Chapter 36
“Oh, right. I have an appointment.”
“Appointment?”
“Appointment?”
Han Taekyung looked at Igeon in surprise at his words. The sunbae also flinched from typing on his laptop and asked, looking at Igeon.
“Yes, oh it’s Thursday and I accidentally made an appointment. Aah! I can’t believe it! The time has already passed! Well, I’ll go first. See you next week, Sunbae! Han Taekyung, see you later!”
Even to himself, it was a clumsy act. Nevertheless, hoping that both of them would fall for it, Igeon quickly left the cafe and ran toward the main street. When he thought he had gotten far enough from the cafe, he stopped running and caught his breath. Now that he had left, he had nowhere to go. But it seemed wasteful to go back to the dormitory, so Igeon thought about it and decided to visit the large shopping center that had reportedly opened near the station. Since there was also a movie theater there, maybe he’d watch a movie while he was at it.
“Huh? Igeon hyung!”
“Hmm?”
Turning his head at the familiar voice, it was the guy who had worked part-time with him at the cafe.
“Oh? Yeonwoo.”
“Wow! It really is you, hyung!!”
Since entering university, he couldn’t even dream of working part-time jobs, and he didn’t have time to visit the cafe to say hello, so their contact had gradually faded. But seeing Yeonwoo like this made him very happy. Especially since he had heard that Yeonwoo had a hard time after that incident, seeing him greeting him with a bright smile was even more reassuring.
“Hyung!!!”
Yeonwoo ran up and hugged Igeon tightly.
“It’s been really, really long.”
“It has. It’s been a really long time. What brings you here?”
“I came to see something nearby and was on my way back when I saw you.”
“I see. Have you been well?”
“Yes, I’ve been well. How about you? Wow, but hyung, you seem taller. As expected of an athlete. Your body seems to have gotten better too. Wow.”
It was a bit embarrassing when Yeonwoo looked him up and down, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. As Yeonwoo said, being an athlete, it felt like a compliment to hear that his body had improved.
“Do you have time? I want to eat with you, hyung.”
“Of course I have time.”
“That’s good. I know a delicious place around here. It’s a hamburger steak restaurant and it’s really delicious.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Yeonwoo linked arms with Igeon and walked, smiling as if truly delighted. Igeon also felt really good seeing Yeonwoo like that. Behind the newly built large shopping center, there were rows of small restaurants, and among them, they entered a hamburger steak restaurant and took a seat.
“Lucky, there’s usually a line here, but there’s no one today.”
“That’s good. Otherwise, we would have died from the heat.”
“Haha, that’s true. It suddenly got quite hot.”
“So, you’re still in high school, right?”
“Yes, I’m still a high school senior, but my university has been decided, so I’m working hard at part-time jobs now. I need to earn tuition.”
“Your university has already been decided?”
“These days, universities are decided more by school grades and aptitude than the college entrance exam. In my case, I scored high in art aptitude, so it was decided a month ago.”
“Ah, I see. Congratulations. I should be the one paying for this, right?”
“No. I really wanted to buy you a meal once. Because at that time… I couldn’t properly thank you. It’s always been on my mind.”
Igeon knew very well what “at that time” Yeonwoo was referring to.
“You don’t need to thank me. That’s just natural.”
“There aren’t many people who say things like you do, hyung.”
“Why do you think that?”
“At that time, Jin-ho hyung helped me.”
“Yeah.”
Come to think of it, he didn’t think he had seen Jin-ho hyung since that day.
“Jin-ho hyung subtly hinted that if he helped me, I should do something for him.”
“But what did Jin-ho hyung do? Call an ambulance? Or take you to the hospital?”
“Exactly. You did everything, but… he was expecting something. Even though I was so grateful then and asked what I could do for him, he said he wanted to sleep with an omega…”
“Isn’t he crazy?!”
How is that any different from the pervert back then? Igeon was so flabbergasted that he gulped down cold water.
“So I told him that was absolutely not happening. Then he got angry. Saying it was my fault for not taking proper care of myself.”
“Ha. Why didn’t you tell me that? I’m not blaming you. If I had known, I would have… that bastard… No. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was that kind of person when I left you with him.”
“No, hyung. I was struggling a lot at that time, but because of that experience, I was able to become stronger. Look at me now. I’m smiling and going around fine. I’m not scared at all anymore. Maybe it’s because you saved me. Knowing that there are good people like you. I held onto that and endured well.”
“…What am I…”
“I said it earlier. People like you are rare. So I’ve always been grateful, thank you. I prayed to meet you again, but I didn’t expect to meet like this. I’m really happy.”
The food they ordered arrived, and Yeonwoo quickly told Igeon to eat, saying it was delicious. Igeon felt sorry for being an alpha. He felt that society still had a long way to go. He realized it’s still a difficult world for omegas to live in.
