TL | Chapter 2 | Marked Partner

Bang. The gunshot echoed, tightening around my heart. Ah, that dream again. Even though I knew it was just a dream, my body wouldn’t move. It felt like I was paralyzed, bound by an invisible weight. I watched him die, feeling as if my chest was being torn apart. Only then did my eyes open.

Gasp.

A rough breath escaped, and my eyelids finally lifted. Opening my eyes was harder than usual. Seowon slowly recalled what he’d done last night. Did I… really die? The thought floated vaguely in his mind as he blinked slowly.

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His blurry vision gradually cleared, revealing an unfamiliar ceiling. It didn’t look like a hospital, but it didn’t seem like the afterlife, either. It didn’t feel like he was dead; his body was too heavy. Or maybe he was in hell, paralyzed and unable to move. If so, that might be a relief.

“Looks like you’re awake.”

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A sudden voice made his heart drop.

No way…

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A voice he’d thought he’d never hear again. Could he really be dead? It seemed impossible otherwise. Was it a hallucination? Yeah, that’s probably it. Since he’d passed, Seowon had looked back countless times, haunted by the sound of his voice, only to have his image fade away like a mirage, breaking his heart all over again.

He closed his eyes and swallowed. It had to be a hallucination. He told himself he’d only be disappointed again. But even as he thought it, he turned his head toward the voice. Yet, he was afraid to open his eyes and face reality, dreading the empty, crushing feeling of losing him again.

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But even so, his longing overpowered the fear. With trembling eyelids, he took a deep breath. Foolishly, he wished to see him, even if it was only an illusion.

Contrary to his expectations, he saw an unusually vivid image of him, even clearer than usual. Today’s vision is unusually detailed, he thought bitterly, as though God had granted his wish. A bitter smile crept onto his face, and he reached out. Even if it was a mirage that would disappear upon touch, he wanted to reach him, even if only for a moment.

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“Ah…”

The solid presence at his fingertips felt real. Unlike the smoky mirages that vanished before, this figure held its form. His gaze began to waver.

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“Hyung…?”

The words barely squeezed out, already thick with emotion.

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This can’t be happening. It’s not him. It’s just an illusion.

But he could feel him. Alive and real.

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Conflicting thoughts tangled in his head, making it hard to think straight. Was his desperation so intense that he was now hallucinating touch as well?

Then, his confusion shattered as a firm grip caught his wrist. The warmth of that hand—gripping his wrist tightly—was unmistakably real. He stared, wide-eyed, at the man before him.

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“Who… are you?” the man asked in a low voice. It was too familiar. The face, the voice—they matched the person he remembered perfectly.

How…?

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Before he could even process the question, the man pulled his wrist, drawing him close. His face was just inches away, close enough that he didn’t think to pull back. The distance was already so familiar. But this situation—seeing him alive, right in front of him, glaring back—was something he couldn’t quite accept.

“Ha Seowon.”

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His name slipped out clearly between the man’s lips. Seowon had thought he’d never hear his name in that voice again. Overwhelmed, tears prickled in his eyes.

“Is that your name?”

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The question was strange. If it was really him, he wouldn’t need to confirm his name. That thought made him wrench his hand free.

Get a grip. He… isn’t here anymore.

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As if trying to impress this painful reality on himself, he lifted his gaze to look at the man before him. Seeing his face, a sharp pain stabbed his heart again. How could anyone look so much like him? Did he have a twin? No, he’d never heard of anything like that. If he’d had a twin, his father wouldn’t have summoned him to the United States as an heir.

People say there are three look-alikes in the world. Was that all this was? But how likely was it for someone who looked exactly like him to appear right in front of him?

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No matter how he tried to reason, his mind couldn’t make sense of it.

The man, who’d been staring coldly at Seowon, shifted his gaze slowly to the table across from the bed. His ID card lay there, as if someone had taken it out of his pocket.

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“Ha Seowon.”

He called his name again. Or rather, he simply murmured it.

