NAME 4

“Anyway, let’s try to get along well from now on.”

He went back inside the restaurant without even smoking half of his cigarette. In the spot where he had been, only the acrid smell of cigarettes and a faint scent of pheromones remained. If it could be smelled even outdoors, just how strong were Baek Kanghyun’s pheromones?

Thinking that, Seowon lifted his shirt collar and sniffed his own scent. If his pheromones were leaking even now, he had to do something immediately.

‘I think it’s okay…’

Even though Baek Kanghyun didn’t even recognize him as the person he used to share his body with almost every day, he seemed to notice the Omega pheromones leaking out right away.

“Haaa…”

A sigh escaped. The period he spent meeting him was only about one semester, but that time had changed Seowon’s life immensely. Because Seowon, who was a Beta at the time, ended up becoming an Omega while sharing his body with Baek Kanghyun, a dominant Alpha. It was hard to say that Seowon’s late manifestation was entirely due to sex with Baek Kanghyun, but there was no doubt that what he did with him had an influence.

<Frequent contact with Alpha pheromones can act as a cause for manifestation in a small number of people. I suspect that the possibility of manifestation was quite high for you, patient. That is why you manifested late…>

The words the doctor said while diagnosing him back then were engraved deep in Seowon’s bones.

It was approaching 9 o’clock. Seowon hurried inside the shop. He had to move quickly to avoid being dragged to a second round of drinks that might occur.

“Why are you coming in so late, Assistant Manager Jung? You should have come in with the Team Leader when he did.”

“I was just getting some fresh air, I’m sorry.”

In just an hour or two, Manager Park scolded Seowon as if he had already developed a sense of intimacy with Baek Kanghyun. Seowon ignored Baek Kanghyun’s gaze, which felt like it was poking his cheek, and draped his jacket over his arm. Then, fortunately, Baek Kanghyun helped the situation.

“It looks like the atmosphere is winding down, so let’s get going.”

“Already? It’s not even 8 o’clock yet? Let’s stay just a bit longer…”

In an instant, sharp glares flew toward Manager Park from all sides. Lacking sense, he didn’t notice this and just laughed heartily. However, since Baek Kanghyun had already stood up, Manager Park also reluctantly brushed himself off and rose.

“Thank you for welcoming me today. Get home safely.”

Baek Kanghyun paid for the dinner. He even added a word for them to eat something better next time. Handsome, generous, and seemingly good-natured, the people of Sales Team 3 seemed to have fallen for him completely.

While the team members were greeting him warmly, Seowon stayed quiet among the group and then slunk away.

“Huh?”

Once outside, Seowon habitually put his hand in his pocket, felt something was wrong, and let out a small cry. Where did his cell phone go? It wasn’t in his jacket, pants, or bag. Thinking he might have left it at the restaurant, he went back in immediately, but the cell phone was nowhere to be found.

‘I’m really doomed.’

He had no memory at all of when, where, or how he had dropped it. The fact that there were still installments left on the phone was a problem, but carrying the cell phone instead of a wallet was a bigger issue. In other words, it meant that Seowon was currently in a situation where he couldn’t take a taxi or a bus.

Furthermore, since the members of Sales Team 3 had already scattered, there was no one around who could help him. He couldn’t exactly grab a stranger and ask to use their phone or borrow some money, so it was a very awkward situation.

Standing in front of the restaurant and agonizing, he decided to return to the company for now. He might have left his cell phone at the office, and if he went to the company, he could use a phone, so the situation would be much better than being here.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

“Pant, pant…”

He walked hurriedly, almost running, to the company. While going up in the elevator, he leaned against the wall, gasping for short breaths. He had never made a mistake like this… Was this also the influence of encountering Baek Kanghyun? As soon as the elevator doors opened, Seowon headed straight for the office.

“…!”

However, there was someone in the office that should have been empty. To be precise, it was Baek Kanghyun. Hadn’t he gone home earlier? He wondered why he had returned to the office.

Baek Kanghyun also widened his eyes as if surprised by Seowon’s sudden appearance. Seowon subconsciously avoided his eyes and headed to his seat. Then, late to the party, Baek Kanghyun asked.

“What brings you here?”

“I left something behind.”

Whether he left his cell phone or his sanity. Seowon’s hands were busy fumbling over the desk.

‘Is it really not here? This is driving me crazy.’

