Dirty Switch

“It’s smaller than I thought.”
Joo Taehyun looked around Jejungwon again and again, as if it were his first time seeing it. Which it wasn’t.

“You came here for the director’s inauguration ceremony.”
“That was just in the auditorium.”
Was it? Even so, Jejungwon wasn’t anything special—it had the mixed air of a hospital and a graduate research institute. Still, Joo Taehyun’s eyes sparkled. His usual sullen face didn’t change, but those eyes—Seo Baekhan knew by now that this meant he was excited in his own way.

He peered at the unfamiliar names of research labs on each floor, and studied the names engraved on the donor recognition wall, one by one. It was enough to make one wonder if he had wanted an academic tour of Jejungwon rather than a date.
Seo Baekhan, who had unexpectedly become an impromptu tour guide, played along without complaint. But he was growing increasingly curious about Taehyun’s motives.
Their last conversation a few days ago had been far from pleasant. Baekhan had brought up putting someone on him and acted rather high-handedly. He hadn’t expected things to resolve easily. Joo Taehyun had never openly defied him before, but this was a delicate matter.

And yet—he asks to go on a date. At Jejungwon, of all places.
What was Joo Taehyun playing at? What kind of atmosphere was he trying to create?
Above all, Seo Baekhan had never brought anyone to school or work—not a girlfriend, not a sex partner. His office was, in a way, even more private than his bedroom.

“...Let’s go in.”
So this proposal of his had been at least half impulsive.
Yes—impulsive.

Digging into the root of these unfamiliar emotions always led back to one thing: traits.
Neither he, who had gone through imprinting alone, nor Taehyun, whose pheromones were destabilized, were in a normal state. The strange way they’d both been acting lately—it all stemmed from their traits.
Until now, Baekhan had believed that traits were something one could control. Ever since he majored in trait science and became the youngest director of Jejungwon, his arrogance had become a well-founded fact.

And yet, perhaps he too had never really escaped his own genetic curse.
“Where...?”
Joo Taehyun, who had been looking around, momentarily froze. He had just realized what was behind Baekhan, who was standing at an angle.

“You came all the way here—aren’t you going to see the director’s office?”
“...Is that okay?”
“You’re my spouse. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Even after getting permission, Taehyun hesitated, his eyes darting uncertainly. Only when Baekhan casually added, “If you keep standing around like that, people will think it’s weird,” did he finally move his feet.

As he cautiously opened the door to the director’s office, Baekhan narrowed his eyes without even realizing it.
Was it just his imagination? From the last time he saw him in the hospital room—or even before that—something about Taehyun had changed. He was showing more of his inner self, but it didn’t feel like it was by choice. It was as if the fortress he’d always kept so tightly guarded was slowly crumbling.
As if he might suddenly vanish to somewhere far away.

“It kind of feels like your study.”
Even after getting permission, Taehyun stood at the doorway and offered that as his only impression of the office. And yet, he craned his neck to peek all the way to the back like a curious child—still immature, despite being grown.
“The way you use the space, how you organize your things... and it smells like your pheromones.”

Almost overwhelmed by the scent clinging to every object, Taehyun closed his eyes and slowly inhaled, then nodded shortly, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) as if that was enough.
“Shall we go now?”
“Go?”

He’d opened the director’s office for the first time, and that was it? Just leave? The absurdity slipped into his tone before he could stop it.
“Yeah. Technically, you’re still not discharged. You should rest.”
Taehyun checked the time and replied, “It’s been well over thirty minutes.”

“Forget about me. Are you satisfied with just this?”
“Huh?”
“You wandered around like you were on an academic tour, and this is all it took to satisfy your curiosity?”

“Oh...”
Baekhan let out a short laugh as he watched Taehyun react—blankly, unlike himself. Ah, so he did have a plan. Pulling weird stunts to gloss over something he didn’t want to reveal just yet.
“You’re not even going to have tea?”

