XX | Chapter 2.5

He had long since abandoned the journalist’s mission, focusing solely on getting high view counts. Since Sooha’s articles garnered high views with just a slightly provocative title, Sooha was an excellent source of pocket money for Reporter Park.eb8a1646405131cd

“By the way, I heard you collapsed from overwork recently. Your schedule must still be packed, huh?”0795511f7950d754

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“Well, yeah. I’m doing really well, after all.”b268656a8f141abe

And according to rumors, Reporter Park had an inferiority complex due to being a recessive alpha, which was why he maliciously targeted articles about dominant alpha celebrities. It wasn’t confirmed, but that was the rumor.8f98be70c758a8ae

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“But usually, when someone collapses from poor condition, don’t they reduce their schedule? Isn’t your agency being too harsh?”77d02459c61ae9d4

“One day of rest and I’m fine. You know, dominant alphas have great stamina. Oh, you’re a recessive alpha, right? So there might be a difference. Right?”d4897b2132146a48

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“Well, that’s true…”1675ba308585f6e0

Sooha deliberately scratched at Reporter Park’s nerves. His words seemed to have hit the mark, as Reporter Park’s lips twitched slightly.8c392d8632f6d1f9

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Sooha had a rough idea why Reporter Park had come to see him. Given how he kept bringing up the story of Sooha collapsing and his condition, he probably didn’t believe it was just overwork.a20c70fde330ed37

Go ahead and follow me around all you want. Like I’d give you the answer you want so easily. Sooha smiled, pretending to know nothing.3aa72de367ae9cbf

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Ding, the elevator 7fb85d12b4 arrived. Pilgyu, who had judged 783ee60de0 the conversation to be 73131c805c over, had pressed the 6311aa7b8a elevator button in advance.4549a4efc49501cd

“So, are we done here? I have a shoot, so I’ll be going.”feb56f7899f0a646

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Let’s meet officially next time, okay? With a sarcastic farewell, Sooha stepped into the elevator and reached for the close button. But Reporter Park, looking frustrated, hurriedly spoke up to stop him.a363d69721051dc1

“But this is strange.”880db707e463a106

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“What now?” Seriously. What kind of nitpicking is he going to do now? Sooha pressed the close button with his right hand, hidden by the elevator.9d3488806e63335c

“All this time, you’ve been hiding your pheromones so well, and now you’re just letting them out.”e0717af7600d52ed

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“…What did you say?”813f3399588a472f

“Even now, it’s overwhelming. You should rest more.”017153067a927599

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The elevator door closed in front of Reporter Park’s sneering face. Soon, the elevator’s noise accompanied by the changing floor numbers filled the air. But Sooha stood still, unmoving. Behind him, Pilgyu asked, “Hyung? What’s wrong?” but his words didn’t register.3a4c4b3749067d82

‘…He said he could smell pheromones? From me?’b5aa3e2ecd98771c

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Sooha hurriedly buried his nose in his sleeve and sniffed. Just in case, he pulled at his shirt to smell it, but there was no particular scent. He wasn’t supposed to react to pheromones in the first place, so there was no way he could smell anything.2c750c90d4551531

Sooha wanted 4ce15bad53 to ask 9a433c6f09 Pilgyu if b49e63ed29 he could a210fadc10 smell anything d3214fb3fa from him, 0f121626c6 but unfortunately, ae15d10a0a his manager 4010840f86 was a 629cedb5ac beta.3257c4c5d7a880de

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Sensing that e494fb2501 the atmosphere e82d9c7800 was becoming 892f32b0c7 increasingly tense, 7442d64d58 Pilgyu asked 3ae0ec9778 if it 2b54bfca33 was because 05dd2164ad of the e8665f63c3 pheromones. Sooha had put Pilgyu 9a050b45a4 in difficult situations before, 752cf661e2 but it was the 62f12288d9 first time it involved d7e59738b3 a physiological phenomenon like 1ce35e77d6 pheromones, so he seemed 8bdb8fcc89 anxious. Huh? No, not really? Sooha tried to 77b92b65a8 act nonchalant.fd768c932915501b

“Well, just spray some pheromone blocker. It’ll be fine.”f6faa227bc0265b1

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“Okay…”3466846c74f382a3

Fine, my ass. He wanted to storm out of the filming location, but he couldn’t. If he ran into Reporter Park waiting outside, it would only lend credibility to the provocations he had thrown.ccc7fa4cdc5779d0

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As soon as Sooha 2e54fe93b3 entered the filming location, c0a34187f9 he received a pheromone-blocking ef6f4f8b12 spray from a staff e6c3fd0a74 member and headed to 2d0b6d9cfb the dressing room. He sprayed 060e5920a5 it all 2657fb07e5 over his d54cf224dd body, enough c2395ded45 to take 0691d4ccea a shower b4cddea3da in it. Even then, he was 3f357e3e63 anxious, so he sprayed 698523010b perfume several times on 4e3c545678 top of it.fd59643d48820fa4

