#72
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< Secrets to Successful Dating >
< How to Find a Partner with Compatible Pheromones >
< How Are Your Pheromones Doing? >
< Simple Compatibility Test: Guessing Compatibility by Pheromone Scent >
Eunhong rolled his eyes at the pheromone-related books filling an entire corner of the large bookstore. The power of a drama that became a massive hit. All sorts of related books were pouring out after the success of a drama called “The Alpha’s Final Love.”
He glanced sideways, just looking at first, but eventually picked one up. Intending to just take one test and put it back.
The scent type of the alpha you like? Jaeha’s scent is…. He got stuck on the first question. How should he describe that scent? His intention to just look and close the book was gone, and he had become serious without realizing it.
Eunhong opened the book and ran his finger down the page. Sure enough, at the bottom there were example photos for people unfamiliar with scent names.
“Is it this?”
“You’d need to know the scent of that flower in the photo to make a comparison, wouldn’t you?”
First, a weight settled on his shoulder, and second, a voice flew into his ear before he could even turn around in surprise. Eunhong was so startled he almost crumpled the book he was holding. As he turned with a frown, a hand quickly snatched the book away. Lee Jaeha flipped through the book with a thick expression.
“What are you looking at this for? Compatibility? Getting cheeky, aren’t you, Bunhong.”
“What’s with you? I told you to make some noise when you approach.”
The word “compatibility” flowed from lips that seemed unlikely to ever utter such a thing. Eunhong rubbed his reddened face and snatched the book back, returning it to the shelf.
“It’s not that I didn’t make a sound, it’s that you were too absorbed in this, isn’t it?”
Jaeha caught Eunhong’s left wrist and lifted it. Only then did Eunhong let out a stupid “Ah.” His watch had been beeping annoyingly.
“Why are you letting out pheromones while looking at a book like this?”
“Shh, be careful,” Jaeha hissed through his teeth as he unfastened the watch. He didn’t forget to narrow his eyes and look around. Someone choosing another book behind Eunhong flinched at his intensity and moved away.
[06:15 PM]
He checked the time on the watch he had taken before trying to shove it in his pocket. He had appeared 45 minutes earlier than their agreed meeting time. Eunhong pouted.
“Why did you come so early? My company is right here, but your company is quite far from here. And I told you I had some errands to run.”
He complained a bit, trying to cover up the embarrassment of being caught looking at a strange book.
“I’m the CEO, aren’t I? I can leave whenever I want. Besides, leaving early is a virtue. It allows people to leave on time. Even if you tell them not to mind, they still do.”
Jaeha, with one arm around Eunhong’s shoulder, interestedly scanned the pheromone-related books.
“So, was this your errand? This book?”
Eunhong bit his lower lip hard and glared at Jaeha. Even when he tried to change the subject, Jaeha wouldn’t let it go, which was really…
“I-I just picked it up by chance. The cover design was pretty…”
“This?”
The cover Jaeha pointed to was truly shoddy. It was frustrating, but Eunhong had to shut his mouth, unable to defend himself.
In fact, Eunhong’s interest in these books could be attributed entirely to Lee Jaeha. So, it felt unfair to be teased for looking at a strange book.
‘Shall we try dating?’
It was courage drawn from the core, no, from the soles of his feet.
For Eunhong, declaring the start of a romantic relationship with Jaeha felt like jumping from a bungee platform without a safety harness. It meant abandoning the current stable, comfortable, and quite satisfactory relationship to leap into something new.
Hence, it required tremendous courage. To be clear, it wasn’t courage needed due to anxiety about possible rejection. It was purely a matter of his own desire and the depth of his affection for Jaeha.
‘……’
‘……’
After Eunhong’s proposal, an awkward silence descended on the table. Jaeha froze in the position of about to drink his coffee, only blinking for a while. It seemed he had forgotten how to breathe. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Eunhong spoke.
‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’
Even as he asked, Eunhong felt he lacked patience. At the same time, he wondered how Jaeha had managed to hold back and tell him not to worry until now, and whether it wasn’t actually that desperate after all.
‘Don’t tell me you don’t like it?’
‘Huh? No! How could that be. It’s just….’
‘…?’
‘I never even thought about it….’
‘Is that all?’
‘Hm?’
