Fading Warmth of Silence

“I-I’ll just go sort the inventory.”

“Oh? Oh, yeah, sure.”

He couldn’t leave through the entrance that was now blocked.

The storage room was the best choice—no one would bother to open it on purpose.

For a fleeting second, he wondered why he even had to hide.

But now was the time to retreat.

That was the safest choice—for the present and for the future.

The bell chimed again as the second door opened.

Secretary Oh must have opened it for him.

Instinctively, Jaekyung turned his head, only to meet not Han Taeseok’s eyes but Secretary Oh’s.

He stared at him expressionlessly.

Jaekyung shook his head.

It was a clear refusal, and there was no way Secretary Oh wouldn’t understand it.

He wouldn’t say anything.

Quickly, Jaekyung slipped into the storage room, locked the door, and opened the small staff cabinet.

From his bag, he took out a suppressant and swallowed it.

Then he grabbed the blanket he kept for cold nights, pulled it up to his head, and crouched in the corner.

He prayed desperately that Taeseok wouldn’t sense his pheromones.

He must not.

Outside, he could hear bustling voices and cheerful greetings.

And through it all, he could feel Taeseok’s pheromones—strong and inescapable—sliding through the air, as if they already knew he was there.

His body began to weaken against his will.

Even the mere presence of a bonded Alpha nearby made an Omega’s body instinctively seek comfort.

It was biology.

But Jaekyung’s mind was fracturing.

It hurt—so much that his head throbbed painfully.

He should have taken some painkillers.

Holding his head tightly, he prayed for Taeseok to leave.

◆

“Ugh…”

Forcing his heavy body to move, Jaekyung went to the kitchen to drink some water.

As he stepped into the pitch-dark living room, the kitchen lights flicked on automatically.

The clock on the wall read 3 a.m.

The housekeeper had long gone home.

As for Taeseok… whether he’d come back or not, Jaekyung didn’t know.

If he had, he was probably in the study upstairs.

Jaekyung filled a glass of cold water from the purifier and drank it down in one go.

Wiping his wet lips, he exhaled shakily.

His body felt unbearably heavy.

And something didn’t feel right.

This wasn’t just a cold or fatigue—it was a heat rising deep within him.

He quickly counted back to his last heat cycle.

Four months since the wedding… it was about time.

At that thought, all strength left his body, and he sank onto the sofa.

He didn’t want it to come.

But he couldn’t take suppressants either.

He could still take them now before it fully started—but suppressing a heat that had already begun would wreck his body and destroy his natural cycle.

And then, Director Ji would definitely notice and question him.

He had never even talked about heat cycles with Han Taeseok.

What would he even say?

And how would Taeseok react?

If he reacted the same way as always… there was no hope left, and yet—

Wouldn’t his last bit of pride as an Omega crumble completely?

He sighed deeply and went back to bed.

Now that he thought about it, Taeseok had chosen every piece of furniture in this house.

So why such a huge bed?

It was large enough for five grown men to sleep side by side.

Big enough for two people to roll around in circles and still have space.

The thought made him let out a quiet, hollow laugh.

He pulled the blanket over his head and drifted into sleep.

Jaekyung woke again at 6 a.m.

Normally, he would have lazed around longer, but the housekeeper had said Taeseok usually left for work around this time.

Jaekyung jumped up, straightened his hair and clothes, then opened the door.

A delicious smell filled the air, and he heard the housekeeper bustling about.

Faintly, he could also sense Taeseok’s pheromones.

He almost never smelled them in the house.

The fact that he could now only meant one thing—

His heat cycle was approaching.

His senses were more sensitive to Alphas.

“Oh my, you’re up already?”

The housekeeper greeted him warmly.

Taeseok was sitting at the table, eating the breakfast she’d prepared.

So he eats breakfast…

Taeseok lowered his chopsticks and looked at him.

Their eyes met.

Four months into marriage—and this was one of the few times they’d actually looked at each other.

“Good morning.”

Jaekyung greeted the housekeeper first, then looked at Han Taeseok.

“Did you sleep well?”

Taeseok gave a slight nod and turned back to his meal.

“Would you like some breakfast too, Mr. Jaekyung?”

Jaekyung’s appetite was gone, his stomach unsettled, but he nodded.

He had to eat—at least to create a chance to speak.

Sitting across from Taeseok, he realized—

This was the first time they’d shared a meal together.

Just as he lifted his spoon, Taeseok put down his chopsticks and stood up.

“Ah…”

He pushed in his chair and went upstairs.

Jaekyung froze.

What could he possibly say to someone who didn’t even want to eat in the same room?

Part of him wanted to give up, but he had to speak.

At least then, he’d have something to defend himself with later.

“Housekeeper, excuse me for a moment.”

Leaving the sympathetic woman behind, Jaekyung headed upstairs.

Every step took courage—

More courage than he’d ever needed before.

He knocked softly on the study door.

“Um… may I come in? I have something to discuss.”

Before he could even hear a reply, the door opened.

Taeseok stood there, already dressed, the faint scent of his pheromones washing over Jaekyung.

Jaekyung quickly lowered his gaze.

“I have to leave by 6:20,” Taeseok said curtly.

So he was giving him five minutes.

“…I think my heat cycle is coming soon.

We haven’t discussed how to handle it.”

Jaekyung’s hands twisted together nervously.

Silence.

No response came.

Was Taeseok uncomfortable?
Or was that simply his way of refusing?

Of course—it was a refusal.

“I-It’s fine if it’s inconvenient for you. I’ll just take suppressants.”

Better to retreat before being outright rejected.

“Do that.”

The reply came immediately—sharp and final.

Even though Jaekyung had prepared himself, something still stabbed painfully in his chest.

He forced a smile.

“Thank you. It’s already twenty past six—please have a safe day.”

He bowed slightly and went downstairs.

Then he sat before the still-warm breakfast and forced each bite down.

By the time Taeseok finished dressing and left the house, the metal gate clanged shut.

Only then did Jaekyung stop eating.

He thanked the housekeeper politely, went back to his room—

—and ran straight into the bathroom.

“Ugh—”

He vomited everything he’d eaten, until only stomach acid came up.

His whole body trembled.

Dragging himself out, he opened the drawer, took out a pack of suppressants, and swallowed two pills.

Suppressants before and after a heat had different formulas—

both harsh, both exhausting.

But he had no choice.

What was so strange about an Omega taking suppressants without his Alpha?

That’s how it had always been.

He curled up in bed, exhaustion pulling him under.

Sleep came quickly.

It was a relief.

That was how he spent his first heat cycle after marriage—

so quietly, so emptily,

that even the rhythm of his body fell apart.

Ten months passed, and still, no heat came again.

Naturally, people from the NI family began whispering.

Even those from Jaewang started to worry.