It was a novel he’d almost forgotten, thinking he had no connection to it anymore.
The description of ‘Baek Gunho’s’ pheromones—besides this, what other content was there about it?
As he belatedly rummaged through his mind to recall the novel’s plot, Lee Haram’s voice reached him.
“Write it down quickly, hyung.”
“Ah, okay.”
No, what does it matter anyway? Even if he learned more about this stuff, it would only be the curse of knowledge.
Thinking about other things during class is forbidden.
Just as he was about to cross out his previous answer with lines and write a new one, he finally couldn’t hold back and asked Lee Haram.
“Can’t you tell me too?”
“Huh? Tell you what?”
“My pheromones that you sensed.”
“H-hyung’s?”
“I want to know if there’s a difference from the scent I sensed.”
He suddenly became curious. How others perceived his pheromone scent, which to him just seemed like the smell of damp forest.
Like how the voice one thinks they have differs from their actual recorded voice, he wanted to hear others’ impressions of his pheromones.
It’s absolutely not because Baek Wooheon called ‘Baek Gunho’s’ pheromones disgusting and filthy.
It’s absolutely not because he wants to confirm whether there’s something like bad breath that only he hasn’t known about for 24 years.
“D-do you… really want to hear it, hyung?”
Lee Haram was reluctant to answer.
Why is he being so scary? Like he really doesn’t want to say it.
“It’s a bit… difficult to say…”
Like he’s worried I’ll get hurt…!
“Haram-ah, wouldn’t this help with the lessons too?”
He immediately spoke in a solemn voice as if scolding.
“That’s… it could, but…”
“Why? Is there some problem? You just have to tell me.”
Now that it’s come to this, he’ll have to hear it out of stubbornness.
“Well…”
“My pheromones are leaking out even now, right? These things rippling because I can’t control them.”
“Yeah…”
“You just have to tell me what smell it is.”
“Ah, okay. Then…”
Lee Haram hesitated a bit before speaking in an ant-sized voice.
“Wind…”
Lee Haram’s lips trembled as he continued speaking.
“A gentle breeze. The refreshing smell blowing from there… Originally hyung’s pheromone scent was so faint it only had a very subtle smell, but not anymore. It’s also like the feeling of standing on an incredibly vast meadow under the sunlight beating down on an incredibly warm, sunny day…”
“Huh? What? What meadow?”
Abstract words kept popping out for something that should be a smell.
Whether he responded or not, Lee Haram’s words began to speed up.
“You’re lying on a meadow where the forest spreads out lushly, enjoying a warm sunbath, when a cool breeze of just the right strength happens to blow. The smell of dew felt from there, the smell of the ground moistly soaked with dew, and the smell of sunlight seeping through the leaves. Below that, shadows and sun rays sparkle, and at the small lakeside visible ahead, small ripples reflect the sunlight creating glimmers that are just dazzling enough to feel good…!”
“W-wait a minute. Are you talking about pheromones?”
“Yes, I’m talking about hyung.”
Lee Haram, who had been spewing words without even breathing like it was some speech contest, seemed to come to his senses belatedly and nodded his head slightly with a reddened face.
“…”
Actually, he didn’t properly understand even half of what was said.
Still, looking at Lee Haram’s expression, he got a rough idea.
“Anyway, you’re saying it’s good?”
“…Yeah.”
“I see. Thanks for… viewing it favorably.”
“This is why I didn’t want to say it. Because it’s embarrassing!”
As expected of Lee Haram—his expressiveness was as exceptional as his sensitivity was rich. He was amazed that the scent he’d only thought of as damp earth smell was felt like that to Lee Haram.
“I thought alphas would definitely dislike other alpha pheromones unconditionally.”
“That’s a prejudice. Typically, alphas always tend to want to occupy a higher position in the hierarchy, right? Even with ordinary pheromones, many people pretend to dislike them because they want to keep them in check. Though they really do dislike scents that aren’t their preference.”
I see. Then what that means is—
“Haram and I have matching tastes then.”
“…Huh? Th-that, does it turn out that way? Hahaha!”
At my words, Lee Haram gasped and laughed loudly.
In conclusion, it seemed certain that my smell was different from that ‘Baek Gunho.’
