TIN 96

His pheromones drew close. Their presence, never faint to begin with, gradually expanded its territory with that very question. The sweet scent, potent enough to attract insects, seemed to seep in and soak through me.

It wasn’t intentional pheromones. Rather, he simply wasn’t controlling them since he thought his partner was a beta.

“…What are you going to do?”

I stammered, feeling flustered. At a distance close enough for our breaths to mingle, where our lips might brush with the slightest movement, Joo Do-hwa answered softly.

“Kiss you.”

“…”

“Why?”

“Of course…we can’t.”

There were many reasons why we shouldn’t touch. Such an intimate contact might reveal even my faint pheromones. I had no information worth exchanging for it, and we weren’t even in that kind of relationship to begin with.

“Why not?”

Yet Joo Do-hwa asked back with an expression of complete innocence. His clear eyes looked impossibly pure.

“You might catch what I have.”

“Ah.”

Joo Do-hwa showed no particular displeasure at my casually thrown-out excuse. Though his eyes narrowed, he didn’t seem like he was about to get angry. Then he let out a light laugh.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood me.”

“…”

“I wasn’t asking for permission.”

I had no time to understand his whispered words. The hand that had been patting my shoulder moved up my neck to firmly hold the back of my head. And simultaneously, our lips met perfectly.

“Hah…”

His soft lips rubbed against my tender skin. I could feel the pheromones that had spread through the air seeping deep into my lungs. When I flinched and my lips parted slightly, he pushed his tongue into the gap.

“…”

The slick sensation made my lower abdomen tingle. My senses heightened and I felt my hair stand on end. Though this wasn’t our first kiss, I felt strangely tense.

Though his movements were slow enough that I could have refused, I couldn’t turn my head away. Not only because he held my head firmly, but because I remembered his earlier words.

‘Avoid me one more time.’

What would happen if I pushed him away now? He certainly wouldn’t remain as moderate as he was now. No, even setting that aside…

“…Mmh.”

The sensation of our tongues rubbing together was vivid. Though the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar, the pheromones transmitted through it were different. His trembling breath and the pheromones mixed in his saliva awakened a thirst I hadn’t even realized I had.

I had actually been thirsty. Or should I say, I felt alive. My stomach, which had been constantly churning lately, gradually began to settle. Even the lingering pain that had felt like my insides were twisting subsided as soon as I inhaled his pheromones.

After confirming that I wasn’t resisting, Joo Do-hwa relaxed his grip. He gently smoothed my disheveled hair before sliding his hand down to cradle my neck. Then he bent his head down a bit deeper.

“…”

Each time he moved, I could hear the rustle of blankets. Along with the thump, thump of someone’s heartbeat, though I couldn’t tell whose. His tongue explored every corner of my mouth wetly, and soon Joo Do-hwa let out a soft moan.

“Mmm…”

The sound that escaped like a nasal sigh was filled with utter satisfaction. His overflowing pheromones perfectly conveyed his feelings.

How should I put it—like he was putting in his full effort? Unlike last time when he desperately rushed to satisfy his desires, I could feel him fully focusing on this act. Even down to the gentle nibbling of his tongue tip and the soft stroking of my hair.

Though it was a calm and quiet process, that made it all the stranger. Such a tender kiss, as if sharing warmth was the only purpose, was certainly not something he should do with me. The problem was that even I felt strange from such behavior.

Come to think of it, this was the first time we’d kissed so quietly without any purpose. With Joo Do-hwa it had always been during sex, and with Theo I had been preoccupied with calming his excitement. As for the others, well, there was no need to count them.

Chu. Our lips parted lightly. It was around when I had unconsciously clutched his collar. Moving away as slowly as he had approached, Joo Do-hwa blinked his long eyelashes.

“Tell me.”

A chill ran up and down my spine at his husky voice. Before I could ask what, Joo Do-hwa smiled with dangerously darkened eyes.

“The name of the bastard you just thought of.”

