PAO 81

“So you hid your secondary gender from me, is that it?”

For the second time in a week, Seowon was caught in a headlock by Minhee. He should have expected this when he met Minhee in class again after the weekend.

He’d had a nagging feeling that something was off at the bar that day, and it turned out he hadn’t told Minhee about his secondary gender.

“And here I was, thinking a love that transcends secondary genders was blossoming, completely unaware.”

“Ugh, Junghoo likes me for who I am.”

Although Seowon said it never had anything to do with his secondary gender in the first place, Minhee seemed to have no intention of letting him off, tightening her grip on his arm.

“Stop it. You’re hurting Seowon.”

When Minsung stepped in without pretending not to see, Minhee released her arm and calmed her boiling insides with an Americano.

“How cheap.”

The disappointment Minhee felt, knowing that Minsung was the only one who knew Seowon’s secret, was written all over her face.

“I’m sorry.”

Seowon moved to the seat next to Minhee and apologized, gently bumping his shoulder against hers.

“Are you really sorry? Were you afraid I’d tell someone if I knew your secret?”

He knew she wouldn’t do that. Minhee was the type of person who would never open her mouth if Seowon told her not to. In fact, in this respect, she was someone he could count on even more than Minsung, but the reason he hid it was…

He just hadn’t seen the need to tell her. Although Minhee was also an Omega, she handled things well on her own, whereas he had revealed it to Minsung while helping him, so there was a difference.

“Park Minhee, I told you everything last time. I found out about Seowon’s secondary gender by chance, and it happened because he was helping me.”

Minsung, who thought the same as Seowon, came to his aid. Minhee was still not satisfied, but since it was her twin he had helped and not someone else, she let it go with a sigh.

“Promise me. If you want to be friends with me for life, you can’t hide anything anymore. Then I’ll forgive you.”

Minhee held out her pinky finger, making an offer. Not only did Seowon have no reason to refuse, but it was also what he wanted, so he firmly linked his finger with hers.

“Of course.”

To think it would end so warmly. As expected, since she was Minsung’s twin, Minhee couldn’t help but be a kind…

“What are you doing?”

Seowon asked, seeing Minhee taking a selfie with her phone. Because Minhee raised her hand to get a clear shot of their linked pinkies, Seowon was pulled up along with her.

After taking the picture, Minhee brushed Seowon’s hand away as if her business was done. As a result, Seowon, whose hand was left hanging awkwardly in the air, looked at Minhee with a face that said he had no idea what was going on.

As Minhee fiddled with her phone, Minsung joined in.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m telling him I promised to be with Seowon for life.”

When she said she was including the photo as proof, he had a good idea of who she was sending it to.

“Don’t tell me it’s Yoo Junghoo?”

“Yep.”

“…Why?”

Why would you sow such a seed of discord?

When Seowon looked at her with an expression that said this was too much, Minhee waved her phone playfully with a very wicked smile.

“This is my revenge for not telling me.”

Minhee burst out laughing, cackling without a care even when people in the cafe turned to look. With that harmless, triumphant face, she had deliberately put Seowon off his guard to make him offer his pinky.

Normally, he would just pass something like this off as a joke, but…

Seowon’s phone, which was on the table, rang. Seeing Junghoo’s name on the screen, Seowon slapped a hand to his forehead.

“To him, this isn’t a joke.”

For a guy who’s completely head over heels for me, there’s nothing more fatal than this. Seowon shot Minhee a glare that said, “I’ll see you later,” and stood up with his phone.

Class was over, so there was no need to stay here any longer.

“Hello?”

—I’m the one who’s going to be with you for life.

As soon as he answered, a man’s rich voice flowed out. His voice was nice, but the way his words were drawn out was a clear sign he was sulking.

“Ah, I know. Minhee was just joking. It was about being friends for life.”

—I’m going to be that too.

At Junghoo’s sullen reply, Seowon let out a silent sigh.

“Fine. You be my friend, my boyfriend, my Alpha, my husband—you be everything.”

The lack of a reply from Junghoo was a clear sign that he was satisfied. To drive the point home, Seowon walked toward the university’s main gate with the phone still to his ear.

“Where are you?”

He says he loves only me, so I should be nice to him when we meet.

“You lover boy. You were day drinking while I was in class?”

Seowon’s resolve to be nice evaporated into boiling anger the moment he saw the back of Junghoo’s head, slumped over on the table. No wonder the guy, who usually contacted him immediately outside of his class time, had been so quiet.

Last week, it was him who had been drinking; this time, it was Yoo Junghoo. The guy who had said he wanted to get him drunk and turn him into a puppy was now, simply, out of his mind.

He didn’t even know who he had been drinking with. Since Junghoo was alone, Seowon took him and left the bar. It was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse that they were near his house, so they didn’t have to take a taxi.

“You should have just drunk somewhere far away.”

