I was so startled that I instinctively stepped back. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Kwon Yido caught them with one hand, almost lazily. With a dull thud, the halted elevator slid open again.

“...Why are you here?”

Instead of answering, Kwon Yido pressed his lips together. He was clearly in loungewear, yet somehow more imposing than if he had been in a full suit. He stood there for a long moment before slowly parting his lips.

“What do you think?”

“...”

The nape of my neck went cold. His pheromones, heavy and sinking, seemed to convey his mood entirely. Seeing me remain silent, Yido spoke again, his tone almost gentle.

“If you can’t guess, I’ll give you some options.”

He tilted his head slightly, one eyebrow arched, and began in an unhurried voice.

“Your live-in partner, who said he’d be home early, still isn’t back at this hour.”

“...”

“Your fiancé, who claims not to drink, didn’t send a single message all evening during a company dinner.”

“...”

“Your bodyguard contacted me directly.”

“...”

“Your answer?”

A hollow laugh escaped me. He made it sound as if I had a choice, but in truth, none of the options were ones I could actually choose from.

“...Seems like there’s more than one answer.”

His well-shaped lips curved upward, though it was hardly an expression of good humor. In his refined, characteristic voice, he offered a gentle sort of praise.

“Smart. I like that.”

“Haha...”

I lowered my gaze, awkward. Slipping out of the elevator, I felt him release the door he’d been holding. The instant it slid shut, a heavy silence fell between us.

He followed me into the apartment without a word. When I stumbled slightly opening the inner door, he held it for me. I met his eyes in thanks, but his expression didn’t change as he spoke.

“You left for work as Jung Sejin, but came home a drunk.”

“...I didn’t drink that much.”

It was true I felt a little buzzed, but not enough to warrant being called a drunk. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have noticed his foul mood at all. Taking my jacket from my hands, he replied evenly.

“I suppose. Most drunk people deny they’re drunk.”

“You’re really...”

Drawing the words out, I looked up at him. He met my eyes, as if prompting me to finish. It took a moment of searching before the rest slipped out.

“...like a nagging husband.”

“...”

I knew it was shameless to say. I probably wouldn’t have voiced it sober. Seeing me smile with my eyes, he let his expression soften.

“...I’m not your husband yet.”

His pheromones loosened into something gentler. After a space filled with nothing but the smell of alcohol, the clean, cool scent of wood was almost a relief. A quiet laugh slipped from me, my stomach warm with satisfaction.

“If you’re my fiancé... you’re basically my husband.”

“...”

“Isn’t that right, honey?”

The last part was half a joke—to ease the mood, to lighten his temper. But when our eyes met, his gaze seemed to deepen.

Before I could catch myself, he reached for me. His hand cupped the back of my head and pulled me toward him. Lowering his head, he brushed my lips in a quick kiss.

“...”

When a soft tongue teased at the seam of my lips, I reflexively turned my head aside. He paused, then frowned and caught my jaw with his other hand, turning my face back toward him with a firm grip.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

The look in his eyes had sunk to something damp and heavy. His voice, husky and rough, wasn’t so much angry as thick with unrestrained desire.

“...I just had a drink.”

I frowned slightly and pressed my palm to his chest. Even through the thin T-shirt, I could feel his heartbeat. He answered without hesitation, as if it didn’t matter.

“You said you didn’t drink much.”

“I still drank.”

“I don’t see how that matters.”

“...I’ve been out all day.”

“And?”

There was an uncharacteristic impatience in him. Even as he spoke, he kept brushing his lips against mine, as if urging /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ a kiss. I turned my head, pushing him back.

“...Let me shower.”

“...”

“I’ll shower first.”

He stopped moving. His narrowed gaze was full of dissatisfaction. For someone who always showered right after work, I couldn’t understand why he hesitated when I said I’d do the same.

“...I have a better idea.”

His arms slid easily around my waist. Pressing close, he nipped lightly at the shell of my ear. I flinched and hunched my shoulders, and his low voice murmured sweetly.

“Let’s do it while you shower.”

***

“Nh....”

Water streaming from the showerhead filled the booth with mist. In the hot, humid air, I clung to his broad chest, breathing in short, ragged bursts. The sound of water pouring down mixed with the slick, indecent sounds between us.

