Episode 4

"Good morning, boss, is everything alright?"

"No, I ate something yesterday that has given me a stomachache."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Should I get you something for the pain?" asked Magdalena, seeing his somewhat pale face.

"Don't worry about it, just please call my mother back."

"Right away" she replied, leaving the office.

He sat down, sipping the coffee he'd bought before arriving at his company. The discomfort wouldn't let up, yet he had meetings he had to attend and couldn't miss. When the desk phone started ringing, he picked it up to answer the call.

"Good morning, Jaehan" a woman's voice came from the other end.

"Good morning, mother. How are things going over there in Germany?"

"Wonderfully. The conferences have been quite fruitful, and we've had a swarm of buyers. We'll return in a week to gather for a family meal."

"That sounds great."

"You seem a bit off. Is it too much work?"

"Nothing serious, just a silly joke backfired on me."

She laughed out loud, and her son listened as she gave some instructions to others.

"That's why we must never try to appear smarter than others; the moment we let our guard down, we are the ones who get duped."

"I got it, they made it crystal clear to me."

"Your father says he will stop by your place today or tomorrow."

At this, Jaehan became anxious, fearing his father might end up in the same or worse state than himself.

"Tell him to come when I'm home, mother."

"Why?"

"There's nobody at home; we had a small pest issue, so we all had to evacuate to avoid any risk of infection for the day. They said we could return tomorrow from eight" he lied, feeling a cold sweat break out because his mother always knew when he was lying and when he wasn't.

"How strange. In the thirty years since that house was built, there's never been a pest issue."

"Well, you can see there's always a first time for many things. Sorry, mother, I need to head into a meeting with a new investor now."

"Alright, son. By the way, I've seen in the newspapers and on the news that they're starting to talk about your marriage. I can handle the situation if you want, to prevent it from spreading further."

He sighed, sure that within a day, everyone would be aware of everything, and he wouldn't be able to keep Saije just in the house. He wasn't keeping him there as a prisoner, but rather to prevent him from doing something just to irritate him. He needed to think of a way to talk with him to reach an agreement on how to handle everything, but he was certain it would cost him dearly.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll talk to Saije about all this."

"Are you sure? It's not easy."

And he was more than aware of that. He had pretty much accepted that, in exchange for good behavior, he might have to buy him a private yacht or something worse.

"Don't worry, I have patience."

He simply left for his meeting, contemplating what the Omega might be up to. He kept checking his phone periodically for a message from his men communicating that the house had burnt down to nothing but ashes.

But he wasn't going to be outdone.

Upon arriving home, he saw food again, but he didn't dare approach the table. He moved cautiously, suspecting there might be traps.

He went to his bedroom to change, exhausted beyond measure. As he was about to enter his bathroom, he heard Saije singing. Comfortable and unconcerned about everything, he couldn't tell how long Saije had been in the shower, but he didn't care. He knew wasting water was wrong because it was scarce globally, but for a second, he didn't care; he just wanted to see Saije nearly die when the water bill arrived.

Saije carefully washed his pink hair while continuing to sing, feeling the water cascade over his body. Jaehan took those seconds to plot his revenge. He knew he had to talk with him about the marriage becoming public, but he wouldn't rest easy, thinking that because of Saije, he'd spent almost the entire night in the bathroom.

Once the Omega felt he'd used enough water, he dried off and got dressed. Upon opening the door, he found the Alpha leaning against the wall with his usual stern face, arms crossed.

"What the hell are you staring at, idiot?" Saije spat, itching to deliver a flying kick.

"Seeing as you're such a good housekeeper, I've brought you this laundry to wash and iron neatly" he said, indicating the pile of clothes beside him.

The Omega glanced briefly at the pile, and his teeth nearly ground together in anger.

"You think any other Alpha would be more than happy to have a wife as caring and attentive as you. Is the bathroom big enough for your majesty? I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable, darling."

The Omega's body nearly shook with the rage consuming him.

"I'm not washing that crap!" he yelled, kicking the clothes angrily, then realizing he was being provoked once more.