As he walked, dragging Junghoo with one of his arms slung over his shoulder, he thought it would have been much better to take a car. He himself was quite tall, but he couldn’t stop the tips of Junghoo’s feet from scraping the ground. And if he tried to carry him on his back, it was incredibly difficult to hold onto him as he’d slip to the side, having lost consciousness.

He had changed his position several times on the way, but the best he could do was stand next to Junghoo, holding his waist and dragging him along. He couldn’t do anything about the sweat that beaded on his eyelashes and dripped into his eyes from the effort of holding onto him, for fear of dropping him. Even though it stung, he endured it by blinking a few times and finally made it home.

“We’re… here.”

Just crossing the threshold of the front door felt like being cut off from the outside world, and Seowon’s mind was instantly at ease. Then, his grip loosened and he almost dropped Junghoo, but Seowon summoned his last bit of strength and headed for the bedroom.

“You just wait until you’re sober.”

Then he was going to make a proper issue out of today’s events. He would have to question him relentlessly about who he was drinking with.

After laying Junghoo down in his room, Seowon immediately wiped his eyes with his sleeve. The saltiness still lingering in his eyes was what he found hardest to bear because it stung.

Next, he examined the hand that had to support Junghoo’s weight, and the trembling of his fingertips was visible to the naked eye. However, the trembling of his own hand was pushed down the priority list by Junghoo’s groans.

“Ughh.”

As if he had momentarily regained consciousness, Junghoo turned on his side and curled up.

“Junghoo, Yoo Junghoo.”

Seowon placed a hand on his forehead, then patted his body and called his name.

“Come on, wake up. Huh? Junghoo.”

Seowon continued to speak to him while releasing his pheromones. He did it hoping that his pheromones would wake Junghoo up.

“Yeah? It’s my Seowon.”

Junghoo peeked at him by slightly opening one eye, then smiled foolishly and reached out his hand.

“Yes, it’s your Seowon.”

“My friend, my boyfriend, my Omega, my husband.”

“You be all of them.”

Seowon didn’t stop him and pushed everything onto Junghoo.

“And my… medicine.”

“That’s right. The medicine that keeps you alive.”

Seowon intensified his pheromones and played along with Junghoo’s words. The conversation he had with Yoo Taeha still lingered in his head and his heart.

His head felt a persistent sense of regret that Junghoo hadn’t been completely cured, but his heart liked it because it meant he couldn’t live without him, making him feel like he was the only one.

He wondered what Junghoo would say if he knew about this selfish heart of his.

“I’m so glad.”

Junghoo mumbled, rubbing his face against Seowon’s thigh.

“What are you so glad about? You’re a guy who would die without me…”

“I like that I’ve bet everything I have on you. The agonizing feeling that I would die without you has become real.”

Junghoo’s drunken, heartfelt words pierced Seowon’s heart.

He was happy that they were tied together by an invisible string.

“I guess we’re crazy about each other.”

Otherwise, there was no way they would be happy about a situation like this instead of finding it regrettable.

Seowon sighed and stroked Junghoo’s hair.

“I’m only saying this because you’re drunk… but I like it too.”

“…”

“It feels like we’re destined to be together.”

It was a world just for the two of them, so tightly bound that no one else could ever break in. Junghoo could no longer disappear without a word, nor could he die as he pleased.

That fact alone filled Seowon’s empty heart to the brim, leaving nothing to be desired.

“When do you think you’ll need your medicine?”

I’d be fine with it being as soon as tomorrow…

Seowon rushed to the hospital after receiving a sudden call from Yoo Taeha. This had happened before. Most of the time Yoo Taeha contacted him, it was about Junghoo. Seowon couldn’t stop running, even though he was out of breath.

“Hah, hah.”

Only after seeing Yoo Taeha’s face did Seowon bend over deeply, placing his hands on his knees. As he took a few ragged breaths, sweat beaded on his chin and dripped onto the floor. Yoo Taeha just watched Seowon quietly, while Junghoo, who was already there, was the one who gently patted Seowon’s back.

“Why did you run all the way here? You could have taken a taxi.”

“I did take a taxi, but the traffic was so bad.”

He had gotten out midway and run the rest of the way, which was why he was breathing so hard.

“You could have taken your time…”

Judging by the gentle, soothing voice of Junghoo from above his head, it seemed, thankfully, that he wasn’t late.

“What are you glaring at? Is this a trivial matter? Huh?”

Though it seemed a different kind of look had been exchanged where Seowon couldn’t see.

“Anyway, Seowon, I’m glad you’re here. Have a seat.”

The way Yoo Taeha gestured for Seowon to come closer now seemed to hold another meaning. For instance, like he was trying to pull Seowon over and change the atmosphere before Junghoo got any more hostile…

“I’m asking this as a doctor, so I hope you’ll answer honestly even if it’s embarrassing. I’m not joking at all, so it would be even better if you could be serious.”