TATMFL - 77

Whether he had been contacted in advance, when Raon followed Do-kyung into the Korean fine dining restaurant, a lavish table setting was already prepared. It was so abundant that she worried the table legs might break.

Raon glanced over the table, half-filled with unfamiliar dishes, and picked up her chopsticks. Although she had visited several fine dining establishments with Jian before, this was the first time she had seen a place with such an extensive variety.

[“If you’re planning to stay like this all night, you don’t have to get in the car.”]

As he said this, Do-kyung bent his arms, which had been trapping her. His entire body radiated the determination not to move until he got a positive answer.

So, for Raon, whose path was blocked by Do-kyung, the only escape was the passenger seat behind her.

‘Well, I was hungry anyway.’

Raon tried to justify her decision to come here as she cut a piece of galbi and put it in her mouth.

Then, as she glanced up, she felt the galbi stick in her throat and let out a small cough. Do-kyung was staring intently at her as she ate.

“…Aren’t you going to eat?”

Raon awkwardly asked, covering her mouth with a glass of water.

Do-kyung, who had been resting his chin on his hand while watching her, smiled with his dark eyes.

“I’ll eat.”

“…”

Even after drinking water, her throat felt dry.

It was because of his gaze, which made her wonder if he was looking at the food or something else. She tried to dismiss it as an exaggeration, but her breath caught under his stare. Her back straightened involuntarily.

At that moment, Do-kyung laughed.

“Raon.”

Instead of answering, Raon met his eyes. Leaning slightly toward her, Do-kyung spoke in a whisper-like tone.

“Eat comfortably.”

“…Huh?”

“I won’t eat you.”

Not yet.

Raon blinked in confusion at his quiet addition.

Perhaps her expression betrayed her bewilderment. Raon wiped her cheek, but there was no way for her to know what her face looked like.

Seeing her like this, Do-kyung laughed again.

Raon’s pheromones, brushing against his skin and filling his lungs, were fluctuating.

Just inhaling her scent made him break out in a cold sweat.

Though Raon didn’t realize it, her pheromones were blatantly revealing that she was conscious of him.

And he had no intention of telling her that. If she knew, she would surely try to hide it, and he didn’t want that.

The overwhelming sense of fullness, as if he didn’t need to eat to feel satisfied, enveloped his entire body. His breath grew languid under the weight of that sensation.

It was then.

“Huh…?”

Raon, who had been uncomfortably rubbing her glass of water, sniffed. Then, she looked at Do-kyung and rubbed her nose.

An unfamiliar scent wafted through the room, which had been filled only with the smell of food.

The cool scent of a winter breeze. Simultaneously, the refreshing feeling one might get in a place surrounded by trees.

Her stomach churned.

She knew instinctively.

It was Do-kyung’s pheromones.

Feeling nauseous, Raon covered her mouth. At the same time, Do-kyung’s expression turned cold.

Do-kyung abruptly stood up. Then, without giving Raon a chance to stop him, he swiftly left the room.

“…”

In the blink of an eye, Raon was left alone, staring blankly.

Left alone in the room, Raon slowly lowered the hand covering her mouth and nose.

The nauseating scent seemed to have flown out through the door Do-kyung had left wide open. His pheromones were no longer detectable.

Just then, a notification sounded, indicating a message had arrived. It was from Do-kyung.

Han Do-kyung

Eat and go.

Joon will take you home.

8:36 PM

“What?”

Raon furrowed her brow, unable to make sense of the situation.

Do-kyung, who had left the message, didn’t return even after Raon put down her chopsticks.

Staring at the door the staff had closed, Raon stood up.

As she stepped outside, she saw Joon.

Joon, who had been tapping on his phone with a serious expression, looked up at the sound of her approach. He put his phone in his front pocket and opened the rear door for her, asking,

“Was your meal satisfactory?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Raon reluctantly got into the car, as Joon’s behavior seemed habitual. If she didn’t, he would likely keep waiting.

Thud. The door closed. Watching Joon get into the driver’s seat, Raon rubbed the phone she was clutching in her hand.

Then she asked,

“What about Han Do-kyung?”

Joon met her eyes in the rearview mirror before turning back to the front and answering.

“The young master had an urgent matter and had to leave first. He asked me to apologize to Miss Raon.”

“…I see.”

Raon nodded and looked out the window.

She knew the “urgent matter” was just an excuse.

For a brief moment, she had definitely caught Do-kyung’s pheromones.

