TL | Chapter 3 | The Dead Returns to Life

It was Iden hyung. It was Iden hyung.

The one person who reacted to his heat cycle. The only person he could safely surrender to.

A large hand pulled his shirt off, sliding up over his abdomen and pausing at his chest. His fingers tweaked Seowon’s nipple, causing his upper body to jolt upward.

“Uuh…”

A pained moan slipped out between their entwined lips. Despite it all, he hadn’t touched him below, making Seowon feel agonizingly impatient. The moment he tried to touch himself, Iden quickly grabbed his arm. Struggling against his strength was futile; he couldn’t budge.

“Hurry…”

As soon as his tongue was freed from Iden’s hold, he begged. His whole body was burning, driving him mad with need. He just wanted Iden to do something, anything.

Haah. He heard Iden take a deep, heavy breath. He didn’t have the time to consider what that sigh meant. As he pressed his face against Iden’s neck, planting a kiss, the familiar, irresistibly alluring scent of his pheromones grew even stronger.

Clearly, Iden wanted him, too. Iden’s pheromones, without a word, were proving his desire.

“You want me too, hyung.”

He whispered, his lips moving up Iden’s neck to nibble his earlobe. It seemed Iden had reached his limit; he pushed Seowon down, stripping off his underwear. As his underwear slipped down his legs, Seowon’s gaze fixed on the bulge straining against Iden’s pants.

I want that.

Pure desire was churning inside him. He was his Alpha, after all. Wanting him was only natural.

Iden discarded his shirt and pulled down his pants. The sight made Seowon’s mouth go dry, so he licked his lips to moisten them.

“You’re the one who provoked me, so I’m not going easy on you.”

Iden warned as he lifted Seowon’s legs.

“So what if you don’t… Ugh!”

Suddenly, without warning, he entered from behind, the intense pressure leaving Seowon’s head thrown back, barely able to breathe. No matter how familiar his body was with Iden, the initial entry was always overwhelming. Especially today, with no foreplay. This was unlike Iden, who would usually check his expression, handling him tenderly like calming a child.

“Just a little… Ngh… slower…”

As his body began to move, he could barely speak. His vision blurred, then cleared in waves. Every time Iden thrust deeply, a dizzying shiver spread through his body. Iden bent over him, their lips meeting again, leaving him breathless.

He wondered if he might die like this. It was an intense, relentless kind of sex that made him think that way.

Oh, I’m already dead, right? With that thought, he stopped caring. He clung to Iden as if he’d lose the world if he let go. He didn’t even mind that his lower body felt sore from the rough pace.

Even if he was dead, it was fine. He was with Iden. He thought he’d never be able to hold him again, but here he was, wrapped in his arms. That was all that mattered.
•

His body felt languid. Though he was conscious, he had no strength left to lift his eyelids.

A residual warmth lingered on his body. Yet, he didn’t have the energy to cling to Iden and ask for more. Iden wasn’t himself. This wasn’t his usual, considerate lovemaking; it was a raw, animalistic act as if he’d devour Seowon whole.

I didn’t know, but maybe I wanted that from Iden hyung. Was this a dream, or the afterlife showing him the sex he truly desired as a fantasy? Guess I’m an animal too.

Lost in idle thoughts, Seowon slowly opened his eyes at the movement beside him. If it was a dream, the figure buttoning his shirt by the bed was too vivid. And the atmosphere was drastically different from his memories.

The sensations of post-sex still tingled too clearly in his body. He could even feel some liquid—whether it was Iden’s or his own, he wasn’t sure—trickling down from behind. That visceral sensation convinced him this was reality, not some dream. Realizing it, he felt like he’d been struck by a massive hammer, his body frozen in shock.

What the hell happened? Why is Iden here?

“Why do I sense the same pheromones from you?”

Noticing that Seowon was awake, Iden turned and asked. His tone was cold and composed, so far from the beast that had devoured him moments ago that it was almost unbelievable.

This isn’t Iden hyung.

Realizing this, he felt as if cold water had been poured over him, snapping him back to reality.