Throughout hair and makeup, Sooha couldn’t shake his anxiety. Had Reporter Park really smelled his pheromones? If so, he would have immediately realized he was an omega, so why hadn’t he said anything more? Once the dam of anxiety was opened, it led to a cascade of worries.b139ed12873d14ba

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Even before changing into f357050146 his shooting outfit, Sooha 361205e317 asked for the spray 88bc6c542b again. The once-full spray fa47304616 was now half-empty. When Sooha stood 59d4c73255 in front of 931f748d5e the camera, the e5dcd5b713 photographer, adjusting the bd1202a33e camera settings, wrinkled fd082e8285 his nose.48b988ca6e589f0c

“Oh my, what’s this smell, darling? How much perfume did you spray? Did you spill it?”e0ed898a4d6e6cd6

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“…Ah, I put on some perfume to see our Lina today, haha. Did I overdo it?”3699d165018928e5

“It’s more than just overdoing it. It’s overwhelming!”b514651ecf680b28

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Despite Lina’s scolding about how tacky it was to spray so much perfume, Sooha forced a smile. Although the number of trait carriers was small, the photographer in charge of Sooha’s shoot today happened to be an alpha.a939481f268897ba

The only silver lining was that the alpha was a close acquaintance of Sooha’s. Judging by the lack of mention of pheromones, it seemed the spray and perfume were doing their job.3883ad4f74296f1e

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For now, 944584f0f0 he just f29e6b1b44 needed to ce4b73e762 get through d44b9f4baf this shoot b1bcdb87d7 safely.b70d0d911292b030

Despite his complicated feelings, the shoot proceeded. Even though Lina was a close acquaintance and they shot from a reasonable distance, Sooha couldn’t focus because he was worried about the pheromones. It felt like pheromones would leak out with every movement. As a result, he posed timidly, and eventually, Lina had to scold him to focus.b960eec682f0d386

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As soon as the long-awaited shoot ended, Sooha prepared to head to Jaewon’s hospital. He planned to get a pheromone suppressant injection first and then cancel all his schedules for the week, even if it meant paying a penalty. As soon as Pilgyu confirmed Reporter Park’s whereabouts, they would head to the parking lot.82ca02d26fb862cd

While making 0f54d5fb4c various plans, b899728660 Lina, who 4777574d1e had handed f43caafb25 over her 2f4091a5c0 camera to 3000bbf3e3 a staff bfe8dffed7 member, approached fe2b7d4613 and suddenly b44e15c65d asked a 6b3bc86b0e question.fb7ea67acaef01ca

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“Is it not over yet?”6203d48fa8cae172

“Huh? What is?”ba249674756ae526

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“What do you think?”285b4968dba1c8cc

As if to say,‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Lina gave him a sidelong glance, but Sooha still couldn’t grasp what she meant. Then, after glancing around, Lina leaned in close and whispered in his ear.ec3079d204732274

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“You’ve been smelling like pheromones all day!”c16f65934cac4b06

“Uh…?”996acc429ace1257

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“Honestly, I was unsure because of the spray and perfume smell. But your pheromone scent was so strong that I couldn’t ignore it.”f47e1b16c476e6ab

“Uh…”5ee769d6857ac45c

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“Hahaha, look at your face. You really didn’t know, did you?”d7713f9c081af7cb

He almost e94de92a8a fell over 7679b4e3bc in shock.1fe2e57aea701792

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He had sprayed pheromone-blocking b11cd2dac8 spray and even perfume, 6c314032cf so how did she 04b2b18245 smell it? Was his pheromone 67e1f1302d scent that strong?bd14f985ef6578f9

Whether she knew Sooha’s feelings or not, Lina continued to chatter. Wasn’t the reason he sprayed so much perfume today because of the pheromones? She was surprised because someone who usually managed it so well was suddenly emitting pheromones today. When Sooha was surprised by the unexpected comment about his pheromone scent, he interrupted Lina to ask.49dafa7da983467a

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“My, my pheromone scent, why?”696266ff3a4e9b31

“Well… Honestly, considering your usual image, it’s unexpected, right? I thought it would be a strong scent. Like a thick, masculine scent! You know what I mean?”c2dff79e89d96712

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Lina laughed mischievously and patted his shoulder. But Sooha couldn’t laugh along and quietly swallowed, waiting for Lina to continue.b2fa72f11227f211

“But a floral scent? It doesn’t suit you at all!”c936819da60c580d

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…Huh? What Lina said was something Sooha hadn’t expected at all. Lina giggled playfully and patted his back a few times as if to cheer him up.59cd22609569a958

“Don’t worry too much. I’m probably the only one who smelled your pheromones today. You know I don’t like smelling other people’s pheromones. All the staff here are betas, so they wouldn’t know.”79c76705d0957a0d

