“If I were really a dominant omega, you wouldn’t have even had a chance. You know that?”
Seoha shouted as he roughly released Wooyeon’s hair. From him at close range came a thick pheromone scent, but it wasn’t natural. He, a recessive alpha, was wearing omega pheromone perfume. Whether it was because the rumor of being a dominant omega was contributing to pianist Lee Seoha’s popularity, or because he was on his way to see Jeonghan, was unknown.
“Fine. Have sex to your heart’s content in my place. That’s a recessive omega’s duty, right? I won’t stop that.”
“……”
“Anyway, I’m the one who’ll have Kwon Jeonghan.”
Even after Seoha left the villa, Wooyeon curled up on the floor and cried for a long time.
* * *
“You’re already awake?”
Jeonghan returned to the villa about an hour after that. Jeonghan had shopping bags dangling all over his shoulders, whatever he’d been doing.
Wooyeon was still wearing the bathrobe, sitting on the living room sofa with his legs together, staring blankly into space. Fortunately, the tears that had been flowing continuously had stopped.
“If you were awake, you could’ve at least contacted me. What are you doing here?”
Jeonghan asked, seeing the TV in front was turned off. When Jeonghan approached closer, only then did Wooyeon’s unfocused eyes turn toward Jeonghan. At the empty eyes, Jeonghan slightly furrowed his brow.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“No…… I’m fine.”
Jeonghan set the shopping bags down on the floor and sat next to Wooyeon. A naturally extending hand stroked Wooyeon’s hair and the back of his head, then turned his face to look at him. A faint smile spread, and Jeonghan pulled Wooyeon’s head and swallowed his lips just like that.
Wooyeon parted his lips as Jeonghan wanted, and responded to the kiss with his eyes open in a daze. Affectionate hands cupped Wooyeon’s cheek and nape, and a tongue gently dug in and softly intertwined.
“I told you to close your eyes when you kiss me.”
“……”
“Close your eyes this time.”
Their lips touched again. Jeonghan took Wooyeon’s wrist and made him drape it over his shoulder. When Wooyeon slowly closed his eyes with their lips pressed together, his wet eyelashes pushed tears down.
The affectionate kiss hurt his heart. The owner of this kiss, which he’d felt doubtful about every time he kissed him, wasn’t himself.
With a smack, their lips separated. When Wooyeon slowly opened his eyes, Jeonghan gave another brief peck to his lips, then kissed Wooyeon’s wet cheek again.
“Why are you crying?”
Wooyeon couldn’t answer.
“Cheer up.”
The face stroking Wooyeon’s hair was endlessly affectionate. Jeonghan seemed to think Wooyeon’s tears were because of last night’s rough sex. Since Wooyeon didn’t need to specifically explain his own wretchedness, he didn’t mention what he’d heard from Seoha.
“You’re still swollen.”
Jeonghan’s hand slowly caressed Wooyeon’s swollen cheek. He couldn’t possibly imagine it had become like this because he’d been slapped again. He wanted to ask how Seoha came and went from this house so freely, what kind of relationship the two had, but it was after he’d already realized he wasn’t qualified to ask such things. Wooyeon swallowed that down inside as well.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you that angry?”
“……No.”
“Your throat hurts a lot, doesn’t it?”
With another smack, Jeonghan’s lips touched Wooyeon’s lips and separated.
“Ah, I thought you’d have nothing to wear, so I had someone buy some things roughly.”
Jeonghan stood up from the sofa and came back to Wooyeon carrying the pile of shopping bags. So shopping could be done by having someone else do it. The shopping bags placed at Wooyeon’s feet all bore luxury brand labels.
“I ruined all of sunbae’s clothes yesterday.”
Wooyeon’s tired eyes moved from the pile of shopping bags to Jeonghan. Jeonghan was looking at Wooyeon with shining eyes like a dog hoping for praise. He couldn’t have felt more pathetic than when he’d washed his underwear with shampoo in his bathroom as soon as he woke up.
He knew he really meant nothing to him. The price of these clothes that he couldn’t even imagine, and even this thoughtfulness of taking care of such things—all of it.
“Sunbae.”
When Wooyeon remained still without even looking into the shopping bags, Jeonghan cupped both of Wooyeon’s cheeks to make him look at him. At their meeting gaze, Wooyeon felt like he would cry any moment.
“Should we date?”
“……What do you mean?”
“The meaning you know, sunbae.”
At the tears welling up suddenly, Wooyeon removed Jeonghan’s arms cupping his cheeks. He couldn’t understand what he meant by saying such a thing.
“You seemed to not like the previous proposal.”
