#70
Seo Heeseung’s voice, who was searching first, pierced Eunhong’s ears.
“See… I told you it wasn’t just a baseless rumor. They say they’re dating. They must have met a lot without us knowing, that rumor wouldn’t have started from just one meeting…”
“……”
“And alphas have that… that thing where they’re strongly attracted to omegas…”
Gil Dong-wook’s voice trailed off uncertainly. He wanted to say it was because of pheromones, but that seemed too crude, and if he said it wasn’t, he felt guilty because pheromones played a big role in attraction.
Then Seo Heeseung abruptly said, “But isn’t Ban team leader’s partner also an alpha? They’re dating without pheromones.”
Eunhong was taken aback by the sudden shift of attention to him.
“Well, he is an alpha, but…”
I’m not a beta. No, before that, we’re not even partners yet, or are we? As Eunhong stopped mid-sentence and clamped his mouth shut, Gil Dong-wook’s jaw dropped. “So Eunhong’s partner is really an alpha?” Eunhong’s eyes widened before he scrunched up his face. Why had the conversation suddenly veered this way? He had tripped over his own words.
“Wait, why is the conversation going there?”
Despite Eunhong’s attempts to change the subject, it was too late. Seo Heeseung and Gil Dong-wook, who had been listening with narrowed eyes, had already forgotten about the stock talk and were now focused on Eunhong. After all, there’s nothing more enjoyable than living vicariously through someone else’s love life.
Seo Heeseung’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, “Can’t you tell us a bit about your relationship, Ban team leader? Life is tough enough as it is…”
She pestered Eunhong, curious about what it felt like to date an alpha.
“There’s an alpha right here. Ask Dong-wook.”
When Eunhong referred to him as ‘alpha’, Gil Dong-wook’s shoulders rose. After all, in this world, just being an alpha carried some weight.
“Ask away. I’ll tell you anything.”
Gil Dong-wook leaned back in his chair with an arrogant expression. He stretched out his short legs, crossing them, and lowered his eyelids. He raised his eyebrows as if he had experienced all the love in the world.
While it seemed like any curiosity would disappear, Seo Heeseung apparently thought differently. As a beta who couldn’t feel the chemical reaction between alphas and omegas, she was so curious about that enchanting world. “Is it really like in dramas where your knees go weak?” she asked, her eyes sparkling and her expression flushed.
“That kind of question is a bit… I’m a very pure man, you know.”
“Oh come on. You said you’d tell us anything, why are you backing out now? And Gil team leader, you do know that purity doesn’t suit that dark face of yours, right?”
“That’s harsh, Heeseung… You know your face blindness is serious? Do you think Eunhong looks pure with how he looks?”
Eunhong couldn’t help but laugh at their words. He couldn’t tell them, “Actually, I didn’t want to know either, but I recently found out. Your knees really do go weak.” Instead, Eunhong smiled and said,
“That’s not true, I’m very pure. I’m the type who thinks about marriage when I date. I haven’t even dated before.”
“Someone like that is dating an alpha?”
As the two clung to him, insisting he wasn’t telling the truth, Eunhong shook them off and asked,
“Is an alpha a symbol of corruption or something?”
“Well, that image isn’t entirely false. We are dangerous beasts after all. Hahaha!”
“Dong-wook, I’m starting to want to keep my distance from you…”
“It’s a joke, why so serious? Whether it’s pheromones, desire, or pure love, you can’t separate them completely. You just have to try it out. If you don’t do it now, when will you?”
“That’s right. This body will rot when we die anyway, so why not just go for it without holding back? If it were me, I’d do it.”
Eunhong’s eyes widened at Seo Heeseung’s words. By now, the presentation was nearing its end. The characters Eunhong’s team was working on appeared and disappeared on the large screen. A human male character with lean muscles resembling Lee Jaeha filled the screen and then disappeared.
Seo Heeseung, who was watching the front with him, suddenly gasped.
“Come to think of it, doesn’t that look like Ban team leader’s alpha partner? I mean Han Jung’s grandson, Lee Jaeha.”
It seemed drawing the character to resemble Jaeha too closely was a mistake. Both of their persistent gazes turned to Eunhong at once.
“Show us the photo again.”
Seo Heeseung’s eyes gleamed mischievously.
Even as they returned to the office after the presentation, the two were relentless. They were causing a fuss, begging to see the photo just once. Eunhong even thought about changing the wallpaper on his phone.
He hadn’t expected them to make the connection, given the significant gap between the photos he took and how Jaeha appeared in the media. Eunhong regretted his careless attitude.
