Cozy Obsession

Sadness filled his gently slanted eyes. Unlike Cha Yiheon, who seemed like he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed, Junyoung’s expression looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment, which made Heemin feel even more flustered.“You’re safe, Heemin. I thought you were dead and was so worried…”His voice choked up, and he couldn’t finish his sentence, staring at Heemin with desperate eyes. Being naturally kind and gentle, he had burst in confidently but couldn’t bring himself to approach Heemin and just hesitated.The small office gradually filled with a moist woody scent reminiscent of a dense forest, a pheromone that felt comforting rather than suffocating like Cha Yiheon’s. It was the only alpha’s pheromone that ‘Seo Heemin’ had ever accepted without resistance.True to his meticulous and gentle nature, his pheromones lacked the ferociousness typical of alphas. Therefore, ‘Seo Heemin’ had maintained a friendly relationship with him, showing human-like affection.Though it was unclear why he could only accept Do Junyoung’s pheromones, it seemed that Junyoung was given a setting that allowed him to counter Cha Yiheon.However, Heemin had no intention of welcoming Do Junyoung like ‘Seo Heemin.’ The seventh item on the paper he had written earlier was still in his mind. If Cha Yiheon saw this, at least one of them would end up dead. He had to drive Junyoung out by any means necessary.“Heemin, I…”“Please leave.”Heemin replied coldly. The words came out more easily than expected, perhaps because he didn’t recognize the man’s face. Junyoung’s face turned pale with shock at Heemin’s icy attitude.“Please leave quickly, before the owner of this room returns.”“Why are you acting like this, Heemin?”“Please. Leave. I have nothing to say to you, senior.”Biting his lip to hold back his emotions, Junyoung spoke in a desperate tone.“I’ve been frantically looking for you. Do you know how worried I was, thinking you might have been in an accident or gotten into trouble with loan sharks? I visited countless morgues, hoping to at least retrieve your body, to see your face one last time.”“…”“What happened all this time? What’s your relationship with the new president? Are you two dating?”While he pleaded, a significant amount of time had passed. Heemin couldn’t stay with Do Junyoung any longer in this precarious situation.Seeing that Junyoung seemed unwilling to leave, Heemin pushed past him, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door. If Junyoung was determined to stay, he would have to force him out.“Just leave without asking anything, senior.”He turned the handle and pushed the door open. Instead of the brightly lit hallway, a dark shadow fell on the floor. Heemin raised his head slowly in confusion, and his eyes met a pair of chillingly cold, bloodshot eyes.“…Gasp.”His heart nearly stopped from shock. The feared situation had finally occurred.“Well, it seems we have a guest.”A crooked smile played on Cha Yiheon’s lips. He was smiling clearly, like a beast baring its teeth before biting into its prey. Seeing that smile, a chill penetrated Heemin’s bones.“Assistant Manager Do Junyoung.”With a fierce look in his eyes, Yiheon scrutinized Heemin and Junyoung standing behind him, particularly Junyoung’s ID badge around his neck.“Mr. President, I’m Heemin’s college senior…”“Get out.”The terse command carried a lot of weight. Heemin urgently signaled Junyoung to leave quickly.Sensing the tense atmosphere, Junyoung bowed politely to Yiheon and exited the office. After all, Yiheon was his superior, and Junyoung had no right to defy his orders.Once Junyoung left, Yiheon stepped inside and closed the door. Adjusting the blinds so that the interior couldn’t be seen from outside, he approached Heemin with slow, deliberate steps.“Was this bastard the reason you came here putting on that nauseating show?”Heemin felt as if his throat had been torn open. He shook his head frantically, lowering his gaze, unable to face Yiheon’s blazing eyes. Looking down at the evading Heemin, Yiheon spoke again.“You shouldn’t reveal all your cards from the start. First, act friendly to make them lower their guard.”He repeated Heemin’s words in a rigid tone, not missing a single detail, making Heemin shiver with a strange sense of unease.Those were words Heemin had said thoughtlessly to defuse an immediate crisis, but now they had come back to haunt him. As Heemin stood frozen, unable to speak, Yiheon whispered, moving his lips closer to Heemin’s ear.“Were you planning to send me off on a fishing boat too?”“…”“Were you trying to screw over that damn alpha senior by betraying me?”Yiheon stepped closer and caressed Heemin’s pale cheek. He stroked it gently before gripping his chin tightly, looking into Heemin’s eyes with a piercing gaze, demanding the truth.Just moments ago, his hands had been warm, but now they were cold. Heemin, who had thought he had gotten closer to Yiheon, felt the distance between them widen even more. Overwhelmed with sorrow, Heemin finally burst into tears, protesting.