Of course, from the way home that day until today, Jaeha had seemed nothing but happy. However, apart from his strangely excited attitude, not much else had changed. So, it could be said that although they had made the big decision to start dating, the lack of significant change had led Eunhong to be drawn to books like these.
“The correlation between sex and pheromones, successful sex creates a pheromone cocktail effect and you can experience it firsthand tonight. The 69 positions in this book will effectively enhance your orgasm…”
“I wasn’t going to buy this. Please.”
Eunhong snatched the book Jaeha had picked up and was reading, and returned it to the bestseller corner. “I was curious about it.” Jaeha pouted, looking disappointed. It was more annoying because his complexion hadn’t changed at all, unlike the beet-red Eunhong.
“I’m not curious! If you want to read, read silently.”
Eunhong snapped, irritated that Jaeha was reading out strange passages as if he had read Eunhong’s mind. In truth, Eunhong had expected Jaeha to take some action as soon as they started dating. But… a day passed, two days passed, and his calm demeanor made Eunhong feel embarrassed, as if he was the only pervert.
Eunhong pushed Jaeha away, huffing.
“If you’re going to keep joking around, go wait in the car. I’ll meet you later.”
Eunhong turned on his phone and opened his shopping list. As he headed towards the imported book section pushing a cart, Jaeha followed and naturally took the cart handle.
“If you’re going to say weird things and interfere, don’t follow me…”
“Mmm. Okay. I’ll try to be quiet and well-behaved.”
The shopping list was quite long. These were reference books being purchased by the company team. It was a team tradition for the person who lost at rock-paper-scissors to come to the bookstore with the compiled list. This time, Eunhong had been caught.
The small bookstore cart covered with black cloth quickly filled with books. As they were reference books for the graphics team, they were mostly large, thick photo books. Jaeha watched with interest as Eunhong selected and placed books in the cart.
When Eunhong picked up a rather explicit nude photo collection, Jaeha’s eyebrows twitched subtly. He seemed to want to ask if this was Eunhong’s taste, but Eunhong just pretended not to notice.
Having filled two carts, the price was quite high. Jaeha, thinking Eunhong was making an unusually large purchase, discreetly took out his own card, only to be embarrassed when Eunhong presented a corporate card. After rechecking the books post-payment and arranging for delivery service, they were finally able to leave the bookstore.
Despite it being a weekday evening, the large mall was full of people. Jaeha sat Eunhong down on a bench to the side, disappeared somewhere, and reappeared shortly after with drinks in both hands. The sweet vanilla latte clung to their mouths even though they had only circled the bookstore once.
Jaeha, wearing sunglasses, still stood out. Eunhong found himself looking around unnecessarily. Jaeha sat down on the bench, blocking Eunhong’s wandering gaze.
Amidst the bustling noise, an awkward moment passed between them. From the moment Jaeha sat next to him, Eunhong became overly fixated on his straw, emptying the large-sized drink in an instant.
Gurgle gurgle.
Only the sound of scraping the bottom of the empty cup remained helplessly. The shoulders that occasionally brushed against each other became strangely noticeable. Eunhong rolled his wide-open eyes. Why was he like this?
“Drink this.”
Jaeha took away the cup Eunhong had been drinking from and placed his own still-full one in Eunhong’s empty hand. Jaeha watched as Eunhong obediently accepted and drank the beverage, then suddenly opened his palm and said, “Hand.” At that sound, Eunhong reflexively extended his hand, and it was caught. He couldn’t help but laugh at the silly play.
“Ah, what’s this? Am I a dog?”
“You’re closer to a cat than a dog.”
“How so?”
“Because you’re soft and squishy?”
“…What’s that supposed to mean.”
Jaeha stared at their joined hands for a moment, then spread his fingers to interlock them. A ticklish excitement rose through the tightly clasped gap. Suddenly, Jaeha burst into laughter.
“Why are you so easy?”
Eunhong looked up, wondering what he meant, and his face flushed red. The mischievous watch was beeping again. No, hadn’t it stabilized?
“Bunhong, you must not be extremely dominant after all.”
Eunhong pouted at the sight of Jaeha’s shoulders shaking with laughter.
“You must be happy. Not being easy.”
His face was sulky as he chewed on the straw. Jaeha looked down at Eunhong with a smile still on his face, then pulled him closer by the shoulder with his free hand. He drew the slightly startled Eunhong into his arms, hugging him tightly, and whispered.
“No. I’m easy too. With you.”
