PAO 74

Once while twirling the noodles with his fork, once while putting them in his mouth, and once out of sheer disbelief.

Seowon kept looking at Junghoo.

“Seowon, what do I taste like?”

“Cream.”

Having answered subconsciously, Seowon froze, fork still in hand. He had fallen for the trap hidden in an ordinary question.

“So my milk tastes like cream.”

Seeing Junghoo’s gaze travel down from the cream pasta, Seowon’s expression hardened.

“That milk isn’t the stuff that comes out of your dick, is it?”

“Wow, Seowon, your imagination has already gone that far? For my part, I’d be grateful if you said so.”

“I give up.”

It was obvious that if they were to squabble here, he would be the one getting twisted up, not the noodles, so Seowon gave up on retorting altogether. Instead, he took his anger out on the innocent cream pasta. As he jabbed at it with his fork, its thick and creamy texture again… Before his thoughts could stray into strange territory, Seowon opened his mouth.

“They said it wasn’t a complete cure. Are you okay with that?”

After meeting Yoo Taeha, they had come to a nearby pasta place to eat. Nothing had been sorted out yet. Yoo Taeha’s parting words, telling him to shower Junghoo with love, only added to Seowon’s turmoil.

Even though he was supposedly the cure and all that, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried. This was the disease that had changed Junghoo’s life; wouldn’t it be sad if he couldn’t completely shake it off?

Junghoo had mentioned the incurable disease with a smile, but that was just because the guy was so used to acting like nothing was wrong in front of him.

“Do you want to hear what I really think?”

At Junghoo’s quiet question, Seowon nodded and drank some water. Even though the cool water cleared his stuffy insides, Seowon didn’t feel refreshed.

Because he hadn’t heard Junghoo’s answer yet.

“You appeared in my dream when I was getting tested.”

“How long has it been since we broke up that you’re dreaming about me?”

Junghoo paid no mind to Seowon’s playful jab. In fact, his eyes even turned hazy as if he were recalling the Seowon from his dream.

“Just looking at you felt so good and made me so happy. It’s true that love is hot.”

“What are you talking about?”

As if love came with a fever…

Junghoo shook his head at Seowon’s muttering.

“It’s true.”

“So is that all you have to say?”

“I used to think my pheromones were useless things that made my body sick, but…”

At Junghoo’s words about his pheromones, Seowon felt something he couldn’t quite describe. As a dominant omega, it was easy for him to control his pheromones. He had only ever considered them something he could use when he wanted; he had never thought about them the way Junghoo did.

“The pheromones that come out when I think of you are different. They make my body hot.”

He was saying it was hot again.

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing.”

Seowon put his fork down completely and rested his chin on his hand.

“What’s so good about it?”

“For starters, it gets hard down there.”

“Hey, you son of a…”

Seowon was about to spit out the curse that had risen to his throat, but he realized they were in a pasta restaurant and forced it back down.

He was suddenly hit with a wave of disillusionment, wondering how a question about whether he was okay had devolved to this. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d felt this way while talking to Yoo Junghoo, but this time was a bit much.

“That means for the rest of your life, you’ll be in danger without me.”

“Will you stay by my side forever?”

“How can you even ask that?”

Right now, Seowon didn’t know what would happen to Junghoo without him, so how could “will you stay by my side” even be an option?

“If we’re going to live a long life together, I’d better start taking care of my health.”

Seowon sighed and put a hand to his forehead. The thought of living with two lives on his shoulders made them feel heavy.

“Don’t worry about your health. I’ll take care of it.”

Whether he was unaware of Seowon’s feelings, or just pretending not to know, Junghoo had a cheerful expression.

“The time we spent apart was such a waste. That’s why I came to find you before I died, and now we don’t have to be apart.”

It seemed Junghoo was just happy to be with Seowon.

“It turns out my pheromones weren’t a leash choking me, but a red string sent from heaven.”

“A red… what? Don’t tell me you’re talking about the string of fate or something like that.”

Despite Seowon’s horrified expression, hoping that wasn’t it, Junghoo nodded seriously. As if that wasn’t enough, he wiggled his pinky finger, showing it to Seowon.

“It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. You were my destiny.”

“Is this really the time for you to be talking about destiny? I asked if you were okay since your illness isn’t cured.”

“I’m glad it’s not cured.”

“Huh?”

Seowon asked, wondering if he had heard correctly, and Junghoo clarified it for him.

“I’m glad I can keep you by my side forever.”

“You’re glad, not sad or bitter?”

“Yeah, I’m so glad. I’m happy.”