“No, it’s not like that. It’s really not.”“Then what is it? You keep lying. You’re a disgusting liar. I believed all that crap about having a split personality like an idiot… but you’re just a filthy rag.”The whites of Yiheon’s eyes flashed dangerously as he glared at Heemin. It felt like a red alert was blaring in his mind.This was a time when pheromone toxicity made him especially violent. Heemin felt he had to calm him down quickly. Feeling desperate, Heemin insisted on his innocence with a tearful plea.“You’re misunderstanding! He came in uninvited and I just opened the door to let him out! I’ve told you, I only think of you. Please believe me!”“Another lie!”Yiheon raised his big, strong hand. Seeing his clenched fist hovering in the air, Heemin instinctively hugged Yiheon’s waist tightly. Realizing that no explanation would suffice, he lifted his head and aimed for Yiheon’s lips, which were spewing hateful words. Yiheon’s eyes widened.The moment their hot breaths touched, Heemin felt the firm texture of Yiheon’s lips. He pressed his lips against Yiheon’s firmly, as if sealing a promise, then pulled away, staring directly into Yiheon’s bewildered eyes.“Will you believe me now?”It was the adventure of a lifetime. He had never even had a crush, let alone a dating experience, and here he was, kissing. And not just anyone, but someone of the same gender, wearing the face of his friend. It was mortifying, embarrassing, and awkward, but his desperation drove him to this action. He didn’t want to be hated. He wanted to resolve this ridiculous misunderstanding and turn Yiheon’s heart around by any means necessary.Yiheon stared at Heemin without blinking, as if trapped in a moment frozen in time. He still seemed unable to believe that Heemin had alpha trauma or that he had no relationship with Do Junyoung.Heemin grew more desperate. He shouted loudly at Yiheon, who stood still like a motionless statue.“I swear I’ve never done anything like this with anyone. You’re the first… Ugh!”Before he could finish, Yiheon’s hand grabbed the back of his head. It happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to finish his sentence. Yiheon’s lips crashed into his with painful force.Pulled so hard it hurt, Yiheon’s lips collided roughly with Heemin’s face. The overwhelming force and the intensity were too much for Heemin to handle. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Yiheon’s waist.The heat of their entwined lips was far more intense than the light touch from earlier. It felt as if he had instantly surpassed the boiling point and vaporized.With his sight blocked, Heemin’s other senses were heightened. The explosion of pheromone scent and the heat of their touching bodies disrupted his consciousness entirely. He could only feel the overwhelming presence of Yiheon, as if he were the entire world.“Ugh…!”Yiheon, who had been sucking and biting Heemin’s lips, suddenly thrust his tongue into Heemin’s parted lips.It was his first time experiencing someone else’s intrusion. A bolt of lightning seemed to strike the top of his head, sending tingles down his spine and throughout his body.Heemin wasn’t so naive as to not know the difference between a kiss and a peck. Hadn’t he read novels with explicit male-on-male sex scenes without batting an eye?However, knowing something in theory and experiencing it were worlds apart. His mind was in a daze. He couldn’t maintain his composure against Yiheon any longer. Heemin, barely managing to stand on his trembling legs, accepted Yiheon’s invasive tongue.His first kiss tasted as bitter as coffee without sugar. It would have been better if it had been as sweet as RichX’s brownie chocolate.Yiheon’s tongue, tasting of bitter Americano, stirred his mouth wildly. Though his head tilted back instinctively, the large hand gripping the back of his head prevented him from pulling away.He couldn’t escape or retreat any further. Yiheon, holding Heemin’s waist with one hand to pull him closer, started thrusting his tongue deeper.“Hmph, hngh.”It felt less like sharing a kiss and more like being devoured. The moans escaping Heemin’s throat couldn’t make it past his lips.He feared he might suffocate and die from lack of air before even reaching the end. His tongue felt as though it might be torn out. Just as he reached his limit, breathless, Yiheon changed the angle of his head. Seizing the brief respite, Heemin gasped for air through his nose, clutching Yiheon’s clothing tightly.“Ugh.”Yiheon’s pointed tongue scraped the delicate lining of Heemin’s palate and inner cheeks. The bumpy texture tingled Heemin’s mouth, making him shiver and open his eyes.His gaze met Yiheon’s eyes, brimming with dark desire. Heemin felt a primal fear spread through his body as if he had encountered a top-tier predator.Yiheon was the alpha that ‘Seo Heemin’ feared so much. Not just a regular alpha, but a dominant one. For the first time, Heemin realized how powerless he was against the traits and instincts of their species.