“Ah... nnngh...”

Three of his thick fingers were already inside, stretching me open. My walls parted tightly, my legs trembling and giving out again and again. I clung to his neck, letting out a broken moan, and Yido gripped my waist firmly.

“Maybe it’s because you’ve been drinking...”

His low voice echoed through the shower stall — deep enough to make my head feel hazy. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I felt that way.

“You’re burning hot inside.”

'Let’s do it while you shower.'

He had meant it. Yido had simply lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bathroom. Taking the stairs in long strides, he’d gone straight into his room, almost tearing my clothes off. Without a moment’s pause, he’d stepped into the shower booth with me, stripped himself bare, and turned on the warm water.

“I said... nnngh, I said I’d wash first...”

“You are washing.”

He answered shamelessly as his right hand slipped down my back. One hand worked inside the narrow opening, the other gripping my ass firmly. He wedged his thigh between mine, driving his fingers deep and pressing exactly where it made me shudder.

“Ah—!”

My hips bucked on their own. Our erections rubbed together, slippery — I couldn’t tell if the wetness came from precum or the shower spray.

“Uhn... s-stop...”

“You need to make the request properly.”

Even as he said it calmly, his fingers didn’t stop. They moved like he was already thrusting inside, pulling out and pushing back in, twisting as if to check how much I could take.

“Mmm, ngh...”

“Do you mean stop? Or stop only the fingers?”

“Ah... there, nghh...”

“Doesn’t sound like the first one.”

He murmured, then withdrew his fingers. My walls clenched hard around nothing. Catching one of my legs, he hooked it around his waist and used both hands to spread me open.

“...!”

With a single, forceful thrust upward, his thick length sank in to the hilt. There was no time to prepare, no warning — just the heavy, breath-stealing fullness of him driving up into me.

“Ah...”

He let out a low groan, teeth grazing my shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to snap my mind back into my body. The sudden fullness had tears spilling from the corners of my eyes.

“Nh...”

My legs trembled uncontrollably. I tensed my stomach and wrapped my arms tight around him, trying to take him in while standing was harder than I’d imagined.

“...Good.”

The soothing tone was almost tender. Maybe he realized I was struggling, because Yido stayed deep without moving for a moment. One hand stroked the base of my spine, the other brushed my tears away.

“Open your mouth.”

“...Nnh.”

Our lips met, his pheromones flooding into me. Each breath he passed into me raised my pleasure higher, like a drug replacing the ache with a shivering, tingling heat.

“Ahhh...!”

Sensing my body loosen, Yido moved instantly. His thrust struck exactly where I felt it most, making my knees buckle.

“Ah— no, nghh...”

“Why not, hm?”

But the weaker my legs got, the deeper he sank. With our height difference, lowering myself only let him reach further inside. My only defense was rising on tiptoe until my calves burned.

“N-no... too deep... nhhh...”

He kept hitting the same spot inside me, each thrust making me jolt. With my thigh locked over his hip, I couldn’t escape at all.

“Yido... please, nghh...”

I shook my head, burying my face in his shoulder, pleading that it was too much — the position hurt, my legs ached. When I whimpered about my legs, he finally paused.

“...Hah.”

Breathing hard, he pulled out completely. His lips brushed my cheek, releasing my leg. I thought he was letting me go — but instead, he turned me toward the wall.

“Ah—!”

From behind, he drove in again in one stroke. My knees buckled instantly, but his arms locked around my waist, holding me upright. I tried pressing forward to the wall, but his hips stayed tight to mine, leaving no space.

“Ah, ahhh... nghhh...!”

“Relax. Your stomach will cramp like that.”

Still buried to the base, he ground against me, stirring deep inside. One hand rubbed low over my belly, like soothing a child’s ache. Then his fingers wrapped around me, and from behind he thrust upward, hitting deep.

“Ahhh—!”

The climax ripped through me, white heat spreading out. My release splattered against the shower wall, streaking down in long trails. Yido caught my softening length in his palm, squeezing gently as he began moving faster.

“Ahh, nhhh, mmm!”

My vision flashed white and cleared again. Yido caught me against his chest, holding me upright from behind. When my legs started to give, instead of lifting me, he let me sink down to the floor.

“Wait— w-wait...”

