Dirty Switch

“Taehyun-ah, breathe! Deep breath in, and out—yes, just like that.”
If Seo Baekhan hadn’t caught him, Taehyun would’ve slammed headfirst into the cold marble floor. But was that really a good thing? Having his face shattered might’ve hurt less than this.
“Hhngh… ngh…”
All he could do was choke back sobs. This wasn’t some metaphor. It felt like his organs were being twisted and wrung out—raw, unbearable pain that robbed him of all composure.
“Joo—Taehyun… Taehyun-ah, Joo Taehyun!”
Baekhan’s panicked voice, the way he kneaded his hands and checked the pulse at his neck, the icy chill of his skin—everything felt foreign. The chaos in his expression was so unfamiliar it was the first thing Taehyun registered.
“Please—just breathe. No, with your mouth. Yes, longer. That’s it…”
Through tear-blurred vision, Baekhan’s face filled his field of view. Those pitch-black eyes, devoid of light, somehow felt like they belonged to a stranger.
There was a time when Taehyun had wondered what it would feel like to see his reflection in Seo Baekhan’s eyes from this distance—close enough for their breaths to mix. Close enough to memorize each other’s faces.
“Ah, Joo Taehyun, what the hell is—Doctor Woo!”
Suddenly it felt like he’d been pushed off a cliff—his whole body was sinking, endlessly. At the same time, Baekhan’s pheromones assaulted him from every direction. Stray traces of him, once aimless and dispersed, now surged through his veins, flooded his lungs, and violently stabbed at his heart.
Baekhan pulled him into an embrace, but Taehyun didn’t even have the strength to push him away. That familiar scent beat down on him. For a moment, it felt like he could finally breathe again.
But the relief didn’t last long.
When the pain became so sharp it made him wish he were dead—
“Joo Taehyun, all your readings… something’s not right. Could it be—”
Somewhere in his fading consciousness, confusion bloomed.
This was strange. It had been a while since Baekhan’s pheromones hit him this strongly.
Why was that again?
“…Is it your stomach? Does it hurt more than usual? If it’s hard to speak, blink twice.”
Oh, right. After getting pregnant, it felt like all of Baekhan’s pheromones flowed toward the baby. He’d been relieved. Relieved that he wouldn’t look like some Omega in heat in front of Baekhan.
“Ah… Taehyun-ah, Joo Taehyun…!”
So then why now…?
“Hah! Young Master! Young Master…!”
“Taehyun-ah? Baby? Our Taehyun—Doctor! Ah, what’s happening to our Taehyun…!”
There was a burst of commotion—and then different voices all calling his name.
“…It’ll be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
Baekhan’s chest, pressed against his back, rose and fell erratically. Taehyun-ah. His voice trembled and cracked so badly it was hard to understand anymore. This, from someone who just minutes ago had tried to manipulate him using the unborn child—now, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) he sounded genuinely shaken.
“…It’s a problem, I think…”
What is he saying…? Dr. Woo had rushed into the bedroom and was now trying to explain something. But Taehyun’s senses, one by one, began shutting down. He couldn’t even react to the noise around him anymore.
“…The baby…”
“No, that can’t… there’s no way…”

Baekhan’s pulse, pressed to Taehyun’s skin, raced like a war drum. His pheromones poured over him like a monsoon, and Taehyun, unable to endure it any longer, finally closed his eyes.
There was a flash of ominous light behind his eyelids—and then, finally, peace. The sharp pain that had carved through his gut slowly began to recede. And Taehyun let himself sink into that calm.
Tears—long cold—streaked down his pale cheeks, splintering across his face like fractures too deep to ever heal.
***
“Are you sure you don’t want an IV?”
Chairman Joo and Dr. Woo asked in turn, but Yoo Younghwa only shook her head. An IV? What IV? Her fingers were still numb from clenching her fists so hard, just to keep herself from screaming in front of Seo Baekhan. But compared to the state her youngest son was in, her own pain didn’t even register.
‘I’m sorry. I came back home without warning, even though it’s not break yet.’
‘Oh, sweetheart. Don’t be sorry. This is your home—there’s no such thing as coming here uninvited.’
‘That’s right, Taehyun-ah. Whatever it is, just tell us. Are you struggling with school?’
Six years ago.
Even back then, they’d worried about their youngest child going abroad at such a young age. So when he returned unexpectedly, they gently suggested that maybe he could stay.
He’d always been the quiet, studious type. What could’ve possibly driven him to come all that way on his own?
‘It’s not that… um, I think I need to get married.’
‘Ah, married, okay—wait, Taehyun-ah, what did you just say?’
Before they could even ask for clarification, Taehyun had already held out his phone.
‘I asked Baekhan-hyung to marry me today. I even drafted a prenup… could you take a look?’
Six years ago, just after turning twenty, their youngest had returned home—and dropped the bombshell that he was getting married. To someone seven years older, someone he’d followed around since childhood.
