Watching him from the side like that, it somehow looked extremely delicious. Just a moment ago when he drank the beer it had tasted awful. Still, maybe it would feel different once he got used to it.
Curiosity stirred, and he took another sip.
The result was the same.
“Bleegh…”
His face scrunched up. Kang-woo quickly shoved a large strawberry into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
As the seeds cracked between his teeth, sweet juice burst out. The wrinkle between his brows smoothed out instantly, as if ironed flat. While he stuffed another strawberry into his mouth and chewed diligently, he felt Seok-ho’s gaze on him.
Kang-woo reached out, speared a strawberry with a fork, and held it out.
“You should try one too, hyung. The strawberries are sweet and really good.”
Those dark eyes shifted toward the strawberry in his hand. Kang-woo knew well that Seok-ho didn’t like sweets, but since he’d been staring at him eating, Kang-woo thought maybe he wanted some.
If he refused, Kang-woo could just eat it himself.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Seok-ho took the fork from Kang-woo’s hand and ate the strawberry.
“It’s good, right?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Kang-woo smiled as he watched Seok-ho answer indifferently, then picked up another piece of butter squid and chewed it slowly.
Still, now he understood why people ate dried squid as a snack with beer. As he nibbled on the squid bit by bit, the alcohol gradually started going down more easily.
At first the taste of alcohol had been strong, but after one sip, then another, maybe his senses had gone numb, because the flavor and smell seemed weaker. The can of beer he’d been sipping was already half gone.
At the same time, his body temperature rose noticeably. Starting from his face all the way to his palms, everything turned red.
Seok-ho watched TV but occasionally glanced toward Kang-woo. At some point the guy seemed pleasantly tipsy, sitting there absentmindedly fiddling with the beer can.
Was he naturally weak to alcohol? Or was it just because it was his first time drinking?
With both cheeks flushed pink, he looked as if he’d drunk at least three cans of beer by himself. Suppressing the laugh that threatened to escape, Seok-ho clenched his teeth slightly.
As midnight approached, the announcer on the TV began the countdown.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The moment the numbers on the screen ended, the New Year’s bell began to ring.
—Yes. The bell of hope announcing the New Year is ringing out!
Dong—dong.
Along with the resonant tolling, the announcer’s energetic New Year’s greeting flowed through the broadcast. Kang-woo continued staring blankly at the screen.
As of today, he had finally become an adult.
It still didn’t feel real. Just one day’s difference, yet he had shed the title of minor and become a proper member of society.
People his age were probably spending happy moments right now with friends or family, dreaming about university life.
After blinking a few times, he glanced sideways at Seok-ho.
Their eyes met immediately.
Right.
Still, Seok-ho was beside him.
More than anything else, that single fact comforted him immensely.
“Hyung.”
After maintaining eye contact in silence for a while, Kang-woo called out softly. Instead of answering, Seok-ho turned his body fully toward him. Facing the person now focused entirely on him, Kang-woo moved his sluggish tongue.
“Don’t you date anyone, hyung?”
After drinking, it felt like the screws holding his brain tightly together had loosened, his thoughts becoming slack. So asking Seok-ho such a sudden question was entirely the beer’s fault—the beer Seok-ho had given him. At least that was how Kang-woo tried to shift the responsibility.
“Someone like you probably has lots of people wanting to date you. Why don’t you see anyone?”
The words he had kept bottled up spilled out like water leaking from a cracked bucket. Even as he continued talking, part of him wondered, Is it okay for me to ask something like this?
But the water had already been spilled. There was no taking it back.
Besides, he had been curious anyway. Since he’d already asked, the desire to hear the answer welled up.
Perhaps Kang-woo’s question had been unexpected, because Seok-ho paused briefly before letting out a light chuckle.
“You called me so seriously, and that’s all you wanted to ask?”
“What’s wrong with asking if you’re dating someone?”
“It’s just out of the blue.”
After taking a sip of beer, Seok-ho tossed a peanut into his mouth, crunching it before replying casually.
“I don’t really feel like dating anyone right now.”
“Why?”
“Maybe because I’ve dated enough?”
Still meeting Kang-woo’s gaze, he answered playfully. His tone and expression were both far from serious. The attitude clearly showed he was trying to brush it off.
Without realizing it, Kang-woo pouted slightly.
“Then one more question.”
“What is it?”
“How many times have you dated?”
Seok-ho snorted again with a faint laugh. He probably didn’t attach much meaning to the question, assuming it was just the natural curiosity someone Kang-woo’s age would have.
But it wasn’t like that.
Kang-woo pressed his lips together tightly.
Then Seok-ho crossed his arms and tilted his head as if generously indulging him.
“What are you really curious about? It’s not my actual dating history you’re interested in. Is it something like—how can you start dating someone?”
Am I not supposed to be curious about hyung’s dating history?
Rationally he knew that wasn’t what Seok-ho meant, but emotionally the thought still stung. Even so, he didn’t make the mistake of voicing that sulky feeling out loud.
“No. I just asked because you seem like someone who’s dated a lot.”
Fortunately, his voice came out calmer than he felt.