“…”

How could we possibly talk about it? Though the face showed a smile, the emotion behind it was clearly displeasure.

“Ah…there’s quite a few, isn’t there?”

His saliva-moistened lips curled up as if twisting. Joo Do-hwa, who had briefly turned away, looked straight at me again and sighed. The long exhale seemed to tremble slightly.

And then…

“Hah…!”

My vision flipped suddenly. He climbed on top of me and pressed down like a beast, crashing his lips against mine. His pheromones poured out even more roughly than before through our forcefully connected lips.

“…Hng.”

It felt like being immersed in sticky syrup. A sweet fragrance that could melt my tongue seeped into my body through every inch of skin. Any worry about my pheromones being detected was meaningless in front of this overwhelming presence.

The man who had been gently intertwining our tongues no longer showed me mercy. Joo Do-hwa twisted his head to change the angle, firmly pressed my cheeks, and sucked on my tongue. He explored deep inside my mouth until my cheeks hollowed, breathing heavily as he pushed his body against me.

“Mmh, nh…”

Though I grabbed his shoulders as I struggled to breathe, Joo Do-hwa showed no understanding. Rather, he lowered his position further as if I had been begging for it. While I was trapped in his embrace unable to move, his firm thigh pressed between my legs.

“…!”

I could feel the blood rushing down below. My sensitive body was trying to respond to him just from a few kisses. Until just now I had felt calm from his scent, but I couldn’t keep my senses intact with his pheromones overwhelming me.

Surprisingly, Joo Do-hwa pulled away just before I became fully erect. A thin thread stretched between our separated lips. Joo Do-hwa lightly sucked on my glistening lips before burying his face in my shoulder, panting.

“…”

“…”

The rough breathing wasn’t just Joo Do-hwa’s. I, too, was out of breath, my chest heaving. Though his heavy body should have been burdensome, my mind was too confused to even notice.

This must be what drugs feel like. If you shot up, maybe it would feel this euphoric. An ultra-alpha’s pheromones were attractive enough to intoxicate any omega.

Yes, so maybe all of this was just because of the pheromones.

“Tell me if there’s anything you want.”

When our breathing had somewhat stabilized, Joo Do-hwa asked as he raised himself up. He hadn’t completely gotten off me but supported himself with his hands on the bed as he looked down at me. Through his fallen hair, I could see his eyes were still wet with excitement.

“Anything…Anything you want.”

“…”

I couldn’t ask if he meant to pay me. My voice was hoarse from the lingering excitement, and the atmosphere wasn’t right for such a question. After all, using his words, it was Joo Do-hwa who had “served” me, not the other way around.

“Money—if you saved up so diligently, there must have been something you wanted to do.”

“…Ah.”

I wondered why he suddenly said this.

Even now, the money I had saved was hidden under the mattress. If he hadn’t stayed in my room, I would have secretly taken out the envelope tonight to check it again.

“What were you planning to do with it?”

Unlike his flushed eyes, his voice was incredibly gentle. Kind and generous as if he would listen to anything I said.

That was why. That was why I told him my true purpose, something I wouldn’t normally share.

“…I want to go to the sea.”

“…”

“The sea…I miss the sea so much.”

Not like the decorations in Oceans. Not like the paintings in this house. The real, existing sea. That beautiful sea where I once lived with that person, where I once stayed with the child.

“Why? Because hyung’s name means ‘sea’?”

The playful question brought a “no” to the tip of my tongue. You really still don’t know. An inexplicable emptiness washed over me.

“Why do they all love the sea so much…?”

Of course, Joo Do-hwa didn’t catch my inner thoughts. He just brushed my bangs aside with one hand and rubbed my exposed forehead with his thumb. His hand moved from my forehead to my nose, from nose to eyes, from eyes to cheeks, and finally touched my lips.

“Should I take you there?”

“…Huh?”

The slowly spoken words pierced my ears. As I looked up at him with wide eyes in a daze, he calmly added with an unbothered expression.

“You said you want to see it, the sea.”