He didn’t know if it bothered him because it was the first time witnessing it with his eyes… Unlike Yeongwon who was still fresh, the other party seemed to have already broken a slight sweat.
His body temperature would be high too, and usually designation holders tended to become slightly sensitive to pheromones when their body temperature rose.
If Yeongwon’s immature pheromones flowed out in that state, even unintentionally they would flow in deeply.
‘What level is his pheromone control ability?’
The important thing was that he needed to examine what level of ability Yeongwon possessed first.
Right now it seemed like small amounts were being emitted from his body rather than being controlled by his will. Even he himself wouldn’t know when it might explode.
First, rather than teaching him how to release a lot outward, he needed to teach him how to reduce it. Though this too was learned following instinct, it was somewhat difficult to realize alone from the beginning. Probably because they were filming, it was a part he needed to pay attention to.
The former wouldn’t be particularly necessary to use in life, but the latter was an essential ability.
‘I need to know how he becomes weak to pheromones too.’
In fact, what should take even more priority than that was what kind of reaction Yeongwon showed when exposed to pheromones.
Most reactions were almost identical. Being drawn to pheromones was a reflexive instinct, but it didn’t mean unconditionally falling for them.
If it was an unpleasant smell, he’d take it unpleasantly, and good scents would permeate without any chance to refuse.
When exposed to good or well-matching pheromones, one could lose reason. For instance, going into heat.
‘He probably can’t endure it well.’
Whether it was because he himself saw Yeongwon as too young, Jiseo naturally assumed that if Yeongwon was exposed to pheromones that suited him, he would react easily.
This also seemed to be a part where he needed to notice before Yeongwon and give him a hint to be careful.
‘He likes eggs. Just eat them all by himself.’
The others could easily access the snack bar anyway. Jiseo wasn’t very pleased with Yeongwon sharing what he was supposed to eat with others. Even at other times, he probably would have felt that way about food.
“Going in already?”
“They said we can eat inside. More than that, how’s this? The temperature won’t be too hot, right?”
“This much is fine.”
Before the remaining food was carried somewhere else again, Jiseo stood Yeongwon up and headed toward the most moderate jjimjilbang. Without realizing it, after confirming no one else was there, Jiseo quickly disappeared with Yeongwon.
Jiseo, who had found an appropriate spot, diligently fed Yeongwon the baked eggs again. Since the temperature wasn’t that hot, it should be bearable.
As if mocking that thought, even though not much time had passed, beads of sweat could be seen forming on his forehead.
It was still bearable, so Jiseo glanced at Yeongwon. Because he hadn’t implemented his plan to let him mingle with others and they’d come in as just the two of them, he could feel the conversation gradually decreasing.
Thanks to that, he thought Yeongwon wouldn’t last long, but he even settled in and lay down.
Whether the wooden pillow inside was hard, Yeongwon lightly pushed with his feet and casually used Jiseo’s thigh as a pillow and lay down.
“Am I sweating a lot?”
“More than I thought. You don’t usually get hot easily.”
“If I’m determined to sweat, I can. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced this kind of heat, so I think I’m sweating more than when filming in midsummer.”
“I know. Your bangs are already wet.”
Whether it was quite a high temperature for Yeongwon, his bangs had already gotten wet and were sticking to his forehead.
Jiseo was about to sweep them aside with his hand but left them as they were. Since they weren’t bothersome, there was no need to give unnecessary attention to him not arranging them with his own hands.
More than anything, it was quite cute. So… On the other hand, he also hoped this appearance wouldn’t be captured on camera.
Maybe it was because it was a look only shown when comfortable. To his eyes, it was also a very familiar scene. Should he just fix it?
“You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit, sweating profusely? You don’t even know your hair is disheveled.”
If it hadn’t been for someone’s hand that reached out along with the giggling that followed, he wouldn’t have thought he should immediately wipe his face.
