It feels good. Really… so good…
Seunghyun’s kiss was so persistent that Suhwan quickly ran out of breath. For survival, he had no choice but to reach out and pat Seunghyun’s back.
“Seunghyun, ah… can’t breathe…”
“You should breathe through your nose.”
“That’s not… hmng.”
Suhwan groaned at the persistent lips that attacked him without even listening to his response. Finally managing to push Seunghyun away, Suhwan gasped and said.
“School, ha… you need to go to school.”
Seunghyun, raising his eyes as if displeased, glanced at the clock. It was certainly cutting it close. Even if he ran right now, it was questionable whether he’d arrive at the lecture hall on time.
But since he still had a shred of reason telling him he needed to go to school, Seunghyun barely restrained himself and got up.
“I’ll come back early.”
“Mmm.”
With his face flushed, perhaps from shortness of breath, Suhwan nodded, looking incredibly lovable. Seunghyun fingered Suhwan’s lips regretfully, but after another urging, he finally turned away, pouting.
“Phew…”
Finally, I can sleep again. Suhwan exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. His entire body ached everywhere. Suhwan quickly fell into a deep sleep.
“Ugh.”
Suhwan, who had been fast asleep, woke up again with a splitting headache. Staggering as he got up, he pressed his pounding head and looked around.
There was no one in the room. Seunghyun… ah, right, Seunghyun went to school.
Dazedly thinking of him, Suhwan consciously tried not to recall the events of the previous night. Besides, his head hurt too much to think about anything else.
“Ugh, my head.”
The rut seemed to have definitely passed, but his physical condition was terrible. Suhwan, who had gotten up with a lack of energy, carefully walked toward the kitchen to drink some water.
There was still a… indescribable foreign sensation deep inside. With every step, a tingling feeling made him clench his teeth as he limped along.
“Haah.”
Drinking water made him feel a bit better. Suhwan sighed and glanced around the kitchen.
He definitely remembered making a mess of the kitchen yesterday while trying to cook, but now it was neatly organized. Seunghyun must have cleaned it up.
He had caused all sorts of trouble just to make that tasteless seaweed soup. The more he thought about it, the sorrier he felt toward Seunghyun. Still, it was so sweet of Seunghyun to politely say the seaweed soup was delicious.
I must apologize when he returns. And since he had been such a burden, he felt he should give a proper gift. But Suhwan didn’t know what Seunghyun liked.
“…I’ll ask when he comes back.”
Perhaps because his head hurt so much, he didn’t want to think about anything. Groaning while holding his forehead, Suhwan moved to return to the bedroom.
Then he stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway. A familiar scent brushed his nose. Looking to the side, he saw a firmly closed door.
“Hmm.”
For some reason, he couldn’t take his feet away. Was it because he had been smelling this scent all night? As he tried to walk past, an inexplicable anxiety washed over him.
Just a little, let me smell it just a little before going. The scent in the bedroom had already faded, so just a tiny bit…
With that thought, Suhwan carefully opened the door. Immediately, a citrus-scented pheromone wafted toward him.
Suhwan moved forward as if entranced. Entering Seunghyun’s room, he looked around and approached where the scent was stronger.
“Mmm.”
It was the wardrobe. A considerable amount of pheromones could be sensed from there. It made sense. Clothes were where Seunghyun’s pheromones would be most intensely embedded.
His hesitation wasn’t long. Reaching out, Suhwan opened the wardrobe and took out Seunghyun’s clothes. He could instinctively tell which clothes had more pheromones on them. He laid the clothes on the floor and wrapped the ones with the most pheromones around his body. Suhwan curled up and lay down in that state. It felt truly cozy.
“Haah…”
Finding comfort, Suhwan exhaled a satisfied sigh and buried his face in Seunghyun’s clothes. The sweet citrus scent filled his lungs. Satisfied, Suhwan soon fell asleep, breathing softly like a baby.
***
“Seunghyun.”
“…?”
Hurriedly walking down the corridor, Seunghyun turned around at the sound of someone calling him. To his surprise, an unexpected person was approaching him.
“…Ju Geonyul?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Oh, yeah.”
With a displeased face, Seunghyun looked at Geonyul. Standing in front of Seunghyun, Geonyul smiled like a picture and asked.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, and you?”
“I’ve been good too.”
Seunghyun’s face showed unmistakable discomfort. Though they were in the same club, they didn’t interact much because they were in different departments. So he awkwardly looked at Geonyul, who was speaking to him warmly.
“Your friends were very worried during the break.”
“Ah, right.”
At Geonyul’s words, Seunghyun recalled what now seemed like a long time ago. Fearful of Jin Suhwan’s obsession, Seunghyun had cut off contact with not only his classmates but also his family and acquaintances during the break. In the end, he had even been forced to start cohabitation due to Suhwan’s tyranny.
