You Left Me No Choice… So Marry Me

“Ugh……”

The moment he regained consciousness, a sharp muscle ache made Haejin furrow his brow.

Every time after being with Beomwoo, he’d suffer from delayed aftereffects the next day, but this time was different from before. It wasn’t just muscle soreness from a strenuous workout; his lower abdomen ached dully, as if he’d been beaten in the gut.

Probably… because of the knot. Having been pounded repeatedly inside by that swollen member, it wasn’t strange that his lower abdomen hurt.

Remembering the sensation that made him understand the saying “too much pleasure becomes pain,” he buried his face in the pillow. Then he heard a low voice nearby.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Lifting his head, he saw Beomwoo climbing onto the bed, looking down at him with concern.

Seeing Haejin awake but not getting up, burrowing back into the bed, Beomwoo seemed worried he was in pain. He looked flustered, feeling guilty and unsure of what to do.

Of course, as he worried, his muscles ached, and inside was sore from overuse. Beomwoo was indeed the cause. But it wasn’t serious enough to warrant such worry. More than pain, it was the residual fatigue from yesterday that kept him in bed.

“I’m fine—ahem!”

He tried to reassure him, but a raspy, unfamiliar voice came out. After their last intimate encounter, he’d lost his voice from crying out, but this was worse.

Beomwoo’s already worried face hardened. Instead of easing his concern, he’d only added to it.

“Your voice… You’re clearly not okay. Get up and drink some water.”

Beomwoo seemed to think Haejin was saying he was fine to avoid worrying him. He shook his head, wrapped an arm around Haejin’s back, and helped him sit up.

As if anticipating this, Beomwoo held Haejin with one arm and brought a glass of water from the nightstand.

Being held while having water brought to him reminded him of the hospital room, where he’d even been spoon-fed. Back then, he was in a cast, but now he only had muscle aches, not an illness… It felt overly solicitous, but since Beomwoo was worried, pushing him away seemed wrong, so he took the glass with both hands and drank.

Gulp, gulp…

He’d only meant to wet his parched throat, but after the first sip, he changed his mind. The water was sweet, like finding an oasis in a cracked desert.

Thinking about yesterday, it was more like exercise than s*x, leaving his whole body drenched in sweat. No wonder his voice was ruined and the tasteless water tasted so sweet.

When Haejin finished the glass, Beomwoo took it from him and placed it back on the nightstand.

Knowing Beomwoo was doting on him out of concern, Haejin cleared his throat and spoke briskly.

“I’m not sick. My voice was just hoarse from dryness. See? After drinking water, it’s back to normal, right?”

“……Yes.”

Fortunately, his voice had mostly returned, and he reassured Beomwoo there was nothing to worry about. But Beomwoo’s expression remained worried despite his agreement. His face was strangely low, staring only at Haejin’s face, clearly answering reluctantly.

…Was his condition really that bad? He hadn’t looked in a mirror, but before passing out yesterday, he’d been crying, so he likely looked terrible. Having cried so much, his eyes still stung as if swollen…

Imagining what state he must be in, Haejin glanced up furtively. He was still cradled in Beomwoo’s arms, receiving that worried gaze.

He didn’t want to worry him, yet it also felt pleasantly ticklish inside. Haejin didn’t push away, quietly staying in Beomwoo’s embrace. Beomwoo, who had been silently looking down at him, finally spoke heavily.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know the rut would hit like that.”

“……Ah.”

Haejin, who had just been feeling shy, let out a small sigh at his words.

He seemed like a man sitting on pins and needles, guilty not just for making them go through the rut together but for knotting him without permission.

With ruts and heat cycles, rational thought becomes impossible, so accidents can be unavoidable, but since cycles have predictable timing, one usually knows when they might hit. So when that time approaches, extra caution is needed.

Even for lovers, a rut is hard to handle without serious resolve. It’s a time when one truly becomes a beast. Especially if a knot occurs, as it did, with the risk of pregnancy, if one can’t get their partner’s consent, they must endure it alone, no matter how painful.

Beomwoo usually handled them alone, and in their past life, he’d never had such an accident. So he seemed flustered by this turn of events.

They’d unexpectedly gone through a rut together, and he’d even knotted. Not only that, but due to the condom breaking, he’d ejaculated inside. His serious apology wasn’t strange.

“It might sound like an excuse, but I’ve been managing my ruts well, and my cycle wasn’t due for a while, but it came early. When I came to, I asked my specialist, and he said it might be because of the imprint.”

“…….”

Beomwoo explained yesterday’s accident, saying it wasn’t intentional, apologizing for it. He was flustered himself, never having had this happen before.

