If You Want Me - Episode 12
<Episode 12>
Not long after, there was a knock on the hotel room door. When Do-gyeom answered wearing only a robe, his secretary Bang was waiting outside, holding out a small pill case to him.
“The medication you requested, sir.”
“Good work. You can go.”
Do-gyeom took only the pills and immediately shut the door. Even if Yoon Seo-won was under the covers on the bed, he was still naked, so there was no need to be seen.
As he retrieved the medication and returned to the bed, Seo-won was squirming uncomfortably on the bed like a caterpillar.
After watching him for a bit, he eventually let out a small groan, put a hand to his head, and slowly opened his eyes.
“Master…?”
“…”
Do-gyeom silently observed Seo-won’s movements.
From his tossing and the covers slipping down, parts of Seo-won’s bare body were exposed, vividly marked all over from the beastly way Do-gyeom had ravished him last night.
There wasn’t a single unmarked spot from all the biting and clawing – his nape, chest, and bizarrely even his calves and ankles had lurid bruises.
Moreover, the state of the bed beneath him was even more shocking. Without using protection, unknown fluids were smeared all over.
While he understood that during a rut, rational thinking was drowned out by pure lust, Do-gyeom still couldn’t help feeling perplexed at leaving such excessive marks.
“Why are you looking at me like that…”
When Do-gyeom simply stared wordlessly, Seo-won seemed puzzled and followed his gaze downwards.
His already pale face drained of even more color. It seemed the memories of last night were finally returning.
“Mas-Master… What happened last night, it wasn’t because I wanted it… Something, something must have been slipped into my drink…”
Seo-won seemed afraid Do-gyeom would blame him for triggering his heat cycle and the ensuing passionate night, more concerned about that than his battered body’s condition.
Do-gyeom had intended to explain the circumstances once Seo-won woke up and have him take emergency contraceptives first. But seeing Seo-won trembling like a drenched puppy, his heart softened.
Although they had ended up spending the night together, Seo-won had nearly spent it with complete strangers instead. Furthermore, if his heat was considered his own fault, he would have owed an exorbitant compensation fee – likely more than Seo-won could ever earn in his lifetime.
It seemed calming him down first was necessary. Do-gyeom set the emergency contraceptives on the bedside table and sat at the foot of the bed.
“I know. Those bastards must have slipped a heat inducer into your drink.”
Yesterday, when Seo-won was utterly consumed by his heat, Do-gyeom roughed up those guys a few times until they spilled that they’d dissolved a heat inducer into the cocktails.
Heat inducers alone were incredibly potent, but to grind it into powder and dissolve it in drinks – who knows how quickly it was absorbed into Seo-won’s system. It could have ended in disaster.
While reassuring Seo-won there was no misunderstanding, Do-gyeom still had to scold him.
“That’s why I told you not to associate with scum like that.”
“B-But I only went down to eat… When they realized I was your partner, I just played along to be polite. Honestly.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“I’m sorry…”
Seo-won apologized in a shrinking voice, then suddenly burst into tears.
Do-gyeom felt flustered yet also exasperated by his reaction.
Seo-won was just being considerate of Do-gyeom’s image. But why care so much when he was merely his partner? Whether Do-gyeom’s image took a hit or not, what did it matter?
Still, seeing Seo-won’s diminishing figure as he cried made further scolding impossible. And strangely, watching Seo-won’s tears seemed to constrict Do-gyeom’s heart.
He had occasionally encountered people trying to gloss over their mistakes with tears. Usually in those situations, he felt more irritated than sympathetic. But not with Seo-won.
Perhaps it was because no drama or movie had a character who cried as sadly and beautifully as Seo-won. Seeing him in tears seemed to squeeze at Do-gyeom’s heart, robbing him of his cold rationality.
Do-gyeom pulled Seo-won into his embrace, letting him bury his face in his shoulder.
“I’ve dealt with those bastards from yesterday, so don’t dwell on it anymore.”
“…Hueek.”
Seeming startled by the warm embrace at first, Seo-won soon placed his hands on Do-gyeom’s broad back, returning the hug more tightly as if burrowing deeper.
Do-gyeom wondered why he was offering such uncharacteristic consolation, but it didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.
Moreover, he distinctly remembered sating his beastly lust with Seo-won during last night’s heated rut, yet being this close was rousing those feelings again.
