Mr. Kim really came for me in just thirty minutes. I didn’t wash, only changed clothes and gathered all my things before leaving the house. By luck, I didn’t run into any of the staff, and of course, no one tried to stop me.

The place he brought me to was the officetel I had left behind. If I had ended up serving time, I would have had to dispose of it, but fortunately, it was still there. After I finished showering and came back out, Mr. Kim handed me some medicine he had bought in the meantime.

“...Isn’t this during work hours?”

“It is.”

In the pharmacy bag was even an ointment for treating abrasions—far too perceptive. That was embarrassing. I fiddled with the tube in my hands. Mr. Kim, tidying the belongings I had strewn about, added in a self-conscious tone:

“...I said my wife was sick and stepped out for a bit.”

I silently offered my apologies to his wife, whom I knew only by face. I hadn’t meant to trouble them after I quit. But with nowhere else to turn, this was how it ended up.

“You’ve done enough. Go back now.”

At least this much was something I could ask for. Even if I hadn’t contacted him since the day I was taken away, even if there would be no reason to after this, still.

“...You don’t intend to call the police?”

After hesitating for a while, he asked it cautiously. Pointlessly, it seemed he had figured out everything that had happened to me. Perhaps he didn’t know who exactly was involved, since he couldn’t sense pheromones, but still.

“I don’t have good memories with them.”

“......”

“I doubt I’d hear anything good anyway...”

What had happened to me was rape, but I had no intention of reporting it. The media would only feast on it, and I had no chance of winning. If the case blew up, even the embezzlement that Kwon Yido had covered for me would resurface.

“...I’m sorry.”

“Someone once told me.”

I set the medicine down on the nightstand and staggered toward the bed. Wearing only a bathrobe, I didn’t have the strength to dress.

“Not to apologize for someone else’s mistake.”

Maybe I wasn’t in such bad shape after all—if I could still repeat words Kwon Yido once said without faltering. Right now, I only... only wanted to sleep.

“Go on home. Thank you.”

“......”

This would be the end of my connection with Mr. Kim. I had only prolonged a relationship that should have been cut off long ago. He looked at me for a long moment before bowing his head.

“I’ll be going.”

“...Ah, wait.”

I stopped him a moment too late. My body was exhausted, but my mind remained clear. Damn insomnia—there was no way I’d fall asleep like this.

“Do you have any sleeping pills with you?”

For two days, I did nothing but sleep. It was thanks to the sleeping pills Mr. Kim gave me. He had eyed me anxiously until the end, but when I told him I wouldn’t die, he handed me the bottle.

Let’s do this again sometime, yeah?

In my dreams, the nightmares repeated endlessly. Moments of being seized by Kwon Ijeong resurfaced, until I came to and found my legs spread. Sometimes the setting changed, and in some, Kwon Yido was there watching.

Fever rose and fell several times. Each time I woke, I swallowed more pills, and when I rose, I swallowed them again. Even after I scrubbed away every trace of Kwon Ijeong, his pheromones lingered, making it impossible to fully escape the memory.

So this was the gift Kwon Yido meant...

Wounds of the body heal with time, but who could say if a shattered heart ever would. Even when I was abandoned by my father, it hadn’t felt like this. Believing that he had abandoned me—it felt as if the world itself had collapsed.

I wanted nothing, wanted to see no one. Lying slack across the bed, I thought maybe starving to death wouldn’t be so bad. Since I wasn’t dying by the pills, it wouldn’t even count as a lie.

I’m an omega.

Maybe it would have been better to die that day. What kind of worthwhile life was I clinging to anyway? No—at least I wasn’t dying in the snow, so perhaps it could be called a “good death.”

Bang!

The nightmares blurred into uncertainty. Now, the one raping me wasn’t Kwon Ijeong but Kwon Yido. The one striking my cheek was Kwon Yido, and the one forcing me down was him too.

Bang!

Noise. I couldn’t tell anymore which was dream and which was reality. The pain flooding my body felt real, yet the pounding sounds in the distance felt like a dream. Surely I had gone mad—such crashing noises couldn’t exist otherwise.

Bang!

My body, never falling into deep sleep, absorbed every sound. Among them, I even heard Kwon Ijeong’s voice, so what was real and what wasn’t—I couldn’t tell. I only wanted it all... to be silent.

“......”

Finally, the pounding ceased. In my muffled ears, I thought I heard a rattling noise. Footsteps, tap, tap, drawing closer. Dream, or reality?

“...Jung Sejin.”

“......”

My thoughts snapped blank. The buzz in my head turned into frigid silence. Holding my breath still, I heard a voice I knew well.

“This place... you still kept it?”

