He “originally” had no interest in dating?
He had no memory of ever saying that. Doyun had always figured that when the right time came, he’d meet the right person, date, and eventually get married. He simply preferred a natural kind of meeting — it wasn’t that he had zero interest in dating at all.
“…People can change their minds. I didn’t care before, but now that Minjun and Suhyeok are both dating, it’s got me interested too. And you…”
“Me?”
“You — aren’t you seeing someone too? That time you suddenly ran off saying you had plans — they said you went to meet someone you were getting close to.”
At Doyun’s words, Eunho’s expression twisted further. He drew in a breath so deep his chest visibly expanded, then let it out. Forcing a gentle tone and soft voice, Eunho asked:
“…That’s not what it was. Who said that?”
“I heard it from Minjun. The night we slept over at Suhyeok’s room… apparently your rut hit and that’s why you left. You — are you seeing someone? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Turning it over in his mind, Doyun felt a flicker of irritation. He had always assumed that if Eunho ever had a secret, he’d naturally tell him first — the person he spent the most time with. So the fact that Eunho had told Minjun something this significant before him was, honestly, a shock. He couldn’t even explain to himself why he was feeling this petty kind of jealousy.
Eunho moved the hand that had been stroking Doyun’s hair to his own face and rubbed it tiredly. A deep sigh leaked out between his fingers. After a brief silence, Eunho pulled his hand away from his face and pushed himself upright to sit. Looking down at Doyun, who was still lying there, Eunho spoke.
“I don’t know what they told you, but… I’m not the type to go around rutting like an animal. I’m not some recessive who can’t even manage his own pheromones, and I have enough self-control to get suppressants while I’m still thinking straight.”
Eunho, a dominant alpha — an exceptionally rare type even among alphas — had never once shown off or lorded his trait over beta Doyun, Minjun, and Suhyeok. So seeing him now draw a line and distinguish himself from those “recessive” alphas felt strange.
He wasn’t asking whether he went around rutting like an animal.
Asking who Eunho had been with during rut — that question, to an alpha like Eunho, could have landed as deeply insulting. Once that thought reached him, Doyun felt like he’d sobered up all at once.
“Oh… right. Yeah. Sorry if I misunderstood.”
Even at Doyun’s quick apology, Eunho didn’t respond — just kept looking down at him in silence. When Doyun, who had been lying at an angle, tried to push himself up to sit, Eunho pressed both hands gently but firmly on his shoulders and eased him back down.
“Doyun.”
Laid back against the mattress, Doyun looked up at Eunho. The shadow cast by Eunho leaning over him fell across Doyun’s face.
“What…”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Me? Worried? Why?”
Eunho, who had seemed somewhat upset just moments ago, was now watching Doyun with a look of concern. The setting sun had apparently begun to paint the sky — warm amber light bathed both of them. A short silence settled between them. At the end of that silence, Eunho let out a brief sigh and spoke.
“This thing about wanting to go on a blind date. It’s a temporary impulse because of Suhyeok and Minjun. You don’t actually want to date anyone right now.”
“That’s…”
“You told me yourself. That when you really fell for someone, that’s when you’d get serious about dating. Was that a lie?”
“It wasn’t a lie, but…”
At Doyun’s answer, Eunho let out a soft, deflating laugh. He lay back down on his side beside Doyun, propped up on one arm, and lightly patted his back before stroking it up and down. It was the familiar touch that always came when the two of them were lying side by side like this.
“If you’re worried about feeling left out because Suhyeok and Minjun have girlfriends now… don’t be.”
“It’s not entirely because of them. It’s just — people think it’s weird, you know. Getting all the way to university without ever going on a single mixer or blind date.”
Eunho spoke in a gentle tone, as if coaxing a sulking child, but Doyun pushed back with quiet firmness.
“I’m not going to date anyone either. Romance — I’m not interested in that stuff.”
“What?”
“I’m not going to see anyone either. So let’s just — the two of us, like we are now… let’s keep hanging out together. The people saying stupid things about not dating aren’t worth listening to.”
