NAME 27

Seowon had observed him for a considerable amount of time. Staying until the end of awkward drinking sessions and taking liberal arts classes that were far from his taste had been entirely for the sake of seeing him. It had been well over a year since he started living by reacting to every single one of the man’s expressions and glances. Therefore, he could now distinguish whether the man was smiling because he was truly enjoying himself or simply to smooth over a situation.

That was why he knew immediately. He knew that the man was flustered. He knew that the man truly did not even know his name, and that the insignificant “him” the man had mentioned was indeed himself.

If it were the Seowon who liked Baek Kanghyun so much, he naturally should have told him, “Right, I asked something pointless. I’m sorry.” However, right now, Seowon did not want to do that.

<Just because. It’s just that I have no memory of you ever calling me by my name, sunbae.>

Seowon gave a faint smile. He wasn’t happy, yet the laughter kept coming. A tingling sensation rose from his legs, which were folded from crouching. It seemed his legs had fallen asleep, as his brow furrowed automatically at the slightest movement. To make matters worse, his underwear was getting damp, making the situation even more difficult.

To the point where he wanted to cry.

<Ah, what should I do? It seems something has come up, so I think I have to go.>

<Yes, please go ahead first.>

He had even said he would rest a bit before leaving, but Baek Kanghyun had already left the classroom and was gone. Jeong Seowon, my name is Jeong Seowon; after repeating it countless times, he finally managed to stand up. Phew, he clearly exhaled a sigh, but the sound that came out of his mouth resembled a sob.

<No, no…>

He kept mumbling because he didn’t want to admit that he had been meeting and sharing his body for three months with a person who didn’t even know his name. He didn’t want to be the protagonist of a tragedy, even if he couldn’t be the protagonist of a comedy, but this wasn’t even a situation worthy of being called a protagonist. He was embarrassed and ashamed of himself for failing to be even a supporting character, let alone a lead, in Baek Kanghyun’s life. The times he had rushed out without hesitation whenever the man called flashed by like a kaleidoscope.

What had the affairs with him been to Baek Kanghyun? Even if they couldn’t be memories, would they remain as recollections? Actually, it wasn’t difficult to reach a conclusion, but Seowon did not want to admit it.

That he and the man were nothing.

<…>

Fortunately, he did not cry out loud. By the time he wiped away the tears that had traced down his cheeks and stepped out of the classroom, the hallway was quiet. Seowon suddenly looked out the window. The campus scenery, where trees stood with their arms outstretched and only bare branches remained after losing their leaves, was merely desolate. When had it become this season?

Seowon stood looking out the window for a long time before taking his mobile phone out of his pocket. Then, he entered the chat window of the man he had even bookmarked and read the conversations they had shared one by one.

He dwelled on the conversations with the man where his name “Jeong Seowon” was nowhere to be found no matter how much he searched, and he was referred to only as “you”. He pressed the leave button on the chat window that fully contained his desperate heart. Then, he stared intently at the profile of “Sunbae Baek Kanghyun”.

<…>

Hide, delete, block. Which one would be best to choose? His thumb did not move, as if suspended in mid-air.

<Bastard…>

Mumbling inadvertently, Seowon pressed the delete button. The past days when he would send a first text asking how he was and check several times whether the man had read it, those past days when his heart fluttered all day if the man sent a reply—they had now vanished along with the chat window. It would probably be difficult to forget Baek Kanghyun immediately. It might take as long as the time he liked him, or perhaps even longer.

Seowon worried about what he should do if the man contacted him again. Should he just read it and ignore it? Or should he say he was going to stop now? However, these worries became useless.

Because after that day, there was no contact from Baek Kanghyun.

No contact came from him via phone calls, text messages, or chats. And that made Seowon even more miserable. Even after putting a miserable end to a love where nothing was right, Seowon went to school diligently. It was because he thought it was ridiculous to cry and whine over something that was nothing.

Now that school was all Seowon had left, he studied like his life depended on it and built up his credentials. He even quit the club he used to attend diligently, but none of the club members looked for Seowon. Yet, Seowon was neither hollow nor sad. It was his own responsibility that things had turned out that way. So he made up his mind to change. Seowon put in countless efforts to completely erase his old self, who had so little presence that his name wasn’t even remembered, and to be born again as a new person.

