Standing still, he looked down at Yeonwoo and reached out his large hand to touch his soft cheek. After caressing it carefully, he moved his hand down to his neck and shoulders, then parted his lips.
“You must have been surprised. I’m sorry.”
“No, I wasn’t surprised. Just…”
Hesitation was visible on his small face, wondering if it was okay to ask.
Seeing this, Munbeom spoke casually as if it were nothing.
“That was my mother. But don’t worry about it. She’s leaving the country soon.”
“…”
“I don’t know what impression you got of her, but she’s not an ordinary person.”
In that brief moment, everything was conveyed through the way she looked Yeonwoo up and down, the twist of her lips, and the deep sigh she let out as if in disbelief. Yeonwoo, thinking it was inevitable that Munbeom’s mother would react that way to him, could only look at him.
Remembering how he had practically dragged Heo Yeongran out, Yeonwoo’s lips parted hesitantly.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
“You seem upset…”
“I suppose I am.”
A faint smile spread across Munbeom’s face as he calmly acknowledged it.
“She’s someone who shouldn’t matter to me anymore, yet strangely, I find her unpleasant.”
Munbeom took off his outer coat and carelessly placed it on the chair, then loosened his tie as he sat down. As he sat facing Yeonwoo, he felt a rush of emotions that were difficult to explain. Swallowing them, he moved his Adam’s apple prominently and began to speak.
“It feels strange when the person who should be closest to you feels like they’re choking you instead.”
Even though he no longer particularly trusted her, having been born from her womb, this unpleasantness wouldn’t easily disappear. Was it because he was her flesh and blood that he continued to dwell on this displeasure even after Heo Yeongran had vanished from sight? Or was it…
After tilting his head back slightly and remaining silent for a moment, Munbeom straightened his posture and met Yeonwoo’s eyes.
“It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“We couldn’t meet this weekend.”
“I had some work and couldn’t contact you. I’m sorry.”
“If you’re busy, it can’t be helped. Don’t apologize.”
The claim about having work over the weekend was a lie. Throughout the wasted weekend, Munbeom had been more idle and lethargic than anyone. Feeling indifferent no matter what he did, he merely watched time flow by, forcing himself to get through it. While his weekend had passed that way, he wondered how Yeonwoo’s had been.
“How did you spend your weekend, Yeonwoo?”
“…”
It had been a weekend of torment, starting with Lee Seongho and ending with Lee Jonghoon. It was so awful that just thinking about it caused stress that tightened his chest.
“It was ordinary.”
Yet Yeonwoo smiled.
“As always, nothing special.”
If he had been able to meet Munbeom, it might have had some meaning. He could have created one more precious memory to revisit countless times on his own.
His fingertips had grown cold. While fidgeting with them as if to warm them, Yeonwoo carefully looked at Munbeom. As always, just looking at the man was pleasant. While taking in his features, which he could vividly picture even with his eyes closed, Yeonwoo said:
“You don’t look well. Even if you’re busy, take breaks while working.”
“That’s why I came to see you now.”
“…”
At that moment, heavy raindrops struck the window forcefully. One, two, then dozens of raindrops loudly hit the window, finally allowing Yeonwoo to turn his gaze away from Munbeom. The rain that had stopped briefly was falling again. The rain that had been pouring for days had never been as welcome as it was now.
Hoping that Munbeom wouldn’t notice his foolish expression, Yeonwoo turned his face forward. Munbeom was also looking out the window at the pouring rain. Seeing the slight wrinkle between his eyebrows, Yeonwoo asked without thinking:
“Do you dislike rain?”
“I don’t particularly like it.”
His immediate response somehow made him want to laugh.
After pursing his lips and releasing them, Yeonwoo listened to the increasingly loud sound of rain.
“Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t.”
“…”
“When I was young and forgot my umbrella, I would feel anxious and uneasy the whole time it rained. That’s because my father was out working, so even when it rained, there was no family member to bring me an umbrella. The place where I lived was somewhat rural, so all the schools were far apart. Summer rain was bearable, but autumn or winter rain was quite difficult. It was very cold.”