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“Where did you get that ID? Don’t tell me you had plastic surgery to look like him.”

The absurdity of the question made Seowon frown as he stared back. Seowon wanted to ask him the same thing—how could he look so identical?

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“Who are you?” he asked, echoing the same question.

The man tilted his head slightly, then frowned deeply. Suddenly, he reached out, grabbing Seowon by the shoulders. The unexpected action startled Seowon, and he instinctively grabbed his wrist to push him off. But just then, the man leaned closer, burying his face in Seowon’s neck.

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The breath tickling beneath his earlobe made Seowon flinch. When a faint, familiar scent of pheromones hit him, a sharp surge of heat shot through his body.

Why…?

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Without a second thought, heat began to spread through him. Suddenly, Seowon’s pheromones intensified, and the man stepped back, seemingly caught off guard.

A heat cycle? It was due soon, but he thought he had a few more days. The scent of an Alpha pheromone, so like his marked partner’s, had triggered him unexpectedly.

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Even if his heat cycle came, there was nothing he could do now.

Seowon’s pheromones could only be sensed by his marked partner. This meant he wouldn’t cause trouble for others, but it also meant he couldn’t be held by anyone else. His body rejected others, making normal intimacy impossible.

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This heat cycle… was utterly useless. And yet…

“Ugh…!”

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The man before him lifted an arm to cover his mouth and nose, his face contorted, as if he, too, were in rut, reacting to Seowon’s heat.

Seeing that expression, a hollow laugh slipped out. Ridiculous. Unless I’m dead and in the afterlife… Ah, maybe that’s it.

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“Hyung…”

As he allowed himself to believe this man was Iden, nothing else mattered. The heat building up was clouding his judgment.

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“Hug me.”

He’d thought he would never feel his embrace again. So whether this was a dream or the afterlife didn’t matter anymore.

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“Iden hyung, please…”

The rising heat made his breathing more labored. As he looked at him, Seowon’s hand moved to unzip his pants. The man’s gaze followed the movement of Seowon’s hand, his frown deepening.

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Despite the expression, his Alpha pheromones intensified. This made Seowon’s body ache even more.

“Hurry. Please?”

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He had no rational thought left. He only wanted him to do something about his body’s uncontrollable desire.

“How are you…?”

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The man muttered with a frown, but Seowon, overwhelmed by the heat cycle, didn’t quite catch his words.

“Hyung…”

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His words trailed off, his mind hazy from the overwhelming heat. Without realizing it, Seowon took off his pants entirely, spreading his legs as he reached into his underwear. His hand brushed past his already hard length, moving down toward his entrance. Though he hadn’t even touched it yet, he felt something wet.

“Please…”

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He had no awareness of what he was saying or doing. He just laid bare his unfiltered desire for Iden, standing before him.

“It hurts…”

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A dull ache throbbed in his stomach. His body, which remembered every detail of Iden’s touch, was already yearning for him.

“Iden hyung.”

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As he called his name again, the man dropped the arm covering his mouth and nose, stepping forward. Then, he grabbed the hand Seowon had been using.

“Don’t.”

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He pulled his hand out of his underwear, stopping him from touching himself. The lack of stimulation left an ache, and Seowon couldn’t help but resent him for not letting him even relieve it himself.

“You’re so cruel…”

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With tear-filled eyes flushed red from the heat, he looked up at him, pouting.

“If you don’t do something, I’ll…”

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A large hand gripped the back of his head, pulling him forward. Then, the man claimed Seowon’s lips.

The heat of his mouth sent Seowon’s head spinning. At the same time, his pheromones washed over him completely. At that moment, he couldn’t think about anything else. He clung to him, swept up in primal instinct.

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His tongue tangled roughly with Seowon’s, sucking him in with a pressure that almost hurt. He couldn’t help but moan softly at the stinging pain but never thought to push him away. Instead, he wrapped his arm around his shoulder, holding on tightly.