JADE 23

As the sunlight spread warmly, the number of people walking their dogs increased. The dogs all seemed to loiter near Jin Sejun and Kwon Joowan, but then reacted with some hostility.

Jin Sejun, who had been subtly trying to get the dogs’ attention, muttered dejectedly.

“I’m usually popular with dogs, too. This is weird. Are they protesting that my sweat stinks?”

When one dog, which had been threateningly barking its head off amid its owner’s indifference—who had even let it off the leash, who knows how it was trained—appeared, Kwon Joowan, avoiding Jin Sejun’s eyes, quietly glared at the dog. A moment later, the dog whimpered with a whine and clung tightly to its owner’s leg.

“What was that? What’s wrong with it?”

Jin Sejun, who had wondered if Kwon Joowan had done something, turned to look, but Kwon Joowan had the same blank expression as always. Slurp. Kwon Joowan, who had been sipping his coffee, suddenly opened his mouth.

“You know that a manifested person’s pheromones only work on other manifested people, right?”

“…What kind of obvious nonsense are you spouting? That’s so random.”

“Um, no. To put it another way… I mean that a human’s pheromones only work on humans. I was just thinking how chaotic it would be if human pheromones worked on dogs too.”

After hearing the explanation, Jin Sejun’s brow slowly furrowed. Pheromones are chemical signals used between ‘the same species.’ Isn’t the premise very simple? So, it’s only natural that humans can’t perceive the pheromones of moths or bees.

And the one whose signaling mechanism was broken was Jin Sejun.

Jin Sejun stared only at the shoes of the people passing by and spat out.

“A Beta is thinking all sorts of things. This isn’t about something like bestiality, right? That’s a bit horrifying.”

“…Absolutely not.”

When he turned back, the color had completely drained from Kwon Joowan’s face in that short time. What to do with this thoughtful, troublesome Beta? Jin Sejun decided to let Kwon Joowan off the hook for bringing up an uncomfortable topic.

“Even if our pheromones interfered with each other, humans and animals would just end up fighting while stinking up the place. Like skunks.”

“You’re more pessimistic than I thought.”

“I’ve always thought it was ridiculous how Alphas have those kinds of subtle power struggles. It’s like a graffiti comment war where if someone writes ‘so-and-so is a stupid bastard’ on a wall, I’d write ‘you’re dumber’ underneath it, whether they’re watching or not.”

No. This was a cynicism born of an inferiority complex. One of the things Jin Sejun used to enjoy most was that kind of pheromonal showdown. Wasn’t the thrill of crushing an Alpha no different from winning in the ring? There are many Alphas who participate in martial arts disciplines where pheromone use is allowed, but he considered such guys to be hedonists in need of treatment (this was Jin Sejun’s personal opinion).

“Haha. This is the first time I’ve heard an Alpha talk like that. You’re like a hipster.”

“Is that an insult?”

“I’ve often seen people who pretend to hate that sort of thing, but they were almost always ‘recessive.’ Or they’d only say that to act all sweet in front of an Omega.”

“Wow…”

“But an Alpha is a beast, bound together by the instinct to reproduce, hell-bent on knocking heads with each other and impregnating Omegas.”

It was a conversation unimaginable between an Alpha and a Beta. To be precise, it was the first time in his life Jin Sejun had ever seen a Beta get on an Alpha’s nerves in such a damn rude way. And so blatantly, at that.

‘Why is he suddenly picking a fight?’

Of course, Jin Sejun had initially spoken a bit negatively about Alpha pheromones, but he hadn’t expected this kind of response in return. Wasn’t the motto of Blingz Cheerleading to break down prejudices about manifestation types?

Could it be that he hates Alphas? Was he dissing Jin Sejun because he was an Alpha?

As much as Jin Sejun liked being born an Alpha, and as much as he had an inferiority complex from being a half-wit, he had asserted his Alpha-ness quite a lot….

Why say something like this all of a sudden after a good morning workout? Besides, wasn’t that damned cheerleading academy a place where everyone, starting from the director, was all about not having limits or prejudices regardless of manifestation type?

In any case, Kwon Joowan was a really weird bastard. Jin Sejun imagined opening the lid of his cup and pouring it over Kwon Joowan’s head as he opened his mouth.

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard someone use the word ‘recessive.’ I thought you were my father, who’s about to turn seventy.”

“…Anyway, they say not much research that actively utilizes pheromones has been conducted because they can’t do animal testing.”

“What do you mean, ‘anyway’?”

“I mean, it might seem like we’ve conquered various secondary matters related to manifestation types with technology, but in reality, there’s not much to it.”

Although his usual speech and behavior didn’t seem particularly erudite, Jin Sejun had read up on everything related to rare pheromonal disorders, even foreign papers, because of his own problem. Since no case exactly like his had ever been reported, he had stopped at some point and forgotten a lot.

Some might have found the topic Kwon Joowan brought up interesting, but not Jin Sejun. It wasn’t a topic for a non-manifested person to talk knowledgeably about to an Alpha, either.

“For a Beta, you sure are interested in manifestation types and pheromones. Well, I guess it’s understandable since your ex-fiancé was an Omega.”

The taunt was clearly intentional. Kwon Joowan stared blankly at Jin Sejun before dropping his gaze.

“…Yes.”

The predictable answer made Jin Sejun feel even worse. Although it was a nice day, it was still winter, and his body, which had cooled down from the sweat, began to shiver.

“What, were you having the love affair of the century, claiming you weren’t swayed by pheromones, until a perfect Alpha like me showed up and snatched your fiancée away?”

