20
“Let’s just meet once. All together.”
“No, I don’t even know their faces…”
“We can see them when we go.”
“Ah…”
“…You don’t happen to… not like girls or something like that? Right?”
“Of course not.”
Taein spoke the words as soon as he finished talking.
It wasn’t that he disliked women, but that he didn’t have the leisure to be interested in anyone in that way. Lee Wuyong didn’t need to know that much about his inner thoughts, and he didn’t want to tell him either. After Taein spoke with a serious expression, he had no choice but to nod at Lee Wuyong’s words of “Then we can go, right?”
“Oh, you’re really going?”
“Yeah. Let’s go. It’s just going to karaoke.”
“Right? The noonas will probably be okay with it too?”
“Yeah. Do that.”
“Awesome. Then shall we make plans within this week?”
“Handle it yourself.”
“Kang Taein was secretly interested in this kind of thing.”
When he didn’t go, they made him out to be someone uninterested in women, but when he actually said he’d go, they pushed him as a lecher. That meaning could be read in his narrowed eyes and twitching eyebrows. He wondered if he should have said he’d go, but it was better than continuing to be misunderstood. That misunderstanding could also lead to suspicion about his traits. It wasn’t that he was doing this because he liked male Alphas or something, he just didn’t want to do anything at all. That would be hard to understand from a general perspective. Taein thought it was better to be treated as someone crazy about women, so he just turned his eyes elsewhere when Lee Wuyong looked at him with strange eyes.
“Ooh, Kang Taein.”
“……”
“You were pretending to be innocent all this time.”
“Hey, go.”
Was this right? When he was with Gu Wanjae, Lee Wuyong didn’t act like this toward him, but when they were alone, he would burden him by pretending to be close. He also didn’t like having a woman involved. Was this the best choice? While Lee Wuyong was hanging around in front, Taein doubted his judgment several times.
“Why are you telling me not to come?”
“Why are you coming to school?”
“I’m going for multiple reasons.”
“Multiple what.”
“Well, going to karaoke too.”
“You’re asking me to go with you.”
“Then.”
“No, is there a reason you need to come to school other than me?”
“Ah, I’m just going to get some fresh air.”
“Did a ghost who died from not getting fresh air possess you…”
“Kang Taein. Want to die?”
“No.”
Taein sat on the sofa and shook his head. Even though he’d be busy with his own affairs, Gu Wanjae tried to come to school much more often than before he dropped out. Nothing was happening at school though. For now, Gu Wanjae said he needed to check out the faces of the school guys first, persistently asking who remained among the third-years. Taein listed the names of guys he didn’t even know well and asked why he had to do this.
Gu Wanjae’s argument was this:
If even one Alpha or whatever is mixed in, wouldn’t they cause you discomfort? I need to know in advance, and I need to familiarize myself with their faces so I can think “ah, that guy is that bastard.”
That’s what he seemed to say.
Taein was about to say “What’s the use of you knowing their faces?” but stopped. Even after conveying what the hospital said about pheromones or body odor not being present, it didn’t get through to Gu Wanjae. He said there were things he needed to know for now.
“Hey, I… don’t like that you’re unnecessarily complicating your routes because of me…”
“Do you know my routes?”
“You’re, well, obvious. Anyway, it’s not related to school. If you hadn’t dropped out, maybe.”
“Hey, are you talking so easily about my sad educational background that will end with middle school graduation?”
“…You’re talking nonsense…”
“Ah, this won’t work. Is Kang Taein acting up a bit?”
“Acting up, what. Anyway, don’t come to school. I’m not an idiot or anything…”
“Really? Is it burdensome?”
“It’s not a burden, if you keep doing this to me, how do you think I’ll feel?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been in that situation…”
“Hah.”
“I’m joking, it would be burdensome.”
“I’m saying again, it’s not a burden. It’s not a burden, and I’m doing this thinking of you, so you understand too.”
Gu Wanjae didn’t argue with Taein’s firm tone. He just stroked his chin with his hand, lost in thought.
“Okay. For the time being, well, I can’t even come home for a few days.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“Going somewhere far with the hyungs.”
“Uh… those hyungs.”
“Yeah, our hyungs. I’ll introduce you when there’s a chance later.”
“Ah, well… okay.”
