PAO 7

“That sounds good. Let’s do it together.”

“No, by myself.”

Seowon cut him off sharply.

“I’m going to do it alone. I’m only going to show this to the person I’m dating in the future, so not you.”

“Then that’s me.”

“How about we talk about claiming that right after we start dating? Anyway, I’ll be out for a day then, so you don’t have to look for me.”

This might have been Seowon bringing up something that would never happen. He wondered if he really needed to say it since he might not even live with Junghoo for two months, but it was a final provision.

Once they started living together, it was clear he would know his every move. If he tried to make up a flimsy lie on the day his heat cycle came, he’d obviously just get his location tracked.

So, he decided to put a lock on that one day, so that no matter where he went, he couldn’t be found.

“In exchange, I won’t stay out any other night. We’ll have dinner together, right? I won’t go to the library, so let’s put a desk in a spare room and study together.”

As he put everything he could on the line for that one night out, Junghoo reluctantly nodded his head.

“Alright. Is there more?”

“No.”

Seowon put down his pen. He hadn’t agreed to a single one of Junghoo’s conditions, but Junghoo had agreed to all of his. It was an unfair contract from the start, but there was nothing to be gained for him by arguing for equality here.

He felt a little sorry for the selfish conditions, but it couldn’t be helped. This was the only way to hide his dynamic from Junghoo until the very end. As if to demand he keep his last promise, Seowon spoke firmly.

“I’m not going to take you to court for not keeping this once… but instead, I’ll think of you as a fucking-son-of-a-bitch-who-treats-promises-like-water-you’re-such-a-piece-of-trash. Of course, you can think of me that way too.”

Seowon folded the paper with a relieved expression. A smile automatically formed on his face at the thought that as long as these promises were kept, there would be no major problems living with Junghoo.

Just then, Junghoo scratched his chin and asked a question that came to him belatedly.

“What about things that aren’t in the contract?”

“There might be things we didn’t think of right away, so we can add them one by one, right?”

Junghoo immediately cast a long shadow in front of Seowon. When he stood up from a sitting position, the 10-centimeter height difference felt quite intimidating. Junghoo’s gaze, looking down from above, swept over Seowon as if to pounce on him.

“What is it?”

“I want to hug you and take a nap. That’s not in the contract. Right?”

Junghoo immediately reached his hand out towards Seowon.

With each condition Seowon made, Junghoo let it pass without making a big deal of it. It wasn’t that he was fine with everything just because he could live with Seowon, but that he was planning to create situations not covered by the contract.

The item “do not embrace” was not written under the ‘napping’ clause.

Seowon, who had used his head to write the contract, and Junghoo, who aimed for the loopholes in that contract, were both hell-bent on creating a situation advantageous to themselves one way or another.

‘I knew it.’

Seowon had felt something was strange when Junghoo backed down so obediently. He felt a sense of betrayal at having been tricked, but he had no intention of letting it slide.

With a calm face, Seowon pushed against Junghoo’s chest. Even though he didn’t use much force, Junghoo stepped back as Seowon pushed.

Just looking at the innocent expression on his pale face, one would be in a situation to doubt whether he was suggesting they sleep together with pure intentions. But Seowon didn’t trust that face of Junghoo’s.

It had been that way since they were kids. In front of adults, he would smile brightly with an innocent face that knew nothing, but when it was just the two of them, he would spout strange things with that very same expression.

“If you’re going to be like this from the start, I can’t live with you.”

Seowon said firmly, meeting Junghoo’s eyes.

“I’ll go to Minsung’s.”

At the warning delivered like a final stamp, Junghoo’s expression immediately changed. Annoyance seeped into his clear eyes, followed by the sound of him clicking his tongue.

“That’s cheap.”

Seowon put some distance between himself and Junghoo.

“Let’s not be too clingy for friends. Okay?”

Though one person’s feelings were too deeply steeped in affection to be called friends, Seowon defined their relationship as friendship. Refusing him was the priority for now.

“If you’re going to nap, then go ahead. I’m going to look around the room.”

Seowon turned and picked up the contract that was on the table. This was his will to protect it at all costs.

“Where do I sleep?”

When he asked where the room was, Junghoo, who had been watching without a word until now, turned his body to the side. When the door that had been hidden by his body was revealed, Seowon moved with a word of thanks. Standing in front of the door, which was incomparably cleaner than his apartment’s, Seowon stood still for a moment and then turned only his head.

He saw Junghoo, still in the same spot. He had already forgotten about the argument he’d just had with him. Right now, it was just…

“Thanks.”

He was only grateful to Junghoo for letting him into his home.

Even though he always acted like a crazy bastard, in the end, the one who helped him was Yoo Junghoo. Just because he was a chaebol didn’t mean he had money to spare, and a student couldn’t spend such a large amount of money like it was pocket change. But Junghoo had willingly lent him a large sum of money and even brought him into his home.

This was a debt he would never be able to forget for the rest of his life.

“I’ll definitely pay you back.”

The money was one thing, but having Junghoo by his side today had been reassuring. If he had heard that his father’s company was in trouble through another channel instead of Junghoo, what could he have done?

As a university student, he could have taken a leave of absence and looked for a part-time job, but that was all. He couldn’t deny that Junghoo had been a bigger help than he could have been.

At the words Seowon mumbled hesitantly, Junghoo looked at him as if surprised, and then his red lips parted in a wide smile.

