Dirty Switch

“…You’ve been engaging in, ahem, periodic pheromone interaction with Master Joo Taehyun, haven’t you?”

“Dr. Han, you do remember that Taehyun is an Alpha, right?”
That’s right. The only person I’d slept with recently was Joo Taehyun.
Even if either of us had briefly seen someone else in the meantime, we’d been so utterly entangled—so relentless—that no trace of another person’s pheromones could possibly remain. No, forget other people’s scent. Those past few days had been so intense, so filthy, even my own natural scent seemed to have been completely wiped away.

If imprinting were determined by the frequency and depth of sexual contact, then sure. There was no one else it could be but Joo Taehyun.
But no matter how frequent, an Alpha can’t imprint on another Alpha. Imprinting doesn’t happen just because you have sex a few times.
“Forgive me, but… was the frequency particularly high?”

“…Even if it was—”
“In that case, it’s not impossible. Master Taehyun can’t exactly be called a fully stable Alpha at the moment. If the interactions were frequent, it wouldn’t be strange for your Alpha traits to instinctively identify him as an imprinting partner.”
“……”

“And today’s events likely had a major impact. While pheromones aren’t exactly bridges for emotion, if someone with high imprinting potential experienced extreme distress, your body might’ve responded by initiating imprinting to protect them.”
Dr. Han followed up with a few more speculations. Perhaps the reason the surgery had gone smoothly, and why I was recovering so quickly, was because my body had been saturated with the pheromones of my supposed imprint partner.
“…What about Taehyun? What are his imprint levels?”

“We didn’t run any blood tests out of concern for how the medications might interact. For now, we’ve only prescribed IV fluids. Should I run a test?”
“No, you did well. Caution’s never a bad thing. Then, Doctor—do you think there’s a high probability that he imprinted on me instead?”
“Hmm… I’m afraid I can’t say either way. Master Taehyun’s pheromone profile is extremely unstable, so we don’t have enough markers beyond raw numbers to make that call.”

“What kind of markers do you mean?”
“Well… for example, if he were healing unusually fast, like you are, that might suggest imprinting effects—but he’s actually in very poor condition, so…”
Seo Baekhan stared up at the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes. The sterile white fluorescence of the hospital beat against his retinas through his thin eyelids.

So basically, Dr. Han was implying that I’d imprinted on Joo Taehyun—alone.
“Of course, we won’t know anything for sure until we run a blood test. This is all just conjecture, so please don’t be too—”
“That only applies when it’s not an emergency.”
I’d been stabbed, undergone surgery, and was still recovering at ridiculous speed thanks to this damn imprinting and pheromones—yet Taehyun hadn’t even regained consciousness.

Yeah. If it had been mutual imprinting, no full-grown man would be left this frail just from a few rounds of sex.
There’s no doubt now. Joo Taehyun hasn’t imprinted on me.
Because of the widely publicized case of Prince Yi Hwang and his consort, many people had begun to see imprinting as some kind of fateful symbol of love. But the truth was: imprinting was nothing more than an unknown chemical phenomenon that occurred in trait-bearers’ bodies.

Just as Taehyun’s body inexplicably responded like an Omega, maybe my Alpha traits had misfired too—imagining something that wasn’t there. Traitology itself was so unpredictable, some said the only thing you could rely on was the word “traitology.”
So I know better than anyone that imprinting has nothing to do with the depth of one’s feelings or sincerity. As the youngest-ever director of Jejungwon and a former international academic chair, I know that.
And yet, why does the idea of imprinting alone bother me this much…?

Is this just another shitty side effect of pheromones?
“…Anyway, don’t worry about Taehyun. Dr. Woo’s coming up tomorrow, and he’ll run the tests. If anything’s off, they’ll tell us immediately. It’s not like they could hide it from us, not when the precious youngest heir might have imprinted.”
“Yes. Then shall I inform Master Taehyun of your results once he regains consciousness—?”

“No. Keep my results a secret.”
“Pardon? But…”
“I’m going to break the imprint. Without telling Taehyun.”

Maybe he thought I was joking. Dr. Han’s face slowly went pale as he waited for the rest of my sentence.
“Director… forcibly breaking an imprint comes with severe side effects. Even if it’s one-sided, it could still affect the other person. And there’s still a possibility that Taehyun imprinted on you—”
“Dr. Han. Are you saying breaking an imprint is fatal? Will Taehyun or I die from it?”

“……”
“There may be side effects, sure. But as far as I know, there hasn’t been a single reported case of death from imprint removal. That’s all I care about. What else did you say? Oh, even if Taehyun did imprint on me—it doesn’t matter. I’m breaking it. No matter what.”
“Director…”

“Do you understand? Whether it’s one-sided or mutual, that’s not the point. Doctor, I can’t stand the thought of my body or mind being bound to someone else without my will.”
The potential side effects of forcibly breaking an imprint are nearly endless. Pheromone dysfunction, irregular rut cycles, and even an inability to form future imprints.
But Seo Baekhan had never wanted imprinting in the first place.

He already found it irritating enough that if he didn’t take suppressants, he couldn’t regulate his rut. The idea that someone else could have power over his entire being was unbearable.
If he could, he would’ve torn out every cell in his bloodstream and replaced them right then and there.
Imprinted on Joo Taehyun? Alone? Because he got drunk off Taehyun’s unstable pheromones and let it happen without realizing? And that those same pheromones had already been affecting him, without his consent?

“…Hah.”
Sex with Joo Taehyun… yeah, it had been fun. Fresh, even. Convenient as hell.
He wouldn’t deny that Taehyun had been an outstanding spouse. Especially the way he handled the aftermath of the attack—it had been genuinely impressive.

But that didn’t mean he wanted to imprint with him. This wasn’t like filing for divorce. This wasn’t a legal contract he could shred. This was about their lives. Their fates—getting mortgaged to each other.
A flash of rage burned through him—directionless and wild—but it cooled almost instantly.
Because now, he could finally understand why he’d been so lax around Taehyun lately. Why he’d reacted so intensely to his pheromones.

If those were all symptoms of a spontaneous imprint, then it all made sense.
“Just like you said at the beginning, destroy the test results. And please keep this confidential—until I personally tell ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) you otherwise.”
A polite request, disguised as an order not to even mention it again. Dr. Han hesitated for a moment, clearly still wanting to say more, but finally gave a slow, reluctant nod.

***
“Looks like you’re finally waking up.”
Joo Taehyun slowly pried open eyelids that felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

The drip of IV fluid. The screech of the oxygen saturation monitor. The chill of hospital air.
Bit by bit, his senses returned. And a little later, he realized where he was. Around the same time, he recognized the man looming over his bedside.
“…Ah, cough, Father.”

“How could you be so frail? People are going to get the wrong idea—that you ran off just to avoid a bit of hassle.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’ve told you before, Taehyun. I respect those who act first more than those who talk.”

Assemblyman Seo Hongkyu clicked his tongue disapprovingly, then sat down casually on the stool in the room—as if he were the rightful master of this space. And he was.
Just to look him in the eye, Joo Taehyun had to force his aching body upright.