“What did you just say?”
Winston’s face visibly twisted. Seeing an unfamiliar expression on him, Yu-jin flinched in surprise, but that didn’t mean he was going to back down. He somehow gathered up the confidence that had vanished in an instant and opened his mouth again.
“A p-party… It’s a party, right? I… I want to join in too.”
Winston looked down at him in silence. Seeing Yu-jin’s eyes waver with uncertainty made him feel both sympathy and a strong urge to flatly refuse, send him back upstairs, and put an end to this.
Of course, Yu-jin was curious—this was his first time at a gathering like this.
If he thought about it that way, it would actually make more sense for Winston to take the lead, introduce Yu-jin to others, and make sure he had a place to fit in. But this wasn’t the right time.
Not with those people.
Drunks and junkies.
The kind of layabouts who got wasted and casually smoked marijuana at every chance. What if Yu-jin picked up a bad habit from them? Everything in the world was still new and fascinating to him. If he wasn’t careful, he could get sucked into something dangerous before he even realized what was good or bad.
No, not now.
There was no way Winston could feel at ease about this. He decided to reason with Yu-jin instead.
“Yu-jin, I’m sorry. I’ll kick those guys out right now, so let’s have the party another time. You really don’t need to—”
“Your name’s Yu-jin?”
“Yu-jin, come here! Let’s play a game!”
“A toast to Yu-jin and Winston!”
Before Winston could even finish his sentence, his words were drowned out. Loud cheers and whistles erupted, and Yu-jin glanced around in surprise. Winston, utterly exasperated, could only let out a long sigh. Seeing the look on his face, Yu-jin’s heart dropped.
Did I push too hard? What if he’s sick of me now?
I’m sorry… I’ll just go back upstairs.
“Um…”
Yu-jin hesitated, about to say something when Evelyn suddenly stepped in between them.
“What’s the big deal? It’s fine if Yu-jin joins in. Right? He’s going to find out about all this sooner or later anyway.”
She flashed him a smile as she spoke. The unexpected turn of events left Yu-jin blinking in confusion. Winston frowned, staring at Evelyn before shifting his gaze back to Yu-jin. The conflict on his face was plain as day.
Evelyn had stepped in to take his side, but judging by his expression, that only made Yu-jin feel worse.
What do I do…?
He was stuck. If he said he’d just go back upstairs, it would seem like he had made a fuss for nothing and put Winston in an awkward position. But if he stayed, it would feel like he was only doing so because of Evelyn’s interference.
A pang of frustration hit him, and he dropped his head in defeat. But just as if Winston had sensed his emotions, he finally spoke again.
“Yu-jin, if you want to stay and have fun, stay. If you don’t, then don’t. Whatever you choose, I’ll go along with it.”
“Huh?”
When Yu-jin lifted his head, Winston’s expression was different from before. He was looking at him with his usual gentle smile, as if saying that if Yu-jin wanted to leave this place right now and run away together to the ends of the earth, he would do it without hesitation.
“If… if I say I want everyone gone and just the two of us to stay, would you really do it…?”
At the cautious question, Winston nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. I’ll go grab the gun from the study.”
“W-Wait, hold on! Stop, wait!”
Yu-jin hurriedly grabbed Winston before he could turn away and quickly added,
“I was just saying! There’s no need to go that far… I mean it.”
“Really?”
Winston’s face showed something close to disappointment, and just like that, Yu-jin’s irritation melted away. Smiling unconsciously, he nodded.
“Your friends are already here… I’ll join in too. It’s not like they’ll be here all night, right?”
A few hours wouldn’t be so bad. At least, that’s what Yu-jin told himself. Getting to know new people might even be a good experience…
“You really want to hang out with these guys? You’re sure?”
Winston asked again, as if confirming Yu-jin’s decision one last time. Yu-jin nodded once more.
“Yeah, I’ve never done something like this before, so I’m curious.”
Winston let out a short sigh, then softened his expression and smiled.
“Alright, come here.”
He pulled Yu-jin close by the waist and led him toward the rowdy group drinking and chatting loudly. With a beer bottle in hand, Winston casually joined the conversation, and Yu-jin, following his lead, grabbed his own bottle and tried to blend in.
