PAO 18

“Is the smell strong?”

“No. On the contrary….”

Junghoo looked at him with eyes that seemed to want to say something, but then he just shook his head.

“Never mind. It’s not like you’d know even if I told you. Just go wash up.”

“Are you looking down on me just because I don’t know? This is a clear difference that comes from another trait….”

Seowon replied curtly and pushed Yoo Junghoo’s shoulder away. Slipping past him, Seowon quickly glanced at the bathroom and then scratched his stomach.

“I was going to wash up anyway because I feel grimy from your nosebleed.”

Seowon slightly lifted his shirt as if to take it off, then looked back at Junghoo. Seeing Junghoo’s gaze fixed on his exposed stomach, Seowon clicked his tongue as if he found it pathetic.

“I’m showering first. You go rest.”

As if worried Junghoo might follow him, Seowon quickly went into his room, grabbed a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom.

“How cheap.”

Ignoring Junghoo’s mutter from behind him, Seowon turned the faucet. Hiding behind the sound of water pouring from the showerhead, Seowon let out the breath he had been holding.

A moment ago, it had been really difficult to act as if nothing was wrong. The moment the scales tipped toward not revealing he was an Omega, he had mimicked an awkward gesture and escaped from Junghoo.

Then, suddenly finding the situation absurd, he let out a stifled laugh.

‘There’s something Taeha hyung didn’t tell you… Even if Seowon becomes a super-ultra-mega-awesome-Omega, you can’t handle it on your own.’

He couldn’t just say it was fine since he wasn’t a newly manifested Omega. That was why he couldn’t argue further when Junghoo said it wouldn’t work.

“Sex….”

Having noticed that Junghoo’s condition was due to his pheromones, Seowon quietly rolled the word around.

“What is that? Is it something you eat? Is it tasty?”

It was a piece of bullshit he muttered to himself.

He couldn’t help it. Seowon had never slept with anyone before either. If someone were to ask why he, an Omega, hadn’t slept with an Alpha….

“Whether I do it or not is my business.”

It was simply that he hadn’t found an Alpha he particularly liked until now. He had managed just fine on his own, but he found himself unconsciously shrinking before the word sex.

But he also couldn’t tell Junghoo, ‘It’s been a few years since I manifested, but I don’t know how to have sex, so I don’t think I can help with your treatment.’

“Are you still not done?”

At the sound of knocking on the door, Seowon’s head snapped up. Everything was so steamy and blurry that he had no idea how long he had been in there.

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

Seowon quickly took off his clothes and stepped under the shower. After rapidly washing away his pheromones, Seowon came out and brought his wrist to his nose to check for the scent. It was a natural movement, different from the awkward way he had acted in front of Junghoo. Confirming that the pheromones were completely gone, Seowon opened the door, drying his hair with a towel.

As steam billowed out, Junghoo, who was standing in front of the door, spoke in a calm voice.

“Is this a sauna?”

Sensing the humidity himself, Seowon gave a vague nod.

“You’ll collapse if you do that at home.”

The ventilation fan is running, right? Junghoo leaned halfway into the bathroom to check. Seowon walked past him, ruffling his hair dry.

“I’m going to my room to rest.”

Leaving Junghoo’s gaze behind him, Seowon returned to his room, sat on the edge of the bed, and continued to dry his hair. Seowon, who had been moving his hands without any real purpose, gradually slowed the pace of his hair-drying until eventually, he was still.

The thoughts that floated around in his mind eventually settled on one thing. How had he ended up hiding his trait from Junghoo? Was it because he was scared of being eaten up? Of course, that was part of it, but it wasn’t the decisive reason.

Disappointment. That was the biggest part.

Since they had grown up like brothers from birth, he thought they would always be together. But Junghoo had suddenly disappeared just before graduating from middle school and had enrolled in a different high school.

Is it right to call it a different high school?

Since he had started attending a school in a foreign country. At first, he was bewildered, and then he was worried. He knew Junghoo told him everything, even things he didn’t tell others, so he thought something must have happened. When he couldn’t even be contacted, a sense of betrayal slowly began to creep in.

If Junghoo thought Seowon would be disappointed that he wasn’t going to the same high school, and that was why he hadn’t contacted him, then that was even more disappointing.

Because they had been stuck together every day, his absence constantly made Seowon feel empty. Unable to bear it any longer, he had gone to see Junghoo’s father. He figured that even if he couldn’t see Junghoo, he should be able to meet his father, since his company was in Korea, and he was right.

‘He asked me to tell you he’s sorry.’

That was the end of it. Without a single word of explanation as to why he had left, he had come away with only that greeting. After that, the reality that he had truly parted with Yoo Junghoo hit him hard. The warmth that had embraced him with affection, saying he only liked him, was now gone.

