The thought that he might be causing some abnormality in Suhwan’s body suddenly terrified Seunghyun. He clenched his fist tightly, barely managing to stop his fingertips from trembling.
First, he needed to tell Suhwan that he should get tested. Suppressing his mounting anxiety, Seunghyun replied:
“Please prescribe the medication… I’ll get back to you about the examination later.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
The doctor nodded readily. Although he had made the recommendation, he didn’t push for the examination. That was his role, after all.
Swallowing a sigh, Seunghyun thanked the doctor and left the examination room. His face was somewhat blank as he went to receive the prescription.
He was at a loss for how to explain this to Suhwan. A long sigh escaped from Seunghyun’s lips.
***
When it was time to leave work, Suhwan rose from his seat. Unlike his fresh face, Yunhyun looked up with an exhausted expression.
“Have a good evening.”
“Yes, I’ll be heading out first.”
Seemingly without the energy to respond, Yunhyun nodded with a pale face. Suhwan watched him for a moment before leaving the office.
Suhwan was still in the learning phase at work, so he wasn’t very busy. But seeing that Yunhyun’s condition might be his future sometimes sent chills down his spine. Yunhyun’s desk was always stacked with strong coffee and energy supplements.
The fortunate thing was that the original Jin Suhwan, though a mess, had been quite intelligent and had done well academically. He had been enough of an elite to enter the same prestigious university as the protagonists. And that knowledge remained in Suhwan’s head. Thanks to this, working at the company wasn’t particularly difficult. That was fortunate, if anything.
As soon as he left the office, Suhwan took out his phone to check his messages. As always, there was a message from Seunghyun saying he was waiting in the lobby. I told him he doesn’t need to come every day. Despite grumbling inwardly, an undeniable smile appeared on Suhwan’s face.
“Seunghyun!”
“…Hyung.”
Seunghyun, who had been staring blankly somewhere, turned his head. Suhwan was so happy to see him that he didn’t notice Seunghyun’s dark expression. He rushed over and stood in front of Seunghyun with a flushed face.
“Did you wait long?”
“No. I just got here.”
Seunghyun smiled and extended his hand. Suhwan naturally took it. They left the lobby with their shoulders pressed together.
“Should we eat out somewhere today before going home?”
“Ah.”
As it happened, today was Friday. There was also a bit of self-interest in wanting to create a date atmosphere with a special dinner. Suhwan’s face reddened slightly.
“Where would you like to eat?”
“Hmm.”
Suhwan rolled his eyes at Seunghyun’s question. If he was going to suggest eating out, he should have made a reservation somewhere nice beforehand. A lament escaped him at his own stupidity.
“Sorry. I can’t think of anything.”
His mind had even gone blank from too much self-reproach. As Suhwan bit his lip and frowned, Seunghyun reached out with a smile.
“Cute.”
“Huh?”
Seunghyun murmured with his finger against Suhwan’s lips. Suhwan wondered if he had misheard. He still found it difficult to get used to being called cute. Conscious of the finger firmly pressing his lips to prevent him from biting them, Suhwan barely managed to say:
“I’m not cute.”
“You are cute.”
“No, I’m not.”
The word “cute” suited smaller, prettier people than himself. Jin Suhwan’s body was that of an alpha, so he was big and had a fierce appearance that didn’t match the word “cute” at all. Suhwan, who always frowned because he disliked his reflection in the mirror, unconsciously made a dejected face.
And Seunghyun stared at Suhwan as if devouring him with his eyes. He moved his finger languidly against the red lips. He could see the soft lips twitching and pursing. He wanted to devour those lips in one bite.
“Really cute.”
“…”
At the softly whispered words, Suhwan shrank back. Seunghyun’s face during his heat cycle overlapped in his mind. It was exactly the same maddened face as then. Suhwan closed his mouth without saying anything.
Noticing that Suhwan was frightened, Seunghyun smiled brightly. Then, with a casual expression, he removed his finger and asked in a composed manner:
“Shall we go for steak?”
“Huh? Steak?”
“Yes.”
Seunghyun nodded slowly. During the last heat cycle, he had been so aggressive that Suhwan had lost a lot of weight. Stroking Suhwan’s still prominently defined jawline with his finger, Seunghyun narrowed his eyes.
He needed to fatten Suhwan up like before. The current Suhwan, having lost weight, had begun to emit a somewhat peculiar aura. Moreover, his body, now fully acquainted with pleasure, subtly emitted sensual pheromones. Seunghyun smiled, closing his eyes as a sharp light flashed through them. He knew well that Suhwan was particularly vulnerable to this kind of smile from him.
“I know a good place nearby.”
“Really?”
Suhwan’s ears perked up immediately. Actually, he still felt a bit bloated. It was because he had been tense in the office all day. Still, he couldn’t refuse Seunghyun’s offer to eat.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes.”
As they began walking, Seunghyun’s hand naturally wrapped around Suhwan’s waist. Suhwan had noticed that since the heat cycle, Seunghyun’s touches had become more explicit. It was embarrassing in public, but he didn’t push him away.
While feeling shy, Suhwan leaned slightly against Seunghyun. A fragrant citrus scent brushed his nose. His face relaxed helplessly at the ticklish sensation. With a goofy smile, Suhwan matched his steps with Seunghyun’s.
Soon, the two arrived at a steak restaurant near the company. It was a Western restaurant that served steaks and pasta. As soon as he saw the menu, Seunghyun ordered without hesitation. Before long, a salad was placed on the table first.
“So, I think you might have misunderstood something.”
“Misunderstood?”
Seunghyun, who had been eating the salad, raised his head with a puzzled expression. Facing him, Suhwan continued chattering:
“Well, somehow the manager mentioned his ideal type. He said he likes assertive people who are strong-willed and can lead him. But no matter how I look at it, I’m not that type, right?”
