“Huh?”
Suhwan tilted his head. The entrance password he had been pressing mindlessly all this time—looking at it now, wasn’t this number Seunghyun’s birthday?
[0912]
Tomorrow’s date. Seunghyun’s birthday.
“What’s this?”
Was it just a coincidence? Or did Jin Suhwan set the password knowing it was Seunghyun’s birthday?
If he had set it without knowing, it would be an incredible coincidence, but if he had set it knowingly, it was creepy. A stalker setting the front door password to his own birthday. How upset Seunghyun must have been, entering that password for over a month.
“Should I… change the password?”
After considering it, Suhwan decided to focus on what he needed to do now. He entered the password identical to Seunghyun’s birthday and went inside. He headed to the kitchen and put down all the bags he had been carrying.
“Haaa.”
He couldn’t help but sigh. Perhaps because he had been sick over the weekend, his physical condition wasn’t good today.
It was fortunate that he had a sturdy alpha body; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to carry all of this.
Suhwan glanced at the clock. If he started now, he could finish everything before midnight. Since Seunghyun would come home late anyway, spending time with his friends, he could prepare a proper birthday meal for tomorrow morning.
Alright, let’s start by preparing the ingredients.
Suhwan enthusiastically rolled up his sleeves.
***
“Huff.”
Stepping outside the bar briefly, Seunghyun let out a short sigh. His head ached from the countless questions thrown at him.
Seunghyun recalled what had just happened inside the bar. His friends had gone wild when Seunghyun brought Suhwan into the classroom. To his friends who asked what he was thinking, Seunghyun had simply shown a faint smile.
Eventually, he’d have to explain everything to his classmates, but not now. Currently, everything felt uncertain.
Suhwan still wanted to break off their engagement, and the impulsive confession had backfired. Would it have been better if he hadn’t said anything then? The image of Suhwan pushing him away with a pale face kept coming to mind.
Yet Seunghyun was still thinking of ways to hold onto Suhwan. Even today, Suhwan knew it was his birthday but had only pushed him away.
Remembering that made him feel bad again. He had really wanted to spend time together today, but Suhwan had rejected him so firmly.
Seunghyun frowned, gripping his phone tightly. He recalled Suhwan’s back as he rushed out of the classroom claiming he had urgent business. What could be so urgent that he left in such a hurry?
Maybe he went to meet someone? Seunghyun’s eyes narrowed. He remembered the female omega student who had approached Suhwan in the classroom. He had already noticed that several people were finding the changed Suhwan interesting or curious. Even his classmates had whispered to him, looking at him carefully, saying that Jin Suhwan seemed different somehow.
Soon everyone would know. How cute the changed Suhwan was, how lovable he was. It couldn’t be that only he found him so adorable. Anxiously biting his lip, Seunghyun took out his phone and pressed the call button. Soon, a quiet dial tone rang in his ear.
—This number is currently unavailable.
“Damn it.”
Seunghyun roughly cursed at the blunt guidance message. It was the same result after trying five more times in succession.
Jin Suhwan, out of contact at this hour. The omega who had looked at him with curious eyes. His head spun.
In truth, Suhwan had always been popular with omegas. Of course, it wasn’t genuine on either side, just single encounters with clear interests involved. As an alpha and heir to wealth, countless omegas clung to Jin Suhwan, who spent money like water. That used to be one of the reasons Seunghyun despised him, but now it affected him differently.
Moreover, being a recessive alpha was, surprisingly, one of the elements omegas preferred about him. Some omegas found the strong traits of regular alphas or dominant alphas burdensome, so there were omegas who felt safer with recessive alphas whose traits were almost as weak as betas.
Crunch—unknowingly grinding his teeth, Seunghyun opened the location tracking app this time. Think you can meet other omegas? He stared at Suhwan’s location appearing on the GPS with obsessive eyes.
“…He’s at home?”
But seeing the result, Seunghyun’s eyes widened. Surprisingly, Suhwan was at home now.
Could he be meeting an omega at home? Pushing him away?
Though part of his mind thought it unlikely, he grew anxious. After hesitating, Seunghyun even opened the app to check the CCTV installed in the house. A fleeting thought that he shouldn’t do this crossed his mind, but it was already too late.
The CCTV feeds from around the house appeared on his phone screen. The first thing he saw was the living room. The lit living room was empty, with no one in sight. Usually around this time, Suhwan would always be sitting on the sofa watching TV.
With a hardened face, Seunghyun checked other areas. Suhwan’s room, his own room, and finally the bedroom. He checked everywhere except the toilet and bathroom. But Suhwan was nowhere to be seen.
What’s going on? An anxious Seunghyun bit his lip. The location clearly showed him at home. Could he have left his phone behind? That seemed unlikely.
Frowning in thought, Seunghyun realized there was one more screen he hadn’t checked. The kitchen connected to the living room. It was a place neither of them frequented, so he had unconsciously not checked it. With a glimmer of hope, Seunghyun turned on the kitchen screen.
“…!”
The image of Suhwan, whom he had been searching for, appeared on the screen. What was he doing there? As he watched with questioning eyes, he soon realized what Suhwan was doing.
In the messy kitchen with ingredients scattered everywhere, Suhwan was vigorously stirring something. Standing in front of a large pot, his face wasn’t clearly visible, but he seemed to be making a sad expression.
Looking at the ingredients around him, it was easy to understand what Suhwan was doing.
Suhwan was cooking seaweed soup. Probably to feed him on his birthday.
Seeing this, Seunghyun’s eyes trembled slightly.
