“What kind of drug were you even thinking of using?”

Names of narcotics or aphrodisiacs from the original novel flashed through my mind, and then Joo Seunghyuk whispered softly,

“Something like a love potion.”

“......”

Seeing Seunghyuk’s cheeks flush pink with shyness gave me a strange feeling.

I never thought I’d hear such a fairy-tale-like word coming from his mouth... As I stared at him in surprise, Seunghyuk shook his head.

“I’m joking. I don’t want to rely on something like drugs to win your heart.”

His black eyes, clear and shining as if nothing impure could taint them, were filled entirely with my reflection. That gaze suddenly made me feel self-conscious.

“...But why would Park Geonwoo sunbae say something like that?”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Seunghyuk dismissed it lightly. He didn’t seem surprised in the slightest that Park Geonwoo had said that to me. It was as if he already knew exactly what Park Geonwoo was talking about.

“Still, if there’s some misunderstanding or if you’re being unfairly suspected, it needs to be cleared up.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t ever let someone like Park Geonwoo get the better of me.”

Seunghyuk clasped my hand tightly.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“Of course. I have to trust my Esper.”

I squeezed his hand back. The warmth of Seunghyuk’s fingertips spread through me.

***

After the meal, Seunghyuk gave me a gentle shove.

“Go rest. I’ll handle the cleanup.”

“Let’s do it together.”

“Next time. You’ve already overdone it today.”

He was still treating me like an invalid.

“I’m fine now.”

“Just take it easy for today.”

“...Alright.”

Unable to win against his insistence, I went out to the living room and sat on the sofa, looking up recipes.

Next time, I wanted to make something even more delicious for him. I wanted to see that happy expression on Seunghyuk’s face again as he ate my food...

While browsing for ideas, I heard his voice from the kitchen.

“Yes, Chairman... Yes.”

If it was the chairman, that meant he was on the phone with Chairman Joo.

“Yes. Yes, I understand.”

A moment later, Seunghyuk came out of the kitchen.

“Hyung, I’m going to step out for a bit.”

“Where?”

“I need to stop by the main house.”

So it was Chairman Joo he’d been talking to.

The bright expression he’d had just moments ago was gone, replaced with a stiff, hardened look.

“I’ll be late, so you should go ahead and sleep.”

“Are you staying over?”

“No. I’ll sleep here, of course.”

Meaning the main house wasn’t his home.

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

“Oh, Seunghyuk—can I go into the study?”

“Of course. This is your home now, isn’t it? Use any room you like.”

Since when had it become my home? Before I could ask, he added,

“But don’t go to the second floor.”

His tone was firm, even if his gaze remained gentle.

“...Why not?”

“There are special treasures up there, and it’s dangerous. So you must never go.”

He emphasized it again.

Was it really about the treasures?

The memory of going upstairs once before crossed my mind. When I’d almost opened the room next to where he kept his treasures, Seunghyuk had rushed to stop me.

Maybe the “treasures” were just an excuse, and he simply didn’t want me going into that room.

***

Without Seunghyuk, the already spacious house felt even larger.

Should I go to the study and read Park Geonwoo’s letter?

The thought passed, but I decided against it. I didn’t even know if the letter was still there, and even if it was, there’d be no point reading it now.

It wouldn’t contain a confession about what happened in the Horaitron Gate anyway.

I’d always thought of myself as the kind of homebody who could entertain himself just fine alone. But without that shadow who usually stuck to me like glue, the emptiness was palpable.

Sitting on the sofa, I drifted from recipe searches to an e-book site, looking up the novel Seunghyuk had read as a child.

My Mate is an Omega, Alpha’s True Love

I thought it might not be available since it was an old book, but surprisingly, both volumes were sold as e-books.

I read almost anything, but I’d always avoided novels full of emoticons. They just never drew me in.

Honestly, I’d thought I’d never read something like this in my life—but knowing Seunghyuk had read it as a child made me curious.

After a brief hesitation, I bought the books.

The moment I opened the novel, it exploded with flashy emoticons. Seunghyuk had once said that as a kid, he thought they were some kind of special Hangul...

The letters he’d seen, the shapes he’d been curious about... The spelling was a complete disaster. Who gives something like this to a kid who’s supposed to be learning Hangul? Terrible people.

