CHAPTER 37: HIM, OUT OF ALL PEOPLE

Before Le An opened the door for him, Taras listened to his heartbeat and waited. He was awake, and he knew who was behind the door; it was clear from his heart.

But the heart that had relaxed upon recognizing him in the middle of the night was now reacting differently to his presence. When Le An entered the code and opened the door, his almond-shaped eyes met Taras’s. Taras heard his heart thundering wildly this time.

Ha... Treasure’s heart sped up when he saw him, while not under the influence of the drugs, this wasn’t the reaction he gave when he was drugged. As Taras stared into those eyes filled with a strange tension, he wondered. Was Treasure’s heart more honest when drugged, or the opposite?

Then Taras noticed that the haze in Le An’s eyes was still lingering a bit. That single pill he accidentally swallowed, and the heat hadn’t yet released its grip on him, it was obvious.

"You... can’t enter inside as a shadow?" Le An asked as Taras stepped in slowly and stopped at the center of the room, turning to him. At the same time, as Le An closed the door, the black tulle wall crept into the room like smoke.

"Unless I blow this door to pieces, entering is impossible," Taras said while scanning the room with his eyes. Inside, aside from Le An and his esper guard’s pheromones, there was another scent. An alpha’s.

When Taras had entered the house, he’d first listened to the conversations downstairs. He had heard Le An’s reactions, knew he had changed the door code. And the alpha sprawled on the couch downstairs, someone he saw in this house for the first time, that had to be the same alpha who entered the pheromone room after he left, the one assigned to Treasure.

This pheromone had to belong to that man. Taras felt a sudden disgust as the scent crept from his nose into his lungs. He turned to Le An, who was silently swaying on his feet, hands clasped in front of him, watching him.

"That alpha..." he began, then paused as he realized the words slipped from his lips unconsciously. "Go to bed," he said instead.

Le An, confused, nodded and walked toward the bed, but stumbled as his foot caught on the carpet; Taras caught his body effortlessly.

Now, Treasure’s heart was racing even more. And again, the tremor caused by that heart on his skin caught Taras off guard and triggered a strange anger within him. "Ha... Go. Lie down. Come on."

When Le An slipped from his arms and sat at the edge of the bed, Taras slowly turned to him and stepped in front of him with his full height. Luckily, Le An spoke before he did.

But his words were even more unexpected. "I... th-thank you."

Honestly, when Le An’s evasive eyes darted toward the pillbox and lingered there in a panic, and that thank you reached his ears, Taras nearly laughed. Treasure was thanking him.

Taras didn’t take his eyes off him. "I mean... for earlier." Le An, under the pressure of his gaze, couldn’t clarify what exactly he meant.

Was his heart beating this fast out of fear? No. Compared to before, there was hardly any trace of fear in his pheromones now. Taras tilted his head; he couldn’t figure him out.

Nor himself. Or what he was about to do next.

"There’s a foreign pheromone in here," Taras said. Le An seemed to relax, his attention drawn away from the thank you. "Ah... yes." His neck started to ache from looking up at Taras’s face. He raised his hand to his nape. "That’s a bit-"

Le An’s phone, sitting on the nightstand, began to vibrate. Their attention shifted to it. A number was calling.

As Le An stared at the intermittently buzzing call alert, Taras said, "Pick it up," and stepped back. This gave Le An a more comfortable angle for his neck.

As soon as Le An picked up, that cheesy voice of the alpha assigned to him rang out in the silent room. "Treasure, it’s me," he said with a tone that made his smile obvious. "So you’re awake..."

"You..." Le An’s eyes met Taras’s again, and the oddity of the situation made his voice tremble.

"Y-you’re still here, aren’t you?"

"Of course, as your special guest -with pleasure- hey, ah, alright. Treasure, I’m putting you on speaker so the others here can hear you, okay?"

When Taras saw the relaxed expression on Le An’s face, he tilted his head. Why was he relaxing? Why was the alpha’s lingering presence somehow comforting for Treasure? And why did they exchange numbers?

"..." As Le An nodded like he could see the alpha through the phone, Taras’s gaze drifted to the redness in his eyes. He had cried.

"Will you invite me upstairs?" asked the alpha. Le An replied immediately, "No. But you’re staying here. Don’t go anywhere, alright?"

"Ha... You’re upstairs, but I can’t come to you," said the alpha, in an even more smug tone. Le An, rubbing his temples, didn’t seem to hear what he said. "Until my heat is over, y-you’ll stay here."

"With pleasure! Still, whenever you want me-"

Le An hung up and put the phone back on the nightstand. "Alright, good..." he muttered to himself. When his eyes met Taras’s again, a more aware look appeared on his face.

Those were eyes expecting an explanation, weren’t they? Le An, playing with his fingers, didn’t even realize his body was swaying as if begging to lie down. "He’s... here because,"

"Because?"

