The gala hall glittered with wealth and expectation. Chandeliers bathed the crowd in golden light, champagne flutes clinked, and the air buzzed with murmurs about mergers and alliances. Tonight was Kang Group's annual celebration—a night designed to remind the world that Kang Jisoo stood untouchable at the summit.
And Jisoo had prepared every detail to perfection.
His suit was immaculate, his tie straight, his hair sleeked back into a crown of cold authority. He stood at the head of the hall, greeting foreign investors with a smile honed sharp as glass. His voice carried effortlessly, every word laced with confidence.
But beneath the mask, his body betrayed him.
The warmth had begun hours earlier, faint at first, easily dismissed as stress. But as the night wore on, it deepened. Heat spread in treacherous waves through his chest, curling low in his stomach. His suppressants—already weakened by Minjae's meddling—were no match for the tide.
By the time he raised his glass for the welcoming toast, his hands trembled almost imperceptibly.
"To prosperity," he declared, his voice firm despite the roaring pulse in his veins. "To the future of Kang Group."
The crowd applauded. Jisoo smiled. And then the world tilted.
His breath hitched sharply, his knees weakening. The glass slipped from his hand, shattering against the floor. Gasps rippled through the hall as he staggered, clutching at the table for balance.
Whispers flared like wildfire. The Alpha Chairman…? What's wrong with him?
Jisoo's chest heaved, his body screaming with heat, his scent spilling uncontrollably into the air—sweet, vulnerable, undeniably Omega.
The mask shattered in an instant.
The crowd recoiled in confusion, eyes wide with disbelief. The Alpha king they had admired, feared, envied—reduced to trembling weakness before their eyes.
And then Minjae moved.
He crossed the hall with measured steps, his expression calm, unreadable. The murmurs fell to a hush as he reached Jisoo's side, one hand sliding firmly around his waist, holding him upright.
"Chairman Kang is unwell," Minjae announced smoothly, his voice cutting through the crowd. "The event is over."
No one dared protest. Something in his tone—something commanding, dangerous—silenced them instantly.
Jisoo struggled weakly in his grip, his pride thrashing even as his body sagged. "Let go," he hissed under his breath, voice cracked.
Minjae leaned down, lips brushing his ear. "Not a chance."
He tightened his arm, guiding Jisoo firmly toward the exit. Each step was a humiliation—employees and investors watching as their untouchable Alpha was carried out, his head bowed, his mask in ruins.
But in that humiliation, a strange truth gleamed: Jisoo wasn't walking alone. Minjae bore the weight, his presence a shield against the world's ravenous eyes.
They reached the car, the door swinging shut to drown the whispers behind them. The city's noise faded, replaced by the sound of Jisoo's ragged breathing in the confined space.
His fists clenched against his knees, nails biting into his palms. Shame burned hotter than the heat itself, twisting his insides into knots. "You've ruined me," he whispered hoarsely.
Minjae, sitting close, regarded him with maddening calm. "No. I saved you."
Jisoo's head snapped up, fury blazing in his eyes. "Saved me? You exposed me!"
"You were already exposed," Minjae countered, voice sharp but steady. "If I hadn't stepped in, they would have devoured you alive. Now all they saw was a man who fell ill—and a man who stood beside him."
Jisoo's chest heaved, words dying on his tongue.
Minjae leaned closer, his gaze unyielding. "You don't understand yet, do you? The crown you cling to—it's already broken. Tonight only proved what I've been saying all along."
Jisoo's throat tightened. "…And what is that?"
"That you're not an Alpha king," Minjae said softly, dangerously. "You're something rarer. Something real. And I'll be the one to claim it."
The words sank deep, burning hotter than any humiliation. Jisoo turned away, his pride shattering into silence.
And in that silence, the car drove on, carrying him away from the ashes of his crown and deeper into the chains Minjae was weaving around him.