“How many people?”
“Three!”
Lee Haram confidently held up three fingers.
The part-timer gaped at Lee Haram and my faces, then hastily said.
“You’ll, you’ll have to put your name on the waiting list…”
Looking at the kiosk, the number of waiting teams had exceeded 50.
The part-timer glanced around nervously, then covered their mouth with their palm and whispered.
“There’s too many, right? Should I try to secretly… squeeze you in between?”
I doubted a mere part-timer would have that kind of authority.
Before any illegal activity could occur, I hurriedly pushed Lee Haram and Kim Jaewook’s backs while saying.
“We’ll come back next time.”
“Okay…”
Leaving behind the disappointed part-timer, we went out into the street.
Already May. The late spring sky kept the sun out long.
Under the crimson sky, the university district was bustling with people.
Kim Jaewook sighed and said.
“Did everyone flock here because it’s a grand opening? Where are we going now?”
“Hyungs, is there anything you specifically want to eat? I’m fine with anything.”
“I was trying to drink with just Gunho. Why’d this foreigner have to butt in?”
“Why? Don’t leave me out.”
“Even when a guy over 190cm acts cute… I guess it works if you have the face for it.”
“Haha.”
Lee Haram, scratching the back of his head, said to me.
“Gunho hyung. Are you tired today? You’re being quiet.”
Startled.
For a moment I felt like my mental state had been exposed, so I hurriedly put a smile on my face.
“No, I’m not tired.”
“Isn’t there somewhere we can drink quietly? A place with divided spaces?”
At Kim Jaewook’s words, Lee Haram and I tilted our heads simultaneously.
“Like a room?”
“When you two are side by side, we can’t drink quietly.”
Lee Haram and I looked at each other, then soon nodded.
“Gunho hyung is incredibly handsome, after all.”
“Haram is pretty, after all.”
“Both of you. You alpha bastards. …As a beta, I feel inferior.”
When Kim Jaewook sighed while touching his brow, Lee Haram shook his head vigorously.
“No! Jaewook hyung is super handsome too! Why are you like this! Have confidence!”
“Those words make it even harder for me.”
“Ah! I remember! A good place!”
“…You stop consoling me, and what is it?”
Then he suddenly raised his hand.
“Follow me!”
* * *
“Ta-da, how is it?”
The place we arrived at through Lee Haram’s introduction was a fairly spacious restaurant-bar.
“It’s not a room but it’s pretty private, right?”
Each seat had partitions installed, and the menu was diverse with Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Western food, and from soju, beer, highballs, cocktails, whiskey to wine… Rather than lacking anything, it was cluttered because there was too much.
“What kind of place is this…?”
“You know, you know, that cooking survival program on Viflix. This is a famous chain by a chef who appeared on it. Friends brought me here and it was delicious! The seats are spacious too.”
As expected, popular people are different. Restaurant information comes out right away.
When I picked up one of the hybrid skewers combining Korean and Japanese styles, Lee Haram said.
“Now then! Gunho hyung! Tell me what’s bothering you!”
“What? Why me all of a sudden…?”
“I can pretty much tell whether you’re lying or not. Your face has been full of worry since earlier.”
“Right, Baek Gunho. What exactly was that accident you had over the weekend? Spill it honestly.”
“Huh? Gunho hyung had an accident? Are you okay?!”
Kim Jaewook, who had been agreeing with Lee Haram, bowed his head toward me and said seriously.
“What do you mean you were forced by an alpha?”
“Whaaaat?! Fo-forced?”
At this, Lee Haram exclaimed loudly in shock.
“What, what, what, what were you forced to do! Su-su-surely! Forcibly…!”
Then he pointed at me with a trembling finger.
“Did they… hold your hand at least…?”
“…”
“Or, or a hug?”
What an imagination.
Who would think this innocent blonde beauty is a dominant alpha?
“It’s a long story…”
In the end, I had no choice but to start explaining.
I attended a kind of social gathering to meet an “acquaintance,” but there I was exposed to somewhat “intense” pheromones and got drunk and collapsed.