For some reason his mouth felt dry, so Kang-woo took a sip from the beer he was holding.
Then he suddenly realized he was drinking too quickly for someone who didn’t even know his tolerance.
If he got completely drunk, that would be bad. He shouldn’t cause trouble.
With that determination to distance himself from alcohol, he set the beer can farther away. Fidgeting with his now-empty hands, Kang-woo added quietly,
“…You just said yourself you’ve dated enough.”
The gaze resting on his cheek felt oddly ticklish. He wanted to check what expression Seok-ho was making, but he didn’t quite have the courage.
After a moment of silence, Seok-ho spoke.
“Relationships I’d actually call dating… there are fewer than five.”
Kang-woo instantly turned his head and stared at him.
What did that mean? Then did that mean there were ones that weren’t considered dating?
Staring at him with wide, startled eyes like a rabbit, Kang-woo made Seok-ho’s lips twitch.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
Kang-woo quickly shook his head and instead fixed his gaze on a random spot on the table. If he dug deeper, it felt like his insides would only become more unsettled.
Maybe when it came to the number of relationships your crush had, ignorance really was bliss.
“By any chance…”
That didn’t mean his questions were finished. There was still something else he wanted to ask.
Dragging out the words, he glanced sideways. Seok-ho raised an eyebrow.
Kang-woo finally forced the words out.
“Have you ever dated a man?”
He raised the level of the question slightly.
When else would he ever have the chance to drink with Seok-ho like this and have such an honest conversation? Opportunities like this were rare. When one appeared, he might as well ask everything he wanted.
After the emergence of Alpha and Omega traits, the scope of human relationships had expanded and diversified. Yet just as politics in the present age was still divided between progressives and conservatives, love was also divided—homosexuals, bisexuals, heterosexuals.
Heterosexuals were still overwhelmingly the majority, and there were still people who felt rejection toward homosexuality.
Asking about someone’s sexual orientation could be quite delicate, but the longer the conversation continued, the braver Kang-woo somehow felt. He dared to believe that he and Seok-ho were close enough to talk about things like this.
Besides, he had the perfect excuse: alcohol.
And the person who gave him that alcohol was none other than Seok-ho.
Surely he would be generous enough to understand, considering the special nature of January 1st.
Kang-woo had expected Seok-ho to immediately snort in amusement when he heard the question.
But surprisingly, Seok-ho showed no reaction at all. Instead, he simply looked at Kang-woo for a long time with quiet eyes.
Only after a while did he finally answer.
“No. I’ve never dated a man.”
“…I see.”
So hyung had only dated women.
Muttering that almost to himself, Kang-woo nodded. Seok-ho tilted his head slightly as he watched him.
“Why ask that all of a sudden?”
Rolling his eyes, Kang-woo searched for a suitable answer.
“I’m an adult now. It’s the age where you’re curious about all sorts of things.”
“Thinking of dating a guy?”
Kang-woo froze for a moment.
The blunt question caught him off guard, but he moistened his dry lips with his tongue and answered calmly.
“If the person I end up liking is a man, then I’d date a man. If the person I like is a woman, then I’d date a woman.”
Kang-woo made it clear that he didn’t feel any aversion either way.
At the same time, he deliberately implied that he didn’t currently have anyone in his heart.
It was a defense mechanism to hide his true feelings.
After saying it, he unconsciously studied Seok-ho’s reaction, worried he might feel uncomfortable.
But far from rejection, he sensed no particular emotion from him at all.
It was like the glass wall of an interrogation room—designed so you couldn’t see inside from the dark observation room—had been placed over Seok-ho’s eyes as well, hiding any changes happening within.
His cool, sharp eyes simply watched him quietly.
After listening silently to Kang-woo, Seok-ho suddenly changed the subject.
“There’s something I’m curious about too.”
“What is it?”
That was unexpected. The fact that Seok-ho had something he wanted to ask him made Kang-woo brighten. He answered boldly, telling him to ask anything.
Seok-ho etched the flushed face in front of him into his eyes before speaking.
“The day you suddenly collapsed.”
Hearing those opening words, Kang-woo stiffened instantly.
“Where did you go that day?”
It was a question he had never anticipated.
The alcohol seemed to vanish from his system all at once. His thoughts tangled into chaos, multiple possible answers flashing through his mind at the same time.
What should he say? Should he tell the truth? Or would it be better to hide everything from start to finish?
This dilemma was separate from his feelings for Seok-ho.
No.
More accurately, it was because he liked him that there were things he couldn’t be honest about.
Fidgeting anxiously with his fingers, Kang-woo answered in a smaller voice.
“I went near my school.”
“School?”
“Yes. The school I used to attend.”
“Why there?”
“I just… needed something.”
He absolutely couldn’t say that he had been going around pharmacies trying to get suppressants. Because saying that would be the same as revealing that he was an Omega.
As his voice trailed off, Seok-ho’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“How long does it take to get to your school from here?”
“About… about an hour.”
After hearing the answer, Seok-ho fell silent and watched Kang-woo.
Then he spoke again in a calm, quiet voice.
