A cool yet soft sensation touched his lips. It pressed gently for a moment, then pulled away. But before he could even feel disappointed, a tongue slipped into the mouth that had parted without his notice.
The wet tongue parted his slightly open teeth and touched the one inside. Startled, Yeonwoo instinctively drew his tongue back. The moist sensation that had only brushed past remained vividly on the tip of his tongue. Then the tongue that had followed licked his hesitant one, and their lips overlapped again.
"……!"
He shut his eyes tightly and swallowed his breath in a panic. He heard the faint sound of lips softly sucking, and then Keith bit down on his lower lip, grinding it. He couldn’t bear it, and yet Keith didn’t touch a single part of his body. The only point of contact between them was their lips. And still, it felt like his entire body was burning up.
If he hadn’t been leaning against the wall, he would’ve collapsed right there. Pressed close to the wall, Yeonwoo stood and responded blindly to the kiss. When the lips touched again, parted, and Keith’s tongue slipped out, Yeonwoo unwittingly chased it with his own—Keith caught it with his teeth and immediately covered his mouth again.
"……."
Saliva slid down his throat. He couldn’t breathe.
Haa, haa.
Shallow breaths swirled inside his mouth. Their breaths mixed so completely he couldn’t tell whose was whose. Lips sealed tightly against his rubbed rough, as though trying to suck everything out from his mouth. Keith seemed like he truly intended to devour him. It was terrifying—and arousing.
Keith.
Yeonwoo mouthed the name silently. His tongue flinched without thought, and Keith’s tongue wrapped around it, pushing up. Saliva sloshed and dripped down the corner of his mouth. It felt like he was being licked all the way down his throat. He felt like he might climax just from this. But thanks to the suppressants, all he could manage was a barely-there erection. Even as desperation clawed at him, he couldn’t bring himself to touch the front. For the first time, he felt the aching warmth blooming deep inside his rear.
Haa, ah, ngh…
He let out soundless gasps over and over. He kept wanting to hold Keith. His hand, pressed against the wall, clenched and opened in desperation. But he was afraid. Afraid that if he moved even slightly, this moment would scatter like dust. No—he was sure it would.
Because there was no way this could be real.
Keith bared his teeth and bit down hard on his lower lip. Yeonwoo winced involuntarily. The sharp pain was the only thing grounding him in reality. He tasted faint blood. Keith overlapped their lips again and sucked it in. Saliva and blood mixed slickly, and their lips kept slipping. The tongue inside his mouth licked and rubbed at the soft flesh, then returned to his lips and pressed down roughly as they sealed once more.
Suddenly, the scent of Keith’s pheromones tickled the tip of his nose. Keith was aroused. Yeonwoo didn’t need to touch him to know. He could feel it—Keith’s erection.
"……Haa."
The breath that sounded like a sigh came from Keith. Up until then, Yeonwoo hadn’t let out a single moan—he’d just trembled. As Keith’s breath grazed his wet lips, he pulled away. When Yeonwoo barely managed to open his eyes, Keith was looking down at him. Nothing had changed from before he closed them. The distance between them, the arm propped above his head, his own body flattened against the wall—none of that had changed.
Only their disheveled breaths, and Keith’s expression as he looked down at him, were different.
Keith stared at him with an expression that seemed complicated. What was he thinking? The question floated hazily through Yeonwoo’s dazed mind.
"……Pheromones."
When Keith finally opened his mouth, Yeonwoo simply blinked at him, dazed. At some point, Keith’s expression had returned to its usual cold indifference.
"Why don’t you get rid of yours first?"
The sneering remark snapped him back to reality. Keith gave him a look of disgust, then immediately turned and walked away.
Clack.
Only after hearing the front door shut did Yeonwoo realize he’d been left alone. At least he hadn’t slammed it—probably the last of his restraint squeezed out.
That man would probably curse the fact that he kissed another man and disinfect his mouth with alcohol tonight.
"……Haa."