“Seowon, saying things like that is cheating.”

“What’s so cheating about saying I’ll repay you since I’m indebted to you?”

“You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you won’t let me touch you, and then you say such a cute thing?”

That’s not what he was trying to hear. Of course, even if time turned back, he would have said the same thing.

He was about to say, “Next time you’re in a tough spot,” but a question suddenly occurred to him. If his company went bankrupt, wouldn’t that mean South Korea would go bankrupt? Then there would be no tough times, so would a day ever come when he could help?

“…I’ll help another friend if they get into trouble, just like you did.”

It would be best to just help someone else in the same way he had received help. At Seowon’s conclusion, Junghoo let out a low laugh. Then he spoke in the gentlest voice in the world.

“Seowon, what kind of bullshit is that?”

“What do you mean, bullshit? Why would you say something like that?”

“I helped you because it was you. I don’t care if any other kid ends up on the street right now. But you’re talking about giving what you received from me to someone else?”

His languid voice dug into his ears.

“You won’t get anything good out of making me jealous, Seowon.”

At Junghoo’s gentle tirade, Seowon made a firm resolve. Even if the country goes to ruin and his company goes bankrupt, I must never let this guy into my house.

“I’m going in. Get some rest.”

Seowon pushed Junghoo away and opened the door to his room. He felt Junghoo’s gaze on his back, but Seowon coldly shut the door.

Just the separation of space felt like a layer of tension had been peeled away. Seowon took a step away from the door and let out a sigh, phew.

“Looks like I’ll have to see Yoo Junghoo’s bullshit every day.”

Seowon roughly wiped his weary face with his hand and swept his hair back. He pressed the back of his hand firmly against his dry eyes and, when he opened them again, fixed his gaze on the door. He counted to ten in his head, wondering if Junghoo would follow him in, and only then did he look around the room.

It was a neat space with a bed, a desk, a drawer, and a small bookshelf. It seemed clothes were kept in a separate dressing room, and the drawer was probably for storing various things.

After examining it for a moment, Seowon took out a round, white container from his bag. The pill case, which was barely visible when held in his hand, made a rattling sound whenever it moved.

Seowon opened the second drawer and raised his hand to place the container inside, but he changed his mind and put only the contract he was holding in his other hand inside.

“I can put this in when I’m certain.”

He muttered as he closed the drawer, then turned and went to the bed, lifting the mattress. It was quite heavy, but not so much that he couldn’t lift it. After slipping the pill case between the mattress and the frame, Seowon sighed and stood up.

“Do I really have to go this far?”

Even he thought it was an excessive idea. But once he started hiding it, he kept worrying and getting anxious about being found out. He wondered if he really needed to hide his heat suppressants under the mattress, but it was better than putting them in the drawer and feeling anxious. He didn’t want to create a situation where Junghoo might accidentally find the suppressants.

If he finds out I’m an omega, he’ll be ecstatically happy.

It was obvious that a crazed Junghoo would rush in without thinking and make a fuss about getting married. Little did he know that was why he was hiding it.

“Why should I trust a guy who suddenly disappeared and then just as suddenly showed up saying he likes me?”

Seowon shook his head.

“To tell that crazy bastard everything, I’d have to tie him up first.”

It seemed like a conversation would only be possible after tying his hands, his feet, and his junk.

That guy would never listen to a long-winded explanation. Seowon decided it couldn’t be helped, as they had suddenly started living together, and continued to organize his things.

*

As soon as Seowon went in, Junghoo let out a long sigh and lay down right on the floor. He had pretended to be fine in front of Seowon, but his body was already deteriorating rapidly. He couldn’t let his mind wander for even a moment as he tried to contain his raging pheromones, to keep them from escaping somehow.

“That’s why I said no…”

He resented Yoo Taeha for not giving him the shot, but that was only possible when he had the luxury of thinking about other things, so he soon focused. The pheromones, which were running rampant through his entire body, targeted the weakest part of Junghoo—his head—and charged.

*

When Seowon came out of the room, Junghoo was leaning his head back on the sofa with his eyes closed. ‘Does he nap on the floor?’ Seowon wondered, and as he got closer, he noticed Junghoo’s breathing was ragged and clicked his tongue.

“Go sleep in your room.”

“I’m not sleeping.”

“Then why are you like that?”

“My head hurts.”

Seeing the lack of energy in his voice, it didn’t seem like a lie, so Seowon looked at Junghoo more closely again.

“Your head suddenly hurts?”

“No, I’ve been in pain for a while.”

“…And you were hitting on me like that earlier when you were in pain?”

“That’s something I have to do even if I’m in pain.”

Junghoo turned his head to the side with his eyes still closed. Just by looking at his face, it was hard to tell whether his naturally pale skin had become even paler or not.

“Does it really hurt?”

“Yeah.”

As Seowon approached him out of concern, Junghoo mumbled with his eyes still closed.

“I think your kiss would cure it all.”

“Want me to have my fist and your lips collide?”

“That would be nice too.”

Junghoo’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he smiled. He laughed, his whole body shaking as if he were imagining it, and his head, which had been resting on the sofa, slipped and fell to the floor. Even though his head hit the floor with a sound like a watermelon cracking, his smile didn’t disappear. If he were really in pain, he wouldn’t be able to laugh like that. Seowon, who had been fooled by Junghoo’s prank, turned away coldly.