"Mr. Jaeha, I want this."

"That's enough? I thought you needed something."

"This is that thing."

Jaeha looked at the watch the omega had chosen.

Its design and price were by no means common, but it didn't seem impressive enough to warrant a second glance.

Sumin's own watch probably cost much more than the one he just picked... But though he thought that, he didn't voice it out loud.

Both that omega and Lee Jaeha lived lives with personal shoppers who came to their offices and homes, but since Sumin said he wanted to browse with his own eyes, Jaeha didn't particularly object.

So, they were browsing the store together, but if he didn't concentrate, his thoughts quickly drifted elsewhere.

Despite such lukewarm attitude, Lee Jaeha was fairly kind to his fiancé.

Perhaps the problem was that this 'kindness' was the same degree of kindness he showed to his subordinate employees or the estate servants.

But Sumin didn't seem to mind. After all, he didn't have deep affection for Jaeha either.

"Please show me this one."

"Yes."

At Sumin's words, the sales associate smiled slightly and opened the glass case door.

The omega tried on the watch the associate took out with white gloves and asked Jaeha.

"How is this? Do you think it suits me?"

"It's pretty."

Since the other party didn't seem interested in Jaeha's true thoughts anyway, maybe it didn't matter.

Lee Jaeha's omega was the second son of a family that had maintained its presence in politics for three generations, starting with a grandfather who had been pro-Japanese[[17nuqr]].

Kim Sumin, whose father was a three-term National Assembly member from the prime Gangnam district, was a year older than Lee Jaeha.

They had planned to study abroad together while solidifying their engagement, but Kim Ranhee blocked it, saying both were still too young.

To be precise, the reason was that the match was too good to be Lee Jaeha's spouse.

Right around the time Kim Ranhee's habitual remark, 'Our Jaeho should find a match just like Sumin,' was becoming nauseating, Jaeha had set off to study abroad alone.

After that, the engagement, which had briefly fizzled out, resurfaced as a topic ahead of Jaeha's promotion to managing director.

So, Kim Sumin wasn't Lee Jaeha's fiancé but rather a 'pre-fiancé.' A promised engagement.

Even with that relationship, they had to see each other occasionally on holidays and exchange boring greetings, if only for the sake of appearances in front of elders from both families.

Fortunately, Kim Sumin wasn't as stiffly formal as Jaeha, so he sometimes found ways to pass the time. Like shopping in person today.

"After this, do you want to see my friend?"

"Sure."

'Who is this friend?' was the first question, but he didn't voice it.

He was puzzled, but it would be more accurate to say he wasn't curious.

For people in their circles, interpersonal relationships were all more or less the same. He didn't know all the business and political figures, but since Sumin and Jaeha belonged to the upper echelons, the people they knew were all from the same pool.

If so, there was no one particularly worth introducing. He wondered who it could be. But he didn't ask further, and Sumin remained silent all the way into the hotel connected to the department store.

Lee Jaeha wasn't particularly talkative either, so he stayed quiet as well.

The problem was that, thinking Sumin might be introducing a college friend ahead of their engagement, he had mindlessly followed Sumin into the hotel restaurant.

Until entering the room the employee guided them to, Jaeha had been thinking about the planning meeting scheduled for the next day. Naturally following Sumin who walked ahead, Jaeha felt puzzled when the employee knocked on the room door and then opened it for Sumin.

'Is the friend already here?'

By now, it seemed like the plan was less about shopping and more about introducing this 'friend' to Jaeha. If it was such an important person, Jaeha would surely know them.

Standing at the door with a puzzled expression, Jaeha looked past Sumin's shoulder at the alpha sitting at the table inside the room.

And there, he encountered Jang Taegun once again.

"This is my lover."

The moment he heard those words, Jaeha's eyebrow twitched upward involuntarily.

Lover? To call him a lover, Kim Sumin looked visibly tense even as he sat next to Jang Taegun.

That tension didn't seem like the kind from wanting to look good in front of a loved one, but more like the fear of someone who couldn't feel safe even next to a cage containing a beast.

Jaeha felt a question arise, but again, he didn't ask. All other stimuli had vanished, and he was busy observing Jang Taegun.

Although Jang Taegun was the only person sitting in the room, his presence was like a mountain.

Indoor smoking had been banned long ago, but Jang Taegun held a cigarette holder between his lips, which looked to have a pleasing texture. He hadn't lit it, but it was impossible to tell what the gaze he fixed on Jaeha meant.

Jaeha was standing, and he was sitting, so physically it wasn't possible, yet Jaeha felt he was being looked down upon. It was a strange feeling.

Their gazes remained entangled for a long time, and it wasn't the alpha or Jaeha who ended the endless eye contact that felt like an abyss, but the only omega in the room.

"Mr. Jaeha, what's wrong? It's rude to stare at someone like that."

If one were to point out rudeness, Kim Sumin, who had introduced this alpha as his lover without a word to his own fiancé, was worse, but Jaeha simply swallowed his words.

After all, the lack of affection in this relationship wasn't unique to Kim Sumin. Jaeha hadn't developed feelings for Sumin either.

But Lee Jaeha at least intended to be faithful to his partner after engagement and marriage. Given his family environment and having grown up watching his mother suffer, he had at least resolved not to deceive his partner.

It was strange that Sumin had introduced Jang Taegun without any prior discussion about keeping lovers separately.

Yes. Everything was strange. There were many things to question, many things to say to Sumin and Jang Taegun, but why was he...?

"We've met before."

The man ruthlessly shattered Jaeha's train of thought.

