# Chapter 7
Did I say that Gyemyeong High was like a university campus? Let me correct that. A real university campus was on another level.
“And it’s so beautiful!”
I told Kim Bojin I needed to hang up to explore this new world. Ignoring his curse about what nonsense I was talking, I ended the call.
I passed through the grand main gate of Korea University and entered the campus. The spaces between buildings were very wide. Since it was a school with a deep history, cracked old buildings and shiny glass new buildings were alternately placed in various locations.
It was while I was walking around the lawn, looking around in amazement with flushed cheeks.
“Excuse me. Omega in the navy coat.”
Someone called me. I turned around to look at the man who called me. The round glasses and beanie he was wearing were very cute.
“Yes? Did you call me?”
Looking around, I was the only one wearing a navy coat. The man nodded yes and approached me.
“Excuse me… I’m sorry to ask when we’ve just met, but could I get your number?”
“…”
I opened my mouth in amazement. Wow, Yeon Yuri works on college students too. Yeon Yuri definitely had a mysterious charm. Curly hair that shone golden-brown in the light, delicate features, and somehow a risky atmosphere.
As I hesitated, the man suddenly started introducing himself.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so interested that I forgot my manners. I’m Ki Taeyoung, 22 years old, studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering.”
“Ah… yes.”
Electrical and Electronic? If he was in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, we were in the same college. That meant there was a possibility we would meet at the freshman orientation.
I looked up at Ki Taeyoung’s face. His face was radiant. Looking up close, he was quite tall too.
…With someone like him, even if I didn’t want to come, the college people would definitely ask me to.
It was awkward. I wasn’t sure whether to give my number or not. The man’s pheromones smelled of sweet apple. He seemed a bit nervous.
“Um… now that I think about it, I misspoke. I’ll tell you my number, so just save it. And if you remember later, you can contact me?”
The man was fidgeting. His appearance was somehow cute and pitiful, so I nodded.
Ki Taeyoung smiled broadly and gave me his number. A sweet apple scent pleasantly circled around.
When he was about to say something to me, his cell phone vibrated. He didn’t hide his regret as he greeted me.
“Please contact me! I’ll be waiting.”
With those words, he walked back the way he came while answering his phone.
“Ah. I forgot to tell him my name.”
Well, if fate allows, we’ll meet again, and if not, we won’t. I thought simply.
❖ ❖ ❖
“I can’t walk anymore…”
It had been about two hours since I started touring Korea University. I still hadn’t left the College of Business and College of Natural Sciences. If I had known, I should have seen the College of Engineering first… Regret washed over me, but it was too late. I quickly gave up on the Korea University tour and headed home.
Our parents must have wanted Do Jihoon and me to have a cozy public transportation date, because they sent all the drivers away. I thought about taking a taxi but decided to take a bus for the first time in a while. So I got on the bus and sat down.
Among all kinds of mixed pheromones, a faint butter smell started to get stronger. Looking around, it seemed other people didn’t notice.
Following the smell with my eyes, I found the Alpha guy standing next to me was the cause. As if he didn’t even try to hide that he was releasing his pheromones, he was looking straight at me.
I remembered my sister telling me that releasing pheromones strongly enough to stand out like this was a kind of courtship behavior. And also somewhat rude.
Back then and now, my thoughts were the same. It was so animal-like. And pathetic.
As I ignored the guy’s gaze and quietly looked at my phone, the pheromone smell got stronger. People around also started looking at the man one by one.
As I kept my head down, feeling he wasn’t worth dealing with, the man tapped my shoulder.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you smell my scent?”
As if I couldn’t.
“I can smell it, but I’m not interested. I have someone I’m going to marry.”
I used Do Jihoon. He’s quite useful in times like this. But the man didn’t back off. When I raised my head in confusion, he was looking at me as if he obviously didn’t believe me.
“Come on. You look like a college student? Don’t reject me like that. It hurts my feelings.”
His face, which resembled a rotten dumpling, wrinkled as if he was sad. I had never thought of myself as shallow before. Ki Taeyoung’s neat face that I had just seen came to mind, making the man look even uglier.
This conversation is going nowhere. Thinking I should just take a different bus, I stood up. But for some reason, the man also got off the bus with me.
I was going to wait for the next bus at the stop, but eventually I moved to call a taxi. But then, just as I was about to get into the taxi, the man grabbed me.
“Hey!”
“Don’t grab me.”
“Wow… this is interesting. Didn’t you get off the bus because you were interested too?”
“I told you I have a fiancé. Don’t you smell the Alpha scent on me?”
“Don’t lie about having a fiancé just because you have an Alpha friend. The scent is too weak to be a fiancé.”
The taxi driver shouted to close the door if I wasn’t going to get in. I tried to get into the taxi, but I couldn’t because the man wouldn’t let me go.
Suddenly I felt a rush of heat.
“You son of a…”
Rose scent burst out from me. It clearly contained anger. Only then did the man seem to realize I had zero interest in him and let go of my wrist.
I got into the taxi and slammed the door shut. I was about to spray the pheromone deodorizer in the taxi, but then I remembered Do Jihoon’s scent might be on me and put it down.
That damn guy, if he’s going to mark me with his scent, he should do it properly. Marking me so lightly that it fades quickly. Making random guys hit on me.
I was in a bad mood. I felt like I needed to meet someone. I called Kim Bojin. After about three rings, Kim Bojin answered.
“Yes sir! Kim Bojin, Yeon Yuri’s soulmate, speaking.”
“Bullshit.”
Hearing Kim Bojin’s cheerful voice, my mood seemed to lift a bit.
“Where are you now?”
“Me? Where could I be?”
He said, stretching out the end of his words. It seemed he had had a few drinks already. Pretending to drink when he can’t handle alcohol. I shook my head and answered.
“At a club. You’re crazy.”
“Ding dong deng, correct answer~!”
“You crazy guy, drink moderately. There’s no order to where you go.”
“Thanks for the New Year’s wishes. Want to come?”
“…”
Should I go? This time I really wanted to. Even if it wasn’t a club, I wanted to go somewhere crowded and have fun.
After thinking, I answered.
“Yeah, I’ll come.”
“For real?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, Yuri finally found the loose screw in his head and fixed it.”
“Shut up. Just tell me the address.”
“Yes sir.”
I told him I’d just change my clothes at home and then come, then hung up.
❖ ❖ ❖
As soon as I arrived home, I put down the clothes with Do Jihoon’s pheromones and changed into new ones. This was evidence that I had been with Do Jihoon, so I couldn’t let any random pheromones get on me at the club.
I took another taxi and arrived at the club Kim Bojin told me about. This place also had a sign saying “For Manifested Only.” It was just past 5 PM, but the waiting line was already long.
The guards blocking the entrance looked at each person one by one to decide whether to ban them or let them in. Seeing the long line, I wondered if I came for nothing, but going back was more bothersome. I walked casually and stood at the end of the line.
When I finally reached the entrance, the guard scanned me from head to toe. I had a reality check moment wondering if we really had to go through all this to enter a club.
The man smelled the faint rose scent around me and stepped aside. Suddenly, I remembered my sister saying it’s proper etiquette to spread a very weak pheromone around you.
The inside of the club, which I entered after standing in a long line, was chaotic in one word.
All kinds of smells mixed and entered my nose. I felt like my brain was being invaded by pheromones. Crazy, how can people dance and drink like that in a place like this?
Fortunately, the piercing scent soon became familiar. I had a moment of silence for my sense of smell cells that were working hard and now numbed.
As I looked around for Kim Bojin, he saw me and waved his hand.
“Hey! Yeon Yuri, over here, over here!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