The manifestation came not long after. There was no reason to welcome a late manifestation, and the fact that its cause could be Baek Kanghyun was unpleasant. However, anger is also an emotion, so Seowon tried hard not to harbor any feelings for Baek Kanghyun. Seven years had flashed by while he lived blaming and sometimes comforting his foolish past self. It was a short time for rivers and mountains to change, but it was enough time for Seowon to transform. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

“W-why are you… here…?”

Baek Kanghyun lightly pushed Seowon aside and stepped inside the house. Even while the heat of the heat cycle was boiling over, Seowon was desperate to push him away.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, you weren’t even funny.”

His boiling body was pushed against the wall. The lawless intruder had already entered past the front door and was pinning Seowon down. The Alpha, enraged for unknown reasons, released his pheromones explosively. Seowon’s breath was choked as if he were being strangled, and his legs went limp as if his bones had melted away.

“Get… out. No, no…”

He exercised his last bit of reason. In truth, the Alpha pheromones clinging to his skin were so enchanting that he wanted to cling to the man mindlessly, but he endured steadfastly. He clenched his teeth because a beast-like urge to beg the man to hold him right now, to ravage him wildly, was on the verge of breaking out of his mouth.

“You lied to me.”

Damp flesh clung to his earlobe. A heavily suppressed voice mocked Seowon.

“What do you… No, I don’t… want it.”

The man’s arms wrapped around his body. He held Seowon in a hug that, like a snare, tightened more and more the more he moved.

“You say you don’t want it when your situation is urgent? Ridiculous.”

His body, reacting to the Alpha pheromones, emitted a sweet scent in all directions. It felt as if every cell were burning intensely and would turn to ashes at any moment. The unbearable heat and itching sensation burned away Seowon’s reason and awakened his instincts.

‘What does pride or anything matter? Right now, you need an Alpha. Don’t you?’

The whispering of instinct was as sweet as honey.

But then, the arms that had been sweetly restraining him suddenly let go. The man even coldly pushed Seowon away as he leaned toward him.

“Heu-eu, why…?”

The words asking to be held more circled in his mouth. However, the man strongly brushed off Seowon’s flailing hands. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want it?”

After barking coldly, he turned around. Heu-eeuk, a sorrowful sob escaped through his lips. Seowon hurriedly grabbed the man’s clothes and clung to him.

“No…”

The man turned back around. He did not fail to know who it was. The worst bastard in Seowon’s life, whom he had decided he didn’t want to be entangled with anymore. However, his body, swallowed by pheromones, wanted him. Unable to overcome the scream of his cells, Seowon pulled him.

“Don’t gooo…”

The sound of a faint chuckle was heard. Seowon buried his nose deeply into something that touched his face. Every cell screamed with joy at the scent that pushed through his nasal cavity down to his lungs. A thick piece of flesh swept long from his nape to his cheek. Ah, Seowon groaned briefly and wrapped his arms around the forbidden man’s neck.

Breathing out sweet, panting breaths, the flushed Seowon was like a fruit just before it becomes overripe and squishy. He stimulated Baek Kanghyun by exuding a thick, sweet and sour fragrance from his entire body.

Baek Kanghyun picked up the man, who had his arms tightly wound around his neck, and strode into the house. While Baek Kanghyun set him down on the bed and took off his coat, Seowon revealed his smooth belly and opened his legs. With his eyes narrowed, he half-opened his mouth. The tip of his pointed tongue, which looked like it would taste of cherry if bitten, surged precariously over his lips.

“Heuk, heu-euk…”

The sweet scent mixed in the air choked the Alpha’s windpipe. Baek Kanghyun’s hands unbuttoning his shirt were utterly urgent. Frustrated by the buttons that wouldn’t undo easily, he grabbed the gap in the shirt and pulled it to both sides. Shirt buttons flew in all directions, and a few of them fell onto Seowon’s body.

“Damn it…”

Baek Kanghyun’s mind was boiling. His sexual desire bubbled up madly at the sight of the defenseless Seowon, who usually only acted wary or snapped at him. His appearance, wearing a shirt with a stretched neck and worn-out pants, was neither glamorous nor alluring, but to Baek Kanghyun, he was the most fatal person in the world right now.