Woosung Alpha’s Sour Grapes

Chapter 49

Behind closed eyelids, Hyeon-woo’s pupils were shaking uncontrollably. Hyeon-woo’s hand began to explore Tae-geon’s ear. He had once touched K’s ear, trying to find even a single trace that resembled Tae-geon.

Back then, it was a meaningless act without a comparison group, but now it was different. He clearly remembered the shape of K’s ear and earlobe, which he had touched while his vision was blocked by a cloth.

With his eyes still closed, Hyeon-woo slowly began to caress Tae-geon’s ear. His hand meticulously explored every contour, determined not to miss even the slightest detail, until it suddenly stopped.

It was.

K’s ear.

It matched K’s ear exactly.

Soon, even though Tae-geon’s knot was undone, Hyeon-woo, frozen in shock, could not move. His swollen member returned to its original size, but Tae-geon did not pull out. He collapsed onto the bed, still holding Hyeon-woo close. Tae-geon, who was showering kisses on the crown and forehead of the embraced Hyeon-woo, could not withstand the oncoming wave of emotions and closed his eyes.

“Ha… ha…”

Only after Tae-geon fell asleep did Hyeon-woo’s held breath burst forth. His entire body, which had been stiff, began to tremble again.

It was not a tremor from pleasure. It felt as if the blood in his body was boiling and his cells were going wild. The moment he first discovered K in the community flashed through Hyeon-woo’s mind.

He recalled the memory of being surprised by K’s profile, which resembled Tae-geon’s, and the day Tae-geon first stayed out, saying he had something to do at home, when he had his first encounter with K. After that, every time the heat cycle hit, it was strangely as if something happened at Tae-geon’s home.

A chill ran down his spine. Hyeon-woo bit his nails. The tips of his nails turned inside out and bled, but he felt no pain at all. His head throbbed terribly, leaving no room to think about anything else.

Why had he not suspected even a little? That K might be Tae-geon.

He hadn’t even felt the possibility. It didn’t make sense. K, having sex with an omega, could not possibly be Tae-geon. That was impossible.

He had been pretending not to know everything, watching from a distance as if he were a thorough outsider, not wanting to get involved.

He must have known not only that he was an omega but also the feelings he harbored towards him. After all, he had called out Tae-geon’s name like a madman while clinging to K.

Yet he pretended not to know until the end. He thoroughly turned a blind eye to not only the fact of his own manifestation but also the affection he held. He knew that his feelings would not be welcomed. That was why he had not even confessed and had tried to hide them secretly beneath the surface. Not only was he caught, but he was also trampled on without realizing it.

An unbearable pain surged like a tidal wave. Amidst the chaos, one thing was clear: his entire existence had been completely denied.

Hyeon-woo curled up into a ball.

He had known it would come to this. That was why he had hidden it so desperately.

Yet, in this unexpected moment, the reality he faced suddenly hurt his bleeding heart too much.

“…Ha… haha…”

Did you find it amusing…? Watching me struggle to hide that I’m an omega all this time…?

How ridiculous and laughable must I have looked, flailing about, not wanting to be hated?

“Ugh… haha…”

A voice that sounded like laughter and crying burst forth uncontrollably.

Hyeon-woo’s eyes brimmed with tears as he stifled his sobs. The tears that flowed down his cheeks seemed endless.

Hyeon-woo released Tae-geon’s arm and got up from the bed.

As Tae-geon’s member slipped out of Hyeon-woo, the semen that had filled him mixed with the red blood and fell onto the bed as if it had been waiting for this moment. As he stepped down to the floor, a pain shot through his buttocks as if they were splitting apart.

Even when he returned from washing up, Tae-geon was still asleep in his original position. Hyeon-woo put on his clothes and gathered the belongings he had packed in advance.

He never expected to leave like this, without any lingering feelings.

With vacant eyes, Hyeon-woo scanned his room one last time. The room he had gradually emptied had little left on the desk or in the closet.

After casting one last cold glance at Tae-geon, Hyeon-woo turned and left the room.

Bang.

With the sound of the front door closing, silence enveloped the house once more.

*

Tae-geon frowned at the throbbing headache. Despite the terrible pain in his head, his body felt strangely refreshed.

When he opened his eyes and surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings, he realized it was Hyeon-woo’s room.

…Why am I here….

