"Welcome, wow, your complexion is amazing."
As soon as he saw Chase, Steward opened his eyes wide in surprise and let out an exclamation. It was a few hours before dawn when Chase and his bodyguards visited Steward's office. Steward who greeted them had red, bloodshot eyes as if he had stayed up all night, but other than that, he showed no sign of fatigue. He came out to the front door to greet them, and far from being tired, his eyes sparkled as he looked here and there at Chase, and then he opened his mouth seriously.
"How much blood has been spilled?"
"Have you brought your test results? Let's take a look."
When Laura hurriedly handed him a bundle of documents and a USB drive, he gave a simple glance to indicate to follow, then immediately turned around and headed towards the office. As predetermined, some people guarded the outside of the building while the rest went inside with Chase. As he felt the sound of rough shoes echoing through the still desolate hallway of the building, he somehow felt bad about taking a break. Steward, who left them alone and opened the door to the office, turned to Chase and said.
"I have a question to ask, would you like to come in, Mr. Bailey?"
Everyone's eyes were focused on Josh at once. Josh also blinked in surprise and pointed at himself with his finger.
"Yes," Steward smiled. "You."
Then he turned his gaze to Laura, who was trying to walk after him.
"For privacy, it would be best for just the two of them to come in."
Laura stopped, and again everyone looked at Steward and Laura in turn, but Steward went inside first without explaining any further. Chase followed behind him, and Josh, who hesitated for a moment, also took a step. Josh, who entered last, closed the door and the group, including Laura, remained in the hallway.
The team leader looked down at Laura. Laura also had no choice but to shake her head as she looked at him with a puzzled expression and silently asked how this happened.
It shouldn't be anything serious. Laura was lost in her thoughts with her eyebrows drawn together.
Lately, Chase has been looking for Josh often. When he called him to the trailer, he wouldn't come out for hours, and even when she asked Josh what was going on, he would always just ignore it. For Laura, she could only guess.
He's weak and that has something to do with it, right?
Even during the last inspection, Stewards left Josh and Chase alone. It was clear that he was talking about something serious, as he kept it a secret even from his secretary. What was certain was that after that, Chase didn't miss his medication and was doing well for a while without any trouble, but something like this happened.
Nothing odd will happen, right...?
Laura stared at the closed door with a serious face.
*
The sound of the door closing was unusually loud. Josh, who entered last, closed the door and turned his head to see Steward's back going around his desk. He soon sat down in his chair and checked his data. Chase sat down in the counseling chair, and Josh stood next to him. The quiet silence made him nervous. When he glanced down at Chase, he just looked at Steward with an expressionless face. After confirming that his complexion was a bit pale but otherwise not much different from usual, Josh turned his gaze to Steward.
For a while, only the quiet sound of mouse clicking echoed among them. Chase sat in the counseling chair and silently waited for the results. Steward, who seemed to be looking at the screen and pressing various things, soon became quiet. The sight of him resting his chin and looking at his monitor for a while with a serious expression gave him a somewhat ominous feeling.
Steward finally cleared his throat as if he was about to say something, but the words didn't come out right away. Clasping his hands on the desk, he turned to the monitor and turned to Chase.
"What should I say about this? ...It's difficult."
Afterwards, the sight of him sighing was unusual. Steward, who thought for a moment as if he was choosing his words, wondering what on earth he was trying to say, finally opened his mouth.
"Did you take all your medicine? Chase."
"Of course, I didn't forget." Chase nodded his head without hesitation when asked. He checked the remaining medication, so it wasn't a lie. Steward also knew. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.
"This is the first time something like this has happened. I'll have to look into it to see if there are any cases, but I can't find anything at the moment."
Josh was secretly irritated by his constant hesitation. He couldn't overcome his nervousness and only after clenching and unclenching his fists several times, fearing that Steward would press him, did he finally speak up as if he had made up his mind.
"You are having trouble controlling your pheromones. Chase? Did you not know?"
At those words, Josh stopped and looked down at Chase.
"You didn't intentionally release the pheromones, so you can't control them?"
Chase's face remained expressionless in response to the silent question. This time he answered, taking a pause.
"I wanted to talk about it during the routine checkup. It's doesn't mean I can't control them at all. It just happens sometimes."
