Honeymoon

The sunlight was piercingly intense. Liu had to pause for a moment on the steps in front of the main door.

Waiting there for his pupils to adjust to the light, he looked anew at the routine scenery he encountered every day.

The world was bright, clear, and ordinary.

A gentle ripple stirred the surface of the swimming pool, and the leaves of the frangipani tree Liu meticulously cared for rustled as they brushed against each other. Cars and motorbikes passed sporadically along the road in front of the gallery, and a group of children chatted merrily in Balinese not far away.

Even when he had experienced things for the first time, he had remained composed — but now, after going through his first rut with Yeehyeon, the world looked different.

He felt even closer to Yeehyeon. Even in this moment apart from him, it felt as though his touch was enveloping him.

The first rut was more intense than he had learned through theory. The memory of Yeehyeon, who had constantly desired him to the point of weeping from agony, still sent a throbbing heat to his lower body.

Those pheromones he had so detested.

The rut he had wanted to avoid, and indeed had avoided.

Yet a rut with the mate he loved was neither revolting nor animalistic, as Liu had feared it would be.

It even felt as if they had been reborn as a true married couple. As an Alpha and Omega couple, they had revealed, shared, and accepted the most primal parts of themselves that neither wanted to show nor should have shown to anyone else.

However, there was still a part that Liu couldn't comprehend.

For an Omega who took suppressants every single day without fail, the probability of going into heat was close to zero. The suppressant Yeehyeon took wasn't cheap either. Even though he had given him a sharp suppressant — one that worked after a heat had already started — it had been useless. The same went for the suppressants Liu himself had swallowed.

One more thing.

He had also never heard of a rut, once started, ending in just one night like that.

After waking up, Liu's body was no different from usual. The same went for Yeehyeon. They were just exhausted from being tormented by sex; the heat symptoms and pheromones had completely vanished.

What was it? What on earth had that been last night?

Could that even be called a heat and a rut?

For now, it was a question without a clear answer. Liu, who had been lost in thought while looking out at the peaceful garden, turned and quickly descended the stairs.

Instead of going through the main gate, he passed by Yeehyeon's atelier and entered the gallery through the back door. It was lunchtime, so the front door was closed, and Yuni and Michelle were eating in the lounge area at the back.

As soon as Yuni spotted Liu entering the room, she put down the bagel sandwich she was eating onto her plate. Then she jumped up from her seat and approached him quickly.

"Where's Yeehyeon? How is he?"

"He's still not doing well."

"Is he that unwell? He rarely even catches a cold... Wait, what's wrong with the Director's lips?"

Horror flooded Yuni's face as she closed the distance toward Liu. Liu touched his lips with his fingertips and turned away from her.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Your lips are completely smashed up! Did you get into a fight with someone? Michelle, look at this!"

"It's fine. Keep eating, Michelle. She just gets startled easily when she sees someone hurt."

Liu spoke to Michelle in Korean. Her Korean skills had improved remarkably, making this level of communication entirely possible.

Despite Liu's efforts to calm them down, Michelle eventually stood up as well. Wiping her hands on a tissue, she approached and observed Liu from behind the flustered Yuni, then added one more comment.

"But it really is quite noticeable, though?"

"Right? Did you actually get into a fistfight with someone, Director?"

"Fight whom? Am I the type of person who resorts to fists?"

"If someone bothers Yeehyeon, you'd absolutely do that and more."

"......"

Liu couldn't refute Yuni's remark. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, indicating his agreement. Then he walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall and looked at his reflection.

"Is it that bad?"

"We can only see your lips right now."

"It looks worse because it's swollen, but there's almost no pain."

"How did your lips end up like that?"

Liu glanced at Yuni over his shoulder through the mirror, pushed the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue, and answered.

"I bit them."

"Yeehyeon did that?"

Yuni immediately asked that back, as if it were far more natural that his partner Yeehyeon had bitten him, rather than Liu biting his own lip. Liu let out an involuntary, small laugh. It was an inference he rather liked.

"That's not entirely wrong. Let's just go with that."

Turning away from the mirror, Liu attempted to head back to the bedroom where Yeehyeon was.

"Anyway, I'm resting today. Nothing special is happening, right?"

"Is Yeehyeon that sick?"

Yuni's concern for Yeehyeon, which had been momentarily eclipsed by the state of Liu's lip, resurfaced.

"It's not that any one part hurts specifically. But he has a slight fever, and his overall condition isn't good."

