dreams spun in berries & fluff

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    Chapter 74(NSFW)

    As he walked, Suhoe frowned when the closer he drew to the bathroom, the more clearly he could hear the sound of running water.

    Surely not


    With a nervous heart, he approached the door, and through the frosted glass, he caught the faint silhouette of a tall man’s figure.

    “Do
woon-ssi?”

    There was no one else it could be—but the reason Suhoe’s voice trembled so cautiously was because the man, whom he assumed to be Dowoon, wasn’t moving at all.

    He stood there, hands braced against the wall, completely still.

    For a long time.

    An unbearably long time.

    Even pressing his ear to the door, Suhoe could hear nothing but the steady rhythm of water striking flesh.

    It occurred to him that maybe Dowoon had fainted while standing.

    No way.

    “Dowoon-ssi, are you all right?”

    Without a moment’s hesitation, his pale hand knocked on the door. If Dowoon was conscious and still on his feet, he could help him out. But if he’d collapsed—there was no way Suhoe could handle his weight.

    “Dowoon-ssi! It’s me! Are you okay?”

    No response came from inside.

    Fear crept in.

    “Dowoon-ssi! Dowoon-ssi!”

    He pounded the door again and again, but there was still no reply. Finally, he grabbed the doorknob.

    “I’m coming in!”

    “Don’t.”

    The deep, gravelly voice came from beyond the door—one Suhoe knew too well. His breath hitched.

    “Dowoon-ssi?”

    Something about hearing his voice sent chills down Suhoe’s spine.

    Then he noticed it—pheromones were leaking from beneath the door.

    Suhoe instantly covered his nose. He could feel the heavy, suffocating Alpha pheromones from the night before creeping back into his lungs.

    “Your pheromones are leaking
 Did you not take the suppressant?”

    “
Go to the bedroom.”

    As always, it wasn’t an answer. The low, restrained voice, roughened by strain, seemed to want to prove that he was fine—but the command was absolute.

    “Isn’t there something I can do to help?”

    But Suhoe couldn’t leave.

    He couldn’t ignore the pain in that voice.

    “Dowoon-ssi, I’m coming in!”

    “I said get out!”

    The sudden roar made Suhoe flinch.

    He hadn’t expected Dowoon to shout—especially not like this, even now, when he was clearly suffering. And still, he refused to lean on him.

    “I’m fine. Go back. Lock the door.”

    As he tried to steady his frightened heart, something hot welled up in Suhoe’s chest.

    He had lived entirely for Dowoon—and Dowoon knew it. He had used that devotion at his own convenience, and yet sometimes he did things that left Suhoe painfully confused.

    “
No!”

    The trembling white hand on the doorknob jerked it open.

    Dowoon quickly moved the hand that had been braced on the wall to slam the lever lock shut again. He didn’t turn around, but the air filled with the sharp scent of irritation—a bitter pheromone cutting through the humid air.

    “You—!”

    “Why
 why won’t you even let me help you?”

    Suhoe’s voice was strained, shaking. His whole body trembled, tears glistening in his eyes.

    “I just—!”

    But Dowoon had no room left for patience.

    “Stop. Get out, now.”

    In truth, he looked even more fevered than before. Though his mind was clear, his body radiated unbearable heat. Every breath was ragged, his muscles taut with strain.

    Between his legs, his sex stood fully aroused, the tip leaking thick fluid that slipped down over his thigh.

    “You already used me for two days, didn’t you? You should be fine by now. I don’t mind.”

    Even though Dowoon’s back was turned, Suhoe could see his condition clearly.

    And still, he stepped closer through his tears.

    “
!”

    When he placed a trembling hand on Dowoon’s back, his skin was shockingly cold—he had been standing under icy water all this time.

    “You’ve been standing under this freezing water?”

    “I said get out.”

    Dowoon’s voice carried a warning, but Suhoe pressed his body gently against his soaked back and released a soft stream of pheromones.

    The delicate floral scent filled the misty air within seconds.

    “You know this won’t help, even if you keep cooling your body like this.”

    “
Stop.”

    “Then just
 let’s do it. I’m fine.”

    As he inhaled, the sweet scent of Suhoe’s pheromones filled Dowoon’s lungs. Even after taking the suppressant, the heat within him had refused to subside—his breathing still harsh, his pulse erratic.

    But now, slowly, his vision began to clear.

