TCBW C54

Chapter 54

 

“Y-yes, yes, yes! Ah, I—I’m going to—!”

Suhoe’s moaning, nearly delirious with pleasure, continued without pause, and the sight only drove Dowoon’s feral movements to their pinnacle.

“Aaah…”

At last, from the tip of Suhoe’s frantically throbbing member, a thinner, milky fluid spurted forth, scattering across Dowoon’s chest as he continued to thrust while holding his young spouse in his arms.

The instant his delicate partner’s back arched in climax, the tight convulsion of Suhoe’s inner walls mercilessly gripping him sent Dowoon over the edge as well, thick fluid spilling from the head of his own length.

“Ugh.”

From the place where their bodies remained joined, mingled seed—heated by fervent desire—and slick, fragrant essence overflowed in a sudden rush.

Collapsed on the bed, Suhoe trembled—overfull and breathless with a pleasure that felt as though it might suffocate him.

“Haa… haa…”

Dowoon gazed at his spouse. Suhoe’s eyes, dark as the depths of the sea, shimmered wetly without light; clear saliva—its ownership uncertain—glistened upon his reddened lips.

His long hair lay strewn over the mattress along his shoulders, pale throat exposed, skin dotted with flushed patches, chest rising and falling in swollen, uneven breaths. Though his entire body was a mess of saliva and intimacy, he looked far better than before.

Still panting in the aftershock of overwhelming bliss, Suhoe stared up at the ceiling where Dowoon had laid him, then slowly closed his eyes—falling asleep at once, as though fainting.

Ssshh, ssshh—

Moments ago, it had seemed as though he would die if their bodies were not joined; now Suhoe’s breathing was peaceful. Laying a hand to his forehead and shoulder, Dowoon felt no trace of the feverish heat that had burned there before.

***

 

Suhoe’s eyelids trembled faintly before he forced them open.

The sunlight pouring through the window and illuminating the bed as brightly as midday made it immediately clear—this was no dawn light. The sun was already high in the sky.

Wrapped tightly in a thick quilt, he shifted his body.

“Ah—”

A sharp ache rippled through him, as though he had been struck all over.

When he finally managed to sit up, the sight that greeted him was familiar—the residence in Balhwadong.

Huh? He had clearly been at Seojun’s place last night.

“Then why… am I here?”

“Why—does being here displease you?”

Flinch.

A chill swept through him as every inch of his skin tightened in instinctive fear.

The suffocating presence of an Alpha’s pheromones—unrestrained—filled the air. Dowoon was leaning against the doorframe, gaze cold as he stared at Suhoe. His eyes held the silent weight of a predator asserting its territory.

“Do… Dowoon-ssi…?”

Suhoe called out in a trembling voice, sensing the razor’s edge in him. He tried to lift himself from the bed, but froze when Dowoon spoke.

“You shouldn’t stand. Your fever hasn’t fully broken yet.”

His low, oppressive voice made Suhoe swallow hard without thinking.

“W-why am I… back home?”

Dowoon didn’t answer. Instead, he strode toward him with heavy steps, his shadow engulfing Suhoe.

“I’ll ask first.”

His gaze was so cold it felt like ice pressing directly into Suhoe’s heart.

“You really went to that man’s place without knowing you were in heat?”

“…Huh?”

“Or did you go there because you knew—like a bitch in heat crawling to an Alpha on your own?”

The words dripped with blatant contempt. Yet among them, one word struck Suhoe like lightning.

Heat.

His eyes widened, trembling.

“H-heat…?”

Heat? Ah—

Lightning flashed across his mind.

‘Mm… faster… p-please…’

That breathless voice—his voice—drenched in helpless desire.

“Ah—!”

‘Faster… I can feel it—inside…’

Hot breath, a body shuddering around unbearable pleasure—sensations shot through him.

“Um, that—”

Memory fragments surged like a storm, and his face burned painfully red. A sharp headache bloomed as shame flushed through him.