But Saije never lost.

The Alpha listened to him complain for endless hours into the night until he fell silent. Assuming Saije had gone to sleep, he was hugely mistaken. The Omega hadn't slept at all, washing his laundry and even making some alterations.

He waited for the Alpha to show up and when he did, he stood there, looking at him for a few seconds with his pink hair a mess and a wild-eyed expression. It was almost like those Western movies where the players faced off in the desert, a tumbleweed rolling by as they waited to see who'd draw their gun first.

"Don't you want the coffee? I made it especially for my husband. I promise it's harmless."

Jaehan didn't trust him at all. Instead of sipping the coffee, he grabbed a pair of trousers to check for any oddities. He inspected them, normal at first, until he noticed they were cut in half at the legs.

"Oh, don't you like them? I figured with the warm weather coming, I didn't want my husband to suffer. So I adjusted all your clothes. Since you think I can't do anything, this will show you I'm capable of quite a lot."

"You wouldn't dare" he said, realizing that all his clothes might be similarly mutilated.

"Wanna bet?" the Omega asked with an angelic tone and a look that suggested he wouldn't hurt a fly.

In a frenzy, he started going through all his clothes, finding each piece just as bad or worse. Pants were not only cut but also embroidered with flowers, foul words, and some transformed into skirts.

Some jackets had words on the back like: "I'm an idiot, I'm a fool, little down there, among others."

He threw the clothes on the floor, but took a deep breath, still convinced he had patience. Clothes were no issue; he could buy new ones in the evening. So he glanced at the coffee and just grabbed his briefcase to head to work.

"Goodbye, have a good day at work, dear!"

Jaehan had thought that only the discarded clothes had bizarre messages, but he was mistaken. Saije stayed back, laughing, knowing that the jacket the Alpha wore also had something written on it. His men glanced at it, unsure whether to inform him or stay silent, fearing he'd think they were responsible.

Arriving at the company, everyone greeted him with a smile that disappeared as they saw his back. Jaehan was too focused on his phone, headed for a meeting, to notice the stares or whispers.

"Good morning, gentlemen, how are you?" he asked, entering the conference room.

The men rose to greet him, and one by one, observed the writing.

"As planned, the delivered products have been received without any issues, however..."

He paused when he saw their odd looks.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

The men exchanged glances, unsure who should break the news, until one brave soul spoke up:

"We don't mean to meddle in your private sexual preferences, but we think there's no need to broadcast it quite like this."

Confounded, Jaehan had no idea what they were talking about. He became even more confused when another added:

"It's written on your jacket."

Hearing this, he yanked off his jacket quickly to see the stitched inscription:

I LOVE GETTING IT FROM BEHIND EVERY DAY.

Looking at the carefully embroidered message with green cucumbers and purple eggplants, he closed his eyes, not knowing whether there was anything inscribed on it. He ran his hands through his black hair, realizing that if he tried mocking Saije, the latter struck back without delay.

It could be said the score was two-all between the affair with the food and the clothes.

He flung the jacket to the floor, silent for a moment. As he looked up, the men understood they should say nothing of what they witnessed or they'd be as good as dead. His dark, intimidating stare left no room for doubt, and they swallowed hard, fearing the overwhelming intensity of his pheromones.

At day's end, he felt utterly drained, not just from company troubles but also because he had a massive predicament at home.

However, upon arrival home, he found Saije sleeping on the couch. He couldn't fathom how Saije seemed so peaceful, even invading his dreams with attempts to kill him.

He swallowed hard, listening to a soft snore and watching Saije curl up on the couch.

He simply went to shower, unable to avoid Saije's scent everywhere. Trying to shower fast because he was so tired, he washed his hair with his usual shampoo, not anticipating what awaited him. Having lunched out, all he wanted was to sleep, and he lay down in bed.

Awaking, he went to the bathroom to wash his face and was shocked to see his normally glossy, intense black hair had turned blue.

"Well, it's three-two now, but not for long" the Alpha vowed.

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