“Ahh, it’s a bit better here. I was greedy and started with a high temperature, look at this. My clothes are soaking wet.”
The crowd that suddenly rushed in filled the previously quiet interior of the jjimjilbang in an instant. Because of that, Yeongwon was instantly pulled away from Jiseo and dragged among the crowd.
“What if I smell like sweat?”
“We’re all going to smell anyway, so it doesn’t matter. And you don’t really smell like sweat.”
“Really?”
“You only smell good though?”
He didn’t know if it was a fabricated story to comfort the other party or if it was real, but it seemed to be the latter.
When sweating, body odor inevitably intensified, and naturally the pheromone scent would thicken.
Rather than actual sweat smell, it could smell good. Though it would differ depending on the person perceiving it.
Jiseo looked at those having a conversation among themselves, then made eye contact with Yeongwon. Staring at him who had become closer to others before he knew it, he quietly tapped his own side.
‘Will his body scent spread strongly?’
He knew that calling him to his side didn’t match up with everything so far, but there was a reason for it.
Jiseo’s gaze had already moved to Yeongwon’s forehead, which had been wiped of sweat by another’s hand. Hearing the talk about body odor intensifying made him feel the need to check what kind of scent would come from Yeongwon.
Until just now, only a moderately fresh smell came from Yeongwon. The scent of freshly washed body wash. That wasn’t Yeongwon’s pheromone scent. He had smelled Yeongwon’s pheromone scent before.
‘Pear scent.’
It wasn’t an exceptionally special or intense smell. From Yeongwon came a subtle fruity pear fragrance. It was a scent well-suited to the description of a refreshing sweetness that wafted when you bit into it with a crunch.
It could be smelled often in daily life. Since it wasn’t sharp or strongly sweet, he thought it was a scent almost everyone would find comfortable.
‘Is it coming out now?’
Jiseo leaned his body toward Yeongwon, who was quickly approaching at the signal to come to his side. Far from smelling like sweat, the body wash scent still wafted.
The fortunate thing was that the pheromone scent wasn’t wafting yet. Though he had the opposite designation so he couldn’t help but be sensitive to scents, seeing that only a fresh scent wafted actually seemed good.
Even though others’ body scents had been faintly wafting since a while ago, his wasn’t easily exposed.
“Want to see who can last the longest here?”
“Eh, from what I see, I think Minjae hyung will be the first to leave here? You bolted out first earlier too.”
“That place was really hot. Jiwoo, your back is also soaking wet. Can’t you see?”
“Let’s do it. Even if others don’t, the two of us can do it.”
“Did your competitive spirit kick in? Anyone else joining?”
Following the contest of pointlessly enduring the heat for a long time that suddenly started, Jiseo read a rather uneasy flow.
For Yeongwon, it would be better not to sweat too much, so he naturally judged that they should leave together, saying they’d been there too long already. If he made the first move, Yeongwon would follow along.
“Yeongwon, want to join? You seem pretty strong against heat?”
“I don’t know about strong, but at this level I can last a long time.”
“Yeongwon, hyung could even sleep here.”
“Oh, provoking like that?”
Whether it was a trick to draw out Yeongwon’s participation, Jiwoo even laid out the wooden pillow neatly and lay down comfortably. As soon as the encouraging voice was heard from the side, Yeongwon nodded.
“I can sleep at this level too. It seems like a temperature where I can lie down and last long enough?”
“Hyung, then Yeongwon and I will do it lying down. The floor is really hot, so even though it’s much harder than sitting, we should compete properly.”
“Then let’s all lie down fairly. Actually, I’ve been wanting to lie down and sweat it out since earlier.”
Starting with Yeongwon, who pulled over a wooden pillow and lay down next to Jiwoo as if to show off, those who gathered saying it looked fun lay down in a circle inside.
Among them, Jiseo, sitting alone, wet his lips with a rather troubled expression.
“Jiseo hyung, join us too!”
“That’s right, Jiseo-ssi, lie down here too.”