His voice was like skimming the crema off coffee with cream, and also like the heavy rain that fell before dawn.

What reached the ears was thick like cream, but the sound pounding against his ribs was like a downpour, so both expressions fit.

'Met before.' So, did Jang Taegun also see him at that gathering? He had thought he was the only one who noticed the other, but apparently not.

Lost in such useless thoughts, Jaeha failed to return the greeting. He had frozen.

"...Mr. Jaeha, you're acting strange today... I thought since we'll probably see each other occasionally even after the engagement, I should introduce you."

"...Kim Sumin."

Jaeha hadn't realized his own voice could sound so subdued.

Setting aside the shamelessness of introducing a hidden lover without a word to one's fiancé, what did 'see each other occasionally even after the engagement' mean?

It wasn't enough to make him vomit, but it was unpleasant enough to send shivers down his arms. Lee Jaeha's expression hardened.

He didn't feel a great sense of betrayal, but he wasn't in a good enough mood to ignore the humiliation. What surprised Jaeha was the fact that he had held even a sliver of trust in Sumin.

Kim Sumin had known Lee Jaeha for a long time. Just as Jaeha knew Sumin had a shellfish allergy, Sumin also knew that Jaeha had a slight touch of fastidiousness in interpersonal relationships.

Lee Jaeha's upbringing wasn't much of a secret in these circles. Especially for someone with whom engagement had been discussed, even the number of spoons in the Yushin main house would have been leaked.

And yet, to pull such a stunt. Jaeha looked at Sumin. Sumin flinched at his sunken gaze. He looked flustered, slightly frightened, and somehow wronged.

But Lee Jaeha didn't ask if what he heard was true.

At Kim Sumin's level, he couldn't be unaware of how many interests were tied to every word he uttered. So, asking if this was all true would be inefficient in this situation.

Instead, he could at least wait quietly. Under the silence that seemed to demand some excuse, Sumin made a very subtle pout.

"Mr. Jaeha, I..."

Sumin moved his lips but soon closed them. Lee Jaeha waited a bit longer, but those lips didn't open again.

As if finding this interesting, the man leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his firm stomach.

With an expressionless face, he watched Jaeha and Sumin, yet wore the exact look of a perfect outsider. Or perhaps like a beast observing live prey getting along nicely in a storage room.

His presence was too overwhelming to ignore, making rational thought and judgment impossible for Lee Jaeha at the moment.

He was good at controlling emotions, and his indifferent personality, where likes and dislikes weren't distinct, often led to misunderstandings. Anyway, Lee Jaeha was also one of those born with modern blue blood[[kginb2]].

Even under intense pressure, Jaeha usually gained the upper hand in negotiations. This situation was no different. The two still thought his dismay was due to the appearance of his fiancé's lover.

In truth, what was important wasn't the appearance of a lover, but the fact that said lover was Jang Taegun.

But he couldn't let that show. Lee Jaeha barely managed to act. He blocked his gaze from automatically returning to Jang Taegun.

Because of that, the corners of his eyes grew slightly red. It made him look as if he were extremely angry and suppressing that rage.

Jaeha spoke coolly.

"Sumin, I've never imagined a situation like this."

"M-Mr. Jaeha..."

"I thought, even if not harmonious, we should be somewhat faithful. It seems I was rather one-sided."

"Mr. Jaeha, that's not it..."

Sumin tried to say something. More precisely, to deny something.

But then Sumin glanced at Jang Taegun, flinched, and closed his mouth.

...Did something happen? Puzzled, he looked that way, but Jang Taegun was just meaninglessly clicking the lid of his Zippo lighter with his thumb, his face expressionless.

Crossing his legs, he was playing with the hand resting on his knee. He had never been intimidated before, but if the other carnivore was a tiger or lion, he felt he would barely qualify as a wolf.

He had no particular pride as an alpha, nor had he lived a life too high up to have that kind of pride, but the pressure was slightly irritating.

It was also surprising that such a competitive spirit remained within him.

'...Is it because of this stupid situation, like competing over an omega?'

While thinking it was strange internally, he found it hard to ignore him. His gaze kept drifting that way.

Warning lights flashed in his head. The problem was, he didn't know what they were warning him about.

If he couldn't secure the most advantageous position at the table, the wise choice was not to join the game at all.

Because his reason had gone on strike, Jaeha hastily draped the shell of a manager over himself. Fortunately, it was a suit he had worn for a very long time, so he could act without deep thought.

Since the game had started, he should withdraw. Even if he looked like a dog with its tail between its legs, it was better than bearing the risks that would follow.

He acted as soon as he thought. Lee Jaeha turned and left the room.

"Mr. Jaeha!"

He ignored the voice from behind. The carpeted hotel restaurant hallway wasn't narrow, yet somewhere felt stifling.

Whose pheromones had filled the room? Rock roses and sea salt scent. Too wild to be Sumin's, yet too sweet to be Jang Taegun's.

Heading for the stairs, Jaeha spotted an elevator that had just arrived and got on. He went down to the first-floor hotel lobby, passed through the entrance, and went all the way outside.

When he came to his senses, he was already too far from the parking lot. His phone was ringing in his jacket pocket.

"......"

Jaeha stopped walking with a sigh and took out his phone. He thought it would be Sumin, but it was an unknown number.

Lee Jaeha didn't answer. Because he had a feeling whose number it was.

If it weren't for the wet dreams that started that night, he would have lived forgetting an unfamiliar eleven-digit number.

In the dream, Jang Taegun appeared. He willingly tumbled about with the completely naked Lee Jaeha.

It was the beginning of an inexplicable ecstasy.