With a sigh, Yeonwoo collapsed on the spot. Forcing strength into his trembling hand, he barely managed to touch his lips. They were still wet. The faint scent of Keith’s pheromones lingering in the apartment and the wetness of his lips were all that proved he had been there.
A memory he had long forgotten suddenly rose to the surface. Back then, too, Keith had seduced him. And right after that—he had raged and shoved him away.
Truly consistent, that man.
“…Haha.”
Yeonwoo let out a hollow laugh, then shut his mouth. How could he hurt him in the exact same way, even without remembering who he was?
***
“Yeonwoo!”
Emma called out emotionally the moment she saw him walk into the office. He had sent a message to everyone the day before, but it seemed she hadn’t believed it until she saw him in person. As always, Yeonwoo was the first to arrive. He greeted each of the secretarial staff as they followed in after him.
“Thank you for all your hard work while I was away. I’m sorry for disappearing so suddenly. I hope we’ll keep working well together.”
Not a single person failed to look up at him with visible relief. It hadn’t even been ten days, but it was obvious something serious had happened. No one needed to ask. Still, there was one thing he’d been waiting to hear.
“The party turned into a complete mess.”
Emma reported immediately, as if she’d been holding it in.
“That night when you called, I was on the phone with you, so I didn’t notice—but apparently the call Jane picked up was from Miss Elisa. She asked so calmly, no one suspected anything. She just asked about Mr. Keith’s schedule and was told which party he was attending. And well, for someone like Miss Elisa, that’s more than enough information. I heard she ended up clashing with Miss Abigail.”
Emma giggled without pause.
“From what I heard, they went at it so badly they were both wrecked. When I got there after the call—oh my god, Mr. Pittman was already gone, and the two of them looked insane. Hair a mess, scratches and bruises all over. It was chaos. Good thing the police didn’t show up. Probably the host didn’t want word getting out, so they tried to cover it up. Still, I’m sure it’ll hit the press soon. Too many people saw it, and it’s a scandal with Pittman at the center. Ugh, I wish I could’ve seen it myself! But by the time I got there, it was already over and they were cleaning up.”
Emma sighed in sincere disappointment. It was rare to see her this animated. Then again, given what had happened the night before, it wasn’t hard to imagine how things had unfolded. If those women had gone wild right in front of Keith, no wonder he’d had enough. He must have finally realized that Yeonwoo had been the one holding everything back with his whole body until now. Not that he’d ever wanted recognition—but in the end, Keith, fed up with it all, had raised a white flag and come looking for him.
The kiss hadn’t been planned.
“Yeonwoo?”
At the sound of Emma’s voice, Yeonwoo snapped out of it and realized he’d been absentmindedly brushing his fingers over his lips. As he quickly lowered his hand, Emma spoke with concern.
“Are you okay? What happened to your lips? I didn’t know you had a habit of biting them.”
“Oh, this? It’s just… something that happened.”
Startled, he mumbled an excuse. Emma didn’t press any further. Instead, she reached into her handbag, pulled something out, and handed it to him.
“Put this on. Looks like it might start bleeding again. If you leave it alone, it could get bad. You might even get cancer or something.”
With that morbid warning, she passed him a lip balm, adding that it was lucky she had a new one.
But it was a kindness he didn’t need. Yeonwoo didn’t want the wound to heal. He was afraid the only trace of that man would disappear. He wanted the tear on his lips to last just a little longer.
“……Thank you.”
He accepted the lip balm but didn’t open it. Instead, he placed it in the drawer and silently began printing the documents. Thankfully, Emma didn’t push it further. She seemed to pick up on the silent message that it was time to get to work and returned to her desk.
Just like always, Yeonwoo gathered the day’s schedule and documents to report and left the secretary’s office. It had only been a few days, but the familiar hallway now felt strangely foreign. Even the regular echo of his footsteps sounded different.
By the time he stood before Keith’s office door, he felt just as nervous as he had on his first day.
Knock knock.
