#87
As Eunhong was leaving the hotel room wearing a thin coat and carrying simple luggage, the attendant that Jaeha had said would be waiting was nowhere to be seen. Had his words about not needing one been heard? Eunhong tilted his head momentarily, looking around the corners of the corridor, then shrugged and pressed the elevator button.
The weather was, again, inconsiderately perfect. Eunhong had researched a Korean-owned store, taken a bus, and even successfully punched his paper ticket. The foreign city’s system was unfamiliar and peculiar, but not impossible to navigate. He felt proud of himself for such a small accomplishment.
“See? I told you I didn’t need an attendant.”
Eunhong sank into the bus seat and looked out at the streets with an excited expression.
Perhaps it was the feeling of accomplishment, but as he enjoyed the sparkling streets, Eunhong became increasingly excited. His plan to just buy ramen and return directly to the hotel gradually faded, then completely dissipated in front of the closed Korean market.
Judging from the patterns of the past few days, there was plenty of time before Jaeha would return. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to have an adventure than to stay alone in the hotel room until sunset? Eunhong turned on his phone’s map, searched the surroundings, and began walking. He was so excited that he felt as if his heels were lifted off the ground.
Being winter, the sparse crowds meant there was plenty of space. Eunhong dashed around like a dog let out for a walk after a long time, sniffing at everything on the streets. He bought vintage accessories from vendors selling secondhand items and met artists drawing pictures on the pavement. He cheerfully handed over money to those who insisted he must buy something after touching their merchandise, and accumulated a bunch of crude souvenirs in his arms. In the wine shop he entered as if entranced, he even got to drink plenty of free wine.
Perhaps that was why. After having fun and completely forgetting about both his disappointment with Jaeha and Jaeha himself, Eunhong returned to the hotel and was merely puzzled to face Secretary Kim’s pale blue face. Secretary Kim, who had been pacing in front of the hotel entrance, spotted Eunhong walking up the driveway and ran over as if rolling.
“Eunhong!”
This was the first time Eunhong had heard Secretary Kim use such a high-pitched voice.
“Why did you go out without wearing your watch?!”
“…Ah. I forgot the watch.”
Eunhong made a dumbfounded expression at the abrupt question about the whereabouts of his watch.
Pushed along by Secretary Kim to the top floor, he noticed the bustling corridor. The eyes of the attendants who had been hesitantly standing in the hallway all turned toward him at once. Eunhong looked around them with the feeling of a child who had done something wrong, then pulled open the door to the suite.
Even before his confusion was resolved, he was greeted by omega pheromones mixed with strong perfume. He rubbed his nose, wondering if he was mistaken, but the presence was too strong to be a misunderstanding.
“What… is this…?”
At that moment, Jaeha, who had been talking with someone in the living room with his arms crossed, spotted Eunhong and strode over. Eunhong, forgetting the pheromones that stung his nose, was mesmerized by the appearance of his alpha whom he was meeting again after half a day.
Having bid farewell to the naked man from inside the blankets this morning, he was newly captivated by how beautiful his clothes looked. The skin visible through the unbuttoned shirt under the lightly worn cardigan was alluring. What should he do about himself, thinking even the rough gesture of pushing up disheveled hair was sexy?
The momentary delight didn’t last long as Eunhong noticed an unfamiliar person. The rude omega who had been talking with Jaeha and had filled the suite with unpleasant pheromones was approaching behind him. Eunhong unconsciously, almost reflexively, frowned. As the person approached, their face and body became as clear as if touched by hand.
They were definitely an omega. Despite the strong perfume smell, pheromones were clearly mixed in. Knowing that it was difficult for omegas to sense each other’s pheromones this clearly, Eunhong felt an even stronger sense of rejection.
While clearly assuming it was a business meeting, the perfume and pheromones filling the accommodation, along with the fact that Jaeha had brought a stranger here, numbed Eunhong’s reason. Hadn’t he once said that other omega pheromones were unpleasant…? Eunhong stiffened his expression and lifted his head.
And simultaneously confronted Jaeha, whose expression was darkening with each step closer to him. With each step forward, Jaeha’s expression hardened, and by the time he reached right in front of Eunhong, he wrinkled his face harshly as if he had no intention of hiding it.
Eunhong was taken aback by this unfamiliar expression. Thump, thump, footsteps resembling heartbeats stopped right in front of him, and after taking a long breath in and out once, Jaeha asked in a voice dripping with coldness.
“Ban Eunhong. Where have you been?”
“…Why do you need to know?”
“Tell me. Where have you been?”
