Part 3

　　That morning, Woo Hyeonseung reported to the security office at Chairman Han’s family estate as usual.

　　He had only been Han Jitae’s personal bodyguard while Han Jitae was still living at the family estate.

　　Strictly speaking, he had been assigned to the annex where Han Jitae lived. After Han Jitae got his own apartment and moved out, Woo Hyeonseung was posted, like any other security officer, throughout the sprawling grounds where the AK Group owner’s family lived together in the main house and annexes.

　　Jitae’s annex was the only one for which Chairman Han had assigned a dedicated bodyguard.

　　Woo Hyeonseung had been hired in the first place because Han Jitae had presented as a dominant Alpha at the absurdly young age of twelve. So it wasn’t entirely wrong to say he had been Han Jitae’s personal bodyguard. Just not anymore, now that Han Jitae had left the family estate.

　　On his way to the security office, Woo Hyeonseung ran into one of Chairman Han’s attendants.

　　“The Chairman is asking for you.”

　　Woo Hyeonseung let out a sigh before he could stop himself.

　　It had only been that morning, before dawn, that he’d slept with the Chairman’s youngest son—the one Chairman Han overprotected without restraint. Thug that he was, he still had enough of a conscience right now to feel ashamed of facing Chairman Han.

　　Woo Hyeonseung headed for the main house, where Chairman Han and his wife lived.

　　In the living room of the main house, seated across a large table, Chairman Han asked Woo Hyeonseung an unexpected question.

　　“Why did you lay a hand on President Kwon’s second son?”

　　Woo Hyeonseung cocked an eyebrow, trying to remember who President Kwon’s second son even was. The one he’d laid a hand on was Chairman Han’s youngest, not President Kwon’s second son.

　　Chairman Han looked at Woo Hyeonseung with a faintly weary gaze.

　　“The kid you beat up last night.”

　　Only then did he remember the boy who’d been hitting on Han Jitae at the bar the night before.

　　That kid—President Kwon’s second son—had been groping the thigh of a dead-drunk, unconscious Han Jitae and kissing his cheek. Calling it a kiss was putting it generously; Han Jitae had been on the verge of being raped. Woo Hyeonseung had had no choice but to step in.

　　“Seems President Kwon dotes on that second son of his quite a bit. Calling first thing in the morning to say it’s regrettable that a bodyguard under me assaulted his boy, of all things.”

　　President Kwon’s second son must have figured Woo Hyeonseung was some kind of bodyguard, seeing as he’d taken Han Jitae away. Apparently the kid had snitched that Han Jitae’s bodyguard had hit him, and President Kwon had called Chairman Han’s direct line to complain the moment morning broke.

　　Chairman Han had summoned Woo Hyeonseung the moment he heard, which meant President Kwon was someone with considerable clout.

　　“He’s the president of a subsidiary, but he’s also a director with a sizable stake. His reputation on the board is fairly good, so this has become a bit of a nuisance for me.”

　　In short: You beat up some pain-in-the-ass guy’s precious baby, and now I’ve got a headache.

　　If it was enough to inconvenience Chairman Han, a mere security officer like Woo Hyeonseung would obviously end up in a far more awkward position. Even so, he didn’t particularly regret what he’d done. He could have just denied it was him, but he had no intention of going to the trouble.

　　“Why did you do it?”

　　“He molested your youngest son.”

　　Chairman Han’s hand paused as he was lifting his teacup to his lips.

　　Then it moved again, and he took a sip.

　　“You did well.”

　　Chairman Han’s expression, which had clearly been that of a man who’d summoned Woo Hyeonseung to scold him, softened a little. With the Chairman saying that, Woo Hyeonseung wouldn’t have any more trouble over the assault.

　　Chairman Han lowered the teacup to his knee and asked,

　　“Was he an Omega?”

　　“I don’t know, sir.”

　　“He must have been an Omega.”