Knowing how meticulously he’d managed his ruts since the past life, Haejin believed it was an accident. The condom breaking seemed due to the knot, not improper use or defect, so that was also an accident.

Even knowing it was unintentional, these weren’t easy things to brush off, but seeing Beomwoo acting like a great sinner, Haejin comforted him, saying it was okay.

“I know it was an accident.”

“But this isn’t something you can just pass off as a simple accident. And I know you let go of my actions in the past life the same way, and now I’ve done something wrong again…”

Haejin tried to wave it off, but Beomwoo shook his head, saying he shouldn’t. It wasn’t the first time; he couldn’t be forgiven, he said. His face showed self-loathing, as if he couldn’t understand why things kept going wrong despite his best intentions.

Having finally confirmed their feelings after a long, roundabout path, he’d immediately done this. He seemed to think it would be understandable if Haejin was disappointed and changed his mind.

He was confident in other matters, tackling things others deemed impossible with certainty, but when it came to matters involving Haejin, his self-esteem seemed to plummet, perhaps due to past experiences of failure.

Such a lack of confidence might be seen as unattractive, but not to Haejin. Knowing Beomwoo only acted this way regarding matters involving him, and because it was such a rare sight, Haejin found it rather endearing.

Looking at him, Haejin spoke seriously again, not just trying to smooth things over.

“I really mean it. I said it yesterday too. It’s you, Beomwoo-ssi, not someone else… so it’s okay.”

When the condom broke yesterday, Haejin had said it was okay. It wasn’t a thoughtless comment made when exhausted, nor was it a denial of reality, thinking, “I’m a recessive omega diagnosed infertile, so I probably won’t get pregnant.”

If it were someone else, like when Jeongyeon tried to assault him, he’d be horrified and panic, but with Beomwoo, it was okay.

Not just okay—even if he did become pregnant, it didn’t seem like a problem.

In fact, Haejin, more than anyone, had desperately wanted to have a child and build a harmonious family. It had been his dream since losing his parents, but the physical limitations of being a recessive omega, compounded by the infertility diagnosis, had made it feel like an unattainable dream.

It was an accident, but if it meant carrying the child of the person he loved… wouldn’t that be a good thing?

They weren’t married yet, only verbally promising a lifetime, but he had an unshakable belief it wouldn’t break.

So he said it was truly okay, that Beomwoo shouldn’t blame himself so much. Hearing this, Beomwoo’s expression hardened with surprise.

“…….”

He wished Beomwoo would say something, but the silence grew awkward.

Had his words been… too much? It was embarrassing, essentially saying he liked Beomwoo enough that having his child would be welcome. But maybe Beomwoo hadn’t thought that far. In the past life, they had tried for a child, but the situation was different now. In this life, their relationship had just begun. Perhaps he wasn’t mentally prepared for that yet, and Haejin’s pushing ahead had startled him.

The one who made the mistake was Beomwoo, but trying to comfort him made it seem like Haejin had wanted this, that he was being too forward.

Having talked about wanting to escape the hierarchical relationship, he’d fallen back into watching Beomwoo’s reactions. What should he say? But adding more now would be odd. It wasn’t a situation for him to be clinging…

As Haejin felt a vague sense of disappointment and fell silent, Beomwoo suddenly let out a deep sigh.

“Ha… It’s your fault, Haejin-ssi.”

“……What? What is?”

Haejin, who had been bowing his head like ripening rice, snapped it up at Beomwoo’s words.

He had been worrying if he’d been too pushy, if there was something wrong with what he said, so hearing that startled him.

With his brows furrowed, Haejin looked at Beomwoo anxiously. Beomwoo suddenly rose from the bed.

Was it really that problematic that he had to leave? Flustered, Haejin couldn’t even ask why. But Beomwoo didn’t leave the room. He went to a nearby dresser, reached deep inside, pulled something out, closed it, and returned to Haejin’s side.

What? Haejin watched him, full of anxiety and curiosity. Beomwoo looked at him with an expression full of unspoken words, hesitating to act. The face of someone with something difficult to say.

What could be so hard to bring up? Haejin grew serious too. After hesitating for a long time, Beomwoo let out a small, embarrassed laugh, then spoke.

“I didn’t plan to do it like this… But it seems if not now, it won’t happen.”

“……?”

Haejin had been listening seriously, expecting bad news, but he couldn’t understand what Beomwoo was saying.

He looked at Beomwoo with a confused expression. Beomwoo hesitated again, then presented what he had taken from the dresser.

Seeing what Beomwoo held, Haejin’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

“I wanted to prepare properly and do it at the best time, but you keep stealing the initiative. This won’t do.”

“…….”

As he spoke, Beomwoo slowly opened the small case resting on his palm. Inside, a small ring caught the light and sparkled.