Do Jihoon poured out his anger at Yeon Yuri. Yeon Yuri protested his unfairness to Do Jihoon. That day was the first time the two of them had ever argued.
Do Jihoon thought about it alone, again and again—why Yeon Yuri only saw him as a friend. But even after four days of agonizing over it, Do Jihoon couldn’t come up with an answer.
After the freshman orientation and the after-party had both ended, Do Jihoon briefly stopped by the apartment he would be living in to get a sense of the layout.
And he ran into Yeon Yuri.
Yeon Yuri was wrapped in another alpha’s pheromones. Seeing him like that, Do Jihoon felt a deep sense of humiliation and defeat.
Naturally, it would have been right for him to pour out his anger at Yeon Yuri again. But Do Jihoon faltered when Yeon Yuri confessed that he liked him—while calling him “my alpha.”
Yeon Yuri really was cunning.
The anger that had been festering for days disappeared, leaving only faint traces behind. And the moment that anger subsided, Yeon Yuri drew a line in their relationship.
Friend.
A sharp pain flared in his chest. Do Jihoon concluded it was anger, but in truth he knew as well. The source of that physical pain was disappointment from shattered expectations. Do Jihoon possessed a strong sense of pride and self-esteem. The fact that the omega he felt affection for only saw him as a friend made him feel both resentful and offended.
Watching Yeon Yuri asleep on the bed, Do Jihoon made a vow. Until Yeon Yuri asked him directly, he would never reveal his feelings.
This was a kind of bet.
He was confident in his patience. Do Jihoon was certain of his victory.
He tried to plant a sense of uncomfortable awareness in Yeon Yuri. When Yeon Yuri said something outrageous about sharing the same bed, Do Jihoon responded with pheromones. He even deliberately drank from the same straw as him.
Every time Yeon Yuri reacted exactly as he had expected, it improved his mood. He enjoyed the changes in Yeon Yuri’s behavior that stemmed from his shifting perception of Do Jihoon.
Do Jihoon decided to test the outcome of the bet.
He realized someone was releasing highly concentrated pheromones right by his ear. But he intentionally allowed the marking to happen. The bet was whether Yeon Yuri, seeing the omega pheromones on him, would offer to cover the mark or not.
He had anticipated victory.
But the bet didn’t even come into existence.
Yeon Yuri didn’t show the slightest hint of jealousy. Instead, he laughed at Do Jihoon in a frivolous way.
Do Jihoon tasted disappointment once more. Annoyed by Yeon Yuri, he deliberately brought up the debt and forced him to cover the mark.
Even in that miserable situation, Do Jihoon felt satisfaction at the trace of Yeon Yuri left on his body.
Even after that, Yeon Yuri didn’t stop flirting with him.
And finally, Do Jihoon realized something.
He was attached to Yeon Yuri.
Everyone around Yeon Yuri irritated Do Jihoon, regardless of their trait. Do Jihoon wanted to possess every aspect of his relationship with Yeon Yuri—whether it was the friend he traded stupid arguments with, or the lover who shared ticklish happiness with him.
Do Jihoon had always been confident in his patience.
But Yeon Yuri was the exception.
When Yeon Yuri confronted the anger Do Jihoon had displayed in the car and demanded a proper explanation, Do Jihoon had no choice but to speak.
“I guess I see you as an omega.”
Do Jihoon had lost to Yeon Yuri.
But he didn’t feel defeated. Instead, he felt satisfied by Yeon Yuri’s flustered reaction.
Unlike Yeon Yuri, Do Jihoon knew how to use pretense effectively. With kind behavior, he planted guilt inside Yeon Yuri. He had learned that persuasion worked better than threats with Yeon Yuri.
[The guys are drinking right now. Want to come?]
After finishing his thoughts, Do Jihoon quietly looked down at his phone. Since Yeon Yuri had gone out to eat dinner with his alpha friend, Do Jihoon had also planned to go out for dinner.
By the time Do Jihoon finished eating with his acquaintances and returned to the apartment, the clock was pointing at 8 o’clock.
“……”
The house felt spacious.
Do Jihoon checked Yeon Yuri’s room and the dressing room.
Yeon Yuri wasn’t there.
He’d said he would be back by seven. And yet he calls someone else a liar.
Just as Do Jihoon entered his room with a hollow feeling—
“……”
He stared blankly at his bed.
Yeon Yuri was there.
Hugging the bedding soaked with Do Jihoon’s pheromones all over his body.
