JADE 45

“Mr. Sejun, next time you should come too….”

Jin Sejun didn’t answer and went into the bathroom to relieve himself. Kwon Joowan, who had been trying to explain something as if making an excuse, was startled when Jin Sejun stood in front of the toilet without even closing the bathroom door, and quickly closed it for him.

His throat was parched after he came out from washing his hands. Jin Sejun was chugging a bottle of mineral water when he noticed Kwon Joowan staring at him, so he handed the half-finished bottle over.

“Thank you…”

“You should have said something if you were thirsty.”

“It’s just that.”

There was a time when he had found talking with Kwon Joowan so much fun that he couldn’t wait to get to the academy. But not anymore. Jin Sejun pulled the covers over his head before Kwon Joowan could continue speaking.

Was it okay for an athlete on a trip to go out drinking with other people like that? The Pam Dance kids had a competition the very next month. The director would probably be furious if she found out. Whenever Kwon Joowan had invited him out for a drink before, he had felt thrilled, like it was a special occasion, but now, all of that seemed to have faded.

As expected, he had bad dreams.

He was traveling for several days, like a school trip, and now he even had a meal, room, and bus seat mate. However, Jin Sejun was just as bored as he was before leaving the country, and his mood was a little worse.

When he saw the other groups on the package tour, he would smile, greet them, and make light small talk, but he soon found himself wanting to be alone.

What on earth did it mean to be bored but want to be alone? It was probably the cold reality of wanting to spend time with someone he didn’t hate looking at, but having no such person.

“Oh, Mr. Joowan~.”

This time, too, Jin Sejun took the window seat, and Kwon Joowan, sitting on the aisle side of the bus, didn’t let a single young person pass by without greeting them.

‘I thought he was just saying that, but it seems they really did get close…’

What was with the master of building walls? Was he high on the travel vibe? As if it were the most natural thing, Eun Garam sat next to Kwon Joowan, across the aisle. He considered offering to switch seats with Eun Garam, but at the same time, he didn’t really want to do that.

At breakfast, too, he felt like he was going to lose his mind from moment to moment, so he thought that from the next day on, he should just grab some fruit or bread and a cup of coffee and go back up to his room. He felt pathetic for constantly trying to run away, unlike Kwon Joowan, but it was just so difficult to endure watching the spectacle of Kwon Joowan and Eun Garam.

At the Puente Nuevo in Ronda, a stop along the way, Jin Sejun subtly walked as if to get away from Kwon Joowan. Kwon Joowan didn’t cling to him like he had at first, which seemed to be because he had made a lot of friends within the tour group.

He was green with envy…

“Alright, we’ll meet back here in front in an hour.”

The free time amidst the packed schedule, however short, was a breath of fresh air. Jin Sejun quickly separated himself from the group and blended in with the tourists from other countries. He sat there, spacing out and looking at the cliff. It was a magnificent view, but perhaps because his heart wasn’t in it, it still wasn’t enjoyable.

The fact that everyone on the trip seemed to be having fun was another factor that made him even more gloomy. What a waste of time and money this was. If there was anyone who wanted to be here, he would have gladly switched places with them.

Still, taking a short break made him feel much better. After eating and getting back on the bus, his usual motion sickness didn’t kick in.

Just when he was thinking he wanted to rest a little longer, it was invariably time to get off the bus. In Seville, where everything looked vivid under the strong sunlight, there were many orange trees. Jin Sejun sniffed at the unfamiliar sweet fragrance and discovered lush white blossoms among the orange fruits.

He had seen orange trees before, but it was his first time seeing the flowers, and he liked the scent.

“Can we pick and eat these?”

It seemed everyone was thinking the same thing. In response to someone’s question, the guide answered with a familiar smile.

“You can eat them, but they’re very sour. They’re a different species from the oranges we eat. They try to harvest them to make perfumes or marmalade, but it’s said to be a headache. The orange blossoms have bloomed, too. The scent is wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

As Jin Sejun stood under an orange tree to avoid the stinging sunlight, the expression on Kwon Joowan’s face as he looked this way was peculiar. His mood softened by the pleasant weather and fragrance, Jin Sejun spoke to Kwon Joowan first for the first time in a while.

“What is it? With a handsome man among the flowers, you can’t tell which is which, and the sight is magnificent, is that it?”

“Ah…”

Mumbling his reply, Kwon Joowan turned his head away and was immediately caught by Eun Garam. He looked like an animal snatched up by the talons of a bird of prey after acting dazed. But for some reason, Eun Garam shot a strange glance in his direction.

‘What was that? Surely, I wasn’t just checked by an omega, was I?’

No way. Wasn’t it Eun Garam who had been all cute and charming to Jin Sejun before Kwon Joowan arrived? Coming from an omega, it was just cute.

It should have felt cute…

As they walked through a bustling street, every shop had flower decorations, dancing shoes, and flamenco dresses on display. For a moment, Jin Sejun was soaked in a strange nostalgia, thinking of the flamenco dancer doll that Jin Youngjun, his only friend for a time, had bought for him.