He had sometimes gotten soaked in the rain and caught colds. Not wanting his father to worry, he pretended not to be sick, but eventually had to lie down in the school infirmary. In the end, they contacted his guardian, and when his father came to school, Yeonwoo cried his eyes out. Not because he was sick, but because he felt so sorry that his father had to leave work early because of him.
“But I liked the rain when I was at home. I liked the sound it made hitting various surfaces, the cool feeling just from looking at it, and the nice feeling of opening the window and sticking my hand out…”
The sound of raindrops hitting the drainpipe was also pleasant to hear… As Yeonwoo was immersed in memories of the past, a loud thunder crashed by his ears. The sound was so loud that he instinctively hunched his shoulders, and with a dumbfounded face, he mumbled:
“…Ah, that startled me.”
Munbeom, who had been listening to Yeonwoo’s chattering with his arms crossed, smiled. After letting out a quiet laugh, he cleared his throat and pulled his chair forward.
“Indeed. This one was really loud.”
“…”
Munbeom’s expression, which had been stiff all along, finally relaxed a bit. And with another loud crash of thunder, Yeonwoo straightened his hunched shoulders.
The rain that had started to pour showed no signs of stopping. While thinking that it might be dangerous in the mountains, unlike watching rain from home, Yeonwoo felt comfortable due to the now somewhat familiar space and Munbeom sitting in front of him.
This moment felt so good that he couldn’t even remember how he had spent the last few days. Perhaps that was why Yeonwoo’s pheromones began to flow out little by little. He didn’t seem to realize it himself, but his cheeks were rosier than usual, and his pheromones were unusually sweet, unlike before. Detecting the undeniable favor toward him hidden within, Munbeom’s upturned lips gradually lowered.
With emotions so deeply embedded, why hadn’t he noticed from the beginning? No. Perhaps he had known all along but pretended not to?
Until now, there had been countless people who approached him by releasing their pheromones first, and Munbeom despised such people. As a result, he had thoroughly ignored and disregarded them, but why couldn’t he do the same with Yeonwoo? Why are you different?
Perhaps sensing his continued gaze, Yeonwoo’s head gradually lowered. At that moment, Munbeom released his own pheromones. Even Yeonwoo, who had pretended not to notice at first, eventually raised his head as the pheromones continued. Upon seeing his eyes filled with bewilderment looking at him, Munbeom raised his arm.
Seeing his arm spread out as if calling him over, Yeonwoo stood up as if drawn by something. When he came to his senses, he was in front of Munbeom, and he looked up at him.
Looking at Yeonwoo’s face, his eyes, nose, and lips that seemed delicately crafted, Munbeom realized anew. He’s beautiful. He’s a really pretty person. And truly, he’s too young.
Not just in age, but especially in the way he couldn’t hide his emotions and revealed everything. Even at this moment, facing the great affection contained in his eyes as he looked at him, Munbeom felt his heart grow heavy.
How had it been when he first started with Yeonwoo?
What feelings had driven him to speak to Yeonwoo then?
Recalling what he had done to Yeonwoo, who had painfully sat up in bed after being embraced by him multiple times, Munbeom unconsciously clenched his teeth.
Startled by the suddenly sharp energy, Yeonwoo stepped back. As he hesitantly retreated, he soon realized something and raised his arm to smell it. Ah, making a sound close to a sigh, Yeonwoo’s expression hardened.
“Uh, maybe because of the rain today, I can’t control my pheromones well…”
“…”
“I took my medication properly, why is this happening?”
Yeonwoo’s pale face instantly flushed.
He was embarrassed for unintentionally releasing his pheromones. Thinking that his expression must have caused a misunderstanding, Munbeom stood up and carefully grasped Yeonwoo’s arm.
“Yeonwoo, that’s not it…”
Munbeom was at a loss for words when he saw Yeonwoo’s tear-filled eyes looking up at him.
In truth, he had known from the first time he saw him that he was beautiful. The base desire not to lose this beautiful omega to another alpha had nearly been expressed in its raw form, barely refined into those words. Nonsense about having a room upstairs and asking if he wanted to go up together.
Back then, he shouldn’t have.
Munbeom tilted his head just as it was.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
