The corridor stretched like a narrow dark ribbon. Music thundered so loud behind the walls that the doors trembled, but here the sound seemed muffled by an invisible layer of air. The dim yellow lamps overhead cast shadows that stretched too long.
Do-yun walked quickly, soundlessly. The tray was already returned, his hands free. Everything should have been calm. Everything - under control.
But his fingers slid to the inside pocket.
Empty.
His throat tightened. The last blocker pill had been in the morning. Amid the chaos, he hadn't taken another.
The scent.
Faint, almost transparent, nothing to the crowd. But to an alpha… even a whisper was a signal.
And then - footsteps behind him.
Steady. Confident. Too close.
Do-yun knew who it was before he allowed himself to hear the breathing.
Seung-ho.
The heavy rhythm of his steps blended with the club's bass, and suddenly the world narrowed: the lamps' light, the smoke in the air, the muffled roar behind the walls - all became background.
He stopped.
The air shifted when Seung-ho came almost flush against him. His shadow fell over Do-yun's, consuming it.
The voice came low, too close to his ear:
- You smell… like morning after rain.
The words cut through the silence. Something jolted in Do-yun's chest. He steadied his breath, but his heart was beating far too fast.
- Strange way of giving a compliment, - he said coldly.
Seung-ho chuckled. The sound was quiet, predatory.
- It's not a compliment. It's a fact.
- You're mistaken. There are plenty of smells here. Smoke, alcohol, hundreds of bodies.
The alpha stepped forward. The distance vanished, every breath Do-yun drew filled with another's warmth.
- I always distinguish what I want.
Do-yun lifted his eyes, frost in his gaze.
- Then you're overconfident.
- Perhaps, - Seung-ho whispered. - But confidence always leads me to what I want.
For a moment their eyes locked. In that silence burned more heat than on the dance floor beyond the wall.
Do-yun was the first to retreat. One step back.
- If there are no more orders, I should return to work.
Seung-ho's gaze lingered a moment too long. He pulled out a cigarette, flicked the lighter. The flame flared in the half-dark, glinting in his eyes.
- Go back, - he said quietly, releasing smoke. - But don't think you can hide. I've memorized your scent now.
He walked past, leaving behind the thick trail of tobacco - and something far more dangerous.
Do-yun was left alone. His face was the same mask. But inside, he felt a fire blazing.
The first slip.