Not even in the prime of puberty, yet for some reason, close proximity with Yoon Seo-won always stirred this reaction in him. Seo-won’s pheromones seemed to have a special quality that provoked him.
But going further would be unwise – not only was Seo-won’s condition unstable after yesterday’s knotting, there was another reason they shouldn’t.
“Still, we should terminate the contract.”
“Huh, what…?”
At Do-gyeom’s abrupt words, Seo-won lifted his face from his shoulder like a rabbit emerging from its burrow, leaving a damp spot from his tears.
With his puffy eyes rimmed red, yet pure white complexion, he truly resembled a little bunny rabbit. As Do-gyeom made that useless observation, he continued:
“We violated the contract terms. My mistake.”
“No… But yesterday was… because of my heat that you got caught up in it.”
“Those guys slipped you that drug yesterday. I should have given you suppressants, it was my mistake.”
“…”
“It’s best we end things here.”
As appealing as Seo-won’s pheromones were, Do-gyeom had no choice but to terminate their partner arrangement.
Perhaps due to Seo-won’s striking looks drawing too much attention, despite keeping him confined to hotel rooms and away from official functions, many still seemed to recognize him. There were no guarantees yesterday’s incident wouldn’t repeat if he continued accompanying Seo-won.
If they parted as pheromone partners… Maybe making Seo-won his secretary would be wise? Though he felt a tinge of regret at severing ties completely – no one was as obedient as Yoon Seo-won. His academics were… a bit lacking, but respectable enough in Korea, with his calm demeanor well-suited for office work.
As Do-gyeom briefly considered what role would suit him, Seo-won’s entire body suddenly began violently trembling as if terrified. Then the tears that had stopped started flowing again as he pleaded:
“Can’t we just… let this mistake go?”
“…”
“Those people were the ones in the wrong… So can’t we just overlook this as a mistake…?”
“Yoon Seo-won, aren’t you scared? Do you have any idea what could have happened if I hadn’t found you?”
Do-gyeom sternly added that Seo-won had narrowly averted disaster. While the idea of someone slipping heat inducers into champagne seemed ludicrous, the people he associated with generally tried resolving everything with money, so who knew.
If he hadn’t noticed Seo-won hastily leaving the party venue… Just the thought was terrifying. Which is why he intended to sever their partnership to prevent a repeat occurrence…
Yet Seo-won, usually so timid, softly retorted:
“But you came for me…”
“…”
“You came, so… isn’t that okay…?”
Seo-won seemed desperate to maintain their arrangement at all costs, almost frantic, like thin spun glass that would shatter at the slightest touch.
Just why… was he so afraid of contract termination? Do-gyeom had proposed the partner arrangement first, Seo-won stood to lose nothing by ending it. In fact, since it was Do-gyeom’s mistake, he would receive a hefty compensation payout. So it couldn’t be about the money, then why?
“…Hah.”
Unable to understand Seo-won’s desperation, Do-gyeom exhaled a small sigh.
There were many complicating factors, but as Seo-won said, treating this as a non-issue and moving forward seemed preferable. He wouldn’t owe exorbitant damages, nor need to decide how to keep Seo-won by his side, having rather enjoyed their intimacy.
For any future events with potential risks, he could assign someone to accompany Seo-won, or truly take him on as a public partner. His mother may look down on Seo-won, but Do-gyeom had decided to protect him on his own – he simply hadn’t accounted for other variables.
Rationalizing that he was only acquiescing to Seo-won’s request, not his own desires, Do-gyeom nodded.
“If that’s what you want, we’ll treat it as if it never happened. But from now on, I’ll assign someone to accompany you, and you must report to me before any solo outings.”
“There’s no need to go that far…”
“There is. Also, I’ve prepared emergency contraceptives, so take them.”
“…Yes.”
When Do-gyeom gestured to the table with the pills, Seo-won answered meekly and nodded.
For some vexing reason, Do-gyeom felt a surge of annoyance as he roughly raked his fingers through his fringe, watching Seo-won. Having him take contraceptives after such an incident was only natural, yet he couldn’t fathom why he felt so irritated.
With no other proper recourse, he abruptly stood and stormed out of the room in an ill mood.
Throughout the remainder of their U.S. schedule, he strove relentlessly to act as if that day’s events had never transpired.