"Has this happened before?"
Chase was silent for a moment in response to Steward's question, then nodded his head. "Sometimes."
Until now, Josh had no idea. No, it was probably only Chase who knew. Even Steward couldn't hide his surprised expression.
"It's not because you stopped taking his medication arbitrarily. But why didn't you tell me until now?" Steward muttered to himself and then asked.
"...It was really rare," Chase, who answered in a low voice, soon closed his mouth, but Josh seemed to know even without hearing his next words. Thinking back to Chase's past, he didn't really need much reasoning. He was about to die from time to time, and his future life was not important at all. He held on day after day, hoping that it would end soon. Until he met and fell in love with Josh.
"There are people who live without thinking about the future."
Steward looked at Chase's face for a while and then said. Chase regretted his past and even stopped taking his medication, but it didn't help. Steward added, still not taking his eyes off him.
"If you don't want to die right away, you shouldn't do that, but the past is bound to hold you back," he said something meaningful and suddenly smiled bitterly.
Josh was puzzled by the self-deprecating expression he saw for the first time. But now was not the time to wonder about him. Immediately Josh's attention shifted to Chase, and Steward also turned his attention to Chase.
"When I looked at the test results, none of the numbers were good. I'm glad you didn't die instantly. All the side effects from the medicine you had taken so far showed up."
The sight of him tapping his fingers on the desk was more serious than ever. Steward looked gloomy as if there was no solution. Josh lifted his hand and grabbed Chase's shoulder. Not because he felt like he was going to collapse, but to give Chase strength.
Are you okay? he thought to himself and opened his mouth.
"I will be by your side, okay? They say that carving a mark will stabilize the pheromones. Doesn't that work?"
"Oh?" Steward blinked.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but is there an omega who can make it? Are you even dating someone?"
Even though it was obvious that he had already noticed, Josh took a moment to say in a shameless manner before answering.
"That's me."
Steward's expression froze. Josh said with more force.
"I am that omega."
"Well..." Steward let out an exclamation of unknown meaning and muttered to himself. "I thought you were a beta."
This was something he has heard countless times since the manifestation. Although he was suspicious of the relationship between the two, he didn't seem to have thought that Josh would be an omega.
"Sometimes some buy an omega to engrave a mark on it, so you're lucky," Steward made an excuse, but Josh ignored it and continued.
"So is that okay? Once I leave the mark and the pheromones stabilize."
Chase looked up at him. When Josh felt the gaze, he lowered his gaze and the complex emotions came straight into view. Josh lightly patted the hand holding his shoulder and then looked at Steward again. Steward, who made eye contact, grinned. Just as he was trying to reassure himself, he opened his mouth.
"It's not possible."
"..."
For a moment, Josh looked down at Steward with an expressionless face. Before he could ask why, Steward spoke first.
"You can't just use any method without knowing what side effects it will cause. It could be like blocking poison with poison. Moreover, there has never been a case where pheromones become unstable due to drugs. Well, there was a case of an alpha taking this much medicine for such a long time. As you already know there are rare cases when a mark is not engraved. You can't take a risk when you don't know what the consequences will be if you fail."
"Then..."
Steward smiled bitterly at Josh who asked hesitantly.
"Let's try other methods first and use that as a last resort."
Josh held back the urge to grab Chase's collar and scream, so he tightened his grip on Chase's shoulder. It wasn't until Chase patted Josh's hand on his shoulder a couple of times that he realized it.
Josh looked down and Chase looked at Steward and opened his mouth. "Is there a way?"
"Well, first of all, there are experimental results on the side effects of the medicine and treatment." He looked at the screen as if checking, clicked a few times, and then turned the monitor back to Josh and Chase. Josh froze as he saw the letters filling the screen. He opened his mouth, but it took a few seconds before he spoke.
"No way, this can't be."
"That's right," Steward nodded his head.
"These are all medications Chase took."
Josh was at a loss for words again. Chase also didn't speak, and only heavy silence continued in the treatment room.
***
It was after the group returned to the set that Josh dropped the bombshell. After leaving behind Chase, who immediately entered the trailer, Josh took advantage of the momentary chaos to gather the members together by saying that he had something to talk about briefly.
