Dirty Switch

“Really?”
Was that the kind of answer he’d wanted?

Like a student awaiting exam results, Joo Taehyun kept stealing glances at Seo Baekhan, but he didn’t offer any particular reaction. He simply drank his water, tidied up their space.
“For someone who claims to have no experience in that area, you sure knew how to take it.”
That was all he tossed out—detached—as he stood up from his seat.

Baekhan paused for a moment as if waiting for him to follow, then opened the door to the private room at the perfect timing. Taehyun followed his lead, only then realizing he hadn’t been moving his arms much at all.
Even as he became painfully aware of how awkwardly stiff all his movements were, nothing changed. After all, Baekhan had just given him a blunt assessment of their last time together. How could he act like it didn’t bother him?
If Baekhan’s whole intention had been to make him hyper-aware of their impending sex from the moment they left the table—then it was extremely effective.

Not that Taehyun had ever dreamed of defeating him. All he’d ever hoped for was to put up some minimal defense when Baekhan made his moves. But this time, too, he’d been utterly overwhelmed.
As they left the restaurant with the manager and staff bidding them farewell, the short walk to the elevator was almost unbearable. Taehyun couldn’t breathe properly, haunted by fragments of that night seizing his brain. If this was how it was going to be, maybe he should have remembered every single detail. What had he said that night? What had Baekhan asked of him? What could have led to that remark—“You sure knew how to take it”?
…Surely, he hadn’t confessed everything?

Like how he said he wasn’t even interested in sex with Alphas, or that he’d never taken Switch before—stupid crap like that...
“We did renovations not long ago, but it still feels a bit old overall, doesn’t it? Personally, I prefer that kind of charm.”
“Huh? Oh… yeah. I think it’s nice too. Not noisy.”

The place was so quiet it was almost eerie—as if they’d cleared the floor just for them. Even a whisper echoed like a shout. Seo Baekhan’s voice reflected off the aged decor, the glossy marble floor, the massive chandeliers, refracting and rebounding back into Taehyun’s ears.
The slowly closing elevator doors looked as if they were swallowing up all the light. His vision dimmed, like staring up at a blazing sky without sunglasses.
Taehyun blinked, and a single flash of light that had been stuck behind his eyelids seemed to grow, expanding to cut through the center of his chest.

Dinner, just the two of them… followed by a straight trip to the hotel room…
While Baekhan checked his phone and replied to overdue messages, Taehyun did his best to brace himself against the sudden flood of embarrassment.
He hadn’t really felt it earlier—he’d been so focused on not making a single mistake during the meal—but once they stepped into the elevator headed for the room, it hit him. What kind of impression had they given the staff, eating together at the hotel restaurant and then heading straight up to a guest room?

Was that why they said “enjoy the rest of your night”?
How do people even handle this kind of public shame when entering a hotel with their partner? Wasn’t it obvious he was about to have sex with the man standing beside him?
Compared to his flustered state, Baekhan looked completely unaffected. Maybe because he had experience. That made Taehyun feel, just a little bit—no, very slightly—resentful.
No matter how it started, once you slept with someone, it felt like everything about you was laid bare to them.

For four years—even before their marriage—Taehyun had liked Seo Baekhan, and he had always thought of himself as someone emotionally reserved.
And yet, after just one night with him, new emotions—things like desire, expectation, jealousy, even resentment—started bubbling up, things he’d never known how to feel before.
“You told the lab?”

“Yes. I said I’d rest through the week and work from home starting next week.”
“Mm. Good.”
His response came a half-beat late, probably because he was still looking at emails, but he still responded to Taehyun properly.

“The room might be even more outdated than you expect.”
As the elevator doors opened and they headed toward the room, Baekhan continued the conversation.
Truthfully, Taehyun didn’t even know what kind of room Baekhan had booked. He hadn’t even realized they were on the top floor until the elevator dinged and the doors opened—he’d been that out of it.

Thud. The sound of his heart sinking to his feet reverberated through his body. That’s when he first noticed the subtle shift—the presence of Seo Baekhan’s pheromones starting to fill the space.
The heavy peach scent crept up from his ankles, tickled the backs of his knees, and slowly coiled around his chest.
Just because pheromones were described as “scented” didn’t mean they were perfumes. Nor could a designated just release or withdraw them at will. And yet… why did it always feel like Seo Baekhan could control his pheromones with perfect precision?

Taehyun could barely breathe—it felt like his lungs were locked. Right when the suffocation peaked, a small green light blinked in the corner of his vision. Baekhan tapped the card and the door slid open.
Just watching that made Taehyun feel like he’d been hit with some kind of spell.
Seriously, what even was this? Dinner with Baekhan and sex in a hotel room? Without even taking Switch this time? Sure, he’d had a little wine—but sober sex? Really?

“Ah…”
“Nice, right? The view’s not bad.”
As soon as they stepped inside, even Taehyun—who’d been nervously swallowing his spit—went silent in awe.

The hotel was near Yeonhwagung and not especially tall, but the architecture felt like it embraced the surrounding nature. Nothing blocked the view. The landscaping seemed connected to the royal palace, as if the building had grown out from the very edges of the imperial estate—less pastoral, more solemn and grand.
A glimpse of the palace wall. Rows of delicate willow trees. City lights hanging like glitter from their branches. A deepening twilight that only made the greenery glow even more peacefully.
It had been a long time since Joo Taehyun felt genuine awe from any city nightscape. The usual splendor did nothing for him—but this… this was different.

As he admired the view through the full-length window, his eyes wandered to the rest of the room—until he looked toward the bedroom and froze completely.
What… the hell is that.
“Hy–hyung. That, that thing, what is that…”

“What, all of a sudden—?”
Seeing Taehyun go ghost-pale like he’d seen a spirit, Seo Baekhan peeked his head into the bedroom and burst out laughing.
“Ah, seriously. Did they do this for the anniversary?”

A bed covered in rose petals shaped into a heart, flickering candelabras casting light across the room. They weren’t real candles, of course—fire safety—but soft electric ones with lace-patterned covers that gave the whole room an indecent, sultry glow.
Once inside the bedroom, the sight was even more over-the-top.
Champagne on the table. Towers of assorted chocolates. A small cake with a cute little topper celebrating their anniversary. Flower arrangements crammed into every empty corner.

It was… well…
It screamed wedding night. The whole vibe was far too suggestive to pass as a simple romantic gesture or proposal setup.
“Taehyun.”

“Y-yes?”
“What are you doing?”