That resonant voice could belong to only one man. His clear enunciation, like his nature, pierced my ears even through the blanket I’d pulled over myself. Was it fear, or something else? My quiet heart began to thunder.

“So this is where you came that time too...”

How had he gotten in? I thought he’d rouse me at once, but instead, Kwon Yido stood still for a long while. His faint pheromones drifted, stirring chaos inside me.

“...Hhh.”

Without realizing it, I let out a sob. Faint, but he would have heard it clearly. At once, he yanked the blanket off me.

“......”

“......”

Our eyes met. Kwon Yido, perfectly dressed as always, came into view. Dressed all in black, he looked worn, somehow, though his face hardened to a chill that startled even me.

“Which bastard did this.”

His voice, honed sharp, cut down mercilessly. Before I could comprehend his words, he seized my chin. His fingers brushed the cheek that was still tender, and I jerked my head away.

“...Kwon Ijeong?”

Abruptly, Kwon Yido muttered it. Propping his hand on the bed, he ground out his words.

“I can feel that bastard’s pheromones.”

“......”

Why pretend not to know? I didn’t want to hope, yet I did. That it was all my misunderstanding, that in truth, Kwon Yido hadn’t known. I didn’t want to hope and be disappointed again, but...

“Jung Sejin.”

My mind was chaos. I couldn’t tell whether the Kwon Yido before me was real or a phantom. Let alone what he wanted from me—why was he here at all?

“Why did you come?”

So I asked, blinking slowly. Each time I closed my eyelids, it took ages to open them again. My lips moved sluggishly, as though time itself dragged.

“There’s no reason... for you to come here.”

Hadn’t he ignored me? Hadn’t he always turned away as though I didn’t exist?

“Forgive me for leaving on my own.”

I apologized and barely lifted myself upright. My head spun from the pills, but I managed to place my feet on the floor. I needed a glass of water—that thought alone pushed me forward, until my body swayed violently.

“...Ah.”

A hand caught my arm. I only realized much later that it was him supporting me. Too much sleep had left my body unable to adjust to reality.

“Ah... thank you.”

I didn’t look up at his face. Only lowered my head, thanked him, and nudged him away. Thankfully, he let go quickly, and didn’t stop me as I walked toward the living room.

When I returned to the bedroom after drinking water, Kwon Yido stood as before. No—this time, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the bottle of sleeping pills I’d been taking. Staring hard at the label, he asked in a flat voice:

“Were you planning to die?”

My mind was slow to register the question. Water hadn’t cleared my head; my thoughts still scattered like fog. My body drained of strength.

“...No.”

“......”

“I took them to sleep.”

Why was I so hazy? It felt like I was drunk—my thoughts wouldn’t connect. My head tilted to one side, so I clung to the doorknob and asked him:

“You’re not leaving?”

“What?”

He repeated it as if I’d said something absurd. Ah, so that wasn’t it? It didn’t seem like such a strange question.

“Jung Sejin.”

His voice, calmer than before, called to me. I didn’t answer, but Kwon Yido spoke each word with care.

“I asked... whose doing this was.”

Déjà vu. It felt like he had given me a chance like this before. If so, should I choose differently this time?

“...You already know who it was.”

But this pathetic answer was all that came out. I was too worn out, without the strength to voice what was inside. Even recalling the events drained me, left me without any proper response.

“You can’t say you didn’t see this coming.”

From the moment he had let Kwon Ijeong into the house, this had been inevitable. With all the security systems, it was impossible he didn’t know about a visitor. With all the cameras, pretending ignorance now made no sense.

And even if he hadn’t intended it—what difference did it make?

“I slept with your brother.”

Could it be called that? It had started with force, but in the end, I hadn’t resisted. Two days of ruminating left only Kwon Ijeong’s words etched in me.

“You can see it yourself.”

The bruises on my body might look like the marks of sex or of caresses. In the end, they were all bruises. Aside from the cuts on my face, the rest might even seem bearable. I bruised easily—after sleeping with Kwon Yido, similar marks had been left.

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it...”

“Jung Sejin-ssi.”

He called my name and drew in a long breath. His chest rose and fell slowly, as though forcing calm.

“You don’t seem to understand. On paper, we’re still married. Acting like this will only cause problems.”

Married? That fine word hardly seemed fitting for what we had.

“...Then let’s divorce.”

My use was finished, and only the end of this bond remained. Not resignation so much as surrender—I didn’t think he wanted anything more of me. Better to disappear than for him to waste food and shelter on me.

“We weren’t even a real couple anyway...”

“...Divorce?”

But he didn’t accept my words so readily. He let out a bitter laugh, eyes fixed on me.