Now the soreness in his body made sense—if something like that had happened last night.

How could he forget? His own obliviousness and foolishness made him tremble.

Dowoon watched every flicker of emotion play across his face before speaking.

“So, you remember now.”

Suhoe’s lips quivered before he bowed his head. The shards of memory were too vivid, too humiliating—he couldn’t even meet Dowoon’s eyes.

“…Yes.”

“Then answer me. When you crawled into that bastard’s place, did you know you were in heat or not?”

“…I didn’t know.”

“You should have felt heat fever.”

“Heat… fever?”

Suhoe opened his mouth to deny it—but stopped. Something clicked.

“That… didn’t happen, but—ah!”

His complexion paled as he stammered:

“Now that I think about it… I’ve had a mild fever since my first day at the company.”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“I thought it was a cold… I—I never once imagined it was heat fever. I’ve never experienced heat fever before.”

Even when his body burned for no reason, even when his pheromones had once surged uncontrollably, he’d assumed it was an extended cold, weakness, exhaustion—nothing more.

His innocence, as obvious as that of a child, only made Dowoon’s expression frostier.

“It’s true. Even without heat fever, my cycle has always been regular. And there was still a long time until the next one. I never expected it to come now.”

“Can’t control your pheromones. Don’t even know you’re in heat. Fine—suppose I accept that. Then why were you at that bastard’s place?”

“Because… I drank too much…”

Even he knew how suspicious that sounded, and his voice shrank.

“Drunk. Right. Do you even remember that bastard climbing over your half-undressed body?”

“T-the clothes were off because I threw up. But climbing—what do you mean?”

Dowoon’s eyes lowered toward his abdomen.

“You say you don’t remember. So it’s possible you slept with him.”

“W-what? No! That couldn’t have happened.”

“How can you be so sure if you don’t remember?”

“S-Seojun would never do that. Mm—”

Dowoon gripped his chin and forced his gaze up.

“…Decent treatment. Patience. It seems none of that works on you. Contract or threat—you ignore everything.”

“Nn…”

“And this after I explicitly told him not to lay a finger on you.”

“…!”

“You wouldn’t know this, but last night your womb had already descended from heat.”

Suhoe couldn’t speak. He remembered nothing Dowoon was referring to.

“And yet you were in an Alpha’s home like that? Whether intentional or not, it’s such convenient timing that even I could get the wrong idea.”

Dowoon’s voice carried no emotion, which only made it colder.

“Letting you go out once, and you run straight to another Alpha like you were waiting for the chance. Makes me question if I took in an exorcistic ward—or just a cheap body eager to spread its legs elsewhere.”

“…”

Suhoe trembled, but no words came.

“Because otherwise I can’t explain your behavior. I’m gone a few days, and you disappear without a word and crawl into another male’s home.”

Drop. Drop.

Hot droplets hit Dowoon’s hand—Suhoe’s tears, spilled without a word of denial.

Of course.

As he had said to Seojun yesterday—right now, Dowoon was the person Suhoe feared most. So being despised by him hurt unbearably.

“…Ha.”

Dowoon exhaled sharply, his tone cutting.

“That’s the best you’ve got? Trying to wriggle out of this with tears?”

“…”

“If you think I’ll fall for the same act twice, don’t bother.”

He released Suhoe’s chin and turned away without hesitation.

Sniff—

He was almost out the door when a soft, stifled sob struck his ears—clear, tremulous. As if someone was trying not to be heard, yet couldn’t suppress it.

Trying to tug my ankle with cheap theatrics?

Annoyance flared. Dowoon turned, ready to dismiss him—

—but the sight that met him was not manipulation.

Suhoe had both hands clamped over his mouth, desperately trying to muffle his sobs. His shoulders trembled violently, but not a sound escaped past his palms.

Only the faint shake of his small frame betrayed the depth of his grief.