At least he didn’t say things like rotten smell or foul smell like someone else.
Perhaps to Baek Wooheon, ‘Baek Gunho’s’ pheromone scent wasn’t his preference.
‘I’m glad Seolheon is a beta.’
If the latter were correct, he might have had to watch that handsome younger brother frown fiercely every time he passed by.
Imagining the child he raised with his heart spitting out curses at him saying ‘you smell rotten’… it feels like his heart is tearing…
Now he finally felt relieved.
The moment he picked up his pen to fill in the rest of the printout’s contents with peace of mind—
“Hyung.”
Suddenly his shoulder was gripped strongly.
Surprised by the grip strength strong enough to feel pain, he looked at Lee Haram’s face.
Lee Haram was looking directly at him with a completely serious face devoid of any smile.
“Haram-ah?”
“Wait.”
Lee Haram’s face instantly drew closer.
Lee Haram’s face passed by his cheek toward the back of his neck without even a gap to stop him.
It became a posture like embracing chest to chest, and sounds of sniff, sniff followed.
Lee Haram was pressing his nose against the back of his neck and sniffing.
The atrocity that Baek Jeongwoo had committed against him at the Baekil main family gathering came to mind, making goosebumps rise all over his body instantly.
“What are you doing right now…”
“It’s strange.”
A low voice unlike Lee Haram whispered near his ear.
“Pheromones normally come out the most from here. It’s a place that’s always full of pheromones like a storage…”
Lee Haram pressed the area around the neck with his finger and spoke with puzzlement. It was the hollow spot above the sternocleidomastoid muscle, below the ear.
His body stiffened naturally as someone else’s hand touched his vital point.
Fortunately, not long after, Lee Haram separated his body from him and continued speaking.
“Someone smeared pheromones here. Very faintly.”
…Pheromones?
His eyes widened naturally at the completely unexpected statement.
“Hyung, your pheromones have been unstable since this morning, right?”
“Ugh!”
Just as he thought there was a sweet flower scent, he immediately felt a heavy weight. Strong pheromones were flowing out from Lee Haram’s fingers.
Surprised by the forceful action, his voice naturally rose.
“What are you doing, Lee Haram! Suddenly…”
“How is it now?”
“What do you…”
As the pheromones were withdrawn again, the pressure choking his neck disappeared.
Just as he was about to confront Lee Haram while catching his breath, he noticed something strange.
“…What is this?”
“So it was because of this.”
Though his senses had dulled again due to taking medicine earlier, he could feel that the pheromones continuously flowing out from his body had calmed down a bit.
What had been swaying crazily like an event venue balloon had now regained stability to about the level of a curtain gently swaying in the breeze.
“Hyung’s pheromones—you couldn’t control them well yourself, but… they were being induced to flow out in response to ‘this.’ That’s why they were unstable enough for everyone to notice.”
“What do you mean?”
He understood what was being said, but didn’t understand what the situation was.
Lee Haram seemed to be the same, propping his chin and muttering to himself.
“But it’s strange… Why? Who? And pheromones so faint you can’t even tell whose they are…? Alpha? Omega? More than that, how? I really can’t figure it out…”
“H-Haram-ah?”
This was the first time seeing Lee Haram with such a serious and earnest face. The kid who always went around smiling brightly was like this, making him tense up as well.
“Hyung.”
Suddenly Lee Haram fixed his gaze on him.
“Did anyone smear pheromones on you today or recently? Here, directly.”
Lee Haram reached his arm toward his neck then hesitated and stopped his hand.
Perhaps feeling embarrassed and sorry about kneading his neck without hesitation, he averted his eyes.
“Was there anyone who sprayed pheromones especially strongly…”
“No. Not really… Ah, there was.”
“What? When!”
“An alpha senior. He sprayed a lot to establish discipline.”
“…Senior? When was that?”
“When I enlisted and was a new recruit, so it’s been well over a year.”
“Ah, not the military! Recently, I mean recently!”
Although he’d frowned at pheromones others emitted many times, he’d never had the experience of something being directly smeared on him.
Even that Baek Jeongwoo’s emitted pheromones were just barbaric, but it was far from the feeling of him doing something to him.
“I don’t know?”
