JADE 67

‘I really need to get back to work.’

It was Jin Sejun’s second morning spent in bed. He hadn’t stepped foot out of the house, staying exactly where he was.

Firstly, because he didn’t have anything particular to do, and secondly, because the fatigue from Kwon Joowan was deeper than expected, requiring rest.

Of course, he also didn’t feel the need to go out because Kwon Joowan had changed the bedding for Jin Sejun, and watching new flamenco dancers was entertaining.

The most time-consuming activity, however, was replaying their hook-up and feeling embarrassed all by himself.

However, the brief peace in his room ended when Jin Youngjun came looking for his younger brother, who had been on an overseas trip but hadn’t been heard from.

“Come back to work, you have nothing to do anyway. You’re not even going to the cheerleading academy anymore. If you have souvenirs, hand them over.”

“No, I worked so hard for so long, can’t I take a break this year? Can’t I rest a bit? What I bought is over there in the living room.”

Despite several days passing since his return, Jin Sejun’s suitcase was still full, its mouth agape, as if he hadn’t done anything yet. Jin Youngjun rummaged through the suitcase like a fisherman digging in mudflats.

“You haven’t even completed five measly years and you’re acting like such a veteran… that client who was looking for you before is still asking when you’re coming back.”

“Didn’t she have surgery? Why would she look for the consultation manager if it’s all done?”

“I don’t know, she asks every day while receiving post-op care, she says.”

“Really? Then just leave her. What am I supposed to do? Am I her dedicated person? Tell her to call me with money.”

“She really looked like she’d pay. Anyway, comeback in May?”

“What do you mean, immediately May? I don’t have anywhere else to go, so I’ll go back eventually, but I’m going to play more. That, that one is for sister-in-law, and the bags next to it are for hyung and Yiseo.”

“Okay. You’ll come to work when you run out of money.”

But Jin Sejun, being a modern human, also felt a sense of pride when someone needed his abilities. Jin Sejun inwardly wondered if he should only play until the end of this month, then a sudden thought made him, uncharacteristically, hesitate and open a new topic.

“Hyung, I have a question. Just listen without misunderstanding, because I’m genuinely asking this straightforwardly.”

“What are you going to ask that makes you so anxious?”

“What does your pheromone smell like?”

Jin Sejun was so tense he could hear his own saliva go down his throat. Where else would Jin Sejun’s subtle Confucian aspects come from? His family atmosphere wasn’t very open.

But Jin Youngjun’s reaction was quite light-hearted.

“Pheromones? I thought you were pondering something serious. Yoonmi says mine smells similar to when she peels tangerines. I don’t know, neither Yoonmi nor I are particularly interested in scents.”

“Aha. Thank you.”

Jin Youngjun chuckled at the rather half-hearted thank you. Jin Sejun, who was only two years younger and always annoyingly behaved, felt quite like a youngest sibling today.

But Jin Sejun, who normally would have gotten annoyed and asked why he was laughing out of awkwardness, was deeply engrossed in his own thoughts.

“But is there some genetic factor to pheromone scents?”

“I suppose so? I heard our older sister and older brother also have citrus scents. I think our mother was similar, and father was a bit different, if I remember correctly. Honestly, I only need to properly know my own Omega’s scent.”

The older sister and older brother Jin Youngjun referred to were the eldest and first daughter, Jin Yewon (an Alpha, ten years older than Jin Sejun), and the second eldest and first son, Jin Heejun (an Alpha, eight years older than Jin Sejun). That’s right, all four of Jin Sejun’s siblings were Alphas… of course, only Jin Sejun’s pheromones were messed up.

Given the large age gap, and Jin Sejun having been practically dominated by the two of them while growing up, he found them infinitely more difficult to deal with than Jin Youngjun.

“…How do you even know what Older Sister’s and Eldest Brother’s scents are?”

“You just weren’t interested at all.”

“No, I just couldn’t even talk about such things with them in the first place.”

“Where would the youngest one butt into a conversation about his hyung and noona? Now stop talking nonsense and go pick up Yiseo.”

So, since the first and second siblings were two years apart, the second and third were six years apart, and the third and fourth were two years apart, there was no particular reason for Jin Youngjun to be closer to his older siblings. Was it truly just because he was the youngest? Jin Sejun thought about it for a moment, then wondered why he was even bothering with such a thing and blurted out.

“It’s a holiday, so why aren’t you going, hyung, and sending me?”

“I drive like crap. Do you want to see news about me?”

“This crazy man, even making threats. Alright….”

How much did he hate driving to say something like that? Jin Sejun grumbled but diligently cleaned and polished himself. A scolding came, asking why he was dressing up just to pick up a kid, but the place to pick up his nephew was the cheerleading academy, and there was a handsome vice principal there.

He also put on the non-prescription glasses he used to favor during his consultation manager days, thinking Kwon Joowan seemed to have liked Jin Sejun’s glasses before.

Before the trip, he thought he would only be there until the competition, and after the trip, he had resolved not to meet him again, so it was incredibly embarrassing to have slept with him and now be visiting so casually. Jin Yiseo hadn’t even quit, so why had he confidently asserted that he wouldn’t come to the academy?

Thinking about it, breaking ties with someone doesn’t seem easy.

As he opened the familiar glass door, there was a “Jingling!” sound. The class seemed to have ended, as children swarmed the lobby. The much taller and bigger vice principal stood in the middle and met Jin Sejun’s eyes.

Jin Sejun gave a silent nod, and Kwon Joowan nodded back. Jin Sejun felt his cheeks flush slightly, but before he could do anything, he was surrounded by children who swarmed him like a beehive.

“Mr. Jun, where did you go?”