There I was caught by “some alpha” who forcibly covered me in pheromones and I passed out again.
After that, my acquaintance found me collapsed and safely sent me home.
“Actually, I was drunk on pheromones so I don’t remember well. I don’t remember what conversation I had with that alpha at all.”
“…”
“I’ll have to properly ask Baek Jeong… my acquaintance exactly what happened.”
Kim Jaewook said with a stiff face.
“Isn’t that a dangerous bastard? Did you report it to the police?”
“That’s a place where police and prosecutors come and go too.”
“…The hospital?”
“I already moved up my regular checkup schedule.”
“Gunho hyung…”
Lee Haram, who had been lost in thought, looked at me and spoke.
“…Hyung, I think you can rest easy for now. If this happened just the day before yesterday or yesterday, there’s no way you’d be this clean without a single pheromone trace.”
He paused to choose his words, then added an explanation.
“Even if you use deodorizing drugs, pheromones always leave traces. To cover someone in pheromones like that and not leave a single trace… it would be impossible unless you truly surpassed human limits.”
Hearing those words, my heart that had been heavy all along felt much lighter.
It was a result confirmed directly by none other than Lee Haram himself. There was no need to worry further.
“Thanks, Haram. Hearing that puts me at ease.”
Just as I was about to conclude that it might indeed be a delusion created by unconscious fear of pheromones…
“But. It is a bit unsettling.”
Lee Haram frowned subtly.
“Forcibly covering someone in pheromones. Do you know what that means between alphas and omegas…?”
His face soon hardened coldly.
“Possessiveness.”
Like when he detected someone else’s pheromones during pheromone class before, it was an overly serious expression.
I felt slightly creeped out but didn’t show it.
“…Then it’s even more definitely a dream. Where would you find an alpha with possessiveness toward another alpha?”
After living in this world for nearly twenty years, I’d somewhat adapted to the fact that a man with the same equipment could be a romantic interest.
But… romance between alphas who not only have the same equipment but also similar builds and pheromones… That’s a rather peculiar category even in this world.
“Unless they had really abnormal tastes…”
As I continued speaking, Lee Haram flinched and a shadow fell over his face.
Why is he suddenly like that? Just as he was putting down the glass he was holding, Kim Jaewook quickly interjected with a random question.
“Baek Gunho. You said all the chaebol families gathered there.”
“Yeah. That’s right?”
“Were there any owner families that rival Baekil? For example, somewhere like LK.”
LK Group. At those words, Lee Yeongwoo suddenly came to mind.
Since Kim Jaewook and he were also acquainted, there was no need to hide Lee Yeongwoo specifically.
“Right. Did you know Lee Yeongwoo is at LK?”
“…Lee Yeongwoo?”
“I met Yeongwoo there.”
“Who was that again?”
This goldfish memory bastard.
“5th grade. We played soccer together, played games.”
“…Ah, that prickly guy? It’s been really long. Is he doing well?”
The reaction was drier than expected.
Kim Jaewook continued speaking with an indifferent face while gulping down beer.
“So, nothing happened with him?”
“Yeah. Except for somehow ending up resting together in a hotel room.”
“…”
“…”
The air froze for a moment.
The first to come to his senses was Kim Jaewook.
“…Nothing happened, right?”
“Yeah. We just rested.”
“Just… Right. Just means just.”
Then Kim Jaewook patted Lee Haram’s back.
“Lee Haram. This guy is Baek Gunho. You don’t need to think weird thoughts.”
“…Ah, I know. That startled me…”
Strangely, I felt ignored.
I was displeased with the glances being exchanged between just the two of them.
Lee Haram stood up abruptly and said.
“Ah, now that I’m relaxed I suddenly… I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Bring back a bottle of water when you come.”
“Okay.”
After Lee Haram left his seat, Kim Jaewook asked as if tossing it out.
“You said nothing happened. Why do you keep looking so gloomy? You’re killing the mood for drinking.”