　　Then, as if another Omega clinging to Han Jitae had come to mind, he faintly pursed his lips and clicked his tongue.

　　“Does Jitae still like that Omega so much he can’t think straight?”

　　He meant Ju Kangu.

　　Chairman Han was certain that Ju Kangu was the reason his son—still a child who ought to have been kept under his wing for years yet, adult or not—had insisted on moving out. He probably wasn’t entirely wrong. Looking at what Han Jitae had been getting up to with Ju Kangu lately, it made sense why he’d been so stubborn about getting out from under his father’s eye.

　　What Woo Hyeonseung couldn’t understand was Chairman Han himself. Not only had he let that son he’d doted on so fiercely leave home without a fight, he’d even accepted the demand that no surveillance or staff be assigned to him once he was independent. Apparently there really was no parent who could win against their child.

　　Woo Hyeonseung briefly considered whether he should tell Chairman Han the truth about Ju Kangu. For now, he decided to keep quiet.

　　“I’m not really in a position to know about your youngest son’s private life…”

　　“So Jitae isn’t your concern anymore, is that it?”

　　Coming from Chairman Han, who was so coldly composed he always came across as refined, it was as good as a dressing-down.

　　If Woo Hyeonseung had only ever thought of Han Jitae as work, Chairman Han would have every right to feel hurt. The only reason Woo Hyeonseung could work for the AK Group owner’s family at all was thanks to Chairman Han. They were from the same hometown, and there had been a time when Woo Hyeonseung had called him Uncle.

　　When Woo Hyeonseung obediently lowered his eyes, Chairman Han spoke as if admonishing him, a faint sigh mixed in.

　　“Don’t be so cold about it. Keep an eye on him. You two are like brothers, aren’t you? And Jitae isn’t the type to listen to his father or his actual older brothers.”

　　It was already too late to promise he’d look after him well. Woo Hyeonseung couldn’t bring himself to answer. If it had been yesterday morning, he might have reassured the old man that he would.

　　In the end, Woo Hyeonseung nodded and left Chairman Han’s main house without a word.

　　He pulled a cigarette from his jacket’s inner pocket, stuck it in his mouth, and looked out at the main house’s wide courtyard, glittering in the dazzling morning sun. His face twisted into a frown.

　　To the right of the courtyard, a path led to the annex where Han Jitae had lived. Shrubs grew so thick along both sides they might as well have been called a thicket. At the end of that path, too, a green garden dense with flowering trees hid the annex like a fortress.

　　And this path was the only way in or out.

　　To reach the annex, you always had to pass through Chairman Han’s courtyard. Even the staff allowed to use this path had been handpicked by Chairman Han himself.

　　That fact had always made Woo Hyeonseung uneasy, somehow. It was all the more bizarre because the annexes where Chairman Han’s eldest and second sons lived were perfectly ordinary.

　　Overprotective to a freakish degree.

　　It was almost perverse. But he couldn’t say he didn’t understand Chairman Han anymore.

　　For Chairman Han—old-fashioned and ignorant about secondary genders—the pheromones, imprinting, and ruts Han Jitae went through would have been frightening enough. Woo Hyeonseung had felt the same.

　　That was why he couldn’t bring himself to come clean to Chairman Han about the filthy games Ju Kangu was playing with Han Jitae.

　　Filthy as they were, they were still kids’ games. If Chairman Han got involved, it would blow up. No matter how he looked at it, handling it himself was the best option.

　　They’re just kids. How serious could it be? If I explain it so he understands, they’ll break up.

　　Woo Hyeonseung tossed the still-unlit cigarette aside and thought he’d go see Han Jitae after work and talk to him.

* * *

　　It wasn’t until his shift ended and he was driving toward the apartment that Woo Hyeonseung started wondering what face he was supposed to put on in front of Han Jitae.

　　He’d already done the unthinkable. That didn’t mean Woo Hyeonseung could live without seeing Han Jitae. And they weren’t going to date, either.