“……”

“Is that why you have so much pent-up anger towards Alphas that you go around picking fights with anyone?”

Kwon Joowan silently kept his eyes downcast and shook his head. After about three breaths, he gently took hold of the hem of the anorak Jin Sejun was wearing.

“…I was out of line. I guess I wanted to act smart after learning something new.”

“As long as you know.”

Jin Sejun was like a pot that would boil over, but as soon as the person who angered him groveled, he would cool right down. That’s why his compatibility with guys like Kwon Joowan, who just ran off, wasn’t very good….

Come to think of it, he had never received an apology for the time Kwon Joowan had actually run away. If he knew how to apologize properly, why had he gone off the grid like that and drawn the line again without another word?

If he asked, would Kwon Joowan run away again?

If that happened, would the two-month morning workout arrangement be off? It wasn’t like he planned to see him beyond that anyway, but he felt he should be sincere in their limited-time relationship.

…This is why they don’t sell things year-round and make limited editions instead.

Above all, the hand that hesitantly gripped his clothes, on someone so large, looked pathetic.

Jin Sejun opened his mouth in a much softer tone.

“You know, in those manifested-person romances, they go on and on about each other’s scents, like they’re professional perfumers. So I guess I’d be curious too if I couldn’t smell them.”

“…Right.”

“I just didn’t know you studied it like you were writing a thesis.”

“Haha…”

Kwon Joowan’s voice sounded relieved, which made Jin Sejun feel even better. They succeeded in burying the soaring tension as if it had never happened and finally got up from the bench.

In the end, instead of stopping by his house to wash up, Jin Sejun bought underwear in the commercial area near the academy. He wasn’t a full-time employee, and no one would have said anything even if he came in late for a Saturday shift, but it had already become a routine, so he didn’t want to be late.

As for clothes, he was told the academy-made t-shirts came in large sizes, so he decided to borrow one of those. He just hadn’t anticipated that the pants would be Kwon Joowan’s.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, thank you…”

No, if he had thought about it a little more, he would have known, but he was out of his mind from running until he was exhausted on no sleep and an empty stomach, then pouring coffee down his throat until he was about to burst. That’s why he couldn’t even make the lame boast that the bottoms wouldn’t fit. Of course, he also missed the opportunity for a dirty joke about buying underwear and borrowing clothes after sweating together.

―BLINGZ CHEERLEADING―

He should have also anticipated that a t-shirt with the academy logo on it would look like a Barbie doll’s outfit. Although it was characteristic of the sport, Jin Sejun swore he had never seen a t-shirt with such a flamboyant print before.

But he didn’t want to wear clothes that had been soaked in sweat and then air-dried until he left work. It wasn’t like there was anyone to impress anyway, and it seemed rather classless to be fussy, claiming his image was tarnished by a mere pink t-shirt.

‘Alpha-ness doesn’t come from clothes, being an Alpha has nothing to do with clothes…’

My pheromones are no different from an Omega’s anyway, what more is there to ruin, haha.

After repeating the self-hypnosis, Jin Sejun was now starting to self-deprecate. He had put on the new underwear and was about to put on the pants, but had paused and was just about to pull the pink t-shirt with its gaudy sequin and ribbon print over his head.

Click.

At the sound of the locker room door, which was connected to the shower room, opening, Jin Sejun popped his head out. Over there stood Kwon Joowan, with an expression like a deer in the headlights.

He remained frozen until Jin Sejun, with one eyebrow raised, pulled the hem of the balled-up t-shirt down below his chest and pulled the track pants that were around his ankles up to his waist.

“Ah, ah. I’m sorry.”

Then he abruptly blurted an apology and scurried away.

‘He obviously lent me the clothes, did he not know I’d be in the locker room?’

That aside, his reaction, like an innocent Omega seeing a naked Alpha for the first time, was hilarious. Jin Sejun chuckled and gathered his discarded clothes.

When he came out, Kwon Joowan was pacing in front of the locker room, holding a change of clothes. Why was he waiting his turn when he could have just come in and changed together? In any case, he was a truly funny guy.

Jin Sejun smiled deeply and pressed down firmly on Kwon Joowan’s shoulder.

“What, was the sight of a perfect Alpha, face and body, shirtless too stimulating for you?”

“Ah, it was Mr. Jun. You don’t work out, so your silhouette was so slender I thought I’d made a mistake.”

This bastard? He was in full-on shameless mode even though they had made eye contact for a good ten-plus seconds. Most importantly, Jin Sejun was not slender!

“Since your eyes are crooked, I should be the one to yield. Here, Mr. Jon, go on in.”

“Thank you. The t-shirt is pretty.”

At Kwon Joowan’s confident attitude to the very end, Jin Sejun shook his head and declared.

“It’s me who’s pretty.”

“Is that so? You should get married then.”

Give me a break. Instead of replying, Jin Sejun pushed Kwon Joowan into the locker room and left.

There weren’t many classes on Saturdays, so unless it was an open class day like before, there wasn’t much to do. As he was loitering, Kwon Joowan passed by and handed him an energy bar.

“You skipped breakfast.”

“I don’t eat it anyway, so I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. It bothers me.”

“Gosh, so caring. You’re so sweet I could die.”

“Just eat it.”

“Alright, wifey.”

“Gosh.”

He finally succeeded in eliciting a ‘not worth a response’ reaction from Kwon Joowan. It was true that he was hungry and had no energy, but instead of gobbling it down, Jin Sejun put it in his pocket and fiddled with it.