Thinking of him, I kept reading. The emoticons that would normally have irritated me didn’t bother me now. By the time I finished the story, there was a lump in my chest.

In the final scene, the Alpha protagonist bites the neck of his lover, who had presented as an Omega. They imprint on each other and promise to be together forever, and the story ends.

Seunghyuk didn’t seem to be much of a reader or movie watcher. If he had been, he would’ve known long ago about the “pinky promise” gesture.

Even so, he often bit my neck, which I’d always found a little strange.

Biting the neck to imprint was something you only saw in romance novels or films—mostly just a cliché in certain Asian movies.

I’d wondered how he even knew to do that. Maybe it was because of this novel...

If it was the only book he’d read as a child, it must have left an impression.

Even after I finished the book, Seunghyuk still hadn’t returned.

It’s late... Is that why he told me to sleep first?

I was staring blankly at the second hand of the wall clock when the front door opened.

I immediately jumped up from the sofa and ran to the entryway. The house was so big that he was already inside by the time I got there.

The moment I saw him, I froze.

Seunghyuk’s eyes were sunken and empty.

It wasn’t the same as a blank expression—his eyes were hollow, like a doll that didn’t know basic human emotions such as anger, sadness, or joy.

Then Seunghyuk looked at me.

“Hyung.”

In that moment, a single spark of light returned to those inorganic eyes.

He smiled brightly and came toward me.

“Seunghyuk, you’re back?”

“Yes. You didn’t sleep?”

“No. I wanted to go to bed with you.”

The truth was, I’d been worried.

Chairman Joo had neglected and abused him. Even if his attitude had supposedly changed after learning Seunghyuk was his son, I didn’t know if Seunghyuk had truly forgiven him.

There had been another time, after a call with the chairman, when Seunghyuk’s state had been strange.

So I’d waited, thinking maybe my presence would be some small comfort...

“Thanks. But next time, just go to sleep.”

“Will you be coming home late a lot?”

“For the time being, yes.”

Was it something to do with the chairman? Or was it about what Park Geonwoo had mentioned?

I wanted to ask, but if it was about the chairman, I might be poking at an old wound, so I kept quiet.

Seunghyuk pulled me into his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

We stayed like that for a while before sitting down on the sofa. He glanced at my phone on the table.

“Were you reading?”

On the screen was the last page of My Mate is an Omega.

“Yeah.”

“That’s the one.”

Just from the last scene, he knew exactly which novel it was.

“Yeah. I got curious about the ending... It was interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“It wasn’t bad. The emoticons were overwhelming, but the story itself... Well, I can see why it was popular.”

I chose my words carefully so I wouldn’t hurt him, but he replied with a dry tone,

“I didn’t like it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The main character was useless. He kept saying °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° he liked the other guy, but he couldn’t protect him, and how many times did he let him get kidnapped?”

My Mate is an Omega was about an ordinary high schooler, Kim Boseok, who started dating Oh Cheonse, the top delinquent at their school.

It started off like a typical teen romance, but by the second half, it turned into a violent gang war between school delinquents, with the content escalating sharply.

Rivals from other schools kidnapped Kim Boseok again and again to threaten Oh Cheonse.

In one episode, after Boseok—an Omega—was nearly assaulted by delinquent Alphas from another school and became so traumatized that he stopped speaking, Cheonse ran off to take revenge, only for Boseok to get kidnapped again in the meantime.

Boseok had endured so many awful experiences, it was a wonder he hadn’t gone insane.

I’d thought movie plots were extreme, but the novel’s was on another level.

At first, the emoticons and bad spelling were what stood out, but as I read, I started worrying about whether Seunghyuk should even have been exposed to this as a child... Not that it mattered now—he probably had the whole thing memorized.

“He did get kidnapped a lot... but still, he really did love Boseok.”

“If you love someone, you protect them. If it were me, I’d never let my person be in danger.”

Seunghyuk cupped my face and kissed me. Even after the deep kiss ended, he lingered, sucking on my lips like he couldn’t get enough. Then he bit my neck—just like in the novel’s ending.

But unlike the novel’s protagonists, who basked in each other’s pheromones in bliss, I couldn’t feel Seunghyuk’s pheromones at all. The thought left me a little sad.

I’d probably never know what his pheromones were like for the rest of my life...