“Ugh, hmph, …ah!”Yiheon’s tongue wrapped tightly around Heemin’s flesh. The thick pheromone scent overwhelmed Heemin like a crashing wave. He convulsed, his body rejecting the alpha pheromone despite becoming somewhat accustomed to kissing Yiheon.Even though Heemin’s condition was deteriorating, Yiheon didn’t let go. He persistently explored Heemin’s mouth with relentless anger.It was only after a considerable amount of time had passed, with Heemin on the brink of losing his mind under the suffocating pheromone pressure, that Yiheon finally pulled back. He gasped for breath, releasing a ragged sigh, and finally spoke to Heemin.“I don’t trust you.”Despite his lips being so warm, the words he spoke were freezing cold.Heemin could somewhat understand Yiheon’s inability to trust anyone after being abandoned by his most beloved person and betrayed by that person’s biological father, losing his family in the process. But it still hurt. He had given his first kiss, yet it meant nothing.Feeling wronged and misunderstood, Heemin’s tears flowed freely down his cheeks.“Crying won’t change anything. I’m not falling for it again.”Yiheon coldly scanned Heemin’s tear-streaked face before grabbing his hair at the back of his head. The pain was excruciating, causing Heemin to wince involuntarily, which made Yiheon’s eyes narrow sharply.“Once a traitor, always a traitor. Isn’t that right?”“…”“Too bad for you, I won’t fall for it twice.”“…”“Every time I see you, the scar on my eyebrow throbs. It’s like a constant reminder, telling me to tear apart the traitor who ruined my family and sold me to thugs.”His voice was cold and cutting as if slashing at Heemin with a knife. His eyes gleamed dangerously, hinting at the violence he was capable of.Heemin wanted to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, but Yiheon’s merciless grip rendered him speechless, only able to let out a pained groan.“Ugh!”Yiheon yanked Heemin’s head again, bringing their faces close enough that their lips nearly touched as he whispered.“Go ahead, try whatever you want. I’m eagerly waiting to see how this ends.”Heemin knew what the ultimate fate of ‘Seo Heemin’ and ‘Cha Yiheon’ was. So, his words felt like a declaration that their end would be death. It broke Heemin’s heart.If only he were as ignorant as ‘Seo Heemin’, his mind would be at ease. He could simply blame everything on Cha Yiheon.But knowing the ending, Heemin couldn’t do that. Yiheon was someone who had willingly sacrificed his life for the one he loved, ‘Seo Heemin’. If his hatred had been greater, he wouldn’t have sacrificed himself under any circumstances.Without any response, Heemin swallowed his tears silently. Finally, Yiheon released him completely. The physical pain subsided, but his heart still ached deeply.Yiheon, who was watching Heemin in distress, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. The flickering flame of the yellow lighter and the white smoke swirling in front of his eyes created a hazy scene.“Ah…”As Heemin tried to avoid the cigarette smoke by moving towards the sofa, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor. Struggling to stay conscious, Heemin looked up at Yiheon.“…”Oddly, Yiheon’s features appeared blurry. It was as if a translucent veil had fallen over his vision.“Secretary Jung!”Yiheon’s sharp shout echoed in Heemin’s ears. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, his limp body was lifted.“Cancel the lunch appointment. We’re going home.”“I’ll call Dr. Hwang.”A muscular arm supported his back firmly, giving a sense of stability. Despite saying he didn’t trust Heemin and wouldn’t be deceived again, Yiheon’s actions suggested otherwise.… Maybe it’s too early to give up.Heemin, half-conscious, smiled faintly. He decided he would add “only talks about revenge” to item number 9 of his keyword-changing project. As Yiheon hurriedly walked, mingled scents of pheromones from the onlookers faded into the darkness, and Heemin fell into a deep sleep, finally at ease.* * *When Heemin woke up, it was the afternoon. The slanting sunlight cast shadows on the wall. He tried to regain his senses by slowly blinking his eyes.The soft, cozy feel of the pillow and the now-familiar room. An IV needle was inserted into his left arm. If it weren’t for the sunlight streaming through the window, he might have thought he had returned to his first day here.Though he still felt weak, the IV seemed to have alleviated his dizziness and nausea. Yiheon’s pheromones, which had permeated his body, seemed neutralized, making him feel relatively light.For ‘Seo Heemin,’ who was more sensitive to pheromones than other omegas, Yiheon’s dominant alpha pheromones must have felt like those of an alpha in rut. The direct intake of pheromones through mucosal contact made it strange he hadn’t fainted earlier.As the memories before losing consciousness flashed rapidly before his eyes, he recalled being carried by Yiheon, the intense kiss they shared, and initiating the kiss himself to clear up misunderstandings.