‘He seemed flustered.’

Raon leaned her head against the window, recalling Do-kyung’s pale, panicked expression.

Had he lost control of his pheromones?

Given how Do-kyung, who had always been careful with his pheromones around her, had left with such a troubled expression, it seemed likely.

Raon rubbed the area near her solar plexus, which had reacted sensitively to his pheromones, and lowered her gaze worriedly.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t as bad as before. Maybe it was because his pheromones were fainter this time, but she hadn’t felt like vomiting immediately.

Professor Yang had said that her aversion to Do-kyung’s pheromones was due to the unstable environment in which they had first manifested. It was a psychological issue, he said, and would improve over time.

Raon gazed at the rapidly passing scenery outside the window and thought.

Maybe, little by little, she was getting better.

________________________________________

“Young master!”

Professor Yang’s voice was louder than the sound of the door unlocking.

Having rushed to the hotel after receiving a call from Joon, Professor Yang burst into the bedroom, carrying two suitcases in his hands.

The room was filled with the lingering scent of Do-kyung’s pheromones. In the midst of it, Do-kyung lay collapsed, clutching his chest in agony.

After assessing Do-kyung’s condition, Professor Yang immediately inserted a needle into the back of Do-kyung’s hand. Do-kyung, who was usually unaffected by ordinary suppressants, had no choice but to receive intravenous medication to calm down.

“Release your pheromones!”

Professor Yang’s face turned red with frustration as he raised his voice.

“Miss Raon isn’t here, so why are you holding back?! Young master!”

Given that Do-kyung’s rut had been triggered by pheromone imbalance, the room should have been filled to the brim with his Alpha pheromones. That’s why Professor Yang had taken a strong suppressant on his way to the hotel—to avoid suffocating under the pheromones of an extreme Alpha.

But, to his dismay, the pheromones in the room were only slightly stronger than usual.

This was because Do-kyung was suppressing them himself.

In the midst of his frustration, Professor Yang looked at Do-kyung with a mix of disbelief and exasperation.

During a rut, it’s normal to lose control of one’s pheromones. If he could control them, suppressants wouldn’t be necessary.

But even now, Do-kyung was regulating his pheromones. Though his mind was clearly elsewhere, he was subconsciously and compulsively restraining them.

Under normal circumstances, Professor Yang might have marveled at how different an extreme Alpha could be, but now he had no time for that. This could kill him.

“You fool…!”

Professor Yang rummaged through his bag. He had brought a pheromone release agent just in case, but he hadn’t expected to use it like this.

But there was no other choice. If Do-kyung continued to suppress his pheromones, they could accumulate and even affect his brain.

Just as Professor Yang was about to inject the agent, a hand gripped his wrist.

“Young master?”

“…Don’t.”

Professor Yang looked down at Do-kyung, exasperated.

Do-kyung’s unfocused, hazy eyes made it clear that he was out of it due to the rut. But even in this state, he was worried about his pheromones, which was both infuriating and baffling.

Ignoring the frustration burning in his chest, Professor Yang glared at Do-kyung, who was shaking his head.

“Miss Raon isn’t here, and you won’t be able to see her until your rut is over. Once it’s done, you’ll have to lay low for a while, and your pheromones will dissipate by then, so there’s no need to worry. So, release your pheromones, okay?”

“Huff…!”

Do-kyung, struggling to breathe, let go of Professor Yang’s hand and curled up.

“I’ve told you countless times, holding them back like this isn’t the solution.”

Professor Yang’s eyes narrowed with worry as he watched Do-kyung writhe in agony.

“This could really lead to disaster.”

With that, Professor Yang injected the release agent into Do-kyung’s hand. This time, Do-kyung didn’t resist. Or rather, he couldn’t—his condition was that dire.

Professor Yang sighed deeply as he packed away the empty syringe.

As his attending physician, he had done all he could.

Now, it was up to Do-kyung.

With that, Professor Yang closed the door and left Do-kyung alone in the bedroom.

As the release agent took effect, the concentration of Do-kyung’s pheromones began to intensify.

And the bulge in Do-kyung’s pants, now fully in rut, was unmistakably erect. It seemed all the blood in his body had rushed to his lower half.

“Huff, huff…”

Do-kyung, panting heavily, reached into his pants and began stroking his fully erect cock. The precum leaking from the tip had already made the shaft slick enough.

With each up-and-down motion, his grip tightened.

“Raon…”

Even just her name was enough to push him over the edge.