…Thanks to Haram, at least one big worry was eliminated.
Now a very big worry remained.
‘So. I’m not going to worry about it anymore.’
I hesitated.
Whether I should mention what happened with Baek Seolheon, and if I did, where to start from.
Still, Kim Jaewook was a friend I’d been with for over ten years already.
After pondering briefly, I opened my mouth.
“Actually, Seolheon…”
At that moment, a bustling voice came from the counter area.
“This is driving me crazy.”
“Is there really no one who can speak English?”
“What do we do? Hey, do you have a translator app?”
“Wait. I’ll get my phone.”
Kim Jaewook leaned over to check the situation, then burst out in admiration.
“Is he a foreign tourist? He’s incredibly handsome. Is he a movie star or something?”
At those words, I also shifted my gaze to the counter, and was momentarily speechless.
He really was handsome.
Tall and striking, with blonde hair and golden eyes. An appearance that stood out too much.
But somehow, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
‘…Huh? I feel like I’ve seen that face somewhere.’
I felt like I might have seen him in passing in a photo, and more than anything?
He looked too much like Lee Haram. Almost like carbon copies.
The man was conveying his intentions as slowly and clearly as possible, but the staff member seemed troubled, not familiar with English and unable to properly understand his words.
When I stood up from my seat, Kim Jaewook sneered.
“You’re quite the meddler.”
It’s not meddling.
I just wanted to quickly resolve the situation because the faintly spreading alpha pheromone was bothering me.
“He says he made a reservation for 9 o’clock in advance.”
“Yes, yes?”
The staff member seemed startled by my sudden intervention and asked back.
“And he’s asking if it’s possible to change to a larger room since five more people will be coming than expected.”
“Ah, oh! I see! Yes, that’s possible…!”
I turned my head toward the foreign man.
“<They say it’s possible.>”
“<Ah, thank you. You’re very kind.>”
He let out a sigh of relief and continued speaking.
“<I was in such a hurry I didn’t think to open the translator app. It’s been a long time since I came to Korea so I’ve almost forgotten the language…>”
Then suddenly. He grabbed my hand, his eyes sparkling.
Those golden eyes were burdensome.
“<Would it be alright if I paid for your bill as thanks? It’s a small gesture.>”
“<Pardon? It’s fine. If it’s resolved well…>”
“<If there’s anything you’d like to eat, I’ll treat you.>”
“<It’s really fine. Then I’ll return to my seat…>”
“<No. I can’t just let you go like this…!>”
I said it’s fine!
I felt suffocated by the alpha pheromones transmitted through my caught wrist.
It was bearable since it felt favorable, but still, uncomfortable was uncomfortable.
‘This… Was there a similar situation in the past?’
Briefly, a hazy memory flashed through my mind.
‘I’d like to repay you somehow.’
‘Ah, no! It’s fine.’
‘Have you had dinner by chance? Even just a simple snack…’
‘No. I’m full.’
…I remembered.
18 years ago, when I protected the lost Lee Haram at the hospital and brought him to his guardian.
Back then too, I desperately pulled my hand free from Haram’s father’s grasp.
Right at that moment.
“Boss! We’re here too!”
“Oh, smells good.”
A mix of people in suits and foreigners in casual clothes poured in.
A noisy clamor mixing English, Spanish, and Korean filled the interior.
“I’ll guide you this way!”
At the staff member’s voice, I casually turned my gaze.
In the space divided into rooms, I saw a paper with reservation details posted.
[VivaPlay R&D Team. 9 o’clock]
…VivaPlay.
Currently the top dog in the video streaming industry,
Baekil Group’s cash cow, and
“Huh? Dad?!”
Lee Haram’s father’s company.
“Why are you here? And with Gunho hyung?”
Lee Haram popped out at just that moment.
The blonde man looked straight at me.
“You… Gunho?”
The golden eyes sparkled brightly.
“<Gunho Baek! It’s you!>”
And just like that, he pulled me into a tight embrace.
