“Um… I have to return Ki Tae-young sunbae’s coat. I left it at the dry cleaner’s.”
I muttered quietly while watching his reaction.
“Ki Tae-young….”
Surprisingly, Do Jihoon’s pheromones were calm. I could still vividly remember how violently they had flared up before. This reaction was unexpected.
Right. Strike while the iron’s hot. I decided I might as well tell him that I had classes with Ki Tae-young too.
I spoke with deliberate confidence.
“And two of my Monday classes overlap with that sunbae.”
“Oh, really?”
Do Jihoon smiled beautifully.
Fuck, it was such a fake smile. For a moment, I had the illusion that his face split in half like Asura—two completely different expressions on each side.
He was still clearly on edge about Ki Tae-young. Still, if I told him that any private meetings would end with this, maybe he’d calm down a little…?
I was sweating bullets, regretting saying anything at all when—
“Okay. Thanks for telling me.”
Huh? What?
“Huh? What did you say?”
The words slipped out before my brain could process them.
Contrary to my expectations, Do Jihoon ended things very politely.
“What’s that look for? You’re not Jihoon, are you?”
“Yuri, is there something wrong with your eyesight?”
“Well, you do sound like Do Jihoon… anyway. I just thought I should tell you beforehand.”
“Yeah. You did well.”
Do Jihoon gently ruffled my hair.
“Does my hair feel that nice or something? Everyone keeps touching it.”
I grumbled, but honestly, I liked it when people played with my hair. It made me feel drowsy, and it also felt like a sign of closeness.
But for some reason, when Do Jihoon did it, it felt ticklish. Like a tiny bug was hiding somewhere in my nerves.
His hand felt heavy on my head, so I lowered my head slightly. It was also because I felt oddly embarrassed meeting his eyes.
“I’m going to sleep.”
“Okay. Sleep well. I’ll wake you in a bit.”
That’s when I was just about to go into my room.
“Yuri.”
“Yeah?”
I turned back at him, puzzled. He lifted one corner of his mouth in a mischievous grin. For some reason, a bad feeling crept up on me.
Do Jihoon said,
“So… are you going to sleep in your bed this time?”
? What?
This time in your bed… this time… in your bed…
His words echoed inside my head.
The meaning reached my brain almost instantly.
My face slowly twisted. Heat rushed up all at once, and my cheeks burned.
This bastard…!
“Damn it! Of course I’m sleeping in my bed, you asshole!”
I shouted at him and slammed the door to my room shut. For some reason, I could swear I heard Do Jihoon laughing from the other side of the door.
***
“Sunbae, this is your coat.”
After the General Chemistry lab ended, I handed Ki Tae-young a shopping bag behind Building 312. Inside the bag was his coat.
With both hands together, I bowed my head deeply.
“Thank you for last time. And I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be that formal with me.”
“No. You’re my sunbae, after all.”
I did my best to politely draw a line between us. It felt incredibly awful putting distance between myself and someone who had been kind to me. But this was all the consequence of my own actions.
“Hmm… even if I said I’d like us to stay close as hyung and dongsaeng instead of alpha and omega… that’d still be difficult, right?”
“……”
“Alright. Thanks for returning the coat. Earlier in the lab, you touched salicylic acid, right? Wash your hands again when you get home. If you’re not careful, it can peel your skin.”
Ki Tae-young remained kind to the very end. His soft voice sank into my ears. When I lifted my head to look at him, he was still smiling brightly.
“Then I’ll get going. See you next week.”
“Um, sunbae.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
I didn’t want to completely cut ties with Ki Tae-young. I wanted to stay on good terms with him as hyung and dongsaeng too. So even though I knew it sounded forced, I added:
“Later, if you start dating someone, contact me then. I’ll treat you to a meal!”
“……”
“…If you don’t want to, that’s fine too….”
“…Yuri, you’re unexpectedly cruel.”
“…What?”
“It’s nothing. I’ll contact you when I start dating someone. So don’t make such a miserable face. Someone might think you’re the one who got dumped.”