Yeon Yuri was smiling as if he felt good.
My omega, wrapped head to toe in my scent.
A current surged from his toes to the top of his head. A sense of overwhelming satisfaction coursed through his entire body.
“…Yuri.”
Careful not to wake him, Do Jihoon gently sat on the edge of the bed. Yeon Yuri’s phone was vibrating.
It was an alarm set for 7:40.
Letting out a quiet laugh, Do Jihoon stroked Yeon Yuri’s hair.
“Idiot. You said you can’t hear alarm sounds. This is on vibrate.”
Do Jihoon carefully examined Yeon Yuri’s features.
“Yuri.”
Beautiful.
His eyes, his nose, his lips.
“…I guess I really do like you.”
Only now did Do Jihoon realize how much he cherished the one piece of disorder that had infiltrated his rigid, uniform world.
Leaning down, Do Jihoon brushed a kiss lightly against Yeon Yuri’s ear.
“Sleep well, Yuri.”
Still smiling, Do Jihoon sat by the bed and gently stroked Yeon Yuri’s hair until his arm eventually went numb.
***
“Ugh…”
What is this warmth? I wiped the drool from my mouth and sat up. Bright sunlight was flooding the house.
“…Wait.”
Something’s weird.
Sunlight flooding the house? But it’s supposed to be evening.
Carefully, I looked at my phone.
8:13.
If it’s eight and it’s bright outside…
“Holy shit!”
I rolled off Do Jihoon’s bed.
I was basically a Snorlax. I’d slept for thirteen straight hours.
And on Do Jihoon’s bed, no less!
I prayed to every god in existence that Do Jihoon had stayed out overnight—but the moment I finished praying, I heard a knock knock.
“Yuri. If you’re awake, get up properly.”
God is dead. Fuck.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Just as I was lamenting why I only ever made a fool of myself in front of Do Jihoon—
I heard him trying to hold back laughter.
That bastard with the broken personality. He was definitely enjoying this.
“Clean yourself up a bit and come out. I made pasta.”
Pasta.
Pasta that Do Jihoon had probably made himself.
The moment I thought that, something he said yesterday suddenly popped into my head.
“I guess I see you as an omega.”
This is insane.
What face am I supposed to use to look at that bastard? Cold sweat trickled down my back. I couldn’t bring myself to open the door and just hovered in front of it.
“Yuri. The pasta’s about to turn into jjajangmyeon. Hurry up and come out.”
Do Jihoon’s voice rang right nearby. It sounded like he was standing right in front of the door.
In the end, I cautiously opened the door while pretending to be calm—wishing my face were made of stainless steel like Do Jihoon’s.
In the short moment it took to open the door, countless thoughts flashed through my mind.
What happens between Do Jihoon and me now?
Was he saying he liked me?
And how the hell do I explain sleeping on Do Jihoon’s bed?
But after that parade of question marks, when I opened the door and faced him—
Do Jihoon’s expression looked astonishingly normal.
“Next time don’t dawdle and come out right away.”
His expression—like he thought I was pathetic—was the same as always.
The tension snapped loose all at once. The stiffness drained from my face.
Do Jihoon grabbed my wrist and led me to the dining table. I was dragged along and plopped down into a chair.
On the table, rosé pasta and tomato pasta were beautifully plated. They looked a little overcooked, but since I was the one who came out late, I couldn’t really complain.
“Wow. You’re good at cooking?”
Do Jihoon smiled faintly as he sat down.
But there was only one set of fork and spoon.
Wasn’t he eating?
“Hey. Aren’t you eating?”
“I already ate.”
“What? Then you made this from the morning just so I could eat it? I’m touched.”
“Yuri. I told you before. Acting doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m serious, what are you talking about?”
Even though we both grumbled the words out, smiles lingered on our lips.
I picked up the utensils and twirled the pasta he’d made.
“Here. You eat first.”
Then I held it out in front of Do Jihoon’s mouth.
A person should at least have some conscience. It felt wrong for me to eat it all before the one who made it even tasted it.
“It’s fine. I told you I already ate. You just eat.”
“Let’s eat together.”
“I woke up at seven.”
“Look at you, Jihoon of the early-bird nation.”
Well, if he said he wouldn’t eat, I wasn’t going to insist a second time. I could easily finish two plates of pasta.
“Thanks for the meal.”
The twirled rosé pasta went into my mouth.
The harmony of rich cream and tomato sauce should have been excellent.
“…?”
It should have been excellent…?