He felt Baek Kanghyun’s gaze piercing his forehead. The hopeful scenario of having left the cell phone at the company was on the verge of burning to ashes. If it wasn’t here, it meant he had dropped it on the street… As a last resort, he dialed his own number.

Ring, ring, ring…

He put the receiver down and listened. Holding onto the hope that the phone he had set to vibrate mode might ring. Fortunately, in the quiet office where he was alone with Baek Kanghyun, a rattling sound came from somewhere.

“Assistant Manager Jung, what are you looking for?”

“My cell phone.”

Answering insincerely, Seowon lay flat on the floor. The cell phone vibrating and making a buzzing sound on the floor came into view. No, why is this dropped here? Seowon reached out for the cell phone.

‘What a relief, truly.’

Clutching the cell phone in one hand, he crawled out from under the desk. He was about to stand up with a happy heart, thinking he just had to go home now, when Baek Kanghyun was standing right in front of him.

“Team, Team Leader?”

“Did you find it?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. I found it here.”

Both at the dinner earlier and now, Baek Kanghyun showed an unusual amount of interest in him. Of course, it might just be Seowon’s own thought… but it was uncomfortable for someone he wanted to avoid to act friendly toward him.

“Then are you off work now?”

“Yes, I’m about to leave. See you tomorr…”

“I’m leaving now too. Let’s go out together.”

“Pardon…?”

Baek Kanghyun blocked both Seowon’s words and his exit. It was a natural attitude that seemed to have no intention of accepting a refusal from the start. Seowon, who was led out by him as if by a magnet, met the tragedy of standing side by side with him in front of the elevator. The two glasses of soju he had poured into his empty stomach churned in his gut.

“How long does it take to get to Assistant Manager Jung’s house from the company?”

“It takes about 3, 30 minutes.”

The voice answering was very small. Even the sound of an ant crawling would be louder than this.

“I intend to take you home.”

“It’s okay. I can just take the bus.”

“I don’t think that’s a very good choice.”

Standing at an angle, he glanced down at Seowon. Realizing that the place his gaze rested was the nape of his neck, Seowon tightened his tie. He felt a desperate need for the pheromone deodorizer he always kept in his bag.

“I’m sorry. My condition isn’t good today. I can just take a taxi. You must be tired too, Team Leader, so you should go in and rest.”

Ding!

Just then, the elevator arrived. In front of the doors that were waiting to open their mouth and swallow the two of them, Seowon became even more anxious. If he took the elevator with him, it would be a situation where they were perfectly alone. But there was nowhere to run.

“Is it because I make you uncomfortable?”

That was the remark he threw out abruptly as soon as the elevator doors closed. Seowon, who had been pushed back bit by bit by Baek Kanghyun, was suddenly cornered. Just by him standing straight in front, a man nearly 190cm tall, it felt as stifling as facing a wall and, on the other hand, felt threatening. Seowon himself, with a height in the high 170s, was by no means small, but the two of them were different in their very frames.

“…”

“You can just think of me as a senior from the same school, not a boss. Let’s get off.”

While Seowon couldn’t think of an excuse to refuse, the elevator passed the first floor and arrived at the floor with the underground parking lot. Seowon pushed down the urge to run away and followed Baek Kanghyun out of the elevator.

“Get in.”

His car was a pitch-black sedan, much like Seowon’s charred heart. He had been in his car when he met him in the past, but today was the first time seeing him drive. Back then, to Seowon, his car was nothing more than a space for having sex.

“Tell me the address. Or type it in yourself.”

Seowon tapped the car’s navigation system silently. He searched for a convenience store near his house, entered it, and pressed the ‘Find Route’ button. The inside of the fairly spacious sedan felt only cramped.

It was appalling how the scent of Baek Kanghyun’s pheromones, deeply embedded in the space, was so fragrant. His mind felt uncomfortable with him, but his body, being an Omega, was craving Alpha pheromones.

“Surely you aren’t living in a convenience store. Are you working a second job by any chance?”

“No. My house is… near there. It’s such a narrow alley that it’s hard to get in by car.”

“I’m very thankful for your consideration, but it’s not something Assistant Manager Jung needs to worry about.”

Rather than being for his convenience, it was more that he didn’t want to expose his detailed home address to Baek Kanghyun. Baek Kanghyun noticed this and, as if joking and being sarcastic, canceled the destination Seowon had entered. Then, he glared at Seowon with his arms crossed.