#70
The hot spring water wasn’t particularly dark in color, so Noah, who had hastily embraced Aeongi to cover his body, just rolled his large eyes nervously.
Should he be relieved that it was someone he knew rather than a stranger? Or was it more embarrassing because it was someone he knew?
He wished the other would notice him quickly, but as the person just kept looking around, Noah’s mind became a tangled mess of random thoughts about whether he should call out first or not.
The moment the person, who looked disheveled as if they had been wandering through the forest, turned their gaze toward the basket containing Noah’s discarded clothes, Noah unconsciously gripped Aeongi tighter.
“Keck—”
Did I have to grab him by the neck?
Just as a rough sound burst from Aeongi’s mouth, Noah’s eyes met directly with the man who had been pacing in front.
“…Hi… hyung.”
About three seconds of silence followed Noah’s awkward greeting.
“Grrrr—”
“Aeongi.”
The person who had emerged from the bushes was James. Noah didn’t know why someone who had proudly entered the Imperial Guard by having his abilities recognized rather than inheriting the family business was wandering in the Heidel Mountains, but for now, after telling him to turn around, Noah quickly put on his clothes and had to gently coax Aeongi, who was throwing a tantrum while nestled in his arms.
“So this is the Heidel Mountains?”
Noah nodded slightly as he looked at James, who was battered from head to toe. They hadn’t met since he graduated from the academy—how many years had it been?
As Noah brushed off a leaf fragment stuck in James’s blue hair with his fingertips, Aeongi, nestled in his arms, started growling again.
“Yes. Where have you been wandering from? Are you alright?”
“No.”
Noah couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the immediate negative response to his question about James’s well-being. James in his twenties, approaching his late twenties, had a different charm from when he was a teenager.
First, he was tall with a good physique, worked for the Imperial Guard, and even though he was covered in scratches from branches and all sorts of dirt, his appearance hadn’t lost its luster.
“I feel like I’m about to die.”
It seems unfair to say that while smiling.
Noah was about to smile back as he saw James’s even, white teeth revealed in his smile, but he quickly looked down when he felt a sharp pain at his fingertips.
What’s wrong with you today?
Aeongi, who usually showed little interest in what was happening around him and rarely reacted strongly to whoever Noah met or talked with, was being particularly temperamental today.
Why are you biting my finger when I just wanted to talk with James? He bit hard enough to leave a mark, and then licked it as if sorry, which was baffling.
“Well, before you die, let’s get into that hot spring over there.”
“Am I that dirty?”
“Dirty… Yes, you are dirty, but more importantly, soaking in that water will help relieve your fatigue and pain.”
Though momentarily distracted by Aeongi, Noah’s face couldn’t hide the smile that bloomed as he resumed conversing with James.
First, he was the son of a prominent merchant guild, not much older than Raymond, and already had an excellent career in the Imperial Guard.
Plus, he was physically fit and handsome. Wouldn’t he be perfect as a fake boyfriend? Well, it would be fine if a fake boyfriend became a real one…
“Ouch! What’s wrong with you today?”
Noah, who had been happily indulging in pleasant fantasies, finally put Aeongi down after he bit his finger again. Then Aeongi clung to his pant leg, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Was Aeongi always this small?”
“Ah, Aeongi can adjust his size. Professor Raymond made a size-altering ring before, but more importantly, hurry and get in there.”
“No matter how you look at it, soaking in warm water won’t make me feel better.”
“Ah, hyung, you don’t trust me. This is a place I’ve been keeping secret as a business opportunity, and I need someone like you to experience its effects and spread the word. Business thrives on word of mouth, you know. Good word of mouth can revive a failing business, while bad rumors can instantly ruin a thriving one…”
Noah approached James, who was hesitating and not believing his words, and started with the cloak that now looked like a tattered straw mat.
“So you’ve been in there too?”
“I often go in there to think and for other purposes.”
With a thud, the heavy cloak fell off, and Noah began working on the buttons of the shirt underneath.
“You’re not sick or anything?”
Noah slightly furrowed his brow as he looked up at James, who was touching the dried blood scab on his forehead, and with the sole thought of getting him into the hot spring as soon as possible, he began unbuttoning James’s shirt.
“Hyung, get in quickly. Meanwhile, I’ll go to the castle and bring some clothes for you to change into.”