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“Uh…”dc6dc157d0443c1b

“What’s with the ‘uh’and‘uh’ since earlier? Are you worried because I smelled your pheromones? Don’t worry, I’m not interested in you that way at all.”2eed08fc0e7fecab

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Lina laughed as 38ed87c444 if it was baeb5ca1d8 absurd and playfully 097946f11b slapped Sooha’s shoulder 0febaf7777 a few times.5bec17e4de6af21e

It was well-known that 9b5e43d75c Lina was close to 17e8440df9 Sooha and used the e210cf9f7d affectionate term‘darling,’but there was ac198634a3 nothing more than 544808b1d2 friendship between them. Lina was ee6dd3455f only interested 8140fb3914 in female b90d425062 alphas like 62d3fe7265 herself, and 948e77d92d she had 5643cd9769 a particular 5c5fdba107 interest in 886f024ca5 Sooha’s older f990c234ef sister, Cheon f1904346e3 Yua, who 8599a110fc was known 6601315cde as a ef2f522b3a dominant alpha.a323eebbe51e0bbf

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She often joked 34d4e10f52 about becoming the 651efc4cc4 daughter-in-law of the d5b4cb5de4 Cheonha Group, but 0a71cf797b Yua found Lina 3a6d34dc96 quite burdensome.edec7b2192b91650

Anyway, to 275b34b5ba cut to bb2cfdb589 the chase, 868a1e39ec Lina was f35f615452 interested in 24cec944e7 Yua, not 18f690b678 Sooha.87c1f04919dcf802

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“Anyway, when you have a rut, it’s hard to manage pheromones and you feel drained.”af6f9fa12eef783f

Lina, who had been giggling and patting Sooha’s back, was called by a staff member and left with a casual farewell to take care of himself and see him again soon. Left standing there, Sooha mulled over Lina’s words.a48d28c715552f4a

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‘Floral scent…?’378ce67a16727440

Caught in a e4b1055e35 strange sense of 026ab2c2d9 déjà vu, Sooha 4394a09031 soon realized the a6039c29f8 reason.886553f922b2d306

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The scent he 37caa4057e had smelled the cb040d4f19 morning after spending 6c1d0ea10a the night together.7eac1b653a15916d

The scent 904e40a48c he had 2cd86b3882 smelled in 190ba432a5 the nightmare 070dc3f0fc not long 750726117a ago.dc40ff7bde39ed3f

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The suspicion that had b95d55c139 sparked like a flame 32d4dc21d4 turned into certainty.1ddccca559babbda

‘Baek Gongjun!’32e00f273ddeb09a

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That’s right. The scent that Reporter Park smelled, the scent that Lina smelled during the shoot, it was all Baek Gongjun’s pheromones, not Sooha’s.c0e54a8f94cc74d3

Otherwise, how bcc4e49782 could they 9b8318c884 smell pheromones 81c92a2dc8 and not cfd936f720 mention anything c29ce2da77 about being 85a13cf418 an omega? It seemed like 84c0b1819a all the puzzle 2db0f14a85 pieces were finally 6fcff580ab falling into place.5073d90a509a7c29

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“Hahaha, that bastard…”7d4c1f0e939a2fe4

‘Did he dare mark me with pheromones?’f3048873987798c9

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A laugh escaped his lips. It wasn’t a laugh of joy, but a laugh of madness. No wonder he had been hovering around excessively. There was no way someone with a crazy personality like that would just sit quietly without doing anything. Just as Sooha was thinking he should go kill Baek Gongjun right away, Pilgyu appeared.e70d104a8e2b3fac

“Uh, Sooha hyung.”77f9c09158edced4

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His manager 06441fcac3 looked slightly 81c93b357f tense, unlike 4bd02f814c before.cf66edfa2d06c36c

“There’s a guest here to see you…”649f32b31a0c4f40

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The unfamiliar demeanor 3e515d33cc was explained by 9edfc48d1d the presence standing 556c5d5adf next to him.91e54301502bf770

“Hello, Sooha.”7c1efbfaa5d22d91

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A face dbb19e317f he was 40143661de sick of 02e8d481ce seeing. A soft voice.db7ba2f790bdad3c

It was‘again’Baek Gongjun.0e1849e00df66adf

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✮⋆˙73a914a327adc308

“Hey, did you mark me with pheromones? You know that’s something you can report, right?”d9def9526b5f6cec

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As soon as Sooha got into Gongjun’s car, he took off his mask and fiercely questioned him. After smelling his pheromones, and with Reporter Park still lurking near the filming location, Sooha had no choice but to talk to Gongjun in his car. In stark contrast to Sooha’s fierce demeanor, Gongjun remained calm.ca56a5cae168cc5c

“I know.”4073ae2253238a6c

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“You know? And you still marked me with pheromones? You immoral bastard…”33a89395b3e7344d