A friend’s house. More precisely, the heart of a boy spending the night away from home for the first time at a house where the parents were away. His chest fluttered with such pure dopamine.
While the excited Young wandered back and forth between the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom without distinction, Kyung-heon still stood at the entrance. He watched Young moving busily with his characteristically blank yet dull expression.
As if someone had frozen him in place. Only after Young, who had been busy touring the house, suddenly turned around did light return to his vacant eyes.
“Do you perhaps not like it?”
“…Pardon?”
“No, it’s just that you’re not reacting at all…. Most of it was chosen according to my taste, so I wondered if you might not like it.”
Every time Kyung-heon blinked, it seemed like a notification message window appeared above his head.
Input, processing, organizing response….
“It’s not that. I’m just… my condition isn’t great….”
“Ah….”
“I’ll go in first, and rest.”
Kyung-heon bowed politely. Then he entered his pre-agreed room.
“Hm?”
Young tilted his head.
It was strange. Though it hadn’t been long, it felt different from Kyung-heon’s usual state that he’d observed until now. Although he frequently touched around his head and frowned, he’d only said he had chronic headaches, never that his body wasn’t well. It was unusual for him to directly say his condition wasn’t good.
Then again, considering today’s events, it made sense. He’d had to deal with all sorts of people when even sitting still would be difficult with his headaches. His energy consumption could have been greater than usual.
Thinking that way, it wasn’t a big deal. Young gazed at Kyung-heon’s door for a moment, then went back to excitedly wandering around the house.
***
In truth, having gained an independent space didn’t mean he engaged in any great rebellion. He didn’t even do the little things he normally wouldn’t do. Young spent most of his time sprawled on the bed.
He giggled while watching short content less than a minute long one after another, watched some of the OTT dramas that were trending these days, and played some casual phone games. All were activities he’d done while living at his main house.
But this—thinking that there was no one outside the door worrying about his room—felt so incredibly good. Even though he was just staying in his room the same as before, the feeling of freedom kept making him grin.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
Young, who had been stuck to the bed tediously, finally stirred when he felt hungry.
Honestly, he’d tried not to get up this time either. He could just order a chicken delivery while lying down. When the food arrived, he could sluggishly go out and get it then.
But even if he could enjoy his freedom alone, wasn’t this still a house he shared with someone else? Moreover, Kyung-heon had shut himself in his room saying his condition wasn’t good. Then it would be proper etiquette to at least ask, on the surface, how he planned to handle meals.
Young neatly slipped on the slippers scattered under the bed and went outside his room. He still liked the unfamiliar scene that unfolded when he opened the door. He crossed the living room with a cheerful gait.
But something, is strange…?
From around the middle of the living room, an unfamiliar scent began swirling around his nose.
Did he smell it wrong? Young wrinkled his nose more sensitively. No matter how many times he sniffed, the same scent lingered.
Young instinctively hesitated in his steps. The more slowly he stepped forward, the more clearly and thickly the scent touching his nose intensified.
At this point, he couldn’t tell whether he’d been heading to Kyung-heon’s room or searching for the source of the smell. But either way, it didn’t matter. The destination was the same in the end.
In front of Kyung-heon’s room where he finally arrived, an indescribably thick scent swirled. Young sensed something unusual and carefully knocked on the door.
“Um, are you okay?”
“……”
“Is something wrong?”
Knock knock knock, even when he knocked. Even when he asked if everything was okay, there was only silent non-response from inside.
In this situation, there was no choice. Young grasped the doorknob without the owner’s permission.
And when he finally opened the door,
“Gasp!”
He had to hastily swallow his breath.
An intense alpha pheromone poured out from Kyung-heon’s room.
An alpha pheromone from the room of a beta. It was a confusing situation. Kyung-heon, who was born a beta in an alpha-centered family and treated like an unwanted burden, only to have his discarded card used somewhat usefully by entering a strategic marriage with Young—was he actually an alpha?
Usually, manifestation occurred around the time of reaching adulthood, and even if late, traits were determined by the mid-twenties. But Kyung-heon’s age was twenty-seven. At a period very late even for late manifestation, a change in traits had suddenly occurred.
Was it because it had been buried for so long? It was truly a powerful pheromone. The unfamiliar scent completely covered every corner of the house beyond just the room.
“……”
Pheromones weren’t simply energy that aroused sexual desire. They were biological signals with a wide range of effects: pressure, stability, aggression, comfort, and more.
Once accustomed, they could be controlled according to situation or intent, but during manifestation, that was impossible. All the energy that could be revealed was discharged wildly.
Young couldn’t even ask again if he was okay and stood frozen in place as if his feet were stuck to the ground. Just standing in front of the door made all the hair on his body stand on end and goosebumps rise on his spine.
It was that tremendous of a pheromone.
“Aah.”
Young let out a groan-like sound and stumbled backward. Eventually, he ran out to the entrance.
It was like fleeing without having done anything wrong. But he couldn’t help it. If he stayed exposed to the alpha’s explosive pheromones any longer, he felt like he’d lose his mind.
Even after running out the entrance and all the way to the end of the corridor, his fingertips still trembled. His legs wobbled, and his jaw shook.
‘He’s not a gangster for nothing. Most omegas have a hard time when they come to our house, but he showed no such signs at all.’
Though it probably wasn’t said with this situation in mind, Joo Won-ho’s sarcasm hadn’t been complete nonsense. Because it was true that he’d been overwhelmed without even putting up a gangster’s face.
Young sat down against the wall in front of the elevator. When he attempted deep breaths with his last remaining consciousness, it finally became somewhat bearable.
By the time his trembling breath barely entered a stable range, the elevator arrived. Young, who stepped inside without thinking, kept biting his lips the entire way down, not knowing what to do.
It was the same when getting off. With an expression that seemed his soul had left him, he exited the building with a melting gait as if someone was grabbing his feet. And only when he’d come to his senses somewhat did he unlock his only possession he’d brought out—his mobile phone.
He intended to contact Kyung-heon’s grandfather, Chairman Joo.
‘Whether you like it or hate it, you’re now the person closest to our Kyung-heon.’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘If any changes happen to Kyung-heon, let me know first.’
It was because he remembered the conversation he’d had with him this afternoon. Though he’d answered readily, he hadn’t thought he’d follow the words this obediently. But faced with a completely unexpected situation, he had no choice. He could only call Chairman Joo’s number right away.
After a short ringtone, there was a sign of the call connecting. Young opened his mouth urgently.
“Grandfather, this is Young….”
- Change
“What? Did you get kicked out on the first day?”
That was Seong-jae’s reaction upon seeing Young, who had come on the very wedding day he’d so eagerly awaited, barefoot in slippers, dragging them along with only his mobile phone. Young passed by him with a half soul-departed face and entered the house.
“Not yet.”
Even his retort had no energy at all.
“Not yet?”
Seong-jae, who had been standing at the door until now, immediately followed him in. Whether he did or not. Young laid his tired body on the sofa.
“What are you talking about? Not yet? So you’ll get kicked out eventually? Why? You were fine until earlier. What happened in the meantime?”
After spitting out such meaningful words, had he been too relaxed alone? Seong-jae plopped right next to him and rattled off questions.
Young, instead of showing annoyance, just stared blankly at the ceiling. His complexion showed he still couldn’t quite believe what had happened in an instant. He blinked slowly like Joo Kyung-heon often did.
‘Joo Kyung-heon blinked a lot because he was thinking so much.’
Even in this situation, random thoughts entered his mind. Of course, only briefly. Young gave Seong-jae an answer after a bit of silence.
