It seemed good because it was simple.
“Oh! Totally! That, what is it. That, my mind is clearer, refreshed, I feel confident, like, like that?”
Shin Saebyeok, a master of lies, naturally spun his falsehood.
“That much? I might be fucking awesome…”
“Th-that’s what I’m saying! Have you ever seen me lie?”
“Never.”
Gong Pyeonghwa was amazed.
“My pheromones are that powerful? Shit. Maybe I should become a doctor.”
“If your family business fails, you could make a fortune doing pheromone therapy.”
“What? My family will never go bankrupt.”
Gong Pyeonghwa, whose buttons had been pushed elsewhere, completely regained his senses and boasted about his solid financial status.
“R-right.”
Even though he couldn’t lose, Saebyeok decided to concede this once and responded glumly.
Having recovered his mental state, Gong Pyeonghwa vigorously dusted off his behind, stood up, and pulled out an ice box he had prepared since morning.
When he opened the ice box bag, a mysterious mist rose as if a mountain spirit was about to appear. It was dry ice.
“Hmph. You’ve never had shaved ice before either.”
Though they had melted a bit, Gong Pyeonghwa took out still-appetizing watermelon and melon shaved ice and placed a spoon in Saebyeok’s hand.
“You said you can eat melon and watermelon. They only sell 50 of these a day, and the sweetness is insane.”
Just as Gong Pyeonghwa was about to recite the entire history of shaved ice, he suddenly received a call from their homeroom teacher and jumped in surprise.
“No way! I’m coming now! Prepare the Ballon d’Or trophy for me. Geez, seriously.”
Gong Pyeonghwa snorted, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and ignited his determination.
“I’m going! Eat that by yourself! Don’t give it to anyone else!”
Grumbling, Gong Pyeonghwa quickly descended from the rooftop. Within just 1 minute and 30 seconds, he was running across the field.
Saebyeok watched the soccer game from the rooftop while eating the shaved ice.
The sweet fruit juice and ice melted softly in his mouth. As Gong Pyeonghwa had said, the high-sweetness fresh fruit was exquisite.
It was amazing that the shaved ice still maintained its shape despite the sweltering weather. It must have been difficult to bring it up here, and Saebyeok felt a bit guilty for enjoying this cool luxury alone.
Saebyeok diligently ate the shaved ice by himself.
Somehow, he managed to finish it all by himself.
After cleanly finishing both servings of shaved ice and going back down to the field, Saebyeok complained of a terrible headache. His skull was throbbing from eating cold things continuously.
Saebyeok irritably pressed his temples.
“Saebyeok, are you sick?”
“Ah. Just. A bit. Headache…”
There was no way he could tell his friend who was sweating profusely that his head hurt from eating shaved ice.
When Saebyeok replied with an awkward smile, rumors immediately spread and became distorted.
“Take Saebyeok to the infirmary, tell the homeroom teacher”
“Why the infirmary?”
“He says his head hurts”
“Why does his head hurt? Is it related to Gong Pyeonghwa taking him away earlier?”
“Did he hit him?”
“Wow”
“Gong Pyeonghwa beat Shin Saebyeok until he got a concussion?”
“Gong Pyeonghwa got his revenge;”
And so, the two smoothly became sworn enemies.
▶▶▶
“Wait, wasn’t it a successful revenge?”
“What revenge?”
Gong Pyeonghwa, who still didn’t know about the distorted rumor, tilted his head.
“…A-anyway. So what I’m asking is, how did you end up falling in love?”
“The real story starts now. That earlier stuff was just setting up for the current story? Something like that. Let’s focus, okay? Stop interrupting.”
“S-sorry.”
◀◀◀
After the sports festival, Gong Pyeonghwa somewhat neglected his studies and stuck close to his doctor.
“Can suppressants not protect an omega who’s been exposed to the pheromones of multiple alphas?”
“If they take suppressants, there shouldn’t be any major issues. That’s literally what suppressants are for.”
But Shin Saebyeok looked like he had serious problems? Gong Pyeonghwa narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
The doctor sighed quietly, as if tired, and said:
“It can vary depending on the intentions behind why multiple alphas released their pheromones, and also on the omega’s health condition.”
The omega’s health condition…
If it was Shin Saebyeok, his health condition might have made things worse.
“So if that health condition means like taking tons of suppressants and supplements, and being an omega who only recently presented, then I guess…”
“It can put strain on the body. In fact, suppressants are artificially created, don’t have a long history, and since they’re for omegas, not alphas, they don’t use the best ingredients in omega products… not yet anyway.”
No wonder the kid is so fragile when he’s taking several pills of that unhealthy stuff every day. Gong Pyeonghwa clicked his tongue.
