyes turned in one direction.
“...Huh?”
“Wait—what?”
Both Alphas and Omegas let out shocked exclamations.
“....”
Holding his breath, Gyeol watched the entrance of the fifth Alpha.
Under the blazing sun, a man with broad shoulders and solid muscles appeared. Light pooled along the contours of his body, emphasizing its flawless perfection.
His proportions were so perfect they seemed almost inhuman, like the form of a god sculpted by ancient masters.
Light caught on the bridge of his nose, and his deep-set eyes stood out sharply.
Suppressing the urge to run, Gyeol stared straight at him.
The fifth Alpha, Yo Han Sung.