#30
Jin Woohyeon said he would be staying at the hotel for a while.
“I decided to move, but the schedule came up ambiguously. I’ll slowly move my belongings to the new house, but for now I’m just moving my body to the hotel. It’s okay since I’ll be doing group lodging soon.”
When I stared at him with wide eyes, he laughed softly.
“You looked worried, so I explained.”
“Well……”
No matter how nice a hotel is, it’s still not home. Even knowing it was unnecessary worry, I had busybody thoughts about whether it was an environment where he could eat well and if there were any inconveniences.
“Speaking of group lodging, it must be for work activities.”
“Oh, no. The series filming is after that.”
“Huh? Then why are you doing group lodging?”
He handed me a fluffy new towel. After washing up in the morning and coming out, I ran into Jin Woohyeon who came out of the room next door, so drying my hair became an afterthought. Since my hair that hadn’t been properly dried was still damp, he meant for me to dry it with that.
“No. Want to sit here?”
When I nodded at his suggestion and settled onto the sofa, Jin Woohyeon took back the towel that had been in my hands and began drying my hair instead.
Soon his low, soft voice flowed into my ears like a tickle.
“The group lodging…… it’s hard to say exactly because of confidentiality, but it’s work I accepted with the mindset of repaying a debt. I did something wrong.”
“Repaying a debt?”
“Yeah, well. With the feeling of finishing it well and shaking it off.”
He continued speaking while carefully drying my hair.
“And I can promote the series too. I got a major supporting role in a pretty big program, and the agency’s opinion is to make my face known while we’re at it. The lead senior actors will appear on representative variety shows on public broadcasting, and I’ll be active on cable TV.”
“Can I ask what series it is?”
“If you promise not to tell anyone.”
I chuckled and replied.
“I don’t know many people. I’ll keep it secret.”
“It’s a drama coming out exclusively on OTT, called ‘Revenge Formula.’ I’m playing a helper role who assists the female protagonist who lost her family in getting revenge. At first, it’s kind of like a younger brother feeling?”
I tilted my head back to look up at Jin Woohyeon. What would it feel like to have a younger brother like this? It would probably be a life with no time for boredom or depression.
“There must be a plot twist.”
“You’ll know when you watch it later. It’s no fun if you step on spoilers.”
“Hmm……”
I was about to ask him to just tell me, then stopped. Because I could somehow clearly picture my future self looking up that drama just because he was in it.
What would it feel like if this face appeared on screen? I couldn’t imagine it. I even thought I should watch the web drama he said he appeared in sometime.
“After group lodging, it’ll be hard to see you even by coincidence like this.”
“It would be, right? Up until now when I met with hyung, I had no real schedule except wandering around for simple schedules I had to do before group lodging.”
When I think about it, I was lucky. Because our coincidental meetings overlapped three times.
“Don’t make such a disappointed face.”
Jin Woohyeon tapped my nose bridge with his index finger.
“We can keep in touch now.”
I hesitated for a moment and asked.
“……Doesn’t it feel like I’m using you because I want to change?”
As he dried my bangs, the white towel briefly blocked my vision. Soon my vision brightened again and Jin Woohyeon’s smiling face filled my view.
“Is that bad?”
“……”
“I like it. That hyung chose to come out instead of being crushed by that enormous time anymore, and that the first reason for that became me – all of it.”
Jin Woohyeon smiled with downcast eyes.
“Hyung. Have you ever heard the term ‘Best Offer’?”
“No.”
It was a word I was hearing for the first time. The English words I knew were mostly limited to words frequently used when cooking or ingredients.
He said while carefully tousling my well-dried hair with his hands.
“It’s an auction term. It means the highest bid. What I want to present to hyung is a best offer.”
“……”
“Use me as you please. Consider and compare to your heart’s content. And call out the highest price you think.”
I hesitated for a moment and asked.
“Then you’re saying you’ll take me at that price?”
“I’ll show you more than that.”
He smiled while helping me up by holding my shoulders.
“Showing that hyung’s worth isn’t just that much has become my goal.”
“Isn’t that a bit grandiose……”
“Courtship is originally grandiose.”
When he asked ‘Should I dry your hair with a blow dryer?’ I shook my head. I was scheduled to do an interview after breakfast time.
“Then I’ll give you a ride. I’m going out anyway, so just dropping you off on the main road.”
