Chapter 4.5

I stared blankly at the small bubbles forming at the bottom of the pot, rising with a bubbling sound, and then belatedly covered my mouth with one hand.

“You shouldn’t take this off so carelessly in front of an alpha.”

Seo Soohyuk’s low, dark voice, his contrasting bright smile, and his retreating figure into the bathroom replayed in my mind.

Why? Why can’t I take it off? What’s with the extra choker scrutiny today? I mean, alphas aren’t animals that suddenly pounce at the sight of a bare neck, so why?

Could it be that Seo Soohyuk feels like he might want to bite my neck right now or something? Is this a 100% green light, no, no, no! Get a grip, Woo Hoyeon!

Whether it’s a green light or a red light, now’s not the time for that! Focus on the goal. Focus!

I fanned my flushed face with my hand, quickly trying to think of something else, rationalizing that it must be the heat from the boiling pot.

What on earth is the condition for release on his side that he’s being so careful about my choker?

Could it be that he can’t form a match with an omega, or something like that? But then, what’s the point of charming and luring me all this time? Given that he was keeping other alphas in check, it seems like he needs to do something with me, an omega.

After pouring the boiled water into the mug, I absentmindedly fiddled with the clasp of my choker, lost in thought.

Clink, clink.

The sound of friction echoed softly as my fingers brushed the clasp. Then, the worst-case scenario flashed through my mind.

Could it be that he needs to have a physical relationship without forming a match?

Once I started thinking in that direction, it seemed quite plausible. It explained Seo Soohyuk’s mysterious behavior.

Constantly monitoring my neck while never stopping his attempts to lure me. That strange behavior.

If that’s really the case… what do I do? Whether or not I can have a physical relationship is secondary; it’s a condition that doesn’t allow for any cooperation!

Even if we agreed to cooperate, if we had a physical relationship, sunbae would return to reality first, leaving me without a match. If I formed a match first, I’d return to reality, leaving no one to fulfill sunbae’s condition.

There was a possibility of recognizing both a physical relationship and forming a match simultaneously, but it was uncertain where that recognition began.

If penetration alone was acknowledged as a physical relationship, the transmigrator would vanish, leaving me to continue an empty relationship. If it ended with just a physical relationship, without forming a match… it was a dreadful thought.

Even if we were lucky enough to succeed in both forming a match and having a physical relationship, returning to reality together, the idea of engaging in such acts with someone I knew in reality purely for the sake of the goal was unsettling.

Wow, I thought I could cooperate with Seo Soohyuk, so I matched all the other alphas with their partners… isn’t this a complete disaster?! If this is the case, we should have done it separately from the start!

I anxiously tapped my foot, overwhelmed by sudden anxiety.

Clink, thud.

At that moment, perhaps due to an unconscious force on the clasp, the choker that had been securely around my neck fell to the floor, snapping me out of my confusion.

My gaze, turning pale, slowly lowered to the choker lying on the floor. Its helpless appearance seemed to mirror my own.

What a bad omen.

ᰔ • ᰔ • ᰔ

I was leaning against the bed, blankly staring at the two mugs on the small makeshift table. Watching the warm steam rise from the cups, I was trying hard to calm my uneasy mind.

“You’re not the type to listen well, are you?”

Seo Soohyuk, who had just returned from the bathroom, sat naturally beside me and murmured softly. At the same time, his finger touched the back of my neck where the choker had disappeared.

His touch was unusually cool, as if he had just washed his hands with cold water, and my neck instinctively shrank. Amused by my reaction, like a mimosa leaf curling inward, he chuckled softly.

“It’s not that, the choker came off by accident, and when I looked closely, the lock was completely broken…”

I mumbled, feeling like I was making excuses. His finger, still on my neck, slowly traced downward as if drawing a line.

A shiver ran through me, and my neck, which had momentarily relaxed, tensed up again.

“The choker just happened to break now…”

“…It’s true. And please, um, stop touching.”

Feeling wronged by his amused tone, I snapped back. He obediently removed his hand from my neck, leaving me oddly empty from the loss of warmth.

But only for a moment, as Soohyuk leaned in closer, replacing his hand with his face. Tilting his head slightly, he brought his nose close to my neck and inhaled carefully, as if catching a scent. The almost-touching distance tickled.

In the suddenly tense atmosphere, I swallowed hard.

Thump, thump.

Not used to such situations, my heart pounded as if it would burst. Heat slowly spread through my body like I had a fever.

“You’re fine with other skinships! Why are you always so sensitive about the choker?”

Trying to clear my increasingly muddled mind, I asked the question I had kept inside. My voice awkwardly fluctuated, unable to control the volume.

“Is there a reason why you shouldn’t bite me, even by accident?”

“…”

“I don’t really… mind.”