Michelle took a small bottle of mango juice from the refrigerator and handed it to Liu. As Liu twisted the cap off, he had to listen to Yuni's next theory.

"He hasn't even shown up at the atelier yet? Then he really must be sick. The Director knows very well that he's not the type to skip work just because he's feeling a little under the weather..."

This time too, Yuni's voice trailed off. Then, with half-lidded eyes and a smile whose meaning couldn't be fathomed, she nodded at Liu.

"Ah..."

"What was that 'Ah'? It felt like you were blaming me."

"It's not blame. It means I understand."

"Understand what."

"Why Yeehyeon is 'not feeling well' today."

With a look that suggested she had worried for nothing, Yuni went back to the lunch table and sat on the sofa. By then, Liu had already finished half of his mango juice.

"If Yeehyeon were sick enough to miss the atelier, the Director wouldn't be more unconcerned than I am. I'm usually not this kind of person, but I was a little slow to catch on."

"Sometimes, it would be nice if you just let things slide."

"Why? I'm deliberately teasing you. It's fun."

Picking up the bagel sandwich she had set back down on the plate, Yuni said cheerfully.

"Tomorrow, I'll tease Seo Yeehyeon too."

Liu thought he could see two small horns appearing above her head.

"Don't."

"That's overprotectiveness. You know that, right?"

"If you keep teasing him like that, Yeehyeon will just withdraw even more in bed."

After saying that, he brought the juice bottle to his lips.

Yuni, her expression tightly pinched, slammed the sandwich back onto the plate. Then, covering her ears with both hands, she shook her head vehemently.

"Aargh! Don't say things like that! To me, Seo Yeehyeon is still just a baby bird. Don't defile him!"

Then, suddenly stopping her head-shaking, she looked up at Liu with a look of utter disbelief.

"But Yeehyeon is the one who's physically exhausted — why is the Director resting too? Didn't you see my message?"

"I need to be by his side."

"Then at least stay at your post while Mr. Carty is here. He doesn't seem interested in the paintings at all if the Director isn't present."

"There's no need to sell them under those conditions. Our artists' works will all be recognized soon enough, and he'll regret his own judgment when that time comes."

"Right, well. If that's the Director's management policy. Then I'll play aloof when greeting clients too."

Yuni was naturally competitive, having always possessed a strong desire for high sales, even back during the Seoul Phantom days. Yet she seemed to have changed considerably after going through The Hands, a non-profit organization. Perhaps interacting for so long with artists who valued the work itself over fame had influenced her.

Liu smiled silently as he watched Yuni willingly give up on the sales figures. He then placed the empty glass bottle onto the table.

"So, can I go now? I'll keep my phone on, so call me if anything urgent comes up."

"Ah, Director! The cap samples have arrived!"

"Already? I thought it would take a few more days."

Liu, who had been about to leave the lounge, turned back. Michelle came out of the adjacent office holding a cap.

These caps were gifts for the friends who helped the gallery and the affiliated artists, and they were also made for promotional use at the Hong Kong Art Fair the following month.

"They turned out better than I thought they would. Take them and show Yeehyeon. He'll be curious."

"I will."

As he took the cap from Michelle, Yuni approached and handed him a small paper box.

"And this, too."

Inside the transparent plastic on top of the box was a carrot cake from Omia.

"I also brought bagel sandwiches from Omia. Since I was already there... Yeehyeon likes them."

"Thank you. He'll like them."

"The Director speaks as if to say, 'I'll thank you on my husband's behalf for taking care of him. We're one body.' It's kind of annoying when you talk like that, though."

Reliable Michelle, who had completely teamed up with the perpetually sharp-tongued Yuni, was left to manage the gallery. Liu headed out of the lounge area.

His steps toward home kept quickening. He was anxious that Yeehyeon might have developed some other symptom while alone. It seemed like the trauma belonged to Liu himself, not Yeehyeon.

As soon as he entered the entryway, he headed straight for the bedroom.

Yeehyeon, having dried his hair and changed into his pajamas, was just slipping under the covers. Liu, standing by the doorknob, let out a breath of relief so quiet Yeehyeon wouldn't hear it.

"Was nuna worried about you?"

"She was worried you must be really sick since you weren't even coming out to the atelier."

With the bed facing them, Yeehyeon's side was on the right, closer to the window, and Liu's side was on the left, closer to the bathroom and the door. Yeehyeon settled into the right side and looked at Liu with a worried expression.