‘I know it sounds sudden. But I have a reason. I have to marry Baekhan-hyung.’
His calm voice, as he explained his preferences, left the family speechless.
That he liked men—specifically, other Alphas. That studying in a relatively accepting country like the U.S. had made him curious about Switch. That the drug worked surprisingly well with his body.
‘Well… thank you for being honest with us, Taehyun.’
‘It’s not an easy thing to talk about. But marriage, at your age…’
Even though Taehyun had clearly prepared, the adults could still see the gaps. Sure, he had the value of being the youngest heir of DH Group—but marrying someone like Seo Baekhan? The Seo family would never agree.
Besides, Seo Baekhan himself wasn’t an easy man.
Seo Baekhan.
A man young enough to still be green, yet already rumored to be Prince Yi Hwang’s political successor?
‘We understand what you’re saying, but we’ll need some time to think about it.’
They hadn’t made any moves to stop him, thinking Baekhan would surely decline. Even if the Seo family and Baekhan’s mother supported it—if Baekhan didn’t want it, that was the end.
He had already rejected a royal match with a sneer.
Still, it stung. They knew Taehyun had chased after Baekhan since childhood, but to still be clinging to him now…
What did their son lack, that he had to suffer alone? But it’s not like they could yell at Seo Baekhan for not loving him back. That would only make things worse.
‘Mom, Dad, are you free this weekend? Baekhan-hyung wants to come by and say hello.’
‘…Huh?’
‘He said we shouldn’t just talk among ourselves—that we should ask for your blessing properly. I only realized there’s a proper order to these things after he mentioned it. Sorry.’
But then—Seo Baekhan said yes. He said he wanted to marry Taehyun.
That alone changed everything. It made them believe, at least a little, that maybe it wasn’t so one-sided. Maybe, just maybe, their youngest son’s feelings weren’t doomed.
‘Okay, we’ll keep the weekend open. Did Baekhan say he wanted to come to the house? We can meet somewhere else if that’s easier.’
‘No, he said he wants to come here.’
They’d always known you couldn’t win against your children—but especially not against Joo Taehyun. Chairman Joo and President Yoo forced smiles onto their faces, hiding their nerves.
Whatever Seo Baekhan’s true intentions were, if he was willing to come to their home and say such things himself… then maybe there was hope.
‘I’m here. Chairman—ah, no. I should say Mom, Dad now, right?’
But when Baekhan showed up in Seoul, his behavior defied their expectations.
‘I should’ve greeted you earlier. I apologize.’
There was something oddly reassuring about it.
Sure, he was being polite for the adults’ sake—but the famously aloof Seo Baekhan had a surprisingly soft spot for their son.
Maybe all the gossip about women had just been misdirection. If he really didn’t care about gender, and Taehyun did suit his tastes… then maybe, just maybe…
All that remained was the matter of that drug—Dirty Switch.
Chairman Joo hadn’t planned to dig into his adult son’s private life. But once he confirmed that Taehyun had actually used the drug, he stopped all further investigation. Yes, it was illegal in Korea. No, it wasn’t something they could endorse. But if it helped him understand himself—and if it truly was what Taehyun wanted—then as parents, the least they could do was support him.
And yet, just four years later, their precious youngest came home broken in body and spirit.
He was so destroyed, they didn’t even know where to begin putting him back together.
“Doctor Woo! Doctor!”
Yoo Younghwa was massaging her temples, trying to will away a splitting headache, when a voice rang out—loud and sharp.
It was him. Seo Baekhan.
'That bastard.'
She didn’t even want him in the house, and now he was shouting?
Her irritation flared, but she quickly realized this wasn’t the time. The man who had thrown every unthinkable word in their faces was now calling for Dr. Woo?
Chairman Joo, President Yoo, and Dr. Woo all moved at once.
“Hah! Young Master! Young Master…!”
“Taehyun-ah? Baby?”
No one knew how they got up the stairs—but when they reached Taehyun’s bedroom, the scene was so devastating that they couldn’t speak. All they could do was call his name, each in their own way. Because there was nothing else they could do. Even President Yoo, with no medical knowledge, could tell: her son’s condition was dire.
“Our Taehyun—Doctor, what’s happening to our Taehyun…!”
“Call—call an ambulance! Contact Donghwa Hospital, too!”
“I’ll call them now. Just hold on!”
“Yes. Director Seo, please hold him a little closer. His entire body needs to be in contact with your pheromones.”
The attending physician’s face crumpled as he checked the panel.
“What in the world is going on?!”
“We won’t know until we get him to the hospital, but… looking at these numbers…”
Hands braced on his hips, eyes glued to the plummeting graphs, Dr. Woo shook his head.
“It’s likely… there’s a problem with the baby.”
Not with the Young Master—but with the child inside him.