“It’s not him, so drop it.”
Despite Eunhong’s firm denial, Gil Dong-wook was persistent. He said he suddenly had another hunch. That not-so-ordinary hunch. If it’s not him, why won’t you show us? You’ve shown us before, but now that you won’t, it’s even more suspicious, he said. He was about to snatch Eunhong’s phone away. Only after Eunhong finally lost his temper did Gil Dong-wook back off to his seat.
As he sat down and opened his drawings again, Seo Heeseung’s words kept echoing in his mind. That if it were her, she’d just dive in headfirst. That it would lead to some conclusion no matter what. What’s the point of just worrying about it? We only live once.
“Just diving in, huh.”
Eunhong’s eyes narrowed as if he had made some decision while looking at the screen. Then he opened the work file and started drawing lines without hesitation.
***
The streets at rush hour were busy and lively. People’s faces were brighter than during the morning commute. Eunhong left the office later than usual. He turned off the lights and took the elevator with the last group of people leaving.
The reason for Eunhong’s late departure was partly because Jaeha had contacted him saying his pickup time would be delayed, but also because of his unsettled feelings. He had taken on many jobs, including freelance work and projects, but kept struggling to focus. Today too, Eunhong was taking unfinished work home.
There was about twenty minutes left until the time he was supposed to meet Jaeha. Since they were running late, instead of the usual road in front of the company, they had set a nearby park as the meeting place, so Eunhong moved his feet slowly, as if taking a stroll.
In the middle of winter, having passed mid-January, the tip of his nose was freezing. White breath scattered near his face. His cheeks stung as they froze due to the damp air. It looked like it might snow.
As the park came into view in the distance, Eunhong walked a bit faster. Although there was still time left before the appointment, he had a feeling that Jaeha would already be there waiting. The park, with a few exercise equipment placed and trees planted around the space, was dark. Jaeha’s familiar car was parked on the side of the road in front of the park. The engine was running, but there was no one inside.
“Where did he go?”
He took out his phone to make a call but put it back in his pocket. As he moved towards the park again, he looked around, scanning the surroundings with his eyes. It had become a habit since he often got photographed when he went out with Jaeha. Jaeha himself didn’t seem to care much. Fortunately, perhaps because it was winter, there was no one noticeable around.
Jaeha was standing under a streetlight. With his back turned, he was motionless as if looking at something. In this cold weather, he was leaning slightly, wearing only a thin jacket. Eunhong’s footsteps came to a sudden stop.
“……”
His heart, which had been inconspicuous until now, suddenly started pounding, as if saying, “I’m here.” Why, when there were no pheromones or anything? The blood pumped by the small muscle circulated to every corner, spreading a strange feeling throughout his body. Eunhong tightly gripped his tingling heart.
Jaeha’s hanging hand caught his eye. The large hand protruding from under the dark jacket sleeve reflected the streetlight, shining white.
Once he noticed it, he couldn’t take his eyes off it. He took one big step, then another, quietly approaching so as not to be noticed, and gently intertwined his warm hand with Jaeha’s.
His hand was extremely cold. Startlingly so. Eunhong grasped that hand with his other hand as well. The act of transferring body heat made Eunhong smile. The corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily.
Thump thump, even his heartbeat seemed to transfer. The sensation of the large hand quickly warming up felt so good. As the frozen white hand regained its warmth, it felt like a statue coming to life.
When he looked up, Jaeha was looking down at him with wide eyes.
“……”
“…When did you get here.”
Jaeha spoke first with difficulty.
“It’s cold, why were you out here?”
Eunhong answered while scanning Jaeha’s face. The tips of his ears were bright red, suggesting he had been standing there for quite a while.
“Why did you leave the car running? What if someone steals it?”
“I was worried you’d be cold when you got in.”
Eunhong kneaded Jaeha’s hands to warm them up, asking why he didn’t just wait in the car. He felt his nose getting wet and freezing. Eunhong sniffled awkwardly and wrinkled his nose.
“No one steals cars in our country. Even if you left a bundle of cash in the car, no one would care.”
Knowing that there really was a bundle of cash, Eunhong couldn’t help but chuckle. His flushed cheeks puffed up and white breath scattered.
Jaeha straightened up from leaning against the streetlight, took his hand out of his pants pocket, and gently cupped Eunhong’s cheek. The way Eunhong’s head slightly leaned into the warmth on his cheek was lovely.
“It’s cold. Let’s go to the car.”
