TCBW C15

by berry

Chapter 15

At that moment, Hae-eon broke the heavy silence in the car with a cautious question.

“Ahem. When we left Mount Unbang, you only had two bags with you. Is that really all your luggage?”

Having only just managed to steady his emotions, Suhoe fell briefly into thought before replying.

“Yes. Once I get to the city, I was planning on buying whatever clothes I need.”

“I see,” Hae-eon said brightly, taking in the surprisingly normal tone of the answer.

“Well then, if you like, I can prepare some things for you so it’s less trouble.”

“…Pardon?”

“If it’s all right with you, I’ll have a few nice outfits ready. I think, Madam… mm… you’d look best in a bright, feminine style. Something like a floral dress, perhaps.”

Although those were the words he spoke, Hae-eon had already made up his mind to choose things in line with Dowoon’s taste.

At that, Suhoe stiffened for a beat.

A dress?

As though it were the most natural suggestion in the world, Hae-eon’s question met with an unconscious reaction: the careful restraint Suhoe had been maintaining wavered, and he released pheromones without meaning to.

The car filled at once with the soft scent of grass.

In the back seat, Dowoon’s brow furrowed at the subtle fragrance drifting to his nose. Without a word, he lowered the window.

If the earlier lapse could be excused as shock, there was no such excuse now. What kind of omega leaks pheromones in a car with two perfectly healthy alphas?

Only when Dowoon cracked the glass did Suhoe realize what had happened.

Heat flushed his face.

Ah, again…!

He hurried to rein his scent back in.

Hae-eon, quick to grasp the situation, opened his own window to clear the air, and before long, the car’s interior fell into an awkward, breezy quiet.

After a few moments, Suhoe forced himself to speak in a steady tone.

“A‑about what you said earlier, about clothes…”

“Yes? Do you have a style in mind that you prefer?” Hae-eon asked briskly, as if nothing had happened.

“No, it’s not that… Though I did wear women’s hanbok in the mountain, I don’t usually wear dresses.”

He tried to explain it as gently as he could.

“Ah, I see. Then is there another style you favor…?”

A bit flustered at the thought that his passenger might have particular tastes about clothing, Hae-eon prompted again.

Suhoe took one deep breath and said carefully,

“It’s not that… It’s that I usually wear men’s clothes. Pants, for example.”

“….”

The pause was total. And then it was broken by the sharp squeal of brakes as the smoothly moving car came to an abrupt stop.

It wasn’t the only thing that halted.

Dowoon’s hand, in the middle of turning a page, froze. And in the rearview mirror, Hae-eon’s wide‑eyed stare bored into Suhoe—astonishment, confusion, and a touch of bewilderment all mingling there.

H‑huh? Did I say something wrong? Why are they looking at me like that… wait.

Only now did he begin to suspect what was going on.

“…Are you… a male omega?”

Hae-eon’s voice was careful, disbelieving, his expression transparently saying, I never even considered it.

So they really did think I was a woman.

Now their earlier reactions made sense.

Biting his lip, Suhoe schooled his face to calm and nodded.

“Yes. An—an alpha‑class omega.”

At his even‑voiced confirmation, Hae-eon’s gaze shot up to the rearview mirror, locking on his boss.

His eyes all but said, President, did you know about this? What’s going on here?—for as far as he knew, Dowoon had only ever shown interest in beta women.

That darting look between the two men left Suhoe wrong‑footed again. He could see why the long hair and the hanbok skirt might have led to misunderstanding, but surely, once they’d heard his voice and seen his height, they’d have realized?

He had never imagined the misconception would run this deep.

“They… they must have mistaken me because of my hair. At the shrine, everyone grows it long—for the big rites, it’s sometimes even cut and offered in place of blood. There are a lot of reasons.”

“I… I see. I had no idea,” Hae-eon managed, still looking rattled.

Just then, Dowoon—silent until now—pressed two thick fingers against his temple.

It was the gesture of a man feeling either deep fatigue or the first twinge of irritation at some unforeseen complication.

That unspoken, but unmistakably negative, response made the color drain from Suhoe’s face. His heart dropped, and the tips of his fingers went cold.

This was a problem he had never even thought to anticipate.

The discovery that a stand‑in groom had been put in his ceremony no longer seemed like an issue at all—not compared to this.

Now, the question was whether a male omega like himself would even be able to bear this cold alpha’s child and fulfill his “duty.”

Or—perhaps—the consummation that was to take place tonight might not happen at all.

Seoul, later—

The black sedan climbed a hilly road and stopped before an opulent apartment tower.

Hae-eon hurried to open the rear door, and Dowoon unfolded himself from the leather seat to stride inside.

Suhoe trotted after… then stopped, as if recalling something.

“Thank you.”

He bowed deeply to Hae-eon, who had brought him this far.

“….”

Hae-eon returned the gesture, but as Suhoe turned to follow Dowoon, his expression grew worried—wondering if he should be anticipating the appearance, before the night was out, of a new bride sent packing.

Or perhaps, come morning, a puffy‑eyed youth resolved to return to the mountain.

Pfft.

Even thinking about it was a headache. But he knew it wasn’t something he could control. For the boy, all he could do now was watch his retreating back and offer silent encouragement.

Not that Suhoe knew Hae-eon’s thoughts at all.

Leaving the man behind, he hurried to catch up to Dowoon.

He had to follow quickly.

But the moment he stepped inside, Suhoe’s pace faltered. His mind went blank at the sight before him.

Dowoon’s apartment was far too grand to feel like a place a person actually lived.

Marble, glass, soft lighting over immaculate lines—it could have been taken as a museum.

Still stunned by the alien opulence, Suhoe spotted Dowoon just as the doors of the elevator began to slide shut on him.

“W‑wait!”

For a second, he thought—is he really about to leave me here?—and darted forward, slipping without hesitation between the narrowing gap.

Sensing him, the doors paused, then reopened smoothly.

Breathing hard, Suhoe leaned back against the cold marble wall to steady himself, and only then did the doors close again.

Bathed in soft golden light, the white‑marble interior rose upward on a gentle hum.

In the stillness, only Suhoe’s breathing could be heard.

“Haa… haa…”

Accidental though it was, this marked the first time the pair—who had not even stood together at their wedding—were alone.

“…”

It was true, even if the air between them was suffocating with silence—or rather, with the uneven, quick breaths Suhoe could not suppress.

And it was Suhoe who first became aware of the fact.

Stealing glances at Dowoon as he idly turned a page, he suddenly grew conscious of their circumstance.

More than that, he saw the moment as a kind of opportunity.

Here they were—alone, with nowhere for Dowoon to avoid him.

It might be a chance, however small, to soften the man’s heart.

“…”

But if Dowoon noticed the thoughts turning in his mind, he gave no sign.

If anything, it seemed he was determined to remain untouched by anything to do with Suhoe at all.

That was what unnerved him most—this man had already been so distant, and now, if the fact of his being male made him even less welcome… what was Suhoe supposed to do?

notes:

Alpha-class omega (우성 오메가) – In Omegaverse an omega who is “우성” (dominant or exceptional in rank), considered rare and highly valued for their pheromone potency and reproductive compatibility with high-ranking alphas.
Gwi (귀) – General Korean term for ghosts or spirits; often specifically referencing malevolent ones that trouble the living.
Wonhon (원혼) / Saryeong (사령) – In Korean folk–shamanic lore, restless or wandering souls bound to the mortal world by unresolved grudges or duties, often depicted as dangerous.