“If you have any difficulties, tell me. I’ll help you anytime.”
At those words, Yeonwoo smiled and asked for Igeon’s phone number, which Igeon promptly gave. The hamburger steak was truly delicious, just as Yeonwoo had confidently said. After eating well and having coffee, when Igeon said he had to go back because it was almost curfew time, Yeonwoo seemed very disappointed, so Igeon offered to accompany him to the station and they walked together.
“The university you got into is very far from here?”
“Yes, so it’s a shame. I expected you would attend school here, I should have looked for somewhere closer.”
“What am I… As long as you went to the university you liked. And if you want to see me, just tell me anytime, I’ll come visit. Ah, of course, not until the latter half of this year, no, until the Olympics.”
“Haha, yes. I know your dream is to be a national representative, hyung. So I won’t interfere at all. I’ll be busy with university life. Let’s see each other after the Olympics next year.”
Yeonwoo smiled, standing in front of the station.
“Hyung.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s definitely meet next year.”
“…Sure.”
Somehow, Igeon could feel Yeonwoo’s tickling pheromones. Unlike Kang Yuhan sunbae, Yeonwoo’s pheromones smelled like foxtail grass. It was fascinating. How could pheromones resemble the person themselves so closely?
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Take care.”
After watching until Yeonwoo disappeared into the station, Igeon checked the time on his phone. In the meantime, there were three missed calls from Han Taekyung. He hadn’t noticed while talking. Thinking that Taekyung would probably be back at the dormitory by now, he didn’t bother calling back and headed to the dormitory.
“Are you crazy?!”
And as soon as he entered, an extremely angry demon had descended.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?!”
Since this was the first time he had yelled so loudly, Igeon couldn’t even take off his shoes at the entrance and just stared at Han Taekyung.
“Ah, like I said, I had an appointment. You know I don’t check my phone much when I’m meeting people.”
“Still, given the current situation, you should have answered the phone!”
“Sorry. Don’t be angry and lower your voice. The neighbors might hear.”
“Ha!”
Han Taekyung sighed deeply. Igeon quickly took off his shoes, went in, put down his bag, and brought Han Taekyung a glass of water. There was no better remedy than a glass of water to calm someone down.
After drinking a glass of water, Han Taekyung didn’t put the cup down but dropped it on the floor, then pulled Igeon, who was standing in front of him, into an embrace. Seeing him finally exhale in relief as if he had been truly worried, Igeon felt genuinely sorry.
“I’m really sorry. I was so caught up in conversation.”
“Who did you really meet?”
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t a pre-arranged appointment, just a chance meeting with Yeonwoo. But the timing was good. He didn’t have to lie.
“Who? Instructor Jin?”
“No, not him.”
“Then who did you…”
Han Taekyung’s movements stopped. And soon, he buried his nose in Igeon’s stomach and laughed, “Ha!”
“An omega?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“I can smell omega pheromones on your body right now. And what is this pheromone? You’re completely covered in it.”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you notice this? Is it recessive? Seo Igeon, did you not realize they showed so much interest in you?”
“I didn’t.”
He was really dull about such things and couldn’t even think about it.
“Aren’t you mistaken? Yeonwoo wouldn’t do that to me.”
“The name is Yeonwoo? Yeonwoo… Looks like you’ve given up on Kang Yuhan sunbae and found a new omega?”
“No. We just met. Just ate and had coffee.”
“You had a date.”
“Yeah, a da— No, that’s not it!”
“When an alpha and omega meet to eat and drink coffee, that’s a date.”
“Why are you being so petty today?”
“Haha, am I being petty?”
“Yes, and childish.”
Regardless of what Igeon said, Han Taekyung hugged him more tightly. Igeon’s t-shirt felt thin under his fingertips. He wanted to feel more of Igeon’s skin beneath it. If he lifted the clothes and touched him now, what would he say? If it was Seo Igeon, he would be surprised and ask why, but he wouldn’t push him away.
How could he come back drenched in omega pheromones like this? Well, he could come back covered in them. There are many omegas who like Seo Igeon. So some omega who doesn’t know their place might mark him like this. I understand. But at the same time, I don’t understand at all. I want to kill them. If I meet them, I want to break their neck right there. Why am I having these crazy thoughts? It’s uncontrollable. These thoughts aren’t being controlled at all. Everything is gradually turning black. I can’t make rational judgments. All the balance that had been controlled and kept in equilibrium was slowly cracking. Han Taekyung, flustered, quickly separated from Igeon’s body. Leaving Igeon, who was mumbling “Where is the pheromone smell coming from my body?” and sniffing himself, Han Taekyung put on his shoes at the entrance.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