There was no reason to refuse. No, I didn’t even look for one from the start. I answered “yes” without hesitation. Jin Woohyeon smiled brightly.
It seemed like I could hear a sound like small water droplets bubbling up from around my heart. It was a ticklish feeling.
* * *
After parting with Jin Woohyeon, I bought snacks at a bakery on the main street.
At first I was just going to buy a little something to share with the people at the dormitory, but when I actually looked around, there were so many things that looked delicious.
‘I should have bought some for Woohyeon too.’
I’ll take care of him when I meet him next time. Thinking that, I picked up this and that. This is for the dormitory people, this is for the camera director, this is for the writer, lighting team, management team…….
Worried that there might not be enough and someone might feel left out, I bought so much that my arms felt heavy enough to fall off. I pushed the glass door open with my shoulder and came out struggling.
And in front of me like that, a rough-looking SUV slid to a stop.
“Yoo Sanho?”
The passenger window rolled down, revealing the person inside the car. It was Bae Taeseong.
“Oh, Taeseong hyung.”
“Why is someone who was sick and resting out from the crack of dawn…… What’s all that stuff in your hands?”
Bae Taeseong looked at my face once, then at the bags clutched in both my hands, and clicked his tongue.
“Get in. I was heading up to the dormitory anyway.”
It was welcome news. I quickly approached the car.
But there was a problem. I couldn’t open the car door because of the luggage. I was reluctant to put it down because the ground seemed dirty.
As I struggled, Bae Taeseong, who had been watching with an incredulous expression, got out of the car. He quickly approached me, snatched away the items, and loaded them in the back seat. Then he opened the passenger door and pressed down on the top of my head with his palm.
“Hurry up and get in, man. This is a no-parking zone. Really. Going around without properly drying your hair when you’re so frail.”
“Yes……”
But it seemed almost dry though. I rubbed the top of my head and asked Bae Taeseong, who had gotten into the driver’s seat.
“Where were you coming from so early in the morning, hyung?”
“Monthly evaluation. Some tests because of shoulder rehabilitation. Gotta prepare for the Olympics.”
“……Olympics?”
“Yeah.”
He answered nonchalantly.
“The national team selection competition isn’t far off. My age isn’t young either, so this might be my last chance.”
It was amazing. National team. I’d heard that he was quite a skilled player domestically, but the word Olympics seemed on an even bigger scale than that.
“So are they saying it’s okay? The shoulder rehabilitation.”
“Maybe because I’m throwing money at it, it’s quite useful. Recently, with Hwadam Construction as a sponsor, I’m spending money like crazy on things I never had in my life.”
“Wow.”
Hwadam Construction is a construction company that ranks in the top three in Korea by size. I heard they’re gradually expanding their territory from construction and department stores to hotels recently.
My mouth fell open at the parade of extraordinary words you’d only hear on TV.
“But, Yoo Sanho.”
Bae Taeseong looked back at me and asked.
“Are you really okay?”
“Huh?”
“I heard you rested a day because of your heat cycle……”
I was about to answer that it was all over and I was better now.
“You’re covered in Alpha pheromones right now.”
Startled, I lowered my head and sniffed at my sleeves and shoulders. Maybe because I’d been marinated in Jin Woohyeon’s pheromones all day, my nose seemed to have become dull.
“It looks like someone deliberately made you inhale them. If you go in like this, you’ll be misunderstood.”
“……Oh, you’re right.”
Though Jin Woohyeon and I didn’t do anything that would cause misunderstanding, if I went in looking like this, it would feel like someone who came back from dating outside. It’s not good manners to other Alphas either.
Thinking that far, I looked at Bae Taeseong with rolling eyes like a guilty puppy. He was also a dominant Alpha who had been living on suppressants since entering.
“Sorry, Taeseong hyung. What should I do? Should I get out and walk? Would it get better if I get some air?”
“Pheromones don’t just fall off like that. And the other person marked you really strongly.”
Tap, tap, tap.
Bae Taeseong, who had been tapping the steering wheel with his index finger, called my name. Sanho. At the toneless voice, it seemed like there was a bubbling sound from my heart. It seemed a bit louder than the sound I heard when I was with Jin Woohyeon earlier.
“Yoo Sanho.”
“……”
“Try to endure without fainting if possible.”
Soon, an enormous amount of pheromones poured out and filled the car.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