The memory of laying Hyeon-woo on the bed after he hit his heat cycle last night flashed through Tae-geon’s mind.

And then. After that…

Tae-geon’s body stiffened like a statue.

He couldn’t remember anything. It was as if a giant sinkhole had formed in his mind, leaving the memories of the previous night completely empty. Focusing on the scent lingering in the air, he took a deep breath.

Hyeon-woo’s pheromones were thoroughly mixed with his own. Perhaps because some time had passed, the remaining scent was faint, but it was enough to be certain that something had happened overnight.

“Damn it.”

A curse slipped out involuntarily. He hurriedly looked down at his naked body. His pubic area was matted with dried semen and blood.

…Blood?

As he rubbed the bloodstains on his genitals and scrotum with his thumb, the cleaned area showed no wounds. It meant it wasn’t his.

Hastily getting off the bed, he examined the sheets and found bloodstains spread over a surprisingly large area. The color was more like a pale, murky strawberry milk than red, suggesting that the blood had burst from inside Hyeon-woo and mixed with his semen.

He had never seen blood like this during his encounters with Hyeon-woo. Lost in thought, Tae-geon squeezed his head, trying to remember what had happened last night, but it was futile.

…How far did it go….

Surely, he hadn’t forced himself into that delicate hole. 

With a feeling of despair, Tae-geon picked up his clothes scattered on the floor of Hyeon-woo’s room and went out to the living room. But Hyeon-woo was nowhere to be found.

“…Han Hyeon-woo…?”

He searched the bathroom, the living room, and his own room. There was no sign of Hyeon-woo anywhere. Tae-geon wanted to go back and beat up the version of himself from yesterday for how much he must have tormented him.

Anxiously, he dialed Hyeon-woo’s phone, but all he got was the repeated message that the phone was turned off.

He immediately called Hyeon-woo’s home.

-Hello?

“Hello, this is Tae-geon.”

-Oh, Tae-geon. What’s going on?

“…….”

-Has something happened to Hyeon-woo?

When Tae-geon didn’t respond, Hyeon-woo’s mother, who had reluctantly answered, sounded anxious. Tae-geon frowned at her reaction, which showed she had no idea of the situation.

“…Hyeon-woo lost his phone, so I’m contacting you instead. He says he needs winter clothes since it’s getting cold. Could you send some?”

-Oh dear, now it’s a phone again? He’s so careless, always losing something. I’ll make sure to send it today.

“Okay.”

Hyeon-woo’s parents were also unaware of the news. Instead, they just nagged him to make sure Hyeon-woo came home during this winter break.

After ending the call, Tae-geon ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Where the hell….”

With nowhere else to go.

Tae-geon prepared a feast of Hyeon-woo’s favorite foods and waited for him all day on an empty stomach. However, even past midnight, Hyeon-woo did not return.

The next day, and the day after that.

He could have easily caught him if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to trample on Hyeon-woo’s will and act recklessly again.

He could imagine how monstrous he must have been when he lost control and pressured Hyeon-woo.

Whenever he mixed bodies with Hyeon-woo, he struggled internally to restrain the instincts that surged within him. Now that he had let go of the reins, he understood Hyeon-woo’s fear of him.

Still, he sometimes felt anger towards Hyeon-woo for hiding away like this, but more than that, the thought of Hyeon-woo possibly crying alone somewhere tormented him a hundredfold.

“Han Hyeon-woo… what are you doing and where are you?”

As Tae-geon prepared a meal, he habitually set the table for two, then clicked his tongue. After clearing the opposite seat, he sat alone at the table.

The delicious smell wafted through the air, making it seem like Hyeon-woo would come bounding down the stairs any moment, but the silence in the house was profoundly lonely. It was strange that this small, cozy home could feel so vast.

Having barely taken a few bites, Tae-geon got up from the table and began to clean up.

It was more than two weeks after Hyeon-woo had disappeared that Tae-geon realized, through various circumstances including the leave of absence application, that Hyeon-woo’s departure was not a mere impulse.

Evidence that had been gradually prepared over the past few weeks began to surface. This meant that whether he had forcibly assaulted Hyeon-woo during his heat cycle or not, it was not the direct cause of his departure.

Tae-geon threw the call log he had been holding onto the table carelessly. There were no records left from the day Hyeon-woo disappeared. It was impossible to track his location with a turned-off phone. The number had even been canceled. The cancellation request had already been processed months ago.