PAO 47

Yoo Taeha, hesitating about whether he should really give him the tongs, seemed to confirm that Junghoo was better at it than he was, then turned around and picked up his chopsticks. He had completely turned his back, ready to eat the meat Seowon was grilling.

“Seowon.”

Seowon, who was putting new meat on the grill, looked back at Junghoo.

“Even if my head goes crazy, I can’t stand to see my Seowon with another guy.”

“You…”

His mouth, which had been quiet for a while because he was sick, started running again.

Junghoo picked up a piece of grilled meat and examined it from all angles, just as Seowon had done earlier. But I couldn’t understand why his gaze on the meat was so languid, and why his lips were so red. It was a peculiar expression that would make you believe he was looking at Seowon, not just the meat.

“What are you doing right now.”

“I’m looking at the provisions that will fatten Seowon up.”

He just has to talk like that.

“Are you going to fatten me up and eat me?”

“No.”

Junghoo put the meat into Seowon’s mouth.

“I’m going to fatten you up and just look at you.”

Seowon was about to speak, but the piece of meat in his mouth was quite large, so he chewed it thoroughly first. The tender meat fell apart on its own without needing much force.

“I’m going to look at pretty Seowon. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at you all day. The Seowon I see in the morning, the Seowon I see at night…”

“Hey, hey, stop it.”

I was getting goosebumps myself. It seemed even Yoo Taeha, who had been pretending not to hear anything while focusing on the meat, couldn’t stand it this time. He scraped all the grilled meat from the griddle, stuffed it into his mouth, and put some distance between them.

“I like just looking at you. To me, Seowon, you’re the most… in the world.”

It looked like Junghoo was about to spread his arms wide and spout something like ‘I love you as much as the sky, as much as the universe!’, so Seowon quickly shoved meat into his mouth.

“Please, for God’s sake.”

At times like this, I have my doubts. What if helping this bastard get healthy just gives him the stamina to spout more nonsense?

“Just eat me already.”

To think I’d tell him to eat me with my own mouth. It was absurd, but I had lost to this pervert who just wanted to watch. Seowon clicked his tongue and grilled the meat, then suddenly shouted at Yoo Taeha.

“Hyung, what are you doing eating it all by yourself.”

“It just happened.”

“What do you mean, it just happened… You should give me some, too.”

Grumbling that he had only eaten one piece so far, Seowon secretly observed Junghoo. Judging by the nonsense he was spouting, he seemed to be in pretty good shape.

“Yoo Junghoo, you should eat too, not just grill. At this rate, we won’t get to eat a single piece once we sit down.”

As Seowon said this, popping a piece of grilled meat into his mouth, Junghoo gave him his own. He had given everything to Seowon, so there was no meat left in front of him.

Who’s the one who needs to eat meat and get their strength back… Seowon placed a piece of meat on top of another piece of meat. Then he placed another piece of meat on top of that, making a 3-story tower, and picked it up all at once.

“Let’s eat.”

Speaking gently, as if to say that the 3-story meat tower should not be ignored, Junghoo looked at it with slightly weary eyes before opening his mouth. Just as the meat was about to enter the mouth of Junghoo, who was obediently approaching to eat, the tongs changed direction.

Seowon, who had put the 3-story meat tower in his own mouth, chewed the meat with greasy lips. He only put one small piece of meat into the flabbergasted Junghoo’s mouth.

“You shouldn’t get indigestion.”

As Junghoo quietly chewed the meat in his mouth, Yoo Taeha clicked his tongue.

“You guys do know that I’m here too, right?”

Yoo Taeha, who had brought over some cucumber peppers dipped in ssamjang, had been thinking of continuing to pretend he didn’t see them, but ended up spitting out a word. It wasn’t just the greasiness of the meat that made him think of the ssamjang.

Yoo Taeha crunched on the cucumber peppers to soothe his queasy stomach. It was hard to tell whether he was chewing on the peppers or on Junghoo and Seowon.

“Why is this so delicious. The meat is incredibly tender.”

Seowon ate the meat even more theatrically, and Junghoo, with a faint smile, was melting into the atmosphere.

Just as Junghoo was bending down to grab a new pack of meat, he paused, having sensed something, and at the same time his pheromones spread out, the tongs hit the grill with a clanging metallic sound.

“…”

“…”

“…”

A silence fell.

Seowon looked at the tongs Junghoo had dropped, and Yoo Taeha covered his nose and mouth to avoid smelling the pheromones. Yoo Taeha’s eyes scrunched up in pain from the pheromones, which were even stronger than the ones that had leaked out in the car.

And Junghoo, unable to accept what had happened to him, froze like ice.

“Junghoo.”

How much time had passed? In reality, it was only a few minutes, but after what felt like a long silence, Seowon’s voice broke through.

Seowon picked up the tongs and placed them in Junghoo’s hand.

“Once you’ve started, you have to grill until the end. Where do you think you’re sneaking off to.”

Even after seeing Junghoo’s frozen face, Seowon acted as if he was completely unaffected. Instead, he gave a playful smile and patted his shoulder.

“See, you should have just sat quietly when I told you to.”

Now that he was holding the tongs, there was no escape. Seowon gestured towards the grill with his eyes.

“Hurry up and grill.”

At Seowon’s urging, Junghoo lowered the hand holding the tongs and put more meat on the grill. Seowon next looked at Yoo Taeha. Yoo Taeha, who had been covering his nose and mouth, seemed to think about what to do and then raised his voice.

