The Scent He Couldn’t Ignore

Kang Chaehee and I were ‘that kind’ of relationship.
A sponsorship.
So of course, physical involvement came with it, didn’t it?
If we only had pure meetings, that would just be charity.

I simply hadn’t felt like it until now.
But today……

‘He actually met with Weilin.’

I chuckled, then immediately frowned.
Whether his persistent courtship had worked, that infuriating Chinese omega had deigned to accept Jeon Seongwon’s meeting request.
And they’d met.

I didn’t know what they did when they met, and he’d probably come home soon anyway……
A small curse slipped out before I could stop it.
But Kang Chaehee, as if he hadn’t heard, quietly approached the sofa where I sat.

His hands pressed against the back of the sofa, casting a shadow over my face.
I could see Kang Chaehee’s face, also backlit.
His long-lashed eyes slowly narrowed, then closed completely.
His face drew closer.

‘Ha…….’

Up close, his face was astonishingly handsome.
Then the distance closed even more, and his lips touched mine.
The moment they first made contact, his eyes flew open and he flinched back, startled.
But then he tilted his head slightly, grasped my chin with one hand, and kissed me.

“……Mm.”

It was unexpected.
I’d thought he was just a pretty-faced, inexperienced fool, but his kiss was surprisingly skilled.
A bit rough, but that wildness was rather nice.
My body reacted involuntarily, and I grabbed his forearm—the one braced against the sofa—with one hand.

His sinewy arm was hard as stone.
His body was completely different from Jeon Seongwon’s—I’d guessed as much just from looking, but now I was sure.

Making wet, smacking sounds, Kang Chaehee sucked at my mouth, made me stick out my tongue, then nibbled on it, intertwining our tongues in a thrilling kiss.
My head grew hazy.
I wanted to ask him where he’d learned this.

In my dazed state, it wasn’t easy to breathe.
Every time our lips parted briefly, I’d gasp desperately as if chasing after him.
When I barely managed to swallow a breath, Kang Chaehee would latch onto me again.

“Ah, ahngh…….”

Before I could collect myself, thump—Kang Chaehee pushed me down, and I fell onto the sofa, crushed beneath his large body.
He wasn’t completely on top of me, but I could still feel his heavy weight.
A large shadow completely enveloped me.
The kiss continued—passionate, almost fierce.

“Mm, stop, ugh…….”

When I turned my head because I was out of breath, Kang Chaehee peppered kisses along my jaw and cheek before finding my lips again.

“Haa, Director…….”

“Hoo, ugh……. Mph…….”

Moans escaped me involuntarily.
Every time his tongue brushed against my mucous membranes, my stomach fluttered.
Pretending to be innocent, Kang Chaehee……

That wasn’t all.
His hand had slyly moved down, undressing me.
My mind snapped back when I felt his warm hand slip between my unbuttoned shirt collar.
I pushed Kang Chaehee away with all my strength.

“……!”

He pulled back without resistance and looked at me with the face of a pitiful puppy.
I quickly retreated, pressing my back against the sofa armrest, and refastened my shirt buttons.

“No. Not today.”

Not today.
From the usual pattern, his meeting with Weilin wouldn’t be long.
When I said it firmly, I sensed his invisible ears droop even more.

His eyes were saying plenty.
Why not today?
Why not?
Is it always not?
Other days are okay?
Finally, as if organizing his thoughts, he asked.

“……Why?”

I bit my lip silently.
The fact that I found this cute meant I was in trouble.
I crumpled the collar of my newly buttoned shirt for no reason, avoiding his gaze as I muttered.

“My husband is home…….”

Weilin wouldn’t give Jeon Seongwon much time.
If I stayed here and then went home, I’d run into him.
Even the kiss alone was already dangerous.

When I glanced at him, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Kang Chaehee showed an unexpected reaction.
His face was flushed red, as if he’d just heard something incredibly arousing.

“What’s with your expression?”

“Ah……. It’s nothing!”

His face still burning red as if charred in a kiln, he got off the sofa.
Then he staggered a few steps, wobbled, covered his face with his large hands, and turned away.

The mood became irreparably awkward.
Kang Chaehee had clearly been stimulated by the words ‘my husband is home.’
He was feeling intense self-loathing over that reaction, and I……
I was also in an awkward position, feeling something similar.

‘Would it have been so bad to just do it?’

Someone out there was begging for their affair partner to meet them……
Hmph.

“Hmph, hmm……. I’ll be going now.”

“Ah……. Yes, Director.”

Kang Chaehee shook his head and turned away.
His long hair swayed as he glanced back.
His face was still red, and he was covering his mouth with his hand.