“Anyway, for alphas and omegas, there’s no perfect suppressant except for imprinting.”
So are lifelong singles supposed to just take medicine until they die?
Just as the extremely chaste romantic Gong Pyeonghwa was about to decide to become an alpha-omega human rights activist, the doctor added:
“More research on pheromones seems necessary. Even if not perfect, there might be a method to eliminate most side effects…”
“Pheromones?”
“The largest component of imprinting is psychological stability through pheromone exchange. So using pheromones could potentially achieve the effects of imprinting, something like that…”
Oh? That was an interesting idea.
Avoiding cycles without suppressants, without side effects, and without imprinting? The answer lies in pheromones?
Gong Pyeonghwa became obsessed with pheromones and researched like crazy.
He read papers, visited alpha communities, and accumulated knowledge about alphas, omegas, and pheromones.
“There might be phytoncides in my pheromones.”
“…R-really?”
“I’m telling you.”
Having become a self-proclaimed pheromone expert, Gong Pyeonghwa said to Saebyeok:
“Hey. Are you still taking medicine?”
“Of course…? I am?”
Answering Gong Pyeonghwa’s obvious question, Saebyeok noticed that Gong Pyeonghwa’s eyes were a bit different than usual, like he was up to something.
“Side effects?”
“I get really sleepy, headaches and sometimes stomachaches? Occasionally my heart beats too fast. Sometimes I have no energy.”
“That’s worse than I thought.”
For Saebyeok, being sick had become almost his default state, so he didn’t think it was that bad, but listing it all out, it did sound like a full hospital of symptoms.
“Hey. They say with good pheromone showers, you don’t need suppressants.”
“Really?”
It seemed like an obvious statement.
People who do pheromone showers are usually imprinted couples.
When you’re imprinted, you only sense your partner’s pheromones, so there’s no chance of an irregular heat cycle from pheromone exposure, and even if a heat cycle comes when you have an imprint partner, well…
Anyway, there was no reason to take suppressants. At that point, it’s an issue of contraception, not suppressants.
“If you use pheromones well, you can make someone think they’re imprinted. So you can live without suppressants even without imprinting.”
“Oh…”
But what was the point? Saebyeok responded indifferently while eating the konjac jelly Gong Pyeonghwa had given him.
“Want me to give you a pheromone shower? You said you felt phytoncides in my pheromones, right?”
No, that was… Saebyeok wondered if he should correct his lie, but Gong Pyeonghwa was faster.
“Was that a lie?”
“…O-of course not. I, I don’t know how to lie.”
“As expected, a man of integrity.”
Shin Saebyeok, the outrageous liar who’d been caught, just smiled.
Gong Pyeonghwa to satisfy his curiosity, and Shin Saebyeok to prove he wasn’t a liar—they both gradually released their pheromones.
What is this feeling? It felt like floating in water under the sunshine, but also something provocative that made his toes tingle.
It felt strange, like static electricity rising to his brain, prickly and tingling.
On the rooftop where the wind was blowing, the highest place in the school closest to the sky, Saebyeok met the ocean.
It was as if a refreshing breeze embraced him, carrying a fragrant moisture. And that breeze gradually took on warmth and form, seeming to caress him.
Something, something… felt… sensual.
He could understand why only dating or imprinted couples do pheromone showers. It felt like they could develop a connection even if none existed before.
Gong Pyeonghwa seemed not much different, lowering his head while continuing to release pheromones.
Though his face wasn’t visible, his neck was red, like he was burning up with heat.
Without anyone taking the lead, they simultaneously gathered their pheromones back and took deep breaths.
“…”
“…”
How to put it.
‘Like when your mom walks in while you’re doing that.’
‘Like realizing your father was watching while you were secretly being picky with your food.’
It was embarrassing.
“Hey.”
“Huh? What?”
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but this feels a bit. A bit. The feeling is a bit.”
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s a bit. Like that.”
Gong Pyeonghwa had been confident. Just a few days ago, he had given Shin Saebyeok a pheromone shower. It hadn’t felt like this then.
At that time, it was like giving artificial respiration to save someone’s life. But now, everything was vividly conscious.
It was the same for Shin Saebyeok. He had thought it would be like feeling a few negative ions at most, but a strangely sensual feeling enveloped his entire body, making his waist tingle.
His heart, which usually pounded anxiously, beat differently. Somehow, it moved cutely. Thump-thump.
Though it was likely a temporary change from the pheromones, the stabbing headache disappeared, and his heavy body seemed lighter.
Having felt good physical condition after so long, Saebyeok felt like he had experienced a miracle.
“…How is it? Is it working?”
“…Oh! Completely! I’m now! My physical condition, I really feel like I could fly.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