　　Dating Han Jitae. Woo Hyeonseung snorted at his own thought.

　　Han Jitae, with me? Have I lost my mind? A twelve-year age gap, and a bastard with nothing going for him but being strong. Getting full of yourself just because a pretty kid slept with you once is taking it too far.

　　The family’s youngest son and his bodyguard: that was the relationship that suited the two of them best.

　　Like Chairman Han had said, being like brothers was more than enough. It’d be a little awkward for a while, but if they played it off as a one-night mistake, Han Jitae would soon forget it like it was nothing. Of course, for Woo Hyeonseung it had been an unforgettable night. Pretending it hadn’t been a big deal would be easy enough.

　　It had already been four months since Woo Hyeonseung started lusting after Han Jitae.

　　Han Jitae, who’d presented as a dominant Alpha at twelve, usually went through rut four times a year, lasting two or three days. Four months ago, it had started like any other time.

　　As he always had, Woo Hyeonseung was controlling access at the annex’s front door for medical staff and other employees.

　　Things changed when Han Jitae had been suffering for a full month.

　　Whenever caregivers or doctors rushed in and out of the annex as if something had taken a turn for the worse, even Woo Hyeonseung thought,

　　They’re going to kill the kid at this rate. Just send an Omega in there and get it over with.

　　Chairman Han, who looked ready to grant Han Jitae anything he asked, was stubborn on that particular front.

　　From what he’d heard, having an Omega around could apparently put a rut to rest.

　　It didn’t even have to involve sleeping together. If you looked hard enough, there were apparently Alphas and Omegas who worked like therapists under the title “pheromone therapist.” The treatment didn’t sound particularly legal, but it was better than the kid dying.

　　Standing guard outside the front door, Woo Hyeonseung frowned as he watched staff get shoved out of the annex by the medical personnel. Without meaning to, he stared at the annex’s front door and thought,

　　Just how bad is it in there?

　　They called it a rut, but it couldn’t be worse than the flu, right?

　　Unable to contain his curiosity, he muffled his footsteps and went inside.

　　In the bedroom, Woo Hyeonseung came face to face with Han Jitae’s rut.

　　Han Jitae was facedown on the bed, pressing a thin silk sheet against his cock and thrusting his hips back and forth like a madman.

　　His voice, still clear and sweet even after it had broken, had gone so hoarse it sounded like an animal’s panting.

　　Hah, haah, uh. Uhhh, nngh.

　　He was still a kid, but his body had already grown into something perfect, not a single line out of place—and filthy dried semen was crusted all over it. Vivid red marks stood out across his white skin, as if he’d been whipped with a palm or a switch.

　　Han Jitae gripped his cock—a faint outline through the sheet—as if he’d snap it, then suddenly threw his head back and shuddered.

　　Ah…

　　Then, his hand still clenched around his cock and trembling, he collapsed onto the bed.

　　Han Jitae had only his ass hiked up, putting the hole between his spread cheeks on full display. Even the hole twitched, showing he was close to coming. He gripped the sheet so hard the thick bones on the back of his hand stood out, the muscles in his shoulders and forearms rippling.

　　Woo Hyeonseung’s eyes met Han Jitae’s unfocused ones beneath sharply lifted lids, as if he were high. Unlike Woo Hyeonseung, who’d gone rigid with a start, Han Jitae just licked and bit his own fingers with half-lidded, glazed eyes, as if he wanted something in his mouth to suck on. At the same time, he started rocking his hiked-up ass back and forth again, thrusting his cock into the sheet.

　　Then someone clamped a hand on Woo Hyeonseung’s shoulder.

　　“Please leave.”

　　It was the doctor who always prescribed Han Jitae rut suppressants and artificial pheromones. Like the other staff, Woo Hyeonseung was shoved out the front door by the doctor.

　　Only then did Chairman Han’s restrictions stop seeming excessive.

　　Yeah. Something like that… you couldn’t show that to anyone.