A flustered Doyun went “Huh? What?” and asked again. The premise behind “I’m not going to see anyone either” was, implicitly, “so you don’t see anyone either.” He hadn’t been planning to turn down a natural meeting if one came along — but Eunho’s words sounded almost like a pact to stay off the market together.
Eunho said just the two of us with a certain weight behind the words and patted Doyun’s back again. Doyun himself agreed that there was no need to be swayed by what other people said. He’d declared he’d go on a blind date out of spite, but he’d immediately regretted it the moment he’d said it.
It was a little childish, maybe — but Doyun felt reassured by Eunho’s words: let’s just hang out, the two of us. The idea that he didn’t have to force himself out of this comfortable little world to go meet someone felt like something close to comfort.
“Okay.”
The moment Doyun’s answer dropped, Eunho stretched both arms out toward him as if he’d been waiting. Eunho’s lips, now close to his ear, seemed like they might brush against it with every quiet whisper. Eunho’s warm breath tickled.
“Doyun, let’s not keep secrets from each other.”
“……”
“I won’t hide things from you the way Suhyeok and Minjun do.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Let’s not keep secrets from each other.
Eunho murmured it again and again like a vow, until Doyun finally said out loud “Alright, I get it!” — and only then did Eunho smile, satisfied. He tightened both arms and pulled Doyun in close, then shifted and climbed over him. The full weight of Eunho lying loose and relaxed on top of him pressed down, heavy and close. From Eunho’s warm body — stifling and solid against him — came the same sweet scent Doyun had caught before.
02.
The nice thing about being friends was that even in the middle of a serious conversation, you could always drift back to something easy and comfortable. As if Eunho wasn’t satisfied with just a verbal agreement, he made Doyun hook pinkies and properly swear that he wouldn’t date anyone.
The two of them lay side by side on the mattress exchanging idle jokes until the drowsiness the alcohol had brought on pulled them under. When Doyun opened his eyes again, a deep darkness had settled — it was the middle of the night. We’re done for. He muttered that to himself and shook Eunho’s shoulder, who still had his eyes closed.
Eunho only furrowed his brow and let out a low groan, refusing to open his eyes. Doyun sat up and shook his shoulder once more. Eunho groaned again and reached out an arm to pull him back down. Doyun found himself flat on the mattress again and shook him once more. After a few more rounds of this, Eunho finally opened his eyes slowly.
When Eunho’s eyes were closed, his long lashes rested softly downward and gave him a gentle impression — but when he opened them, the atmosphere shifted completely. His brow bone and the bridge of his nose were significantly more prominent than most people’s, making his eyes look deep-set and intense. His double eyelids were well-defined, and his brows grew neatly, strand by strand. He wasn’t vaguely good-looking — he was the kind of textbook, classically handsome face that would hold up in any era. Whatever else might be said, that sharp nose of his was enviable enough to bring tears to the eyes.
“What time is it?”
Eunho’s voice, freshly woken, was low and thick with sleep. At Eunho’s question, Doyun stretched his arm out and grabbed the phone on the nightstand. It was just past eight in the evening.
“Eight oh five. God, I’m dying of thirst. You?”
Maybe because the only snacks they’d had were light fruit and cheese, he was hungry too — but above all, his thirst was intense. It seemed the same for Eunho, whose throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“Me too… is there any water?”
“No. What we drank earlier was the last of it. If you’re really thirsty, do you want to drink tap water?”
“……”
In answer to Doyun’s question, Eunho closed his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. If Minjun or Suhyeok had responded like that, Doyun would have poured tap water straight into their mouths — but then, thinking that, Doyun said to Eunho:
“Then let’s go outside for a little walk and buy some water.”
“Sure. I’m hungry too — let’s grab something light while we’re at it.”
Eunho pushed himself up from where he was lying and pulled off the t-shirt he was wearing as he spoke. He walked over to the clothing rack where Doyun had hung his things and stood in front of it, looking through the options. The back muscles visible from behind seemed even more defined than the last time Doyun had seen them.
I really need to start working out…
While Doyun was making that silent resolution, Eunho picked out a t-shirt. The plain black t-shirt — not even a logo on it — would have been far too large on Doyun.