He’d reached climax multiple times in Iden’s arms. But this wasn’t Iden, nor was this his marked partner. Was that even possible? It felt as if the blood drained from his fingertips, his body turning cold.

Yet for some reason, his body still responded to him. The pheromones scattered around the bed were undeniably familiar. He couldn’t mistake that.

“Iden hyung…?”

Even though he thought it wasn’t him, he called out that name. His voice narrowed his eyes further, as if he, too, found something incomprehensible.

“Impossible.”

Shaking his head, he wondered what he was thinking. Iden was dead. Right before his eyes.

The man before him simply watched him, saying nothing more.

Seowon’s mind was a chaotic mess. If this wasn’t Iden, why did he look so much like him? Why were the pheromones the same? Why did his marked body not reject him? Why… why had he been embraced by someone who wasn’t Iden?

The most shocking part was that he’d been with someone who wasn’t Iden. Since realizing he was an Omega, Seowon had known no one but Iden. Iden had been his first and last. He’d marked him without the slightest doubt that it would be for life. But now… how?

Barely keeping his fainting mind together, he decided to leave. He didn’t know where he was, or why the man in front of him resembled Iden. It felt like he was seeing an illusion. Though it wouldn’t disperse, he was convinced it was a phantom created by his desperate wishes. He couldn’t endure this torment of false hope any longer.

As he tried to step off the bed, his vision spun. His legs gave out, and he wobbled, unable to take even a single step. Just as he felt himself collapsing, he felt Iden’s grip on his arm.

“Honestly…”

His voice was tinged with irritation. Turning to look, he saw Iden’s face twisted in frustration.

“Get your fever down first. We’ll talk after that.”

Half forcibly, Iden laid Seowon back on the bed. Only then did Seowon realize how hot his body was, the room seeming to waver with his fever. So all of this… was it just a hallucination from a fever so vivid he couldn’t distinguish it from reality?

Having reached a conclusion to this incomprehensible situation, a deep sigh escaped him. Closing his eyes, he felt heat gather in his eyelids as tears slid down his temples. He lifted an arm to cover his eyes, clenching his teeth. His emotions, overwhelming and uncontrollable, swirled into a tangled mess.

Feeling Iden pull his arm away from his eyes, he opened them to see Iden gazing down at him. Even if he was a fake, even if this was a mere hallucination, it was a face he missed terribly. Now, he didn’t care if he was just a look-alike. Just looking at him filled his eyes with tears.

I missed you. I thought I’d die from missing you so much.

The words clung to his throat but were too choked up to escape.

“It’s fine, don’t think about anything for now. Just sleep.”

Iden placed a large hand over Seowon’s eyes. As darkness filled his vision, everything felt like a dream again.

He inhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling, and closed his eyes. Perhaps due to the fever, even with his eyes closed, he felt dizzy. The warmth over his eyes was so comforting, it felt as if he might cry again.

When the trembling of Seowon’s eyelids ceased beneath his hand, Iden finally pulled it away. His forehead, long almond-shaped eyes, lashes so long they brushed his palm, the distinct nose, the defined lips—and most importantly, the scent of his pheromones. It was all too familiar.

Ha Seowon.

Repeating the name in his mind, a frown deepened on Iden’s brow.

Could this really be Ha Seowon? Has the dead come back?

It was something straight out of a movie. Logic told him it was impossible, that there must be some other scheme. But his instincts screamed that the man before him was indeed Ha Seowon.

Above all, the scent of his pheromones. He couldn’t mistake that. He had remembered the scent from the single fleeting moment he caught it years ago, and in the end, he had tracked Seowon down. When it came to Seowon, he knew he couldn’t be wrong.

Staring down at Seowon, Iden reached out to cup his cheek. The feel of it in his palm was equally familiar. Though it had been a month, this was a face he had touched countless times, hundreds, thousands of times.

“Iden hyung…”

Seowon murmured his name in his sleep, pressing his face further into Iden’s palm.

It was Ha Seowon. Unquestionably, it was his lover, who had died just a month ago.