Then, it hadn’t been long since they met again. When was it? Was it when he was drinking with Minsung and heading to his studio apartment?

The wall that had suddenly blocked his path turned out to be a person, and that person was….

Just as his thoughts were deepening, his phone rang. Reaching over to the nightstand, Seowon picked up his phone, saw Minsung’s name, and answered the call.

“Hey, Minsung.”

—Can you talk now?

His mind had been a jumble with thoughts of Junghoo, so Seowon smiled faintly. He had been wanting a distraction anyway, so this was perfect.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

—You missed class today. I took notes separately, want me to take a picture and send them to you?

He had gone to the hospital with Junghoo last night and had stayed for a long time today for his tests. That’s why Seowon had told Minsung in advance that he would be absent today due to some personal matters.

“That’d be great for me. Better yet, want to meet up tomorrow?”

—Tomorrow? It’s Saturday.

“Yeah. Are you busy?”

—No, I’m not. Let’s meet tomorrow.

“Okay.”

After that, they briefly arranged a time and place to meet and then hung up. Seowon found himself smiling without realizing it, feeling his mind at ease whenever he talked with Minsung.

Then he remembered Junghoo resting his head on Minsung’s shoulder. He had said it was because he was drunk, but seeing it hadn’t been entirely pleasant.

‘Why was that?’

He frowned at the unsettling feeling.

Before long, Seowon brought up a reason.

“Because Minsung is too good for that.”

It was nothing special, just that Minsung was a nice guy. Seowon denied it to himself, as if it was absolutely not because of Junghoo.

Roughly shaking off his thoughts, Seowon got up from the bed. He opened the door, intending to get a drink of water, and made eye contact with Junghoo, who was holding a pill between his teeth.

He had just been thinking of Minsung, and Yoo Junghoo had been associated with him, but he felt guilty for no reason.

“What are you taking?”

He had just been discharged from the hospital, so it must be medicine from there, but it was a lame question he asked because he had nothing else to say. It was just as Seowon was about to say, ‘never mind.’ Junghoo rolled the pill with his tongue, wedged it between his teeth, and grinned.

“This? An aphrodisiac.”

“….”

It’s true that Minsung is too good for him.

After meeting Minsung and having a meal, the two found a bar in the early evening.

“Isn’t it a little too early?”

“What does it matter?”

When Seowon went in and sat down, Minsung stealthily sat down next to him.

“Do you know this place?”

“A hyung I know runs it.”

“A hyung you know?”

“It’s a bar run by Junghoo’s family.”

Now knowing who Junghoo was, Minsung looked around curiously.

“His family must be well-off.”

“He’s a gold spoon.”

One who could buy a friend for three billion won….

Seowon also followed Minsung’s gaze and looked around the bar. The bar where they were sitting was quite full, and there were customers at the tables as well. It was a place that did pretty good business despite it being quite early in the evening.

“When did you find out about this place?”

“About three months ago?”

It was the day Yoo Junghoo had suddenly appeared before him. He had said it had been a long time and suggested they go for a drink, and he had brought him here.

“You seem to be really close with Yoo Junghoo.”

“Why?”

“It’s just….”

Seeing Park Minsung’s hesitant reaction, Seowon immediately figured out what he was thinking.

“So you know he’s a crazy bastard too. That’s right, Yoo Junghoo is a bit weird.”

“How did he end up like that? Did something happen to change his personality?”

“No. He was always like that.”

He had a perverted streak since he was young, and he grew up to be a crazy bastard.

“It’s just easier not to try to understand him.”

Seowon waved his hands dismissively.

“Still, he’s your friend,” Park Minsung timidly added.

His use of the word friend felt like a splinter caught in Seowon’s fingertip. It was stinging, but he couldn’t see it, so there was nothing he could do….

“If you call it a friendship, is a friend someone who understands even if you suddenly lose contact due to circumstances?”

“If there are circumstances, people usually understand.”

“What if it’s a guy who showed up after almost nine years?”

Seowon acted as if he was asking casually, but Minsung, on the receiving end, was a bit flustered by the unexpectedly specific number. As he wondered if he could really answer this casually, Seowon waved his hand.

“I was just saying. You don’t have to answer.”

When Junghoo had first shown up, he hadn’t even been able to express his disappointment about why he hadn’t been in touch. Now, too much time had passed to bring it up, and it was never mentioned, as if it had become an unwritten rule. But now, it was also funny to think about whether they were really friends.

“You’ve known each other since you were kids, right? You seem to meet up pretty often?”

“Well… it’s a long story. And due to some circumstances, I’m temporarily crashing at his place.”

“You live together?”

Seowon nodded. Thinking about it, it was ridiculous to be debating whether they were friends or not after meeting after so long, while also living in that friend’s house. Things had clearly started to get tangled somewhere, but he couldn’t see a thread to unravel it.