Autobahn Romance Vol.1 4-1

“Ah— the school trip. Right. That was the first time we stayed overnight and slept together.”

“Who describes a school trip like that?”

Besides, they hadn’t even shared the same room, so the expression “sleeping together” wasn’t accurate.

“I remember what we ate at that rest stop. Since I’m thinking about it, should we drop by for a bit?”

“What did we eat again?”

“Seafood bar and baby potatoes. I ordered udon thinking I could finish it in five minutes, but then you came to get me.”

“Ah, right. That’s what happened.”

Gong Pyeonghwa said the udon he couldn’t eat back then suddenly came to mind, and he set the navigation to the rest stop.

◀◀◀

It was at the rest stop where they briefly stopped on the way to Gyeongju on the first day of the school trip, riding tour buses from school.

Two hours before lunch, at the rest stop where they were only supposed to take a quick break, half the students went to the bathroom while the other half took out their pocket money to put something in their mouths from the snack corner.

Gong Pyeonghwa, who had rigorously trained his stomach by consistently putting something in his mouth before school lunch and diligently having dessert after, couldn’t waste time at the rest stop either.

Just as a sparrow can’t pass a rice mill, Gong Pyeonghwa couldn’t pass the rest stop’s snack corner and food court.

Strategically, he ordered udon first, then while waiting for it to be ready, he stocked up on walnut cookies and baby potatoes from the snack corner to eat on the bus. He and Seonwoo Jeong divided the tasks, efficiently securing a potato hot dog and a seafood bar as well.

After eating the potato hot dog and seafood bar together, he sent Seonwoo Jeong, who hadn’t ordered udon, ahead and naturally sat down after receiving his udon.

Just as he was about to take the first bite, a call came in from [♡Beloved Chicken♡].

Gong Pyeonghwa put down his chopsticks and cleared his throat.

“Helloooo?”

-Where are you right now?

Sensing the businesslike tone, the ever-perceptive Gong Pyeonghwa lowered his voice as if he had never done otherwise.

“What does it matter if you know?”

Gong Pyeonghwa abruptly ended the call. Knowing that hanging up so rudely would upset the other person, he decided to apologize profusely and cheer them up when they met later.

Secret dating, especially pretending to dislike each other, was no easy task.

After hanging up, he checked his phone and found it full of missed calls and texts.

They were mostly from the homeroom teacher and Seonwoo Jeong. Most of the messages asked where he was or told him to hurry up.

It seemed like it was almost time for the bus to depart, and they were wondering about the guy in a cast who was nowhere to be seen. Gong Pyeonghwa thought of it as someone else’s problem and was about to pick up the udon noodles when a lovely pheromone wafted over him.

“We’re leaving soon, so let’s go.”

“……”

Gong Pyeonghwa quickly scanned his surroundings before speaking.

“Like I said on the rooftop earlier, your casual clothes are so cute today.”

“……Just hurry up, eat one bite of your udon, and let’s go.”

Saebyeok, the tips of his ears turning red, showed a bit of generosity by allowing one bite.

“We can’t leave because of you.”

“There’s still three minutes left.”

“That’s why I’m giving you time for one bite. Let’s hurry.”

Gong Pyeonghwa pouted his lips and picked up the only piece of pink fishcake with tofu, bringing it toward Saebyeok’s mouth.

“It’s hot.”

Saebyeok silently opened his mouth and ate it.

Gong Pyeonghwa also slurped up his udon like he was drinking it, then stood up from his seat.

As soon as they left the food court, their affectionate behavior vanished without a trace. As if it had never happened, the two growled at each other, with Seonwoo Jeong mediating between them.

Until the next rest stop for lunch, only Seonwoo Jeong was vigilant, continuously feeding Gong Pyeonghwa baby potatoes and walnut cookies without rest.

“Why are you so desperate to tear Shin Saebyeok apart?”

“He’s so fucking annoying.”

Because I love him! Because I love him! Gong Pyeonghwa mentally shouted the opposite answer while peeping up to glare at Saebyeok.

“So obnoxious.”

‘I love you!’

Saebyeok blatantly snorted.

“What did you say?”

‘Me too.’

Unaware of the telepathy between Gong Pyeonghwa and Shin Saebyeok, Seonwoo Jeong physically blocked their intense exchange of gazes.

Seonwoo Jeong’s unnecessary and meaningless struggle continued until 12:30 PM when they had lunch at the rest stop.

▶▶▶

“Let’s eat udon. Udon. Udon. Udon.”

“Alright.”

Gong Pyeonghwa, doing something halfway between a tap dance, stood in the food court.

“Wow. Look at how prices have gone up. It’s gotten so expensive.”

Gong Pyeonghwa, a common wealthy person who felt the common people’s economic struggles through food more than anyone else, ordered the most expensive tempura udon like a true rich person.

Saebyeok carefully read the entire menu before ordering a double pork cutlet set and one roll of kimbap.

Gong Pyeonghwa took out the tempura from his udon and placed it in Saebyeok’s bowl, glancing at Saebyeok’s tray.

“Honey, you’re being greedy today.”

“What are you talking about? It’s all for you.”

Saebyeok, who had known since high school that Gong Pyeonghwa couldn’t be satisfied with just one udon, pushed the tray of neatly sliced pork cutlet toward him.