These hyungs, those hyungs – Gu Wanjae, who seemed to follow anyone around, seemed to have completely settled with one hyung group. That’s how it looked to him. So the guy who used to keep his distance while saying hyung, hyung, would now also say “our hyungs.” Taein thought Gu Wanjae would handle things well on his own. So all the more he didn’t want him coming to school because of him.
“When are you going? From tomorrow?”
“Yeah, from tomorrow for about, 14 days? Until the 15th.”
“About 3, 4 days.”
“Yeah. If there’s anything you want to eat, eat it.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“You handle it yourself? You don’t eat when I’m not here.”
“That’s because I’ve had some headaches recently.”
“Let’s eat Jjolla Chicken the day I come back.”
“Okay. Let’s do that if you want chicken.”
He was originally someone who had been away from home for over a week or ten days. Recently it had been less frequent, but it seemed a business trip schedule had been arranged urgently. He’d come on Friday or Saturday. While thinking that, Taein remembered the text he received from Lee Wuyong on his way home. “How about Friday? ㅋ” He hadn’t replied to that text yet. Acting to avoid misunderstanding was good, but Gu Wanjae would hate meeting with Lee Wuyong itself. Lee Wuyong kept going on about girls, girls… it seemed good to go once to avoid suspicion. Would it be better to say this now? No. Taein quickly organized his thoughts. He could just follow along roughly and have dinner with Gu Wanjae in the evening.
“You’re coming in the evening.”
“Probably. But doesn’t that place stay open until late at night?”
He was talking about Jjolla Chicken.
“Hey, you really want to eat it. Then order it now.”
“No, I’ll eat it that day.”
“…Do as you please.”
“Hey, did you get into the habit of talking like me?”
“It seems so.”
Taein laughed thinking about the “Do as you please” he had said without realizing. Gu Wanjae also found it funny, keeping the corners of his mouth raised for a while. He had received the Omega diagnosis in the cold, and now it was transitioning from spring to summer. It felt like he had fallen alone into an abyss with the bolt-from-the-blue word “Omega.” They say humans are animals of adaptation. Living somehow, he was living a life similar to before. Nothing had changed much just because he was an Omega. After getting proper prescriptions and taking them consistently for over a month, things like pain had almost disappeared.
Except for those expensive shots he was scheduled to get starting next year, there seemed to be no problem living. At least it didn’t seem like his life would change because of his traits.
He didn’t know that leaving tomorrow meant dawn. Taein woke up around 5 AM and watched Gu Wanjae packing his luggage. Gu Wanjae said he should buy a suitcase, that a luggage bag couldn’t cover it anymore. Turning around, he smiled at Taein who had sleepy eyes.
“Hey, sleep.”
“Still, if it’s dawn… I should at least see you off…”
“What seeing off, dude. Just sleep.”
“When you come back… I’ll buy you chicken…”
“I know.”
Gu Wanjae got up from his seat with a smiling face. He approached Taein who was sitting and nodding off, saying sleep, and pushed his forehead with his palm. Taein said “Hey, seeing off…” but slowly fell backward.
Taein, lying down like that, didn’t even see Gu Wanjae leave the house.
When he woke up, it was time to go to school.
“What. He was packing…”
He expressed regret with a cracked voice and picked up his phone. No texts had come, and the calls were all from the day before. Taein pressed Gu Wanjae’s name once, which occupied most of his call log. Then a familiar voice was heard from the other end of the phone.
– Did you wake up?
“Yeah… Hey… when did you leave?”
– I said I was leaving at dawn.
“You said that because I woke up.”
– Yeah, that’s what I said.
“Gu Wanjae… dude… don’t be unreasonable.”
– What are you saying? You just woke up.
“Yeah…”
– Go back to sleep.
“No, I have to go to school…”
– What are you going to take to get there?
“Bus… no, taxi…”
– Take a taxi? When I’m talking respectfully?
The day before, Gu Wanjae had left a pile of money, saying to definitely take a taxi when he wasn’t there. Saying something felt uneasy, he didn’t just say to take it but divided the daily transportation costs and left them on the dining table. Taein rolled to the end of the bed while answering the phone.
“Looking, ah, rolling.”
– What?
“No, I said I rolled.”
– You’re not in your right mind.
“Hey, enough. I’m awake. Hang up.”
Taein, standing completely upright outside the bed, said “hang up” once more to the phone.
– Call if anything happens.
“Okaaay.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