Jeonghan added. Though he hadn’t expected it, as expected it wasn’t a sincere confession. Something he’d built up in his heart was crumbling down. Wooyeon stood up from the sofa and passed by him, then sighed and turned back to look at Jeonghan.
“……Jeonghan-ah.”
The voice calling him trembled, soaked with tears. His reddened, swollen cheeks and lips trembled pitifully.
“Don’t do this to me.”
Jeonghan slowly tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at Wooyeon.
“Don’t…… be so good to me.”
Each time Wooyeon blinked, tears were pushed down. His pretty face was completely wet with tears.
“When you want to do it, it’s okay to do it. But, I’m too…… don’t be so good to me.”
Overcome with sorrow, Wooyeon wiped the streaming tears haphazardly with the sleeve of the bathrobe and sobbed. The long sleeves covered up to Wooyeon’s hands. With a face that said he found him lovely, Jeonghan approached Wooyeon and hugged the sobbing Wooyeon.
“Don’t worry, everything from now on.”
What shouldn’t he worry about? Suppressants? Pheromones? Money?
But he also couldn’t reject Jeonghan who was hugging him. Wooyeon cried without being able to push away Jeonghan, who was embracing him affectionately.
* * *
‘The dosage instructions are on the side, so read them. It’s a month’s supply, so I’ll give you more next month.’
Swoooosh.
Wooyeon was clutching the toilet as it sent water swirling down. What Jeonghan had said when handing over the suppressants kept oddly echoing in his ears. Saliva-slicked lips dripped watery gastric fluid. Since taking the suppressants Jeonghan had given him, his physical condition had continuously been poor. Looking at the clock, it was already time to prepare to go to his tutoring job.
Wiping his lips, Wooyeon stood up, turned around, and filled his mouth with water from the sink. A makeshift sink that was crudely made beyond measure, a mirror with chipped edges rusted here and there, toothpaste that had been squeezed out so much it barely came out anymore. He didn’t know why these everyday scenes that were ordinary to Wooyeon felt so shabby today in particular.
Wooyeon knew well that even such feelings were a luxury for him. Averting his face in the mirror, Wooyeon forcibly pressed and squeezed the end of the toothpaste. Wooyeon’s nape reflected in the mirror was a mess with mottled marks all over. I’ll have to wear something that comes up to my neck. Wooyeon covered his neck with his left hand, thinking so.
After brushing his teeth, Wooyeon came out of the bathroom and faced the luxury shopping bags sprawled out unsuitably in the corner of his cramped room. Ha, a scoff burst from inside Wooyeon’s mouth. How many months’ rent would that be? Thinking it might be more than just a few months, he didn’t even have the courage to examine them.
Wooyeon opened the zipper of the makeshift cloth wardrobe and looked for a black turtleneck. It seemed he’d have to wear the same clothes for the time being. The turtleneck was awkward enough, but to wear a scarf, the spring atmosphere was already in full bloom.
Wooyeon pulled on the turtleneck and went to the bathroom to check that the marks remaining on his neck weren’t visible, then went outside for his tutoring job.
The place where he got off the bus was an ordinary apartment complex. Out of habit, Wooyeon adjusted the neck part of the turtleneck as he entered the apartment complex. Not long after entering the main gate, the glass of the apartment shopping arcade reflected Wooyeon’s body. Wooyeon, who slowly stopped walking, looked at the pharmacy on the first floor of the apartment shopping arcade.
Recalling last night’s sex with Jeonghan, Wooyeon raised his hand to cover his mouth. Come to think of it, Jeonghan hadn’t used a condom yesterday.
“Welcome.”
When Wooyeon entered the pharmacy, the pharmacist greeted him with a smile. Looking at the clock, fortunately it seemed he wouldn’t be late for his tutoring time. A sigh naturally escaped from the lips of Wooyeon, who bowed in greeting.
“Do you need something?”
“Um, morning-after pill……”
“When did you have relations?”
“Last night.”
Wooyeon’s face turned bright red. Whether it was a very routine matter for the pharmacist, they went to stand in front of the shelf lined with medicine without any concern.
“Your trait is omega, right?”
“Yes. Recessive omega……”
“I’m sorry, but may I also ask the gender of your partner?”
“……It was a man, a dominant alpha.”
Hmm…… The pharmacist seemed to hesitate, then picked out a morning-after pill for omegas and brought it to Wooyeon. After the Omega Special Act, morning-after pills for omegas could be purchased directly at pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription.
“Actually, if you’re a recessive omega, natural pregnancy with a male alpha is probabilistically almost negligible, you know that, right?”
“Yes. But I was in heat yesterday.”
“Then I suppose you’d feel somewhat anxious.”
He didn’t want to leave even a 1% possibility open. If by any chance he became pregnant…….