My gaze unconsciously drifted to Kang Chaehee’s chest.
Maybe because I’d been pinned beneath him once, his statue-like, graceful body stood out even more.

‘He looks like a model…… Ah, he is a model.’

His sharply defined sternocleidomastoid, his shoulders curving down to well-defined biceps, his sinewy forearms, the large hands that matched those arms, and his prominent wrists.
Plus, his solid chest and slender waist—the silhouette still faintly visible even through his winter clothes.

After staring at Kang Chaehee’s body for a moment longer, I stiffly turned away.
If I stayed any longer, I felt like I’d blurt out something worthy of slapping a middle-aged man.

“Go rest in the room. I’m going to shower before I leave.”

“……Yes.”

Unable to hide his sullen disappointment, Kang Chaehee went into the sub-room.
The living room was thick with the pheromones of both me and Kang Chaehee.

I quickly went into the bathroom, showered every inch of my body, washed and dried my hair twice, even sprayed on deodorant to remove the alpha scent, then put on fresh clothes.
I wasn’t sure if Kang Chaehee’s scent was completely gone.

Without saying goodbye, I quietly left the room and headed to the hotel entrance.
Han Youngjun smoothly pulled the car around.
As I got into the back seat, I immediately asked.

“Do I smell like an alpha?”

“No. You’re fine, Director.”

“Let out a little pheromone.”

“Understood.”

Han Youngjun’s alpha pheromone wafted gently and touched my body.

“That’s enough now.”

“Yes.”

Smelling Han Youngjun’s familiar scent, I sprayed on more deodorant.
Alpha scents had to be covered with alpha scents.
Since we’d kissed, even though I’d washed thoroughly, a faint trace might have remained.

I returned home.
Again, I saw a light on through the fence.
Seems Jeon Seongwon had come back early after all.
Walking through the garden, I smelled my body once more.

‘I’m fine now.’

“Hmm.”

With a short deep breath, I opened the front door……
Jeon Seongwon had spread out alcohol and snacks on the living room table and was pouring himself a glass.

For a moment, I was speechless.
Drinking again?
He’d said he drank often even on his business trips.
A far cry from his usual self, who never drank outside his set times.
Frustrated, I snatched his glass and raised my voice.

“Are you an alcoholic?”

Jeon Seongwon looked up at me with slightly unfocused eyes.
He was still in his outdoor clothes, his coat carelessly crumpled beside him, as if he’d sat down immediately after coming home.
I’d told him so many times not to crumple his clothes like that.

“What, did that bastard refuse to see you now?”

“……What about you?”

“What?”

I’d tried to bring up Weilin, but he deflected elsewhere.
And he’d hit the nail on the head.
When I flinched, Jeon Seongwon stared at me and said.

“What about you. You took a bottle from the display cabinet too. ……You took the Remy Martin. And of all things……”

And of all things, Louis XIII?
Ridiculous.
There were countless bottles in the display cabinet.
Nearly twenty bottles.
And yet he’d noticed one missing and was confronting me about it now.

“You noticed one was missing? Do you count them or something?”

“It’s Louis XIII. Even without counting, I’d know if it was gone. Who did you drink it with?”

Didn’t noticing it was missing mean he had counted?
Or did he memorize the arrangement?
Either way, I didn’t like it.

His gaze was full of suspicion.
Even if I said I’d drunk it alone, he clearly wouldn’t believe me.

It wasn’t true that I’d drunk it alone, and I did feel slightly guilty, but so what?
He’d gone to meet Weilin, yet he was questioning me like this—wasn’t that a little too shameless?

“If you’re so curious, why not follow me next time?”

“Depending on the situation.”

“Ha, ridiculous! Who do you think you are?”

“I’m your husband.”

“…….”

It was a true statement, but it infuriated me.
I slammed the glass down so hard that liquor splashed everywhere, and shouted.

“Husband, so what! Haven’t I told you before? I asked if you wanted to become an ex-husband! You come back from a good time with that Chinese omega, and now you’re taking it out on me? Looks like something didn’t go your way!”

At my words, Jeon Seongwon’s face darkened.
Looked like something really hadn’t gone his way.

“Fine, so you met someone. You had a drink. But your anger point isn’t that I met someone, it’s that I took one bottle of your precious Remy Martin? Haa, crazy……”

This situation—arguing over a single bottle of cognac—was hilarious.
And I knew exactly why I was throwing such a tantrum.
Because I felt guilty.

As I noisily wiped the liquor from my hands, I suddenly felt a sense of unease.
The air growing heavy, a thick scent.
I snapped my head toward Jeon Seongwon.
He was releasing his pheromones strongly.