“The ‘Feria de Abril’ festival, where people enjoy dancing the traditional Sevillian dance ‘Sevillanas,’ is just around the corner, so everyone is selling dresses like this. Unfortunately, the dates don’t overlap with our time in Seville.”

“Aww~.”

Eun Garam, who had let out a sound of disappointment, added.

“It seems like it would be so pretty and cool to see everyone in traditional costumes. I’m so disappointed. I’ll have to come back during the festival.”

“Mr. Garam, you should wear a flower decoration and join in then. It’ll be fun.”

“Yes, I should. Mom, you’ll come with me then too, right?”

“Oh, this child.”

“As expected, a filial son. Mr. Garam’s mother must be so happy.”

As expected, omegas are flowers. Jin Sejun, who was half-listening to the pleasant conversation, let his gaze follow the polka dots on a dress before it settled on Kwon Joowan’s side profile. It wasn’t that he particularly wanted to see Kwon Joowan in that dress; it was just that he looked like a painting, walking down a street lined with colorful dresses.

“……”

Just as Jin Sejun was about to look forward again, their eyes met.

For a brief moment, they looked into each other’s eyes. Kwon Joowan’s eyes looked as if they were drawn with ink wash, even in a place where the strong sunlight made everything appear sharp. His smooth skin, tanned over the past few days, had become more golden than it was in Korea, where he often went for outdoor jogs.

His hair, black as ink even under the sunlight, must have absorbed the heat completely. He wanted to lightly comb through it with his fingers to let the heat escape…

He lifted his head as if following the scent of orange blossoms that touched the tip of his nose, and there, as expected, were the white flowers and vivid yellow against the backdrop of the blue sky.

It was a strange moment that truly made him feel the illusion that something still remained between them.

He didn’t feel as awful during dinner as he had before. He didn’t drink with his meal for the first time in a while and went to see a flamenco performance with everyone, his mind completely clear. Thinking about that flamenco dancer doll, he started to get a little excited at the thought of seeing the real thing.

It was the first time he had felt even a hint of excitement since the trip began.

Having only seen the doll, he had thought it would be something similar to a tango, but it wasn’t just dancing. There was also a guitar performance, a singer who sang like in pansori, and it felt like tap dancing was mixed in as well.

The point where it shifted from powerful to static was intriguing, and while watching the male dancer’s performance, he suddenly thought that Kwon Joowan would probably find it more interesting. Jin Sejun looked at the female dancer’s flower decoration, which was as big as her head, and as soon as one performance ended, he whispered to Kwon Joowan.

“Doesn’t that hair ornament look like a pom-pom?”

“Ah.”

The reply came back as if from a wooden doll. Just as he was wondering if he had spoken up for no reason after Kwon Joowan had been so listless, he heard Kwon Joowan’s low voice.

“You’re right. I was thinking it might be good to mix a little flamenco style into Pam Dance. Since they’re both energetic, I think they’d go well together… though the zapateado would be difficult.”

“Zapateado?”

“Ah, the part that looked like tap dancing.”

“Spoken like a true Vice Director.”

It seemed Kwon Joowan had more knowledge than him to begin with. Jin Sejun let out an unconscious chuckle and spoke again.

“So, are you going to hang out with people again before coming back today?”

Kwon Joowan paused for a moment, then answered nonchalantly.

“It’s just that, you know the youngest beta man who came with his family? I promised to have a drink with just him.”

“Aha. So it’s a betas-only drinking session.”

“Yes, just the betas.”

There were probably things that only beta men could talk about. Then again, he had no idea what Kwon Joowan was thinking, and he lacked consistency, making him difficult to get close to, but he wasn’t antisocial. So, it wasn’t strange for him to make friends in a place like this, and it was none of Jin Sejun’s business.

However, coming in too late and waking up a roommate was bad manners, so he could at least interfere with the time.

“Don’t be too late.”

“Okay.”

He truly felt as if he had found peace of mind for the first time in a long while. At the hotel, after getting their suitcases from the bus, Jin Sejun was about to buy beer from the driver but changed his mind and bought water instead. As he was about to head back to the hotel, the beta he had mentioned, the one Kwon Joowan was supposed to have a drink with, spoke to him.

“We, the younger people, decided to have a drink today. Don’t you want to join us? We were sad you weren’t there for the night tour either.”

“Hmm? But Mr. Joowan said he was only drinking with you.”

“What? No. Mr. Garam and some others are coming too. How about it?”

“Ah, okay. In that case… I’ll go.”

What is this? Jin Sejun nodded, bewildered, and headed for the lobby. It seemed check-in was done, as Kwon Joowan saw Jin Sejun and waved the card key.

“The person you said you were drinking with invited me.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Didn’t you say you were drinking with just him?”

“Well, that was the plan, but things changed.”

There was something very unsatisfactory about his reply. Jin Sejun didn’t press further and, after briefly organizing his things, went down to the hotel bar with Kwon Joowan. No one else was there yet, so after ordering drinks, they sat awkwardly. He kept recalling the time he and Kwon Joowan had drunk whiskey together at a hotel bar.

That was already several months ago, yet it felt so long ago that it was strange to think not even half a year had passed.