Chapter 57

Beep, beep… Crash…

The accident was catastrophic. Paramedics and police cruisers arrived at the chaotic scene. Covered in blood, Yu-gyeom was barely pulled free from the crushed wreckage of his car.

Still retaining a shred of consciousness, Yu-gyeom allowed a faint, ghostly smile to spread across his lips.

“Stay with us! Don’t fall asleep! What is your name, sir?” the paramedic shouted urgently.

“Yu-gyeom,” he managed weakly.

“All right, Mr. Yu-gyeom, do you have any family we can contact?” the paramedic asked.

“My younger brother, Kwon Rian… Please call… Kwon Rian from my phone,” Yu-gyeom pleaded in a broken whisper.

Though his speech slurred heavily, his mind remained razor-sharp. Yu-gyeom refused to allow the slightest error to derail his scheme. That was why, even as he was loaded onto the stretcher into the ambulance, he repeatedly implored them to call only Kwon Rian, saved under speed dial number one on his phone.

After that, darkness took him, and his memories blurred.

* * *

Rian had considered it a remarkably good day. His very first vacation with friends, splashing in the pool, a sumptuous barbecue, staring into the flickering bonfire, and a sip of alcohol.

Rian set down his beer bottle after taking only a single sip. Knowing his constitution couldn’t tolerate alcohol, his friends hadn’t pressured him to drink any more.

His companions were throwing themselves whole-heartedly into every fleeting moment that would someday become fond memories. Mingling among them, Rian savored the getaway in his own quiet, slightly shy, and awkward manner. Yet the stubborn reality that not a single word had come from Yu-gyeom all day gnawed at the edges of his peace of mind.

Normally, one of them would have reached out by now, but for some reason, Rian had stubbornly refused to make the first move.

Was it because that single swallow had made him slightly woozy? Watching the wood crackle and glow in the fire pit, a gentle drowsiness began to wash over him.

Settling onto the carpet beside him, Taeju asked softly, “Sleepy?”

“Huh? Yeah, a little…” Rian admitted softly.

Holding a beer bottle in hand, Taeju slid right up against Rian’s side.

“It gets chilly at night. Put this on,” Taeju instructed, offering him a windbreaker.

Rian stared at the jacket Taeju offered before rubbing his chilled arms and taking it. He had never borrowed or worn anyone’s clothes other than hyung’s; having embarked on just this one trip, even such trivial experiences felt overwhelmingly foreign.

Receiving kindness and attention from someone else felt unfamiliar, yet it gifted him a peculiar, not unwelcome sense of liberation.

“Alpha scent…” Rian murmured under his breath.

Taeju turned his head toward him. “Huh?”

Rian had mumbled the words without realizing it as he drew his knees up against his chest. Catching the faint whisper, Taeju pressed his body even closer to Rian.

“Ah… I just smell your pheromones,” Rian explained softly.

“Really? What’s it like?” Taeju inquired with keen interest.

Rian blinked, taken aback. “What?”

“I’m asking what my pheromones smell like to you,” Taeju repeated. “It feels like they get especially heavy whenever I’m around you.”

“Hmm…” Rian hummed, searching for the right words.

Rian blinked his large, round eyes in quiet contemplation.

“It’s kind of refreshing,” he offered with a thoughtful smile, “like wood and cedar…”

Taeju’s pheromones brought a measure of ease to Rian’s restless heart. While Yu-gyeom’s pheromones aggressively stimulated Rian’s scent glands and stirred feverish arousal, Taeju’s scent felt distinct. It wasn’t that Rian felt zero arousal at all, but rather that it resembled a natural physiological response.

“Ah, so that’s how it smells to you…” Taeju remarked in satisfaction.

Evidently pleased with Rian’s response, Taeju curved his lips into an amused grin. Carried on the gentle night breeze, Taeju’s pheromones swept across Rian’s exposed skin.

Perhaps because of all the swimming earlier, weariness pulled persistently at Rian’s eyelids. As Rian covered his mouth to stifle a yawn, Taeju stole a quick glance at their friends and leaned close to Rian’s ear.

Taeju leaned closer, whispering intimately, “Want to head inside? You look exhausted.”

Rian looked up with heavy, drowsy eyes. “Huh?”

Should I…? After deliberating for a moment, Rian slowly brushed off his clothes and rose to his feet.

“Kwon Rian, you’re turning in already? Hang out a bit longer!” Su-hyun called out. “You said this was your first trip!”

Su-hyun caught Rian by the arm to keep him from leaving.

“Hey, cut it out,” Taeju interjected. “Kwon Rian looks like he’s about to collapse.”

Before Su-hyun could protest, Taeju slung an arm around Rian’s shoulders and guided him toward the house. Rian flashed an awkward smile as he was led into the bedroom.

The bedroom door clicked shut, leaving only the two of them in the room. Taeju flopped down onto the king-size bed.

The sudden urge to collapse onto the mattress and fall asleep gave Rian pause. Aside from Yu-gyeom, he had never shared a bed with another person.

“Come lie down,” Taeju said, patting the mattress. “Now that I’m inside, I’m getting drowsy too.”

“Oh? Uh, okay….” Rian stammered, his feet hesitating.

Kim Taeju did not have the slightest intention of clearing out. Tonight, he was determined to pin Kwon Rian beneath him and fuck him senseless. That had been his sole reason for pushing this trip in the first place.

Every time Taeju laid eyes on Kwon Rian, desire roiled violently through his gut, his own pheromones erupting like an explosion that rattled his brain. Merely imagining what lay inside Rian’s underwear was enough to drive him completely out of his mind.

He had tried not to make his lust obvious, but watching Rian appear even faintly stimulated by his pheromones made it impossible to hold back any longer.

Whatever emotional label this carried did not matter. It was not as though Kim Taeju actually liked Rian romantically; he was merely bewitched by the guy’s pheromones. With Rian’s damned hyung out of the picture and the rest of their friends dead drunk, an opportunity this golden would never come again.

Rian pulled the covers up to his nose, asking tentatively, “Are you… sleeping in the bed too?”

As Rian spoke, he cautiously slipped his legs beneath the duvet.

“Yeah. What, did you want me to sleep on the floor?” Taeju replied. “I can’t sleep on hard floors.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that,” Rian explained softly. “I’ve just never shared a bed with anyone before.”

“You’re so uptight, Kwon Rian,” Taeju teased playfully. “Take this chance to get used to sharing skin with other guys for once.”

With an easygoing laugh, Taeju stretched out his body on the mattress. Outwardly, Taeju acted nonchalant, but his heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to burst. Rian, by contrast, felt a knot of unease tighten in his chest as Kim Taeju’s pheromones saturated the cramped bedroom.

Rian was not oblivious to Kim Taeju’s blatant intentions, especially when the other boy made no effort whatsoever to rein in his scent. Rian was not that foolish. Yet even as he felt himself being swept along in a daze, he could not bring himself to coldly walk out of the room.

He considered sleeping in the living room, but he did not want to harshly reject the friendly goodwill Taeju showed him. Furthermore, Taeju’s previous plea—asking if Rian could simply stay by his side—had weakened his resolve. Rian worried that refusing would ruin the entire trip and shatter his friendship with the group.

“By the way, about wanting to share a room with me…” Rian murmured, looking hesitant. “Is it because of your manifestation?”

He ventured the question with immense care, watching Taeju’s face for a reaction.

“Well, I won’t make excuses,” Taeju answered. “I already told you I needed your help. Just stay beside me.”