‘… So embarrassing.’Although things had settled in the end, Heemin felt mortified. If not for the IV line, he would have kicked the blanket in frustration.Moreover, as the kiss lengthened, an indescribable, bizarre sensation arose, making him feel strange throughout. If it weren’t for ‘Seo Heemin’s physical aversion to alpha pheromones, he might have felt pleasure.‘I must be crazy.’The vivid memory of the invasive kiss and the heat that accompanied it made him blush. Just thinking about it made him pull the blanket up to his neck in embarrassment.Despite the violent kiss, which showed no regard for Heemin, he found himself thinking that he would like the next one to be gentle.Perhaps he had been hit too many times by his sisters and gone mad. Realizing he might have a masochistic tendency, something he had only read about in novels, was shocking.“You’re awake?”The glass door opened, and Dr. Hwang, who had been waiting for Heemin to wake up, entered the room. Heemin greeted him, trying to dispel his scattered thoughts.“Hello, Doctor.”“How are you feeling?”“Much better. Is hyung gone?”“Hyung? Oh, you mean President Cha?”“Yes, President Cha.”Neither Yiheon nor Secretary Jung was in the living room, only Mr. Ahn cleaning. As Heemin looked around, Dr. Hwang slumped into the chair next to the bed and said:“He was watching you sleep until a little while ago, but he had to go back to the office due to something urgent. Why, do you want me to call him?”“Ah… No, it’s fine.”He felt bad for causing Yiheon to miss work on his first day. Of course, nothing would have happened if Yiheon had listened to him instead of getting angry.“Excuse me, Doctor.”“If you’re asking to eat ramen together again, my answer is no, kid.”Dr. Hwang shook his head with a tired expression, not wanting another scolding from Yiheon.“Oh, no. I was wondering if you saw a shopping bag with a gray background and a teal logo.”He was hungry, having slept through lunch. But today, he craved snacks more than ramen, especially the Burx waffles he hadn’t had enough of.Heemin hoped Secretary Jung had sensibly brought the shopping bag and asked Dr. Hwang.“Shopping bag?”“The one that says ‘Shinwon Cement’ on it.”“Oh, that? Wait, I’ll get it for you.”As expected of Secretary Jung. He always performed at the highest level, never disappointing. Heemin seriously considered suggesting a raise for Secretary Jung’s salary once his relationship with Yiheon improved.“What’s with all these snacks?”Dr. Hwang placed the shopping bag on the bedside table and commented.“The president gave them to me to eat.”“So you’re having snacks instead of ramen?”“Yes, BudgetX waffles.”He rummaged through the shopping bag with his relatively free right hand and nodded. He pulled out a yellow hexagonal box and held it out to Dr. Hwang to open, who clicked his tongue in disapproval.“Heemin.”“Yes?”“You’re a patient. You fainted from an overdose of pheromones, and now you want to eat something with no nutritional value? I’ll ask Mrs. Ahn to prepare a proper meal for you…”“I want to eat dinner with the president.”It would be dinner time in just a few hours. Heemin wanted to fill his hunger with snacks for now and have dinner with Yiheon later.When Heemin clearly expressed his preference, Dr. Hwang handed over the Burx waffle box with a resigned expression.“Goodness. This is the first time I’ve seen a patient eat snacks right after regaining consciousness.”“Doctor, you should have some too. There’s plenty.”“You said President Cha gave these to you, right? I don’t want to hear anything about it. No thanks.”Dr. Hwang seemed to recall past days when he had been the target of jealousy and disdain just for dining with Heemin. He tore open the package with a look of distaste.“I’ll bring some milk. Don’t eat them alone; have it with the milk.”“Thank you for your concern.”Heemin received the snack bag as politely as he could with his right hand, as his left arm was still connected to the IV. Dr. Hwang, reacting differently than the stern Yiheon, awkwardly scratched the back of his head and left the room.Heemin propped himself up against the headboard of the bed. Seeing that the yellow liquid in the IV pack was almost gone, it seemed he would soon be able to remove the IV needle.‘Seo Heemin’s body was as fragile as a glass cup that would shatter with the slightest shock. He couldn’t even handle the overwhelming pheromones from Yiheon without getting sick for days after being intimate. It was truly an inefficient physique.Since he had fainted from pheromone overdose while kissing, it seemed unlikely that Yiheon would make any advances for a while. However, now that their relationship had progressed, it was only a matter of time before things moved to the next level. He needed a plan.He needed to find a way to handle being with Yiheon, who demanded physical closeness, without suffering like he did today.The truth was, he was still scared of the act itself. Yet, he didn’t want to go through another episode of reacting violently and provoking Yiheon’s anger, like ‘Seo Heemin’ always did.Cha Yiheon is the president but I referred to him as the Director in some chapters. I will fix that soon~ (the terms are so interchangeable that I sometimes confuse myself ><).