Not a chance. Even if he couldn’t unravel all of Taehyun’s hidden motives today, he would at least make him confess to one significant thing.
“You said we were going on a date, remember?”
See? As soon as he brought up something soft like that, Taehyun froze in place.

Baekhan strode into the office. He made sure to close the door with extra noise, and Taehyun’s shoulders twitched slightly at the sound.
“There’s no vending machine coffee... but I have tea I drink while working. If that’s okay, I’ll make you some.”
“...Yeah, I’d like that.”

Taehyun hesitated for only a moment before settling naturally on the sofa.
Though he said nothing, his eyes moved busily. Glancing at Baekhan preparing tea, skimming the order of the books, peeking at the plaques and journals with his name on them...
Baekhan chuckled as he tilted the teapot.

Heh. If he’s going to act like this, where did that whole ‘let’s go’ attitude come from?
“Baekhan hyung.”
“Mm?”

Taehyun, who had been visually tracing the objects in the room as if touching them with his eyes, finally spoke. Barely. His voice cracked like his throat had been strangled.
“...I’ve been thinking about what you said.”
Ah. So the whole date thing really did have a purpose. Baekhan nodded lightly, prompting him to continue. If Taehyun behaved, he wasn’t planning to push him too hard.

“Before that, I want to ask you something. It’s not to test you, I’m genuinely curious.”
“What is it?”
Baekhan placed a steaming teacup in front of him and settled in leisurely.

Whether Taehyun had lied about when or how often he took Dirty Switch, or how bad his physical state had become—none of that mattered anymore.
Because it had all happened because of him.
Taehyun had taken the drug Baekhan gave him, which destabilized his pheromones. Now, without Baekhan’s scent, he couldn’t live a normal life. He even bit down on Baekhan’s robe in the car.

It hadn’t been something Baekhan anticipated, and it still left him flustered—but looked at another way, there were upsides.
Then and now, Baekhan was the only one who could shake Joo Taehyun, his imprinted mate.
“Do you... what do you think about kids?”

“...Kids?”
“I mean, literally. I thought you said you wanted one before—do you?”
Baekhan’s relaxed, predatory air instantly turned sharp. Taehyun had brought up the one subject that most rubbed him the wrong way.

Just when things had seemed manageable—like maybe he could overlook some things—this.
“I don’t get what you’re trying to ask, Taehyun. Why are you bringing up kids?”
“I just wondered... maybe you said you’d spend your rut with someone else because you want a kid. You also, um... brought that up so suddenly, so I thought...”

So now he’s asking if I plan to break things off and try for a baby with someone else?
You’re asking me that?
He stared, speechless.

No way... don’t tell me he’s thinking of bringing in Cheon Seungpil’s child.
It wasn’t confirmed yet, but if Seungpil really had gotten Taehyun pregnant...
It had been just over three months since Taehyun last went to the States. A little late, but not too late to terminate.

“No. I don’t.”
But that was Seungpil’s problem.
“A kid? In my situation right now? Completely useless.”

Even if it were half Taehyun’s, he wasn’t the type to graciously accept someone else’s child.
Especially not with a family like Seungpil’s.
“You of all people should know. What I’ve been chasing, what I’ve run toward without stopping.”

“...”
“And did you forget why I married you, even though we’re both male Alphas?”
He forced a smile to cover his boiling anger. Taehyun averted his eyes and began chewing his lip again—a habit Baekhan had warned him about more than once because it looked terrible.

Come to think of it, it was almost funny how Taehyun’s clumsy moves had still managed to make a baby. Then again, Seungpil had a reputation for being wild—maybe that bastard took care of it.
“...Hyung, if—”
Just then, Baekhan’s phone rang loudly. Taehyun, who had just begun to say something with a clenched expression, exhaled instead and lowered his head even more.

“If what?”
Not wanting to break the flow, Baekhan quickly silenced the call and turned to prompt him again—but then came an urgent knock from outside.
“Director!”

It was Secretary Nam, who should’ve still been waiting in the parking lot, now shouting in a panicked voice.
“Director, I’m terribly sorry, but there’s something urgent you need to check!”