How many minutes had I been stomping along in a huff? Before long, the bar Do Jihoon had mentioned appeared in front of me. Like a knight who’d come to rescue a princess, I marched straight through the bar’s door with dignified momentum.
That drunk bastard. Where the hell is he?
I whipped my head around like a meerkat for a while, searching for him. Eventually, I found Do Jihoon downstairs in the bar, surrounded by his classmates.
At least on the surface, Do Jihoon looked perfectly fine. Maybe that was why his classmates kept refilling his glass with alcohol.
I slowly crept toward Jihoon’s table.
“Um….”
I lightly tapped the nearest guy on the shoulder to get his attention, and he flinched before turning to look at me.
“Who…?”
“Ah, I’m a friend of Do Jihoon’s.”
“Jihoon’s friend?”
“Yes. He looks drunk, so I came to pick him up.”
When I lifted my head, I realized everyone at the table was already staring at us. My face heated up with embarrassment.
“He’s really pretty.”
“Seriously. I’ve never seen someone who looks like that.”
“His pheromones are insane. Is this what people mean when they say someone’s enchanting?”
They probably thought they were whispering, but damn it, I heard every single word. Hearing that kind of thing from people I’d just met was seriously embarrassing.
Of all places, Do Jihoon was sitting in the middle of the inner seats at the table. I asked the people around him for a bit of space and moved closer. And that was when I realized that everyone sitting around Jihoon was either beta women or omegas.
For some reason, it pissed me off.
I forced my expression to stay neutral as I reached Jihoon’s side. He showed absolutely no sign of being drunk. He was sitting upright, staring straight ahead.
“Hey. Get up.”
No response.
“Excuse me? Wake up.”
I lightly patted Jihoon’s face.
After staring blankly for a moment, Jihoon suddenly whipped his head around and looked at me. His hand slowly reached toward me.
Then he stretched it out and grabbed my wrist tightly.
“…? What are you doing? Get up so we can go, Jihoon.”
“…Yuri?”
The moment Jihoon spoke, whispers erupted again around us.
“Yuri?”
“Yeon Yuri?”
Voices like that spilled into my ears.
“Yeah, it’s Yuri, you idiot.”
Just as I grabbed his arm to pull him up—
“Come on, let’s go. Ugh!”
Jihoon suddenly yanked me toward him.
I ended up sitting between his legs, pulled into his arms like some kind of favorite stuffed doll.
“Ghk… Hey, I’m gonna burst.”
Jihoon’s arm strength was insane! I’m not exaggerating even a little—if he’d squeezed just a bit harder, my body would’ve popped like a dumpling.
Jihoon rubbed his head against the crown of mine, then rested his chin on it—just causing absolute chaos. He released his pheromones and wrapped them lightly around me like a shield.
How many bottles did this guy drink?
“Yuri…”
“Um… do you know how much he drank?”
I tapped the omega beside me and asked. But the answer came from somewhere else.
“Jihoon probably drank more than three bottles of soju by himself.”
It was a familiar voice.
I turned my head the other way, and sure enough—it was Ha Min-young. It was dark and crowded, so it had been hard to see faces or sense pheromones. Only now did I realize he’d been sitting next to Jihoon.
“Ah. I see.”
For some reason, it pissed me off. His faintly smiling face annoyed me, the fact that he was sitting next to Jihoon annoyed me, and the fact that he hadn’t stopped this bastard from pouring drinks down his throat annoyed me.
Was this how a mother-in-law felt when bullying her daughter-in-law?
“Ugh!”
The moment I let my guard down, Jihoon’s arm tightened around me again. My organs felt like they were about to burst. His pheromones wrapped around me far more aggressively this time.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Who do you think? Your classmates—”
“Why are you talking to them?”
His cold voice pierced right into my ear.
The hell? Because you’re sitting here pretending you’re not drunk after chugging alcohol, that’s why I’m talking to your classmates, you idiot.
I swallowed the words down with the calm patience of a Buddha who’d attained enlightenment.
“Hey—ugh. First loosen your arm a little. I’m gonna explode.”
“No.”
I figured out Jihoon’s drunken habit. When this bastard got drunk, he turned into a total kid.
I hypnotized myself in my head.
This guy is just a big baby. A baby… a baby…
“We need to go home. If you keep doing this here, you’re causing trouble.”
“Home? Yeah… we should go…”
“Right? So loosen your arm?”
I’m about to die from compression here.
“…Okay.”