Since Junghoo was answering with such a carefree expression, Seowon didn’t bother asking if he was being sincere.

“Seowon, you still don’t trust me? Should I cut open my heart and show you? I’ve come to want to live a very, very long life with you…”

“No, your sincerity is overwhelmingly evident.”

In any case, since he wasn’t bitter, Seowon let go of his worries and picked up his fork.

Not sad at all that he wasn’t cured. For a guy who had to consume his pheromones like a daily pill, he sure was happy.

As he jabbed his fork into the pasta that had gone cold while they talked and stirred it around, Seowon let out a chuckle without realizing it.

“Hmm? Seowon, do you like it hard?”

“I’m smiling because I like you.”

He didn’t know if it was because Junghoo wasn’t thinking about dying again, or because he remembered his father’s words. He would never have thrown his body on the line to save any other guy, but commendably, Junghoo was thinking of living a long, long life.

When Seowon boldly said what was on his mind, it was Junghoo who was flustered.

“In our relationship, confessions are my department.”

Acknowledging that Seowon’s words had caught him unexpectedly off guard, Junghoo shook his head and then smiled along.

It seemed he was happy just because Seowon was smiling, without even knowing why he liked him.

“Anyway, since this is how things turned out, let’s do our best from now on.”

Complicating things would only give him a headache, so Seowon summed it up simply.

“Ah, right.”

Seowon’s head snapped up.

A passing thought of his father had reminded him of something he had to tell Junghoo.

“My dad said he doesn’t like you.”

His father, who was probably at work, would be flustered if he heard, but Seowon found Junghoo annoying and had no intention of easily relaying the news that he had given his permission.

At Seowon’s words, Junghoo was so shocked he dropped the fork he was holding.

“What does your father like? I know what you like, but I can’t think of anything for your father, what should I do?”

He had been so composed when talking about the illness he would carry for the rest of his life, but now he was fidgeting as if he had to get up and leave that very instant.

Seowon decided to enjoy Junghoo’s restlessness for just a little longer.

Only when Junghoo was about to go see his father did Seowon tell him the truth.

“Your father said he likes me?”

“He didn’t say he likes you, just that he approves.”

“Your father did like me.”

“I told you he didn’t say he liked you.”

“Whenever I visited, he’d always ask if I’d been well, or if I’d eaten, worrying about me. There’s no way he’d dislike me.”

Judging by how Junghoo repeated similar things over and over, it seemed Seowon’s prank had scared the life out of him.

He kept asking about it after they finished eating and moved to a cafe, and he was still going on about it now that they’d come to a park as the sun set and a considerable breeze picked up.

Of course, it wasn’t like he’d done anything right by deceiving him for several hours, but why did the guy keep saying the same thing over and over?

Seowon turned his head, deciding not to look at Junghoo at all.

As if they shared his sentiment, quite a few people were out in the park after sunset. There were couples walking hand in hand affectionately, and families watching their running children with fond eyes.

They must have always been around him. It wasn’t uncommon to see couples or families on the street. But whereas back then he felt nothing, now they caught his eye and he couldn’t just ignore them. The reason why was all too simple.

“Junghoo.”

Watching them, Seowon spoke calmly.

“What?”

Junghoo, who had still been muttering things like, he approved, and he liked me, and he’d always doted on me since I was a kid, responded immediately.

“Choose one of the two.”

Seowon’s lips moved, still not looking back at Junghoo.

“Whether you’d rather have me stick around as your cure…”

That alone would ensure Seowon would never be far from Junghoo for the rest of his life. As a dominant, he could also sense Junghoo’s pheromones keenly, so he had even suspected that perhaps his own constitution was tailor-made for Junghoo.

In any case, it was a relief that he could be of help to Junghoo. It was a relief, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Or whether you’d rather have me stick around as your lover.”

So this was why. He couldn’t shake the thought that there had been some reason for sleeping with Junghoo. There was only one way to completely escape that thought, but first, he was curious about what Junghoo thought.

When there was no response from Junghoo, Seowon thought perhaps he had presented a difficult choice and added more.

“I’m telling you to decide whether you’re going to introduce me to other people as your cure, or as your boyfriend.”

If he still didn’t get it, then forget it.

There was still no word from Junghoo, and Seowon’s patience wore thin. Just as he was about to turn back to him, he was awkwardly pulled into Junghoo’s arms as Junghoo hugged him from behind.

I think my shoulder just hit Junghoo’s chest…

“What are you doing, hugging me so suddenly? Hey, can you breathe?”