#90
In truth, Jaeha found it incredibly painful to face his mother’s paintings. The heavy feeling in his chest grew worse with each one he examined. He even thought his father had imposed this punishment to cause him suffering.
Each time he saw the emaciated woman in the paintings, he was forced to reflect on himself, who resembled his father. He vividly recalled how his mother gradually wasted away until she finally suffocated from pheromones. Her once beautiful body withered, and the voice that had been kind only to her son eventually became harsh and cold. As if a small child could understand anything, she would blame and curse her son with a voice full of deep resentment.
Jaeha looked down at his hand that had painfully gripped Eunhong’s arm. The sensation of digging into that soft skin still lingered on his fingertips, making him shudder. If he had applied just a little more force, he could have easily broken it.
The last painting depicted a woman trapped in a black box. Jaeha roughly covered the easel with a curtain and called for Secretary Kim.
“We’re finished, so please send everyone out and clean up.”
“Understood.”
“And please send up what I asked for yesterday.”
“Yes.”
At Secretary Kim’s direction, the staff moved efficiently, and the cluttered living room was instantly tidied up. After confirming that simple cleaning and ventilation had been completed, Secretary Kim also withdrew, leaving the suite in silence as if it had never been bustling with people. Jaeha loosened his stiff expression and neck while looking in the mirror, then headed to the inner room where Eunhong was sleeping.
“Eunhong, you need to wake up.”
“…Mmm.”
Jaeha gently rubbed Eunhong’s swollen eyelids with his thumb. His eyes were so puffy that it took a long time for them to open properly. Only after much effort did Eunhong finally stir, stretching his arms and legs.
Though it was a bit earlier than Eunhong’s usual waking time, Jaeha was concerned that he must be hungry. When he lifted the blanket and put his ear to Eunhong’s flat stomach, sure enough, he heard thunder from the hungry belly.
“Stop it. What are you doing?”
Eunhong pushed him away in embarrassment, but he didn’t budge. Jaeha buried his face in Eunhong’s stomach and blew raspberries until he heard hunger sounds, which finally made him raise his head. Eunhong had missed dinner because he had locked himself in the bathroom, washing and washing again repeatedly, until he eventually fell asleep as if fainting, and Jaeha felt somewhat responsible.
When Eunhong grabbed his hungry stomach and tried to get up quickly, he groaned and sat back down due to muscle pain. After fighting with Jaeha yesterday—though it was somewhat embarrassing to call it a fight, since he couldn’t just say he threw a tantrum and cried—he glared at the man who had tormented him to this state.
Jaeha pulled on the arm of Eunhong, who was puffing his cheeks in a sulky manner.
“Get up. You need to eat.”
“I haven’t forgiven you yet. This isn’t just going to be brushed aside. Really.”
Eunhong grumbled with his lips jutting out. Jaeha smiled with crinkled eyes and stroked Eunhong’s hair. Whether his eyes were swollen or not, he was just beautiful.
“Alright, alright. Don’t forgive me.”
Seeing that smiling face, Eunhong’s heart melted easily, almost too easily. Pretending to give in, Eunhong took Jaeha’s hand and got up, dusting himself off.
“I need to feed you breakfast, Eunhong.”
Jaeha said as he led Eunhong outside. The rumbling sounds from his stomach were so loud they could be heard clearly. For a moment, Eunhong recalled Jaeha’s expression from last night when he had tormented him so severely, and he squeezed Jaeha’s hand tightly while glaring.
“I’m really hungry. Because of you, my stomach is stuck to my back.”
Jaeha laughed out loud as if he had expected this. His laughter was quite different in temperature from when he had mocked his mother’s paintings.
Room service had just arrived in the living room. An employee entered pushing a serving cart with wheels that made rolling sounds. Pointing to the food hidden under round silver covers, Jaeha said:
“Ramen is here.”
“Oh!”
When the hotel employee lifted the cover, steam could be seen rising even from a distance. The intense aroma of ramen broth instantly filled the living room. Having been practically soaked in butter and olive oil for four days, Eunhong couldn’t hide his excitement. He hadn’t expected Jaeha to pay attention to what he had said between sobs yesterday. Overcome with happiness, Eunhong sat down at the table.
The spicy red broth welcomed Eunhong. Calculated to account for the time it took to bring it from the kitchen to the suite, the noodles were neither soggy nor too firm. It was perfect ramen with exactly the right proportions of green onions and egg, though Eunhong wasn’t sure where they had found these ingredients. As Eunhong looked down at the ramen with a deeply moved expression, Jaeha said while trying to hold back his laughter:
“It’s Secretary Kim’s skill. The kimchi was also brought from Korea by Secretary Kim.”