But the moment my knees hit tile, I realized my mistake. Pressed close to the wall, there was nowhere to go. My thighs were spread with him fully behind me, caging me in.

“This— ahh... nghh!”

With both hands braced on the wall, I could only lean forward. One of his hands slid down my inner thigh, the other up to my chest, rolling a hardened nipple between his fingers.

“Haa, mmm, nnnh...”

It was different from being bent forward. If I tried to sit lower, he went deeper. If I tried to rise, the angle changed but didn’t ease him out. Between the wall and Yido, I was trapped, forced to take every pulse of pleasure.

“Nghhh...”

“If your knees hurt... tell me.”

“Mmm... nnhhh...”

He slid out slowly, then pushed back in hard. He wasn’t moving fast, but every stroke poured in a heavy, throbbing heat. He bit down gently on my shoulder blade, then pushed in deep again.

“Nh—!”

Another burst of wet heat spilled from me, this time caught in his hand. My release was spread across my lower belly with his large palm.

“Ahh, mmhh!”

Pressing just below my navel, he thrust upward into the same spot, doubling the sensation.

It felt deliberate — payback, maybe, for coming home late or for drinking. Whatever the reason, he was merciless.

“....”

With a sharp, shuddering breath, he bit down lightly and tightened his arms around me. His pheromones poured over my skin as his release surged deep inside.

“Hhh....”

It felt like my belly swelled with the heat of it. While the long pulse of his climax went on, his hand covered mine where it braced against the wall. His fingers threaded through mine — the difference being the engagement ring that gleamed on his hand.

“...Sejin.”

At my name, I turned my head weakly. He kissed me lightly, almost in praise. The damp sound of lips parting was followed by a deeper kiss, his mouth covering mine.

“Mmmhh...”

The sounds escaping me were swallowed entirely by him. He had no intention of letting me go, starting again before the last tremors faded. Pleasure began stacking in waves — and I knew, somehow, it wouldn’t end until morning.

***

Sex with Yido was always incredible, but there was no getting around the fact that my stamina couldn’t keep up the next day. That was why, before my first day at work, I’d made a point of leaving him in his room and sleeping in mine. When I wasn’t working, I could sleep in as much as I wanted — but with work, I had to wake up on time.

This morning was no different from usual. On my second day going in as company president, I opened my eyes to find myself wrapped in a familiar, solid warmth. Even without his pheromones, I knew the one holding me so tightly I could barely breathe was Yido.

“....”

So... what time was it, exactly?

I blinked slowly and rolled onto my side. My back and shoulders ached, my neck was stiff — there wasn’t a single spot that didn’t feel sore. I let out a low groan, and the man I’d assumed was sound asleep pulled me closer when I shifted.

“....”

My face sank into his chest with a soft thump. This time, we were both fully dressed. After the long session in the shower last night, Yido had washed me thoroughly and carried me to bed himself.

“You don’t have to get up yet.”

His voice was lazy, but the problem was, the room was already bright enough that I knew I should be getting up. It was an obvious lie, but for a moment I wanted to let myself believe it.

“How’s the hangover?”

Long fingers gently combed through the hair at the back of my head. I wrapped an arm around his waist and let my eyes fall shut again. He pulled me in even tighter.

“I didn’t drink that much.”

“Really?”

I might have looked a little tipsy, but I hadn’t actually drunk much. To anyone else, I probably seemed perfectly fine. It was just that my mood had been strange, and the alcohol had loosened my thoughts a bit.

But Yido let out a faint, short laugh and murmured low.

“Then why did you call him again...?”

“....”

His voice was quiet, but it had an edge that raised goosebumps on my arms. The tone was almost casual, yet it chilled me. When I stayed silent, he rested his chin on the crown of my head.

“I thought about it.”

I wanted to ask what he’d thought about, but kept my mouth shut. Still stroking my hair with careful fingers, he continued in that smooth voice.

“If you weren’t actually drunk enough to lose your senses, that means you called another man while you were sober...”

“....”

“But if you say it was the alcohol, then I don’t like that either.”

The wording was strange. Kim was hardly someone I’d call “another man” in that sense, but clearly, Yido saw it that way. His fingertips brushed along the back of my neck, and his question came as if in passing.

“What do you think?”