He gave a light knock, paused briefly, then opened the door. Keith’s back was to him, standing in front of the wide glass window. He was smoking as he looked down at the tightly packed city beneath the tall building. The acrid scent of smoke tangled with his pheromones, drifting chaotically through the air.
“Ahem.”
Yeonwoo cleared his throat on purpose. At that, Keith slowly turned his head. The moment their eyes met, Yeonwoo instinctively held his breath.
They stared at each other in silence. Yeonwoo had no way of knowing what Keith was thinking. He could only guess—perhaps he wasn’t the only one who remembered the kiss from the night before. He waited, hoping Keith would speak first.
Hoo…
Keith exhaled smoke and brought the cigarette back to his lips as he moved. Yeonwoo silently watched him walk over and sit down at his desk, the sound of his footsteps echoing evenly across the room.
“Here’s today’s schedule.”
After Keith had taken his seat, Yeonwoo stepped forward and laid the printed schedule down on the wide desk. Keith, cigarette pressed between his lips, glanced through it. Yeonwoo stood quietly, waiting for instructions.
…Huh?
He suddenly found it strange. The scent of Keith’s pheromones had weakened. Maybe that was why the smell of cigarette smoke seemed stronger. Without thinking, Yeonwoo coughed. Keith, who had just taken a deep drag, furrowed his brow.
“What was that?”
“Sorry, I just breathed wrong.”
He apologized immediately. Keith didn’t respond. He simply flipped through the papers absently. His attention clearly wasn’t on the documents. As proof, he exhaled sharply and tossed the stack aside.
“Cancel everything today.”
The abrupt command made Yeonwoo freeze for a moment. Keith didn’t even glance at him as he continued.
“I’m going to Ian’s party tonight. Pull up the list.”
He meant the partner list. From the very beginning of his employment, Yeonwoo had done this countless times. He sometimes wondered if the real reason a man with more money than he could ever spend ran an entertainment company wasn’t just as a hobby, but because it made it easier to find someone to have sex with.
As the owner of an entertainment company, Keith had access to every possible detail—whether the target was a model, an actor, or any kind of celebrity, no matter how obscure. He could pick and choose whoever matched his taste. Once again, Yeonwoo would have to do the task he was sick of doing—choosing Keith’s partner with his own hands.
There was no need for something tedious like a date. All that was required was jewelry and a card bearing Keith’s name. That alone was enough to make the chosen person come running, thrilled to be summoned. Even if they knew it was just for sex, they still came willingly. That was how desirable Keith Knight Pittman was to them.
The owner of P Entertainment. An Apex Alpha. And being chosen by him was enough to elevate someone instantly.
But that wasn’t all. Even if that man were penniless and destitute, there would still be people willing to throw themselves at him.
And Yeonwoo would be standing at the very front of that line.
With a bitter thought, he replied briefly, “Understood.”
There was far too much work to do. The most urgent task was reorganizing the entire schedule. He’d have to tell Emma to piece together a rough draft, have Jane contact the party organizers again. The moment he stepped out of the office, his thoughts went into overdrive.
“Didn’t he say he wasn’t going to that party?”
Emma asked with a surprised look. Yeonwoo quickly pulled the schedule file out of a drawer and handed it over.
“Seems like he changed his mind. Anyway, everything for today’s canceled, so let’s start by rescheduling. Call everyone who needs to be notified and check when to rearrange the appointments. Once that’s settled, show it to me—I’ll review it. Jane, call Anderson’s secretary and tell her Mr. Pittman will be attending the party. Have her add him to the list. Rachel, call each department and tell them today’s meetings are canceled. Then head over to Tiffany’s. Tell them you’re picking up jewelry on Mr. Pittman’s behalf—they’ll handle the selection. Just bring it back. No need to pay on-site…”
With the orders piling up, everyone scattered quickly. As the staff hurried off to handle their assignments, Yeonwoo turned his attention to the most important task of all.
Selecting a partner that matched Keith’s preferences.