“You think you’re in any position to demand that?”

My blurred vision couldn’t read his expression. Maybe he was angry, but I couldn’t tell why. I shut and opened my eyes, and his suppressed voice pressed a warning:

“You’d better know your place.”

“......”

I’d heard such words so often they no longer hurt me. But the man saying them looked uneasy. I squinted, trying to see his face clearly, but my sight stayed hazy.

“Pack your things. You’re coming back to my house.”

Turning his body, he tossed the pill bottle into the trash and checked his watch. I thought I heard something about a hospital, about IV drips, but all I could manage to say was:

“...If it’s not enough, I’ll do it again.”

“......”

His gaze locked on me. My head spun, and I braced a hand on the wall to steady myself.

“You said you wanted it often...”

That was what Kwon Ijeong had said. That he’d wanted to go again, if only he’d had time. Maybe I’d have to repeat the same acts a few more times.

“I’ll do it until you’re satisfied, Kwon Yido-ssi.”

If it meant I could end everything and finally rest, I would want nothing more. If it meant not living again under constant disregard, I wanted it to end quickly. Nothing suffocated me more than indefinite dread.

“So let’s divorce.”

“Ah... fuck.”

The sharp curse pierced my ears. Covering his eyes with one hand, Kwon Yido spoke my name lowly.

“Sejin-ah.”

“......”

“Why do you drive me insane.”

Then he strode toward me. Seizing me, he dragged me by force toward the bed. His overwhelming strength flung me down roughly.

“Ugh...!”

It didn’t hurt much, but the sudden movement strained my battered body. Groaning, I looked up as his voice, cold as ice, fell.

“You should’ve left when I told you to.”

At last, I saw his face clearly. More precisely, the emotions in his dark eyes. Torn and ragged—mostly rage, resentment, and nothing else.

“Wait, what are you—ahh, hhhk...!”

His hands tore open the lapels of my robe. His pheromones flooded me like a wave, seeping deep into my lungs. With the suffocating rush came the feeling of something shattering inside me.

“Hhhk...”

Flames I thought extinguished flared back to life. Like a dam bursting, my pheromones broke loose. As the thick floral scent rushed out, Kwon Yido seized both my wrists and pinned them to the headboard.

“Jung Sejin.”

“Hhh, hhhk...”

I didn’t think to resist. The sudden flood of sensation made me crave his pheromones instinctively. Yet still, he held me down tightly, as if not allowing the slightest chance to escape.

“If you liked it so much, you should’ve said it.”

There was no affection in his mocking tone. It didn’t feel bad, but a sharp ache lingered in my chest. ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) My pheromones mingled with his, as if a rain-soaked tree had burst into bloom.

“...Hhhhk.”

His other hand seized my thigh. My robe, already fallen away, did nothing to cover me. I tried to close my legs, but he pried them apart by force.

“Spread them properly.”

“...Hhh.”

He slid his fingers into the entrance already loosened. From the moment I felt his pheromones, my body had been preparing for him. Finding me slick, he growled through clenched teeth.

“To think you were treated like that...”

What was he so angry about? His pheromones raged like fire, laying bare his emotions. He released my hands, but I didn’t lower my arms, only gasped for air. He hoisted my knees over his shoulders and, without warning, drove his cock in.

“......!”

I thought I was ready, but I wasn’t. Maybe because the wounds hadn’t fully healed. Pain ripped through me as though my insides were being clawed apart. He tested the depth with shallow thrusts, then withdrew halfway—only to slam himself in to the root.

“Ahh, it hurts...”

“...It hurts?”

A broken sound left my throat. At my words, he halted at once. Running a hand through his hair, he gave a short laugh.

“You’re standing up like this... and you’re saying it hurts?”

His hand closed around my hard cock. The precum spilling wasn’t only because of the heat cycle. I had wanted this—I had wanted his warmth.

“Haa...”

With his thumb, he rubbed my tip, while slamming deeper inside me. My body jolted, creaking as if crying out.

“Hhhk, hhhuuhh...!”

It hurt, but with the pain came sharp pleasure. My legs spread to their limits, my insides strained as though tearing apart. And still, my body responded—so much that even I couldn’t understand.

“If you don’t want to be ruined...”

“Ahh, hhhk...!”

“...You’d better relax.”

My thighs trembled, my body twisted. Already once broken down, my body ached as if seizing. He clamped my hips and began to quicken his pace.

“Ahh, hhhk, hhhuuhh...!”

Excessive pleasure is hardly different from pain. After just two thrusts, sparks of ecstasy shot through me, and I came. At the sight of my release spurting out, he rumbled low in his throat.

“Did you do the same when Kwon Ijeong fucked you?”