The guys were loud and full of bravado, but they didn’t seem like bad people. He found himself laughing along at their useless jokes, playfully teasing back when they jeered at each other. At some point, he had grown used to the taste of beer, and by the time he noticed, he had already finished an entire bottle.
“You want another?”
Winston asked when he saw Yu-jin glance at his empty bottle with a slightly disappointed look. When Yu-jin nodded, Winston firmly told him to stay put before leaving to get more drinks.
Yu-jin watched Winston’s retreating figure with a fond smile. But when he turned back around, he was met with an unexpected sight—everybody’s eyes were suddenly on him. Startled, he blinked as they grinned and started talking.
“Finally, he left. That bastard was watching us like a hawk.”
“I swear, I thought he was gonna choke me earlier. Yu-jin, you smiled at me, and Winston looked ready to kill.”
“Seriously? Why the hell would you flirt with someone right in front of their boyfriend? You’re such a piece of shit.”
The group burst into laughter, making Yu-jin let out an awkward chuckle as he looked between them. But they didn’t seem to care and kept talking.
“He had this gorgeous lover hidden away all this time… No wonder he rejected every single confession.”
“If I were dating Yu-jin, I’d do the same.”
“If only I had met you first.”
“Where have you been hiding all this time? Showing up just now is totally unfair.”
…Was that supposed to be a compliment?
Yu-jin wasn’t sure how to take their jokes, so he could only force an awkward smile. Winston needs to hurry up and come back. He glanced over his shoulder just as someone else spoke up.
“How long have you two been together?”
“Ah, uh…”
As he quickly turned back, he saw everyone watching him with amused curiosity. Feeling a little embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck before answering.
“Well… I guess… about half a year?”
That was probably right? They had officially started dating after Winston came back, so technically, it hadn’t even been that long. But for some reason, Yu-jin exaggerated the time a little, keeping his answer vague. A little bluffing is fine, right?
Even though it was such a simple statement, his heart was pounding as if it would burst. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down—until someone else spoke up.
“So, I guess Winston won’t be going to pheromone parties anymore?”
…What?
Yu-jin blinked in confusion and looked at the guy who had spoken. But before he could ask, another person casually nodded and responded.
“Yeah, makes sense. Now that he has Yu-jin.”
“Extreme Alphas have to drain their pheromones somehow, though. That must be a hassle.”
“Isn’t it actually a good thing? No matter how much they screw around, they can always just blame it on their pheromones.”
The guy who had been laughing suddenly froze and looked at Yu-jin. Until then, Yu-jin had been staring blankly at them, but as their eyes met, the rest of the group stiffened as well.
Something felt very, very wrong.
“What are you talking about?” Yu-jin asked. “…Pheromone party?”
It wasn’t a completely unfamiliar term. The words felt oddly familiar on his tongue. As he murmured them, the group exchanged uneasy glances, clearly realizing their mistake a little too late. Some of them glanced behind Yu-jin, probably checking if Winston was coming back, before sighing in resignation.
“You were going to find out anyway.”
“Yeah, if you’re dating Winston, you should know.”
“He was bound to tell you eventually…”
Their disjointed explanations only made Yu-jin feel more unsettled. He couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out,
“Just tell me already! Stop dragging it out, it’s driving me crazy!”
As if debating who would be the one to spill the truth, they exchanged nervous glances until one of them finally spoke up,
“Extreme Alphas can’t let their pheromones build up, so they have to release them regularly. That means they have sex often—to drain them. So, sometimes they host parties where they bring in Omega prostitutes or do group sex and stuff like that.”
The revelation hit Yu-jin like a punch to the gut. His mind struggled to process the words. He could only blink at the guy who had just spoken.
The room had gone silent. Everyone was watching him, waiting for his reaction. But Yu-jin wasn’t even aware of that.
“So, you’re saying…”
When Yu-jin finally managed to speak, his voice was trembling miserably.
“Are you saying… Winston slept with other people besides me? And not just one, but multiple at the same time?”