Noah, who had been carefully observing the wound-like marks on James’s forehead and the split on the side of his lip, stared blankly at him when James suddenly grabbed his hands.
“No…”
I just want you to undress quickly and get into the warm hot spring to wash your body and help your wounds heal faster, so why are you blushing? And it’s not like there’s anything to blush about between us…
I really wasn’t thinking at all.
The moment Noah shifted his gaze from James’s face full of embarrassment, he saw a sturdy man’s chest peeking through his shirt.
“Grrrr—”
With the help of Aeongi, who had been inexplicably agitated and throwing tantrums for a while now, and was biting Noah’s pant leg with his mouth and shaking his head violently while trying to pull him back with all his might, James’s shirt slipped effortlessly from Noah’s hands.
I was just happy to see someone after a long time, and seeing him cold, in pain, and struggling, I only wanted to recommend the hot spring. Honestly, I had slightly selfish intentions of seeing him as more than just a fake boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean I’m the type of person who undresses someone I’m not even that close with…
Oh well, although I got an eyeful of something nice, it’s not like that kind of thing is allowed between us.
Splash—
As Noah’s eyes wavered uneasily, a water spray rose and flowed from Noah’s head down as something heavy fell into the water.
“Ah, you’re right, the painful area really does feel better…”
For a while now, both James and Noah had been unable to properly finish their sentences. Because James had jumped into the hot spring still wearing his dirty clothes, Noah, who had been neatly dressed, was suddenly standing in front of him looking like a drowned rat.
“Sigh—”
A deep sigh cut through the awkward silence between the two, who had frozen in shock due to the suddenness of it all. And Noah, who had remained unmoved despite Aeongi’s biting and pulling, was now being dragged by the small Aeongi to the resting area beside the hot spring.
Without even being able to say “Rest for a while, I’ll bring you clothes,” Noah was led by Aeongi through a warp back to the castle, and the moment he got off the warp, he collapsed on the floor.
“I’m doomed.”
One of the reasons Noah had gone into hiding after returning from the Imperial party was to choose a suitable fake boyfriend. He needed to find a win-win situation to propose the idea of a fake relationship, but he had messed it all up from the start.
“This is why they say to be careful around alphas.”
Unlike his first husband who had emitted that strange pheromone, Noah belatedly realized that James’s pheromone was that refreshing, cool feeling one might experience when taking a walk in the forest on an autumn morning.
People here have always lived acknowledging alphas and omegas. Even though Noah was an omega, he had no particular awareness of it and had lived that way until he was almost twenty, so it was understandable that he hadn’t given it much thought.
“Tsk—”
First a deep sigh, and now you’re clicking your tongue? Noah wrinkled his nose at the small sound made by Aeongi, who was sitting beside him, vigorously scratching behind his ear with his hind leg.
Having finished scratching, Aeongi got up, approached Noah who was lying face down, and gently touched Noah’s nose with his own. At this, Noah sat down heavily on the floor.
“I know, I know. It was too much, right? But someone like him would be good as a fake boyfriend. Honestly, would I ask Ray with his playful nature and unpredictable behavior? Or Benjamin who’s also an omega? The moment I casually mention it to Matthew, it’s obvious he’d immediately take my hand and stand with me at the altar.”
After pouring out his honest feelings, Noah was about to get up when Aeongi pressed his front paw firmly on Noah’s leg as if telling him to say more, and Noah looked into his eyes.
“What.”
“Meow~”
“Don’t act cute. I’m not saying anything more.”
“Meow~?”
“What, Derik?”
After a brief staring contest with Aeongi, when Derik’s name came out of Noah’s mouth, the small head moved up and down quickly.
“He’s not an option.”
Absolutely not. While Noah had purely friendly feelings for the others, he had more than a 0.2% different emotion toward Derik.
After firmly stating this, Noah moved quickly, thinking of bringing suitable clothes for James, but Aeongi once again clung to his pant leg.
“Why not?”
“Meow~”
The moment Noah asked, thinking Aeongi seemed curious, Aeongi released the pant leg he had been holding to answer. And seizing that moment, Noah began running excitedly down the long corridor.
“If you’re curious, try to guess~”
“Meooooow~”
Once again, the peaceful Schwein Castle was filled with the mingled sounds of Noah’s laughter and Aeongi’s sharp cries.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
