Kwon Yido wasn’t saying anything, and yet just from the look in his eyes, I felt it. That if I let my guard down for even a mont, he might do sothing to . A powerful instinct spread through every corner of like a warning.
“Yes, I just... finished.”
I nodded while trying my best to look unfazed. Kwon Yido was watching obsessively, as if he wouldn’t miss even the tiniest movent. His narrow, double-lidded eyes lengthened ever so slightly.
“I see. It looks like you did.”
His gaze dropped—eyes to nose, nose to lips, lips to chin—and finally slid down past the base of my neck. Even though I had fastened the robe tightly, it felt like I was completely exposed.
“Can I ask why you answered the door like that?”
The quiet question was so saturated with pheromones that even I, just standing still, flinched. At so point, his presence had started to seep into my body, clinging silently. A mont ago, the scent of the bath bomb had clouded my senses. Now it was his scent that filled my head.
“What do you an, ‘like that’...”
I started to ask again, but I quickly realized what he ant. Why I answered the door in nothing but a bathrobe—sothing that, in the wrong light, could easily be seen as an invitation.
“I just... opened it right away. It wasn’t intentional or anything...”
My throat kept going dry. If I could, I’d have gulped down a full glass of water. But the only thing I could breathe in was his pheromones, so I exhaled shallowly and dropped my gaze.
What if he misunderstands?
It was unfair, but also understandable. After all, yesterday I’d gone into heat. He could very well think I was trying to seduce him, burned up and desperate.
“I don’t know what you were expecting... but I’m not going to give it to you, so act accordingly.”
Suddenly, a voice from my dream echoed inside my head. That cold back turning away from —I rembered it as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. I swallowed again and spoke in the calst voice I could muster.
“I’ll go get changed.”
“...”
“If you just wait a mont—”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
Kwon Yido cut off firmly. I lost hold of the doorknob I had grabbed to close the door when he took a step forward. He reached for it in my place, and showed a more relaxed expression.
“My joke went too far. I know you didn’t an anything by it.”
Still, I couldn’t relax. His pheromones were pulled taut in the air like strings. He hadn’t so much as laid a finger on , but I felt like he was touching all over.
“I just ca by for a mont, wondering if you were asleep. Now that I’ve seen you, you should rest. It’s late, so I’ll be heading back.”
With that, Kwon Yido closed the door without hesitation. I caught a glimpse of him exhaling as it slid shut. Until the mont the door clicked closed, I stood there frozen, barely breathing.
Click. The door shut completely. The whirl of pheromones around cut off instantly. My tensed shoulders slumped, and I finally exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
“Ha.”
I collapsed to the floor, resting my forehead on my knees. My body had gone limp, and I couldn’t even lift a finger. The long hem of the robe reached below my knees, covering everything in just the right way.
“...I’m gonna lose my mind.”
The curse caught in my throat. I pressed my thighs tightly together, but it didn’t change anything. To make matters worse, the pheromones that hadn’t been released yet were boiling inside .
I was hard. Like so horny teenager. I hadn’t even seen anything sexual. I was aroused just from Kwon Yido’s gaze and pheromones.
The dull throb low in my abdon wasn’t a kind of desire I should be feeling after a heat cycle. After coming multiple tis yesterday, I shouldn’t even be getting an erection. I definitely shouldn’t be reacting to alpha pheromones like this—not .
“Ah...”
As if possessed, I lowered my hand and fumbled with the robe. The sash had loosened, making it easy to open. My hand trembled as I wrapped my fingers around myself, and a helpless moan escaped.
“...Ngh...”
What was I doing at this age—jerking off, using an alpha I’d barely known for a few days as the stimulus?
I curled in on myself and squeezed my eyes shut. My back twitched every ti I stroked the long shaft. The alpha pheromones still lingering in the air heightened my sensitivity unbearably.
“Haah...”
Before I knew it, I was on my stomach, hand moving rhythmically. The sash had co completely undone, and the floor beneath my forehead was hard as hell. Each stroke made a wet, obscene sound as pre-cum coated my fingers.
“Hngh...”
Just a little more, and I’d co.
Was it only that easy yesterday because I was in heat? Even with my hand moving, sothing still felt lacking. Kwon Yido’s pheromones tingled deliciously at the edges—but didn’t tip over.
“...Ah...”
Now even my rear was wet. Slick dribbled down the insides of my thighs. I pressed my legs together and moved faster, but still sothing was missing.
“Sejin.”
“...Hhk.”