“Did you see the final episode of Cheer Cheer Pam Pam?”

“What are you doing here, you traitor!”

“Mr. Jun said he couldn’t come to the academy that time because he had something to do. You skipped, so you didn’t hear.”

At that moment, Jin Sejun realized he had missed the children too. He never thought teaching would be his aptitude, but he seemed to have grown quite fond of them. Jin Sejun quickly lifted the first boy who approached onto his shoulders, hung one child from each hand, and took them to a corner of the lobby that wasn’t blocking the way.

“I didn’t see the final episode of Cheer Cheer Pam Pam.”

“…Just when Cheer Pink’s misunderstanding couldn’t get any deeper, Cheer Blue…!”

“Don’t spoil it.”

Kwon Joowan smiled at Jin Sejun even as he grabbed the academy car keys. At the same time, a boy was seen trudging out of the practice room. It was Jang Doha, whom Kwon Joowan and he had caught while jogging.

“Hey, goalkeeper, long time no see. Have you improved a lot?”

Jang Doha, uncharacteristically, just nodded with a gloomy expression. Soon after, Jin Yiseo and his best friend Yang Sua appeared from behind.

“What, why did he suddenly mature?”

“They say he cried after binge-watching Cheer Cheer Pam Pam after ignoring it.”

“That wasn’t crying.”

Indeed, ‘Cheer Cheer Pam Pam’ was quite a profound work even in Jin Sejun’s opinion. Jang Doha must have underestimated that masterpiece and gotten caught up in it. Jin Sejun thought it would be nice to watch it to the end with Kwon Joowan as he prepared to leave.

But someone shouted, “Mr. Jun, buy us tanghulu,” and he didn’t want to refuse. Frankly, he didn’t mind the feeling of being in a space where Kwon Joowan resided.

“Shall we?”

Jin Sejun readily replied and looked back at Kwon Joowan.

“Mr. John, do you want tangerines?”

A thick smile soon curved on his lips after asking the question. Thinking of the usual ‘delicious kiss’ joke, Jin Sejun gave a quick air kiss to avoid others’ eyes, then pretended he hadn’t done anything and pulled out his wallet.

While Kwon Joowan paused, it was Jin Yiseo who answered.

“No, Mr. John went to the dentist because he cracked a molar.”

“Oh? Cracked a molar?”

“The principal told us everything.”

He had heard he went to the dentist but didn’t know that was the reason. He hadn’t cracked nuts, and it was unlikely his teeth would crack just from eating some pre-meal bread at this age. Jin Sejun’s wondering gaze soon fell to the bandage wrapped around Kwon Joowan’s forearm.

“Ah.”

The day Jin Sejun suddenly went into rut, Kwon Joowan, in trying to hold back, didn’t just bite his own arm; he also gritted his teeth a lot. If he had only bitten his arm, his molar wouldn’t have cracked.

Both Jin Sejun, who had grasped the situation, and Kwon Joowan blushed. Kwon Joowan, who regained his composure relatively quickly, answered in a calm voice.

“The treatment is finished, so I can eat tanghulu.”

“That’s a relief then. Teeth are one of the five blessings….”

Hahaha… The awkwardness that only the two of them understood scattered with self-conscious laughter.

Anyway, since they had to feed the children snacks before sending them home, the two herded the children to the store. Jin Sejun, after putting the children in the store, came out to the bench in front of the shop with two tangerine skewers, and Kwon Joowan, who was waiting, immediately laid out a handkerchief for him.

“……”

Is he acting cute…? Jin Sejun raised one eyebrow, then simply sat on it, not wanting to say anything. It was an act that made his bottom feel ticklishly self-conscious.

Having nothing to say in the open space where others could hear, he just ate silently, realizing anew that the evening air had become much warmer than when they were last here together.

Meanwhile, Kwon Joowan’s gaze intermittently fell on his face. Since Jin Sejun also occasionally glanced back, he didn’t pay much attention and just enjoyed the sweetness.

It was when he bit into the last tangerine. Kwon Joowan, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked.

“Mr. Sejun, you like tangerines a lot.”

“Yes, are you going to buy them for me later?”

“As many as you want, if you want to eat them. And you also said before that Koreans like citrus scents.”

“And?”

Kwon Joowan’s voice became noticeably softer.

“You said you liked the scent of orange blossoms even before you knew your own scent, Mr. Sejun. So I was curious if you like the overall citrus family.”

He’s heard a lot about citrus today. Jin Sejun answered without much thought.

“Well… I don’t dislike it, right? It’s refreshing.”

Jin Sejun almost reflexively asked, “Do you also like scents like orange blossoms and oranges?” but managed to stop himself just in time. If he had asked, he would have kicked his blanket every time he slept for a whole month.

As Jin Sejun sighed with relief, another question came.

“Then what other scents do you like?”

“Other scents?”

He asks all sorts of things, despite having no scent himself. Jin Sejun liked musky scents for his own perfume, but for some reason, he mentioned what he had previously thought was a good Omega scent.

“I like something sweet? Like vanilla.”

“Chocolate or sweet milk scents too?”

“Well, sure. If it’s appetizing.”

“Gourmand type.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s sweet, the type you just mentioned, Mr. Sejun.”

He knows perfumes well. Jin Sejun was about to answer that, but then a sudden thought made him speak it directly.

“Aha, then Mr. Saeha would be that type too. He smelled like peaches.”

“……”

Even when Jin Sejun threw away the eaten skewer, no answer came. Only then did Jin Sejun grasp the situation and snapped his fingers in front of Kwon Joowan’s eyes.

“Are you getting competitive? Even in this situation, you’re getting competitive?”

“Ah, no….”