"What's the matter?"
"What?"
Josh took a deep breath and opened his mouth to his colleagues, who were simultaneously showing their curiosity and anxiety.
"I think I'll have to leave the team for a while."
"What's the matter? Why?" As soon as he heard this, Isaac shouted in surprise. Even the normally calm Seth opened his eyes wide, and Henry also opened his mouth. Mark spoke a beat late.
"No way, Josh. You're moving to another place..."
"Oh, not that. I have no intention of changing companies, Mark."
Hearing Josh's immediate denial, Mark finally breathed a sigh of relief. Henry silently took out his cell phone, wrote 'eliminated' next to Mark's name written on the note, and put it back. Leaving him behind, Mark asked again.
"Then what happened? Why all of a sudden?"
"Were the test results bad?"
Isaac shook his head in response to Seth's question. "No, Josh has nothing to do with C's test results. Why does it matter?"
When Isaac belatedly asked with some doubt, Josh nodded bitterly.
"Because I'm an omega, it would be best to stay away for a while."
"What?"
"What are you talking about. That can't be!"
"How did they know that you are an omega? Wasn't that our secret? Who is it? The spy! If you dare steal information, I will kill you!"
"Calm down, Henry."
Everyone was not convinced and shouted. In particular, Seth, who was comforting Henry, who was upset, turned his attention to Josh.
"I don't understand, Josh," Seth continued. "Why does it matter that you're an omega? How did they know that? Does this have anything to do with you going into C's doctor's office alone?"
As expected, Seth was quick-witted. Josh let out a short sigh as he felt eyes focused on him.
"It was me who confessed to Laura that I am an omega."
Everyone's eyes widened at Josh's confession. Josh explained the situation dryly.
"I had no choice but to tell her. The reason C is having a seizure just now is because of an imbalance in pheromones. The cause is probably an overdose of medication, and it needs to be stabilized, but omega pheromones get in the way. They keep stimulating him."
"You take medicine, right? And you barely have any scent."
Josh paused at Seth's point. But no one noticed his reaction. Soon Josh answered casually.
"It would be difficult if C stimulated me and a heat cycle suddenly occurred. I can't keep taking medicine, and if the heat cycle comes and the scent spreads, it will be dangerous for C."
Half of it was true. The bigger question was whether Chase could silently watch Josh move in front of him. There was a way to hide the fact that he was an omega and just have the area in charge be placed far away from where Chase was, but there was no way to know how Chase would react if he ever talked to someone or saw anything suspicious. Moreover, if pheromones were poured out regardless of Chase's will, Josh would definitely become excited because his earmark would react before his reason. Then, regardless of his will, Josh would release pheromones, which would obviously have fatal results for Chase.
"Then what about the other omegas? There are omegas among the staff on set."
Josh responded to Isaac's point. "Laura talked to the director about it and decided to exclude the staff while C was filming. Fortunately, I heard that it was possible because there were only a few scenes left."
After quickly finishing filming, Chase decided to be admitted to the hospital and receive full-scale treatment. He took so many medicines, but now he had to pour in more medicine to take away the energy from those medicines. He felt sorry just thinking about it, but he couldn't even stand by and watch over him because the most dangerous person to Chase was Josh.
"But is there really any need for you? I heard there isn't much left to film anyway."
"A bodyguard's duty is to protect the client's body. If something happens, I can't just watch from afar."
He thought it was a pretty persuasive answer, but Seth still didn't look very convinced. Josh pretended not to notice and turned the topic to Mark.
"So, for now, it has been decided that I will be left out of the surrounding security. Since I am the only omega in the entire security team..."
Seeing Josh trailing off bitterly, Mark let out a complicated sigh. It was nice that Josh wasn't even thinking about changing jobs, but it wasn't a good idea to be left out of work like that. As he was thinking about what to do next, Seth suddenly pointed out.
"But there is a strange thing. You have a mark, right? Does it make sense that you might go into a heat cycle by being stimulated by another alpha's pheromone?"
Everyone looked at Josh at the same time with surprised faces, as if saying, 'Oh, that's right.' At that moment, Josh felt the urge to knock Seth unconscious and then lock him up somewhere.
