16
When I returned to the dorm, dinner preparations were in full swing.
“So… this was originally supposed to be… pancakes?”
“No way.”
Han Jiwon answered with a bright smile.
“How could this be pancakes? It’s cancer-inducing batter grilling.”
“Ah…”
“Why are you agreeing?”
“Something about that… doesn’t sound wrong?”
I felt a bit sorry for the person who cooked it, but that was the truth. The flat, wrinkled batter had one side burned so black it was excessive. It really looked so sinister that you’d catch some disease just from one bite.
“Pancakes should be cooked on low heat. They burn easily.”
Bae Taeseong, the culprit behind the pancake’s darkening, scratched the back of his neck.
“I did turn it down low.”
“Really, really low.”
“That’s what I’m saying. I really, really turned it down low.”
“Hmm.”
It seems Bae Taeseong’s idea of low heat and what the world generally means by truly low heat are a bit different…
I burst into laughter at the story that the afternoon snack Hwang Yeonwoo had wanted ended up being bought from outside after a spectacular failure.
“I’ll make dinner. You said you went grocery shopping on the way here, right?”
Looking through the ingredients in the refrigerator, there were quite a few usable items. With the right combination, I could make fried rice, tteokbokki, and salad.
“Where should these shrimp go? In the fried rice?”
When I asked, An Lei, who had been hovering nearby to see if he could help, shook his head vigorously.
“No way. I bought them thinking they’d be good on the salad. They go well with lemon sauce.”
At the mention of lemon, I felt oddly startled. I had taken a pheromone suppressant as soon as I arrived, but I was still secretly worried it might not be enough.
“But the menu is a bit…”
Bae Taeseong looked troubled as he rummaged through the bag containing rice cake slices. Kim Sehyeong, who had been preparing green onions beside him, subtly joined in.
“Why? Are you on a diet by any chance? Since you seem to like exercise, I thought you might watch your diet too.”
“Ah, that’s not it. It’s not an intense management season. But I’m wondering if these foods might be hard on the stomach.”
“True… fried food, uncooked fiber, and spicy food. Do you have stomach problems?”
“Not me, but Sanho-ssi does.”
Then Kim Sehyeong approached me.
“Are you sick somewhere? Now that I look at it, your complexion seems a bit pale too.”
I smiled awkwardly and shook my head.
“I’m just a bit bloated. I’ll be fine if I eat carefully and take my medicine.”
“Oh my. It’s serious enough that you need to take medicine?”
“He should be grateful if medicine is all he needs. Yesterday… mmph.”
Han Jiwon, who had joined in with a disgruntled expression, suddenly covered Bae Taeseong’s mouth and pushed him away.
“Would the person who can’t control heat go clean or something? You don’t seem very helpful in the kitchen.”
“When was the last time I cleaned that I have to do it again? Let me watch too. It’s okay if I stay, right, Sanho-ssi?”
“It’s okay, but…”
“The population density is too high, so you should tell him to go away.”
“Still, that’s too…”
“Sanho-ssi is too kind for his own good.”
An Lei, who had been looking back and forth at me, Bae Taeseong, and Han Jiwon as we chattered noisily, opened his eyes wide.
“Sanho-ssi is really popular. Isn’t this totally a love triangle?”
“…I don’t think that’s it?”
Could it look that way to others? Those two are Alphas and I’m an Omega. But knowing that Bae Taeseong and Han Jiwon were lovers, only I felt like I had become the sandwich filling.
“It’ll be ready soon, so Lei-ssi can go rest in the living room.”
“I’ll do that. I don’t think I’d be much help here anyway. Hmm, but…”
An Lei, who had been tilting his head, bent down toward me and sniffed.
“Somehow there’s a familiar scent. Do you wear perfume, Sanho-ssi?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Must be my imagination. Well, they said it would rain tomorrow morning.”
Before I could ask what he meant, An Lei went to the living room and joined those playing Jenga.
‘If pheromones were leaking, he would have said it smelled like lemon, but it’s not that.’