Come to think of it, Gahyun had mentioned something about Geonyul on the first day of the semester. Remembering this, Seunghyun looked at Geonyul and awkwardly continued.
“It wasn’t anything serious, but everyone was very worried. I heard you were concerned too?”
“Ah, yes.”
“It’s okay. It was really nothing.”
His leisurely smiling face didn’t seem to be lying. But Geonyul’s eyes persistently scanned Seunghyun’s face. His eyes sharpened as he tried to find even a slightly shadowed area.
Completely unaware of Geonyul’s persistent gaze, Seunghyun immediately turned around. His attention was elsewhere.
“Sorry, but I have something urgent to… Oh!”
Perhaps because they were standing in the middle of the corridor, Seunghyun, as he turned, almost bumped into someone passing by. Seunghyun stepped back with a start. In doing so, he moved a bit closer to Geonyul behind him. Surprised by the unexpected incident, a waft of pheromone scent came from Seunghyun.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
After apologizing to the student he almost bumped into, Seunghyun turned his head. Geonyul was looking at him with a stiffened face.
“Well, I’ll be going then.”
“…Sure.”
“…?”
Geonyul’s complexion had suddenly worsened, which was a bit puzzling, but Seunghyun didn’t pay attention and turned to walk away. They weren’t close enough to have casual conversations anyway.
Geonyul stared at Seunghyun’s disappearing back. The pheromone he had just sensed was definitely that of an alpha. It was very faint, usually not easily detectable, but Geonyul, being dominant, was particularly sensitive to scents and could sense it.
“It seems to be going as planned…”
But something felt off. He had expected Seunghyun to be suffering greatly by now, but he seemed far too normal.
“Should I watch a bit longer?”
Lacking certainty, Geonyul tilted his head and murmured. A momentary flash of suppressed and twisted rage passed through his eyes.
***
Bang!
“Hmm?”
Suhwan woke up with a puzzled expression at the earth-shaking sound.
Where am I…
He blinked with a dazed face. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, Suhwan got up in confusion.
Then he heard hurried footsteps beyond the door. The rough noise of someone opening the door on the opposite side rang in his ears. Soon, there was the sound of the door slamming shut again, and the sound of urgent footsteps gradually faded away.
“…?”
What was that? Tilting his head in wonder, Suhwan lowered his head again as the sound receded. No matter how much he slept, his fatigue wouldn’t go away. Just as Suhwan was dozing off like a sick chicken, it happened.
Bam!
“…!”
The door to the room where Suhwan was staying was violently opened. As he raised his head with a startled face, his eyes met Seunghyun’s, who had just entered the room.
“Senior, you were here?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Here? Come to think of it, where is this…
Suhwan looked around with a bewildered face. This wasn’t the bedroom, nor was it Suhwan’s room. The neat room felt only unfamiliar. But for some reason, it also gave him a sense of comfort.
Moreover, he couldn’t understand why he was wrapped in someone else’s clothes. After being thoroughly confused, Suhwan vaguely recalled how he had entered this room. While passing through the corridor, drawn by the pheromone scent, he had arbitrarily come in and taken the clothes…
Could this be Seunghyun’s room? With a pale face, Suhwan quickly spoke.
“I’m sorry. I just…”
“It’s okay. I was just worried because you weren’t in the bedroom.”
“I see.”
He felt awkward for no reason. It was because Seunghyun’s gaze toward him seemed somewhat satisfied. Blushing, Suhwan pulled down Seunghyun’s T-shirt that had been draped over his head.
“These are probably all wrinkled. What should I do?”
“I said it’s fine.”
Shaking his head, Seunghyun approached and knelt on one knee in front of Suhwan. It was more embarrassing when their eye levels became similar. As Suhwan subtly avoided his gaze, Seunghyun extended both hands.
“…?”
“But since I’m here now, you don’t need those anymore, right?”
“What?”
“Come here. Come to me.”
At Seunghyun’s gentle words, Suhwan’s eyes widened. So… is he asking him to be held?
As Suhwan hesitated, not knowing what to do, Seunghyun slowly released his pheromones. A scent more intense than when Suhwan had been buried among the clothes pierced his nose.
“Haah.”
Sighing, Suhwan nestled into Seunghyun’s embrace and hugged him. Then he buried his nose in the nape of the neck where the pheromone scent was strongest and sniffed.
It definitely felt much better than being surrounded by clothes with faint scents. Hugging Suhwan, who was smiling contentedly like a well-fed puppy, Seunghyun gently rubbed his back.
“Have you eaten?”
“Food…?”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t eaten anything all day. Belatedly realizing this, he felt extremely hungry. Suhwan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Why haven’t you eaten? That’s upsetting.”
The soft voice gently settled by Suhwan’s ear. Each time Seunghyun spoke, his breath tickled Suhwan’s ear. Somehow, his entire body felt like it was melting gently like a sugar candy.