    “Haah
”

    He could finally see what a fool he looked like—standing there, defying his own body out of stubborn pride.

    Suhoe was right. Cold water would never suppress this.

    “
Damn it.”

    Dowoon cursed softly under his breath.

    When he turned, his wife’s bare, freshly washed body was pressed against him, releasing as much pheromone as she could muster.

    As his mind sharpened, he realized that she was crying—small, hiccuping sobs shaking her chest even as she helped him.

    Two days of torment, spent at the mercy of an uncontrollable Alpha, must have been agony for him. Yet here he was, trying to help again.

    “I’m fine now. Let me go.”

    Even with his arousal still straining against him, Dowoon tried to push Suhoe away.

    If he could just hold out long enough, Suhoe’s pheromones would keep him stable until he got a new suppressant from Haeon. That was all he needed.

    “I won’t. Let’s just do it.”

    But Suhoe refused to move.

    “How can you say you’re fine when you’re still burning up like this—when your pheromones are pouring out again?”

    His own pheromones flared even stronger, wrapping around Dowoon like silk.

    Dowoon knew the truth.

    If he accepted those Omega pheromones, if he joined with Suhoe again, it might ease the rut faster.

    But after what he’d already put him through—after two days of mindless rut—he couldn’t bring himself to do it again.

    And yet, despite that resolve, his mind began to blur under Suhoe’s scent.

    Seizing the brief moment of hesitation, Suhoe guided him, slowly turning him around, lifting one leg, and aligning their bodies. The head of Dowoon’s sex brushed against his entrance.

    The pheromones, the instinct, the heat—Dowoon couldn’t resist anymore.

    “Ugh—”

    The pain of being entered again tore through Suhoe, but he clenched his teeth and endured.

    This was what he was meant to do, he thought.

    And buried deep in that thought—was love.

    “How can you
”

    Dowoon trailed off, the words dissolving into a groan as the tight, wet heat enveloped him completely. He couldn’t hold back. He grabbed Suhoe’s thighs and lifted them, stripping away the thin robe that clung to his body.

    “Ah
”

    Even with his back pressed to the cold tile, Suhoe didn’t flinch.

    “
To this extent
”

    Dowoon thrust deep again, his length filling the tender walls until they stretched tight around him. Suhoe focused on the dizzying sensation rather than the pain.

    “Why go this far?”

    Perhaps it was a question that had always existed within him, one he had never been able to ask before.

    He had never believed anyone could live for his sake—not even his parents.

    So for someone like Suhoe, a complete stranger, to claim to live only for him—it felt like a lie.

    Barely holding onto consciousness, Suhoe met his gaze. His eyes were unfocused, hazy with emotion. It was only when his mind was at its weakest that he finally revealed what was in his heart.

    “Tell me.”

    It sounded like a plea.

    “Mm
”

    But before he could form the words, Dowoon thrust deeper, pulling out slightly and driving himself in again.

    “Why would you do that?”

    If Suhoe had said it was for some selfish desire—because he wanted something—Dowoon could have accepted that.

    If he said it was for his own freedom, Dowoon could have understood.

    Instead, Dowoon withdrew deeply and slammed forward again, burying himself to the hilt.

    “Ah—”

    The shock sent a sharp tremor through Suhoe’s body.

    And faced with the man who doubted his sincerity, he finally spoke the truth he could no longer hold back.

    “I love you.”

    “
What?”

    For a moment, Dowoon thought he’d imagined it—an illusion tangled in water and heat.

    “I did it because I love you.”

    There was no deceit in that trembling voice.

    Dowoon froze, still buried deep inside him.

    It wasn’t that no one had ever said they liked him before—it was that no one had ever said it like this.

    Raw, stripped bare, without condition.

    Since regaining his senses, he had done nothing but blame himself.

    This rut had been the most humiliating moment of his life.

    He’d let a conniving woman trick him into taking a rut stimulant. He’d lost his mind, followed his instincts blindly, and hurt the one person who didn’t deserve it.

    He couldn’t even control his own body.

    And yet, in this disgraceful state, he was hearing words that pierced through his entire life.

    “I love you so much.”

    Fatigue, heat, and pheromones tangled together—and somewhere within that chaos, something inside Suhoe broke open. His unfiltered heart poured out.

    “So please
 don’t push me away.”

    The words came in waves, unstoppable. Each syllable carried tears, spilling endlessly, as if even his tear ducts were connected to the confession.

     

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