It should still be okay. Thinking that, I started transferring the well-prepared salad vegetables into a large bowl.
I was about to add the curled shrimp and nicely sliced apples when Han Jiwon poked his head out from behind.
“I’m not really into shrimp. Can you not put shrimp on this side?”
When we ate sushi last time, he took my portion and ate the soy sauce shrimp sushi first.
When I turned around with a puzzled expression, he smiled mischievously.
“I bought ricotta cheese. I think it would be good with dried raspberries on top.”
Han Jiwon glanced around briefly and whispered to me quietly.
“Is there anything else you can’t eat? Besides seafood.”
“I can eat seafood if it’s cooked. I don’t particularly seek out cocktail shrimp because it’s fishy, but…”
“Yeah. And?”
I thought for a moment before answering.
“I have a nut allergy.”
“Ah, then I’ll have to skip the almond topping. I’ll help you put things on this side. So Sanho-ssi can eat it too.”
“Thank you.”
“How’s your stomach?”
“Much better. You were probably surprised yesterday when it happened so suddenly. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine as long as you’re better. Don’t force yourself to endure it, and if it gets really hard, talk to the production team and take a break.”
While I was chatting with Han Jiwon and preparing food, Bae Taeseong, who had been watching, suddenly asked.
“You two look good together?”
At first I thought he was being sarcastic, but though his tone was a bit like that, it was almost admiration. It even felt like he was hyping us up as if there was something between us.
Why is he suddenly saying this? Is he jealous because Han Jiwon and I are getting too close?
As I looked up at Bae Taeseong in confusion, Bae Taeseong was glancing somewhere else. Following his gaze…
“Right. You two are close?”
Lee Chan, who had come to get water, was there.
Just as I know that Bae Taeseong’s X is Han Jiwon, Bae Taeseong also knows that my X is Lee Chan. Of course, the former was a fact Bae Taeseong told me directly, while the latter was something I got caught for clumsily.
Seeing Bae Taeseong’s slightly crooked smile, it seemed he wanted to provoke Lee Chan.
But.
“You suit each other well.”
Lee Chan wasn’t affected at all. He just looked at Han Jiwon and me once with curiosity and smiled in a somewhat annoying way.
That face still confident that my heart belonged to him.
“Really? That’s good.”
Han Jiwon suddenly wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Then he pulled me close to him and smiled brightly. It seemed he was trying to play along with Bae Taeseong’s tune.
“I should ask while I’m at it. What’s your ideal type, Sanho-ssi?”
Before I could say anything, he quickly covered my eyes and added that I should answer comfortably without worrying about others.
Since my vision suddenly went dark, I couldn’t tell who was waiting for my answer with what expression.
As I nervously bit my lips, Han Jiwon said soothingly.
“Open-ended questions are a bit much. Older or younger?”
“If I had to choose between the two… older?”
“Do you like mature people?”
Is Lee Chan watching me too?
“Yes. I like responsible people.”
What would you say to me if you heard this?
“Between beautiful women and handsome men?”
“…It doesn’t really matter.”
Bae Taeseong said in a playful voice.
“Don’t be like that, just pick one. You must have a preferred style.”
“Beau… beautiful women?”
Habits are truly frightening. As soon as I heard that, Lee Chan’s face came to mind. It was a moment that made even my determination to try not to be swayed by him anymore seem meaningless.
But Lee Chan isn’t a very good person to me. I know that much now too.
“I like affectionate and caring people.”
Once I said one thing, the rest poured out smoothly.
“I like people who take good care of you, smile often, and wait patiently even when frustrated. People who express themselves, don’t make you anxious, and even if they’re playful, don’t make you feel like you’re being made fun of.”
That’s what I had wanted. That’s what kind of love I wanted to have. What I had once hoped for from Lee Chan, but what he would never give me.
The hand that had been darkening my vision fell away, and Han Jiwon’s bright face soon filled my sight.
Then he showed me his white, even teeth in a smile.
“Isn’t that me?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