"Kun, you didn't bring up heat or rut or anything like that, did you?"

"I didn't, but… she guessed the reason you're feeling unwell is because of me."

"Because of Kun?"

"That I was bothering you too much, making you sick."

"Ah..."

Yeehyeon, only grasping the meaning of the words belatedly, awkwardly averted his gaze. He fiddled unnecessarily with the blanket, trying to change the subject.

"But what's that hat?"

"Oh, the one I commissioned. They said the sample was ready."

"Already? I thought it would take a few more days. Can I see it?"

A rosy color spread across Yeehyeon's face, which had looked tired and sleepy moments before. Liu, draping his discarded pique shirt over the back of the sofa, picked up the hat and approached Yeehyeon.

"I was worried the color wouldn't come out right. It's pretty, isn't it?"

Yeehyeon smiled as he took the cobalt blue hat, turning it over in his hands.

Embroidered beneath a cute ghost character — looking as if it were draped in a large white cloth — was the name of the gallery: The Phantom Bali. The name of the new gallery they established here was also Phantom. The Phantom Bali.

Liu sat down on the edge of the bed. Watching Yeehyeon examine the hat closely with evident delight eased Liu's anxiety, bringing a smile to his slightly swollen lips. He reached out and gently smoothed his partner's hair. His touch was more affectionate than usual.

"It's dried perfectly crisp, hasn't it? Good boy."

"You shouldn't treat your spouse like a baby."

"It's not because you're delicate; it's because you're the person I love."

"......"

"I plan to treat you this way even when we're old, so you'll just have to accept that, Seo Yeehyeon."

He declared that firm resolution in a gentle voice. Yeehyeon shook his head as if exasperated, but the smile blooming on his face was soft.

Just a few months after moving here, everyone who came and went from the gallery knew one thing: the owner, Liu Weikun, was endlessly softhearted when it came to his spouse, Seo Yeehyeon. Even six-year-old Leo knew it.

But even at Yeehyeon's request, Liu could not concede on taking care of his mate, worrying about him, prioritizing him above all else, and overprotecting him. This was true even if that mate was already a perfectly capable and diligent person who didn't need such care.

Liu's hand moved from Yeehyeon's hair to his cheek. He asked Yeehyeon cautiously.

"I guess we can't go to the hospital right now, can we?"

"I can't move at all. Seriously..."

"Seriously?"

"No."

Yeehyeon stopped himself mid-sentence and shook his head.

"What is it? Tell me."

"It's not something that warrants such a worried expression."

"Just tell me. You know I worry more if you don't."

"I'll tell you if you promise not to make strange jokes."

"Strange jokes? You mean dirty jokes, right?"

"Are you going to make them?"

Liu made a gesture of surrender to Yeehyeon, who was staring him down with considerable intensity.

"I won't. So please tell me."

Even after getting Liu's promise, Yeehyeon seemed hesitant for a moment longer. After chewing on his lower lip, Yeehyeon wrapped an arm around the back of Liu's neck and pulled his face closer.

"Are we going to whisper when it's just the two of us?"

Liu asked with confusion, but Yeehyeon ignored him and pulled him even closer. Then he pressed his lips right against Liu's freshly washed ear.

"It feels so intense, I wonder if this is what it feels like after giving birth."

"......"

Liu couldn't say anything. He just stared intently at Yeehyeon. Yeehyeon, who subtly averted his gaze, shrugged his shoulders and picked up the hat again. Then, as if he too was embarrassed, he glanced sideways at Liu and said,

"You remember promising not to tell any strange jokes, right?"

"Even without you reminding me, I'm already fiercely regretting it."

Seeing Liu mumble blankly with a serious expression, Yeehyeon burst into a laugh. Then he casually plopped the hat he had been fiddling with onto Liu's head. It was an absentminded gesture with no particular meaning.

But as Yeehyeon looked at Liu wearing the hat, his expression shifted slightly. The laughter vanished, replaced by a genuine curiosity. His gaze, as if closely observing a stranger for the first time, made Liu tense up.

"Why? Does it look strange?"

"We've been together quite a while, but this is the first time I've seen Kun wear a hat like this."

"I didn't wear caps like this much even when I was a teenager."

Even though they were already married, the fact that he was revealing a new side of himself to Yeehyeon made Liu feel awkward.

But precisely for that reason, Yeehyeon found this version of Liu refreshing.