“Haah… Right, hyung was a pheromone beginner. It makes sense you wouldn’t know even if someone did something. Because you’re that Gunho hyung…”
He felt a bit disrespected so it was uncomfortable, but since it was true, he just decided to keep his mouth shut.
“Hyung. Be careful. Whatever the intention, the fact that it was smeared so faintly, secretly, and subtly…”
“Smeared means?”
“They’re not an ordinary pervert.”
The green eyes looking at him were trembling faintly.
“And a really nasty, sordid pervert at that.”
* * *
“Seolheon-ah, I’m home.”
As soon as he entered the house, a sigh came out naturally.
It was because he was completely drained from being exposed to others’ pheromones without medicine for the first time in so long.
“Hyung.”
Baek Seolheon, who happened to be out in the kitchen, looked at him.
It was an expression that looked blunt and indifferent as always.
“You’re late.”
“I was studying for a bit.”
It’s not a lie. Pheromone study is also study.
“With who?”
“A friend… How did you know I was with someone else?”
“Intuition.”
Baek Seolheon placed a mug on the coffee machine and pressed the button.
The noisy sound of grinding coffee beans echoed through the quiet apartment.
“Seolheon also studied all day today, right? Good work.”
“…”
“Still, don’t drink coffee too late. Getting good sleep is also important when studying.”
Somehow there was no response.
Certainly, Baek Seolheon these days seemed to be low-pressure and more sensitive than usual for some reason.
Is this the heart of a parent with a test-taking child? Feeling needlessly conscious (though it’s largely due to cleaning up the rampage a few days ago), he unnecessarily brought up something he already knew.
“Ah, and the company fixing the main gate. You know they’re coming Saturday morning, right? The construction noise might be loud, so on that day go to a study room or…”
Tap.
A finger touched his shirt collar.
“Dust.”
“Huh?”
In the blink of an eye, Baek Seolheon’s finger attached and detached.
The cold fingertip brushed past his neck, leaving faint coldness.
“I got it off.”
“…Oh, thanks.”
“Hyung. I’m going out this weekend.”
“Hm?”
Wait. Baek Seolheon declaring he’s going out?
His eyes widened naturally at the unexpected statement.
It was a very rare statement from a type-I person who likes spending time alone.
“What’s the occasion? You, Seolheon, have plans on the weekend?”
“I might sleep over at a friend’s house.”
An overnight stay, even.
That Baek Seolheon, that introverted kid.
Our little Baek Seolheon who might have been that obsessive maniac Baek Wooheon, who had even the slightest possibility of growing up as a loner socially maladjusted psychopath trash sex offender…
An overnight stay at a friend’s house?
“…Is it not okay?”
Only after Baek Seolheon stared at his blank expression and asked quietly did his sanity that had run away far return to its original place.
“N-no! Of course it’s okay. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
Emotion surged so intensely that tears almost welled up.
He removed the hand pressing his forehead and hugged Baek Seolheon tightly.
“Are you studying with a friend? Our younger brother is admirable.”
“…”
“No, you don’t have to study. Taking a breather with a friend is good too! Have a good trip. These things are all memories too!”
As he hugged him tightly and patted his back hard, Baek Seolheon’s body flinched.
He did let out a deep sigh for some reason, but it didn’t seem like he disliked it, so it should be fine.
“I’ll come back Sunday morning.”
Moreover, coincidentally, that day was the day Baek Jeongwoo had called him out.
He was also planning to go out late at night that day, so it was actually better since it reduced excuses he’d need to make.
“Have a good trip, Seolheon-ah.”
And I should have a good trip too.
He looked at the small desk calendar placed on the table.
It was already two days away.
He hoped he could somehow learn the pheromone control method and adapt his body to it by that day, but…
‘Do I have no choice but to take plenty of medicine and go?’
I’ll just show my face to Baek Jeongwoo and leave right away, so yeah.
It’ll be fine. What could possibly happen?
* * *
And two days later.
“Ngh…”
“Is it hard?”
“Sto…!”
“You want me to stop?”
Strength was applied to the hand pressing down on his neck.
“The one who wants to say ‘stop’ is me.”
“…”
“Baek Gunho.”
…Something happened.