The heat swirling inside me seemed to have taken over my head, and words spilled out without thought.

Saying it’s okay to bite… What am I even saying?

If he took it well, I’d be an omega awkwardly confessing a crush, and at worst, I’d be labeled a promiscuous omega.

“Is it dangerous to say that to an alpha?”

He broke the fragile distance, burying his nose in my neck and laughing as if entertained. Seo Soohyuk’s low murmuring voice felt more dangerous than anything.

A precarious silence followed.

“Do you not care who it is?”

His laughter faded, and Soohyuk’s serious question turned to me. I swallowed hard, lips tightly sealed.

It’s not that I don’t care who it is, it’s because you’re the transmigrator! You’re the transmigrator, right? Aren’t you?!

Words churned inside me but refused to come out. At that moment, Soohyuk slowly lifted his face from my neck.

At a dangerously close distance where our lips might meet, our eyes locked. His deep black eyes wavered. Or was it my eyes that were shaking?

“I want to hear you say it has to be me.”

With his characteristic gentle and refreshing smile, Soohyuk whispered quietly and intimately. Then, he slowly played with the ends of my hair.

Each time, a tingling sensation ran through me as if my hair had nerves. My toes curled inward.

Thump, thump.

My heart began to pound wildly, like it was doing a breakdance.

Crazy alpha! Are you a gumiho? Stop seducing a normal person and let’s just have a normal conversation, please!

I opened my mouth as if to spill out the cries pent up inside.

But then, Soohyuk’s hand, which had been playing with my hair, moved to gently grasp my neck. Warmth flooded into my neck trapped in his large hand.

Being so close, I felt slightly dizzy from his familiar scent and warmth. In that instant, Soohyuk tilted his head slightly and casually brushed his lips over mine.

Huh?

I blinked rapidly, unable to grasp the reality of what had just happened. The soft, moist sensation belatedly hit me.

What, what just happened? Did he just kiss me? All of a sudden?

The unexpected situation left me dazed.

Soohyuk, who had initiated it, chuckled softly at my dumbfounded expression. My eyes blinked faster in confusion.

As I stammered stupidly, “Th-this…,” Soohyuk’s playful whisper reached my ears.

“You know who I really am, don’t you?”

Thump, thump, my heart, which had been pounding fiercely, seemed to stop. In my clouded mind, only one face flashed by.

From the moment I transmigrated into the novel until now. The gentle, kind face I couldn’t help but recall every time I saw Soohyuk.

“Seo… Yoonwoo?”

At my unconscious murmur, he smiled with beautifully curved eyes. Then, in a sweet and affectionate voice, he whispered, “You’re speaking informally here?”

My heart, which seemed to have stopped, began to beat fiercely again. A strange mix of shivers and relief washed over me.

My chest felt queasy as if I were seasick, and my breath caught as if I were choking.

“Really, Seo Yoon… Seo Yoonwoo…”

A strange mix of surprise, joy, and disbelief crossed my mind.

Like a child who only knew the word ‘Seo Yoonwoo,’ I kept repeating his name, and Yoonwoo just watched me silently.

He seemed pleased that I got it right, maybe even proud.

Not knowing how to react, Yoonwoo’s lips brushed mine again. With a soft, moist sound, I felt my fluttering eyelashes tremble.

Why, why again…

I looked at Yoonwoo with wavering eyes, unable to understand the situation. He just smiled brightly and leaned in again.

Whoa.

As I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut, Yoonwoo gently sucked on my upper and lower lips alternately. It was a careful movement, like melting cotton candy.

Why is he kissing… Wow, his lips are so soft. It feels… nice.

I wiggled my toes at the unfamiliar sensation and instinctively moved my lips to follow Yoonwoo’s lead.

Then, unlike the light and fluffy touch before, our lips quickly became rough and sticky.

The fresh scent emanating from Yoonwoo mixed with a sweet aroma from somewhere, constantly stimulating my senses.

I felt the warmth of Yoonwoo’s hand, now much hotter, on my neck. At the same time, he reached out with his other hand, pulling me closer by the waist.

Not knowing how to breathe, I clung to him desperately, my chest heaving. Every part of me touching Yoonwoo burned with heat.

“…Mm, uh.”

When his slippery, hot tongue suddenly invaded my mouth, a nasal sound escaped me.

We stayed like that for a long time, lost in the kiss until the tea on the table went completely cold. I didn’t think about why Yoonwoo was kissing me so fervently or how things had come to this.

I only thought about how good this intense, persistent kiss felt and how relieved I was that the person who had transmigrated into Seo Soohyuk was indeed Seo Yoonwoo, as I had hoped.

Wait? Did I… hope it was Seo Yoonwoo?

Well, none of that mattered right now.