Pathetic as it was, the mont I imagined Kwon Yido’s voice, the orgasm hit. The soft whisper brushing my ear—it felt so real, like he was right there, pushing over the edge.
“You can go.”
“Ahh...”
The second that voice spoke, I ca. The sen was thin and scant—no surprise, since I’d already co multiple tis yesterday.
I lay on my side, gasping. The aftershocks of release made my hips tremble. My heart pounded in my chest like a drum.
But as soon as the rush passed, a wave of crushing sha followed.
“...Haa.”
How the hell was I supposed to look Kwon Yido in the face now? How was I going to step into that pheromone-filled bedroom every night? How was I supposed to sit across from him at breakfast after this?
“...”
The cum spattered on the floor made feel like I’d pissed myself. I’d taken care of one need, but now I had another to face.
The part of that still hadn’t gone soft. And whatever this guilt was, tangled up in Kwon Yido.
***
Despite all my worries, I woke up from a deep sleep just like always. No nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night. I realized all over again that, yeah, Kwon Yido’s pheromones were better than any sleeping pill. The sense of calm I’d grown used to had already beco impossible to undo.
Kwon Yido, unaware of what I’d done, ate breakfast as perfectly composed as ever. ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) It was Sunday, and yet he was going to work again. I almost asked if he ever took a day off, but stopped myself—too embarrassed by the fact that I’d been doing nothing but resting.
Breakfast was seaweed soup with tender slices of beef. The lightly seasoned broth paired perfectly with the fluffy white rice. Unlike yesterday, I ate steadily, and Kwon Yido comnted in a calm tone:
“Korean food really is the best.”
He wasn’t looking at , but at my half-empty bowl. Sohow, it felt like he was relieved I was eating well, which made feel oddly self-conscious.
“Yeah, rice really is the best.”
I squinted a bit and tried to smile naturally. I was confident I could pretend nothing had happened. I would treat Kwon Yido the sa as always. As long as I kept my mouth shut, he’d never know.
“So, was the bodyguard uncomfortable?”
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice anything strange. He changed topics right away, which was proof enough. Unfortunately, that topic wasn’t exactly welco either.
“Not uncomfortable, but... I still prefer being alone.”
“You’ll get used to it. I’ll tell him to stay out of sight as much as possible.”
“Don’t do that.”
What exactly did he think security was? Just because soone was invisible didn’t an they weren’t there. Did he actually find that more comfortable? I didn’t ask, because I had the feeling he’d say yes.
“If it’s not working out, just let know. It’s easy enough to switch him out.”
“That’s fine. I like him.”
“...”
Kwon Yido’s expression hardened at once. Sothing in his gaze darkened, though I couldn’t tell exactly what upset him. He picked up his water glass, face cold and unreadable.
“What do you like about him?”
“Well, various things...”
Were their hands the sa size? Maybe Kwon Yido’s fingers were more tapered—that must’ve been why holding the glass looked different on him.
“He’s impressive. Not everyone becos a team leader at that age.”
“...What are you talking about?”
I had only said what ca to mind, but Kwon Yido’s face changed instantly. For a second I wondered if I’d said sothing wrong—but then the reason beca clear with his next words.
“Director Jung Sejin.”
“...”
Ah, to think I’d hear that title again today.
“I’m not a director anymore.”
The title of director was never sothing I earned through rit. It was symbolic—ant to show the world that the company didn’t discriminate. I doubt my father ever had high hopes. Even if Kwon Yido hadn’t told to quit, I probably would’ve stepped down under pressure sooner or later.
“You sound regretful. About giving it up.”
I looked him in the eye without saying anything. He took a sip of water, his Adam’s apple moving in a way that looked like a scene straight out of a carefully shot film.
“Not really. Just feels a little empty.”
I really wasn’t regretful. Just... hollow.
“Being director didn’t suit anyway.”
I might’ve gotten the position through external pressure, but everything I accomplished in it was my own. The results I built with my own hands, the trust I earned from my colleagues, and even the upward curve in performance.
“I’m sure the new director will do well.”
Of course, that didn’t an I wanted to go back. I just needed sothing new to fill the space left behind.
“I see.”
Just like when I told him about my condition, Kwon Yido nodded without saying more. If he’d shown pity, it might’ve felt condescending—but that dry, almost indifferent response actually felt like a kind of comfort.
“Then what kind of work do you think suits you, Mr. Jung?”
“....”
I had no idea why that question brought back a childhood dream I thought I’d long forgotten. The one I could barely rember, even on the day of the engagent.
“I’m not really sure... What about you, Executive Director Kwon? Do you like the work you do?”