“Secretary Kim is the best!”
“…Actually, Secretary Kim wasn’t planning to give it to you, but I took it from him.”
After watching Eunhong slurp up the noodles with shining eyes, Jaeha corrected himself. He felt the need to provide accurate information.
“Fine. Thank you.”
Even though Eunhong answered half-heartedly, Jaeha just smiled gently. He simply pushed the kimchi plate in front of him toward Eunhong and leaned back deeply in his chair. Only then did Eunhong glance at Jaeha. He knew that Jaeha didn’t enjoy ramen, but to go this far even here….
“Aren’t you eating ramen?”
“No.”
“You’re really stubborn. Seriously.”
Hearing the word “stubborn,” Jaeha, who was drinking espresso, said with an aggrieved expression:
“It’s not about taking care of my body… I really don’t like the taste.”
Eunhong, who was chewing a mouthful of noodles and kimchi, just frowned without saying anything. Did he not realize that saying it tasted bad was even more stubborn?
After gulping down the spicy broth, Eunhong felt his taste buds, which had become dull from days of bland flavors, suddenly revive, as if his lost appetite had returned.
“Eat a lot, Bunhong.”
The three packages of ramen that Secretary Kim had prepared were enough for Eunhong to eat alone. Honestly, he thought he might even be able to handle four right now.
While Eunhong devoured the three servings of ramen, Jaeha was on the phone with someone. Listening half-heartedly to the Italian conversation, Eunhong scraped up the last piece of kimchi. He was hungry, but the hot, hearty meal gave him a truly pleasant feeling of fullness.
“Let’s go on a date tonight.”
Jaeha, who had just hung up the phone, said to Eunhong, who was patting his stomach. At the word “date,” Eunhong’s eyes widened. Despite their relationship having naturally transitioned to that of lovers, he still wasn’t immune to such words.
“D-date? Where?”
“We’re going to a party.”
“Party?”
“Yes, a party. You and me. Like a princess and prince, wearing a dress and tuxedo, going to a castle.”
Since Eunhong’s reaction wasn’t as bouncy as he had expected, Jaeha scratched his eyebrow and added an explanation.
“I received an invitation and was thinking of not going, but I changed my mind because I thought you might like it. I also want to show you something and make up for upsetting you.”
“Is the person who invited you an Alpha?”
“…Yes, how did you know?”
“Well… almost all impressive people are Alphas. I figured if they’re important enough to invite you, they must be an Alpha. But you’ve been acting like you have an Alpha allergy, so you must be quite close to this person.”
“He’s an older married man.”
“Ah… Then are the other people coming to the party also Type 2 manifested individuals? Are they all from this country?”
Jaeha narrowed his eyes, squinting.
“What are you trying to say? Don’t you want to go?”
“N-no… I’m just curious.”
“You’re curious about everything. Want to shower together again?”
Eunhong, who had been slouching in his chair, opened his mouth wide. He looked back at Jaeha with an astonished expression, but Jaeha met his gaze confidently with an unabashed face, without even blinking an eyebrow.
“Are you admitting that yesterday was an act of revenge? Right now?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You…”
With his finger raised, Eunhong trembled. It was infuriating to see Jaeha elegantly bringing the coffee cup to his lips with downcast eyes. The things he did with those prim lips….
“How could you… to a person, huh? How could you just…?”
“Did you enjoy it that much?”
“What?”
Before Eunhong could finish his high-pitched question, Jaeha put down his empty cup and stood up abruptly. Eunhong flinched and shrank his shoulders at the large body approaching him. As a lover rather than a friend, the Alpha could be somewhat intimidating at times… Lately, he felt his spirit being crushed without knowing why, which made him feel wronged.
Jaeha leaned his large body and pressed his lips firmly on Eunhong’s crown, then headed toward the bureau desk where he had left some documents. Though Eunhong thought Jaeha wasn’t paying attention to his glaring, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, Jaeha spoke with a sigh:
“Don’t provoke me. Alphas are off-limits. I don’t like it. Don’t be curious. Don’t even think about getting close.”
“Alpha pheromones aren’t as dangerous as you worry. There’s no stimulation at all.”
“…That’s not the case for most Omegas.”
Eunhong stuck out his lower lip. Though he couldn’t see Jaeha’s expression since he had turned around, he could tell from his voice alone that he was resolute. When Eunhong didn’t respond, Jaeha continued in a tone full of concern:
“And being unaffected by other Alpha pheromones isn’t just a good thing.”
“I like not being able to feel them.”
Just looking at the accident during his manifestation, he never wanted to experience being swayed by pheromones again. Eunhong wished more than anyone that he would become insensitive to them.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