You're so perceptive, Seth.
Josh answered as nonchalantly as he could, barely suppressing the grinding of his teeth.
"Until now, I haven't reacted to your pheromones, right? It's the extreme alpha pheromone, so it's different."
They wondered if that was the case so everyone was speechless. There wasn't much information about extreme alphas. Josh also knew very little before he got involved with Chase. All that was said was that the eye color was different and that when pheromones accumulate, problems occur in the brain.
But even if he already knew a lot about extreme alphas, this case would be different. That was because Stewards, who probably had more information than anyone else, was unable to come up with a solution.
In the end, even if he said anything, he wouldn't be able to find anything wrong.
As expected, they all lowered their heads with complicated expressions and seemed to accept Josh's words at face value. Except for Isaac.
"Didn't C's older brother shower you with pheromones before? In the hallway."
Immediately Josh added Isaac to the list of things to be knocked out and locked up. Why did these kids remember so much?
Before Josh had time to say anything, Henry blinked in surprise.
"That bastard? When?"
Isaac continued, frowning as if he was remembering. "Once upon a time at the mansion, when he came to take him to a party, I went to report and he did that. The hallway was filled with the scent of pheromones, which made me dizzy. Come to think of it, did that bastard realize that Josh was an omega? How did he know? We've been together for so many years and we had no idea."
"He was just guessing," Josh quickly racked his brain and made up an excuse.
"At that time, it was around the time of the heat cycle, so I took more medicine than usual. If I hadn't, I would have reacted. Anyway, this is Mr. Steward's recommendation. Laura and C just followed it. We are employees, so we have to do as we are told. It can't be helped. No matter how much we do this or that, even if I try, I am just an omega, so if they tell me to leave, it's over."
The afterword continued somewhat nervously. The nervousness was evident in his tone, but the members misunderstood.
"Actually, that's true."
"I'm sorry. It's not my place to argue with you."
"It's unfair, but I can't help it."
After Mark nodded, Isaac apologized, and Henry also muttered in a dead voice. "Then what happens to you from now on? If you're left behind, it means you can go on vacation."
Even the quick-witted Seth changed the subject and asked. Josh felt a little relieved because he had barely overcome the crisis.
"First of all, I was told to stand by. So, Mark, I'm sorry to everyone, but can I take some time off? They asked me to stay away from the set, but I can be called up at short notice, okay? That's what I was told to do since I signed a contract. I can't quit and take on another job."
"Ah, I know what you mean. We have to do it, there is no other way," Mark readily nodded his head.
It was fortunate that Josh was not particularly displeased or resentful at being excluded from work. Rather, Josh seemed to feel sorry for his members because he was the only one who took an unintentional vacation.
"I'm sorry I am the only one missing while everyone is working."
Seth shook his head. "It's not your fault, but it was the client who told you to leave."
"Is it common to guard an extreme alpha? Never mind."
"Hey, let's go buy a drink later."
Following Isaac, Henry also tapped Josh's arm and said. After taking turns apologizing and thanking Josh, he prepared to leave the set. After gathering his few belongings and saying his final goodbyes, he headed to Chase's trailer. Before he left, he thought he might at least say hello from afar, but his path was immediately blocked by Laura.
"I'm sorry, but you can't, Josh," she continued her words with a nervous look on her face. "Chase is in critical condition right now. He has been given an injection to remove pheromones. He will probably be completely unconscious for a day or two. In the meantime, Mr. Steward has warned him not to get close to any omega."
As she said, he thought he wouldn't be able to meet him because the area was full of bodyguards and access was prohibited. However, when he realized that he could not say hello even from afar, he became saddened. Josh smiled and spoke as if nothing had happened.
"I was going to say thank you for all this time... but then I have no choice. Please tell him instead. Laura, I am also grateful."
"We will call you again as soon as Mr. Miller's condition improves. Josh, don't be too disappointed," Laura said that and smiled awkwardly. There was still a hint of doubt on her expression.
Josh is an omega, really?
Yes.
Josh pretended not to notice and turned around then walked away. It wasn't that far to where he parked his car. While he was walking, he casually greeted people he passed and exchanged brief words with them, but when he got into the car, he had no memory of what he said or who he met.