Chapter Text
The afternoon heat hung thick over Kyoto’s commercial district, heavy with the scent of exhaust and asphalt. Maki sat inside his parked sports car, the engine idling silently as he stared through the windshield. His fingers tapped a restless, erratic rhythm against the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
He shouldn't have been here. It was beneath a Hirota to shadow his best friend like a common investigator, but the heavy, suffocating silence from Nicholas over the past week had driven Maki's inner alpha to the edge. Nicholas’s explanation in the weight room hadn't settled the clawing unease in his chest. It felt too clean, too practiced.
So, when Nicholas had hurriedly left the campus courtyard right after their afternoon seminar, Maki had quietly followed his black sedan through the city grid.
Nicholas had parked a block away from a quiet, high-end private pharmacy—the kind that specialized in imported, prescription-only compounds for wealthy families. Maki turned off his ignition, watching through the tinted glass as Nicholas stepped out of his car.
But Nicholas wasn't alone.
From the passenger side, Euijoo stepped out. The omega was wearing a soft, oversized button-down, his hand naturally reaching out to catch Nicholas's arm as they walked toward the pharmacy entrance. The sight of them together usually wouldn't make Maki blink twice—they were dating, after all—but there was an intense, frantic secrecy to their movements today. Euijoo kept looking over his shoulder, his sweet tangerine and honey scent faintly drifting through the heavy air, spiked with sharp anxiety.
Maki’s brow furrowed. Why come all the way out here for a standard pharmacy run?
Driven by an insatiable, dark curiosity, Maki pushed his car door open and stepped into the humid air, keeping his distance as he slipped into the pharmacy's quiet interior. The shop smelled heavily of clinical cleanliness and premium wellness oils.
He caught sight of them at the back counter, tucked away in a private consultation alcove. Maki stepped closer, hiding behind a tall display of imported vitamins, his eyes narrowing.
The pharmacist slid a heavy, unmarked white paper bag across the counter.
"Everything is inside as requested, Mr. Wang," the pharmacist said in a hushed, professional tone. "The ultra-pure folic acid blends, the specialized organic iron supplements, and the high-grade maternal neural-support vitamins. Because it's an unlisted, premium prenatal regiment, we've ensured no records were pushed to the public university insurance logs, per your instructions."
Maki felt the air leave his lungs in a sudden, violent rush.
Maternal neural-support. Premium prenatal vitamins. No public records.
Nicholas took the bag, tucking it securely under his arm, his expression fiercely protective as he slipped a sleek black card across the counter to pay. Beside him, Euijoo let out a ragged, audible breath of relief, resting his head against Nicholas’s shoulder. "Thank you, Nicho," Euijoo whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "You have no idea how much this means. This is going to keep the baby so safe. We can finally breathe a little."
Nicholas wrapped an arm around Euijoo’s waist, squeezing him tight. "I told you I’d handle it. I’m not letting anything happen to this child, Euijoo. No matter what the families say, this stays between us."
Behind the display rack, the world inside Maki’s head fractured into a thousand jagged pieces.
The words echoed in his ears like a physical hammering. Prenatal vitamins. Keep the baby safe. This stays between us.
The protective, secret account Nicholas had opened. The constant dodging. The lies about Singapore shipping mergers. The fierce, unbreakable bond Nicholas and Euijoo had displayed over the past few weeks. It all crashed down on Maki in a singular, devastating wave of absolute certainty.
Euijoo was pregnant. And Nicholas was hiding the pregnancy from the Wang family because Euijoo was a poor omega—a scandal that would destroy his inheritance.
Maki stood frozen, a toxic, suffocating wave of crushed mint and smoky vetiver leaking from his skin, turning bitter and volatile with pure shock. He felt a sudden, profound sense of betrayal, but beneath it, a strange, hollow confusion. If Nicholas and Euijoo were expecting a child... why had his own inner alpha been throwing violent, territorial tantrums for the past month? Why had he been obsessing over Taki's changing scent and health, when the real secret was right here in front of him?
Maki’s mind, entirely blinded by the physical evidence in front of his eyes, twisted the truth into a flawless, tragic misunderstanding. He thought he finally understood Nicholas's distance. He thought he knew the secret.
"Let’s get these back to the apartment before anyone sees us," Nicholas murmured to Euijoo, grabbing the receipt.
Maki didn't wait to be caught. He turned on his heel and slipped out of the pharmacy before the automatic doors could betray his presence, his chest heaving as he walked back to his car in a daze. He believed the lie he had created for himself completely—entirely oblivious to the fact that the premium prenatal vitamins in Nicholas’s hands were bought with Wang money, packed by Euijoo, and destined for the tiny Hirota heir currently growing hidden beneath Taki's cream sweater.