“Ah, geez, I ate so much meat my stomach is churning, I can’t take it. I’ll go make some kimchi stew.”

Behind Yoo Taeha, who had escaped from the alpha’s pheromones by hastily going inside the vacation house, only Seowon and Junghoo remained. The atmosphere between the two was similar to before, yet strangely different. Although Junghoo was acting as if nothing was wrong, he was bothered by the fact that he had failed to contain his pheromones once again.

Seeing the shadow cast over his face, Seowon secretly chewed on his lower lip. He had joked around, telling Junghoo to just grill the meat to change the heavy atmosphere, but it hadn’t improved at all. This won’t do. The mood can’t sink like this…

“Junghoo.”

For Junghoo, who was still reeling from the shock, Seowon began to soothe him. It was no use pretending not to know that his pheromones had leaked out anyway.

“I like your scent better than the smell of meat.”

This is the highest compliment, so shouldn’t it work?

What happens when three guys get together to grill meat?

“I didn’t even get to dip it in salt once?”

They were so busy picking up and eating the meat as soon as it was cooked that they barely touched the lettuce wraps, ssamjang, and other things set on the table. After sitting down at the table because their legs hurt, all they could do was laugh in disbelief at the sight of a table set for a meal, but with no meat.

Seowon, who had roughly substituted a can of tuna for the missing meat, opened a beer with a cheerful sound. After downing the beer so hard that his Adam’s apple bobbed, Seowon wiped his mouth with a look of satisfaction.

“I feel like the heat is finally leaving my body.”

Having been in front of the fire the whole time, his face and entire body had felt flushed, but the beer cooled him down from the inside.

“You should have brought some over after grilling it, not just eaten it all. We ended up staying out there longer because of that.”

Yoo Taeha, who had likewise been in front of the grill the whole time, didn’t think about his own actions and just pointed out Seowon’s foolishness.

“Next time, I’ll eat the meat you grill, hyung.”

Saying it would be better to eat Yoo Taeha’s undercooked and burnt meat, Seowon let out a series of groans. Then, he belatedly looked to his side. Junghoo, who was always by his side, both when grilling meat and now when they were sitting down, was quiet.

Even after being told that his scent was better than the smell of meat, Junghoo couldn’t seem to shake off his confusion and silently fiddled with his beer can.

“Are you going to drink?”

It would be nice if he was just touching it to feel the coolness, but Junghoo answered by opening the beer can.

“Go ahead.”

Seowon turned his head, pretending to drink his beer. Telling him not to drink, considering his current physical condition, didn’t seem like it would help his sunken mood at all. Yoo Taeha seemed to think the same, as he too drank his beer without a word.

If before they had been focused on devouring meat, this time it was beer. With each of them knocking back one beer after another, the number of once-plentiful beer cans began to dwindle rapidly.

The one who drank the most was Yoo Taeha, followed by Junghoo.

“He can hold his liquor.”

Seowon muttered, looking at the empty cans rolling around in front of Junghoo. He had seen him drink before, but today he got the most accurate measure.

“That one over there should probably drink in moderation.”

On the other hand, Yoo Taeha, who had had a hard day, already had his eyes half-closed.

Screeeak, the unoiled hinges announced the intruder’s arrival. However, the sleeping person seemed not to sense the intruder’s presence, breathing evenly, deep in sleep.

The intruder, Seowon, looked at Junghoo sleeping on his side, then perched just on the edge of the bed. As the bed dipped, Junghoo rubbed his face against the pillow and stirred. As I held my breath and watched quietly, he soon fell back asleep.

It was thanks to the alcohol. If not for that, he would have woken up immediately due to his heightened sensitivity.

Seowon stared down at Junghoo’s face before placing a hand on it. Even when he was napping, I touched him as much as I wanted. It was no different now. It didn’t matter even if Junghoo woke up and knew I was touching him, so my hand moved without hesitation.

Even though he had released his pheromones like that during the day, his body was still not well, as cold sweat beaded on Junghoo’s forehead. His forehead was cold, but his cheeks were hot. On top of that, he would occasionally open his mouth and let out a hot breath.

Before coming to the vacation house, I hadn’t been able to check on Junghoo’s condition because I was busy with final exams and catching up on overdue work. Even if I had known, I wouldn’t have been able to release his pheromones for him, but seeing his state now, a sigh escaped me automatically.

“With a face like this, how dare you say you’ll watch over me.”

Asleep, Junghoo exuded an atmosphere that was both innocent and sensual at the same time. The question of whether that was possible was understood just by looking at Junghoo. His face was completely relaxed, but his red lips and flushed eye rims made him look that way.

After admiring Junghoo’s face for a moment, Seowon released his pheromones and enveloped him. It was different from the faint scent of pheromones he had exuded during the day. At the distinctively thick and intense pheromones, Junghoo let out a moan in his sleep.

“Shhh, shhh.”

Seowon placed his hands on Junghoo’s shoulder and arm and patted him.

“For now, you just have to accept my pheromones.”

That’s the only way you’ll get better.

As Seowon soothed Junghoo and emitted his pheromones, they were so strong that Yoo Taeha, who was downstairs, sensed them and came to find the two. Still not sober, he pressed his temples and muttered.

“What is all this. Why are you releasing so many pheromones.”

“Just a moment. Junghoo’s not doing well, so I have to do this.”

At Seowon’s apologetic tone, Yoo Taeha looked at Junghoo and nodded.

“So this is how you’ve been doing it.”

“Yes.”

Seowon gently stroked Junghoo’s forehead.