“So you won’t run out of breath while eating.”

Saebyeok had intended from the beginning that only one roll of kimbap would be his portion.

After eating udon, one would crave rice, and after having soup, one wouldn’t necessarily want stew. A substantial yet not excessive food that Gong Pyeonghwa would enjoy.

After logical reasoning, the conclusion was pork cutlet.

“What should I do……”

“What, what……”

“I think I made such a good choice marrying you……”

The sudden affection was absurd but still made Saebyeok laugh.

They thought they had enjoyed a pleasant time and filled their stomachs well, but that seemed to be only Saebyeok’s thought. Gong Pyeonghwa insisted that since they were at a rest stop, they absolutely had to eat walnut cookies, buying two gift boxes plus two more bags to eat on the way.

“They have two types of filling.”

“I get it.”

“It’s a vicious marketing tactic forcing us to buy both.”

“I get it, so you don’t need to convince me.”

Gong Pyeonghwa adorably shouted “Yay!” and loaded the walnut cookies.

Even after leaving the rest stop, the road was still completely jammed. What day is it today? It’s not a holiday season yet.

Seeing that Saebyeok looked bored, Gong Pyeonghwa turned on the radio.

On the radio, a DJ cheerfully greeted listeners with upbeat music.

-Today’s story comes from an Omega in Gyeonggi Province. Let’s see what concerns they have.

There must be something going on. What could be troubling them so much that they’d send their story to the radio? The Alpha-Omega couple focused on the DJ’s voice.

-I’m wondering whether to bond with someone I’m currently having a fling with. They’re a really great person right now, but many people change after bonding, so I’m concerned.

That’s definitely something to worry about. Gong Pyeonghwa and Shin Saebyeok nodded repeatedly.

Though different in context, there was a time when Gong Pyeonghwa and Shin Saebyeok had also worried about bonding.

◀◀◀

It was on the first day of the school trip, when they had visited Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple and had scattered to their accommodations to unpack. There was free time until dinner, but everyone was so tired they could barely lie down on the floor.

However, Gong Pyeonghwa, whose only abundance was vitality, strength, and health, wandered around the accommodation.

After prioritizing locating the convenience store and scouting for potential meeting spots with Saebyeok, he ran into Saebyeok as if by fate.

Since anyone could appear anywhere at any time, he naturally took out his phone and called Saebyeok.

“Hey. Where are you going?”

“……I was going to take some medicine, but I felt self-conscious, so I came out.”

“Medicine? Suppressants?”

Noticing the hesitation before his answer, Gong Pyeonghwa asked if it was suppressants, and Saebyeok confirmed in a small voice.

“We already had a pheromone shower this morning.”

“There’s that school whose path kept crossing with ours at the rest stop.”

Since school trips tend to follow similar routes, their paths had overlapped with a certain all-boys high school from Gyeonggi Province.

“I think we’ll cross paths again tomorrow, and although I managed somehow today, I don’t think I’ll have time for a pheromone shower tomorrow, so I’m taking medicine in advance.”

“I want to kill all those Alpha bastards.”

Despite being an Alpha himself, Gong Pyeonghwa made Alpha-hating comments and smacked his forehead.

“It’s fine since I don’t plan to study on this school trip anyway. My body will just feel a bit languid.”

“If only we had bonded……”

Then you wouldn’t need to take medicine, you wouldn’t feel other Alphas’ pheromones, you wouldn’t go into heat forcibly, and you wouldn’t suffer from suppressant side effects. But…

Gong Pyeonghwa didn’t finish his sentence and covered his mouth.

“Pretend you didn’t hear that. Mistake. Mistake.”

“……Why? I think bonding would be fine.”

Dating but not bonding seemed like agreeing to date with marriage in mind at a marriageable age, but ultimately choosing to live together without ever getting married.

Even Saebyeok, who normally wouldn’t have acted this way, seemed tired and pouted with sulky words.

“Honestly, I think it’s really great that we exchange pheromones once a day and kiss and all that, but when I think about you, I do think bonding would be the right choice.”

“But?”

“But we’re still young, and you could meet someone better than me, so I think it’s right to leave that option open for now. They say couples usually break up when they go to college.”

For Gong Pyeonghwa of all people to say “let’s keep our options open” instead of insisting “bonding is awesome, bonding is the best, let’s bond”? For Gong Pyeonghwa to think about the end of their relationship?

Didn’t he say he wanted to date openly? Didn’t he say he was thinking about marriage? His contradictory words made Saebyeok feel not just disappointed but hurt and resentful.

“I’m speaking like an adult here, being cool and rational, but as soon as I said it, my insides turned. No, my insides are completely flipped. I’m dying of jealousy, you know? Ah… I want to kill every Alpha within 40,000 kilometers of Shin Saebyeok. This is so infuriating! There might be many better guys than me in the world, but still, only date me. Only kiss me and only be in a relationship with me. Let’s be a campus couple in college, hand out wedding invitations to all our college classmates and professors, have a reminder wedding every anniversary, and for our family planning……”

“Calm down.”

The disappointment completely vanished. Of course, Gong Pyeonghwa is Gong Pyeonghwa after all.

“The moment I inherit my shares and become an adult with the financial ability to take responsibility for you, we’ll bond. Quickly. Promise. Promise. Promise.”

“Okay. I promise.”