I imagined myself asking Do Jihoon in a dazed voice.
“Jihoon. Do you… maybe see me as an omega?”
I absolutely could not picture Do Jihoon blushing and admitting that was true.
“Ugh. Creepy.”
More likely…
“Yuri. I told you people should only speak human language, right? Want me to cut that mouth of yours off?”
Yeah. That suited Do Jihoon way better.
Just then, my phone chimed and vibrated with a KakaoTalk notification. It was Do Jihoon. Fuck, so this is what they mean when they say speak of the tiger and it appears.
With trembling fingers, I carefully opened his message.
[Do Jihoon: Yuri. Where did you go this early in the morning?]
[Café]
[Do Jihoon: ……At this hour?]
[Yeah, why?]
[Do Jihoon: Were you meeting someone?]
“…….”
For some reason, his message felt like an interrogation. Maybe my brain had finally snapped.
While I sat there blankly, unable to reply, another message came.
[Do Jihoon: Yuri, did your fingers freeze? Why aren’t you answering?]
I was staring at his text, debating what to say, when—
[19 Ki Tae-young: What are you doing?]
A message from Ki Tae-young popped up.
At the same time, it hit me in a flash why Do Jihoon had shown hostility toward Ki Tae-young. Fuck, if I found out my alpha had given his number to another omega, I’d lose my shit too.
“Wow, this is a total disaster….”
I shook my head in enlightenment. In the midst of this chaos, a few alphas had come up asking for my number, so I flashed the engagement ring I happened to be wearing and lied that I was married. They turned pale and hurried away from me.
“My head’s already splitting, and now all these weirdos are making a scene….”
“Exactly. Why would our Yuri have a headache?”
A familiar pheromone scent wrapped around me. Warm, like a heater.
I looked up at Do Jihoon. For once, he seemed to be in a good mood. He was even smiling, his sharp eyes curving gently.
There’s no way he’s in a good mood because I showed the engagement ring, right? And wait—did that bastard just say our Yuri?
No. Stop overthinking. I forcibly cut off my thoughts and looked at him.
“How did you even know I was here?”
“You do realize this café is right below our apartment, don’t you?”
“…….”
Do Jihoon naturally took a seat across from me. My already complicated mind became even more tangled.
“Hyung is busy right now. I’ve got a lot to think about, so buzz off.”
“Really? Why would our Yuri have a headache?”
His pheromones were gently bubbling out. Was my mental crisis really that amusing? Seriously, this guy’s personality was defective.
“…….”
“Hmm?”
“Ah, I don’t know. I’ve got nothing to say.”
Avoiding his gaze, I sipped my coffee through the straw. Do Jihoon watched me quietly, then suddenly took my café mocha.
He used the straw I had been drinking from.
His red lips wrapped around the slightly thick straw, cheeks hollowing as he sucked the coffee in.
For some reason, it looked obscene. I deliberately spoke more curtly.
“Just drink straight from the cup. Isn’t that gross?”
But absurdly, Do Jihoon just ruffled my hair as if I were adorable. It felt warm and nice, so without thinking, I closed my eyes and let him.
“Seriously… Could you not have a public display of affection in a café? You’re basically announcing it to the whole neighborhood.”
At that muttered comment from someone nearby, my face flared hot. Judging by the heat, I must’ve turned bright red. I smacked Do Jihoon’s hand away from me.
KakaoTalk—
Right then, my phone chimed again. I quickly checked it while noticing Do Jihoon staring intently at my screen.
[19 Ki Tae-young: I was happy we exchanged numbers so we could finally talk]
[19 Ki Tae-young: Please check KakaoTalk ㅜㅜ]
[19 Ki Tae-young: (Puma emoticon with both fists pressed to its eyes, sobbing)]
“Pfft.”
The puma emoticon suited Ki Tae-young way too well. A big guy crouching down, making a cute gesture.
“Who are you talking to that’s making you smile like that?”
Do Jihoon’s voice rang out softly, almost like he was talking to himself.
Fuck. I forgot he was sitting right in front of me. Cold sweat trickled down my back. I pretended to keep texting, staring at my phone.
“So. Yuri. Who are you talking to?”
I need to answer this carefully. My instincts were screaming that if I gave the wrong answer, I was dead.
“……Kim Bo-jin.”
“Kim Bo-jin?”
“Yeah. He’s got this alpha he’s kind of seeing, but it’s not going well. It’s honestly kind of funny.”
I forced a grin and joked around. Do Jihoon smiled back beautifully. It was the kind of insincere smile I hadn’t seen since high school.
“I see….”
“Yeah.”
“Then let me see too.”
“What?!”
He dropped that bomb casually. I went pale and stared at him. He tilted his lips in a crooked smile, releasing a dangerous wave of pheromones.
“Why are you so startled, Yuri?”
He knows.
At the very least, he knows I wasn’t talking to Kim Bo-jin. The look in his eyes was fucking terrifying.
Calling out to a god I didn’t even believe in, I agonized before finally deciding to confess with the heart of a cow being led to slaughter.
“……No, actually—”
Right then—
Bzz—
My phone vibrated. A call from Kim Bo-jin. Fuck, God hasn’t abandoned me yet. Fighting back tears of relief, I showed Do Jihoon the incoming call.
“I’m going to take this.”
“Sure.”
Feeling like I’d just crawled out of the pits of hell, I answered, turning the volume down as low as possible in case Kim Bo-jin said something weird.
“Hello.”
“I’ve got a problem….”
Eureka! Kim Bo-jin’s voice was unusually low and depressed. I suppressed my trembling hands and replied.
“You bastard. When I said I had a problem, you hung up on me instantly.”
“Just listen to me….”
And just like that, Kim Bo-jin’s story unfolded exactly as I expected. Trouble with the guy he was seeing. Thank you, Kim Bo-jin’s situationship… I hope you go to a good place in your next life….
Naturally, I raised the volume and looked at Do Jihoon.
“Hey. I’m with Do Jihoon right now.”
“What?! I thought you two fought—”
“No. And since he’s an alpha too, why don’t you just ask him directly if you’re curious?”
I shot Do Jihoon a questioning look. He nodded. Kim Bo-jin also agreed, so I handed my phone over to Do Jihoon with a sigh of relief.
Watching the two of them have a fairly serious conversation, I fell into a sage-like daze.
What kind of fortune did I accumulate in a past life to end up with two alphas latched onto me? Fuck, and why do I have to worry about this? I mean, sure, it’s a million times better than going bankrupt, but still….
While I was lost in thought, the call must have ended, because Do Jihoon handed my phone back.
I asked confidently,
“So? It was Kim Bo-jin, right?”
“…….”
No answer. Figures—he hates losing. Thinking that, I took my phone—
—and saw the KakaoTalk chat labeled ‘19 Ki Tae-young’ clearly displayed on the screen. The name seemed to glow ominously, making goosebumps prickle along my arms.
“So? What were you saying, Yuri?”
Fuck. The last app I’d had open before the call was KakaoTalk, so it showed up again after the call ended.
I’m dead.
“…….”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“No, it’s just….”
“No. Don’t. Just don’t say anything. That’s probably better.”
“…….”
“Judging by your face, you seem to understand perfectly well why I was angry.”
With that, Do Jihoon let out a deep sigh. I cautiously watched him. Instead of doing something drastic like I expected, he merely tapped my nose lightly and stood up calmly.
“??????”
I clutched my nose and stared at him in bewilderment as he moved away.
“Since you’ve evolved from a prokaryote to at least a protist, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Though he didn’t bother hiding his displeased expression, he didn’t try to stop me either.
“And….”