"B-because," Le An averted his eyes again and murmured the truth while looking at his lap. "Assigned alphas who learn I’m an omega... get killed."

Taras watched the tremble of his chin and the tight line of his lips, heavy with guilt and shame. He knew that, too. He had overheard the killings of those alphas.

But hearing how that made Treasure feel, he only now learned it from his lips. "So? Why is he still here?" Taras asked again, as if he hadn’t already gotten the answer from Le An’s expression.

Le An lifted his head and looked at him. "So he doesn’t die," he murmured briefly. "If he leaves the house, they’ll k-kill him. To keep him from revealing I’m an omega."

Ha... That idiot alpha really was stupid enough to deserve getting killed, Taras thought. So, Treasure had gotten his number to make sure he was still alive. He had even dared to leave his pheromones in this room... Had that bastard been trying to take things even further?

"I’ll call him again tonight," Le An said, almost as a reminder to himself.

"Treasure, it’s already night," Taras said with sarcasm. Le An’s face, confused by his lost sense of time, turned surprised. In truth, Taras had come here twice earlier in the day and knocked on the door.

But Le An had only heard his third visit, after night had fallen and he’d gotten some sleep. There was no need for him to know that.

"Night..." Le An blinked in amazement at the dark room while Taras closed the distance between them with a sigh and gently pushed him toward the bed. But the moment his hand touched Le An’s body, he felt the burning heat.

Taras frowned and placed his hand on Le An’s forehead, lowering him onto the pillow. Le An, watching him with dazed eyes, allowed his movements in silent hesitation. "Oh... do I have a fever..."

Listening to his weakening voice, Taras tried to settle his lethargic body into a comfortable position, but Le An had already curled up on his side, knees drawn up to his chest.

He was burning. Taras sighed again and, without a word, made a motion with his fingers and created a cloud-like shadow cluster.

Le An, instead of fear, looked at the shadow ball with pure curiosity. "What’s that?"

"Another spell," Taras replied shortly. His eyes lingered on the dazed shimmer in Le An’s gaze as he watched the shadow approach. "Cool," said Le An, his eyes growing sleepy.

Taras gently nudged the cluster with his finger toward Le An’s face and neck.

Le An flinched and shrank back at the cold touch on his cheeks and neck. "C-cold." A shadow formation lacking sufficient light naturally lacked heat, too, and created a chilly sensation on the skin. Maybe this could regulate the temperature in Treasure’s glands.

Taras sat beside Le An. His heart beat a little faster. A range of expressions crossed his face: gratitude, hesitation, shame, curiosity, and interest.

When Taras expanded the shadow ball into a web across Le An’s entire body, Le An let out a sound involuntarily. "Ha... unh-"

He pressed his face into the pillow, his embarrassed look growing, and a new wave of pheromones escaped his body. This omega...

Taras reached into his pocket and took out the reason he had come here. Le An’s childlike eyes slowly followed his hand. "W-what’s that?"

Taras opened his palm and showed it.

It was like a piece of green paper, folded in a tiny plastic bag. He held it in his hand and looked at Le An. "Do you see this?"

Le An was in a state of half-consciousness, he could tell now. Maybe he shouldn’t have laid him down. Taras gently held his chin. "Hey. Do you see this?"

Le An looked at the tiny thing. "Yes... What’s that?"

"That’s a herbal omega suppressant. These are only produced on the outskirts. The government doesn’t know it exists."

Le An looked into Taras’s eyes, a glimmer returning that Taras hadn’t seen in days. The weak light of hope. "Yes?" Le An asked, wishing to hear more.

Taras continued.

"The active ingredient of this medicine comes from a plant not yet known to act as a suppressant. When used, it leaves no trace behind," he said, not taking his eyes off Le An.

Le An continued to look at him. Did he... bring this here for him? What would he want in return? He would definitely want something back. But... he helped me. Maybe...

"Did you bring this for me?" Le An asked.

Taras found the shy question from him utterly frustrating; he still feared him. But shouldn’t he be? Taras asked himself. He sighed and asked. "Do you want it or not?"

Le An raised his hand, and Taras placed the tiny medicine in his palm. "Really?" Le An looked up again, in disbelief.

"That will make you relax until the end."

"Woah..." Le An nodded in admiration. "It’s a treasure," he said, a small smile appearing on his face.

Taras almost laughed. Treasure, calling a mere suppressant a treasure. This little... As he watched Le An’s eyes, now not looking at him, Taras murmured inside. You’re the treasure. Are you even aware of yourself?

While Le An examined the medicine like a jewel, Taras added, sighing one last time. As if trying to persuade him. "You’re in pain, and this is your best choice. But to avoid leaving a trace, you’ll need to drink lots of water."

Le An looked into his eyes. Hearing this from him, out of all people, made his eyes misty. "I want it," he murmured with a small resolve.

Taras nodded. "Good."