At Ki Tae-young’s teasing, I forced a smile.
After that, Ki Tae-young never contacted me privately again.
***
“Why is time passing so fast…?”
Before I knew it, it was already mid-April. The season when cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
And there was exactly one week left until the midterms from hell.
“Jihoon… I only slept six hours today…”
“Yuri, that’s not really short enough to say ‘only.’”
“You know I normally sleep eight and a half hours.”
“Are you a baby?”
“You damn bastard.”
He didn’t comfort me even once.
“Ugh. I’m sleepy.”
Sniffling dramatically, I leaned my head against Do Jihoon’s shoulder. He was sitting on the floor in front of the living room sofa, typing on his laptop.
I hadn’t originally planned to study this hard, but everyone around me was such a bunch of study freaks that I ended up getting swept along with the tide.
Next to Do Jihoon while he studied, I passed the time fiddling with my phone or occasionally flipping through my major textbooks.
“Wow. What is this squiggly language?”
“Yuri, stop interrupting my assignment and go study.”
“I am studying.”
“In what world?”
He rolled his neck, stretching. No wonder it was stiff—he’d been studying nonstop for three hours. I looked at him with a fed-up expression.
“Doji-doji.”
“What?”
“Do you know the meaning of cherry blossoms in the language of flowers?”
“…I have a bad feeling about this, so let’s stay quiet.”
That was basically telling me to shut up. Of course, I had no intention of doing that.
“It means midterms.”
Because I’m bored out of my mind!
Exams are something you start preparing for three days beforehand anyway. In a season where cherry blossoms are falling, the sun is shining, and the weather is getting warmer—this was clearly a sign to stop studying and go outside.
“Doji. Let’s go see the cherry blossoms.”
“I’m busy. Let’s go after the exams.”
“But by the time midterms are over, the blossoms will all be gone… I’ll take really nice pictures for you. Okay?”
“No thanks.”
“What do you mean no thanks! If you take photos in front of cherry blossoms, that’s an instant profile picture.”
In the end, I successfully dragged Do Jihoon outside.
I think I’m starting to understand how to deal with him now. I felt proud of myself.
Do Jihoon was wearing the clothes I had picked out for him. Seriously… he was ridiculously handsome.
“Aigoo, so pretty.”
“Yuri, let’s keep it down.”
“Don’t you feel good every time you look in the mirror? If it were me, I’d spend thirty minutes a day just staring at myself.”
“I’m used to it by now.”
“Wow. That’s insanely annoying.”
Do Jihoon knew very well how good-looking he was. That face, that height, that hair—it was practically cheating. He was basically the enemy of all alphas in the world.
Good thing I’m not an alpha.
“So. Where are we going?”
“Hmm… should we go to Seongye-ro Park?”
“Sure. It’s only a short walk.”
“We’re not taking the car?”
“Walk a bit, Yuri. Your whole body’s going to turn into fat.”
“You little—.”
It took about twenty minutes to reach Seongye-ro Park. When we arrived, there actually weren’t that many people.
We walked along the neatly paved road. On both sides were rows of fully bloomed flowers and cherry blossom trees.
A gust of wind blew.
The cherry blossoms scattered through the air like snowflakes.
“Wow. It’s pretty.”
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
“Doji. Don’t you think so?”
Do Jihoon was quiet.
I glanced sideways at him.
My worry was unnecessary. Do Jihoon was smiling widely.
“No. It’s pretty.”
I never thought I’d have this kind of thought about a person, but—
Do Jihoon, smiling brightly like that, looked far prettier than the flowers.
“O-Oh… good. Glad you think so.”
For some reason, I suddenly felt embarrassed. I quickly turned my gaze forward.
Ahead of us stood a large cherry blossom tree that looked perfect for photos.
Pointing at it, I quickly changed the subject.
“That tree’s pretty. Go stand over there. I’ll take the best photo of your life.”
I expected him to complain about the trouble, but Do Jihoon walked toward the tree without a word.
Holding my hand.
?
“…? Hey, friend, what are you doing dragging me along too?”