His tone was like frost. His pheromones were fiercely emitted. Eunhong hunched his shoulders, his body shrinking from the chilling feeling on his skin. Intimidated by the hostile demeanor, he found himself looking down at his own feet without realizing it. The pressure pushing down on his head made his pride hurt and anger rise to the top of his head.
Why are you angry?
Eunhong raised his eyes, filled with defiance. In the brief moment their gazes met, the fragrance wafting from behind Jaeha made Eunhong lower his gaze in that direction. Ridiculously, the omega’s appearance from head to toe was captured too clearly in his vision.
The small earring occasionally visible through the lush brown wavy hair with a honey tint, even the faint freckles on the bridge of the nose were clearly visible. Eunhong’s feelings plummeted before he had time to collect himself.
The woman approached the two facing off and lightly brushed Jaeha’s shoulder. Having also noticed the pheromones of the partner staying in the suite, her gaze swept over Eunhong observantly.
“Since it seems the person you were looking for has returned, I’ll be going. Please contact me if you need help again.”
“…Thank you.”
The petite woman handed Jaeha an envelope containing something, then left with a light greeting. Everything—from their conversation in Italian to her gesture of holding Jaeha’s shoulder and making a kissing motion near his cheek as she left—made Eunhong’s head spin.
Eunhong was surprised at himself as he looked at that person with hostility, a side of himself he hadn’t known. Yet he couldn’t stop his heart from shriveling miserably.
While Jaeha saw the omega out to the entrance, Eunhong threw down his shopping bags and coat, then headed for the bathroom. The desire to talk about what he had experienced outside today—the wine, the ramen—had completely evaporated. Right now, it felt like he would say crazy things no matter what topic he started with. Eunhong didn’t want to fight with Jaeha for absurd reasons. So he tried to calm himself down by washing up.
However, Jaeha, who had returned after closing the door, turned Eunhong around.
“Let’s talk first.”
“About what?”
Their gazes collided in midair. Jaeha swallowed the words he wanted to say, pressing his lips into a straight line while staring intently at Eunhong. His penetrating gaze, as if searching for something, made Eunhong’s skin prickle like being pricked with an awl. Trying to hide his fear, Eunhong looked up at Jaeha’s face, which looked remarkably unfamiliar with its stubborn lips standing out and the tendons in his neck clearly visible due to his tightened jaw.
“Where have you been all day? Why wasn’t your phone working…? Why did you go out without your watch?”
“Am I a child? It’s not like I went somewhere I shouldn’t have.”
“Looking for you, I…”
“…It hurts. Let go and talk.”
The tense atmosphere between them, after staring at each other for a long time, broke when Eunhong’s face contorted. Wrinkles formed on the bridge of his nose, his brows furrowed, and his lips jutted out. His pale face quickly turned red, and his large eyes filled with indignation, welling up.
“…Eunhong.”
The tightly stretched rubber band broke helplessly at the slightest touch of a blade. Jaeha crumbled instantly. As he barely called out the name with a weakened voice, Eunhong retorted sharply with a voice tinged with moisture.
“Why are you angry? For what reason?”
“…Well.”
“You ask me where I’ve been. What about you? Weren’t you busy with your secretaries, completely excluding me? Who was that omega just now?!”
“Eunhong.”
“You! I was alone, alo—”
Embarrassed by the trembling end of his words, Eunhong firmly closed his mouth. His vision blurred instantly, and he quickly lowered his head. The disappointment he had been suppressing swelled up, and emotions flowed like a bursting dam.
“Huhhng…”
“…Eunhong.”
“Why are you angry? Why are your pheromones so fiercely emitted? What right do you have?”
Plop. The teardrops falling onto the carpet were so big they seemed to make a sound. Watching those grape-sized sorrows drip down, creating spots on the floor, Jaeha’s face drained of all color. As he reached out with trembling fingertips full of confusion, Eunhong slapped them away with a sharp sound. Jaeha’s eyes widened.
“…Ramen.”
“Huh?”
“I wanted ramen, so I went to buy some. By bus. But the market was closed, and the weather was so nice that I bought some pictures, ate bread, and bought souvenirs to give to people. I got so caught up in wandering around that I forgot to check my phone…”
“Oh, I see…”
“I wanted to drink wine with you… But I don’t know anything, so I couldn’t buy any. That’s what I was going to tell you…”
His voice and shoulders kept jumping from the distress. He didn’t want to make the sound of sniffling, but he couldn’t control it. Eunhong poured out his feelings without knowing what he was saying. If even he didn’t understand what he was saying, there was no way Jaeha could understand, which made him even more irritated.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