Liu, dressed in jeans with his shirt off and a baseball cap on, presented an image that stepped outside the boundaries of the Liu Weikun Yeehyeon thought he knew so well.

His thick, long neck, the deltoids at the peak of his round, full shoulders, his broadly spread pectoral muscles, the strands of hair poking out from under the cap he had carelessly shoved on, the slate-blue eyes beneath the deep brim, and the high, firm bridge of his nose casting a deep shadow.

Even in casual wear, Liu preferred high-quality materials with elegant, simple designs. His upbringing and profession had shaped his current tastes. Although he sometimes wore jeans and a leather jacket, even then he never wore a baseball cap.

But right now, he looked like a young surfer hanging around Kuta Beach with his shirt off.

Yeehyeon studied his mate intently.

"Don't wear one around other people, either."

"It's true that this kind of casual style doesn't really suit me."

Liu reached up to lift the brim and tried to take the cap off, but Yeehyeon stopped him. He had completely misread the situation. Yeehyeon grabbed Liu's wrist and pulled his hand down, unable to take his eyes off him.

"You don't mean that seriously, do you?"

"Didn't you tell me not to wear it because it doesn't suit me?"

"It's the opposite."

"It shouldn't look good."

"You look amazing. So amazing that I… want to be the only one who sees it."

He had summoned the courage to say that, but Liu just gave a slight laugh, as if he didn't quite believe it.

Even as a child, Liu had naturally drawn attention and admiration simply with his looks. Yeehyeon knew this well because he had heard from Marcus and Ellen just how popular a boy Liu had been. And it was still the same now. Yeehyeon knew that just by Liu entering a room, he would draw people's gazes and admiration. The only difference was whether those looks were overt or subtle — no one could look at him and remain indifferent.

Yet he doubted Yeehyeon's compliment.

Yeehyeon gently took his jaw, turning Liu to face him. What immediately caught his eye was his lower lip, noticeably twisted and swollen on one side.

It was a trace of how Liu had restrained himself, trying not to lose control completely to his rut. Knowing this, the injury held a special significance for Yeehyeon. He knew, to some extent theoretically, how close to impossible it was to resist a rut that had already broken loose. And so this lip felt like the very embodiment of Liu's love for him.

Yeehyeon's thumb, resting on his jawline, carefully brushed over his lower lip.

"You're handsome, even with your lip this swollen."

"Not like a brawler?"

"Some might call it rugged charm."

"Yuni did ask right away if I'd been fighting."

Yeehyeon felt a sense of responsibility toward Liu, who possessed a striking appearance so genuinely handsome that calling him good-looking was less a compliment and more a simple statement of fact, yet Liu never seemed to fully accept it.

"Am I not expressive enough?"

"Expressive about what."

"Inside, I always think it: I've truly gained such a wonderful spouse."

Liu, steadying himself on the mattress, tilted his head toward his shoulder and let out a soft chuckle.

"You're very generous with the compliments about my looks today."

"I'll say it more often from now on. How handsome, gorgeous, and sexy Kun is."

This time, Liu reached out and touched Yeehyeon's ear.

"You wouldn't know."

"Know what?"

"How often your eyes tell me that when you look at me."

"That's a relief."

Liu, wearing his cap pulled low, brought his face close. He twisted his head to keep the brim from getting in the way, then gently took Yeehyeon's upper lip between his own, kissing it softly before releasing it. Then, as he massaged the back of Yeehyeon's neck with his large hand, he whispered,

"Your eyes are full of sleep. Time to rest."

"I have work to do..."

"You are diligent every day. If you don't feel well, you should rest."

Liu took off his cap and gently pushed Yeehyeon onto the bed. He tucked the blanket around Yeehyeon, who was lying down with a pillow, and bent over to kiss him. Just as Liu was about to leave the bedside, Yeehyeon called out to him once more.

"Kun."

"Hm?"

"Later..."

"......"

"Let's do it while you're still wearing that cap."

Liu, who had been standing and looking down at Yeehyeon, broadly brushed his jawline. When he lowered his hand, a sly smile lingered around his lips.

"What? What do you want me to do?"

"Whatever Kun wants to do."

"Now?"

"Not now. Right after my heat."

Yeehyeon, who had only his face peeking out from under the blanket, closed his eyes.

After dropping a comment like that, he instantly fell asleep. Liu, looking down at his irresponsible partner, was filled with a sense of injustice. However, it didn't last long. His partner, who had experienced his first heat with him the night before, was several times more adorable than usual.