I dodged and asked him instead, smoothly. Kwon Yido gave a dry chuckle. The kind of laugh that made it clear what he thought of my tactic.
“You don’t want to answer, I see.”
“...”
My face almost slipped. How the hell did he see through so easily? Was he just that good at reading people?
“My aptitude, huh... I’ve never really thought about it. But if I had to say, being an executive director doesn’t suit .”
“...I see.”
I echoed his words back at him. The fact that he answered seriously surprised , but more than that, I was stunned that he thought his job didn’t suit him. From what I could tell, he seed like a born businessman.
“Maybe vice president would suit better.”
“...”
Or maybe I should’ve called him an ambitious man.
“What do you think is the core subsidiary of Seonho Group?”
It was an abrupt question, but one subsidiary ca to mind imdiately. Anyone familiar with Seonho would’ve answered the sa.
“Seonho Trading, right?”
Seonho Group had too many subsidiaries to count. Seonho Trading, Seonho Electronics, Seonho Electric, Seonho Life Insurance, and related businesses like Myeongseong Hotel and the advertising firm Yuil Planning. There was also a kindergarten and art museum owned by the foundation—but the flagship was clearly Seonho Trading.
“Right. That’s what most people think. It has the most capital, after all.”
But Kwon Yido shook his head, as if to say I was wrong. His voice was flat, as if he were evaluating a breakfast nu.
“But if Seonho Group collapses, the first place that’ll beco a battlefield is Seonho Trading. Once the power blocs split, Seonho Electronics will beco the core business. And when that happens, I’ll naturally beco the de facto head as vice president.”
It wasn’t a hard sentence to follow, but my brain was slow to process it. Because from the very first premise, it made no sense.
“...Why would Seonho Group collapse?”
No company is too big to fail—except maybe Seonho.
Among Korea’s conglorates, Seonho was considered the strongest. If Seonho fell, the country would fall with it—it wasn’t just a joke, but a grim reflection of how tightly they held the economy.
And now he was saying that group would split apart?
“It’s not that surprising. Plenty of people have seen it coming. It’s even co up in internal discussions. The group’s gotten so big, and with the Chairman nearing the end of his life, splitting it up won’t be hard.”
“Wait. Mr. Kwon.”
I cut him off reflexively. I was too stunned to even think about whether I should. I looked at him, unable to hide my discomfort.
“I don’t think I’m supposed to be hearing this.”
The “Chairman” he referred to was undoubtedly Kwon Byeonguk, the head of Seonho Group. He’d stepped away from public activities about two years ago and was said to be in long-term care.
There had been quiet rumors that he was nearing the end—but hearing it directly from his grandson, hearing “nearing death”, was different.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it...”
“Even if you’re not curious, Chairman Jung Cheolho will be.”
“...”
A dry laugh escaped . Not because it was funny—because I had no rebuttal.
“You should have a gift for your father, don’t you think?”
“...You want to tell him?”
“Well, that’s up to you.”
He said it ambiguously, but what he really ant was: yes, go tell him. That soday he would beco vice president—that he had his reasons. Whatever gain he expected my father to give him in return, I had no idea.
Even if Chairman Kwon Byeonguk passed away and Vice President Kwon Sangmi took over, Kwon Yido still had two siblings ahead of him. His older brother, Kwon Ijeong, and his older sister, Kwon Ikyung, who certainly wouldn’t give up the vice president seat without a fight. It wasn’t going to be as simple as he made it sound.
“...I’ll pretend I didn’t hear any of it.”
Business was a ga of information, but a blank slate was better than the wrong answer. It was safer to stay silent than to pass along sothing uncertain.
“You don’t fully trust , I see.”
Kwon Yido stretched his lips in a mock-hurt pout. I didn’t feel guilty, because his expression was clearly a performance. The Kwon Yido I knew had already anticipated I wouldn’t pass it on.
“Then let’s stop with the boring aptitude talk and go back to the bodyguard. You like him?”
So that’s where this ca from. We had been talking about Lee Taeseong. Maybe the tone had already turned weird back then.
“It’s not that I like him... just that there’s no need to change him.”
He was quiet, easy to handle—nothing that’d bother long-term. He seed uncomfortable around , but I didn’t mind that. Or rather, it was probably that he couldn’t hide it.
“That’s good to hear. If you end up liking him more later, let know.”
I nodded reflexively, then paused. Sothing felt off. I asked, “Why?” and Kwon Yido smirked, raising one corner of his mouth.
“Because then I’ll bring him back as a team leader. As a reward.”
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