Jihoon nodded blankly.
And though I hated to admit it, it was ridiculously cute. I was so used to seeing him with that stiff face, always sneering—seeing him softened like this…
It felt like watching a puppy.
Yeah, it was a weird comparison for a guy who’d grown to over 190 centimeters, but he really did look like an adorable dog.
I grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the table. Fortunately, the business department classmates had already gone back to chatting and drinking among themselves.
All except one person.
Ha Min-young didn’t mingle with the others. He kept staring directly at me.
Those dark brown eyes should’ve felt warm, but instead they felt cold.
I was the one who looked away first. It wasn’t like we could stand there having a staring contest forever.
I slung Jihoon’s arm over my shoulder. Maybe because he was such a muscle pig, but he was insanely heavy—like I might get crushed.
Dragging him out of the bar and heading home was basically an endurance trial. It was late April, but sweat poured down my entire body like it was midsummer.
Why can’t I just hoist him over my shoulder like Jihoon could?
I seriously need to start working out. Damn it.
One minute felt like an hour.
Finally, we got home. I dropped him onto the bed, and my muscles screamed in protest. Jihoon just sat there on the bed silently, like a statue lost in thought.
Jihoon’s pheromone scent was all over my body.
“Wow. If someone just smelled this, they wouldn’t even know who Do Jihoon is. Hyung’s gonna go change clothes, little Jihoon.”
I said that and turned my back on him.
That was when—
Jihoon’s arm suddenly pulled my shoulder and stomach back.
My butt slammed onto the mattress with a thud.
And we were back in that position again.
The damn stuffed-doll position.
I stared at Jihoon’s arm with a deadpan expression.
“Let go, you bastard.”
“……”
“You shut your mouth whenever it’s inconvenient for you. What a jerk.”
I poked his arm with my finger.
It was like stone. What is he, Ma Dong-seok (Korean actor known for his large muscular physique, Referenced to describe extreme strength) or something?
I tapped Jihoon’s fingers with mine. Despite his huge height and build, his fingers were surprisingly elegant.
“Don’t provoke me too much…”
“What are you talking about? Just sober up.”
His voice was thin again. A small groan escaped from Jihoon.
Then I felt something strange on my neck.
“You bastard! What are you doing?!”
“Hold still for a second…”
“Hold still my ass—agh! That hurts, you idiot! Don’t bite!”
Jihoon began chewing on the skin where my neck met my collarbone. I quickly raised my hand and pushed his mouth away. Jihoon let out a dissatisfied grumble.
“Hey. You can’t just go around biting random omegas’ necks. Do you want to cause a disaster?”
“…I want to bite.”
“You little—behave yourself. If you mess up, your whole life could get mortgaged away. One wrong move and you’ll end up imprinting, baby Jihoon.”
“…Baby, me?”
“Yeah. Got a problem with that? Look at how you’re acting. You’re basically a little kid. Or maybe a damn puppy. What kind of grown adult goes around biting people—agh!”
Before I could finish speaking, Jihoon bit the other side of my neck.
At that point, I just gave up.
Fine. Go ahead. Bite, chew, enjoy yourself.
But that’s two debts erased.
Still trapped in his arms, I squirmed around and pulled out my phone. That bastard Jihoon was the meticulous type—if I didn’t leave evidence, he’d definitely pretend none of this happened later.
I turned on the voice recorder and held the phone in front of him.
“Alright. Repeat after me. I agree to cancel the two remaining debts I owe Yeon Yuri.”
He didn’t react at all. He just kept chewing on my neck.
I struggled violently.
What the hell do you think I’m sacrificing my precious neck for right now?!
Apparently my flailing annoyed him, because that dog-like bastard rasped out words like he was scratching his vocal cords.
“Stay still, Yuri.”
“I’ll stay still if you repeat what I just said.”
“…What is it?”
“I agree to cancel the two remaining debts I owe Yeon Yuri.”
“Why would I.”
“You little shi—”
I pressed my hand to my forehead.
Even drunk, Do Jihoon was still Do Jihoon.
That damn bastard. He never gives in even once.
“Fine. Then let’s do one. Cancel one debt. Deal?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Jihoon took advantage of the moment I stopped struggling and started biting my neck again.
Is he actually a damn dog?
Whatever. I give up.
If Jihoon had even a shred of conscience, he’d erase at least one of them.
Trusting Jihoon’s conscience, I gloomily put my phone away.
Still… how long is he planning to keep holding me like this?