“…”
“So I don’t think you need to worry?”
Seunghyun stared intently at Suhwan’s face as he spoke with a bright smile.
I wondered what he was talking about, and it’s about that unpleasant person again. Damn Cha Yunhyun. Seunghyun was irritated inwardly but didn’t show it.
He didn’t particularly want to know that man’s ideal type. Men were creatures whose lower bodies reacted before their heads recognized it. He couldn’t trust any of those so-called ideal types.
Come to think of it, Suhwan wasn’t his ideal type either. Just based on appearance, Seunghyun preferred someone who looked kinder. No, rather than preference, he had believed he liked such people.
But unexpectedly, his lower body had responded to Suhwan first, and now he was so deeply in love with him that he couldn’t imagine breaking up. And there was no guarantee that other guys wouldn’t feel the same. Seunghyun looked at Suhwan with a slightly rigid expression.
“Hyung, people don’t always date their ideal types.”
“Huh? That’s true.”
At Seunghyun’s rebuttal, Suhwan’s eyes rounded as he put his fork in his mouth. Seeing Suhwan’s surprise, Seunghyun continued speaking in a measured tone:
“Nine out of ten people probably weren’t dating their ideal type. They meet often, start noticing each other, feel attracted, and then date.”
“…”
“So that manager could well…”
Seunghyun’s continuing words became inaudible to Suhwan. He pondered what Seunghyun had said earlier. Usually slow, he would occasionally grasp the hidden meaning of words with unexpected sharpness. And now was one of those times.
“Is that true for you too?”
“What?”
“You’re saying that originally… I wasn’t your ideal type either?”
Even Seunghyun momentarily hesitated at the question that hit the mark. As he looked at Suhwan with surprised eyes, Suhwan stirred his salad with a somewhat depressed face.
Suhwan regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth. It was obvious, so why had he asked? He knew well that he fell far short compared to the main character, Ju Geonyul.
Yet his heart ached as if being pricked. It was because the statement that one could date someone who wasn’t their ideal type felt directed at him. Even though he should be grateful that Seunghyun was dating him despite him not being his preferred type.
“Sorry. I asked something unnecessary. You don’t have to answer that.”
“I’m sorry, hyung.”
“Huh?”
Suhwan, who had been hurriedly trying to change the subject, was startled when Seunghyun suddenly apologized. His eyes widened.
“I said it wrong. That’s not what I meant.”
“…?”
Seunghyun reached out and placed his hand over Suhwan’s on the table. Suhwan’s hand momentarily flinched as warmth spread across it. Seunghyun gripped Suhwan’s hand tightly.
“What I meant was that you’re so attractive that someone could fall for you regardless of their ideal type. That was the case for me too.”
“What? Att-attractive?”
The unexpected statement made Suhwan choke. As he coughed and looked for water, Seunghyun approached and handed him a glass.
“Haah, thanks.”
“No problem.”
As soon as he stabilized after drinking the cold water, Suhwan felt flustered again. Seunghyun’s words from a moment ago replayed in his mind.
Sometimes Seunghyun would casually say embarrassing things like this. Despite not being someone who liked to lie, in moments like these, he would say outlandish things without hesitation. Suhwan’s lower eyelid twitched.
“Stop teasing me.”
“I wasn’t teasing?”
Seunghyun, taking the glass, opened his eyes wide. Looking at that face—one that could momentarily fool strangers—Suhwan felt exasperated.
“You’re lying.”
“Why can’t you believe what I say?”
Seunghyun returned to his seat with a smile. Suhwan covered his flushed face with one hand. His throat, still recovering from choking, felt raw and painful.
Sitting back in his chair, Seunghyun gazed intently at the flustered Suhwan. His bewildered expression was truly adorable. It was definitely hard to control the impulses that would suddenly rise when they were outside. Seunghyun licked the corner of his mouth and asked.
“Then what about you? Was I your ideal type from the beginning, hyung?”
“Huh?”
At Seunghyun’s question, Suhwan widened his eyes while still covering his face.
Ideal type? In truth, Suhwan didn’t know what his ideal type was. He had never thought about it. Perhaps he would find out if he ever recovered his memories, but right now…
Suhwan glanced at Seunghyun. From the first time he saw Seunghyun, he had been helplessly drawn to him. Of course, it couldn’t be helped. Anyone who saw Seunghyun would fall for him at first sight, regardless of ideal types.
But he was too embarrassed to tell the truth. Moreover, he was afraid Seunghyun might think he was shallow, only attracted to his face. Rolling his eyes, Suhwan avoided eye contact.
But of course, Seunghyun had long since caught on to such thoughts. He had known for a while that Suhwan liked his face. It was quite frequent for Suhwan to stare at his face, entranced.
If other alphas looked at him that way, it would just be unpleasant, but Suhwan was different. Seunghyun had even thought it fortunate to be born with such looks. He looked at Suhwan with a sweet smile that he knew Suhwan would like.
“I’m fine with it. Even if I wasn’t your ideal type.”
“Huh?”
“It doesn’t matter now because you like me regardless, right?”
“Uh… yes, that’s right.”
Nodding reflexively, Suhwan finally understood what Seunghyun was trying to say. That ideal types don’t really matter when you come to like someone. He felt foolish for not believing in Seunghyun’s sincerity and getting depressed.
But he still found it difficult to believe that Yunhyun would look at him that way. With so many prettier and more attractive omegas and betas in the world, it was hard to imagine another alpha getting excited over him.
“It’s going to get cold. Eat up.”
“Mmm, okay.”
Suhwan nodded and cut into the steak in front of him. And so their discussion about ideal types concluded.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
