TAEYANG shot up from his seat the moment the PD spoke, the chair scraping hard against the floor. "What happened to Haneul?" he asked, his voice coming out rough and unsteady.

An icy wave of worry washed over him, and fear followed close behind. He didn’t stop to wonder why he was here or why the PD was telling him this. His mind couldn’t focus on anything except the fact that something had happened to Haneul. His thoughts spun in circles, each one worse than the last. He just needed to know if Haneul was alright. Nothing else mattered right now.

Then something clicked in his head. The worry and fear twisting in his chest mixed with something else. Anger. "Is this because of Jeon Hyunsik?"

A flash of surprise crossed the PD’s face. It lasted only a second, but Taeyang caught it. And that was all the confirmation he needed. His guess had been right. Something had happened because of Jeon Hyunsik.

"What did he do?" he asked, his voice was rough, almost like a growl.

Looking at the angry expression on Jung Taeyang’s face, like he were ready to beat Jeon Hyunsik to a pulp if they confirmed it was his fault, Choi Jiyeon was stunned. She hadn’t thought Taeyang could show that kind of emotion. She’s not saying he couldn’t get angry. But she didn’t expect him to show this much anger for the sake of someone else. Thinking back to the past episodes that showed how close Taeyang and Kang Haneul had become, and the chance that they might have a high pheromone match rate, she wondered if there was something more going on between the two.

She shook her head. That wasn’t the key issue right now. The real question was how Taeyang had immediately jumped to blaming Jeon Hyunsik. That meant there had probably been signs leading up to this, things that should have been noticed earlier. And the fact that the program staff, including the PD, had let it happen was the bigger problem.

She would need to have a serious conversation with Song Kyungho after this was all sorted out. What kind of operation was he running here?

"Just sit down for a moment," Kyungho said once he’d recovered from Taeyang’s outburst. "I’ll explain everything, including why we called you here."

He hadn’t expected that kind of reaction from this kid. If Taeyang was already this angry just from his assumptions, how much worse would it be once he heard everything? Kyungho let out a tired sigh.

Taeyang forced himself to take a slow breath, then another. His hands were still clenched into tight fists at his sides, but he made himself uncurl them one finger at a time. The anger was still burning hot in his chest, but he knew he wouldn’t get any answers if he kept standing there like that. So he sat back down, though his body remained tense.

"Tell me everything," Taeyang said, his voice still tight. "Don’t leave anything out. Please."

Seeing this, Kyungho started narrating everything that had happened. He told Taeyang about the drugged iced tea during lunch and how Haneul had gone into a sudden, forced heat shortly after. The hospital tests confirmed a drug called Veltherin in Haneul’s system. Traces of the same drug were also found in Baek Eunwoo’s blood. He had also drunk the iced tea but wasn’t affected because Betas don’t react to it the same way. The only person who could have tampered with the drinks was Jeon Hyunsik, since he had been the one to offer getting them and had been alone with the drinks before they were served. That’s why he was the primary suspect in this incident.

The more Taeyang heard, the more his blood started to boil. Forced heat. Jeon Hyunsik had forced Haneul into a heat. Taeyang knew how bad that was for an Omega. It wasn’t just painful, it was violating. His hands curled into fists on his knees, nails digging into his palms. Rage pulsed through him, thick and hot. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch a wall. He wanted to find Jeon Hyunsik and beat him until he couldn’t stand. No, worse than that. He wanted to chop off his dick. Because why else would an Alpha force an Omega into heat? There was only one reason. Jeon Hyunsik had probably planned to take advantage of Haneul while he was out of it. The thought made Taeyang’s stomach turn.

His jaw was clenched so tight it hurt. Worry was there too, underneath all the anger. Haneul was in the hospital. Haneul was suffering because of some pervert who couldn’t control himself. Taeyang wanted to be there. He wanted to see Haneul and make sure he was okay. But he couldn’t. Not yet. First, he needed to hear everything. Because he’s sure there’s more. Then he needed to figure out how to make Jeon Hyunsik pay.

"The doctor in charge of Kang Haneul-ssi said he needs to be isolated for a week to help stabilize his body," Kyungho said. "But if we agree to that, Haneul-ssi would have to drop out of the competition."

There was a long pause after that.

"There is another option to prevent that, and that’s where you, Jung Taeyang-ssi, come in." Another uncomfortable pause. "A faster way to stabilize Haneul-ssi’s body is to let a compatible Alpha give him a temporary mark. Baek Eunwoo-ssi mentioned that there’s a chance you and Haneul-ssi might have high compatibility."

He looked directly at Taeyang before continuing.

"Would you agree to get tested to see if your compatibility is high? And if the results show it is, and if both you and Haneul-ssi are willing, would you be okay with giving him a temporary mark?"

A ringing sound filled Taeyang’s ears. The PD’s words kept echoing in his head, but the rest of his thoughts seemed to vanish. Everything else faded away. All he could focus on was that he had a chance to do something. He could be the one to help Haneul stay in the competition. He could keep Haneul from having to leave.

And so, he said without an ounce of hesitation, "I’m willing."